"This is a gift we want to give to His Excellency the General." The messenger said that he would put the ninety-nine eggplants back into the box.

This action finally stopped Kyushu from raising a greedy gaze, and he reflected on the messenger's words, and suddenly snorted. He asked in surprise, "Is this a gift for His Excellency the General?" ”

The messenger nodded slowly, and now the atmosphere was finally much more normal, and he also felt that the pressure had dropped sharply. In order to continue to bring Kyushu back to reason, the envoy hurriedly said: "We would like to ask His Excellency the General to promise us to open an iron mine in Kyushu. To remind your Excellency, can Your Excellency the General agree? ”

Kyushu was even more surprised, he didn't expect His Royal Highness Zhao Jiaren to go to the Wa Kingdom to open a mine. The Wa Kingdom also sent envoys to Fuzhou, Quanzhou, and even Bianliang, and even some Wa monks followed Zhao Jiaren's fleet to Tianzhu and Sinhala. In the description of those people, the incomparably vast world outside is magical and rich, and Zhao Jiaren is a powerful existence in this great world. Even if the status of this Great Song clan was lower than that of the Great Song Emperor, his strength was much higher than that of the generals of the Kamakura shogunate.

It is incomprehensible that a strong man with such a vast world would want to open a mine in a small Japan. And he actually asked the doubts in his heart bluntly, "His Royal Highness Zhao can't find any other iron mines?" ”

Hearing such a question, the envoy was calm on the surface, but in fact he was quite desperate in his heart. There are indeed a lot of metals in Fujian, but metal smelting is the domain of state-owned enterprises. Zhao Jiaren represents a private enterprise such as the Navigation Guild, so he can't get a foot in Fujian exploration and mining. What's more, this place in Fujian can probably be described as 'mountain, mountain, mountain', even if iron ore is found, transportation alone can make people collapse. Compared with Fujian, if you can find iron ore near the port of Wakoku, you can directly load it and transport it away, which is very convenient.

Seeing the envoy's expression, Kyushu continued: "The Wa Kingdom has its own national conditions, and everything in our country will either belong to the Shogunate or to the local daimyo under the Shogunate. If you want iron ore and coal mines, you must order the local tribute from your Excellency. It's not like you can just find a mine and mine it at will......"

Zhao Jiaren has been in contact with the Japanese for so long, and he has fully understood the national conditions of the Japanese country. The Wa Kingdom was a feudal state, and there was a trade in this country, but there was no concept of a general equivalent. In addition to the special product of grain, the main tax method of the imperial court of the Great Song Dynasty was monetary taxation. The taxation of the Kamakura Shogunate in the Wa Kingdom was the feudal tribute model, and each region paid tribute to the Kamakura Shogunate with different products. The Kamakura shogunate, on the other hand, granted control over the territories of its chieftains, and all the products of those lands were controlled by the local chieftains.

As mentioned in Kyushu, the Japanese country has its own national conditions. To open a mine, you have to own the local land, and this power cannot be granted to foreigners. If the Kamakura shogunate did this, everything would be in chaos.

The envoy asked: "If your Excellency Kyushu mentions it as if you don't see it, I wonder if it is feasible for us to negotiate with the local tyrants in private?" ”

"This ...... If you are not afraid of being opened by their lions, you can give it a try. Kyushu's gaze was still sweeping back and forth on the box containing the ninety-nine eggplants.

The messenger smiled slightly, and put the box away. He took out another box and handed it to Kyushu to mention, and his eyes lit up when he opened it. This box contains a rabbit lamp. The shape of the building lamp is round as a whole, but you can clearly see the traces left by the craftsman when he was shaping. It is precisely this kind of craftsmanship that makes each building lamp simple and elegant, unique. The main body of the porcelain is made of iron-containing materials, which is heavy to start with, and has the sound of gold and iron when struck. The glaze color is as black as lacquer, warm and crystalline, and the glaze is covered with dense vein-like white-brown ornamentation, as fine as the hairs on the rabbit's body, and it is shining. Compared with the ninety-nine eggplant, there are other flavors.

When this thing was taken out of his hand, the messenger also felt a little heartache. In the eyes of the Great Song Dynasty, the local heroes and powerhouses of the Wa Kingdom can also be described by the word 'poor'. The poorer the place, the more greedy it becomes. Originally, Jeju Island was still transporting coal back from Kyushu, but after Cho Jia-in ordered the occupation of Gunkanjima Island and began to obtain coal from there, the coal business with the vampires in Kyushu was immediately terminated. So to mention a building lamp to Kyushu, it is almost like a meat discouragement, and there is no return.

Even if it is a ninety-nine eggplant. The messenger had to comfort himself in this way.

Waiting for the messenger to report the news, Zhao Jiaren could only sigh. He actually wanted to go to Iwami Silver Mountain to 'open an iron mine', but he didn't expect the Japanese country to be so serious, and the matter could only be put aside for the time being. After all, the great enemy at this time is Mongolia, and offending both Mongolia and the Japanese is not the best choice.

And at this time, Zhao Jiaren was also very busy, and the delegation of the Great Song Dynasty Temple and the delegation of the Suzhou-Hangzhou embroidery industry arrived in Fuzhou before and after. The former said that their Sanskrit proficiency could easily communicate with Tianzhu and Sinhalese, so they hoped to travel to the two countries by boat to spread Buddhism. The latter are more straightforward, they feel that Suzhou and Hangzhou embroidery is the best in the world, and they are looking forward to serving the people of the Great Song Dynasty in addition to promoting Chinese embroidery services to users in the wider world, such as the Tuwang of Tianzhu Kingdom.

For this kind of self-motivated person, Zhao Jiaren has always been willing to help. After cordially receiving these representatives, Zhao Jiaren handed over the guys to the Navigation Guild to deal with. In addition to being busy with business, Zhao Jiaren's wife gave birth to a daughter for him at this time, and Zhao Jiaren is also willing to go home more often to take care of his wife and children.

Winter went to spring, and it entered the third year of Xianchun. Zhao Jiaren worked hard to run his business. There are more and more students in the school, and the investment is increasing. Sisal adapted to the land of the Great Song Dynasty, and after several months of experimentation, the first batch of sisal harvested last year was finally able to effectively process flax silk from the leaves, which added a new industry of white-brown rope to the nautical guild.

However, these land-dependent industries made the nautical guild feel more deeply the contradiction of more people and less land in Fujian, and the result of the discussion was to simply go to Siam to plant sisal. Zhao Jiaren did not agree in his heart. It is too far to Siam to grow sisal, and shipping is not convenient. Now Guangnan East Road, Qiongzhou (Hainan Island), and Cochin have a large amount of idle land, which can be fully engaged in plantations. But Zhao Jiaren, as a clan, is a 'traitor' who has been constantly impeached, so I am afraid that he is asking for trouble.

Zhao Jiaren was worried about the problems he encountered, and Jia Yidao launched a military operation to aid Xiangyang again in order to solve the problems he encountered. Last year, Xia Gui took advantage of the spring surge of the Han River and the sudden widening of the river to successfully transport a large number of materials into Xiangyang. This time, he wanted to repeat the old trick, but the fleet only advanced to the first Mongol walled city under the Han water, and was blocked by the Mongol trebuchet on the water.

Compared to summer, the river is nearly twice as wide in spring. A considerable part of the fence of the Mongolian walled city is submerged in water. The muddy yellow water of the river lapped against the wooden fence, stirring up many waves. Trebuchets under the walled city swung their long wooden arms and threw huge stones at the ships. The stones that did not hit the boat stirred up a column of water one or two high on the surface of the river, and then a large circle of ripples rippled around the center of the falling point, and after a few moments the ripples were swallowed up by the rushing river.

Because it is against the current and the water is turbulent during the flood season, the boat travels more slowly. The trebuchet here can project more than 30 pounds of stone projectiles, and if you hit one, the big ship will be destroyed immediately. At this time, some masts protrude from the water and are driven down the river by the rushing water. Those were the big ships that had been destroyed by stone bullets.

The boat hit by the stone bullet was completely shattered, and the people on board were swept into the water and disappeared without a trace, and the pieces of wood were quickly swept away by the river, and after a while, they were also disappeared without a trace.

Xia Gui's fleet had lost a dozen large ships and two dozen small ships, and now the entire fleet was parked outside the range of the trebuchets of the Mongolian walled city. At this time last year, the Mongols were inexperienced. They trebuchets are scattered around. Xia Gui's fleet constantly changed its course, using the wide water surface to avoid the threat of trebuchets. This year, Mongolia's walled cities have changed dramatically, with a walled city built on each side of the river in the same place, and a more powerful trebuchet in the walled city to jam the river.

Some of the brainstormers suggested that the fleet should simply rush over regardless of life and death. This proposal was immediately opposed by almost all the generals and staff members present at the meeting. True, the rate of fire of the Mongolian trebuchet was not fast, and a hard charge allowed some ships to pass. However, since ships are destined to be sunk, no one wants to be the ones who will be sacrificed.

If this is not possible, then the only way to do this is to launch an attack on land and uproot the Mongol strongholds. No one even mentioned this suggestion, Song Jun had already tried it since last year, but it turned out to be useless. The Mongol infantry relying on the walled city was not easy to fight, and once the Song army was exhausted, the Mongol cavalry would suddenly come out from behind, causing great casualties to the Song army.

At this moment, a small boat sent news, and a warship went down the Han River, looking like it meant to engage the Song army. When General Xia Gui heard the news, he changed into a medium-sized military ship and rushed to watch. Sure enough, a flotilla appeared in front of the Song army's fleet, and the ships looked very familiar. Twenty oarsmen, a small sail, and a one-pound cannon in the bow. It is exactly the same as the river warships of the Song army.

Xia Gui looked at the 'Liu' flag hanging on those inland river military boats, and couldn't help but scold Liu Quan, a traitor. I don't know if the Mongolian navy Wanhu heard that General Xia Gui, who was seven or eight miles away, called him a 'three-surnamed slave', and the fleet flying the Liu Zi flag actually left the firing range of the trebuchet and went straight to Xia Gui's inland river warship fleet.

"Drums! Against! General Xia Gui gave the order without hesitation, he didn't think that the Mongolian naval army had anything to fear.

At the same time, the Mongol army under the city of Xiangyang also beat the drums of war. Lu Wende stood at the head of the city, staring at the trebuchets 180 paces below the city. In terms of size, this is the largest trebuchet that Lu Wende has ever seen. At this time, a large number of Mongol soldiers were already surrounded by the trebuchet, and watching them slowly but non-stop manipulating the trebuchet, Lu Wende felt a panic in his heart.

A few years ago, the Mongols played a trick and asked for the construction of a trade point near Xiangyang. Lü Wende agreed to the interests of the Mongol army, which also gave the Mongol army a military base near Xiangyang. At that time, Lu Wende was seriously ill, and after that, he often had chest tightness, wheezing, and sometimes heart palpitations. At this time, Lu Wende felt that his heart was throbbing even more, and he held his hand on the head of the city and began to gasp for air.

The drumming of the Mongol army suddenly stopped, and the battlefield fell silent. Only the cold wind that is still steep in spring blows through the city, making a whining sound. With a somewhat tooth-aching sound of wood rubbing, the wooden pole of a Mongolian trebuchet soared into the air like a poisonous snake that suddenly sprang up and devoured people, and even after 180 steps, that is, 270 meters away, Lu Wende could hear the wooden pole make a 'whew' sound as it quickly cut through the air.

The moat of Yangyang is 150 steps wide and about 230 meters. The wooden pole threw a huge stone, which flew a distance of 180 paces in the air in a steady trajectory, completely flew over the moat of Xiangyang, and slammed into the strong walls of Xiangyang City.

Because he has been in Sichuan for a long time, Lu Wende has had some small earthquake experiences. Before he could hear a loud noise, he felt the walls under his feet shake violently, as if a violent earthquake had occurred. This shaking made Lu Wende's chest throb even more, and with a strong panic, Lu Wende felt as if his heart had been pierced by a sharp blade, and the pain was intense.

"Ah......" covered his chest, Lu Wende bent down involuntarily, and he couldn't stand steadily.

Far away from Xiangyang City, General Xia Gui watched intently at the battle on the water. No matter what the mood of the generals on both sides is, the naval armies on both sides who are on the battlefield know the power of a pound of artillery. This thing hit the waterline at close range with a single shell, and the warship was basically scrapped. With two hits, the warship will probably sink. The best way to prevent the enemy from hitting the ships is to stay away from them, and it is up to luck to hit the enemy's ships at a long distance on the undulating waters.

It is much easier to get away from the enemy than to hit it, and the purpose of the twenty oars in a small boat is to provide ample power. So the ships on both sides were also cautious, shooting in circles on the water. The first cannon rumbling on the Han River, it can be seen that the artillery of the Song army is well trained, and their rate of fire is faster than that of the Mongol gunners. The Mongol army fired one cannon, and the Song army's artillery could probably fire two or even three cannons. The water stirred up by the cannonballs splashed in front of and behind the Mongol warship, which greatly disappointed General Xia Gui. It's too hard to hit an enemy at this distance.

However, the artillery bombardment of the Song army finally slowed down, and after the cannon was released for so long, the barrel was hot. In order to cool down, it was necessary to stop shooting. At this moment, the Mongolian military ships that had been going around in circles gave up the tracks of the circles, and all the oarsmen on board paddled with all their might, and the Mongolian military ships approached the Song military ships.

When Xia Gui saw this situation, he was a little confused at first. However, he had been through a hundred battles, and suddenly he understood the joints. At this time, the Song ships could not shoot, and the artillery on the Mongol ships was not so hot. Without waiting for General Xia Gui to order the Song warships to retreat, the Mongol warships approached the Song warships.

The closer you are, the more accurate your shot will be. Approaching about twenty meters from the Song warship, which was desperately fleeing, the Mongol artillery began to spit smoke. With the sound of cannons, the hull of the Song army's military ship shook violently, and at the same time, screams were heard from the sailors on board.