Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 698 Brother Kang and I are in the same camp!
At the Cairo dock, several large ships were leaving. Qiao Feng and Joanna stood on the dock, waving goodbye to a departing warship.

Soon, the ships gradually moved away. The two men breathed a sigh of relief at the same time, and then looked at each other.

"Brother, why do you look so relieved?" Joanna spoke first: "The plague is coming, what is there to be relieved about?"

"The Taiji has left, and we have completed our mission to see him off, which is a big deal." Qiao Feng shook his head and said, "The plague doesn't kill people so accurately. Florence also had several bouts of the Black Death before, but didn't our family survive and even thrive?"

"On the contrary, if we fail to take good care of them and offend these nobles, other competitors will take advantage of the situation, causing Rome's inclinations and policies to change, and the entire city-state will decline. Even if we don't take direct action, our family will be doomed. Our enemies and those who covet the gold coins in the treasury will do these things for them."

"So you see, it's time to breathe a sigh of relief after completing a mission like this."

"But I still find it a little strange." He thought for a moment and asked, "Why are Taiji and the others in such a hurry to leave? I have been in Alexandria for a while and have not been to Cairo. What happened there?"

"Nothing." Joanna replied: "Taiji originally said that he would personally command in Cairo, but Brother Kang insisted that he leave. The two of them tried to persuade each other for a long time, but Taiji couldn't persuade Brother Kang, so he had to leave."

"Oh?" Qiao Feng was obviously interested: "What do they think? Can you tell me?"

"Taiji said that he is the person in charge here, and this matter is of great importance. It may be the first time in our history that we are prepared to directly fight the plague. Therefore, morale and military spirit are particularly important. He must be here to ensure that there are no problems in every link." Joanna said.

"But Brother Kang said that although some preparations have been made this time, everyone will definitely face danger. Plague is more troublesome than a regular war, especially this time, it is also his first time to actually preside over it, and all he knows is theoretical experience. Although he will make more preparations as much as possible and hope to save more people, in the face of such a test, he has no way to completely guarantee someone's safety, not even himself."

"He also knows that someone needs to be in charge here. Therefore, he, who presided over the entire preparation and planned this battle, should stay and command. Others who can leave should evacuate first. This way, possible losses can be minimized."

"After that, they argued over there, and the little King of Wu and the others also argued. In the end, Brother Kang convinced them. He said that under the current situation, even without him, countries like Rome and Ming can continue to develop. Because the most critical part has been completed before. His arrival is just icing on the cake. But if Taiji and the little King of Wu were killed, it would really affect the stability of the country. So, they must evacuate."

"That does make sense." Qiao Feng nodded and agreed, "Taiji and the little King of Wu are exactly the only heirs on their side. If something goes wrong, it will be really troublesome..."

"They admitted this, but then turned around and asked Brother Kang to evacuate with them, and they refused to give in no matter what we said. In the end, Brother Kang had no choice but to assure them that he had Brother Tian watching over them and that nothing would happen, and only then did he convince them to leave first." Joanna sighed and shook her head.

"This guy has always been stubborn. He finally gave in when faced with this situation, right?" Qiao Feng said cheerfully, "I knew it. The intensity of his work would make ordinary people exhausted even if they were interested. I guess Brother Tian still has work for him. Before he finishes it, he can't die even if he wants to."

"This..." Joanna hesitated: "Everyone thinks it's a good thing. Why do I feel so miserable after you put it like that?"

"Uh……"

Qiao Feng was also a little embarrassed, so he quickly asked: "You were the one who asked the question just now, and I haven't asked you yet. Why are you relieved?"

"The princess can't come." Joanna laughed. "She originally planned to take a boat to Alexandria with the second batch of supporters. But now Brother Kang is trying to drive them away."

"He selected another group of people from the government and the army and asked them to leave. However, everyone strongly disagreed, so he temporarily changed the arrangement to disperse the people. People from the same village were not allowed to work in the same community. Whether they came from the hometown or were newly recruited local soldiers, they had to be assigned in this way."

"All ports and transportation routes in the area under our control have been blocked. Taiji and his crew were the last to leave. After that, no matter whether the plague has spread to the area or not, no ships or land caravans are allowed to pass through without the government's order. Only specially approved transport teams can carry out their missions according to their plans. Therefore, even the princess' fleet had to cancel its itinerary. They are currently stranded in Cyprus and will not be able to come back for a while."

"Sure, I can control the princess now." Qiao Feng said excitedly.

"Everyone else supports him." Joanna explained, "The Taiji had earlier helped him get authorization from Constantinople, giving him the corresponding authority and ceremonials, and requiring that everything be prepared according to the level of war. In other words, once the plague occurs, he will automatically become the dictator of the entire Egyptian region according to the law and tradition. When faced with such a serious occasion, requiring everyone to act impartially, the princess cannot disobey him."

"Is that so?" Qiao Feng thought for a moment and said, "Now is indeed a critical moment. We have to cooperate with him from now on."

"Actually, I can just stay here. Why don't you go to Cyprus or Crete and help my second brother with his finances?" Joanna said, "Look at the other merchants. They are almost all gone. How come you are the only one in the entire Chamber of Commerce who is so careless?"

"Because they are not qualified businessmen. I am more qualified than them." Qiao Feng answered without hesitation: "The dangers we encounter in daily life may not be lower than the mortality rate of the plague. Besides, Mr. Guo has made so many preparations, the risk is actually not that great."

"I am mainly helping the government now, doing some communication and organizing businessmen. I am a little too busy with the family business. But my eldest brother said that he will come with the last fleet transporting supplies. If there are no problems, it should be this afternoon. He will be in charge of the rest of the things."

"What? He's coming too?" Joanna suddenly became nervous: "Did you call him?"

"Yes, now is a critical period." Qiao Feng nodded: "When your brother Kang was planning the residential area here, my eldest brother asked me what I was going to do here. At that time, he started to prepare."

"Don't be surprised. I'm just a lazy Chinese culture enthusiast, and my brother is a serious businessman. If I can see it, do you think he can't see it?"

"Before, the government has been saying that it will requisition all materials and cut off the travel of caravans between settlements. Many merchants are not smart enough and believe that the core element of business lies in circulation. Now that circulation is cut off and materials are also confiscated, they are not able to resist this rule, so there is no need to continue doing business here. But my brother thinks that this is an opportunity. Now that the opportunity has come, he will definitely take it."

"I think their idea makes sense." Joanna said curiously, "Everyone really doesn't want to offend the Romans, but the compensation promised by the government is fixed. After the plague, you can collect the compensation according to the situation, and you can take as much as you can." "These funds are all fixed, and you only need to go through the delivery procedures once. At most, you can leave two guys here to help with registration and transportation. In fact, the operator does not need to continue waiting here. But why do you say this is not smart? Do you mean that keeping the supplies and smuggling them later will maximize the profit?"

"This is just a small profit. With our family's current size, we shouldn't focus on such small tricks." Qiao Feng shook his head and sighed: "Oh, my stupid sister. For us, what business is the best, haven't I already told you the answer?"

"I know, sleep with Brother Kang." Joanna said without hesitation.

"That's not what I'm talking about!" Qiao Feng couldn't hold it in for a moment: "I'm talking about serious business!"

"I'm not doing anything improper. I can barely be considered Brother Kang's...mistress?" Joanna thought for a moment and evaluated herself: "Although I'm a little unwilling, I've recently discovered that this is actually a legitimate job. In the East, in truly advanced and civilized countries, those big men all have legal mistresses - look, didn't I insist on staying with him this time?"

"I'm talking about our products! Goods!" Qiao Feng said speechlessly, "Normally, I ask you to get close to others, but you can't do it well; now that we're talking about business, you change the subject again."

"Think about it, after the plague, did the flow of goods between settlements really stop completely? In a big city like Cairo, can it grow food from grain stores and pancake stalls?"

"Of course not." Joanna said without hesitation: "Food must be transported. Ah, you mean..."

"Yes, they overlooked one thing. Although the towns were nominally blocked, the transportation of materials did not stop. Instead, it increased." Qiao Feng said: "Although these operations were completely covered by the government, I dare say they would find it difficult to cope with this sudden increase in demand."

"Although we have sent a lot of people from Cairo and reorganized the neighborhood, their strength is still not enough to handle such a large-scale dispatch and transportation. Don't be fooled by the good words now. When the time comes, they will definitely be stretched to the limit and will have to ask for help in the end." He shrugged.

"You just said it yourself, only specially approved teams can carry out these special transportation tasks. This is a privilege. What could be more valuable than a wartime franchise? We are here for this. The highest realm of business is to establish a better relationship with the court, which is the best business."

"Forget it, there's no need to talk so much at this time." He scratched his head: "Anyway, what you said makes sense. For you, getting to know your brother Kang more is indeed the most cost-effective investment. Then you should try to get close to him. As for business matters, I will take care of it."

"By the way, how are you doing now?" At this point, he glanced at Joanna's abdomen with interest and said in a low voice, "Everyone is saying that you spent the night with him before arriving in Egypt, and it made quite a big noise. Is there any reaction now?"

"What do you mean by reaction?" Joanna asked curiously.

"Is she pregnant?" Qiao Feng added: "I don't really understand these things... Anyway, can we tell whether she is pregnant now?"

"How is that possible?" Joanna said helplessly, "It hasn't come to that yet."

"Ah? Didn't you say you spent the night with him?" Qiao Feng asked in surprise, "So where have you gotten to?"

"I went to his cabin at night, but he didn't want to and wanted to drive me away." Joanna told him carefully: "Later, I tried to persuade him and he softened his attitude, but he still didn't let me touch him. I felt that the opportunity was very limited and the time was very precious. I was anxious and was ready to force myself and strip him first. Of course he resisted. So we fought..."

"Ah? That's the noise?" Qiao Feng was stunned: "So, have you succeeded?"

"Well, half of it..." Joanna said somewhat embarrassedly, "He's not very strong in fighting. We confronted each other for a long time, but I still succeeded. But it might be because he was too busy with his work before, and we tossed around for too long, so he was exhausted."

"Is that so...what next?" Qiao Feng urged.

"Why are you asking? He almost fell asleep afterwards. What else is there?" Joanna said angrily, "I called him several times, but he was too sleepy to respond. What else can I do? Just sleep."

"Is this what you mean by sleeping with him?" Qiao Feng finally realized, "Old Hans and the others spread the news that you slept with him for one night, and you even admitted it. Is this what love means?"

"Then just tell me whether you slept or not." Joanna spread her hands, looking upset.

"That's too simple. According to your standard, people in the same camp team are considered to have slept together..." Qiao Feng complained: "Don't say that you are his lover, just say that you two are in the same camp team..."

"What else can I say? Deny it and be subject to more gossip; or tell them the details of the fight and really tell them that Brother Kang and I are in the same camp?" Joanna asked.

"Uh……"

"Since everyone thinks this is true, we might as well admit it. Let's see if there's a chance that the fake play will become real later." Joanna said helplessly: "But don't worry, it has come to this point, and I have no way out."

"Whether it's for the family or for my own reputation." She clenched her fists: "This time, I must fight!"

(End of this chapter)