Several times before, when the State of Chu attacked the State of Qi, every time it would contact the State of Yan and ask the State of Yan to send troops to help.

During the period when Yan Wangzhi had just ascended the throne, he promised every time, even if it was limited to insufficient strength, he also gathered troops in the southern part of Yan State, threatened the northern part of Qi State, and contained a part of the army of Qi State.

Later, after Yan Guo was taught a few times by Qi Guo, Yan Wangzhi completely stopped, put on a harmless appearance, and no longer showed hatred for Qi State.

As a result, this time, the state of Chu united countries to attack the two countries of Qi and Wei, and all the countries in the world sent envoys, but they forgot about the Yan country alone.

This made Yan Wangzhi very hesitant, could it be that Chu really thought that Yan Guo had been hit by Qi State several times, so he admitted it.

Otherwise, why didn't someone get in touch?

King Yan was worried in his heart, worried that in the future, when Yan and Qi would have a decisive battle, the countries would doubt Yan Guo's determination.

So, in the midst of Yan Wangyi's surprise, there was Gongzi An's trip to Chu State.

With this heavy gift, it was shown to the State of Chu that the hatred of the Yan State towards the State of Qi had not been forgotten, and as long as it could hit the State of Qi, the State of Yan was willing to pay the price, even if there was nothing in return.

But now, Gongzi An saw that the king of Chu resolutely did not accept the gratuitous dedication of the Yan Kingdom, but must pay the corresponding price, so he had to sigh at the atmosphere of the King of Chu while admitting: "King, in the past two years, my Yan Kingdom has fought against the Donghu people one after another, and the gold (copper) of the country's war preparedness has been insufficient. The gold and stone produced by the Chu State are famous all over the world. Therefore, the minister wants to ask the king for gold, and hopes that the king will be fulfilled. ”

Xiong Huai groaned when he heard this.

The so-called gold refers to copper, and in these years, bronze can be used to make copper coins, bronze tools, and weapons. This is now the most important strategic material of all countries, and it is a controlled product that is strictly prohibited from export.

Although all countries in the world have copper mines to a greater or lesser extent, when it comes to the scale and quantity of copper mines, the copper mines of Chu State alone can be comparable to all other countries combined.

Just for the copper mines of Suiguo, the State of Chu had a big fight with Zhou Tianzi in his early years, and as a result, even King Zhao of Zhou died in Hanshui. Similarly, the state of Chu did not take advantage, and the last victory and defeat were suppressed by the Zhou chamber to the west of the Han River, and they could not advance eastward.

However, the state of Chu has not given up the pursuit of copper mines, and has gone through two successive expeditions of King Wu of Chu and King Wen of Chu, and even King Wu of Chu died on the way to attack Suiguo, nearly three hundred years before and after, and finally took control of the mines of Tonglushan in Suiguo.

It was the largest copper mine in the world at that time.

Not only that, but the sphere of influence of the Chu State later expanded to Dongting, Huaishui, Pengze and other places, all of which also had large-scale copper mines.

Since then, Chu has not worried about copper mines, but is only worried about the lack of manpower, unable to quickly convert copper ore into weapons and other copper tools.

Thinking about it, Xiong Huai responded: "If the son asks, the widow will naturally not refuse." ”

As he spoke, Xiong Huai said to Jing Li on the side: "Ling Yin, Qing can talk to Sikong later, and deliver enough gold and stone to Gongzi." Let's just say that this is a gift from the widow to King Yan. ”

Jing Liying said: "Only." ”

Seeing that King Chu agreed, Gongzi An immediately thanked him: "Thank you, King." ”

Xiong Huai smiled, then hesitated for a moment, and then spoke: "Childe, there are countless gold and stones in our country, but our country lacks horses, and all war horses must be bought from other countries. And the Yan country is adjacent to the Hu people, and has a large number of pastures, and the war horses in the pastures are also innumerable, but your country lacks gold and stones.

Therefore, the widow intends to exchange the gold and stone of the Chu State for the war horses of the Yan State, and I don't know if your country can be interested in trading with our country. ”

After speaking, Xiong Huai looked at Gongzi An intently.

Although the State of Chu also traded war horses with the State of Yan before, they were all bought with money, using gold and copper coins.

Although money is important, Yan Guo is not in urgent need. In this way, it was the Yan State that continuously sent war horses to the Chu State, and the Chu State took advantage of the Yan State.

Now, after being reminded by Gongzi Anyi, Xiong Huai realized what Yan Guo really lacked.

Perhaps, exchanging the gold and stone that Yan Country lacks for Yan Kingdom's war horses will make Yan Kingdom more active in transporting war horses. Won't it be like this time, after suffering losses, he will stop moving to Chu Guoyun?

Moreover, it seems that a powerful Yan State does not seem to have any loss to the Chu State.

At least from the current point of view, a strong Yan State is more advantageous to the Chu State than a weak Yan State.

On the other side, Gongzi An was overjoyed when he heard the words of King Chu.

There is not much gold and stone production in Yan Kingdom, but whether it is weapons, bronze or even copper coins, a large amount of gold and stone needs to be consumed. Therefore, Yan Guo often felt the shortage of gold and stone, and was troubled by the shortage of gold and stone. For this reason, Yan Guo had to follow the example of Korea and use iron and stone to build weapons.

However, iron weapons are very unstable, and Yan Guo has created some iron swords that are better than copper swords, but more iron swords are not as good as copper swords.

If you can obtain the gold and stone of Chu State, then Yan State can eliminate a batch of inferior iron swords.

It's just that King Yan sent him just to give gifts, and for such an important matter, Gongzi An can't make a decision in a word.

Therefore, Gongzi An pondered for a while, and arched his hand: "King, your country is willing to exchange gold and stone for war horses, this is the honor of our country, although the minister is happy to agree, but at this time you have to ask the widow for instructions." Therefore, the minister hoped to return to Jidu as soon as possible to explain the king's good intentions to the widow. ”

Xiong Huai said with a smile: "Of course, as long as King Yan can agree to this, then the gold and stone produced in Huainan of our country can be transported to Yan country in a steady stream." ”

Yingdu is too far away from Yan Kingdom, and it is okay to transport leather, but if it is to transport ore, it will be too troublesome. If you want to be quick and convenient, that is, it is transported from the copper mine in Huainan, through the Huaishui River, directly to Yanguo.

Childe An looked expectant when he heard this.

······

Soon after, Gongzi An sent away several messengers, asking them to leave Yingdu before sunset, and quickly return to Jidu to ask King Yan for orders.

At sunset.

After Jing Carp and Zhao Yu finished processing the leather tendons and horns sent by Yan Guo, they came to the palace together.

After the monarch and the ministers met, Xiong Huai asked, "Ling Yin, Sikong, have the affairs of Yan Guo been dealt with?" ”

Jing Liying said: "Back to the king, Gongzi An has already sent someone back to Yan to ask for instructions from King Yan." And he himself continued to stay in Yingdu, waiting for King Yan's reply. In addition, for the sake of secrecy, Gongzi An was reluctant to live in a hotel in Yingdu, so the minister had arranged for him to live temporarily in an idle mansion in Yingdu. ”

"Good!" Xiong Huai responded.

Then, Zhao Yu said: "Back to the king, the gifts sent by Yan Guo have a total of 5,000 cowhides, 5,000 horse skins, 30,000 sheepskins, and hundreds of carts of tendons and horns. As for the gold and stone sent to Yan State, at the request of Gongzi An, the minister had ordered someone to transfer the gold and stone from Huainan, and then asked the envoy of Yan State to send someone to transport it back from Huainan. ”

Saying that, Zhao Yu smiled and said: "King, according to the minister's inspection, the leather tendons and horns sent by Yan Guo this time are all high-quality materials that have only been obtained in recent months, and this great gift from King Yan can be described as attentive." ”