Hearing Fang Jia say "Young Master invites you", and then seeing the two sword-carrying monks behind Fang Jia, Master Wu Sheng and Dongsun looked at each other, each feeling guilty.
"May I ask which young master it is?" Wu Sheng asked bravely.
Fang Jia said: "Young master Qingyu."
"I wonder if you have something important to do when you call me, I'll be ready." Wu Sheng continued to ask bravely.
This time Fang Jia couldn't answer. He turned to look behind him. A monk behind him cupped his hands and said: "Master Shen Alchemy has nothing to worry about and there is nothing to prepare. I have something to ask you, just a few words... .Shopkeeper Dong doesn’t need to go.”
Master Dongsun leaned against the doorpost and watched Wu Sheng off. Wu Sheng waved to him: "Go to the market to buy some spiritual materials and come back, so I can make elixirs."
Wu Sheng felt relieved as soon as the guard handed over his hand in greeting, and he did not let Master Dongsun go, which also showed that it had nothing to do with the fact that the two of them were wanted by Jixia Academy, otherwise they would have been tied up with a rope and taken away at the same time.
There were two young masters in the state of Yong. The elder brother was called Chengshuang and the younger brother was named Qingyu. It was Qingyu who invited Wu Sheng to come over. Young Master Qingyu's mansion is not far from Sima's mansion, but it is much smaller, with only two floors.
After entering the house with the two guards, before he had time to observe where there were any furnishings such as magical weapons, Young Master Qingyu appeared.
"Master Shen from Yongrentang?"
"Meet the young master."
"Why is Alchemist Shen's face so blue...such a big piece?"
"I accidentally knocked on the door, which made the young master take effect."
"careless?"
"As alchemists, we love what we do and think about alchemy issues all the time. It's normal for us to bump into doors and fall down."
"I see... Master Shen, please take a seat."
Wu Sheng sat down at the guest's seat and said: "Young master, I am here to invite you. I am late, but I hope you will forgive me."
Young Master Qingyu smiled and said: "Master Shen, don't be cautious. Sima Yuan told me before that there is a new alchemist in Shangyong City. His alchemy method is superb and his elixir is outstanding. This is a blessing to Yongguo. I have always wanted to see him." Alchemist, but due to the heavy state affairs, he did not get the convenience. In recent days, the elixir of Yongrentang has become more and more famous in Shangyong. It just so happened that the certificate of credence came from Yuguo, so I invited the alchemist to come and talk about it. "
Does the credentials of the Fish Country have anything to do with me? Wu Sheng was a little confused and bowed during the banquet: "Master, please speak clearly."
Qingyu said: "Winter is about to enter now, and it's time for the Putai Alliance Meeting. The Kingdom of Yu has sent letters of credence and summoned the princes of various countries to come to the alliance. My father is ill and is still unable to go this year, so I will go on my behalf."
Seeing that Wu Sheng was still puzzled, he said: "Every three years at the Putai League meeting, they all discuss the tribute of spears. The four countries of Yong, Yu, Kui, and Lu will pay tribute as usual, including gold, magic weapons, elixirs, spiritual materials, and silk. Hemp, spiritual wine, rice, animal skins and other items..."
Wu Sheng listened to him for a long time and finally understood.
At that time, the Yong State was once very powerful. The states of Huiyu, Kui, and Lu formed an alliance and jointly attacked the Chu State. The Chu State was almost defeated. It was not until Qin and Ba agreed to jointly attack Yongguo that the danger was turned and Yongguo was destroyed.
After the destruction of Yong, the Chu State moved the four largest kingdoms to the south as a barrier from Baiyue and the barbaric lands, and agreed on the number of tributes. This tribute is shared among the four countries, and the total value is decided by the people of Chu. As for how much each country shares, Chu does not care.
Just over which family should share how much, the four countries almost went to war with each other. If it weren't for the centuries-old in-laws and alliances, they would almost have started fighting.
Finally, the kings of the four countries met in Putai and agreed on a method, that is, the total cost of spear tribute was shared by the four countries according to 4:3:2:1, with the Yong country the most, followed by the Yu country, Kui again, and finally Lu. It is also shared according to national strength.
Before the tribute, the Chu State gave the total amount of each tribute, and each country prepared the tribute according to the covenant. In order to meet Chu's requirements for tribute, the alliance also agreed that these tributes should be prepared by the country that is best at it, which can not only give full play to the country's advantages, but also reduce the burden on other countries.
For example, the state of Chu stipulated that 500 animal skins should be tributed this year, with a total value of no less than fifty gold. The state of Qi was good at making animal skins, so it gave all the 500 animal skins in the tribute list to the state of Qi for preparation. The remaining three countries allocated money to the Kingdom of Lu according to the agreed ratio.
As for which country is good at what, it can only be a matter of competition.
Speaking of this, Qingyu said: "Forty percent of the tribute every year is a heavy burden for the Yong State. In recent years, Dayong is not as good as fish in refining weapons and elixirs, and is not as good as Kui in making silk and wine. Leather making is only left to Su. Responsible for raising spiritual materials and rice, a large amount of love money was lost to other countries."
Wu Sheng understood a little bit and asked: "The pricing is in the hands of the Chu people? How do they determine how much the tribute is worth?"
Qingyu said: "The Chu people's southern county is called Yangzhou, and there is a city in Yangzhou. The Chu people use the price of the city as their basis."
The Chu people used the price in Yangzhou Fangshi as the standard to measure the quality of tributes. In fact, they inflated the price, which resulted in considerable profits. Yong Guo paid 40% of the expenses of the tribute, but could only recover some from spiritual materials and rice, and suffered a huge loss.
The most suitable one should be the Fish Kingdom. The magical weapons and elixirs are all collected by the Fish Kingdom. This is a huge advantage. Wu Sheng is an alchemist himself, so of course he knows how much room there is for manipulation. He estimates that on the surface of the Fish Kingdom, If you pay 30% of the tribute, I'm afraid you'll have to give a big discount in the end. Actually, if you pay 20%, it's not bad.
Sure enough, Qingyu said: "The Kingdom of Chu has sent an edict. This year, the tribute from the four countries is worth thousands of gold, including hundreds of gold coins, magic weapons, elixirs, spiritual materials, silk linen, spiritual wine, rice, and animal skins. We will meet this summer. The alliance will also agree on the preparations of each country, which must take three years."
Wu Sheng asked: "Young Master, what do you mean, elixir?"
Qingyu nodded: "The magic weapon is two hundred and fifty gold, the elixir is three hundred gold, and the spiritual material is one hundred and fifty gold. This is the value set by the people of Chu. Shangyongfang City is the largest among the four countries, and the spiritual material is prepared by Dayong. Undoubtedly, not to mention rice, if the refining of elixirs can be taken back from the hands of the Fish Kingdom, then Dayong can earn hundreds of gold from this year's spear tribute, and the pressure will be much easier."
Wu Sheng asked: "How do you compete with magic weapons? How do you compete with elixirs?"
Qingyu said: "The magic weapons will be compared in three formations, the spiritual elixir will be opened in three furnaces, and the competition will be held on the Putai."
Wu Sheng understood: "So, what you want is for the young master to let the common people compete in the alchemy test? I heard that Yun Ji, the alchemist of the Fish Kingdom, has to become a famous master and he is very powerful..."
Qingyu said: "The elixir refined by Master Shen is said to be as effective as him."
Wu Sheng smiled humbly and said hesitantly: "But I don't know what if I win?"
Qingyu said: "If Master Shen can take back the refining of the spiritual elixir, all the tribute of this year's spiritual elixir will be handed over to Master Shen for refining. Yong Guo will pay two hundred and thirty gold!"
Two thousand spiritual elixirs, with a total price of two hundred and thirty gold. Based on his cost, he can earn at least half of it. Wu Sheng quickly calculated in his mind that if successful, the money would be enough for him to convert tens of thousands of spiritual sand!
What Wu Sheng lacked was Lingsha, a large amount of Lingsha. After calculating it, he couldn't help but feel excited. After thinking about it, he said: "I have one condition."
Qingyu said: "Please tell me."
Wu Sheng said: "If you are lucky enough to get this business, the market cannot deliberately raise the price when purchasing alchemy materials."
Qingyu was stunned and suddenly smiled: "You are very confident? Don't worry!"
Wu Sheng lowered his head: "I dare not say anything about confidence. Xiaomin is willing to give it a try."
