CHAPTER 446: CHAPTER 443: SUSPICION

As Meng Su listened, he became increasingly excited. The issues that had been on his mind for years might really be resolved this time.

"It seems to be Prince Lu," Meng Su said. "Connecting the current situation with the information I knew before, Prince Lu first bribed officials in coastal states and counties and the soldiers guarding the checkpoints. Then, using the wealth Li Tao accumulated through maritime trade, he built warships and maintained a large force at sea."

"This way, no matter how the court investigates, they won’t find any clue."

Meng Su couldn’t help but pace around the room: "I didn’t expect Prince Lu to be so scheming. I used to speculate that Prince Lu was gathering officials, but I never guessed Prince Lu would go this far."

Now with ships and troops, war could break out at any time. If a conflict really erupted, all coastal states and counties would be embroiled, and if the court mishandles it, who knows how it will escalate.

Meng Su looked at Song Xian; thanks to Song Jiedu’s meticulousness, Daqi didn’t unknowingly fall into a state of war.

"What should we do next?" Meng Su asked.

Song Xian looked at Meng Su: "How this matter is ultimately resolved needs the Emperor’s decision, but while waiting for the court’s response, we must prepare in advance. Although we know about Li Tao and have found the warships and troops, Prince Lu has yet to make an appearance."

Meng Su asked, "Then what should we do?"

Song Xian remained calm, clearly having a plan: "Li Tao’s conspicuous actions at sea must have reached Prince Lu, and Prince Lu will also want to investigate who clashed with Li Tao at sea."

Meng Su said, "I’ll have someone secure the ships..."

At this point, Meng Su understood Song Xian’s implication: "I understand."

Song Xian nodded.

Having discussed the state affairs with Meng Su, Song Xian stood up: "When we went out to sea, my father-in-law was feeling unwell, and now the Commandery Princess is taking care of him. I’ll go have a look."

Because of this matter, Song Xian, General Xie, and the Commandery Princess came to Yuezhou. If not for the Commandery Princess making those ink blocks, it wouldn’t have been easy to deceive Li Tao.

Previously, he only heard his daughter praise Princess Jia’an, but this time he truly experienced the princess’ cleverness.

Furthermore, Song Jiedu is genuinely concerned about the princess... coupled with the united Chen Family Village, this family truly inspires envy.

Meng Su went to make arrangements, while on Prince Lu’s side, the news quickly reached him. Li Tao had a fierce skirmish at sea, and the ships Li Tao commanded suffered heavy losses, even deploying warships, yet they failed to identify the opposite party’s identity or intentions.

Prince Lu trusted Li Tao greatly, but this incident left him quite disappointed. He listened carefully as his deputy reported.

The deputy said, "Mr. Li asked the prefects of Hai State, Chuzhou, and Taizhou to help investigate whether there were any ships moving along the coast and also ordered ships to search the seas daily for traces of those people, but there are no clues yet."

Upon hearing this, Prince Lu slightly furrowed his brows: "Has he mobilized so many people?"

The deputy responded, "According to Pu Shou, they used everyone available. Those people plotted against Li Tao and privately contacted vassal merchants, spreading the word that they intend to replace Li Tao and manage all of Daqi’s trade themselves."

The deputy glanced at Prince Lu’s expression, "No wonder Li Tao is anxious. Li Tao said he would definitely capture them and prevent His Highness’ hard work from being in vain."

Prince Lu remained silent for a long while and then said lightly: "Are you saying the prefects found nothing?"

"No," the deputy said, "Perhaps those ships never docked in those states."

Prince Lu further asked, "Did the ships leave as soon as the warships arrived?"

"Yes," the deputy bowed and confirmed.

Prince Lu reached for the arrow on the desk—it was said to be shot from one of those ships—and it looked different from those used by the court, clearly made in private workshops.

Truly no clues were left behind.

The deputy spoke softly: "Li Tao has written asking for assistance, requesting His Highness to send more manpower. He is determined to uncover the truth soon."

Prince Lu looked at the deputy: "Li Tao was not an impulsive person in the past. Why is he acting this way now? Didn’t I say not to use warships unless absolutely necessary?"

The deputy hesitated momentarily and said, "Perhaps those people provoked repeatedly. After they spoke with the vassal merchants, they ambushed Li Tao at sea."

"That’s the strange part," Prince Lu said. "If they wanted to replace Li Tao, why not act covertly instead of alerting Li Tao? Li Tao often sails alone, and those people have firearms and arrows. They could easily ambush Li Tao, and what chance would he have to survive?"

"Why wait until Li Tao brought reinforcements and then painstakingly trap Li Tao to force him to deploy warships?"

With Prince Lu’s words, the deputy had the illusion that those people were using military tactics—provoking, luring, probing... Li Tao was evidently caught in the midst of it.

"Could it be they’re not pirates?" the deputy said. "Definitely not. Pirates don’t make such long-term dealings."

Could it be Li Tao was exposed, and someone wanted to investigate what Li Tao and his men were doing at sea? The deputy dared not ponder too deeply.

The deputy’s heart skipped a beat: "Should I immediately order Li Tao to hide?"

"If they’re investigating, they would’ve figured it all out by now," Prince Lu said. "Even hiding won’t help."

The deputy said, "Then we..." Being discovered would not be a minor issue, as it potentially implicates His Highness.

Prince Lu said, "Go find out what Li Tao might have leaked." He had more than one place hiding troops, warships, and supplies. If someone truly targeted them, he would either have to eliminate them entirely or sever a limb.

Prince Lu walked to the study and unfurled the map for a closer look. Many coastal states and counties were under his control, from Hai State all the way south. Unless those people kept drifting at sea, they would have been detected by the garrison upon docking.

Li Tao got one thing right; first, they needed to identify who those people were.

Prince Lu focused his gaze on a few states and counties. The officials there hadn’t sought his allegiance, so he would begin investigating them to see if there were any unusual activities.

This matter was not as simple as Li Tao thought. Those people probably came prepared.

Prince Lu fixed his gaze on Yuezhou, and the image of Meng Su emerged in his mind. Among the officials in these states and counties, Meng Su was the most troublesome. Fortunately, he had made preparations early on, always having the Prefect of Mingzhou keep an eye on Meng Su. It was time for the Prefect of Mingzhou to investigate.

...

Meng Su was in the government office’s secondary hall reviewing documents when he heard his subordinate reporting: "The Prefect of Mingzhou has arrived."

Meng Su quickly stood up to receive him.

After exchanging formalities, the two sat down.

Covered in dust, the Prefect of Mingzhou was eager to speak: "Has the coastal garrison sent any information to you?"

Meng Su was startled: "Did Lord Zhao discover something?"

Prefect Zhao stared at Meng Su: "You truly don’t know? I just came from the garrison where someone saw several large ships anchored near your area."