After seven days and nights, Qu Wu's ship finally arrived at Yingdu, the central city of Chu State.

At this time, the state of Chu was already the largest country in China, and after more than 200 years of hard work, the state of Chu annexed neighboring countries by force, and changed from an inconspicuous small country to a powerful country with a wide territory and a large population, which stood out from the crowd.

After the boat docked, Ziyan disembarked with Qu Wu, a city she had been living in a few years ago, not only with her countless childhood memories, but also with her lost siblings and the little friends she often missed. A few years passed, and she wondered if she would be able to see them.

And the house she once lived in, the familiar streets and neighbors have appeared in her dreams many times in the past few years, and today she finally revisited the old place, this excitement is indescribable.

In spring, Yingdu is full of spring, the houses of blue bricks and terracotta tiles in the city are the majority, the people's clothing and mental state are much stronger than Gusu and Zhuye, and the beggars are obviously less than Gusu and Zhuye, showing that this place is more prosperous. Ziyan said that in her memory, the number and scale of Yingdu's handicraft workshops and merchants far exceeded that of Gusu, not to mention Zhuye.

Qu Wu saw that Ziyan was walking after getting off the boat, and seemed to be moving forward in a jump, and he was also infected by her emotions. He also knew that Yingdu was Jingzhou more than 2,000 years later, and it was the place where he served and trained in his first year as a soldier, and when he visited the Jingzhou Museum, he also learned some about the history of the ancient Chu State.

The Yingdu she saw was almost no different from what she remembered, the docks, the street scenes, and the facades of those commercial areas were still the same as they used to be, but things were no longer people. On the way to the inn, she kept introducing Qu Wu to some of the cultural history, food, and culture of Yingdu.

The inn they are looking for is the best one in Yingdu, the name is Hengchang Inn, which is recommended by Ziyan, not only safety, but also first-class health conditions and diet in Yingdu. It's also close to where she used to live.

After settling down and staying, Qu Wu and Ziyan began the most important thing - buying food. Qu Wu also spared no expense in order to buy food, not only with three catties of gold given by Prince Shoumeng, but also with seventeen catties of gold earned by his restaurant, a total of twenty catties, that is, ten catties of gold equivalent to the weight of modern society, all wrapped around his waist to buy grain, and even brought a night pearl, plus more than 200 lighters.

They went to the business district to look for a few large grain shops and contact them about buying grain.

Yingdu is located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, and the Dongting Lake Plain has always been a famous land for fishing and rice, with fertile land and abundant grain production, so the output of grain, especially rice, is higher than that of other places, and the price of grain is relatively cheap. However, this is a time of scarcity, food prices are higher than usual, and it is not easy to prepare large quantities of food.

Zi Yan speaks the local dialect, so that Qu Wu can negotiate business with the shop without any language barrier. However, the purchase of grain did not go well, and the few shops could not provide much food.

Qu Wu had no choice but to buy as much as the shop could provide, grinding and soaking hard, and loading the ship first after buying, and at noon, he barely scraped together tens of thousands of catties, just enough to fill the Taiwu, and the merchant sent it to the Taiwu building.

These tens of thousands of catties are far from enough, Qu Wu's idea is to use all the gold he carries to buy grain, and even do not hesitate to sell a night pearl and hire a few more ships to ship.

Qu Wu knew that these shops were not short of food, but that they were reluctant to sell them, waiting for higher prices. For these shopkeepers, the food in their hands is tantamount to shining gold, and when food is extremely scarce, those who are struggling on the line of life and death will spend all their money to buy food in exchange for a chance to survive.

Such a one-family purchase is time-consuming and laborious, not to mention, and the results are too low. Qu Wu asked these shops how they could buy a large amount of grain at one time, and an enthusiastic boss introduced him that he could only solve the problem by going to Mi Hong, the big boss of the Maoyuan shop.

However, it seems that it is not easy to meet the boss of Maoyuan, and it is not something that anyone who wants to see can meet. Qu Wu learned that the shops in Maoyuan were not ordinary shops, but officials and businessmen with the signs of private shops. And from Mi's surname, you can see his identity as a nobleman of Chu State, Ziyan is even more clear, most of the surname Mi is related to the King of Chu, and the strength of Maoyuan's shops is even more extraordinary.

Qu Wu returned to the Taiwu ship, changed into a set of gorgeous satin clothes, and Ziyan also dressed up and went to the Maoyuan shop.

The two walked into the door of the Maoyuan shop with their heads held high, and the shop guy saw that they were brightly dressed and imposing, and they were not expected to be small buyers, so they hurriedly stepped forward to say hello: "This gentleman, I don't know what can I serve?"

Qu Wu took out the name card that had been prepared and handed it over: "Contemptible Qu Wu, a businessman from Wu State, came to visit your boss Mi Hong, hoping to convey it."

"I wonder if Mr. Qu Wu has an appointment?"

"I haven't made an appointment, because the contemptible person is from afar, can I inform Boss Mi?"

"Well, since I've come from afar, I'll report it." The man took the famous post made of bamboo chips and hurried to the back room to report to the boss.

After a while, the guy walked out again and said to Qu Wu: "Mr. Qu Wu, I'm really sorry, my boss is receiving guests from the government, and it is inconvenient to see each other, I hope you can forgive me."

"Then I want to ask, can I make another appointment to see Boss Mi?"

"My boss has been so busy lately, and the appointments have been scheduled for four days, or you can come back in five days, and I will help you make an appointment."

Qu Wu was deeply disappointed, five days was a time he couldn't afford to wait, so he had to decline and retire with Ziyan. Seeing that it was noon and I was a little hungry, I and Ziyan ate first and then made plans.

The two found a restaurant, found a seat on the side of the lobby and sat down, and waited while drinking tea after ordering.

At this time, Qu Wu heard the four young people at the next table drinking and discussing the current affairs, looking like the young elite of the Chu State.

"The battle of Zheng Guo, the shame of the Battle of Snow City, my Great Chu should take advantage of the situation to take Chen Guo first and expand the territory. One way is to attack the northern border of Chen through Zheng Guo, and the other way to enter from the southern border of Chen State. One of them, a young man in a blue robe, talked eloquently, with a heroic momentum that swallowed mountains and rivers.

At this time, a slender young man dressed in gray cloth stood up from his seat and retorted, "Brother Zi's words are wrong. Chu Shiqiang but must not be easy to fight. Although the battle of Zheng Guo was won, it should also be noted that this battle was not aimed at capturing Zheng State, so the scale of the war was controllable. And if you want to swallow the Chen State, it must be a huge war. Although Chen is smaller than Zheng, Chen's combat power is not weak, and it is supported by its northern neighbors. In addition, now that it is the time of green and yellow harvest and spring sowing, the labor expedition will cost more national strength, not to mention, it will cause the spring sowing to be unable to be completed, and the summer grain production will be reduced, and the gains outweigh the losses. ”

"Brother Shu Ao is too cautious, how dare the little Chen State confront our Chu army, as long as our Great Chu Army forms a high-pressure situation on the north and south borders of the Chen State, then Chen Gonggong will definitely surrender without a fight and submit to the Great Chu. If the state of Chu is as timid and unenterprising as Brother Ao Ao's lofty arguments, how can the state of Chu be able to unify the world? ”

Zi said this, Shu Ao didn't dare to agree. Shu Ao is not without enterprising intentions, but hopes that our Chu army will know his opponent and confidant, advance steadily, and do a good job of the most important spring sowing in front of him first, and then talk about the matter of killing Chen after the summer harvest is the best policy. ”

At this time, Qu Wu heard that the two people were called Zianti, and the other was called Shu Ao. Qu Wu couldn't help but sigh, no wonder the Chu State was strong, because the blood of the Chu people flowed with the genes of conquest and power.