Chapter 74: Trade is Important
Before leaving, Yuyangzi called four lay disciples and asked Zhao Yulin to accept them and bring them to serve in the army.
He was not polite, and eight horses galloped all the way back to Chengdu. Zhao Yulin took his men directly on board the ship and returned to Yibin. Chen Yun told him that the Dali delegation had gone to Jiazhou to discuss a truce.
After Zhao Yulin defeated Gao Yuxiang in one fell swoop, he had already estimated that Dali would not dare to fight again, and that it would be the best result if they could come to negotiate.
Three days later, the Dali delegation returned to Yibin, and Zhao Yulin went to the government office to attend the talks. The real prefect of Jiading had accepted Dali's compensation of 30,000 taels of silver, and the two sides agreed to a ceasefire on the spot.
This involved the diplomatic relations between the two countries. Zhao Yulin had nothing to say and accepted it in full.
The Dali envoy asked him when the border would be demarcated and trade would be opened?
Zhao Yulin said that the border could be demarcated immediately, and the Shenwei Army would retreat thirty miles on the actual control line to show its sincerity. He hoped that the Dali Kingdom would not station troops in this area in order to achieve peace on the border.
The people of Dali are very happy. I asked them how long they have been doing trade.
He said there is no rush for trade, as it has to be stabilized first.
The people of Dali were anxious and said that Dali was small and if the market was not open for a long time, trade would be impossible and Dali's fresh fruits would become fertilizer on the ground. They asked the adults to understand.
Zhao Yulin said that he would notify the border trade and bring in the fresh fruits first.
The people of Dali originally wanted to use the issue of fresh fruits to ask him to fully open up the trade, but they didn't expect Zhao Yulin to still insist. They had no choice but to agree and asked him to discuss and reopen the trade as soon as possible.
Zhao Yulin was not in a hurry at all. His original purpose of causing trouble in Xinshi Town was to make wine and buy old grain from Dali. This war not only defeated the Dali Kingdom, but also seized a large amount of military equipment and food stored in the rear by them, thus expanding his territory. He would not lack raw materials for making wine in the short term.
After seeing off the Dali envoy, Chen Yun invited him to stay for tea, saying that he had tens of thousands of soldiers and many brave generals under his command, and that the responsibility on his shoulders was heavy. She tactfully reminded him to pay attention to his personal safety and to lead them well to defend the country.
Zhao Yulin certainly knew that the court wanted to transfer him north because they saw that he had become powerful in Yibin. A most insignificant militia organization actually defeated Dali's 20,000 troops, and anyone would have to think twice.
He thanked the teacher for his care and said goodbye and returned to Sanjiangkou.
In the Lin'an Palace, the emperor was praising the Yibin Shenwei Army in the court, and he was expressing his feelings, saying that it was not easy for a small militia to defeat the Dali elite soldiers. If all the soldiers and generals of the Song Dynasty were like them, why would we worry about the invasion of the Jin people?
The envoy immediately ordered the imperial censors to come out and suggest that the court transfer the Shenwei Army to the north to guard the border and serve the court.
The emperor immediately agreed and promoted Zhao Yulin to the position of Xuzhou Military Commander-in-Chief, Shenwei Army Commander-in-Chief, and transferred the Shenwei Army north to be under the command of Xingyuan Prefecture to resist the Mongols and guard the border.
Does anyone know what the emperor is thinking?
In just one year, the emperor's attitude towards Yibin has changed from being against the envoys to following the envoys.
Last night, the emperor went to have a tryst with Kuang Sisi by the West Lake again. His lover was very happy to receive the glass tea can given by the emperor. She brought her two little sisters, wearing folk costumes that she had secretly asked someone to customize in Yibin, and twisted her little butt in the house for him to see, which dazzled the emperor and made him very happy.
The emperor held Zhao Yulin's high-end glass in his right hand and hugged Kuang Sisi intimately with his left hand. Kuang Sisi praised Zhao Yulin for being young, handsome and smart, which made the emperor jealous. He actually left Kuang Sisi and tormented her two little sisters for half a night before leaving.
Alas, I’m afraid that from that time on, the emperor really had the intention to kill.
Zhao Yulin returned home to pay his respects to his mother. His mother excitedly told him that our national costumes have been sold to Lin'an Prefecture. A few days ago, a merchant came to the door with the measurements and asked his mother to make them personally. A set cost thirty taels of silver.
Zhao Yulin was happy for his mother. It seemed that people in the Song Dynasty still liked fashionable clothes. He selected some clothing styles from his memory and drew them for his mother.
Finally, he went to Ma Ling'er's room. The girl's belly was getting bigger and bigger. Zhao Yulin smiled and teased her to be careful not to fall. The girl said that it was all his fault, and she would punish him severely when she was relieved.
Zhao Yulin laughed and said, "Come on, come on," and ran away.
At night, Chen Xiaomin happily snuggled in his arms and asked him if he wanted to hear her good news.
Zhao Yulin held her hands tightly, and the girl immediately screamed, "No, no, I'm pregnant."
Zhao Yulin quickly let go and asked what happened.
The girl said he was stupid, and that she was pregnant. She said she vomited less on the boat when she came back, and didn't feel it, but when she got home she vomited violently, and she secretly asked the imperial physician to check her pulse, and found out that she was pregnant.
Zhao Yulin was pleasantly surprised. Haha, he had planted two seeds in the blink of an eye, and his face was full of happiness.
The next day, he and Zhu Congwen took a boat to Xinshi Town.
The Shenwei Army focused on defending the Dali direction, and almost all the battalions were transferred there. He called a meeting of all the generals to discuss the selection of capable troops and the formation of a northward advance team.
Zhu Congwen announced that the Shenwei Army would soon march north to defend the border against the Mongols. Miao Gui was appointed as the leader of the advance team, leading the deputy captains of each battalion responsible for operations and a 300-man reconnaissance team to Hanzhong to establish good contacts for the Shenwei Army, find a good place to station, and investigate the terrain, so as to prepare for the army's entry.
After making all the arrangements, he found Si Niang and Si Mei and invited his master Jueming to have dinner with Chen Zhongshun. Zhao Yulin told them that Xinshi was now stable and they could work freely.
He estimated that the Lin'an court would soon relax the permission to brew wine with old grain, because this ban was actually not in the interests of the court. Lin'an had suffered a considerable loss in tax revenue that year, and it was impossible for the emperor and officials of all ranks to continue donating money to pay for the shortfall.
Therefore, Xinshi’s winemaking strategy needs to be adjusted to specifically brew wine that suits Dali’s taste and market it to Thang Long, Champa and Bagan.
Zhao Yulin told his sister that the trade still had to be opened, and the specific method would be decided by them. They should do more things to facilitate the common people and make the people of Dali happy with our Shenwei Army.
Zhao Sihan said she knew, this is called winning people's hearts.
He tore off a piece of chicken leg and stuffed it into Zhao Sihan's mouth, making fun of his sister for calling him a profiteer, asking what bribery was involved.
Master Jueming said that if the winemaking was moved back to Sanjiangkou, it would not be so lively here, and he would go back after sorting out the security affairs.
Zhao Yulin nodded and said yes, that is, just need to keep the key technical processes secret. Now the Shenwei Army has set up bases in Xinshi, Cuiping Mountain and Yujin, and the master has to run around in three places, which means there are more things to do. The focus is still to keep a close eye on Guigu in Cuiping Mountain.
Chen Zhongshun was a little reluctant to leave, as he felt that Dali had been developed, and the sales of liquor and other goods were increasing. The climate here was pleasant, and in the chicken farm opened by Aunt Wu, there were groups of chicks running around, and it was so exciting.
He said that production should be determined by sales, and Yibin is the highlight, so we should go back. Si Niang is in charge of everything in this area, and she is very troublesome.
Zhao Sihan spoke up, and what about her? She has grown up and knows what to do.
Zhao Yulin held his sister in his arms and said that it didn’t matter what she said, as long as she protected herself.
He arranged the affairs of Xinshi Town and returned to Cuiping Mountain. The imperial envoy from the court arrived, and all officials from Jiazhou and below were rewarded handsomely. He took his reward silver and the seal and official uniform of the Xuzhou governor, and accompanied the imperial envoy to the Shenwei Army camp in Xinshi Town to convey the imperial decree and reward the three armies.
When I returned home, it was almost the end of the year.
This year, Dali gave the Shenwei Army a strong baptism with the Battle of Mahu River, which transformed the team and made him much more mature.
Zhao Yulin went to have tea with Zhang Xiangyang, and found out that the old man had taken a concubine.
He looked at the old and young people in the tree, and felt a little emotional. Damn, the ancients were really capable of doing this.
The old gentleman was very happy and told him that this master's wife, who was as good as a grandmother, was proficient in all arts, such as music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and was also proficient in playing various musical instruments and singing.
No wonder, the old man feels so happy every day, as if he is twenty years younger.
He smiled and said that as long as the old man was happy, it was fine.
Zhang Xiangyang was of course delighted. Not to mention that the Cuiping Morning Post made money, just Chen Chen's new set of numbers and calculation methods shocked Shu and attracted arithmetic students from all over the country to come and explore. Cuiping Academy even set up a special arithmetic academy to recruit talents.
The old gentleman told him that this year the academy had sent more than 500 students to the military camp, all of whom were passionate men with their country and the world in mind. Compared with Yue Family Army, the Shenwei Army had more literate people.
Zhao Yulin quickly said how the Shenwei Army could be compared with Yue's Army, and it was still far behind.
The old man shook his head and said that was not necessarily the case. The fact that they were able to defeat Dali in one battle proved that the Shenwei Army was not bragging.
He smiled and said it was pure coincidence and the team still needed to be tempered.
Zhao Yulin suggested to him to open a academy in Xinshi Town or Huanglangzhai, as the people of Mahujiang needed to learn to read and write.
The old gentleman agreed to take the south into consideration as well, and he said goodbye to the gentleman and went back.
His mother told him that Ling'er was about to give birth and he should spend more time with her.
Zhao Yulin knew that his mother loved her grandson very much, so he ran towards Ma Ling's yard with a smile. The girl was half lying on the bed looking at him.
He helped Ma Ling up, held her hand and walked around in the yard, and kept reminding her that she had to walk more as time went on, otherwise it would be painful if she couldn't give birth to the baby.
Chen Xiaomin came back and said as soon as they met that Ma Ling'er enjoyed herself better than the princess and the queen. Ma Ling said proudly that she was about to give birth, so couldn't her brother accompany her?
Chen Xiaomin touched her belly and said proudly: I am pregnant too.
The two girls were arguing with each other in the yard.
Zhao Yulin went to talk to her mother, who said Jiang An had sent a letter, saying that her uncle had asked her to go back. The wharf was built very quickly, and the county magistrate was very happy.
Zhao Yulin certainly knew about this, and everyone was happy about it. The construction of a pier consumed a lot of manpower, and the entire staff of the small Jiang'an Dam must have been mobilized.
He said he couldn't leave, so our mother went back by herself.
His mother told him that the retail store in the city was doing well and that the young lady was an honest person. His second mother saw that Guo Jianglai was doing well, so she secretly sent his second brother across the river to find her to do some work.
After Zhao Yulin lost his memory, he couldn't remember them at all. He asked his second brother what he could do?
What kind of person is he?
