This letter is the letter written by the old fairy of Fuyaozi to Wang Kunjun and others, asking them to come to Kaifeng to meet Chai Rong immediately, so after Zhao Pu took the letter and read it from beginning to end, he naturally understood that these people sitting in front of him were really not ordinary businessmen, but outsiders who wanted to see today.

The reason why Wang Kunjun directly handed over Master Tai's letter to Zhao Pu was not a spur of the moment, let alone a self-made opinion, but a strategy he set after repeated discussions with Yu Xuzi, Zhang Weixin, Xu Shaoan and others before coming to Zhao's mansion for the banquet. Wang Kunjun and the others had already thought before they came that in the face of such a huge caravan from the enemy country, Zhao Pu, as an official of the Zhou State, would definitely ask him about the purpose of these people coming all the way to Kaifeng. And with Zhao Pu's talent, if he doesn't tell the truth on his side, he is likely to be seen by the other party. Rather than having to tell the truth in the face of the other party's questioning at that time, it is better to reveal your own details as soon as you come up. In this way, you can not only reduce many twists and turns, but also show the sincerity of your side. Therefore, as soon as Zhao Pu opened his mouth to ask relevant questions, Wang Kunjun directly sent the letter of the old fairy of Fuyaozi.

Sure enough, Zhao Pu nodded slightly after reading the letter. Although Zhao Pu was only a seventh-rank foreign official, the news of the current Holy Lord's summoning of Chen Tuan Ancestor had already spread throughout the capital, and he had already heard about it as soon as he came back. Therefore, after reading the letter, he already believed in the rhetoric of Wang Kunjun and others.

However, although the letter was written in the common name of the old fairy of Fuyaozi, Zhao Pu had never seen the pen of the old fairy of Fuyaozi before, so it was impossible for him to fully believe that Wang Kunjun and the others were the guests invited by Chai Rong with just a letter. Therefore, after Zhao Pu returned the letter to Wang Kunjun, he said: "You are the saviors of my official's brother and sister, and you took the initiative to express your intention just now, so it stands to reason that your official should not be suspicious. However, after all, this matter is related to the imperial court, and this official cannot be careless. Therefore, if you can't prove the authenticity of this letter within three days, then this official has to report this matter to Kaifeng Mansion to know, and I hope you will not be surprised. ”

Although Zhao Pu said it politely, the meaning he expressed was not polite at all. The implication is that if Wang Kunjun and the others cannot prove their identities within three days, they will be sent to Kaifeng Mansion for questioning. However, Wang Kunjun and the others didn't care when they heard it, as the so-called "didn't do anything wrong, and they weren't afraid of ghosts calling the door", since they dared to show Master Tai's letter to Zhao Pu, they were naturally confident about this matter.

Therefore, Wang Kunjun said: "Where is the duty of Judge Zhao, how dare you blame the inferior." As for proving one's inferior status, it doesn't have to wait three days. The inferior plans to go to the pavilion tomorrow to meet Master Tai, and is worried about not being familiar with the geography of Kaifeng City, if Judge Zhao is free, I don't know if he is willing to deign to take him to the inferior class? ”

Seeing that Wang Kunjun not only didn't care about what he said just now, but invited himself to meet Chen Kuan Ancestor with him in disguise, Zhao Pu admired Wang Kunjun's frankness on the one hand, and on the other hand, he also believed the statements of Wang Kunjun and others for seven or eight points. So, he nodded and agreed: "Wang Yuanwai is too polite, it is normal for you to come to Kaifeng for the first time and not recognize the road, this official is just a gesture to guide you, what to say condescending or not condescending." Then let's decide, tomorrow morning, this official will wait for you in the mansion. ”

Wang Kunjun responded: "Thank you so much Judge Zhao, I will definitely arrive just before tomorrow." ”

After agreeing on the time to meet the next day, Zhao Pu's suspicion of Wang Kunjun and others was much lighter, and the atmosphere of the banquet behind slowly became warmer. The meal was not finished until about the beginning of the year, and after Wang Kunjun and Zhao Pu reconfirmed the time to meet the next day, they said goodbye to the Zhao brothers and returned to the inn.

Returning to the inn and entering the courtyard rented by the "delegation", Wang Kunjun and the other three committee members did not rest, but asked Lu Yue to set up the radio station and prepare for daily routine communication with Li Junwu.

In a short time, Lu Yue completed the commissioning of the radio station and realized communication with the "Liangyuan" base. After Wang Kunjun reported the experience of the "delegation" on this day as usual, Li Junwu first jokingly congratulated Wang Kunjun and others for finally meeting a historical figure who was named in the history books, and then began to inform Wang Kunjun and others of various situations in Liangxiang. ,

Li Junwu first talked about the work of various functional departments as usual, and then said: "There is something that needs to be discussed with you. This afternoon, Lao Shi came with news from Youzhou City, saying that Feng Cheng, the head of the left-behind mansion, had found him today and made a more vague request to him. ”

"Requirements? What did he ask? Wang Kunjun asked.

"What else can he ask," Li Junwu said disdainfully on the radio, "He naturally asked for benefits." According to Lao Shi, although Feng Cheng didn't say it directly, he revealed a message from his words, that is, the glass palace lamp that was given to the emperor of Liao last year was accidentally broken when he was wiping it some time ago, although the eunuch who caused the accident has been beheaded, but a pair of palace lamps turned into one is not beautiful after all.

Although the Emperor of Liao did not directly ask Xiao Siwen for it, with Xiao Siwen's personality, he would definitely not let go of this good opportunity to tie up with the emperor. It just so happens that the New Year is about to be celebrated, and it is time for officials from all over the country to give gifts to the emperor, so Xiao Siwen hopes that we can send another pair of large glass palace lamps to the emperor like we did during the Spring Festival last year. This not only makes up for the lack of only one glass palace lamp left in the palace, but also does not seem to be too abrupt to give gifts.

Because a pair of glass palace lamps were expensive in the market, Lao Shi didn't dare to reply to him at that time, saying that he had to discuss it with his brothers. Moreover, Lao Shi also explained to Feng Cheng that a few of you have gone south to do business, and it will take a while to come back, and he, Manager Feng, may need to wait a little longer. But Feng Cheng hinted to Lao Shi that it was best to reply to him before the twenty-sixth day of the lunar month, otherwise the lamp would not be delivered to the emperor before the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. In that case, the effect of gift-giving will be greatly reduced. Lao Shi had no choice but to tell Feng Cheng that he would send someone to pass the news to the brothers who went south as soon as possible, and he would definitely reply to Feng Cheng before the twenty-sixth day of the lunar month. ”

"This Xiao Siwen is really an insatiable guy," Xu Shaoan said angrily on the side after hearing this, "Although the cost of a large palace lamp is only a few yuan, we have to sell at least 150,000 yuan of this grade of palace lamp on the market." If he comes here every year, wouldn't it mean that we have to give him 200,000 or 300,000 yuan of silver every year, and how much money can we earn in a year? ”

Wang Kunjun waved his hand and said, "It's not just about money. Judging from the information I got from the Finance Department before we set off, in the first ten months of this year, we earned about 280,000 yuan in the glass business alone, excluding the share to the left-behind government. In other words, I earned 20,000 yuan a month, nearly 30,000 yuan. After all, the sale of glass is now an absolute profiteering, and even if calculated at the market price, it is affordable to give him two lamps a year.

But, as I said earlier, it's not just about money. We know that glass trading is a million profits, but Feng Cheng is good, Xiao Siwen is good, although they also know that glass trading can make a lot of money, but they definitely would never think that the profit in it will be so large, let alone that our two stores can have more than 99 percent of the sales of more than 30,000 yuan in a Chinese New Year's Eve. This is also weishenme Feng Cheng went to Lao Shi this time, but he only vaguely proposed that we could send two more lamps, without blatantly asking for it. Because he's afraid he'll go too far and scare us away. ”

"So, we are actually in a dilemma now," Zhang Weixin answered, "If we don't give him a lamp, then it will inevitably affect our cooperation with the left-behind government." Giving him a lamp, especially if it was very pleasant, would inevitably arouse his suspicions. ”

"That's right," Wang Kunjun nodded, "After all, the market price of these two lamps is 300,000 yuan, and the purchase price we reported to the left-behind government is also 200,000 yuan." With Feng Cheng's shrewdness, he will definitely calculate that the cost of these two lamps is far more than our profit in a year. Last time, we gave him a lamp in exchange for the right to operate salt and iron, which can be understood. This time we don't have this need, if you are very happy to promise him to give him two gifts that are much more than your profit in a year, he will definitely question the reason why you do this, question the cost of the product you quoted to him is fake, question whether you will pass off shoddy and fake as true. When the time comes, it will be difficult for us to go back to this matter. ”

"Then let's just refuse him, tell him that we don't have the goods now, or pretend not to understand him, or make some more requests to exchange with him," Xu Shaoan said. ,

Zhang Weixin waved his hand and said, "This is not appropriate." Whether it is refusal or pretending not to understand, it will cause the other party to be disgusted. And last time, we took out two at once, and now we told him that there was no stock, and he was afraid that it would be hard for him to believe it. After all, this palace lamp is extremely profitable, although no one in the Liao country dares to sell this kind of treasure that only the emperor has, but it does not affect the giant merchant rich Jia to be trafficked to the southern countries to sell, so we don't have any goods at all. For a long time in the future, the focus of our development will still be concentrated near Youzhou, which will be very unfavorable to us if we offend the local parents and officials. As for the exchange of interests with him, judging from our current situation, we can't find suitable exchange conditions for a while. If you choose blindly for this, it is better not to choose. ”

"It's not to give, it's not to give, isn't this a dilemma" Xu Shaoan said impatiently, "Otherwise, let's ignore him first." Anyway, we will be able to see Chai Rong soon, and when the time comes, let's behave better, strive to get Chai Rong's appreciation, and then take everyone to Zhou Guolai, and completely cut off the contact with Xiao Siwen. ”

As soon as Xu Shaoan's crooked argument came out, before Wang Kunjun and Zhang Weixin could refute him, Li Junwu on the other end of the radio had already spoken: "Old eight, what are you talking nonsense." How can you be so sure that Chai Rong will definitely meet you soon, how can you be so sure that Chai Rong will definitely appreciate you and provide shelter for us people. Moreover, as I said just now, Feng Cheng hopes that we can reply to him before the twenty-sixth day of the lunar month, and today is already the nineteenth day of the lunar month, and there is not much time left for us to think about it. Therefore, even if Chai Rong appreciates us and agrees that we will stay in Kaifeng to serve the Zhou State, it is impossible for us to settle all the things on the Youzhou side and move our family within a week. Besides, the movement of so many of us moving is definitely not small, once Feng Cheng is alarmed, how can he let us go, a rich man. ”

Xu Shaoan listened to Li Junwu's lesson, and seemed to be a little unconvinced, but before he could refute it, Wang Kunjun next to him poured a basin of cold water on him, raised his hand to stop him, and said, "Old eight, I know what you have to say." Do you want to say that we have hundreds of soldiers equipped with firearms, as well as a batch of modern weapons and equipment, even if we stay in the mansion and turn our faces, our brothers in the Liao State can fight a bloody way to rush to the Zhou State.

Yes, if our brothers fight to the death, there is a possibility of killing the Liao State. But have you ever thought about it, our foundation and our reliance are all in Liao, and many of these foundations and dependences cannot be moved. In this way, after a desperate battle, we have nothing left. If we don't have these foundations and dependencies, what will we do to Chai Rong in exchange for him agreeing to provide us with enough shelter so that we can settle down in Zhou State.

At the enlarged meeting of the committee before departure, when we discussed the candidates for going south and what gifts to bring to Chai Rong, we said that with our current strength, we cannot bring the main scientific researchers to Chai Rong, and it will be easy to be controlled by others. Not only can he not bring people, but he can't even bring the most advanced equipment, so as not to take out too many things at one time, which will make Chai Rong have thoughts that he shouldn't have. If, as you think, you completely tear your face with the Liao State and come to the Zhou State with your family, then won't all our previous worries become a reality?

Our strength is still very weak, and we can't completely stand on our feet in this era independently. Therefore, we can't make enemies everywhere or fall one-sidedly now, what we need is to meet the left and right sources or pedal on two boats, until we have enough ability to protect ourselves, or become a liliang that one of them has to rely on. At that time, we can truly control our own destiny and choose the path that best suits our own interests. ”

"Fifth brother is right," Zhang Weixin supported, "Our current Liliang is too weak, and we can't do many things according to our own ideas." When we have a strong enough weapon with truly modern equipment, you can do what you want. ”

After Xu Shaoan was taught a lesson by the three brothers, his mind calmed down, knowing that he was too simple and reckless, and said: "What the three brothers said is right, brother, I'm not in a hurry." ”

Wang Kunjun patted Xu Shao'an on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, the more anxious you are, the easier it is to make mistakes, there are so many of us, are you afraid that you won't be able to think of a way?" ”,

Xu Shaoan nodded when he heard this, and the four of them fell into deep thought for a while.

After a while, I heard Zhang Weixin say: "I have a way to pass this first, but I don't know if I can get Feng Cheng's approval." ”

"Let's talk about it, let's talk about it and see it together," Wang Kunjun encouraged.

"That's what I think," Zhang Weixin said, "Although Feng Cheng proposed to Lao Shi this time to ask for a pair of palace lanterns, since he didn't say it directly, it means that it leaves us room for bargaining." We also analyzed it just now, and if we don't hesitate to send him a pair this time, it is likely to arouse his suspicions. In that case, let's take a compromise approach. Didn't he Feng Cheng say that the glass palace lamp of the Emperor of Liao was only broken, so let's give him another one that is exactly the same, so that he can make another pair. In this way, it will not make Feng Cheng and the left-behind mansion lose face, and it will not arouse the suspicion of the other party because the value of the gift is too high. ”

Wang Kunjun nodded when he heard this, and said, "This is also a way. Although the cost of a palace lamp is 100,000 yuan, with Feng Cheng's understanding of the cost of glass products and the profits of our two glass shops, he will still believe that we are willing to pay this capital in order to stay in the mansion. ”

Li Junwu on the other end of the radio station also agreed with Zhang Weixin's suggestion, and Xu Shaoan had no objection. So, Wang Kunjun said: "Since everyone agrees, then it's decided." Big brother, you immediately send a telegram to Lao Shi and ask him to reply to Feng Cheng, saying that the palace lantern can be offered, but our ability is limited, so we can only offer one. In the future, our glass business will become more and more prosperous, and with enough financial resources, we will definitely express our admiration to the emperor of Liao. Of course, I'm just saying a general meaning, and how it should be expressed depends on Lao Shiduo's thoughts. However, I believe that with the ability of Lao Shi, he will definitely be able to get things done. ”

"Okay," Li Junwu said, "then I'll send a telegram to Lao Shi and ask him to reply to Feng Cheng tomorrow." ”

"Big brother is slow, it's not appropriate to do this," Zhang Weixin reminded, "Feng Cheng only mentioned this matter to Lao Shi today, and you asked Lao Shi to reply to him tomorrow, which is too fast." Kaifeng and Youzhou are separated by more than a thousand miles, and with the means of communication in this era, how can they get in touch overnight. If Lao Shi replied too quickly, then if his brother was not at home, Feng Cheng might have regarded it as a perfunctory remark.

I don't think it's as good as this, you asked Lao Shi to wait for two more days, and then reply to Feng Cheng on the twenty-second or twenty-third day of the lunar month, and there was an interval of three or four days in between, which basically coincided with the time of sending someone to send a message quickly. In this way, it will not cause Feng Cheng's misunderstanding, and it will not delay the time for the Liushou Mansion to give gifts to the Emperor of Liao. ”

Li Junwu naturally had no opinion on this, and said that he would definitely convey Zhang Weixin's intention to Zhao Dawei and would promptly inform the "delegation" of the progress of the matter.

After ending the radio communication with Li Junwu, Wang Kunjun and the others were about to go back to their rooms to rest, but as soon as they left the room where the radio station was located, they saw other members of the "delegation" headed by Xie Tian and Lin Xiaoyu waiting outside the door. Judging by their expressions, it seemed that there was something important to say to the three committee members.

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