Chapter 1090: No Patronage
Xi'an North Station buzzed with activity, a mountain of supplies heaped high.
Wang Tang, Gao Family Village's General Manager for the Xi'an region, stood before the train station, holding a thick stack of supply manifests and overseeing the operations.
As the logistics soldiers loaded a batch of goods onto the train, Wang Tang would tick off the corresponding item on his manifest, confirming the cargo was loaded.
Beside Wang Tang, Zhu Cunji and Zhu Yujian, both wearing wide-brimmed bamboo hats, craned their necks, sneaking glances at the list in his hand.
Wang Tang, half-amused and half-exasperated, said, "Your Highnesses, if you wish to see, you're welcome to look openly. There's no need for such furtiveness."
Zhu Cunji gasped, "Whoa, don't call me Your Highness! Someone might overhear and expose my identity. You should call me 'Great Hero'."
Zhu Yujian added, "I have already been demoted to a commoner; I am no longer a prince."
Wang Tang chuckled, "Alright, alright. What exactly are you two 'great heroes' sneaking glances at?"
Zhu Cunji whispered, "Isn't this military intelligence? How could I possibly look openly?"
Hearing this, Zhu Yujian felt a pang of awkwardness. "You handle things with such meticulous care, striving to avoid imperial suspicion. Compared to you, I was truly foolish. Now that I think about it, when I raised troops to assist the emperor, I could have completely used the militia's name, providing supplies from behind the scenes and not getting directly involved myself. Then I wouldn't have incurred the Emperor's wrath."
Zhu Cunji chuckled, "Exactly! You should have learned from me. Dress as a knight-errant, wear a large bamboo hat, give yourself a heroic alias, and then lead a group of hired warriors to serve the emperor. Don't be foolish and directly mobilize the Prince of Tang's personal guard!"
Zhu Yujian shook his head, sighing, "But if I had done that, I'd have looked like a bandit. If I'd encountered Master Bai halfway to aid the emperor, he might well have shot me with a flintlock."
Zhu Cunji considered it carefully. It seemed he was right.
Someone sporting a ridiculous heroic alias, leading a ragtag bunch of followers all over the place—what else would that be but bandits?
Zhu Yujian sighed, "If the name isn't right, the words won't carry weight. But if the name is right, it invites trouble. Being a prince truly is difficult."
Wang Tang smiled, shaking his head. "The Heavenly Lord said this is a systemic flaw. To resolve it, a more advanced and enlightened social system is needed. However, as someone who only went through middle school, I can't quite fathom what a better social system would be."
Both princes listened, looking somewhat bewildered.
Wang Tang continued, "Gu Yanwu seems to have many ideas on this front. The Heavenly Lord is quite fond of him, you know."
Zhu Yujian recalled seeing Gu Yanwu at Xiaolangdi Water Fortress; he seemed like a spirited young man.
Zhu Cunji leaned his head over the manifest in Wang Tang's hand, openly reading line by line. After a moment, he suddenly frowned. "There's a problem."
Wang Tang looked at him inquiringly.
Zhu Cunji explained, "Since these supplies are labeled 'private aid,' they have no 'patronage'."
Wang Tang looked utterly perplexed. "Patronage? What do you mean?"
Zhu Cunji spread his hands. "It means they're unprotected. Do you understand what that implies?"
Wang Tang thought for a moment, then gasped in sudden realization. "Transporting these from here into Sichuan, thousands of miles away, passing through countless regions under imperial jurisdiction—will corrupt officials try to intercept them?"
Zhu Cunji affirmed, "Precisely!"
Zhu Yujian also sighed. "If these supplies were sent into Sichuan under the name of an official or local gentry, some higher-ranking official or local tyrant would inevitably covet them. Using a prince's name would deter anyone from coveting them, but any prince capable of providing such vast quantities of supplies would surely invite the Emperor's suspicion."
Concluding, Zhu Yujian couldn't help but sigh again. "Indeed, this is a systemic flaw. What can be done?"
Wang Tang was momentarily stunned by their words, then grinned. "Well, it is a problem, but not a big one."
Zhu Yujian exclaimed, "Not a big problem?"
Wang Tang shrugged, "Worst comes to worst, we'll just fight our way through."
"Hiss!" Zhu Yujian gasped, startled. "Fight our way through? Wouldn't that again invite the Emperor's suspicion?"
Wang Tang explained, "These are disaster relief supplies. If officials along the way want to embezzle them, they'd have to do it covertly, sneakily. If they were to reach out and get smacked for it, would they dare trumpet it to the whole world? They certainly wouldn't tell the Emperor, would they?"
Zhu Yujian pondered, "Hmm... you have a point."
Wang Tang laughed. "They wouldn't dare claim they were beaten for trying to embezzle disaster relief supplies. They'd have to invent other excuses, fabricate charges. But one lie requires countless more to sustain it. We can easily handle a web of blatant falsehoods. After all, the Heavenly Lord now has many civil officials under his command. When it comes to bureaucratic wrangling, who among us would fear them?"
Zhu Yujian was utterly impressed. He cupped his hands in a gesture of respect and wasted no more words.
However, Zhu Cunji, standing beside him, his eyes twinkling, chuckled, "Well, then, I simply must join in on this excitement! Wang Tang, can I go with the logistics team? I want to have some fun!"
Wang Tang shook his head. "This is not 'fun'."
Zhu Cunji persisted, "Then I'll join as a 'private aid' volunteer. That should be acceptable, right?"
Wang Tang, looking exasperated, said, "Hey! Be sensible. Don't just meddle indiscriminately."
Zhu Cunji suddenly pointed at Xi'an North Station. "This train station is mine, and the trains transporting the supplies are also mine! The Heavenly Lord himself declared that this is a private enterprise. Whether you like it or not, I'm already involved. There's nothing you can do about it."
Wang Tang was speechless.
There truly was no way to deal with this fellow.
Wang Tang could only shake his head. "Alright, alright, have it your way."
Zhu Cunji beamed with delight. "Mission accomplished!"
Zhu Yujian, standing nearby, lowered his voice. "You're just going to leave like that? Aren't you worried someone will notice you're not in Xi'an? And speaking of which, you even dared to come all the way to Henan to rescue me. Can you really be away from Xi'an for such a long time?"
Zhu Cunji chuckled. "Come, follow me."
He pulled Zhu Yujian through streets and alleys, and soon they reached the busiest and most bustling part of the city. A quick glance down the street revealed the glittering Kulinan parked conspicuously by the roadside.
Zhu Cunji pointed at the Kulinan. "Look, that's my car."
Zhu Yujian asked, "What about it?"
No sooner had he spoken than another Zhu Cunji emerged from a nearby tavern, dressed in a prince's robe, flanked by several eunuchs. His mouth glistened with grease, clearly indicating he had just enjoyed a lavish meal.
That Zhu Cunji roared with laughter. "This tavern's food is excellent! This heir apparent will definitely dine here again."
As he stepped out of the tavern, a eunuch beside him subtly nudged him, pointing across the street.
That Zhu Cunji looked up and saw the hat-clad figure standing across the street, subtly guarded by a group of sworn loyalists. From afar, the hat-clad figure sent a knowing look, indicating that everything was under control.
Then, that Zhu Cunji, accompanied by the eunuchs, stepped into the Kulinan and slowly drove away.
Seeing this, Zhu Yujian immediately understood. "A body double!"
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