Wu Sixi looked at Young Master Chu without saying a word and didn't make a sound to interrupt his thoughts. After all, even one - tenth was still over a hundred thousand taels of silver.
Young Master Chu just lowered his head and thought for a moment before agreeing. "Fine! I hope the chief bandit can keep his word this time!"
Wu Sixi glanced at Young Master Chu and didn't show the slightest sign of dissatisfaction because of this remark. "Young Master Chu can rest assured."
"Please, Young Master Chu!"
This time, Wu Sixi raised the wine bowl in his hand and motioned to Young Master Chu.
This time, Young Master Chu didn't hesitate at all. He picked up the wine bowl, clinked it with Wu Sixi's, and drank it all in one gulp.
After that, the atmosphere in the main hall became even more lively. The people in Panhu Stockade were all relaxing and laughing out loud.
Even though the noise was loud above, Shen Li still managed to hear, intermittently, the conversation between the three chiefs of Panhu Stockade and that Young Master Chu.
After Shen Li learned that the business they had been talking about was actually the smuggling of private salt, instead of feeling any joy, she stood there stiff as a board.
This was because she remembered something from her past life.
A war between the Dongling Kingdom and the Xiyue Kingdom.
The Dongling Kingdom was located on the eastern shore of the continent. It not only bordered the sea but also had a vast territory, rich in products and not weak in national strength.
Adjacent to the Dongling Kingdom was the Xiyue Kingdom, located to the west of Dongling. Its territory was a quarter larger than that of Dongling, but its terrain was not as flat as Dongling's. There were not only many high mountains but also quite a few deserts and gobi in its territory, so it was not as rich in products as Dongling.
However, the Xiyue Kingdom was rich in gold mines, silver mines, and precious stones, so it was also very wealthy. Even though its population was only slightly less than that of Dongling and it had a lot of wealth, it still didn't dare to offend Dongling.
This was only because for so many years, the Xiyue Kingdom had been controlled by Dongling. Since the Xiyue Kingdom was not close to the sea and had little precipitation and few rivers, it did not produce much salt. Apart from the small amount it could produce on its own, most of the rest had to be bought from Dongling.
Salt was an important substance for the human body. If a person didn't eat salt for several days, they would feel weak and listless. So, it was obvious that salt was essential for people, which was why it was tightly controlled by the Dongling court.
The price of salt had always been very high, and in recent years, the price of the salt the Xiyue Kingdom bought from Dongling had been even more exorbitant, and the quantity was also limited, not unlimited. Even so, the Xiyue Kingdom dared not speak out.
So, in her past life, everyone thought that the Xiyue Kingdom didn't dare to offend Dongling.
But in her past life, the Xiyue Kingdom still suddenly launched a war against Dongling, and the momentum was huge. In just one month, Dongling lost two prefectures bordering Xiyue.
Those two prefectures were not randomly captured by Xiyue. There were many lakes and rivers in those two prefectures, and they could also produce salt.
So, after capturing those two prefectures, Xiyue quickly dispatched troops to garrison them. At the same time, nearly two hundred thousand soldiers continued to advance eastward. In the following six months, they captured another two prefectures.
Emperor Xiao Huaishi of Dongling also led an army of two hundred and fifty thousand on a personal expedition. But the two sides fought for a full year, and Dongling only managed to recapture five or six cities.
The war was costly in terms of manpower and resources. After a stalemate between Dongling and Xiyue, both sides compromised. Xiyue withdrew its troops, and Dongling also gave up the two prefectures that had been initially occupied by Xiyue.
Since then, Dongling lost two prefectures and more than a dozen cities, and its national strength declined greatly.
Emperor Xiao Huaishi of Dongling was greatly affected. He died on the way back with his troops.
Then there was a fight for the throne between the Second Prince Xiao Yujin and the Fourth Prince Xiao Hanzhi. Each side held an army, and Dongling was in a state of war for nearly half a year. Finally, Xiao Hanzhi won and ascended the throne.
But after nearly two years of war, Dongling's national strength had declined and it was in a weak position.
Of course, after Xiao Hanzhi ascended the throne in her past life, he also wanted to take back the lost land, but he never had the chance. Before Shen Li died in her past life, the lost land occupied by Xiyue still had not been recovered.
Remembering the past again, when Shen Li looked at the matter of Panhu Stockade smuggling private salt, she had different thoughts.
In her past life, the Xiyue Kingdom dared to openly attack Dongling, ignoring the threat of Dongling cutting off the salt trade. It seemed that they had come prepared, which meant that it was very likely that the Xiyue Kingdom had already found another way to buy salt and was no longer afraid of Dongling's threat.
She had just heard Zhuang Yusheng above say that Panhu Stockade was one of the biggest places for smuggling private salt in the Dongling Kingdom.
Shen Li calculated the time. The war started half a year after she married Xiao Hanzhi, which was one and a half years later.
If the Xiyue Kingdom wanted to prepare in advance, then at this moment, it was very likely that...
If so, the identity of that Young Master Chu above was very worthy of her speculation.
Thousands of thoughts flashed through Shen Li's mind, and she stood there stunned.
Seeing that they couldn't get any more useful information, Xuanyuan Jue was about to take Shen Li back when he saw her standing there motionless.
He was just about to call out to Shen Li when suddenly his eyes turned cold and he looked diagonally above her.
Even though there were a few torches lit in the secret passage, it was still very dim. That was why he only just noticed the long black snake behind Shen Li, sticking out its thin tongue and with its eyes glowing faintly. Half of its body was hanging in the air above Shen Li's head, staring at her as if considering when to take a bite.
Xuanyuan Jue was a bit glad that Shen Li was a bit dazed and didn't move at this moment, so the snake just kept staring at her and didn't start to act.
Xuanyuan Jue quietly took out three silver needles from his sleeve and held them between his fingers, waiting for the next moment to shoot the needles at the poisonous snake and kill it.
But unexpectedly, Shen Li came to her senses earlier than him. She rolled her eyes and was about to turn her head to look at Xuanyuan Jue when she was stopped in a low voice by Xuanyuan Jue before she could move. "Don't move!"
Hearing this, although Shen Li didn't understand why, she still obediently didn't move at all.
But even so, the poisonous snake above her head seemed to have noticed something. It wriggled its body and lunged at Shen Li's neck with its sharp fangs bared.
In Shen Li's current position, she could only see the three silver needles in Xuanyuan Jue's hand flash in the secret passage. Then she heard a soft sound of something falling. This sound was not very loud, but in the silent secret passage, it was like a thunderclap.
"Hurry up!"
Xuanyuan Jue grabbed Shen Li's arm and ran out with her. As Shen Li was running, she looked back and saw a snake writhing on the ground.
The sound made in the secret passage should not have been heard in the noisy main hall above. But almost at the same time the snake fell to the ground, both Wu Sixi and Young Master Chu paused.
A cold light flashed in Wu Sixi's eyes, while there was a hint of joking smile in Young Master Chu's eyes.
Young Master Chu picked up the wine bowl in front of him, swirled it, and poured it directly on the ground. Looking at Wu Sixi with a smile and scrutiny in his eyes, he said, "It seems that your Panhu Stockade is not safe either, Chief Wu!"
"I'll have to reconsider our business then!"