King Runzhou threw the urgent letter on the table, pointed at Chen Xuan and said:
"Chen Xuan!"
"Go find all the craftsmen immediately and send them to the Jiangzhou King's fleet!"
"That's right! We are allocating five hundred stones of food and grass to the King of Jiangzhou!"
"You can give me some of the extra stuff!"
"I'll leave all the negotiations with the King of Jiangzhou to you! If you can win over him, then win over him. If you can't win over him, you must not turn against him!"
"Get it done right away!"
He was really anxious. The emperor almost had nothing to do anymore, so he still cared about whether craftsmen were craftsmen or not.
Just now, I was thinking of not giving Jiangzhou other supplies, but the King of Suzhou was already under his nose.
In order not to offend a king of Jiangzhou anymore, King Runzhou had already risked his life and would give him whatever he had.
Chen Xuan also knew that the matter was urgent, so he hurriedly accepted the errand and ran away quickly.
"Grand Master, over there in Changzhou..."
"It's best to do this right away..."
…
When the Jiangning Palace was discussing how to deal with the Suzhou King, Chen Xuan had already gathered the craftsmen together.
In addition to the seventeen shipbuilders, there were ten blacksmiths and ten carpenters.
The craftsmen have been busy repairing the city wall these days.
Jiangningcheng deserves to be called a big city.
After that kind of natural disaster that destroyed the world, 60-70% of the city wall was still preserved.
After the King of Changzhou ascended the throne, he began to clean up the ruins of the city wall.
Now that King Runzhou has come up, due to the war, repairing the gaps in the city wall has become the most important task.
Almost all the labor in the city was mobilized, and all the people built the city wall.
Fortunately, Jiangning's grain inventory has enough grain and grass, otherwise King Runzhou's regime would have collapsed long ago.
The craftsmen, who were exhausted and disgraced, were suddenly gathered together by Chen Xuan, and all of them felt uneasy.
They worry about being sent to the front lines to fight.
"You go home and pack your things now, and gather your children here tomorrow at Mao!" Chen Xuan ordered.
"Master Chen, where are we going?"
"It's not like going to the battlefield!"
"Master Chen, we are all craftsmen, not good at fighting!"
"Yes! Mr. Chen, please tell your Majesty that we must work hard and never be lazy!"
Chen Lin waved his hand and said: "Go back and clean up quickly! You are not going to the battlefield! Your Majesty asked you to go to Jiangzhou!"
"Jiangzhou...Isn't there a war in Jiangzhou?"
"Go quickly, let's play fifty big games before midnight tomorrow!" Chen Xuan shouted with a straight face.
The craftsmen were so busy that they dispersed.
After sending the craftsmen away, Chen Xuan took people to the warehouse again.
King Runzhou said that if you have many things, you can send some to Jiangzhou. What should you send?
Look through this box and look over there.
There were quite a few pieces of cloth and cotton, as well as mountains of copper and iron coins.
There are also many other things such as porcelain, tools, and building materials.
"Sir, why don't we directly ask the king of Jiangzhou what he wants?" the clerk next to him suggested.
He followed Ma Cheng on his boat and felt that the people in Jiangzhou were quite easy to talk to.
"Yeah. That's a good idea. Go and ask." Chen Xuan nodded.
"Sir, it's already Haishi, and their fleet has already arrived in Jiangbei. Why don't we check back tomorrow morning. If they have already voted for the King of Suzhou, it will be a dead end for them to go there now!" the clerk said hurriedly.
"Yeah, that makes sense. I'll see you tomorrow! I'll see you tomorrow!" Chen Xuan said with deep approval.
Just like that, the night in Jiangning City was filled with panic.
The soldiers on the watch at the top of the city were relieved when they saw the Jiangzhou fleet sailing back to the south of the river in the middle of the night.
Early the next morning, the clerk took a small boat and headed straight for the Jiangzhou fleet.
On the Jiangzhou fleet, Ma Cheng and Cui Shan were already preparing to turn the fleet around.
As a result, before I could move, I saw a small boat coming from Jiangning.
"Oh? Did you agree to give it to the craftsman?" Ma Cheng was confused.
"Do you still need to give food, grass and other supplies?" Cui Shan wondered.
The two men came up after the clerk who had reported the news, and the clerk explained the matter.
The two of them were happy but also confused.
I was about to leave, but things took a turn for the worse.
And the clerk also asked them what they wanted...
There was obviously a big reversal in attitude.
Ma Cheng thought about it and felt that it was related to the transaction with Jiangbei last night.
They didn't know about the war in Changzhou, and they only guessed that Jiang Ning might be afraid that they would defect to the King of Suzhou.
With this guess, the business would be easier to negotiate. Ma Cheng said:
"It would be best if there is food and grass."
"Your Majesty has allocated five hundred shi of food and grass," the clerk said.
Ma Cheng and Cui Shan didn't even recognize the majesty he was talking about. What the hell is your majesty? That's your majesty!
Ma Cheng thought for a moment and said, "We can't just take your stuff for nothing."
"Okay, let's give you some equipment."
Being favored for nothing seemed like Song Yang had accepted King Runzhou's will.
Now you give me food and grass, and I give you things, and we make a deal.
Don’t even think about giving orders to us in Jiangzhou. We in Jiangzhou don’t want to listen to your orders.
The clerk was a little confused: "I can't decide this matter. I have to go back and ask for instructions."
After sending away the petty officials, Ma Cheng and Cui Shan discussed the matter.
Finally decided to give some equipment to Jiang Ning.
in exchange for more food.
"Trade? Haha, the King of Jiangzhou has a good idea."
"But they didn't take refuge with the King of Suzhou. That's good news."
"Okay. I can make the decision on this matter. Let's trade with them. Let's give them five hundred stones of food and some other things. As for their things... remember, they only need bows and arrows!" Chen Xuan nodded.
, agreed to this.
Now Jiangning is fighting a city defense battle, and the effects of swords, spears, swords and halberds are much worse than those of bows and arrows.
Finally, something weird happened.
Ma Cheng exchanged 500 shi of grain with Qian Guangzhi for a bunch of weapons and a lot of money.
Now I only took out 100 bows and 30,000 arrows, and actually exchanged them for 500 stones of food and grass!
This does not include the three hundred pieces of cloth, one hundred stones of cotton and some other miscellaneous things...
This business is simply too profitable!
The most important thing is that Jiangning also produced thirty-seven craftsmen!
The transaction was completed in the afternoon, and both parties expressed their gratitude to each other in a friendly manner at Jiangning Wharf on the south bank.
Jiangning had plenty of food and grass. This time he came back with bows and arrows. When King Runzhou knew about it, he specially praised Chen Xuan.
Only Gao Liangping was not happy. He meant that he didn't want anything from Jiangzhou, so that he could show his status as master and servant.
But King Runzhou doesn't care about this. With these bows and arrows, his defensive strength can also be improved a lot.
The delivery of things was completed, and the Jiangzhou fleet was about to set off when another person came to the city.
When he got closer, he saw a handsome young man with a majestic appearance and a sword on his waist.
The young man cupped his fists at Ma Cheng and said:
"My dear Sir Xun, Gao Junyan, is going to Jiangzhou to meet the prince, and I would like to ask Mr. Ma to make it easier for him."
"Oh, it turns out to be Mr. Gao! I have admired you for a long time!" Ma Cheng returned the greeting with cupped fists.
Gao Junyan was the second son of Gao Liangping. Before the natural disaster, he was a doctor named Si Xun of the Ministry of Civil Affairs in Jiangning.
He is quite talented in literature and is said to have extraordinary martial arts skills.
Even if there was a famous young master in Jiangning back then, Ma Cheng would naturally have heard of his name.
"Since Mr. Gao wants to go to Jiangzhou, it will be convenient for me."
Song Yang's order asked Jiangning to send someone to contact Jiangzhou.
As it turned out, Jiangning already had an emperor, so Ma Cheng didn't expect them to send anyone.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Ning actually sent someone over before leaving.