At this time, thousands of miles away in Bianliang, Tokyo, there was a prosperous scene. Along the most lively Imperial Street in the city, leading to Xuande Gate, the main entrance of the palace, something big happened quietly.
Under Zhongshu's sect, the most popular ministers in the court are gathering here with solemn expressions.
These people, with various official positions, gathered together in twos and threes, drinking tea and discussing excitedly.
"How should we decide on this matter? The Liao people have handed over their credentials and requested to discuss the matter of the annual coins. If our country agrees to send troops to collect gold, and is even willing to give up the annual coins, should we agree or not?"
One person said: "I don't think we should agree. If two tigers fight, one of them will be injured. There is no benefit in helping either one. I am waiting for work, and it is better to sit back and reap the benefits."
Another person said: "I thought I could consider it. I heard that the Jin people are very powerful. If the Liao Kingdom cannot stop them, they will endanger our dynasty sooner or later."
Another person answered: "No, how many talents are there in Jin Dynasty? The Liao Kingdom is the most serious concern of my dynasty. It is best to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight. If I have to end up, I think Yulian Jin should attack the Liao Dynasty and take the opportunity to regain Yanyun."
Sixteen states, some centuries-old shame."
At the moment, many people echoed: "Yes, even the Jin Dynasty conquered the Liao Dynasty, which avenged a hundred years of shame."
Someone else shook his head and said: "That's not right. We have fought less wars with the Liao Kingdom for a hundred years and we are already a brotherly country, but the Jin Kingdom is troubled by tigers and wolves. Not to mention that its leader is capricious and treacherous, and has signed alliances with the Liao Kingdom many times.
To counterattack when you see an opportunity has no sense of shame. To join forces with them is tantamount to seeking the skin of a tiger. The Jin people cannot be trusted at all."
Someone said: "The art of war has always emphasized distant friendship and close attack. This has been the case since ancient times. It is time to unite with the Jin Dynasty to attack the Liao Dynasty. How can there be any reason to attack the Liao Dynasty with the Liao Dynasty and attack the close friends from afar? If this is done, the recovery of Yanyun will be just around the corner. We will...will go down in history...
…”
Some people also wondered: "Is this an alarmist statement? We know how strong the Liao Kingdom is. The Jin Kingdom has only a few people and less than 100,000 soldiers available to the whole country. How could it pose such a threat to the Liao Kingdom, even to the point of destroying the Liao Kingdom?"
One person answered: "It's true. The Liao people are really anxious this time. I heard that not only did they hand over their credentials, they also brought a large number of gifts and visited many adults' houses. This kind of thing... I've been here for a hundred years."
It is unique in history. The Liao Kingdom would not have done this unless it was really desperate."
Another person sighed with emotion: "I didn't expect that the Liao Kingdom has reached such a point. I think it is better not to send troops this time, but to wait and see what happens. If the Jin people are really so powerful, how can we unite with the Liao people and lose the battle?"
They will cause trouble for us."
Another person stood up and said: "Don't add to others' prestige and destroy your own ambition. The Jin Kingdom only has a few people. No matter how powerful it is, it won't matter. If the Liao Kingdom is destroyed, there will be no energy to take care of us. I thought that when the Jin Dynasty conquers the Liao Kingdom,
The strength of the Liao Kingdom has been exhausted. We must act in accordance with the destiny and regain the sixteen states of Yanyun in one fell swoop... Our Wu Dynasty will be prosperous..."
There was a buzz in the venue, and everyone was talking about it for a while, and everyone refused to give in.
However, the two viewpoints of joining forces with the Jin Dynasty to conquer the Liao Dynasty and not helping each other, sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight, clearly have the upper hand.
On the other hand, not many people agreed with the proposal to unite Liao and attack Jin.
If Li Mu were here and given three options to choose from, he would probably choose Lian Liao to conquer Jin.
There is no way, the endings of the three choices are not very good, you can only choose the one that is relatively more promising.
Judging from the past performance of the Jin Kingdom, there is no credibility at all. Even if the Wu Dynasty united with the Jin Dynasty to defeat the Liao Dynasty, it would only be a matter of time before the Liao Kingdom was gone. It would be a matter of time before the Liao Kingdom was gone. Once the Liao Dynasty was free, they could go south at any time. What credibility?
Any agreement is just a piece of paper for Jin Guo. If you believe it, you will be regarded as a fool.
On the contrary, the Wu Dynasty united with the Liao State to attack the Jin Dynasty. The Wu Dynasty had no shortage of materials, food, grass, soldiers, armor and equipment, and they used them to support the Liao State in the attack on the Jin State, putting the Liao State in the front.
There are only so many Jurchens. If all the available soldiers of all ages are recruited, the number will be less than 100,000, and one less person will die. As long as the Liao Kingdom can continue to consume with the material support of the Wu Kingdom, even if the Liao Kingdom cannot survive in the end.
If they go down and are destroyed, the Jurchens will also consume about 77% of their energy and will not be able to go south in a short time.
It is hard to say whether they can move south in the future. Can such a small population suppress other nomadic fishing and hunting peoples? Will there be internal divisions and rebellions?
Besides, another more powerful force is rising on the grassland. As long as it takes a while, the most powerful opponent of the Jin Kingdom is not the Wu Kingdom, but the nomads rising on the grassland.
At that time, Wu Guo became the party to be won over again and could continue to survive.
However, these ministers in the DPRK obviously did not agree with the alliance with Liao to attack Jin. This result had been decided at the Blackwater Alliance seven years ago.
Especially four years ago, Emperor Tianzuo of the Liao Kingdom personally led an army of 700,000 to attack the Jin Dynasty, but was defeated by Wanyan Agu with 20,000 troops. The Wu Dynasty's fear of the Liao Kingdom was almost wiped out, and it seemed that the Wu Dynasty had won.
Likewise, the voice of uniting the Jin Dynasty to fight against the Liao Dynasty was rising, and it seemed that the recovery of the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun was just around the corner.
It was not someone who did not take a long-term view, and wrote to the court: "Support the weak and suppress the strong. Now Jin is strong and Liao is weak. Is it better to be neighbors with strong Jin than with weak Liao?"
Even the King of Goryeo sent someone to secretly convey the message, "Liao is a country of brothers, and we can keep it safe; Jin is a country of tigers and wolves, and we cannot make friends with them!"
However, this concept is too niche. Although the Liao Kingdom, aware of the crisis, asked the Wu Kingdom for help and was even willing to cancel the annual coins, the temptation was too small compared with recovering the Yanyun Sixteen Continents that had been lost for more than two hundred years.
, this is a great achievement that no emperor or minister can refuse.
In fact, since the defeat of the Liao Kingdom a few years ago, the Wu Kingdom began to secretly contact the Jin Kingdom. The two sides sent envoys to communicate with each other, and their intention to form an alliance to conquer the Liao Kingdom was already obvious.
The Liao Kingdom will probably return without success this time.
Not only were the clouds gathering in the north, but in the south, taking advantage of the floods, Fang La began to revolt again.
On the other side, in the Su Mansion, seeing that the opening time of the city gate is getting shorter and shorter every day, and the time for the election for the imperial merchant is getting closer and closer, Su Tan'er is also very busy, mobilizing a large amount of supplies in Jiangning and other places every day
and drinks, although I am tired, I am in good spirits.
This morning, the Qinhuai River Wharf became more and more prosperous due to the poor land route, with goods and people everywhere.
At this time, in a large warehouse of the Su family on the wharf, Su Tan'er was dressed in a simple woman's dress, with a white skirt and a sky blue skirt, simple and elegant.
While watching the guys moving things back and forth to the warehouse, I checked the materials in the warehouse.
Sometimes I open a box or container and look at the contents, including cinnabar, madder, alum, malanthera... and point out problems from time to time.
"Shopkeeper Liao, come and take a look. There is something wrong with these sage leaves. The gallnuts over there are also moldy. Is it because of water seepage..."
Because we knew that the city gate was about to be closed, a lot of things were brought this time. There were many raw materials for making dyes, as well as dyes that had already been made. There were also silks, cloths... and even looms.
This warehouse can't accommodate it, so it has to be diverted to other warehouses.
However, Su Tan'er was already familiar with this. She checked the warehouse and then looked at several Su family cargo ships that were unloading.
The area near the pier has always been chaotic, with small gangs, gangsters, and various religions gathered together. There were several fights of various sizes every day, and Su Tan'er was already familiar with it.
The pier was bustling with people coming and going. Not far away, a hurried and carefree man passed by. Su Tan'er's expression changed and she suddenly turned around.
The man also turned around subconsciously. With one hand, he was holding the pink and white sachet that was originally hanging on Su Tan'er's waist, but Su Tan'er reached out to grab the other side of the sachet.
Seeing that this was a weak woman, the man was not afraid. He was very familiar with the dock and was an experienced hand. Not only did he not run away, he also stretched out his other hand. If he couldn't steal it, he would just grab it.
Su Tan'er's face turned cold. A dagger slipped from the cuff of her sleeve into her palm without taking it out of its sheath. She struck out with the sword with her backhand. With a snap, the man flew more than a meter away, and a mouthful of blood spurted out with several teeth.
, fell heavily to the ground.
Several waiters noticed the movement, ran over quickly, held the person down and tied him up, and beat and kicked the thief.
"Damn it! You're blind! You dare to steal the lady's things."
Su Tan'er told him to send the person over, but ignored him.
As soon as she left, there was already discussion nearby.
"That's Miss Su, right? How can such a delicate and weak little lady be so powerful?"
"That's it, that's it... you didn't see that such a big person was knocked away by her at once."
"Miss Su is so gentle and weak, how can she beat someone away? Someone else did it, right?"
"It was Miss Su, I saw it. The man tried to grab something, but Miss Su slapped him away with the hilt of her sword."
"So powerful...Does Miss Su know martial arts..."
"I must know martial arts, otherwise how could I be so powerful..."
…
Rumors spread quickly, and within half a day, even Li Mu heard about it. His wife showed off her power at the dock, caught a gangster on the spot, and sent him flying several feet away with one palm.
In the evening, Su Tan'er felt quite embarrassed when she heard Xiao Chan talk about it again vividly.
"It's all good things that Xianggong taught me."
Li Mu burst into laughter, which made Su Tan'er blush. What she said was not a lie. If Li Mu had not spared no effort to spend time with her every day and taught her various techniques, how could he be as good as he is now.
The next two days were still ordinary. Because the city gate would be closed soon, everyone with connections was heading into the city. Many distant relatives from various families came, and even the Su family couldn’t stay.
Relatives outside Shaocheng.
As a result, the price of rice in the city has risen sharply, and there have been more beggars and homeless people on the roadside.
That evening, Li Mu came back from outside and saw Su Tan'er sitting there in a daze, her eyes red as if she had cried, and her energy seemed to have drained away.
Seeing Li Mu, two drops of crystal tears fell down: "My husband, I can no longer be an imperial merchant."
Li Mu was stunned for a moment, and looked at the two pieces of cloth that fell next to Su Tan'er, one bright yellow and one light yellow, and he instantly understood what was going on.
A few days ago, Su Tan'er brought a piece of bright yellow cloth to show off to him. At that time, she smiled like a flower and was very happy. She once asked him, "Mr., do you think this color is beautiful?"
At that time, she was quite confident about becoming an imperial merchant, and the newly developed bright yellow dye was her main source of confidence.
In ancient times, the bright yellow market was quite narrow. Apart from the royal family, imperial decrees in the palace, and various royal objects, there were almost no other markets, but the meaning it represented was different.
The bright yellow dye developed by Su Tan'er is bright and beautiful. It is half better than the yellow cloth used by the royal family today. It is impossible to be rejected when it is brought to the palace. It is logical that the Su family becomes an imperial merchant.
But now...
As Su Tan'er said, she lay in Li Mu's arms and started crying.
While crying, he said: "Ms. sir... I secretly prepared for three years to become an imperial merchant, and finally developed such a beautiful color."
"We didn't add zhehuang, but used a new method to prepare it, including cinnabar, madder, alum, gardenia... This is a formula that no one has used before. More than a month ago, I thought it would be perfect this time.
Everyone was shocked, in the end...in the end it...it faded?"
Li Mu said: "How long does it take for the color to fade?"
Su Tan'er sniffed: "One month, one month later it started to fade. From the beginning, we did a lot of experiments, sun exposure, fire baking, and washing with water over and over again. Nothing happened, it's still so beautiful."
"I thought there was nothing wrong with it, but after a month, it slowly faded away, and it was useless to try anything."
"We re-researched the formula, but this color is difficult to match. There is less yellow used in the raw materials. If the formula is slightly wrong, the color will be much different. We don't know where to adjust it. We also mixed this bright yellow accidentally.
Once it comes out, there is absolutely no way to change it.”
As she spoke, she said with tears on her face: "Mr. sir, there is nothing we can do. We can't get the imperial merchant."
Li Mu consoled him: "Actually, this matter is not unsolvable. There are ways to keep it from fading, and there are ways to make it fade,"
Su Tan'er was taken aback: ""Mr.... Could it be that you want to say that the faded fabric is good? That's not possible... the business partner is the royal family, and the fading of the cloth will be exposed sooner or later. It is a serious crime to deceive the royal family."
Li Mu patted her hand: "Don't worry, my husband won't be so stupid."
"Why do you want to become an imperial merchant? You just want to make your business bigger and prove that you are worthy of this position. There are actually many ways."
Su Tan'er wondered: "What method?"
Li Mu picked up the piece of cloth and said, "Who knows about the fading of the cloth?"
Su Tan'er said: "Besides me, there is only Shopkeeper Liao."
Li Muchao: "Is Shopkeeper Liao reliable?"
Su Tan'er said: "Shopkeeper Liao has been working in our Su family for decades. He has always been my father's right-hand man. He is cautious, down-to-earth and very reliable. He has always been helping me with the planning of Huangshang over the years."
Li Mu nodded. Based on the information he knew, Shopkeeper Liao was indeed reliable.
"That's good. I told Shopkeeper Liao that no one can say anything about the fading of the cloth. You should also adjust your mood and pretend that nothing happened. You should also reveal the operation of Huangshang. Don't be so strict with your mouth. It's best
Let’s display the bright yellow fabric in a small area to let everyone know that as long as this piece of fabric is handed over, the emperor’s business will be stable.”
Su Tan'er was slightly surprised: "In the past, in order to keep it secret and avoid prying eyes, we were unwilling to reveal anything. With such a high profile, what should we do if others are jealous and resort to tricks?"
Li Mu smiled and said: "It's good to use tricks! Since you took the bait, you can't blame us. We will take this opportunity to deal with those who are targeting you."
Su Tan'er is also a smart woman. She quickly guessed what Li Mu meant and hesitated: "Is this okay?"
Li Mu smiled: "We are not targeting anyone. Don't those who take the bait actually want to kill the Su family's eldest family? It's just that their skills are inferior."
Su Tan'er was not a novice. She nodded silently after hearing this, and the two discussed the specific details.