"Yan Tang pays homage to the King of Shu." As soon as they arrived at the river bank, a young man wearing a Chinese robe immediately came up to him and bowed to him.
Xu Mu didn't know much about Yuan Song. I only know that there is an old man and several adopted sons. This Yan Tang should be one of the adopted sons.
The surname is Yan, not Guo. It seems that Yuan Song still knows the truth.
"Polite." Xu Mu waved his hand and sat down firmly by the thatched pavilion on the river bank. According to the rules, if there are envoys, they should be invited to the palace. But right now, Xu Mu has no such intention.
Yan Tang also seemed to understand and did not dwell on this issue. Instead, he ordered people to present many gifts one by one.
"This is a tribute gift chosen from thousands of choices by my adoptive father. I came here to present it specially to Xishu this time." Yan Tang bowed again.
"Since you are the envoy, please take your seat. Then you can get down to business."
Yan Tang smiled, raised his eyes quickly, and glanced around. After seeing Dongfang Jing sitting on the wooden wheel cart behind him, the shock on his face fleetingly disappeared.
"I've met Mr. Dongfang."
"Polite." Dongfang Jing nodded.
Yan Tang exhaled and his voice became serious.
"The King of Shu is wise and brave, and the little military advisor from the East is the wisest in the world. In this case, I won't hide anything and will keep telling you."
"I came here this time because my adoptive father wanted to do business with the King of Shu."
"Business?" Xu Mu was startled.
Today, the thirty states in the world are all doing their own thing. Trade matters are naturally handled by people like Huang Daochong or business rudders. Of course, there are also those in Xishu, and Chen Sheng also established a merchant ship. However, most of them are transported by water.
This Yuan Song is really interesting. They don’t talk about forming an alliance, and they don’t talk about being orthodox. They just talk about doing business first. I guess he is trying to build up feelings and let them slowly penetrate later.
"There is still a lot of salt and iron in the two states of Laiyan. My adoptive father said that those merchants are all second-rate traders. It is better to do business with the king of Shu directly. You only need to pass through Kezhou, and then there will be no problem. ”
"Laiyan and Yanzhou don't seem to produce salt or iron." Xu Mu said with a smile.
"Last year on New Year's Eve, my adoptive father collected too much. I was afraid that it would be piled in the warehouse and spoiled, so I wanted to sell it to the King of Shu at a 30% discount. Before I entered Western Shu, I made a special estimate and found that there were about five warehouse."
Five warehouses are already quite a lot in terms of salt and iron.
Xu Mu's face was expressionless and he didn't answer. He is not a fool. If someone offers a big gift, he will eagerly accept it. If he dared to do business with Yuan Song, Zuo Shiren would have to scold him in his heart.
"Let me think about trade matters. I heard that Brother Yan is coming this time -" Xu Mu turned his head.
Dongfang Jing agreed, "Brother Yan said that he brought something, which seems to have been left by the young Marquis."
Yan Tang smiled and said, "Of course, I originally wanted to give King Shu a surprise."
"Brother Yan, why don't you take it out first?"
Yan Tang waved back without any pause, and an accompanying guard placed a small sandalwood box firmly on the desk.
"My adoptive father said that the King of Shu should think clearly and open it again after he really wants to accept it -"
"Give you a chance to take back these words." Xu Mu raised his head coldly.
Yan Tang's face turned pale slightly and he hesitated, not daring to say anything more.
"Li Jiu, go help my lord open it." Dongfang Jing suddenly ordered.
The guard who asked Li Jiu clasped his fists, walked to the desk, and opened the sandalwood box without any hesitation.
There was no sign of poisoning, and guard Li Jiu retreated again.
Xu Mu lowered his head, looked down, and found that there was only an old letter in the wooden box.
"This letter... is from the handwriting of Marquis Yuan. I dare not hide it from the King of Shu. At first, Marquis Yuan guessed that my adoptive father was not dead and sent people to search everywhere. But later, the traitor committed evil, and Marquis Yuan had to close the net. Returned to Changyang. When I left, I seemed to have found out something. I left a letter and wanted to send it to Li Poshan at the border, but my adoptive father intercepted it halfway."
"When did this happen."
"The fourteenth year of Xingwu."
Xu Mu lowered his head, calculated the time, and found that they all matched. But he didn't believe it immediately. He hesitated and picked up the letter.
"My adoptive father also said that with this letter, there is evidence for this great alliance in the world. Although it is just a guess, it seems that it is almost inseparable now."
"This Demon Queen of Cangzhou is a member of a foreign race. Anyone who is loyal and righteous in our Central Plains will be killed by everyone." Yan Tang said with certainty.
Xu Mu did not answer and opened the letter.
At the first glance, when he saw the familiar neat little clerk, he felt a sudden surge of sadness in his heart.
Li Jiang, my brother, sees words as well as faces.
There has been no progress in tracing the case of Yuan Bai and Yuan Song for many days, and I am very worried. Our university is in turmoil. Outside there are Beidi tigers looking at us, and there are traitors inside who are harming the country...
Three days ago, while investigating, I accidentally discovered a secret. Princess Changfu may have been pregnant when she returned to the court. If she has given birth to a child, she must have passed the age of binding her hair.
The act of making peace is a sign of the weakness of the country and the sorrow of all the people. Only my brother is willing to guard the border and be loyal, brave and courageous.
…
Xu Mu closed the envelope in silence. He was now basically certain that this letter was indeed left by the young Marquis.
"Princess Changfu, is she the current princess?"
"My lord, he has died of illness." Dongfang Jing, who was behind, said hesitantly, "Princess Changfu Yuan Lan was promised to the Great Khan of Beidi during her early marriage. But later she went crazy for some reason and was sent back by the people of Beidi. Changyang. This happened more than twenty years ago."
"Mr. Dongfang, you are really smart." Yan Tang complimented, "My adoptive father said that after Princess Changfu came back, she was actually pregnant, but she secretly gave birth to a baby. I can't say that she gave birth to a baby girl. What? According to what Yuan Houye said in his letter, in the fourteenth year of Xingwu, he passed the age of tying his hair. Hehe, he is now more than twenty years old. "
Yan Tang's words pointed the finger at the Cangzhou man.
"Is there any other evidence?"
"King Shu, this autographed letter from Marquis Yuan is enough to explain. The Yuan family's royal status and Beidi royal status. If not, how can she get the loyalty of so many people?"
"It's not that simple. I'm just asking you, how can you be sure that Princess Changfu's child is the Demon Queen of Cangzhou?"
Yan Tang frowned, "I guessed it all."
"Everything must be based on evidence." Xu Mu carefully put the letter into the sandalwood box.
He believed it, but he didn’t believe it either. What I believe is that the young Marquis will not tell lies. What he didn't believe was that he always felt that this matter was not that simple.
"By the way, Brother Yan, what you mentioned about trade before..."
Yan Tangdui smiled, his eyes eager.
"I agreed." Xu Mu smiled.
Yan Tang clenched his hands into fists. If he wasn't concerned about his identity, he would probably jump up and beat Xu Mu's chest twice.
"Let's do this. Starting from tomorrow, I will set up a merchant house in Kezhou. If there is any salt and iron in the two states of Laiyan, I can transport it to Kezhou for trade."
"No, not transported to Xishu?" Yan Tang was shocked.
"Of course not. Xishu is preparing for war. I'm afraid I'll neglect Brother Yan. Brother Yan, did you say you wanted to trade before? If you don't want to, then forget it."
Yan Tang was trembling. From this look, one can tell that he is scolding his mother in his heart. But there was nothing he could do, and Xu Muyan made a serious move.
"Yan Tang, thank you King Shu." Yan Tang's voice became obviously hoarse.
