I was a charlatan in India

Dana sensed something was wrong.

Vasudiv's inquiry was answered, even faster than expected.

This is certainly not a bad thing, but the problem is that he is not the only businessman looking for a way out.

Those requests submitted before Vasudif's have not yet been approved. How could someone from a declining Brahmin family be given priority?

It has a bit of a special case-handling feel to it.

That's the problem.

Looking at the basket of receipts in front of him, Dana even suspected that Vasudif had failed in his duty and had forged the local documents to deceive him.

But that box was indeed a Kshatriya design, and ordinary people wouldn't dare to use it.

Vasudiv may be paranoid and foolish, but he shouldn't be that stupid.

To forge a Kshatriya's chest to deceive oneself into becoming a Vaishya?

It seems highly unlikely.

He suspiciously pulled out the book, on which the agreed-upon purchase limit was quite reasonable.

If handled properly, it would be enough to allow him to distribute most of his goods to the city while temporarily stabilizing the merchants there.

but……

wrong.

If every Brahmin family could have its inquiries made freely, there would be no need to block supply channels at all.

Both of these matters fall under the jurisdiction of the river management department, so they cannot contradict each other.

The only explanation is that Vasudiv's reply received special treatment.

That is indeed the case.

Shenhe only asked Suliye to capture Mina; as for the life or death of Dana, it was of no concern to him.

Therefore, the traps targeting Dana still exist.

Surrey's plan was to have him bring in the goods, then take everything from them.

The strategy for dealing with Dana remained unchanged, with the only difference being the addition of Vasudif as an accomplice.

After all, he was originally entitled to a piece of that meat.

Surya is much more generous than Dana; the business is yours, and we'll split the profits 50/50.

Of course, this is also a form of co-optation in a certain sense, but it's done under the guise of cooperation so that both parties can accept it on the surface.

If you want 50%, you have to finish all of Dana's work.

Dana could have gotten 80%.

However, Vasudiv only needed money, not to be lazy, so his betrayal was quite swift.

Therefore, the process for issuing this inquiry letter was naturally brought forward considerably.

The two meant that things could change if they waited too long.

Hurry up and get the goods in, so that Dana can start his business as soon as possible and reap the rewards.

But clearly, none of them expected Dana to be so sensitive.

The mere discrepancy in the timing was enough to arouse his suspicion.

There's no way around it; these days, people who aren't perceptive enough have already fallen back into poverty.

This business is full of pitfalls; someone has to go hungry for those in power to be able to command.

Therefore, businessmen like him who are able to build large businesses are all incredibly shrewd.

Of course, while we may have doubts, we certainly can't abandon it altogether; we just need to test it out first.

He submitted an application to the river defense department in the name of the Saraswati family.

The content is undoubtedly about purchasing goods, and the items being shipped are all from categories that have recently been subject to strict controls.

Most importantly, this application was unsigned.

Logically, such an ineligible application should be rejected outright, allowing him to rectify the deficiencies himself according to regulations.

If you don't give him a gift, he won't even specify what he's missing.

But the application was approved very quickly!

Without a doubt, someone is doing favors for the Saraswati family!

But why is that?

Dana knew the nature of these Kshatriyas all too well; they wouldn't do anything reckless without a benefit in mind.

They wish they could split a single power into eight pieces to use it.

Moreover, applications from other families have generally gone unanswered. Relaxing restrictions on them at this time would be like setting up a net to catch fish.

What could Saraswati's family possibly have to do with?

After much thought, only the Holy Embryo and myself remained.

Or, both.

Thinking of this, Dana broke out in a cold sweat.

Assuming this analysis is correct, then no matter whether the other party is after the Holy Embryo or him, he will not get anything good, and may even die without a burial place.

If it were a Brahmin or a Kshatriya who were targeting him, there would be countless ways to instantly destroy him.

They could fabricate a tax evasion record and justifiably confiscate all his assets and enslave him.

Or they could pretend to be river bandits and plunder, letting his body sink to the bottom of the Ganges forever...

Even if he were simply accused of "blasphemy against the heavens," his angry followers would tear him to pieces without the support of the Brahmin family.

Moreover, the Saraswati family also has its problems.

If the other party has established some kind of channel, given Vasudiv's personality, he will definitely make a point of emphasizing it.

It can both demonstrate its own role and serve as leverage to demand higher profits.

However, he did not mention it or even take credit for it, which was obviously very unusual.

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation.

In Dana's heart, Vasudiv was silently removed from the ranks of allies.

Let's observe for a while and figure out what they're plotting.

If it's a sacred fetus, then cut it off immediately to minimize the loss; if it's your own family fortune...

A ruthless glint flashed in his narrow eyes.

His family business was his lifeblood, and he would never give it up to anyone.

Dana walked to the wall, moved a statue aside, and revealed a hidden niche.

He reached out his fat hand and pulled out a coarse cloth roll from inside.

As soon as it was taken out, the surrounding light dimmed a bit.

The scroll looked very rough, and there were reddish-brown bloodstains on it.

He carefully hid the reel close to his body.

However, the closer he got to her body, the paler Dana's face became, and the bloodstains on the scroll gradually became more vivid.

This thing is very strange.

After doing all this, he pondered for a moment, then summoned his servants and gave them instructions.

"Go, according to the recent gift list, invite those merchants over. Tell them that Dana wants to discuss cooperation with them!"

Although there was no conclusive evidence, Dana was determined to trust his own judgment.

He didn't mind a lower profit margin, but now that he realized there were risks involved, he refused to take them on himself.

Shenhe, the instigator of all this, has finally found some peace and quiet.

Since he transmigrated here, he hasn't had much free time.

From Agni and Mina to the expulsion of the monks and soldiers, and the need to establish a religious order to deal with these troubles, Shenhe was in a state of utter chaos.

Now that Mina has Surya's protection and the believers' quarters are under renovation, everything seems to be stable.

Aside from Mahata's occasional harassment, there doesn't seem to be any other problem to deal with in the short term.

Yes, when a person has free time, they always think about finding something to do.

He began to ponder Arti's education.

As we mentioned earlier, there was no paper during the reign of Ashoka.

If writing was absolutely necessary, birch bark or palm leaves were generally used. Even administrative matters that required long journeys or long-term storage were recorded on cloth or wooden slips.

Therefore, it's impossible to find any suitable teaching materials for self-study.

As for asking teachers to pass on the knowledge by word of mouth...

Teachers in this era often face severe caste divisions.

For example, Brahmins teach the Vedas, rituals, philosophy, or astronomy, while Vaishyas study arithmetic, accounting, and weights and measures.

Different castes have different roles, making it difficult to find a teacher who can integrate all these knowledge.

You asked why we didn't hire multiple teachers?

Ironically, different castes may have completely contradictory teachings on the same thing.

Take administration for example; Kshatriya education tends to emphasize the balancing of interests.

When teaching the untouchables, they would emphasize that only by obeying the law would they suffer less in their next life.

Even these teachers themselves deeply agree with this.

For a naive child, receiving education from different levels at the same time can easily lead to confusion.

Moreover, Shenhe treats Arti as one of his own.

What he was thinking was whether he could educate the child to have a more modern worldview, so that she could view things scientifically and rationally.

Even in ancient India, there was someone who was similar to oneself, and this reminded oneself that he was also a human being.

Yes, looking back on what happened during this period, Shenhe felt terrified.

It seems that he is gradually drifting away from humanity.