After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

Chapter 552 A Startling Discovery: Clues Found

The atmosphere became a little solid for a while.

Xiao Ming scratched his head to ease the embarrassment, but he forgot that he was on duty and wearing a cap, so he scratched nothing.

"Hehe, well, it's already quite remarkable that you know the source, unlike me, who knows nothing at all."

"It's good that you know you don't know anything about this. That's all I can see. I can't see anything more, since I didn't study this field much back then."

Liu Peng felt a mix of regret and remorse. He wondered if it would be too late to return to the Liu family's library to find that miscellaneous book.

"Alright, alright, it was all for the sake of studying. Now that you know your shortcomings, you can make up for them in the future."

Scholar Wu spoke up to ease the awkwardness, but Prefect Li looked somewhat dejected.

He didn't come here to study any academic subjects; he came here to find a solution!

Oh well, forget it. Why bother arguing with these intellectuals? You're just overthinking things.

Even seasoned scholars rarely studied such obscure subjects, let alone scripts stolen from their homeland. Naturally, they disdained to learn them.

Alas, this is fate. I've been an official for so many years, and everything went smoothly. Who would have thought that I would encounter such hardships in my later years?

It's all fate!

"Mingfei, you haven't seen it yet, come and take a look! Even though you don't understand it, you're already here, so take a look!"

Xiao Ming's words interrupted Prefect Li's thoughts. "There are still people who haven't read this? Oh well, there's no need to have any expectations."

The remaining one is the youngest of the young.

Sigh, after everyone has finished reading, I'll just have to go back to the Prefect's residence and think of a solution.

Liu Peng handed the Xuan paper to Jiang Xiaoqi, who took it and glanced at it a few times before his brows furrowed instantly.

"Oh, it's okay if you don't understand it. Nobody understands it either. Look at you with that long face."

Xiao Ming was afraid that Jiang Xiaoqi's self-esteem would be hurt. After all, how could a top student admit that there were words she didn't know?

Xiao Ming's words were agreed upon by everyone. This Jiang Xiuzhuan was indeed too young and had too much pride; he couldn't handle the slightest setback.

Jiang Xiaoqi suddenly looked up, his gaze fixed on Prefect Li.

Prefect Li felt a jolt throughout his body, as if an immense pressure was bearing down on him.

How could this young man possess such a powerful aura?!

Ahem, I am a fourth-rank official, how can I show weakness in front of a mere sixth-rank official?

Hmph! Look them straight in the eye!

Lord Li waited until his triangular eyes were wide open, determined not to lose face even in defeat.

With his eyes starting to sting, Jiang Xiaoqi spoke up: "My lord, does the Prefectural Governor's Office have enough manpower?"

"Huh? People? Manpower? What manpower?"

"We need manpower to rescue the able-bodied people, manpower to intercept the ships at sea, and manpower to fight the Japanese pirates!"

Jiang Xiaoqi's words were powerful and resounding, each sentence more impactful than the last.

"Rescue able-bodied men, intercept ships, and fight Japanese pirates!?"

These words baffled Lord Li. Was this some kind of Japanese language?

How could this be related to the interception of the sea... Wait a minute! Could it be that Lord Jiang has solved it?! Really?!

"Jiang Xiuzhuan, you... you mean to say that you understood what was written on the paper?!"

As soon as Magistrate Li finished speaking, everyone's eyes were focused on Jiang Xiaoqi, the heat so intense it could burn a hole in a person!

Despite being the center of attention, Jiang Xiaoqi still had a frown on her face, showing no trace of the arrogance one would expect from someone in the spotlight.

"Yes, Lord Li, time is of the essence. If we have enough manpower, we should make plans as soon as possible!"

Jiang Xiaoqi reiterated that all he wanted now was for Lord Li to quickly gather all available manpower and bring back the missing civilians.

"Very well, please enlighten me, Lord Jiang. What exactly is written here? Why were people summoned? Is there a clue?"

"Yes, the time and place are clearly stated on this, as well as the number of people being transported. Five days later, the ship carrying a large number of young men will leave the shore."

If we let them leave the shore smoothly, it will be difficult to catch them later. The situation at sea is unclear, and we are not familiar with the shipping routes.

The best way is to intercept the ship in the harbor before they can load people onto it, preventing them from leaving the shore.

Prefect Li's eyes lit up. There were still five days left. There was plenty of time. He also had manpower; the people he had just borrowed hadn't even been put to use yet.

The soldiers in the garrison were all highly trained and skilled, far superior in combat to the clerks in their own yamen.

"Excellent! Lord Jiang is truly a genius!"

Prefect Li stood up excitedly and gripped Jiang Xiaoqi's arm tightly with both hands.

"I'll arrange for manpower right away, and we must rescue those people!"

After saying that, he hurriedly headed out.

Jiang Xiaoqi stopped the man, "Lord Li, please wait a moment, I will write down the contents of this paper for you."

"Very well, Lord Jiang is very thoughtful!"

Prefect Li certainly wouldn't say no, nor would he openly ask someone to say it verbally.

Regardless of whether the people present are entirely trustworthy, it's always good to be cautious about the possibility of eavesdropping.

Now that things have finally started to look promising, it's best to keep the information to a minimum.

Didn't you see that General Chiang didn't even tell his two closest colleagues directly? What do you call that? That's called being cautious and prudent!

He retracted his statement that the young man was untrustworthy and unreliable; this young man was far more reliable than he thought!

Xiao Ming and the others looked at Jiang Xiaoqi with admiration, having no doubt that Jiang Xiaoqi was pretending to know what he didn't.

This is a huge matter! Who would pretend to know something they don't just to save face and delay important matters of the court?

Liu Peng was even more impressed. He knew that Jiang Xiaoqi must be able to understand it, since he himself had also figured out some of the tricks of the trade.

It did indeed list the number of people, the time, and the location, but my knowledge was insufficient, so I couldn't decipher much of it.

"Mingfei, you're truly a hidden talent! You're so fluent in the Japanese language!" Xiao Ming exclaimed in amazement.

"Yes, yes, I found the text difficult to understand before, but you saw the key point at a glance. You're really amazing!"

Jiang Xiaoqi waved his hand, "You flatter me. Time is of the essence. Let's assist Lord Li in making arrangements first."

Everyone agreed and gave up the main seat so that Jiang Xiaoqi could translate for Prefect Li.

Everyone consciously avoided looking at the specific content, so as not to get themselves involved if the information was accidentally leaked.

The old scholars were all shrewd and wouldn't do anything that would make them lose more than they gained.

"Alright, all the details are here. If you go back and act quickly, you can catch up."

Furthermore, this group might commit another crime before leaving, so the public should be vigilant. If nothing unexpected happens, young adults should avoid going out frequently for the time being.

"Thank you very much, Lord Jiang!"