Yuan Xingwei went to Zhongzhou on behalf of Chen Wu this time, and he had to meet with at least three lobbyists. The easiest to say and the most expensive is the royal family of the Qianyuan Empire - Fu Wang Qianyuanyi.

As the younger brother of the emperor of the current dynasty, Qian Yuanji, who was spoiled since childhood, was arrogant and greedy, and especially liked to be flattered.

Because Qian Yuanji had been imprisoning his younger brother in the imperial capital and refused to let him out, he felt guilty, so he took a lot of care of him.

As a relative of the emperor, he naturally has a certain right to speak in the court.

Based on Chen Wu's understanding of King Fu before he crossed over, as long as the gold coins were sufficient, the other party would almost definitely help him.

Of course, when it comes to such a major event, a blessed king with empty status and no power is certainly not enough to influence the central decision.

In addition to him, Yuan Xingwei also had to find another crucial royal family.

The Great Prince Qianmingde!

This person who is most likely to become the fifteenth emperor of the empire not only has the support of the Song family from Yanyun County, but also has a good relationship with Chen Sansheng, the minister of the interior.

Although the latter knew very well the duties of a courtier, and knew that as long as Qian Yuanji was alive, he could only be loyal to this person, but Qian Mingde could still exert some influence on him.

If Qian Mingde also spoke, supplemented by the power of the Song family and the Song Empress of the Eight Great Gates, this energy would be very powerful.

Because he was worried about his father's scruples, Qian Mingde would not meddle in these matters, and he was not short of money.

If someone else comes to the door and can't grasp Qian Mingde's needs, most of them will not be able to move him.

But Chen Wu had the insight into the future before the crossing, and he knew very well what Qian Mingde needed now.

Grain!

Lots and lots of food!

Although everyone in the court thought that the eldest prince was most likely to become the next emperor, Qianyuanji did not express his position for a long time, which undoubtedly made the eldest prince panic.

It has been speculated more than once that the emperor may be more inclined to the fifth prince Qian Minghao in his heart.

His younger brother's mother, Concubine Zhen, also came from the Di family of the Eight Great Lords, and even received the support of Di Hongming, the finance minister of the dynasty, and the money she could use was much more than that of Qianmingde, and she really bought many people in the court and aristocratic circles to build momentum for herself.

Moreover, except for the two best of the best, Qian Mingde and Qian Minghao, Qian Yuanji is not without other princes, and no one dares to guarantee that the throne will definitely fall between the two of them.

It is precisely because of this uneasiness that Qian Mingde will openly and secretly develop his military strength, just in case.

According to the history before the time, Mingde had already bought off the top of a division of the city guard army at this time, and had its own military force in Zhongzhou.

In addition, in the territory of the Song family in Yanyun County, with the slogan of resisting the invasion of the Lena Dynasty, the Song family is also constantly recruiting troops.

These extra armies have brought great pressure to Yanyun County.

Mingli's expansion of the army is supported by the military department, and there is no problem with food and salary.

But the secret expansion of the army in secret was paid for by the Song family itself, and food and salary were a big problem.

Although Yanyun County has excellent iron ore and there is no shortage of war horses, after all, in the bitter cold land, the grain produced in the whole county is not as much as that of Yuyang in Songjiang.

It's not enough to feed the people of Yanyun County, it needs to be imported from outside, and the Song family is now secretly expanding the army, not to mention the urgency of food.

Some people may say that it is possible to import large quantities of grain from other counties.

But the problem is that enough food for tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of soldiers is an extremely staggering amount.

Once in a while, it's fine, but if it's a big purchase every year, it will inevitably arouse suspicion.

In case the news leaks and causes the wrath of Emperor Qianyuanji, it will be more than worth the loss.

Therefore, Qian Mingde is now desperate to find a channel that can provide enough food and at the same time be secretive enough.

As long as Chen Wu proposed, he could secretly reach an agreement to export grain from Songjiang, and exchange iron ore and war horses at a low price, and Qian Mingde would inevitably agree to help.

As for the long-term behavior of the enemy, but Chen Wu, as a traverser, does not need to take care of the emperor like Qian Mingde, and the speed of development will inevitably far exceed that of the great prince.

When the opportunity comes and the two sides part ways, the Taiping Army is no longer something that anyone can suppress and confront!

In addition to the Fu King Qianyuanyi and the eldest prince Qianmingde, Yuan Xingwei can also visit Foreign Minister Lin Anping.

Long before he returned with the Empire's envoy Fang An, Chen Wu had already sent Chen Yunfeng back to the Lin family.

With a little tacit understanding between the Taiping Army and the Lin family, if Chen Wu expressed his willingness to owe the other party a favor, the Lin family would definitely not mind helping the Taiping Army in Songjiang at this stage.

Once the Lin family agreed, Foreign Minister Lin Anping naturally knew what to do.

Think about the energy that these people have, there are two of the eight major lords, and there are two royal families, and the foreign minister and the deputy foreign minister also help to speak.

Unless Emperor Qianyuanji made up his mind, the spontaneous opposition in the court would almost certainly be suppressed by their joint efforts, so that the decision would be passed.

At that time, Chen Wu will be able to control the two counties logically, and use this identity to eliminate the hostility of the Tiannan Legion, and take over this army that has been heavily damaged but still has amazing combat power.

As for this, he will become a mortal enemy with the Kingdom of Oman...... Anyway, Chen Wu didn't plan to cooperate with them, or there was no basis for cooperation between the two sides.

In that case, what else is there to care about?

……… Looking at the sea upstairs.

Seeing off the envoy of the Empire, Chen Wu finally had a little free time.

Taking advantage of the fact that the situation in Tiannan County had not changed greatly, and the situation in Dengzhou City had initially stabilized, he accepted the invitation of Dengzhou merchants and participated in this banquet.

When the news broke, the value of the invitation sent by Wanghailou skyrocketed tenfold.

This is also the first time that the local forces in Songjiang have come into contact with the leaders of the Taiping Army since the Taiping Army entered Songjiang, and it is of great significance.

In the case that the Taiping army had de facto occupied the whole county, everyone wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to leave an impression on Chen Wu, and by the way, to explore the Taiping army's attitude towards Songjiang industry and commerce.

With the fermentation of influence, even many officials and nobles in the former Dengzhou are trying their best to participate in this banquet.

In order to get an invitation, people who feel that they have enough status can be said to have done everything they can.

When the number of people was finally decided, what was originally just a banquet for the business community in Dengzhou turned into a big banquet attended by three or four hundred people.

The top floor of Wanghai Tower can't accommodate so many people at all.

Many who managed to blend in had to stay on the second and third floors for the time being.

Even so, they refused to give up.

The fact that there are more people is an invisible recognition of the Taiping Army, but in turn it greatly increases the difficulty of security.

What if there were forces hostile to the Taiping army and mixed in with them to try to assassinate them?

Even if Chen Wu could not be assassinated, creating some chaos in this important banquet would have a very unfavorable impact on the Taiping army.

For this reason, Chen Wu's personal guards and the military intelligence department presided over by Gan Xing had to join forces to clear Wanghailou.

Even the large number of guards sent by the Dengzhou Chamber of Commerce Alliance itself were carefully examined by the people of the Military Intelligence Department.

Because of the urgency of time, Gan Xing almost transferred all the spare strength, which could be completed before Chen Wu entered.

"Thank you to the general for taking time out of his busy schedule to participate!"

Zhou Tianrui, Chi Kaifeng and other leaders of Dengzhou merchants, with a large group of merchants behind the uninvited nobles of the Wanghailou owner, and even the former protector general Gao Gaozhou who didn't know where to get the invitation, greeted Chen Wu who came in full costume.

For these businessmen who have tremendous energy in Dengzhou and even in Songjiang, Chen Wu's idea is to not only use them, but also guard against and suppress them.

Ordinary economic development of industry and commerce, Chen Wu is supportive of raising his hands, and is willing to introduce policies to encourage them.

But if there are still people who are not honest and try to meddle in military and political affairs like before, then Chen Wu will definitely draw a knife and chop his hands.

Of course, after all, it is the first time to appear in Dengzhou, and Chen Wu has put on a relatively kind and people-friendly attitude, which makes these people who are qualified to enter Wanghailou feel relieved.

After all, it was just a banquet, and after some politeness, Chen Wu sat down with several high-ranking officials of the Taiping Army, as well as the businessmen who held the banquet.

The maids with delicate complexions and full of Songjiang charm took turns to deliver various dishes, accompanied by ancient music, and began a grand banquet.

The lively atmosphere lasted until late at night.

In the end, when Chen Wu said that he would promote the development of industry and commerce on the basis of basically continuing the existing policies of Songjiang, and would successively introduce corresponding incentive measures, the businessmen in the entire Wanghai Building unanimously responded with warm applause.

Even if it was just an empty promise without any substantive explanation, this attitude still greatly excited the industrial and commercial circles in Songjiang.

The situation in Dengzhou has recovered in a short period of time; Chen Wu's Taiping army also fulfilled its promise and ensured the safety of their personal and property; The originally closed trade routes were fully opened; Now there is such a statement again...... Many people who originally opposed and questioned the letting of the Taiping Army into the city couldn't help but change the harmonious atmosphere in Wanghai Tower at this moment, and the sneering look on Gao Zhou's face, who was watching coldly throughout the whole process, flashed with sarcasm.

These wealthy businessmen in the city, relying on all kinds of relationships, are used to stretching out their hands in the local area, and their nature is not so easy to change.

Now that the Taiping army has just entered Songjiang, there is restraint on both sides, so that there is harmony in front of them.

After waiting for a long time, these heroic and powerful old ways in Dengzhou will sprout, and the contradictions between the two sides will intensify sooner or later!

Governor Chi Chang is old, coupled with all kinds of concerns, he has a high tolerance for them.

However, the Taiping Army was born as a thief, and Wu'an City did not know that tens of thousands of displaced people had died, so how could they be soft?

I don't know, by that time, how many of these people will be left?

Those who can understand the current situation are a few people after all!

He shook his head secretly, and picked up his glass casually—what did these merchants have to do with him!

But then again, Gundam really has to thank these people for pushing him down from the position of the fire pit of the Protector General.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to sit here and drink as leisurely as he did now.

Thinking like this, Gao Gao Zhou drank the wine in his cup in a pleasant sip.

But at this moment, the corner of his eyes saw the general of the Taiping Army parting the crowd expressionlessly, and quickly rushed to Chen Wu's side, whispering a few words.

Immediately, Chen Wu, who was surrounded by people like stars holding the moon, changed his face slightly, and after a short pause, he said goodbye in advance.

This made Gouda realize that he was afraid that something terrible would happen.