I saw the woman holding the two swords dancing in a smart and vigorous manner. The two swords suddenly came out of her hands and flew up and down. The hilts were wrapped with silk ribbons, like two koi fish circling around.
As the woman danced, the swords moved far and near, and the sword tip was swept in front of the guests on the left and right. The sword's intention was so real that they all jumped back to avoid it. Only Wang Zhongding was full of curiosity and came closer, as if he wanted to try it.
Is it an illusory light and shadow or a real thing?
After a dance, the two swords were returned, the woman crossed her swords and bent her knees, giving a slight salute. The light and shadow disappeared, leaving only a trace of the sword intention echoing in the heart of the stage. It was a long aftertaste and a thrilling feeling afterwards.
"Good! Good, good!" Wang Zhongding praised loudly and glanced at the Qibao Tiangong Ball: "It is indeed a good thing! It is much more interesting than the pile of broken mirrors in Chongxuan Hall!"
Qian Shaobai smiled and added: "The Tiangong ball can take pictures of people's faces and retain sound, light and shadow. The book on the bottom of the box contains the method of using the Tiangong ball."
Wang Zhongding picked up the book and glanced at it twice, then tapped the heavenly ball a few times, making the woman with two swords reappear. His eyes were full of desire, as if he had forgotten that there was a Miaoyin slave in his arms, pointing at her and asking: "This
Who is this person?”
Qian Shaobai replied: "She is Sheng Qiuyan, a disciple of Xihe Jiange."
"Xihe Jiange? Is there a sect from the Xiong Kingdom?" Wang Zhongding immediately reacted: "Are you a businessman from the Xiong Kingdom?"
Qian Shaobai quickly bowed his head and said yes: "More than a month ago, I sent you a letter. I have been waiting for a long time, and today I finally have the honor to meet Mr. Wang."
Wang Zhongding nodded casually, and then looked at the Sheng Qiuyan dancing with the sword, feeling restless in his heart. Seeing this, Miaoyin Nu raised his hand gently and complained: "Young Master Wang, you have a beautiful woman in your arms, but you are staring at others?"
Wang Zhongding held the catkins and sniffed Miaoyinnu's fragrant snowy skin, then raised his eyes to Qian Shaobai, his eyes a little more alert: "Although Xihe Jiange is far inferior to Shangjingzong, there are rumors in the world that there is a Princess Xiong today.
He also learned skills at the Sword Pavilion, which doubled the reputation of the Xihe Sword Pavilion. His disciples' sword dancing is not something that a businessman can just enjoy."
Qian Shaobai faked a smile on his face, but he immediately put away his contempt in his heart and said to himself: "The outside world said that Wang Zhongding is an ignorant and incompetent playboy. Now it seems that it is really a lie!"
"As for the Qianji Pavilion, it's because the late Emperor of Tianxia in the past liked the ingenuity of craftsmanship and recruited all kinds of craftsmen to build a Henglu city for him that could fly to the sky, escape from the earth, and swim in rivers and lakes." Wang Zhongding held up the Tiangong ball.
, although he is resting his head on nephrite and holding the warm fragrance in his arms, he still shows the magnanimity of holding pearls of wisdom:
"Then the last emperor burned himself. In order to protect themselves, this group of craftsmen forcibly started the unfinished Henglu City and fled to the deep mountains and valleys. They became a family of their own in the troubled times. Although some monks and magicians later fled to Henglu City, they
But it's not like a sect that cultivates immortals, but relies on building ingenious instruments for all parties in troubled times to survive.
Later, Xiong Taizu, holding a red bow, broke into Dunjia Valley alone, conquered Henglu City in one fell swoop, and founded Qianji Pavilion, allowing these craftsmen to prepare hundreds of dishes for Xiong Kingdom. The various jigs made by Qianji Pavilion were all extremely expensive.
This heavenly craftsman ball also combines the method of refining weapons, which is beyond the measurable value of gold, silver and silk. It can be used as a gift. The money owner is so generous!"
Qian Shaobai apologized and said with a smile: "The villain is just doing things for others. How can a villain come up with such a rare treasure?"
Wang Zhongding looked at Qian Shaobai. He was suspicious at first, but then showed a bit of a smile: "Just assume that what you are telling the truth. But I am very curious, what business do you plan to do if you want to write a business letter?"
"It depends on what the Huaxu Kingdom lacks." Qian Shaobai said: "The villain has traveled along the way and found that the Eastern silk brocade is exquisite, but it is not as warm as fox fur and mink fur in winter. However, the prince's tower is as warm as spring. I want to come here
There is no use for such cheap things."
"What about the Bear Country?" Wang Zhongding asked back: "Gold, silver, pearls and jade cannot be eaten when hungry, nor can be clothed when cold, but they are only used to make money in the world. It is impossible for you to sell fox furs and mink skins just to accumulate a pile of gold cakes.
Silver cake?"
Qian Shaobai thought that this prince was very scheming. He came as a businessman this time. In addition to spying on the military and government affairs of the Huaxu Kingdom, he also planned to open up a trade route to exchange rice and millet for silk.
It's just that in order to do this kind of business under the current situation, firstly, you need to obtain business correspondence from the Huaxu Kingdom, and secondly, if you want to purchase silk fabrics in large quantities, you must deal with the wealthy families in the Huaxu Kingdom.
Therefore, Qian Shaobai approached the eldest young master of the Chiyang royal family, but Wang Zhongding was not as easy to deceive as expected.
"I'll tell you the truth, Prince." Qian Shaobai said: "The Three Treasures Society was actually financed by several nobles from the Xiong Kingdom to purchase high-quality brocade from the Huaxu Kingdom. Perhaps the Prince knows that China has experienced wars for a long time, and hundreds of industries have suffered.
It was deserted and the number of brocade craftsmen was greatly reduced. A few years ago, there was a fire in the palace treasury. As a result, when His Majesty the Emperor of the Xiong Kingdom offered sacrifices to the ancestral temple, I didn’t even have extra costumes. It was really a shame!"
"How could a huge country with bears end up in this situation?" Wang Zhongding asked with a smile.
"What kind of big country? It's just empty territory." Qian Shaobai shook his head: "More than ten years have passed since the Shouyang army was wiped out, but the Xiong country is suffering from severe droughts and floods every year. Even the emperor can barely see it.
Less than ten miles out of the capital, you can immediately see people lying on the ground starving to death. Who among the living people is not a good person? Only when I came to Huaxu Kingdom did I know what the land of peace and prosperity is, and I don’t want to go back!"
Wang Zhongding said: "Then Mr. Qian might as well stay? I can give you a foothold."
Qian Shaobai bowed deeply and thanked him: "Young Master Wang, I appreciate your kindness. However, my parents, wife and children are all in the country of Xiong. If I stay in the East forever, I'm afraid that my whole family will not be able to survive."
"In that case, I won't force it." Wang Zhongding gestured to a guest next to him: "You can handle the business correspondence."
The guest stood up, Wang Zhongding waved his hand impatiently, and Qian Shaobai thanked him repeatedly.
After leaving the watchtower, Qian Shaobai took care of everything again, and did not leave Wang's manor until night. He quickly returned to the post house with the business letter and customs clearance documents in hand.
"It seems that Wang Zhongding is not easy to fool either."
In the post house, the sword-holding warrior carefully checked the inside and outside of the room, and then spoke after confirming that there was nothing unusual.
Qian Shaobai silently recited a sutra and mantra to suppress outside rumors, and breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Wang Zhongding is indeed a dandy, and he is also tyrannical and capricious, but he has no lack of knowledge and influence from a high-ranking family. I can't guarantee that I can hide it from him."
"But didn't you still get the trade letter?" asked the sword-holding warrior.
"I hope I'm worrying too much." Qian Shaobai fiddled with his hair.
The warrior holding the sword was slightly puzzled: "But I don't understand why Qian Shijun seems to value trade and procurement more seriously than spying on military intelligence?"
Qian Shaobai pondered for a moment and motioned for the other party to come closer. The two sat on the same bed facing each other, and then said: "I didn't know it before I set off, so I asked the left prime minister specifically. He told me that there is a Xiong country facing enemies on all sides. It seems that
It has the largest territory and the most households, but the situation is the most severe and dangerous. If you are not careful, you will be attacked from all sides and faced with disaster.
At present, just maintaining the garrison of troops and horses from all directions has already consumed a lot of manpower and material resources. Even if Shouyang has been annihilating troops for more than ten years, the situation will not be good. Therefore, it is not appropriate to use large-scale weapons and armies to conquer the four directions. Instead, we should find ways to defeat others without fighting.
.The Prime Minister Zuo sent spies in all directions and made plans for many years in order to prescribe the right medicine."
"Prescribe the right medicine?" The sword-holding warrior was puzzled.
Qian Shaobai moved the cups on the table, arranged the five directions of southeast, northwest, center, and gave instructions one by one:
"The Xuanming Kingdom in the north has been the biggest trouble in Central China since the end of Tianxia's reign. After many years of fierce fighting, the Emperor finally killed the dragon. The three kingdoms joined forces to kill the evil dragon, kill Xuanju, and annihilate Beidi's 40,000-strong army.
He fled to the north, and later burned Beiludu to the ground in one fell swoop, severely damaging his vitality.
Without heroes like Xuanju, Xuanming Kingdom has now returned to the days when the tribes in the northern frontier were not unified and the chiefs competed with each other. Each tribe moved their livestock and traveled to chase water and grass. Once there was a snowstorm, locust drought, it would be difficult to make a living.
To survive, we can only go south and plunder. We just build fortifications and defend them tightly, which is not enough. The best thing is to divide the various tribes in Beidi."
"I know." The warrior holding the sword said dissatisfiedly: "Every year, the leader Xiao Wang returns with tribal intentions, and the court allocates a large amount of food and clothing to support them every year. I just can't stand this!"
Qian Shaobai had no choice but to say: "Today is no longer the Tianxia Dynasty. How can the Xiong Kingdom have the manpower and material resources to accomplish such a feat of having an army that penetrates thousands of miles and sweeps across northern Xinjiang?"
"The imperial court is raising white-eyed wolves!" the sword-holding warrior said, knocking on the table.
Qian Shaobai quickly persuaded the other party: "Okay, okay, just think you are right, but we are not dealing with the affairs of the northern border counties now... Following on from what I just said, the Jiuli Kingdom in the south had a war with the Huaxu Kingdom last year.
It was a huge defeat and it seems that it will be difficult to raise troops to invade in the next three to five years.
It’s just that I heard that in recent years, the high priest of Shengsi Valley has also tried to organize households and people in the tribes under his jurisdiction, and imitated the Guanshe system of Huaxu Kingdom, intending to focus on cultivating witches and Zhus, hoping to use them to serve as official officials.
If he is really allowed to get on the right track, coupled with the defeat of the Fengju Ten Witches and the Demon God of the Southern Territory, there will be fewer stubborn constraints. Even if the Jiuli Kingdom cannot expand its territory in the future, separatist rule of the Southern Territory will not be a problem."
"These southern barbarians can't make a living." The sword-holding warrior shook his head repeatedly.
"Don't be so arrogant." Qian Shaobai knocked on the tea cup on the table: "As for the Yaochi Kingdom in the west, King Baixiang controls the state affairs. His cultivation is as high as the sky, and he is also expected to be one of the peaks of Kunlun. But in order to suppress
The local power was strong, and King Baixiang used the Rong people arbitrarily, which led to an increase in the number of Rong people in the country, and the common people were deeply affected.
One of my senior brothers was arranged by the left prime minister to go to the Yaochi Kingdom to try to contact the local people and help them form alliances with powerful knights, hide troops among the people, raise troops and raise troubles all over the country, and frequently fight with the soldiers, which made the Yaochi Kingdom
Too busy with internal strife to peep eastward."
The warrior holding the sword had a subtle expression: "The Prime Minister Zuo's plan is really sinister. In order to drag down other countries, he would just provoke civil strife. Why do you, Shang Jingzong, just follow his instructions?"
Qian Shaobai coughed softly: "Zuo Xiang was flexible and quick-witted, and his plans were foreboding. As for us going to Jingzong... that's because he also practiced Taoism in Tiancheng Mountain for several years, but unfortunately he had no chance of immortality and finally came down to serve as an official."
"What about the Huaxu Kingdom? Is it possible that the Red Cloud City in Cangwu Ridge was also provoked by Zuo Xiang?" asked the sword-holding warrior.
"No, no." Qian Shaobai shook his head: "Not everything has to do with the Left Prime Minister. When the envoys from the five countries were about to kill their troops in Shouyang Mountain and delineate the national borders, the late emperor secretly ordered the expulsion of Chiyundu
, forcing them to go to Huaxu Kingdom.
However, the current leader of the Huaxu Kingdom is also a ruthless person. He probably noticed the late emperor's intentions and directly massacred Chiyundu. The Liang Guoshi also personally took action, causing Chiyundu to suffer heavy losses. Now he can only huddle in Cangwu Ridge.
The mountains and rivers are poor, but there will be no big storms.”
"So the left prime minister is targeting the Chiyang Wang family?" asked the sword-holding warrior.
"Not necessarily." Qian Shaobai said: "Actually, I am not the only one who came to Huaxu Kingdom to ask for trade letters this time. The purpose of the left prime minister is to do everything possible to purchase silk fabrics from Huaxu Kingdom."
"The silk of Huaxu Kingdom is good, but it's not like we have to spend all the resources of the country to buy it, right?" The warrior holding the sword asked: "If you buy so much, who will wear it?"
"Princes and nobles know how to wear it, and they can keep it if they don't wear it. Silk can also be used to reward meritorious soldiers." Qian Shaobai explained: "We bought silk and silk in large quantities, and the wealthy families of Huaxu Kingdom saw profits.
This will make the manor owners work hard to produce.
If Wang Zhongding has no doubts, I will visit again later, strive for a large purchase, and swallow up all the silk of the Chiyang Wang family in the next three years.
In this way, in order to make a profit as soon as possible, the Wang family in Chiyang will convert the rice fields in the manor in various places to plant mulberry seedlings. I chose autumn and winter to visit Wang Zhongding, just to give them enough time to plant mulberry seedlings from rice."
The warrior holding the sword didn't understand: "What's the use of asking them to change rice into mulberry?"
"Huaxu country is a small and densely populated country. Along the way, we have seen endless stretches of luxurious manors. If the large rice fields are replanted with mulberry seedlings and the grain production is insufficient, a civil uprising will immediately be triggered." Qian Shaobai said.
The warrior holding the sword frowned and thought: "The Huaxu State is so obedient to fall into the trap? Don't they leave enough fields to cultivate food?"
"That's why I went to find the Chiyang Wang family!" Qian Shaobai slapped his thigh: "Only the immortal blood of Chongxuan Pavilion can make the leader of Huaxu Kingdom fearful and hesitant and not dare to take action easily. On the contrary, if a powerful and powerful family sees the consequences,
Raising sericulture and weaving silk are highly profitable, and they often increase silk production at any cost.
Moreover, Huaxu’s domestically produced grain is less, and grain prices have risen. Rich and powerful households can even make more money by hoarding grain! What’s more, they have taken advantage of the soaring grain prices to lend money to ordinary farmers to make profits, and take the opportunity to annex land and land, and do this to these powerful households.
It’s a sure-fire business!”
The sword-holding warrior's eyes were opened now, and he didn't know what to say for a moment.
Qian Shaobai continued: "In fact, the left prime minister also expected that the Huaxu Congress would be on guard, so he ordered me to facilitate the exchange of rice and millet for the purchase of silk and silk. As the powerful households had more grain in their hands, they naturally became more unscrupulous in converting rice into mulberry.
And as long as the wealthy and powerful families in Huaxu get used to exchanging rice and millet for silk and vigorously annex civilian fields, we will have the Xiong Kingdom take advantage of the lean season to cut off trade and drive up the price of food in Huaxu. In this way, it will not take two or three years for Huaxu to There are constant civil unrest in the country, and no matter how powerful Liang Guoshi is, he will still be in dire straits.
The Prime Minister Zuo asked me to find the fairy family of Chongxuan Hall, just to make the conflict between the Huaxu Kingdom and Chongxuan Hall go further. For the sake of the survival of the country, the Huaxu Kingdom cannot tolerate this group of silverfish and rats in Chongxuan Hall. Let them fight with each other. Fighting to the death is the best outcome!"