"Sir, the person has been found. That guy is indeed in Li Yan's mansion!"
At the Han family estate outside the city, while Yuan Xingchi was staring blankly at a map of Bianliang, the coachman hurried in and said in a low voice.
"That's right! Let our people keep a close watch!"
Hearing the coachman's words, Yuan Xingchi finally breathed a long sigh of relief. They had finally found this guy, the last escaping fish from the Pu family.
Although he knew that this guy couldn't make much of a splash anymore, he still had to deal with him carefully, after all, this guy was the legitimate son of the Pu family.
This guy most likely held the sea chart that could lead to the Spice Island.
To ordinary people, this thing might be useless, but to the wealthy and powerful families in Bianliang, it held a fatal attraction.
After all, possessing this sea chart meant possessing endless spices, and spices were currently a tightly sought-after commodity in the Song market.
Even though wars were raging everywhere, people's demand for spices remained frighteningly strong.
This was because the main consumers of spices were the scholar-officials and the powerful, followed by merchants and landowners with vast fortunes.
Although most ordinary people were struggling to make ends meet at this time, and many found it difficult even to get enough to eat.
However, the main consumers of these spices did not have this worry.
"That is Li Yan's mansion after all. We have already seen many unidentified people appearing nearby. I suspect they are subordinates of the Imperial City Department. If our people get too close, it might attract other troubles. Otherwise, shall I find an opportunity to get rid of him directly?"
"If you can't get too close, then don't. As long as we don't lose him, this guy is already a trapped beast, and there's no need to fight him desperately. Have you considered what would happen if you fail and get caught by those people from the Imperial City Department? Who could save you?"
Hearing him say this, Yuan Xingchi quickly stopped him.
Although with the paving of money, they had indeed set up quite a few informants in Bianliang recently, and their influence had taken shape.
However, compared to the deeply entrenched Imperial City Department, their manpower was far too insufficient. If anything were to happen, they truly couldn't contend with the Imperial City Department.
"But what if that guy presents the sea chart to Li Yan? Then your adult's plan for the future would be..."
"Don't worry, that guy won't be that foolish. He won't hand over this thing until the last moment! This is his last bargaining chip. If he hands over this map, I guarantee that he will hand it over tonight and only appear in the Jinshui River tomorrow morning!"
Yuan Xingchi said with a cold smile.
"Then we just watch like this?"
Even though he said so, seeing the target right before their eyes, yet they could only watch from afar, the coachman's heart was truly like a cat scratching.
"Of course, we won't just watch. Haven't you realized yet? Li Yan has taken a fancy to the Zhe family's shares in the Cuju General Society!"
As Yuan Xingchi spoke, he took a letter from a nearby box and placed it on the stone table in front of him.
"This is a letter that Shopkeeper Zhe just sent over. Li Yan is so arrogant that he wants to buy out all of the Zhe family's shares for 3,000 guan!"
Yuan Xingchi said with a cold laugh.
"This old fellow doesn't think that the Zhe family is also among those commoners he can bully, does he?"
Just by glancing at the contents of the letter, the coachman couldn't help but sneer.
"My adult has sent word that Commander Han is currently leading three thousand elite soldiers, escorting six million guan in copper coins, and is on his way to the capital!"
"Six million guan! This, this is impossible?"
Upon hearing this number, the coachman doubted if his ears had a problem.
"This money was all taken out by my adult from the Quanzhou Maritime Trade Office. Those corrupt officials and greedy clerks have been hoarding it for so many years; it's cheap for them to spit out some of it!"
"But that's too much!"
The enormous sum truly frightened him. This was six million guan!
This was basically equivalent to 1/8 of the entire Song Dynasty's annual revenue.
"If there are no major disturbances, this money should arrive within five days at most. For safety's sake, my adult has not only sent troops for escort but also will not stop at any prefectures or counties along the way. That means, apart from us, no one else knows that this money has entered the capital yet, or no one knows the exact time this money is entering the capital!"
As Yuan Xingchi spoke, he took out a few copper coins from his sleeve and placed them on the location of the Imperial Palace on the Bianliang map.
"Sir, are you planning to create a time difference?"
"That's right. This is my reply to Shopkeeper Zhe. You will personally deliver it later, and then take a few people to guard the shop. If he dares to use force, it's best to make a big fuss. As long as no lives are lost, the bigger the better. It would be best to get the Imperial City Department or the Kaifeng Prefecture to intervene!"
"But if things really escalate, won't the business of the Cuju General Society be halted?"
Hearing Yuan Xingchi say this, the coachman quickly asked.
"The next day is the match day. They have already sold over eight hundred thousand guan in tickets. Do you think those members of the Zong family will let such a large sum of money slip through their fingers for nothing?"
Hearing Yuan Xingchi say this, the coachman suddenly reacted.
That's right, how could he forget this?
Now they were not fighting alone. They had to know that when Han Mo designed the game rules, he had already placed the Zhe family in the most important position.
From the printing of tickets to anti-counterfeiting, and even how to distribute and calculate odds, these core secrets were all held by the Zhe family.
To ensure they could win the greatest profit in a gamble involving hundreds of thousands of people, it required a complete set of calculation methods.
Because if the odds were too low, it wouldn't attract so many participants. But if they were set too high, it was possible that in one match day, these behind-the-scenes manipulators would be ruined!
As long as these core secrets were held in their hands, he was not afraid of these people playing tricks with him!
Because without the Zhe family, even if all the remaining people gathered together, they couldn't handle it.
And Li Yan, that old fellow, only saw these people making money, but he didn't see how the Zhe family managed to control the distribution of profits!