Alliance

Alliance

"Mo, that wasn't very honorable of you. Why didn't you bring us along when there was money to be made?"

Seeing the furious expressions on his two friends' faces, Qin Mo was somewhat stunned. Qin Yumu being such a blockhead was one thing, but Qin Yuanze had always been gentle and polished in his memory, someone who could handle every side of things. Even when he fought, he did so without a trace of fire or smoke. It was rare to see him so angry now.

"But you never told me you wanted to make a fortune in Fusang, either?" Qin Mo said gloomily.

"I didn't receive the summons until March. By the time I had gathered enough silver, explored the sea route, and assembled enough ships, it was already late July when I reached Fusang. On the way back, I even ran into a storm near Hanyang and nearly met with disaster. Over the past half year, when did I ever have a leisurely day? There simply wasn't time to contact you."

Qin Mo told his two close friends about his experiences over the past half year. He truly had been unable to spare any attention for these two. Qin Yumu's and Qin Yuanze's fiefs were near Hejian Prefecture and Shangqiu Prefecture respectively, neither of them close to the sea. They simply had no means of setting sail anytime soon, so telling them would have been pointless.

"Don't listen to him, Mo. Is the gold and silver in Fusang piled up like mountains? Do Fusang warriors often cut open their own bellies?" Qin Yumu changed his tune the fastest. He threw an arm around Qin Mo's shoulders, and the two of them huddled together, whispering away. At a glance, they looked like the best of friends.

Qin Mo was dumbfounded again. Just moments ago, they had been glaring at him with fury. Why was this fellow suddenly draping an arm around him? Then his left shoulder sank. Qin Yuanze, handsome as jade, grabbed his other arm as well, a smile in his eyes warm enough to soothe the heart.

"Qin Mo, are the girls of Fusang gentle and considerate? Do they have a different sort of flavor?" Qin Yuanze's thoughts were clearly not on the same track as Qin Yumu's. Qin Mo had no idea how the two had become friends.

"There are gentle and considerate ones, but most have thick legs and short necks. As for their flavor, I haven't sampled it. When I get the chance, I'll haul you over a whole shipload and let them squeeze you dry." Even if Qin Mo had been slow, he understood now. These two were merely throwing childish tantrums, like children threatening to cut ties and become enemies because someone had not shared tasty food or fun toys with them... just a lot of babbling, that was all.

"You lecher only know how to think about girls. What kind of man is Mo? How could he possibly go provoking those country girls?" Qin Yumu had finally seized on Qin Yuanze's weakness and immediately unleashed a barrage of insults. This effeminate fellow was especially popular with women. Whether they went to brothels or banquets, he was always surrounded by beauties, enough to make anyone watching grit their teeth in envy.

Seeing the two about to start bickering again, Qin Mo hurriedly spoke to put out the flames on both sides. "If you two want to conduct sea trade with Fusang, that's easy enough. Just send a few trustworthy people with my fleet and follow along for a few voyages. As for organizing fleets and training sailors, I can help with that too."

Qin Mo felt that trading along the Goryeo and Fusang routes was truly not difficult. The Great Xia merchant fleets he had seen in Fusang all acted as though they were incredibly impressive, treating a fingernail's worth of basic navigation knowledge as some ancestral secret technique. But to Qin Mo, it was no more than taking a few captains on several voyages and teaching them a little navigation knowledge.

Yet after waiting for a while without hearing either of them speak, Qin Mo looked at the two fellows in confusion. Why were they not reacting?

Qin Yumu still held his teacup halfway to his mouth, while Qin Yuanze's fan had long stopped moving. Both stared fixedly at Qin Mo, their eyes full of shock and shame.

"Um... Mo, we were only joking. Don't take it seriously. You know your big brother here talks carelessly, so don't take it to heart!" Qin Yumu's bear-like body twisted and squirmed, looking awkward no matter how one looked at it.

"I'm not joking. Fusang truly has plenty of gold and silver, and Great Xia goods are also very popular there. Both your families have manpower, so why not do this business?"

"Qin Mo, do you know what you just said? Taking our people on a few voyages, training sailors—do you know what that means?" Seeing the sincerity in Qin Mo's words, Qin Yuanze began probing carefully.

"It means a road to wealth! I know your two families are inland. Neither ships nor sailors are readily available to you, but don't you have me?" Qin Mo found their reactions strange. At first they had complained that he had not taken them along to make money, and now they were acting coy. What was that supposed to mean?

In the end, Qin Yuanze patiently explained it all to Qin Mo. Among the Great Xia nobility, watching out for one another and forming alliances had always been common. But inserting a foot into an ally's road to wealth was exceedingly rare. If such a thing happened, that noble house would be scorned by everyone. Their earlier question of "Why didn't you bring us along when there was money to be made?" had only been a social joke and could not be taken seriously. Yet Qin Mo had agreed at once, catching them both off guard.

"Understand now, Mo? If we stuck a foot into this, others would laugh at us. You're the lord of Dayuan now. You can't speak and act so rashly." Qin Yumu had been embarrassed as well. Qin Mo's father was gone now, and their earlier words had carried the suspicion of taking advantage of someone's misfortune.

Seeing the two become so solemn, Qin Mo could only say helplessly, "Then what if we do this business as partners? You stockpile the goods in Great Xia, and I provide the ships and sailors. Your two families only need to send accountants with my fleet to oversee matters in Fusang. So long as the accounts are clear, who would gossip?"

The moment he finished speaking, a bear threw an arm around his shoulders again. "Hehehe, that's a good idea! Mo, you're too clever! Certain people boast all day about having gullies in their hearts, but they're actually stupid beyond belief."

Qin Yuanze was left speechless by Qin Yumu. So long as this bear caught even the slightest opening, he would mock him without mercy.

The three settled matters there and then. The elders of the two families would seek out Lin Bo to discuss the specific division of profits. Qin Mo would not involve himself in it; he did not understand the twists and turns between Great Xia's great clans and aristocratic families. But he knew one thing: if friendship was to endure, benefits had to be shared. Only common interests could bind the various families more tightly together.

The three chatted more and more happily in their corner, utterly ignoring the pointing fingers around them. Only when the Central Military Office threw open its gates did they follow the crowd inside, heading straight into a side hall.

Upon entering, Qin Mo was guided to his seat by an aide dressed like a staff officer. From the position assigned to him, he knew he belonged to the highest rank of attendees. There were two empty seats beside him, and he did not know whether their occupants had yet to arrive or whether no one else's status matched his.

Before long, a group entered through the side door. At their head was an old general, whose uniform indicated that he should be a deputy commander of the Central Military Office. The Central Military Office had one chief commander and two deputy commanders. The Grand Commander was Qin Mu, Prince of Yan of the Empire, one of the Great Xia Empire's remaining four Earth Realm cultivators. He was not normally on duty at the Central Military Office, and all affairs were handled separately by the two deputy commanders.

Not a trace of vital energy leaked from the old general's body. Without his general's uniform, he would have looked no different from some old man playing chess on a street corner. Yet after he took his seat and swept his gaze across the hall, it was like lightning flashing suddenly. Everyone's hearts jolted, Qin Mo included.

Wu Shengze had briefed Qin Mo beforehand. He knew both deputy commanders were Earth Realm cultivators. One was Qin Shengze, Prince of Anyang from the imperial clan; the other was Chen Xuanji of the Qingzhou Chen Clan, the very old general before them.

"Today's assembly has gathered the generals. Who has yet to arrive?" Chen Xuanji glanced at the two empty seats beside Qin Mo and asked without joy or sorrow.

"It is the branches of the Prince of Ji and Duke Wuwei that have not yet arrived," the aide beside him answered respectfully.

"Record one demerit for each. Their merits and faults may offset one another in battle." Chen Xuanji handed down a punishment neither light nor heavy, giving the two families a measure of face.

"Commander Chen, the people haven't all arrived, and you're already starting the discussion?" A brazen voice rang out from beyond the hall doors.