Chapter 877

Lin Youde anxiously rubbed his hands, completely oblivious to what his friend beside him was saying, until a heavy pat on his shoulder brought him back to his senses.

“Brother Lin, are you still worried about the northern army?” a councilor asked with a smile.

“No, I’m just afraid of blood,” Lin Youde said, looking at Yao Hongtao lying in a pool of blood.

The councilor turned away and sneered, “He deserved to die. Any general who deserts should die.”

Lin Youde echoed with a smile, not taking up the conversation. The other party seemed to find it uninteresting and turned to walk towards other councilors. At this, Lin Youde quietly let out a breath.

For him, these days were truly difficult. Ever since the secret guards assigned him the undercover mission, he had come to the State of Chu and had been engaged in commerce here for the past five or six years.

When the merchants’ council was established, he received another mission to infiltrate the merchants’ council and constantly probe for internal news.

However, he was merely a low-ranking councilor and rarely received any major news. But today, Cao Kun’s words made him somewhat restless.

Because those last words were simply too shocking. If Cao Kun truly obtained talents from Bowen Academy, he believed Cao Kun would immediately send these talents to Britain.

After all, the secret guards had already discerned the relationship between Cao Kun and the British society. The establishment of this merchants’ council was also set up at the society’s direction.

At the same time, France and Britain, these mortal enemies, had now come together for common interests, jointly supporting the merchants’ council established by Cao Kun.

And this council was something that even their own countries did not possess. What Cao Kun was proclaiming now was merely the society’s fallacious rhetoric for inciting people.

Of course, this was not the main point. The main point was that European countries were uneasy about the Great Yu Empire’s technological development, and they were painstakingly trying to obtain various scientific and technological advancements from the Great Yu Empire.

So, if Cao Kun’s words were true, the Great Yu Empire might face a brain drain. To prevent this problem, he had to relay this news.

Returning home, Lin Youde immediately took out a piece of white paper. Then he took out a small box.

Opening the box, it contained some white powder. He poured the powder into a basin, added some water, and then, dipping a brush into this transparent liquid, recorded all the information he had obtained.

After writing, he dried the white paper. The white paper remained white, with no visible writing.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Lin Youde tucked the white paper into his sleeve and rose to walk out of the city.

Now, due to the war, large numbers of displaced common people gathered outside Suzhou City, begging. And to display the merchants’ council’s benevolence, Cao Kun would send people outside the city every day to distribute porridge, and at the same time, seek out strong young men to join the council army.

They, the councilors, would occasionally go as well. Their purpose was the same as Cao Kun’s.

Upon arriving outside the city, Lin Youde went to the porridge distribution stall as usual. On one side of the stall, there was also a stall filled with steamed buns, and some soldiers were distributing them to the common people.

Lin Youde seized the opportunity to take out the folded white paper from his sleeve. After waiting a while, he saw a dirty middle-aged man come forward. He picked up a steamed bun, casually placed the steamed bun on the paper, and handed it to the man.

“Wait!”

Just as a weight lifted from Lin Youde’s heart, a voice sounded. He turned around, and Cao Zhengtong, leading a line of soldiers, walked before him.

“Lin Youde, you certainly have a leisurely disposition. At a time like this, you still have the heart to distribute porridge,” Cao Zhengtong said with extreme sarcasm.

Lin Youde said calmly, “I am a Buddhist believer, always compassionate and kind to all beings. I come here every month at this time to offer alms. Everyone knows this.”

Cao Zhengtong scrutinized Lin Youde suspiciously. He suddenly snatched the steamed bun from the man’s hand, then picked up the paper wrapped around the steamed bun.

“Then why do you always like wrapping steamed buns in white paper?” Cao Zhengtong carefully examined the white paper. There was nothing on it. His tension immediately eased.

Lin Youde said slowly, “These fresh steamed buns are too hot. Paper can insulate them. Look, there’s a lot of paper here. This is something I, Lin, specially prepared for the soldiers.”

Cao Zhengtong glanced at the paper in front of the steamed bun and frowned. He returned the steamed bun to the man, snorted, and turned to leave.

After the councilors left, he had strengthened patrols to prevent internal spies from relaying messages outside. Lin Youde’s appearance here at this time inevitably aroused his suspicion.

He had originally thought Lin Youde was an internal spy using the porridge distribution as a means to relay messages, but after checking, he found nothing. He could only continue to watch the other councilors.

Seeing Cao Zhengtong leave, a subtle smile flashed in Lin Youde’s eyes. In fact, he had been using this method to relay messages all along.

The white paper at the steamed bun stall was also something he had specifically prepared from the beginning. After a long time, both soldiers and councilors had come to treat it as a habit.

And to avoid arousing suspicion, the contact person for each exchange was also different. Everything was flawless.

He continued distributing porridge to the common people at the city gate for a while longer. Before dark, Lin Youde returned to the city.

Under the cover of night, the man who received the steamed bun tucked the white paper into his waistband and headed towards the riverbank, where a ferryman belonging to the secret guards awaited.

The next day, this secret letter was delivered to Jinling Province.

“Your Majesty, a secret letter from Suzhou City has arrived.” At noon, Li San entered the main hall of the temporary imperial residence.

Xiao Ming took the secret letter. It was blank, nothing on it. He wasn’t surprised. Instead, he took a bottle of water from the table and poured it onto the white paper.

Immediately, three rows of blue characters appeared.

This was one of the many methods he had taught the secret guards for writing secret letters. This time, Lin Youde used the simplest starch secret letter. As long as these starch characters came into contact with iodine, the writing on the secret letter would become visible.

Scanning the contents of the secret letter, Xiao Ming frowned. He said to Li San, “Lin Youde says that Cao Kun has secret agents hidden in Bowen Academy, and these elite talents will soon go to Jiangnan?”

“How is that possible? All students at Bowen Academy are called for roll call now. Even former students who enter factories must report to the security bureau daily for roll call. And leaving the city requires a travel permit from the security bureau. How could they escape?” Li San shook his head.

Xiao Ming also found it hard to believe. As Li San said, to prevent the loss of talent, he had implemented strict restrictive measures, precisely to prevent these people from running off.

“Cao Kun might not be speaking nonsense. After all, he relies on this to boost morale,” Xiao Ming said to Li San. “You are to immediately notify the security guards in Qingzhou to watch the students of Bowen Academy. No mistakes can be allowed.”

Li San nodded. He dared not take this matter lightly either.

“Cao Kun, I’d like to see what tricks you can pull!” Li San gritted his teeth, looking resentful.