hsntnovel Chapter 2740 Investigating the Pirate Crew
Chapter 2740 Investigating the Pirate Crew
For a moment, Li Tai was caught in doubt and self-doubt, and he began to lose sight of the situation before him.
"Then what do you think we should do?" Li Tai asked, looking up.
"Your Highness, this is also what I wanted to ask. I wonder what Your Highness's plans are next?"
There are some people selling spices in Chang'an right now. Should we buy some? The price isn't too high yet.
With the involvement of the Prince Ji's Mansion, the price has already come down.
Li Tai did not receive an answer, so Du Chuke instead asked Li Tai for his thoughts.
"Let's hold off for now, observe the situation, and see how things develop," Li Tai said cautiously, wanting to see things clearly before making a move.
Li Shen is an unpredictable factor; anything related to him rarely ends up being good.
Du Chuke nodded upon hearing this:
"Then I will send people to continue to observe secretly, but it's a pity about the current price of spices."
These past few days, west Xiang Ji has acquired a lot of spices, and many people are envious.
"Shanbin, it's best to be careful. If it really is Lao Shi's trap, we'll have to start all over again."
Sigh, if only we knew Lao Shi's plan, we could profit from it.
How will the noble families in the court and the powerful clans outside choose this time?
Li Tai stood up and went to the window, slowly opening it. The cold wind blew in, making Li Tai even more awake.
He gazed into the distance, secretly wondering if this was another trap set by Li Shen. If it was,
That would likely result in heavy losses for everyone, because, judging from the current situation, the Prince Ji's mansion has been planning this for a year.
It's unclear whether the powerful and noble families will get involved.
"Reporting to Your Highness." A servant knocked on the door.
"what's up?"
Li Tai closed the window, sat back down, and the door opened, allowing the steward of the Prince of Wei's residence to enter.
"Your Highness, someone has delivered an invitation outside the door. The person claims to be from the Cui family."
The steward handed an envelope to Li Tai as he spoke.
Li Tai took out an invitation card, which read: "I am honored to invite Prince Cui of Wei to his residence at noon to discuss important matters. I respectfully await your presence."
After Li Tai finished reading it, he handed it to Du Chuke. Du Chuke glanced at it and then smiled slightly.
"Your Highness, it seems that even the aristocratic families can no longer sit idly by."
"Hehe, yes, they must be scared, so they want to discuss countermeasures." Li Tai smiled slightly.
Du Chuke glanced at the invitation again and said:
"If my guess is correct, they are not only interested in spices; I estimate they want to go to the Western Regions to purchase spices."
However, given the current unclear situation, they want to know the court's intentions from Your Highness.
Li Tai nodded in agreement:
"You're right. I suppose my uncle didn't tell them. Or perhaps the court hasn't decided on its next steps yet."
However, I heard the Crown Prince say that there is a high possibility of launching a military campaign against the Western Turks this year, which would still disrupt communication with the Western Regions.
They probably can't make it to the Western Regions.
Du Chuke then continued:
"While sea transport is an option, pirate crews are blocking our way at sea, making it extremely difficult to pass through."
Ships that managed to reach the port of Guangzhou Prefecture were spared from disaster only after paying substantial tolls.
Who knows if these villains will be tempted by the spices after seeing them?
I heard that many merchants were abducted along with their boats, and their fate remains unknown.
"Speaking of pirate crews, I ordered you to investigate their backgrounds. Do you have any information?"
When the topic of pirate crews came up, Li Tai immediately asked.
This pirate group had been entrenched at sea for several years, constantly committing crimes along the coast of the Tang Dynasty.
Initially, it was en route to Silla and Baekje, but later, for some unknown reason, it appeared in the South China Sea.
"Your Highness, we have not yet discovered the background of this pirate crew."
They were very mysterious and never showed themselves. They first appeared near Silla, blocking all ships.
Some speculate that it might be related to Goguryeo, since Goguryeo was at war with Silla at that time.
It seems that many merchant ships disappeared at that time, along with their people and goods.
Du Chuke reports.
"Isn't there even the slightest clue?" Li Tai's brows furrowed into a deep frown.
It's unclear when exactly, but many pirate crews have appeared on the seas, and one particular pirate crew is especially powerful and mysterious.
Li Tai had been sending people to inquire about this pirate crew for many years, but to no avail.
If we could get in touch with this pirate crew, we might be able to cooperate with them and become a powerful force at sea.
"Your Highness, it's not that we haven't found anything at all. Based on our years of investigations, we've discovered some clues in the villages near the sea in Fuzhou."
"Oh? Tell me quickly."
Upon hearing that there was information, Li Tai immediately pressed for details.
"Your Highness, through our years of investigations, we have discovered that in some villages by the sea, the men do not work at home year-round."
After our inquiries, they claimed that the men in their family had gone to work elsewhere and only returned once or twice a year.
However, I sent people to investigate the local government and found no record of these people leaving with travel documents. The claim that they went out to work is unfounded.
However, these people appeared to be quite wealthy, with many having bought houses in the county town so their children could attend school.
Some people even built houses in the village, each with a courtyard covering two acres.
Some even took concubines.
I suspect their money is ill-gotten, perhaps connected to a pirate crew.
Du Chuke reported the results of his investigation in detail. This was the only piece of useful information he had received in all these years.
Li Tai was shocked to hear this. How could ordinary people dare to become pirates, and so close at hand, right under his nose?
"Have you sent people to keep watch and see if anyone is going home to visit their family?"
Li Tai inquired.
Du Chuke shook his head:
"Your Highness, there's no way to hold out here. That's what I thought at first, but then I discovered that the people in this manor are extremely xenophobic."
Our people can't even rent a courtyard.
We don't know when these people will return, so we can't wait for them for long.
Moreover, our men frequently loiter around the estate, and some people have already become suspicious, suspecting we have ulterior motives towards their estate. They almost reported us to the authorities.
"That's a bit of a pity. Are the other estates the same? As long as you can contact one person, you can find out the specific information about the pirate crew."
Li Tai sighed, feeling a little regretful. If they could really find the people, there would be so many; that would be a huge force.
"Your Highness, the only thing we know right now is that some of the pirates in the pirate crew are fishermen from our Great Tang Dynasty. We know nothing else."
"But I have a bold guess," Du Chuke said, pausing for a moment.
"What guess?" Li Tai asked quickly.