Chapter 24

The sea wind howled, and the faint fishy smell made one's nose a bit uncomfortable.

Zhang Hao pinched his nose, gazing at the three large ships on the distant sea. He turned his head to look at Xie Yang,

"Xie Yang, I've told you everything I need to. I must emphasize again, this trip to Liaodong, whether it's buying warhorses or establishing channels, is secondary. The most important thing is to ensure your own safety. If you encounter danger, rather than fight to the death, you should hand over the goods. Your safety is the most important. This trip is mainly to familiarize yourselves with the environment there. Understand?"

"Lord, rest assured. I understand," Xie Yang replied firmly, nodding his head.

Zhang Hao said no more, patting Xie Yang on the shoulder, "Take care!"

Xie Yang bowed and then, followed by several guards, strode towards the shore. There, a small boat was waiting to transfer them to the large ships.

Zhang Hao watched quietly from the shore until the three large ships set sail, then he left the beach.

Now, various constructions were not yet complete, but some workshops had already started producing goods, such as white liquor. Zhang Hao directly acquired some alcohol, arranged for distillation, and produced white liquor. The construction of the distillery was not complicated, so white liquor had already begun production.

Cooperation with the Mi family and other merchants had officially begun.

Considering future matters, Zhang Hao also established a trade caravan, which Xie Yang would be in charge of.

Although Xie Yang was skilled and familiar with military affairs, his heart was not suited for military campaigns. Moreover, he was close to Zhang Hao, who could not abandon him. So, Zhang Hao decided to let him learn about business first.

This trade caravan was to go to Liaodong to establish direct connections between the north and south. This would allow for the trading of specialties, which would be highly profitable. Additionally, for military considerations, Zhang Hao wanted to establish connections with the north as soon as possible to bring in warhorses.

Although the Mi family had been in business for generations, their main business area was Central China, and they were not familiar with the north. Moreover, if they were to transport warhorses overland, it would take too much time and be too unpredictable. Therefore, Xie Yang's exploration was necessary. There were merchants in the north who could provide assistance.

In addition to the white liquor produced by the distillery, Zhang Hao brought some glass mirrors and salt from the modern era. He believed these items would also be very popular in the north. As for the iron tools that the nomads needed, Zhang Hao did not provide any, but they were still highly valuable.

The reason Zhang Hao repeatedly warned Xie Yang was his concern that someone might be tempted by the wealth, as the nomads were accustomed to plundering.

Although Xie Yang had a group of guards, in the unfamiliar northern border, if anything happened, Zhang Hao would not be able to help in time. He valued Xie Yang's safety more than the goods, so he repeatedly emphasized this.

No matter what, Xie Yang had already set off, and further thoughts were useless. Zhang Hao put this matter aside, as there were many other things he needed to attend to.

The distillery needed to be expanded, and the construction of other factories was also complicated. He had to leverage his technical advantages.

Sugar factories, better papermaking and textile techniques, printing technology, and more efficient steel smelting workshops, as well as shipyards, all required Zhang Hao's involvement. During this period, he was extremely busy.

He frequently returned to the modern era to look up various information and purchase components that could not be produced in this era. He also explained technical improvements to the craftsmen of this era.

Additionally, the construction of armed forces was a priority from the beginning. Zhang Hao knew what was most important.

At first, it was just small-scale activities, but with the arrival of a large number of refugees from Xuzhou, the scale began to expand significantly. This task was entrusted to Huang Zhong, Taishi Ci, and Dian Wei. The various ancient weapons stored in Zhang Hao's Tianhe Artifacts Factory were put to use.

Especially the stone-throwing machines and crossbows, which were more advanced than the military equipment of this era, were installed on warships.

In such a busy state, time passed quickly.

After leaving the governor's office in Wu Commandery, Zhang Hao mounted his horse and, accompanied by his guards, returned to Lishui County.

"Really, like a plaster!" Zhang Hao muttered to himself as he rode. The governor of Wu Commandery had invited him, and Zhang Hao was initially puzzled about the reason. During the banquet, the governor seemed drunk and asked Zhang Hao in a heartfelt manner how he had offended the Yuan family.

Zhang Hao immediately understood. It was clear that Yuan Shu had determined Zhang Hao's whereabouts and was using the Yuan family's influence and connections to pressure the governor of Wu Commandery.

It could only be said that Yuan Shu was very vengeful. At this moment, Zhang Hao completely forgot how he had provoked Yuan Shu.

The governor of Wu Commandery was very supportive, directly telling Zhang Hao that no matter how powerful the Yuan family was, he did not care, as long as Zhang Hao followed the law, no one could touch him. Such words, Zhang Hao just listened to. The governor could act this way not only because he was far from the emperor but also because he knew that Zhang Hao had connections with Zhang Rang.

This governor, who had no qualms about joining the eunuchs to advance his career, was not at all hesitant.

Of course, after returning, Zhang Hao would clearly have to prepare a generous gift for the governor, despite already bringing gifts during his previous visit.

Zhang Hao did not mind this. He was not afraid of the governor's greed as long as he could get things done. If he could buy time with money, Zhang Hao was very willing.

Now was the most important time to lay the foundation, and Zhang Hao did not want any unexpected events. Although he was very disgusted by Yuan Shu's actions, he did not think of immediate retaliation, but rather recorded it in his mental notebook to settle accounts later.

Upon returning to the estate outside Lishui County, Zhang Hao noticed a crowd gathered at the gate.

"What's going on?"

Zhang Hao surveyed the surroundings and noticed, in addition to the guards at the gate and a steward and several servants from the estate, some civilians were also present. Four of them were kneeling, including a man in his sixties and three men of different ages.

Seeing Zhang Hao, these four people were mostly very excited, moving to kneel and bow to him.

Zhang Hao immediately understood. Similar events had happened several times before. He dismounted and walked forward.

"Master Zhang, my family are refugees from Yuzhou. We were forced to leave our home due to bandit raids, and my father fell ill during the journey. If it weren't for Master Zhang's help and medicine, my father would have died. Now that my father has recovered, we have come to thank you. Your kindness will surely bring you long life and prosperity."

The leading man, a strong-looking man in his thirties, said with gratitude.

"Sir, there's no need to be so formal. Doing good deeds is what we should do. Since you trust me and are willing to come to this distant place to settle, I will naturally do my best to ensure you live well," Zhang Hao replied with a smile.

Zhang Hao was determined to treat the refugees under his control well, as they were the foundation of his current power. He had conducted several similar public relations activities, providing living supplies to the elderly and orphans and medicine to the sick, which naturally earned him a lot of gratitude and trust.

The surrounding civilians were now discussing Zhang Hao's kindness.

Zhang Hao politely moved forward to personally help the man up. Besides the public relations aspect, he was still somewhat uncomfortable with people kneeling to him, especially when there was an elderly man involved.

Just as he approached, a sudden change occurred. The man who had been expressing heartfelt gratitude and tears suddenly pulled out a dagger from his chest and, with a sinister smile, lunged at Zhang Hao. The other two men reacted similarly, rushing to Zhang Hao's sides, one preparing to attack and the other to intercept the guards.

There was a moment of panic and confusion. Zhang Hao's guards quickly moved to intervene, but Zhang Hao was too close to the attackers, and it was too late.

Seeing the man's sinister smile, Zhang Hao's pupils contracted, and his heart seemed to stop. This was the first time he had encountered an assassination attempt, and his mind went blank. The surrounding people's cries of alarm suddenly brought him back to his senses. In a flash, the time portal appeared in front of him and rapidly expanded. In an instant, the time portal stretched to over ten meters wide, intercepting all three assassins.

The assassins were shocked by the sudden appearance of the time portal. Some, unable to stop their momentum, stabbed their daggers into the portal, while others collided with it. The time portal did not even ripple.

The surrounding people were stunned, but Zhang Hao was very clear-headed. He quickly retreated a few steps, standing in the center of the guards, and ordered, "Capture them!"

Zhang Hao had brought many guards, and there were already some guards outside the estate. With a numerical advantage, the guards quickly reacted, drawing their weapons and rushing forward. At this point, Zhang Hao retracted the time portal.

These assassins were clever and skilled, but the guards they faced were also highly trained, selected by Huang Zhong and Dian Wei. With their numbers, the assassins, despite their fierce resistance, were quickly subdued.

Fortunately, the civilians were not close enough to be taken hostage, or Zhang Hao would have been in a difficult situation.

The assassins probably never considered taking hostages. After all, in this era, no one would think that someone of Zhang Hao's status would do anything for unrelated hostages.

The air was filled with the smell of blood. One of the assassins was very stubborn and was ultimately killed. The other two were injured.