Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Inside the inn, Ma Cheng stood beside Fang Zheng Yi, appearing particularly silent.

Fang Zheng Yi was also speechless. Ever since entering Pan Tai City, he had felt somewhat uneasy.

Ma Cheng was a civil official, usually refined and courteous, maintaining a friendly demeanor towards everyone.

However, Fang Zheng Yi was different. He was a pure rogue, having done all sorts of shady things. His sensitivity was far greater than Ma Cheng's.

But the events that unfolded tonight, even Ma Cheng felt were extremely wrong. It was evident that the Jin Kingdom truly didn't care about the delegation.

Perhaps they didn't even care about expanding trade, which would be quite terrifying... Who knows what these people were plotting.

Seeing Fang Zheng Yi remain silent for a long time, Ma Cheng cautiously asked, "Lord Fang, you are on good terms with State Preceptor Pa Ba. Should we go and sound him out tomorrow?"

Fang Zheng Yi shook his head: "No, my relationship with him isn't that great. Perhaps the Jin people are just like this by nature; it's best if we're overthinking things."

"Unless someone from the Jin court notifies us, we shouldn't take the initiative to request an audience. Also, tomorrow, send out two groups of people. One group should scout around the city to gather information. I feel that the state of the city's residents is a bit off. Have them watch out for anyone tailing them. Another group should prepare to return to the capital tomorrow with the letter I've written to His Majesty."

"We'll make plans after we understand the situation tomorrow."

"This official will go and make arrangements."

.....

Early the next morning, the delegation members, led by Ma Cheng, departed from the inn.

Fang Zheng Yi stayed behind to oversee things, awaiting news.

Before half the day had passed, Ma Cheng returned with his men, drenched in sweat. He burst into Fang Zheng Yi's room, his face filled with panic, "Lord Fang, it's terrible!"

Fang Zheng Yi's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly asked, "What's wrong?"

Ma Cheng's expression was grave: "The men we sent out of the city were stopped, and the people scouting the market were also being followed. However, the locals of Pan Tai City are allowed to leave the city."

"Lord, what do we do? They don't want us to leave."

Fang Zheng Yi slowly closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

How unlucky! He really had stumbled upon something bad again, thanks to the Crown Prince's jinxed mouth.

Ma Cheng was still anxiously waiting for Fang Zheng Yi's reply, and after a long while, he heard him speak: "Understood, there's no need to panic. Go and invite State Preceptor Pa Ba here; I'll just ask him directly."

"This official will go and take care of it."

After Ma Cheng finished speaking, he hurriedly ran off.

Half an hour later, Pa Ba appeared in Fang Zheng Yi's room with a beaming smile: "Brother Fang, why have you summoned me so soon after arriving? There's no need to rush the trade negotiations. It would be good to talk after you've rested."

Fang Zheng Yi, with his back to Pa Ba, had been observing the sparsely populated street for half an hour.

Only then did he turn around, questioning in an unfriendly tone: "State Preceptor, let's not waste words. Some of our delegation members were specifically escorting us to Pan Tai City before preparing to return to the capital to report back. Just now, your people stopped my men. Why is that?"

Pa Ba still maintained his smiling demeanor: "Brother Fang is mistaken. Recently, bandits have been appearing in and around the city. The delegation is unfamiliar with the area, and His Majesty is afraid that something might happen to your esteemed delegation, affecting the friendship between our two countries. That's why he ordered people to protect you within the city. Once the bandits are eliminated, you will be able to travel without worry."

Bullshit! If there really were bandits, wouldn't you just send people to escort us?

Fang Zheng Yi cursed inwardly.

"What if I want to return to the capital now?"

"Brother Fang, please don't be suspicious. Is there any inconvenience in staying in the city? If you need anything, I can order people to provide it."

Fang Zheng Yi sneered: "State Preceptor is truly a master of feigning ignorance. Stop pretending; let's talk frankly."

"As soon as my delegation arrived, we were told we had to compete in martial arts upon entering the palace. Your people even shouted to attack and kill us, and now you won't let the delegation leave the city. State Preceptor isn't sincerely interested in doing business, is he?"

"Aren't you afraid of playing with fire and creating a diplomatic incident by doing this?"

"Brother Fang is indeed astute. It's a pity that I wanted you to have a good rest." Pa Ba glanced at him, leisurely sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, and then looked at Fang Zheng Yi with a half-smile.

"A diplomatic incident? What if the two countries go to war?"

Fang Zheng Yi's heart suddenly sank.

War... This was the worst possible outcome.

He already had a vague idea in his mind. He had observed the street scene for so long earlier and noticed that there were very few young and strong laborers walking on the road.

This situation meant that they were either recruiting workers for large-scale construction projects or conscripting soldiers.

He never expected that this trip would lead to such a dangerous situation.

Fang Zheng Yi steadied his mind and pretended to be relaxed, saying, "State Preceptor, do you know what you're saying?"

Pa Ba chuckled: "I said the two countries are at war. I'm not pretending to be ignorant; Brother Fang is starting to pretend?"

"I originally wanted to treat Brother Fang with courtesy, but I didn't expect Brother Fang to be so astute and take the initiative to come here. In that case, I have no choice but to tell you the truth."

"What would Brother Fang like to ask? I will tell you everything I know."

"Who gave you the courage?" Hearing Pa Ba's frankness, Fang Zheng Yi asked with a livid face, "My Great Jing's national power is at its peak. It's unwise for you to provoke a war. I don't understand."

Pa Ba took a sip of tea, tapped the table with one hand, and pondered: "Brother Fang is right, Great Jing's national power is at its peak; it's not a good time to start a war."

"I once advised His Majesty that it was not advisable to start a war, but this matter is no longer something that I alone can stop. This is the will of all the nobles above and below. And as a subject, I can only obey."

Fang Zheng Yi said coldly: "Hmph, are you implying that you are the only smart person in the entire Jin Kingdom?"

Pa Ba shook his head: "There are other secrets involved that you are not aware of. Before the establishment of Great Jin, the twenty-six tribes of the grasslands were independent. Only His Majesty has accomplished the great feat of today. The hardships involved are unimaginable. Unifying eighteen tribes has already consumed too much power. Although unifying the remaining eight tribes is only a matter of time, His Majesty is considering that once the internal war expands, it will inevitably weaken the overall strength, and with foreign enemies on the side, Great Jing may take advantage of the situation at any time."

"Later, His Majesty ordered me to persuade the remaining eight tribes, which took two years to accomplish. In order to unify, His Majesty promised these eight tribes that they would annex Jing Kingdom within ten years."

"After unifying the various tribes, His Majesty began to prepare for war and used trade between the two countries to raise military funds. Originally, it was thought that it would take ten years, but the cost of expanding the army was so great that the national treasury could no longer bear the burden, and many people became dissatisfied."

"In the past, the tribes were scattered, and whenever they encountered difficulties, they would go to Jing Kingdom and plunder. Since His Majesty is a great leader, he naturally knows that this is not a long-term solution, so the fertile lands of Jing Kingdom are bound to be obtained."

"In addition, Jing Kingdom has two more high-yield crops. If you are allowed to continue to develop, then you can only sigh and there will be no possibility of rising again."

"So now the arrow is on the string and has to be fired."

Fang Zheng Yi took a deep breath and said impatiently, "I'm not here to listen to you tell history. I'm curious what capital you have to dare to initiate a war."

Hearing this, Pa Ba laughed loudly twice: "Brother Fang, you underestimate my Great Jin too much, and you underestimate His Majesty too much."

"After so many years of recuperation and full-scale military preparation, if the troops scattered in various tribes are concentrated... my Great Jin has 800,000 armored soldiers and 60,000 heavy cavalry. No one in the world can stop such a force! Although Jing Kingdom's military strength far exceeds my Great Jin, its individual combat strength is far inferior. As long as my army goes south and breaks through the two passes of Liuhe Pass and Chenggao Pass, it can directly take the capital."

Looking at his smug expression, Fang Zheng Yi cursed: "Then why the hell did you bring me here? If you're so awesome, just go ahead and fight!"