Chapter 1089

Burma. Cao Kun let out a sigh of relief as he looked at the pirate ship docked at sea. After escaping Calcutta, they had been eating and sle

Burma.

Cao Kun let out a sigh of relief as he looked at the pirate ship docked at sea.

After escaping Calcutta, they had been eating and sleeping rough for thirteen days and finally arrived at the small fishing village that Qing had spoken of.

“Qing, everything depends on you now. As long as you can successfully get us back to Britain, I will surely have the Queen of England make you a nobleman and also give you ten thousand taels of silver as a reward.”

At this time, everyone was hiding in the woods on the side of a small mountain path. From a high vantage point, they could see the small fishing village on the beach.

This small fishing village was not big, with only about thirty households. The small fishing village appeared peaceful and serene, as if it were a paradise.

A hint of indiscernible mockery flashed in Qing’s eyes, but his expression appeared respectful and humble. He said respectfully, “This is something I should be doing. This small fishing village is where Ma Hai rests temporarily. It seems they didn’t go out to sea today, so we are very lucky.”

Cao Zheng-tong was still a little worried. They were facing pirates. If they hadn’t been backed into a corner, they would never have followed Qing and taken this risk.

He asked again, “Qing, can your friend really be trusted?”

“There will be no mistake.” Qing patted his chest. He said, “Let’s go quickly. If the imperial army catches up, none of us will be able to escape.”

With that, he walked straight down the path towards the village. The others, seeing this, immediately followed Qing down the mountain.

Cao Kun and Cao Zheng-tong looked at each other. Now they also had no other choice. Gritting their teeth, the two still followed Qing into the fishing village.

“Qing, what are you doing here?”

The people in the fishing village were busy at work. At this time, they all stopped what they were doing and looked at the group of people who were coming.

At this time, a middle-aged man came out of a house. Seeing Qing, he looked very happy and shouted loudly.

“Brother Ma!” Qing also showed a happy smile and clasped his hands at Ma Hai.

Seeing the two of them acting so familiar, Cao Kun’s heart felt a little relieved. At this time, he carefully looked around and found nothing unusual, which made him feel even more at ease.

The others also became happy. They had been worrying day and night during the journey. Now that they saw a hope of escape, their spirits were naturally lifted.

Qing and the middle-aged man talked for a while. Then, pointing at Cao Kun and his group, he said something. The middle-aged man understood and said, “Since you are Qing’s friends, you are also my friends, Ma Hai’s friends. Going out to sea is easy. Why don’t you all come to my room, eat and drink your fill, and then we’ll set off? But this job of helping people escape requires a lot of silver, at least one thousand taels per person.”

Cao Kun’s heart was settled when he heard this. This was Ma Hai’s true nature as a pirate, and the fact that he was so greedy for money proved it. If he didn’t want money, he would have been suspicious.

“In that case, we will be relying on you, Brother Ma.” Cao Kun said with a gentle smile. “As long as you help us get out of this trouble, I can afford to pay any amount of silver.”

“Good, that’s refreshing!” Ma Hai shouted. Pointing at the house beside him, he said, “Come, come, come. We will set off after we have eaten and drunk our fill.”

Everyone was already starving, so there was no reason to be polite. The Cao family father and son closely followed Qing and Ma Hai into the room.

But as soon as the door curtain was opened, their faces immediately turned ashen, because what was in front of them was not fine wine and good food, but a series of dark muzzles.

“Cao the traitor! You never expected to fall into my hands today, did you?” The person sitting in the center of the room was none other than Yue Yun.

At the same time, many imperial soldiers rushed out of the other rooms on the beach and surrounded Cao Kun and his group.

“Qing! You!” Cao Kun said in disbelief.

With a look of contempt at Cao Kun, Qing said, “Cao Kun, do you think the Empire would allow you to cause trouble in the country? To tell you the truth, we, the secret guards, have been watching you since the first day you arrived in India.”

Cao Kun’s face showed a look of disbelief. He said urgently, “It is impossible for Admiral Yue Yun of the imperial navy to personally come and capture me without a premeditated plan. How did you transmit the news?”

The reason he believed Qing was that Qing, like everyone else, had never done anything out of the ordinary.

But now, everything he saw overturned his perception.

“Even if I tell you, you wouldn’t understand.” Qing laughed heartily.

Yue Yun sneered. He said to the soldiers who were in ambush in the house, “Arrest all of them.”

Upon receiving the order, the wolf-like soldiers quickly rushed into the crowd, and all the remnants of the powerful families who followed Cao Kun were taken into custody.

“General, there is a list in Cao Kun’s luggage. It records the undercover agents that the Merchant Parliament has planted in the Empire, as well as the people he arranged during this time.” Qing did not forget the most important thing.

Yue Yun took the luggage from Cao Kun and poured out all the contents. Sure enough, a booklet fell out.

He picked up the booklet and flipped through it. Yue Yun’s expression changed dramatically. There were many names he was familiar with. They were all officials. If this booklet were to be submitted, it would surely cause a bloodbath.

“Cao Kun, you have been scheming for all these years. Hmph, it’s a pity that everything ends here.” Yue Yun put away the list. “I will personally escort you to Qingzhou and hand this list over to His Majesty!”

Cao Zheng-tong’s legs went weak when he heard this, and he immediately knelt on the ground. Cao Kun’s face also turned pale.

He knew what he would face when he returned to Qingzhou.

“What a shame.” Cao Kun closed his eyes and stopped speaking.

Yue Yun snorted softly. He said to everyone, “No one is to say a word about this. Do not leak any news of Cao Kun’s capture, so as not to alert the enemy.”

“Yes, General,” everyone said in unison.

Nodding slightly, Yue Yun ordered his men to light a bonfire. Their warships were anchored far out at sea. As long as they sent a signal, the warships would come.

Escorting the wailing Cao Kun and his group, Yue Yun headed directly for Qingzhou after the warships arrived. To him, this matter was too serious to be handled carelessly.

Seven days later.

Yue Yun’s warships arrived in Qingzhou. Cao Kun and his son were escorted to Qingzhou on the train that day. To prevent them from being recognized, the two were blindfolded with black cloth throughout the journey.

Upon arriving in Qingzhou, Yue Yun did not hand the two of them over to the security office directly. He did not dare to trust any official now.

This was because if the news of the Cao family father and son’s capture were to spread, the people on that list would surely flee in advance. At this point, preventing them from escaping would be extremely difficult, and he could not take that risk.

So, as soon as he arrived in Qingzhou, he went directly to the Imperial City and requested an audience with the Emperor.

But halfway there, his path was suddenly blocked by a carriage.

“Isn’t that General Yue? I thought you were fighting in Southeast Asia? How did you get to Qingzhou? And who are those people behind you?”

The carriage curtain was lifted, and Ge Yiren stuck his head out and asked with a smile. He and Ren He had just finished lecturing in a Confucian classroom and were preparing to go back. He never expected to run into Yue Yun, who was escorting prisoners, so he couldn’t help but ask.

With Ge Yiren was Ren He, and his gaze swept over the two people behind Yue Yun. His expression immediately changed drastically.