A Conspiracy of Wolves

The news of the seized wine reached Cangqi quickly. If not for Lu Qingyun's restraint, Meng Hu would have almost rallied his troops to charge into Fengchuan City.

Luo Yu was busy searching for iron ore with Gongshu Bai, so he entrusted Xiao Shaoyou with the matter. Xiao Shaoyou promptly arrived at the city hall, hoping to retrieve the batch of wine.

The city hall was the highest seat of power in Fengchuan City, equivalent to a county magistrate's office. In name, it followed imperial edicts, but in reality, the entire city and its surrounding towns and villages answered solely to the Yao family.

In this world, might made right, and the Yao family was undoubtedly the strongest in the Fengchuan region.

"Cangqi's Xiao Shaoyou pays his respects to Lord City Mayor Yao."

In the imposing main hall sat a middle-aged man with a stern expression, wearing fine silk robes. This was Yao Lin, city mayor of Fengchuan and sworn brother to Du Gang, the owner of Dingsiangju Inn.

It was said that these two had military backgrounds in their youth. Later, Du Gang went into business while Yao Lin gathered a band of men to run amok in the Fengchuan area, engaging in banditry and highway robbery. With Du Gang's financial backing, Yao Lin gradually rose to power, eventually killing the previous city mayor and taking his place. The imperial court granted him a sixth-rank official title, leading to their current positions.

"Haha, Cangqi, I know. City Mayor Luo's fame for slaying Wanyan Chang has spread far and wide."

Yao Lin casually sipped his tea.

"I wonder why you've traveled all the way from Cangqi to Fengchuan City?"

"Your men seized our batch of wine. I'd like to know why?"

"Didn't my men explain? They suspected the wine contained military equipment being secretly sold to the Qiang people, so they had to seize it for inspection."

"Is Lord City Mayor suggesting that Cangqi is aiding the Qiang?"

Xiao Shaoyou raised an eyebrow. "Some words shouldn't be spoken lightly."

"I didn't say that."

Yao Lin spread his hands in a helpless gesture.

"But as mayor of Fengchuan City, I bear responsibility for the safety of my people. When I hear of such traitorous activities, I must investigate thoroughly. I hope City Mayor Luo understands. Rest assured, if the wine is found to be clean, it will be returned to you."

"Then may I ask, Lord City Mayor, has the investigation been completed? When can we have our wine back?"

"Not yet, not yet. Two hundred barrels of wine will take at least ten to fifteen days to inspect."

Yao Lin seemed unconcerned.

"Go back and wait. We'll inform you when we have news."

"Since Lord City Mayor puts it that way, I won't be a bother."

Xiao Shaoyou's gaze hardened as he coldly stated:

"I advise Lord City Mayor, business is business. Breaking one's word is not a good thing.

Don't overstep your bounds!"

"Hmph!"

As the fuming Xiao Shaoyou left the city hall, Du Gang emerged from the inner chambers with a smile:

"They seem to have figured out that we worked together to trap this batch of wine."

"What if they did? A small city like Cangqi dare not oppose the Yao family."

Yao Lin sneered.

"Let alone a mere captain under him. Even if Luo Yu himself came, he'd be turned away. This isn't Yunyang Pass, and I'm not Wanyan Chang. He has no right to act so arrogantly here.

A newcomer dares to compete with your Dingsiangju Inn? Dream on."

In name, they were both city mayors, but in Yao Lin's eyes, Luo Yu was nothing, at best a lucky upstart.

"Ha ha ha, this time I owe you big brother."

Du Gang no longer showed the amiable demeanor he had with Luo Yu, instead revealing a sinister smile:

"Six hundred taels of silver for two hundred barrels of fine wine. This wine market will surely crush Tingyulou completely. Ha ha ha!"

"Brothers don't need to thank each other."

Yao Lin's lips curled upward.

"Let's use these two hundred barrels to get through this wine market first. Then we'll find a way to get the secret recipe for the Three-Pot Head from Luo Yu. Once we sell it throughout the three states of Longxi, we'll make a fortune!"

Du Gang agreed:

"With the silver, big brother can recruit soldiers and expand your power. Who knows, you might even replace the Li family of Que Prefecture."

"Ha ha ha!"

The spacious hall echoed with the sinister, ambitious laughter of the two brothers.

...

"Iron ore, real iron ore!"

"Good heavens!"

Gongshu Bai stood halfway up Redfork Mountain, his eyes wide with disbelief:

"An entire mountain filled with iron ore below, some even exposed on the surface. In all the generations of Gongshu blacksmiths, we've never heard of such a marvel.

This mountain was made for me, ha ha ha!"

Though Gongshu Bai had gone through a period of blaming fate and wallowing in despair, the craftsman's spirit in his family's blood had never faded. At this moment, he felt an inexplicable excitement.

A heaven-chosen place!

"I knew you'd like this place."

Luo Yu smiled.

"I'll leave Redfork Mountain to you. You'll be in charge of all blacksmithing matters. How long will it take to forge weapons and armor for me?"

Gongshu Bai answered without hesitation:

"Many steps are needed to turn iron ore into weapons - mining, smelting, forging, and tempering. Each step takes time. It depends on how much armor you need."

"I don't need too much for now. Enough for three hundred men will do. I need it fast, as fast as possible!"

"Two months, no more than two months!"

Gongshu Bai held up a finger.

"But I have one condition. You need to provide manpower. My blacksmith shop's seven or eight apprentices won't be enough."

"Don't worry about that."

Luo Yu gestured.

"Brother Han, I'll leave the manpower allocation to you. Work with Gongshu Bai from now on. Prioritize selecting people from the citizens, but you can also mobilize soldiers if necessary. Just one word:

Fast!"

"Understood!"

Han Shuo gave Gongshu Bai a thumbs up:

"Now that's more like it. If you'd been this obedient from the start, you wouldn't have gotten beaten up."

"He he, so Uncle Han now has to follow my orders."

A strange smile appeared on Gongshu Bai's face, making Han Shuo feel a chill: "What are you planning?"

"I've heard City Mayor Luo's Three-Pot Head is quite good."

Gongshu Bai waved his hand.

"Go, bring me a barrel to try. I won't have the strength to work without drinking enough."

Han Shuo's nose nearly bent with anger at this brat's cheek.

Just then, Xiao Shaoyou rushed over, looking grim:

"I've been to the city hall. The wine wasn't returned. Yao Lin was just stringing me along. It seems this was a trap set by Du Gang and Yao Lin working together."

"I knew it."

Luo Yu's gaze turned cold.

"Businessmen are all schemers. We won't get our wine back. There's no point in humiliating ourselves further. Du Gang got our wine for six hundred taels of silver, playing a clever game.

A conspiracy of wolves!"

"What should we do?"

Han Shuo was deeply worried: "The wine we worked so hard to brew was seized by Yao Lin. Tingyulou broke their contract. We might not be able to do business with them again.

Who will buy our wine then? Without income, we can't support so many people."

"Don't worry."

Luo Yu smiled coldly:

"Do you really think I'm that easy to bully? In three days at the wine market, I want to see a good show!"