Chapter 554 Only One Million
Hao Xiaoming shouted sternly: Remember this, in the New Song Republic, everyone is equal.
All the generals shouted in unison: In the New Song Republic, everyone is equal.
The next day, a Mongolian envoy came from the other side of the river with a message: the price can be negotiated, but the envoy must go to Jiuyuan City on the other side to negotiate. As long as the envoy dares to go, their Prince Hecha would not mind a deal of 1.5 million.
Zhang Guoan said contemptuously: Jiuyuan is not a den of dragons and tigers, why are you afraid to go there? But his boss only gave him the authority of one million, and he had to report to his boss and discuss it in a few days.
Seeing that he was not getting the point, the Mongolian envoy thought that their asking price of one million and five hundred thousand was too high. The New Song envoy had no authority to make the decision and had to consult the Central Council in the imperial capital. This was troublesome.
He took two steps forward, looked at Zhang Guoan with contempt and tried to provoke him: Oh, I can't believe that eight men are actually cowards. Are the generals of the New Song Dynasty just these cowards?
The generals were furious, and one after another they uttered cruel words such as "outrageous, bold, and courting death".
However, Zhang Guoan laughed and told them not to talk about these useless things. He said, "I am following orders. I can agree to one million or one million and one hundred thousand. Any more money requires permission from my superiors."
I'd better ask my superiors for instructions before crossing the river to discuss.
He asked the Mongolian envoy to go back and inform Prince Hecha that in order to show its sincerity, the new Song Dynasty would pay for the transaction entirely with new silver coins, in full and in full weight, but the amount was by no means as much as they had imagined.
The Mongolian envoy didn't know that the New Song Dynasty wanted to pay with silver coins. After hearing what Zhang Guoan said, he was overjoyed and wanted to get the 1.1 million silver coins immediately. However, he didn't dare to say 1.1 million was the deal, so he had to leave with eager eyes.
After the envoy left, even Liu Honggen was angry and blamed Zhang Guoan for being too weak and allowing the northern barbarians to humiliate him. If it were him, he would have just picked up a knife and chopped him.
Wu Jie smiled and said that Brother Hong Gen was too reckless, so he could not be the special envoy.
Brother Guoan offered a price of one million, and the other party wanted to raise the price. How could we raise the price by half a million all at once?
If the Mongolian envoy finds out and tells Hecha, then the deal won't be worth 1.5 million. Would n't that mean we will be led by the nose by the Mongolian army and end up signing a treaty under duress?
Head coach Hao Xiaoming asked Linzhou commander Baturu with a smile: How is the cavalry recruitment going?
Baturu reported: With 10,000 grassland men who are good at riding and shooting, they can definitely be trained into elite soldiers.
Hao Xiaoming was very satisfied and told him that the Lantian camp had also received more than 10,000 new recruits, who were all undergoing training and would be sent to him soon.
He looked towards the east and said to his brothers: The Eastern Group on the opposite side is also not idle. It is heard that the third young master transferred Zhang Zhi over there to recruit the warriors of Yan and Zhao to train new cavalry.
Transferring the commander to Lanzhou is also to strengthen the combat effectiveness of the cavalry.
We can't lose.
Tomorrow, the Linzhou garrison will launch actual combat exercises as planned.
Baturu immediately stood at attention and saluted, then simply shouted out a single word, "Yes."
Jiuyuan City, Hecha has received a reply from his father that it is feasible. The little southern barbarian has silver, and he can squeeze as much as he can. After hearing the report from the envoy, he regretted it a little. Why didn't he authorize this guy to handle it with full authority?
Maybe one million and one hundred thousand silver can be obtained.
The guy was excited at the thought of silver coins, which were the hard currency on the grassland. Princes and ministers recognized these shiny little round cakes.
His younger brother told him not to worry. After listening to the envoy's report, it seems that the deal of 1.1 million is no problem. We can still insist on it and ask for 1.5 million. Wouldn't it be a great achievement for the eldest brother?
Hecha was delighted, and shouted for wine. He picked up the Qinfeng wine beside him and gulped it down three times. In his heart, he cursed the third brother with disdain: You are looking for death. Do you think this prince is a fool? Go to ask Xinsong for 1.5 million strings of cash. If the negotiation fails, I can ask the third brother to get the money back?
What a nice thought.
This guy has made up his mind to negotiate with the New Song envoy for 1.2 million. It would be great if the deal can be concluded at this number, and he can get an extra 100,000 small round cakes. Haha.
This guy immediately became confused again. When would the envoys of the New Song Dynasty hand over to him?
Where is their superior?
Could it be that Zhao Qier has arrived, and is in Chang'an, or in Yulin Village?
The guy immediately became nervous.
Zhao Qier's moves are always designed to catch the enemy off guard and take them by surprise. Maybe he will give him such a blow in the next few days.
Hecha immediately perked up and asked the garrison commander to send out scouts to gather information everywhere. Everyone within a radius of a hundred miles must be alert and must not be careless.
Zhao Yulin must still be in Chengdu at this moment, drinking and chatting with the Guanzhong wealthy businessman Shen Baiyi at his home.
No matter how tall a tree is, its leaves will fall back to its roots. Shen Baiyi and his group of Guanzhong brothers and friends have been developing in Chengdu for so many years, and they have made enough money to go back and contribute to their hometown.
Zhao Yulin and Ma Linger chatted with several of Bai Yi's friends. This group of Guanzhong guests started working with the Shenwei Army from Hanzhong, opened money shops, built Fengxiang Prefecture, and then went to Chengdu to support the government in running a bank. Each of them made significant contributions.
He said with a smile: Brother Baiyi and the brothers, if they go back, I'm afraid they will empty the banks in Chengdu?
Ma Linger laughed happily and told him: Brother Baiyi has stated that they will no longer share profits on the bank's shares, and the principal will be repaid whenever possible.
The money earned must be brought back to Guanzhong to help the local area become prosperous.
Zhao Yulin nodded and said that he would not forget his hometown even though he had become rich. "Okay," he said. He raised his glass to thank him and drank it heartily.
These merchants were not stupid at all. The war in Linzhou was over, the New Song Dynasty won a great victory, and the border was pushed all the way to the Yellow River. Guanzhong was completely stable, and they could go back and do business with peace of mind.
After seeing the guests off, Zhao Yulin told Ma Ling that businessmen should be honest and trustworthy, and the government should not let honest people suffer losses. If the bank has money, it should first pay them a portion of the shares, and write contracts for the rest to reassure them.
Ma Ling'er took his hand and walked towards the bathroom, telling him not to worry, that he would not be wrong.
He was a little tired, so he let Ma Ling strip him naked and then sat in the bathtub to take a nap.
In Linzhou, the Shenwei Army launched a large-scale actual combat exercise on the south bank of the river, fifty miles around Jiuyuan City. More than 50,000 troops participated in the exercise, and Hecha soon found out.
The scout reported: The Shenwei Army conducted large-scale exercises of forced crossing and night crossing at the upstream crossing;
The Shenwei Army was conducting cavalry exercises in Linzhou. There seemed to be more than 20,000 cavalrymen, and the dust raised by the horses' hooves covered the sky.
This guy's nerves immediately tensed up.
What exactly is the New Song State on the other side trying to do?
Could it be that because their wish was not fulfilled, they really had to force their way across the river to snatch people?
Haha, luckily his father was smart and hid an ambush behind him, otherwise he would have no idea what was going on.
While he was thinking, there was a deafening explosion suddenly coming from the direction of the riverbank outside the city. He Hu, who was drinking tea in front of the tent, was startled and immediately sent someone out to investigate.
The spies reported: The Shenwei Army was firing artillery at the exposed river beach in the middle of the river. Each salvo was twenty shells, and each time they landed in the same place, causing thick smoke to billow over the river, as if a sandstorm had come.
He told his brother: The accuracy of the artillery fire of the little Nanman has improved a lot. In the past, they fired artillery in clusters and the shells would not fall in the same place. Such a high shooting accuracy was observed this time, which shows that the military strength on the other side has increased a lot.
Hecha nodded and ordered the city to send reinforcements to strengthen the defense of the ferry. He also ordered Hehu to lead the troops to conduct training outside the city to fight against the New Song Army.
Hecha was wondering in his heart, what on earth is the Shenwei Army doing?
At this time, the lieutenant in front of the tent brought urgent military information: the spy hidden in Chengdu found out that their king had told the special envoy Zhang Guoan: her father can be given up, but the ransom of two million must be cut, and the empire cannot be allowed to ask for an exorbitant price.
The second is that Zhao Qier of the Shenwei Army is still in Chengdu, and the Minister of War Miao Gui is also there, but the two judges Cao Youwen and Meng Gong are missing.
Hecha started to analyze the computer on his head. Where did Meng Gong and Cao Heizi go?
Could it be that he came to Guanzhong, Yulinzhai or even Linzhou?
Prince Hecha looked down on Cao Youwen, who had been the king, but he cared very much about Meng Gong.
This is because Meng Gong was good at fighting smart and tough battles when he and the Mongolian army were encircling and suppressing the remnants of the Jin Dynasty. He taught the Mongolian army many clever tactics and was highly respected by the Mongolian generals.
The computer on his head was so smoked that it crashed, but he still couldn't figure out whether Cao Youwen and Meng Gong were here. What was he going to do? He drank a jar of Qin Feng's wine and fell asleep on the couch.
In the hostage camp in the south of the city, the officials of the Song Dynasty were looking into the night sky.
This guy has been like this since he came to Jiuyuan City. Every night he stands with his hands behind his back, staring at the dark night sky in a daze. He only comes back to bed after two women repeatedly ask him to. The two women have to use their body temperature to warm the hands and feet of this pretentious man, one on each side.
The queen told him to rest. The old man turned and went in. The two women quickly undressed him and fell asleep in each other's arms.
The imperial concubine told him: Today, my mother was angry and asked why the special envoy had not shown up to rescue us?
The Councillor Zhen from the Ministry of Rites who came to visit was too rude. He didn't even kneel down to greet my mother, but shouted, "Thank you, grandma."
What's this called?
If you don't even kneel when you meet the government, why do you call him Mr. Zhao ?
No wonder my mother was angry.
I just don't understand. Since Feiyan is the ruler of the New Song Dynasty, then the emperor is the retired emperor, and our mother is the grand empress dowager. How can a mere senator be addressed like that?
It must be that Zhao Qier who is obstructing us and is unwilling to use the silver to redeem us.
The emperor was suddenly taken to Jiuyuan by the Mongolian army like a sheep being driven away. His comfortable home was destroyed again and he felt very depressed.
He was annoyed by what he heard and suddenly leaned sideways towards the inside, but bumped his head with the Queen's. When he wanted to turn over and lie on his back, he asked the Queen to hold him down. The woman shrank back by herself, exposing her back and buttocks, leaving the True Dragon Emperor with comfortable space to move around.
The queen patted the emperor calmly and said: Why get angry? I was just talking. We have been here for almost ten days, and that Councillor Zhen has been gone for almost four days. If Feiyan is really in charge, she will definitely take us all away.
The emperor is still in a cage, so it’s useless to talk about anything.
He uttered two words in a muffled voice: "Sleep." Then there was no more sound.
