"It's not a rarity, it's just some silver and cotton. It should be a hassle to track down. I won't bother the adults. If you really want to help us, help fix the ship. That way we can leave early and not cause you any trouble. Norma said expressionlessly.

It's the same as the prefectural order, but I always feel that something is wrong.

Sima Liang looked at Norma, always feeling that the other party was lying. But the content cannot be verified, and the language barrier can only learn one-sided facts from the other party. In this case, it is almost impossible to know the truth.

"It's okay to repair a ship, it has to be done. We can't fix it for you in vain, and I want to know some information about your auspicious country. If it is useful to you, I can give you a part of the principal and let you leave with some goods. ”

Norma frowned, thinking about the conditions Sima had given.

After a while, she looked at Sima Liang.

"Yes, as long as we can change the environment to a better one, we can exchange work for money. As for the affairs of the Kingdom of Geely, what do you want to know, I can tell you now. ”

Sima Liang didn't dare to ask about technology directly, so he planned to knock on the side.

"Is this the only way to your ship? It looks very broken. Which way did you come to the country of Lai, did you come from the southern coast? ”

In response to Sima Liang's question, Norma expressed doubts. She probably didn't expect Sima Liang to ask such a question.

"Our ship is a ship that has been eliminated. There are better ships, but we have limited financial resources and can only drive such ships. As for our route, it came from the south. Specifically, you have to ask the pilot. ”

"Don't you have a better product? If it's just silver and cotton, you won't be able to make a lot of money in the country. Are you coming by boat? Are you bold enough, or is it that another ship has sunk? Sima Liang asked.

"There's no better item. Profitable things cost us, and we don't have that much money, so we can only resell them with silver and cheaper cotton. As for the fleet, it's the same as you said. We were in several similar boats, except that the rest of the ships were sunk. We're the only ones left. At the end, Norma showed a sad expression.

It seems that there is no high level of technology, otherwise there should be cheap industrial goods. After all, cotton, the original material, is definitely not as profitable as the finished product when it comes out to be resold.

If that's the case, don't worry about it for now.

Although he couldn't prove this Norma's words, Sima Liang didn't think that the other party would lie, because like the businessman of Jili Kingdom, there was not only the other party, so he asked for a little verification. You can determine the truth of this statement.

As for Norman's later words, Sima Liang did not believe them all. He felt so weird. This is how such a broken ship escaped from the pirates. And based on the size of the ship, he doesn't feel like a merchant ship. Instead, it's more like a pirate ship.

However, he didn't want to ask Norman too much for the time being.

After several times of communication, Sima Liang felt that he was not communicating with foreigners, but talking to the old oilman of officialdom. Every sentence, every word is reasonable, so he can't find fault, but it just feels like there's something wrong.

Sima Liang turned his head to look at the county order.

"I'll let people settle them when I go back, and you can send one or two officials to follow in turn."

"It's the prince." The prefectural order answered.

"I'll go first, I'll see you again when I have a chance." Sima Liang said hello to Norma, and then walked out of the house with the county order.

Coming to the door, Sima Liang leaned into the ear of the county commander.

"Go and help me check their ships for signs of cannon fire or burning gunpowder. I think they're pirates. ”

The prefectural magistrate nodded.

Walking out of the county office, Sima Liang returned to the palace.

Then, two more days passed.

Sima Liang sat in the study and looked at the letter from Zhongdu.

Although there are a lot of them, the content is much the same, nothing more than congratulations on coming back, be careful of the prince and something like that. A few of them reported on the war in the northwest.

Combined with the information that Sima Liang got in the past few days when he came back, he smiled inexplicably.

"These people, it's really not good. They said they were helping me, but when they saw that the wind was not in the right direction, they began to sway one by one. ”

"To put it bluntly, it's still a profit. What a teacher, a teacher, it's ridiculous. ”

Sima Liang threw down a letter and lost the desire to read it. He didn't know why he was wasting his time, looking at things. Perhaps he is still looking forward to finding some useful information.

Forget a little, useless letters. Sima Liang looked down.

"Liu Dongyang? There may be something about his letter. ”

Sima Liang took out Liu Dongyang's letter and opened it. He took a quick look. Then think about it.

"If this is true, then there may be changes in Yanbei and Northwest. It seems that I, the fifth brother, are really restless. ”

Liu Dongyang temporarily stayed in office for a period of time due to his ability to handle affairs. Later, he was sent to Yanbei to deal with the revitalization of agriculture and mulberry in the coming year.

This errand belongs to the work of brushing up resumes, it is not a big thing, and it is easy to do, it is just a formality.

But it was this idle profession that let him know something else.

After the preparations were ordered, Liu Dongyang temporarily stayed in the county guard mansion in Dongcheng. Coincidentally, the place where the fifth prince Sima Yun was assigned was in Dongcheng.

There is no good deep-water port off the coast of Yanbei, and most of them can only be entered by small boats. Because of this, many of the chaotic people of Qi will make fishing boats or flee or come to the country of Lebanese. In addition, there are few people stationed along the coast, so it is easy to be landed.

Li Guo wants to deal with this problem, but the people of Yanbei are too scattered, and it is not easy to centralize protection at all. As a result, the governance effect has not been very good.

In recent years, there have been more and more mobs and the like. Coupled with the frequent occurrence of borders and natural disasters, the court can only let the people of Yanbei move to the big cities. Dongcheng is one of the largest gathering places.

Therefore, Dongcheng, which is still prosperous, has become the choice of the five princes.

Liu Dongyang didn't have any contact with the five princes. But when I helped the Dongcheng County Guard deal with some people from the country, I found something strange.

So he took notice. Combined with the information he received later, he made a bold guess. That is, the five princes have a connection with the Qi Kingdom court.

If that's true, it's a big deal. Although Li and Qi are now brothers, private contact is definitely in line with the rules. Especially the prince and prince with status. As long as you are caught, your life can be saved, but don't think about glory and wealth.

If it's a hostile relationship, and it catches the handle, then it's too happy. It's a pity that Sima Liang has no interests with the five princes now.

In addition, Liu Dongyang also regarded himself as Sima Liang's person, so this information was notified to him as soon as possible. Instead of reporting to the imperial court.

Sima Liang looked at the letter, a little embarrassed. According to common sense, he should tell the emperor. But out of selfishness, he shouldn't have told the emperor.

"I don't know, and I'm not sure about chasing the wind and shadows. Maybe Liu Dongyang was too worried. ”

Sima Liang said this, but he stuffed the letter paper into the foot stove in his hand.

Look at the flames that suddenly grow bigger, and then quickly get smaller. He was a little distracted.

When the flames disappeared, Sima Liang took out a pen and paper and wrote.

Don't make a noise, don't be discovered. Just act as if nothing is happening and pay attention to what you can see. Letterman: Sima Liang.

After writing, Sima Liang took the envelope and wrote the envelope, and then threw it on the side of the written reply.

"That should be fine."

Sima Liang always had a feeling of being a thief. I don't know why. He paused for a moment before opening the next letter.

After processing for most of the day, only a few letters remained. The stack of letters replied to was also stacked high.

"It's almost done. I'm so tired. However, the letter sent earlier still has some content. Look at the remaining letters, and see if there are any other gains. ”

The stacking of the letter is in chronological order, and Sima Liang finished reading the greeting letter in recent times. The follow-up letter still has some substantive content.

After all, the person who can contact Sima Liang in a hurry shows that he still has a heart. It is impossible to write a letter to him for no reason.

Skipping the above letters, Sima Liang saw a familiar name.

"A letter from a sail. So below, I'm afraid I'll be delivered as soon as I leave. There shouldn't be any major incidents, and there may even be a message about Hu Yanxuan. ”

Sima Liang smiled and opened the envelope.