The Cold-Hearted Princess Who Transmigrated Here

The group of sixteen people, in order to kill time, tried to walk on side roads as much as possible, specifically choosing remote counties or towns. As long as they heard of a place with special features, they would go there. After all, the last thing they had in abundance was money and time.

Along the way, we enjoyed various sightseeing activities, experienced the hardships of traveling and sleeping in the open, and witnessed the local customs and traditions.

Of course, he was also meddling in other people's business the whole time.

On this day, they finally arrived at a relatively prosperous small town, Shuiwan Town.

The town is situated on a body of water, surrounded by water on three sides, making its geographical location quite unique.

Because it is located at an important node of the government's water transport, the port here is extremely busy, with a large number of ships coming and going every day, bringing all kinds of goods and passengers from other places.

As they entered the town, they immediately felt the lively atmosphere.

The streets were lined with all sorts of stalls, and the vendors enthusiastically hawked their wares.

In this bustling town, all sorts of sounds intertwine: the shouts of peddlers, the cries of boatmen, the clatter of horses' hooves, and human voices... forming a vibrant symphony.

Wang Xijie and his sister quickly immersed themselves in the atmosphere, enjoying the unique local delicacies and buying special souvenirs.

However, beneath the bustling surface, they sensed something amiss; the mobile vendors seemed constantly on edge, like frightened birds, acting on edge.

They seemed so vigilant, as if they could quickly flee the scene if anything went wrong. To the uninitiated, they looked like thieves, not sellers.

After some covert observation and indirect inquiries, they finally learned that the town's river transport rights were in fierce competition among three forces.

The first party consists of local powerful families who, with their substantial wealth and connections, are attempting to control the operation of the docks.

The second party is the local Black Fiend Gang, who use violence to threaten and extort the other two parties in an attempt to seize control of the entire river channel.

Finally, the third party was a chamber of commerce from another region, which, with its strong business acumen and resources, attempted to gain more benefits in this competition.

Driven by their own objectives, these three forces engage in open and covert struggles, frequently resulting in small-scale brawls and fights.

These conflicts not only caused great distress to local residents, but also seriously affected the normal operation of the port.

This left the town's residents living in dire straits, constantly on edge, fearing they would become victims of the conflict.

Just when she had nothing to do, trouble came knocking on her door, so Wang Xiyue naturally had to get involved.

On the surface, it appears to be a three-way struggle, but in reality, it involves four parties, as the government's influence is also involved.

The government is supposed to maintain order and regulate business operations, but now it has lost its practical purpose. Either it has become complicit in corruption, or it is too weak to exert any deterrent effect and has become a mere decoration.

Wang Xiyue decided to start by investigating these four forces, believing that knowing oneself and one's enemy is the key to victory.

However, this is no small matter, so we need to get everyone back to their best condition before we can begin.

That night, everyone found a comfortable and quiet inn and got a good night's sleep.

So when they woke up the next day, everyone was full of energy.

The elder brother is always the first choice for dealing with officials.

So after everyone finished breakfast, Wang Xiyue approached him and said, "Brother, why don't you take two people to the government office and see what's wrong with them?"

"Okay." Wang Xijie nodded, called Wang Shi and Wang Yi, waved to his sister, and then went out with a flourish.

"Brother Mo, please protect my brother's safety."

Mo Yun cupped his hands in greeting, "This subordinate guarantees to complete the mission!" After saying that, he chased after him, secretly following Young Master Wang.

Wang Xiyue then instructed Chen Lin and the others, "The four of you, disguise yourselves as merchants, sneak into the docks, and try to establish connections with the local powerful families. Be careful!"

"Yes, miss!"

As for collecting evidence against the Black Fiend Gang, that task can only be entrusted to the most powerful force, the Wise Prince's Mansion.

Wang Xiyue asked "Shadow" somewhat helplessly, "Look at the Black Fiend Gang, who among you would be more suitable to go?"

Originally, she didn't want to rely on the Prince Xian's Mansion all the time, but in reality, she troubled them every day and often relied on them to deal with a bunch of tricky things.

If she finds something too convenient to use, she might unconsciously start to categorize the Prince Xian's residence as her own faction.

This idea should not exist, and it is wrong.

But she just can't quit.

Dongfang Yu felt both pity and heartache for Xiyue's attitude of wanting them yet resisting them. "Miss Xiyue, you are too kind. We are following you to serve you and will obey your orders."

"As for the Black Fiend Gang, let Xuan Tian and Xiao Yun handle it. One of them has excellent lightness skills, and the other is good at socializing. Working together will be easy."

Xiao Yun, who was standing next to him, was very angry and glared at "Shadow" a few times.

This "Shadow" is going too far, daring to launch a personal attack against him. His strength is his shrewdness in business, but now he's being portrayed as a woman who's adept at social maneuvering.

As for Xuan Tian, ​​he was very satisfied with Lord Ying's praise, so he happily and consciously grabbed Xiao Yun and quickly led the people out to complete the mission.

Besides, with neither Mo Yun nor the Prince present, the Princess and An Ying's words are commands.

As for the out-of-town chamber of commerce, Wang Xiyue plans to visit them personally to learn more.

-

After a day of investigation and inquiries, a general overview of the information has been gathered.

These four forces can be said to have reached a strange yet tacit peace.

The strongest force is undoubtedly the Black Fiend Gang.

Because these people have nothing to lose, most of them were originally pirates, and some villains from who-knows-where also came together. Now there are probably one or two hundred of them.

People die for money, birds die for food. They are not afraid of death for money. They are gangs that have fought their way out of the enemy's ranks. Therefore, they have no rules, only interests. As long as there is profit to be made, they will live in peace.

These people naturally had little morality or bottom line, and many innocent people were brutally murdered.

The second largest force is the local family business associations.

After all, even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. Since it's a local chamber of commerce, it naturally has a large number of supporters. At the same time, the local government is also a strong supporter of this side, so the Black Fiend Gang rarely has direct conflicts with them.

This third-party force is the Zhang family of the Foreign Merchants Association, one of the three major imperial merchants. They also have high-ranking officials as their backers, which is why they can survive in this chaotic place and even get a share of the profits.

Wang Xijie sighed and recounted his experience at the government office that day: "That county magistrate was at least a fifth-rank official. When he saw me, he not only didn't treat me to good food and drink, but he acted as if he had seen an ancestor. He cried and complained bitterly, and even knelt down and slapped himself in the face, begging me not to kill him."

"I almost thought I had walked into a movie theater."

Wang Xiyue asked Mo Yun and Wang Yi, "What inside information did you two find out?"

Wang Yi stepped forward and replied, "Miss, what the county magistrate said is basically true. The yamen is sparsely populated and quite simple."

Mo Yun nodded in agreement.

Wang Xiyue understood. If the county magistrate hadn't colluded with the corrupt officials, then he must have been penniless and powerless, and naturally, he had no ability to manage the struggle between the three major forces.

Wang Xijie continued, "This person is not pedantic, but he is not very smart either. He can barely survive in this cracks, but he still has a bottom line as an official. He has done his best to survive until now, and it is probably out of desperation that he sought help from the local chamber of commerce."

Chen Lin and the others also summarized the information. "The four of us went to some shops of the local chamber of commerce and found that they all sold common items such as rice, grains and oil, and there were no other high-profit businesses."

Wang Xiyue nodded. Based on the information she had gathered today, she had a basic guess.

"Both of these chambers of commerce are focused on making money through business and have not acted excessively. Strictly speaking, I feel that they are more like protecting themselves."

Xiao Yun's next words also confirmed this point.

"Miss, this Black Fiend Gang is truly a malignant tumor."

"If they hear that valuable goods are passing by at sea, as long as the number of people on the other side is not too different, they will definitely go to rob and kill them. They are true pirates."

“Apart from the official ships, which dared not move, almost no other merchant ships were spared. Even small fishing boats were often bullied by them, and the fishermen were full of complaints.”

“When they have nothing to do, they run several brothels and gambling dens here. Many innocent women and families have been harmed and killed. The people hate the Black Fiend Gang as soon as they hear about it.”

"The Black Fiend Gang has about 150 members. The gang leader is called Zhu Nan, a one-eyed man in his thirties. He is cruel, vicious, and ruthless. He is fond of men, especially pedophiles. He is also quite skilled in martial arts."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiyue immediately turned to Mingzhe and solemnly ordered, "Don't go out alone recently. Either stay in the inn or don't leave my sight."

Mingzhe nodded vigorously.

Although he had been a beggar for many years and was often beaten and scolded, he really didn't know what child molestation was. He only knew that it was absolutely disgusting because he had never seen such disgust and resentment on a young lady's face at the same time.

Wang Xiyue pondered silently, a resolute glint in her eyes, and decided without hesitation: "Since these people are beyond redemption, we cannot be soft-hearted anymore. It would be best to annihilate them in one fell swoop."

"Let them do it on their own turf, so as not to defile other places."

Her voice was cold and resolute; she had made up her mind to eradicate this cancer completely.

Her eyes flashed with coldness and murderous intent, filled with disgust for this repulsive group. She wished she could kill them all immediately to prevent future troubles.

Following that, Wang Xiyue continued, "But we are relatively few in number, and we may be at a disadvantage if we engage in a head-on confrontation."

"Therefore, we need to devise a perfect plan, or design an ingenious trap, to catch them all in one fell swoop."

"Either use poison and fire-propelled bombs to deliver a fatal blow to them."

She had thought things through carefully and had a clear plan for this operation, but she also understood that she had to proceed with caution when facing such a formidable enemy.

Therefore, she should listen to everyone's opinions and suggestions.

Victory can only be achieved by fully leveraging the wisdom and strength of the team.

She looked at everyone and asked, "Do you have any better ideas?"

Everyone was very serious about this matter and fell into deep thought for a while.

Mo Yun pondered for a moment, his eyes turning cold, and suggested in a deep voice, "First, administer sleeping pills or muscle-weakening powder to render most of them incapable of fighting, then launch a strong attack and kill them on the spot."

He hadn't encountered anything so disgusting in a long time, so he desperately wanted to kill someone.

Xiao Yun also dropped his playful grin and suggested with a cold expression, "Let's infiltrate the gang, plant some firecrackers, and wipe them all out in one fell swoop."

His eyes were filled with only determination and violence, as if he could already see the enemy being blasted to ashes by fire and thunder.

After listening to the two people's suggestions, the others either agreed or disagreed.

Dongfang Yu made the final decision, saying firmly, "Going deep inside is not very reliable. If we alert them, they will scatter and flee, and some will definitely escape. It would be best to lure them into a trap we have set in advance and wipe them all out, leaving no one alive."

After weighing the pros and cons repeatedly, Wang Xiyue concluded that 'Shadow's' method was indeed more appropriate, but the only way to get the entire Black Fiend Gang to mobilize was to send them out to sea to rob.

She then asked "Shadow," "But the problem is, where are we going to find such a large cargo ship? And where will we get a couple hundred crew members?"

Wang Xiyue became increasingly pessimistic. She knew the plan was excellent, but its practical implementation would be fraught with difficulties.

Dongfang Yu explained, "Don't worry, we definitely won't have any ships available right now, but we can borrow one from the two major merchant guilds. As for the people, that's just a smokescreen. We don't necessarily need to gather that many people. We just need to make the Black Fiend Gang believe this message."

"To avoid further losses, the last thing we need to destroy is the Black Fiend Gang's pirate ship."

Wang Xiyue's mind raced, and she understood. "Shadow, you mean we should leak this information to lure them into setting sail en masse, and then, once they disembark to attack our cargo ships, we can take the opportunity to plant mines on their ships?"

"Once they realize that our side is a trap, they will turn back and flee. There will be a time gap during this period, enough for us to place fire mines. Finally, when all of them arrive, we can blow them up along with their boats."

Dongfang Yu's lips curled up slightly; he and Xiyue were perfectly in sync.

Although Wang Xiyue understood the "Shadow" plan, some doubts remained in her mind.

"But why not just place fire mines on their ships beforehand? Wouldn't that be much easier?" she asked, frowning.

Dongfang Yu gently shook his head and continued to explain patiently.

“The pirate ship is their most important means of livelihood, so they must attach great importance to it and their usual defenses must be very thorough. It would be difficult for us to find any major loopholes in a short period of time.”

"Moreover, it is difficult for us to carry heavy objects in silently, and it also takes time to place the mines. These actions are likely to cause quite a commotion."

“If we act rashly, we are likely to be exposed and may even be countered. By luring them out, their vigilance will be lowered, giving us more opportunities and ensuring that nothing goes wrong.”

Wang Xiyue suddenly realized, "So that's how it is."

She couldn't help but admire Shadow's wisdom and prudence once again. This man was not only brave but also resourceful, making people unconsciously convinced of his abilities.

The following detailed explanation of "Shadow" took into account every single detail, even predicting the enemy's possible reactions and countermeasures.

Wang Xiyue also pondered silently, recalling each step of the plan's implementation in her mind, trying to find any flaws.

However, no matter how hard she racked her brains, she could not come up with a more perfect solution than "Shadow's" plan.

She should have believed in the capabilities of the Prince Xian's Mansion and that their operation this time would be successful, just like before.

But for some reason, she was always on edge this time. Even before she started, she felt a sense of panic and unease.

However, just thinking that if she succeeded, those despicable pirates would also receive their due punishment, Wang Xiyue's mood gradually eased a bit, and she was no longer as depressed as before.

She knew that this battle would be a hard-fought struggle, and she looked forward to seeing those pirates who had acted recklessly and harmed innocent civilians finally atone with their deaths.

She herself will also do her utmost to punish evil and promote good.

With the plan set, the next step is to execute it step by step.

Wang Xijie used his position and status to borrow a large ship belonging to the Zhang Family Chamber of Commerce.

The Zhang family's merchant ship departed from Shuiwan Town, arrived at the next port, underwent some exterior modifications, hoisted the flag of the Wang family's merchant ship, and then returned.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yun and his group secretly approached the spies of the Black Fiend Gang and inadvertently revealed that a large private ship loaded with high-value goods would be passing through the area soon.