June 20, the 24th year of Zhaohua.
Li Chenan and his party arrived at Yudan City.
This is the last city in the south of Ningguo.
This is only a hundred miles away from Wuyaguan.
From the moment we entered Annan Road, the atmosphere became more and more tense the closer we got to Yudan River.
It's just that when the Red Flame Army came back again, there were far fewer people on Annan Road fleeing with their families.
After all, leaving home is a very sad word and a very troublesome thing.
Everyone is waiting and watching, waiting for the results of the battle between the Red Flame Army and the Wu Army to be announced.
Jade Dan City is on the front line of the war.
Some of the big merchants left the city, but more people stayed. However, there were fewer pedestrians on the streets, and the streets were no longer as prosperous as they used to be.
Yuelai Inn.
The four of them, Li Chenan, lived here.
Originally, Li Chenan thought that the inn might be empty, but he didn't expect that there were many people living in the Yuelai Inn.
Mainly businessmen.
I heard that they were all businessmen who were going to Wu State to do business.
The four of them made arrangements and came to the lobby on the first floor and sat at a table in the corner.
A rather handsome waiter came over quickly, took the towel on his shoulder and wiped the table, and said with a smile: "The guest guest is coming to Yudan City at this time. I guess he is also going to Wu State to do business, right?"
Li Chenan nodded and asked: "Looking at this posture, the Wuya Guan matter is not over yet?"
The waiter shook his head and sighed: "It's not that easy."
He put the towel on his shoulders again, "The Red Flame Army has only been back for five days. I heard that they have been calling for battle every day in the past few days, but the soldiers of the Wu Kingdom have become thousand-year-old turtles!"
"No matter how we call the formation, they just hide behind the closed door and can't come out."
The waiter spread his hands and said, "That Wuya Guan is so high!"
"Wuya Mountain is already steep and steep, and the closed wall was built by Ning Guo. Now it's better. General Wu Mian came back first, and when he looked at the pass, his face turned black when he heard about it. Out of the water."
"It's so difficult to break through!"
"But our Red Flame Army is not far from Guanxia, so there is no danger in this Jade Pill City... Let's not talk about this. What can I do for you, sir?"
Li Chenan ordered four dishes, and the waiter left happily.
Qin Rigang looked at Li Chenan and asked in a low voice: "Master, it seems we really have to go over the mountain."
"Well," Li Chenan pondered for a moment and then said: "Let's go and take a look first."
"... After all, it is a battlefield. Besides, there is an army for such a thing as war. The young master went to the Kingdom of Wu to join relatives, so why bother?"
This was reasonable, but Li Chenan still insisted on his idea.
"Just go and have a look. After all, young master, I haven't seen what it's like when two armies confront each other."
This is Li Chenan's innermost thoughts.
Although he had personally experienced the Battle of Wushan Plains, the strength of the troops on both sides of Wushan Plains was nothing compared to Wuya Pass.
Of course, he also wanted to go to the battlefield to see Wuya Pass in person, and maybe he could find a way to break it.
Qin Rigang did not insist.
Just then, there was a sound from the table next door.
"Why……"
First there was a sigh.
"It seems that we won't be able to go to Wu State in the short term."
"I will return to Jiangnan Province tomorrow. The business environment in Jiangnan Province is quite good now. Just make less money. It is better than wasting it like this."
Li Chenan looked up and saw a middle-aged man in his forties.
An old man next to him also stroked his long beard and sighed, "Yes, I have been living here for half a month. I originally wanted to go back home, but I heard that the Red Flame Army is back."
"I thought it would not be difficult to recapture Wuya Pass now that the Red Flame Army is back, but now I know that fighting is more unpredictable than doing business."
"It's time to go back."
"Think about it, regardless of victory or defeat in this battle, it is a foregone conclusion that our country of Ning and the country of Wu will be at odds with each other."
"If Wu Guosheng wins, they will definitely not open the door to let us pass in a short time."
"If we Ning Guosheng and we go to the Kingdom of Wu, I'm afraid the Wu people won't be as kind to us as before. Maybe... dying in a foreign country will not be worth the gain!"
Everyone pondered, what the old man said made sense!
So some people sighed sadly:
"My Song family has been running the Wu Kingdom's trade route for more than ten years, but it is completely cut off now."
"My Tao family is not the same. The shop opened in Wu State has been waiting for this batch of goods to be delivered. Not only can the goods not be delivered, my shopkeepers and waiters will not be able to come back. "
"I said that the regent has formulated policies for us in Ningguo that are beneficial to our businessmen. From now on, our focus will still be on the country. As Brother Huang said, if you make less, just make less, at least not like this risk."
"..."
Li Chenan did not expect that foreign trade had reached such a height.
This is a good thing.
Of course, he still doesn't know whether more goods from Ning State are imported into Wu State or more goods from Wu State flow to Ning State.
But no matter what, the businessmen seem to have already had experience in doing business across borders.
It sounds like Wu State at least did not prevent merchants from Ning State from doing business in Wu State.
He doesn't know the size of this cross-border transaction, nor does he know what advantageous products each side has.
He still didn't know how the country levied taxes on cross-border business.
Because there is no record of this matter in the Imperial City Department, it seems that the officials in the court did not pay attention to it.
Li Chenan knew the importance of this matter very well.
It's just that before Zhongli Ruoshui's illness was cured, he didn't have time to return to Kyoto to learn more about or promote this cross-border business.
This matter is a systemic matter.
In order to occupy a dominant position in cross-border commerce, Ningguo must become stronger.
Both in terms of military and commodity advantages.
This needs to wait until the first five-year plan is implemented, and then we can do it in the second five-year period.
Li Chenan was thinking this, and suddenly another voice came:
"Isn't Yan Jidao a great master? With him in the Red Flame Army, with his great master's skills, can he leap to the wall of Wuya Pass and cut a bloody path?"
Someone laughed: "Do you think the confrontation between tens of thousands of armies is just a fight in the arena?"
"I have arrows!"
"Besides, there are some experts in the army!"
"Didn't it say that the Seven Swords of Tianshan are among the Wu army?"
"Although Grandmaster Yan is powerful, he is not invulnerable. If he flies to the wall, he will be shot into a hedgehog before he even hits the ground!"
"Oh...it seems that Wuya Pass can't be taken back. I'm afraid it will be a confrontation in the end, and this trade route will be completely cut off."
Just then, a young man rushed in and shouted: "The fight is starting, the fight is starting!"
Someone asked in surprise: "What happened? Wu Jun came out of seclusion?"
"No, those turtles still didn't stick out their heads, but we threw those...fireworks at the wall!"
"fireworks?"
"Yes, it is the thing invented by the Prince Regent during his lifetime. It is extremely powerful."
"So you can break the barrier?"
The young man shook his head and sighed: "It's difficult, the distance is too far, and most of the fireworks explode in the air."
"The accuracy is not good, not two of them landed on the wall."
"It looks pretty good. I guess it just scared Wu Jun."
