At the same time, the country was in prison.

Xun Zhan was flipping through "Spring and Autumn" in the duty room.

"Sir?" The voice of a servant sounded outside.

"What?"

"Wang Shilang is invited!"

……

"Teacher, you came to me, but what can a disciple do for you?" Xun Zhan stood respectfully, he was wearing a blue official robe, and he didn't look like he had the domineering aura of the scarlet robe before.

I saw that the person in front of me had white hair and a white beard, but he was still in good spirits, it was Wang Jing, the left attendant of the Ministry of Rites.

Wang Jing sat on the futon with his hands on his knees.

"It's hard to be sexual, there are disciples who serve their labors, and there are wine and food, did you think it was filial piety?"

Of course, Xun Zhan understood the meaning of the sentence "Zixia asks Xiaozhang" in "The Analects of Politics II", and the focus is not on the back, but on the first word.

Confucius ostensibly said "color", but in fact, he was talking about inner feelings, and color is born from the heart.

"Mencius: Devoted to the Heart" has a saying: The nature of a gentleman, benevolence, righteousness, benefit and wisdom are rooted in the heart. Its color is also, seen in the face, on the back, applied to the four bodies, the four bodies are self-evident. ”

It means that what the heart is like, its body movements and complexion can be understood without listening to words, and it will follow the true heart.

Xun Yan was ashamed: "The disciple has been taught." ”

"You, it's a good thing to be demoted."

Wang Jing unceremoniously pointed to Xun Yan's nose and said: "When you are a young secretary, your tail will be raised to the sky, look at what Hu Yan looks like after he is transferred out of the cabinet and promoted to the priest of the country?" That's called steady! ”

Hearing this, Xun Zhan, who was already weak-hearted, lowered his head and remained silent.

"You are still young now, remember not to be arrogant, if you are not careful, not only will your family suffer, but even Da Luo Jinxian will not be able to save you!"

After that, Wang Jingchang sighed and continued to close his eyes to recuperate, as if he had come over to teach him a lesson.

But Xun Zhan knew that the teacher would definitely not be just to make him angry, after all, in the last case of the Champa Mission hurting people, his own student was planted and fighting, but as his mentor and backer, Wang Jing's face is good-looking?

He has so many interests involved with Wang Jing, and he is a disciple, and he has a lot of travel with the Wang family, and he suffers a loss, doesn't Wang Jing have some opinions and anger? It's always about giving a reaction.

Xun Zhan thought of all the things he had encountered in these days, and it was inevitable that he couldn't accept the gap between the ups and downs, his mood became more and more gloomy, and hatred came to his heart.

But Xun Zhan could only say again: "The disciple respectfully follows the teachings of the teacher. ”

Seeing that Wang Jing had already kept silent, several servants also hurriedly exited the house and closed the door.

"No need to be polite, just sit down and listen to the teacher."

"Yes! Thank you for the grace! Xun Yan picked up a futon and replied respectfully.

Wang Jing's tone softened a lot: "You are so old now, such an official position, you can be described as the humerus of the imperial court, but not everyone in this court loves you like a teacher, you must not relax your vigilance because of some small mistakes, let others take advantage of the loopholes." ”

Xun Zhan even claimed that it was, seeing that the disciple did not have any impatience after three beatings, Wang Jing nodded with satisfaction, and finally got to the point.

"Hmm...... I heard that you have been very unhappy in the Guozi Prison recently, and there is just an errand handed over to you here for the teacher, I don't know if you are willing? Wang Jing slowly opened his eyes and looked at Xun Zhan, who was sitting in front of him, and asked.

Although it was an inquiring tone, he was confident that his students would not turn down the opportunity.

Sure enough, after hearing this, Xun Zhan, who had originally lowered his head, suddenly raised his head and looked at his teacher excitedly, his lips trembling slightly.

"Dare to ask the teacher what is it that the students need to do? If they can complete it, they will do their best, and there will be no excuse! ”

"Hahahaha!" Wang Jing burst out laughing.

He admires his students the most, everything that is right, even if it is pulled by nine oxen, he will not give up, such a person is undoubtedly the best knife to use.

Wang Jing restrained his smile, gave a reward first, and said: "I talked to Huang Shangshu today, he is just short of people there, and I plan to let you go to the Ministry of Industry to be the head of the Ministry of Works, and be in charge of Yu Hengqing's officials." ”

Yu Heng Qing Division!

Xun Zhan's breath became short, there are four divisions in the Ministry of Industry, each division is not simple, and Yu Hengqing is in charge of manufacturing, sending and receiving all kinds of official utensils, and is in charge of weights and measures and coinage, which is an out-and-out fat difference, not to mention the oil and water in the official utensils, just casting money every year, and the money from the hand is a massive number.

The difference between being transferred from the deputy of the Qingshui Yamen, such as the Guozijian Division, to the competent official of the Ministry of Industry, such as the Yu Hengqing Division, is self-evident.

"Teacher, this, isn't this ......" Although Xun Zhan knew very well in his heart that this errand was a compensation given to him by the teacher, and he should accept it, he still felt a little dreamy.

And most importantly, the teacher has not told him what kind of errand he is going to do.

Although the official position is tempting, Xun Zhan also has to weigh the benefits and disadvantages.

"Do you think that you can't be a teacher?" Seeing this, Wang Jing grimaced and looked at Xun Zhan seriously.

"The disciple doesn't dare."

"Humph!" Wang Jing snorted coldly: "You kid, you are usually smart and clever, but today you are confused." ”

After that, Wang Jing picked up the part that Xun Zhan could listen to about the goods of the merchants accompanying the Japanese mission, and then explained it like this.

After that, Wang Jing patted him on the shoulder and said, "Work hard, I hope you can sit in the position of a teacher in the future." ”

Although Xun Zhan's face was embarrassed, he gritted his teeth when he thought of the darkest moment of Jiang Xinghuo's career for him.

Wang Jing also knew that this matter was indeed a bit embarrassing, and he had to go out to do it, but he couldn't help it, there were too few people who could trust this kind of thing, in order to give Xun Zhan a reassuring pill, Wang Jingyi pointed out: "The "Spring and Autumn Period" that the teacher sent you can read?" ”

Xun Zhan was fighting between heaven and man at this time, and after being interrupted, he said a little reluctantly: "Read." ”

"The truth of Zheng Boke Duan Yuyan in "Spring and Autumn", do you understand?"

Xun Zhan just nodded mechanically, and he didn't know if he really didn't understand or was pretending to be stupid, Wang Jing no longer covered it up, and talked about a past.

"In the twelfth year of Hongwu, when I finished serving three years of mourning, at that time my recommended master, Zhejiang political envoy An Ran recommended me to go to Beijing to serve, I was a duty officer in the Hanlin Academy, and I met with the class, and later became a night duty officer, serving around Emperor Taizu Gao."

Xun Zhan hurriedly said: "I know, the teacher was well-read at that time, and wrote "The Story of the Bell and Drum Tower of the Capital", which was beautiful in writing and famous in the capital, and was appreciated by Emperor Taizu Gao, and was ordered to make "The Pleasure of the Dynasty" and "The Hajj of the Vassal Dynasty", these etiquette things are still in use. ”

"It's not these."

Wang Jing shook his head: "September 25th of the twelfth year of Hongwu, I will never forget this day for the rest of my life, and that day was also the day when the Zhancheng State came to pay tribute. ”

As soon as he heard the mission of the Champa State, Xun Zhan instinctively felt a little uncomfortable, but he immediately thought of something, and then thought of the teacher's sentence "Zheng Boke Duan Yuyan", and couldn't help but be terrified for a while.

"That night, a eunuch entered the palace to tell Emperor Taizu Gao, saying that Prime Minister Hu Weiyong and others did not report the matter, Emperor Taizu Gao was furious, and asked the prime minister of Zhongshu Province and the minister on duty to enter the palace to explain, Hu Weiyong and Wang Guangyang kowtowed to apologize, but secretly blamed the crime on the Ministry of Rites, and the Minister of Rites blamed on Zhongshu Province, which I saw with my own eyes. Later, the Hu Weiyong case broke out, tens of thousands of officials were implicated, the position of prime minister was permanently abolished, and the Zhongshu Province was abolished, and it was strictly stipulated that the heir could no longer be the prime minister. ”

Wang Jing recalled the bloody past, but he was not too interested, but was a little interested, but just said lightly: "After the abolition of the prime minister and Zhongshu Province, its power is divided into six parts, and the emperor has supreme power, but how many years have passed now?" The cabinet is vaguely a small middle school province, so the national teacher is not a small prime minister? It's just another way of saying it, but the essence is still the same, they are all a help and a threat to the imperial power. ”

Wang Jing's cloudy old eyes looked at Xun Zhan: "Do you think Hu Weiyong has really committed so many heinous crimes?" Do you think he is innocent and desireless, and Emperor Taizu Gao will not kill him? Wrong! Big mistake! The person in this position, next to the imperial power, the cleaner he is, the faster he dies, and if he is covered in, he can't survive to kill Yue Fei, it was all Prime Minister Qin Hui's idea? Qin Hui was sixty-six years old when he died, and he was posthumously presented as King Shen, nicknamed 'Zhongxian', understand? ”

"Disciple understands!"

After listening to this heart-wrenching remark, Xun Zhan seemed to have been fished out of the water, and his body was full of sweat, and he said busily.

"Well, this matter is settled, after you go back, find some trustworthy people to arrange, and besides, don't make a public announcement of this matter."

"Yes, disciple understands."

……

After Xun Zhan left, Wang Jing was left alone in the room.

Wang Jing's attitude certainly made Xun Zhan feel that his future was bright, and even made the frustration brought by the Champa mission a few days ago much less, but Wang Jing, as the leader, was not so optimistic.

This time, his goal is to be promoted to Shangshu!

And if you want to be promoted to Shangshu and reach the peak of civil officials in the Ming Dynasty today, you must please the emperor, but the emperor's attitude is erratic, in the emperor's place, he can see that a person is not pleasing to the eye, but he also has to use it, or reuse it; You can also see that a person is very pleasing to the eye, but it doesn't promote you.

Therefore, if you want to be promoted to Shangshu, in addition to your own qualifications and abilities, you must also do something that can satisfy the emperor enough to reward Shangshu.

Now although Zhuo Jing, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, is standing with Jiang Xinghuo, and Wang Jing is at odds with him, Zhuo Jing can't stop some of Wang Jing's actions, after all, Wang Jing has been in the Ministry of Rites much longer than Zhuo Jing, and it is not too much to say that there are six or seven percent of his people from top to bottom.

Of course, even so, unless Zhuo Jing has committed a major sin, Zhuo Jing's position cannot be replaced by others, and this depends on Xun Zhan.

"Jiang Xinghuo, I will take back the Shangshu that you helped Zhuo Jing take from me, and I will take it back with my own hands."

——————

The next day, we will meet in the museum.

Unlike the lively Japanese missions, the original stations of Annam and Champa are now empty due to the fact that Chen Zuyi's pirate gang pretended to be the mission of the Champa state.

And Pei Wenli, who faked her death, was placed elsewhere, so in fact, only Chen Tianping, the "grandson of the king of Annan", was left here.

"The Japanese are looking for me to drink? Talking about business? ”

Chen Tianping was reading "Ming Pao" in the room at this time, looking at Jiang Xinghuo's writing, when he suddenly heard the Japanese talking to him about business, his brows immediately furrowed, and he secretly said in his heart: "What do these Japanese want to do?" ”

Looking at the brocade guard in front of him who Jiang Xinghuo arranged for him as a guard, Chen Tianping asked:

"Are you sure the Japanese want to see me?"

"Sure."

Although he received a positive answer, Chen Tianping had a bad fate since he was a child, and he knew that the world was sinister for so many years, so the city government was quite deep, so he still did not take it lightly at this time, but asked cautiously: "Did the other party bring a gift?" Or come over with something like that? ”

Jin Yiwei knew about the injury case of the Champa State Mission some time ago, and he also understood Chen Tianping's concerns, so he replied: "Wait a minute, I'll go and check with Jin Yiwei over there." ”

After a while, a high-level brocade guard walked over, this person's facial features were obvious, half of his face was disfigured, and the other side was intact, looking a bit like a burn.

Chen Tianping also knew that it was not someone else, it was Cao Song, the deputy of Jinyi Wei, who often followed Jiang Xinghuo.

Cao Song closed the door and whispered beside him.

"The great benefits?"

Chen Tianping nodded when he heard this: "Okay! In that case, I'm going to meet these Japanese. ”

Looking at the back of Cao Song's departure, Chen Tianping was thoughtful.

There is no doubt that this is a hint from Jiang Xinghuo, but why did the other party neither come forward nor tell himself clearly, obviously because he didn't want to be seen meddling in it, or rather, he couldn't let people catch him.

Chen Tianping is not a person who is reasonable, although Jiang Xinghuo has helped him a little, but after he signed the deed of the country that was enough for the ancestors of the Chen Dynasty to collectively uncover the coffin from the grave, he had already paid it off, and this time the matter had to be counted extra.

And since Jiang Xinghuo hinted that it would be of great help to him to restore the country, he refused to explain it, which undoubtedly made Chen Tianping a little curious for no reason.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Tianping immediately changed into formal clothes, tied a dagger to his arms and calves, and carried a bag of lime powder in his pocket, and then walked out of the room where he lived and went to another part of the Huitong Pavilion to meet the Japanese.

At the corner of the corridor of a set of courtyards, where the Japanese were stationed, Chen Tianping had just walked into the room when he saw a middle-aged man in a kimono with a sword and a rib pinned to his waist kneeling on a tatami mat, while his men stood respectfully beside him.

This is obviously the Japanese representative who is going to discuss cooperation with Chen Tianping today - Imagawa Ryitshi.

"Imagawa-kun, I have admired the daimyo for a long time."

Chen Tianping walked forward quickly, walked to the small table and stopped, smiling at Imagawa and greeting.

"Chen Sang."

Hearing the voice, Imagawa Ryojun looked up at Chen Tianping, and a strange light flashed in his eyes.

Imagawa Ryoshiro's gaze was not hidden for too long, and he retracted it after only a moment, and then said with a kind smile: "Chen Sang, it is the first time we met, and I have come to talk to you about a big deal this time, I hope you don't mind my recklessness." ”

"No, there is a lot of time today, let's talk slowly."

"That's good."

Imagawa said politely, and after speaking, he stretched out his hand to invite Chen Tianping to sit down, and Chen Tianping did not refuse, and immediately knelt down on the opposite side of the small table.

Then the two sides exchanged a few polite words, and Chen Tianping shifted his gaze to the entourage of Chuan Liaojun.

These Japanese samurai were all young, basically in their twenties, ordinary in appearance, and inconspicuous in the crowd, in addition to pushing a small cart, which was piled with all kinds of documents and materials.

As if sensing the doubts revealed in Chen Tianping's eyes, Imagawa said with a smile: "Chen Sang, for the sake of secrecy, I can only wronged you to stay here alone to talk, because this batch of documents involves the transaction of goods worth more than 100,000 taels of silver, and you have to be able to trust someone to read it, otherwise the secret will be exposed." ”

In the current fifteenth century, the world's largest reserves of South American silver and Japanese silver have not been mined on a large scale, and the price of silver is very strong, and the total amount of more than 100,000 taels of silver is not a small amount.

"Understood."

Chen Tianping nodded suddenly.

"But."

Chen Tianping's face was a little subtle, "Imagawa-kun may not know much about the situation below. ”

"Clear, of course clear!"

Imagawa laughed, he knew Chen Tianping's financial resources too well, to put it simply, he was eating and drinking in Daming with a shy face.

Not to mention that Chen Tianping can't eat the goods of more than 100,000 taels of silver, that is, whether the other party has ten taels of silver in his pocket, Imagawa and Junjun have to put a question mark.

But if today's things are to be done, it must be this person, and it must be this poor bastard who only has the title of "King and Sun of Annan".

"Last night, when I went on a night tour of Mochou Lake with Cao Guogong of the Ming Dynasty and the National Teacher, the National Teacher introduced you to me, and the National Teacher admired you very much."

“.”

Chen Tianping suddenly thought that when Cao Song introduced him to Imagawa Rytoshi, he also said the same.

It seems that the vision of the National Normal University in this aspect of "appreciating people" is quite consistent.

However, since the other party moved out of Jiang Xinghuo, Chen Tianping knew that the whole thing must be shrouded in the shadow of Jiang Xinghuo, and with the acquiescence and help of this big man who had passed through the sky in Daming, Chen Tianping felt a little relieved.

He is still relatively valuable to Jiang Xinghuo, and if there is no greater overwhelming benefit, Jiang Xinghuo will definitely not harm himself, and then sabotage his plan.

Imagawa continued: "What about this batch of goods, nominally speaking, in fact, our Japanese mission and Chen Sang hit it off at first sight, and after hearing the story of Annan's Hu father and son usurping the country, they were indignant and decided to donate all of them to Chen Sang free of charge to help Chen Sang restore the country. ”

"Chen Sang, we have already estimated the transaction amount of this batch of goods."

As he spoke, Imagawa took out a piece of paper and handed it to Chen Tianping: "The total value of the goods is estimated to be."

Chen Tianping took it and glanced down, looking at the numbers on the paper, he couldn't help but gasp.

——156000000 articles.

156 million wen copper coins, which is equivalent to about 12-130,000 taels of silver, is enough to arm a large army simply based on purchasing power to buy grain.

Of course, Chen Tianping knew that these goods were definitely not given to him in vain, and it was even more deceitful to help him restore the country at first sight, what value did he have Chen Tianping knew very well, that is, he was the name of "King and Sun of Annan" who could be recognized and discognized, and the other party must have come for this name.

So why do the Japanese need their own name?

Chen Tianping was smart enough, and he could even be called cunning, and it almost didn't take much effort for him to figure out what the key was.

Of course, it is because Japan and the Ming Dynasty do not have a formal tributary trade relationship, and Annan and the Ming Dynasty have, and now the throne of Annam has been usurped by the Hu family, so he actually represents Annan in the Ming Dynasty, after all, Emperor Yongle personally recognized his legitimacy in the recent summons.

Therefore, as long as this batch of goods is allocated to his own name, he can be sold legally, as long as he admits it, there is no reason for Daming to stop it.

And his own name is his only value, of course he can't trade it easily, he must get enough benefits, this benefit is what Jiang Xinghuo said can bring to himself.

Thinking about these things clearly, Chen Tianping opened his mouth and said to Imagawa Ryitonshi: "I can help you sell these goods, how much can I get from them?" ”

Imagawa took out another deed and handed it to Chen Tianping, in duplicate, which means that after giving Chen Tianping a hush money, this thing can only be kept by Imagawa Ryōjun.

Chen Tianping looked at the deed carefully, and fortunately, when drawing up the deed, Imagawa did not mention anything else, and it was all carried out in accordance with the content of normal cooperation, without the slightest intention of cheating.

If the only flaw is that he is the only one who knows about this cooperation, and as long as he signs and draws the money and then takes the money, the deed will be established, and the deed will not remain in his hands.

But Chen Tianping is not worried at all, after all, the money obtained through the transfer of his own name, although it is not a small amount, but compared with the total amount of the entire goods, it is still a drop in the hair, since there is Jiang Xinghuo's acquiescence, then even if he can't get the deed, the other party will not hack himself, after all, this is the territory of the Ming Dynasty, if he does too much, Jiang Xinghuo will naturally make a move.

"How is it, how is Chen Sang thinking about it? At this price, if you change the name, I don't think it should be a loss, right? ”

Seeing that Chen Tianping was silent, Imagawa asked again.

Hearing this, Chen Tianping took a deep breath, knowing that it was time to make a decision, he nodded and said: "Wealth is very tempting, but I have one condition. ”

"Tell me about it." Imagawa is a must-have.

"I'm willing to give up some of the benefit fee, but I hope that Imagawa-kun can lend me some people and return to Japan with me."

Imagawa Ryōjun raised his eyebrows slightly: "Does Chen Sang want to hire some samurai?" ”

"That's right!"

Chen Tianping looked at the samurai beside Imagawa and nodded, and continued: "I heard that there are many samurai in Japan who became pirates after the end of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and their combat strength is generally good, so I want to hire a group of well-trained personal guards from Imagawa-kun to handle some personal affairs for me. After all, there will be many situations like the previous mission of the Champa State, and I can't stay in Daming all the time, so I will inevitably encounter some dangers."

Imagawa nodded in agreement: "I can understand your thoughts, but my manpower is not very large, and real samurai are not so easy to recruit, it is not enough to give a sum of money and it will be over, first of all, they need a high monthly fee, and secondly, their additional rewards after each mission are also quite expensive." ”

Speaking of this, Imagawa Ryjun paused slightly, and then continued: "Of course, the most important thing is Daming's attitude. ”

"I understand, I will personally go and ask to see the national teacher."

At this point, Chen Tianping is no longer deep.

He knew that Imagawa Lijun did not provide him with guards, and the others were secondary, the most important thing was Da Ming, or Jiang Xinghuo's attitude, after all, if he was armed, Jiang Xinghuo's control over himself would be weakened, and the bell must be tied to the bell person, and to solve this problem, he still had to talk to Jiang Xinghuo in person.

But not recently.

After all, Jiang Xinghuo personally planned and instructed him to meet with Imagawa Ritoshi, but he never came forward by himself, because he didn't want to get involved himself, and before this matter was completed, Chen Tianping would definitely be sternly rejected whether he asked to see Jiang Xinghuo openly or in private, so don't be bored.

However, this is also what Chen Tianping is worried about, after all, the intersection between him and Imagawa Litoshi is not deep, and the trust between each other has not reached the level of trust, and there are various interests entangled in the process of trading, so if you want to really trust Imagawa Litoshi without a middleman, it is really difficult for Chen Tianping, who is weak.

Soon, however, he put these distractions behind him.

After all, he also needs money right now, and he needs it urgently.

As long as Imagawa doesn't play tricks, he's willing to try to make a deal.

Thinking of this, he spoke again: "I have no opinion, so let's do it, Imagawa-kun, do you think when we will sign the deed?" ”

"The sooner the better!"

"Well, let's sign it now."

Chen Tianping hesitated for a moment and decided to make a quick decision.

After all, the later the time drags on, the greater the probability of problems, and who may find out who will find the clues!

"No problem!"

Imagawa readily agreed, and then asked his subordinates to present a brush, wrote his own kanji name, and pressed the bright red handprint before handing it to Chen Tianping.

"Let's sign it."

"Good!"

Chen Tianping carefully checked it again, signed his name at the end of the deed on the spot, and then pressed his handprint.

Seeing this scene, Imagawa Ryotoshi smiled.

Although he had expected this result for a long time, after seeing Chen Tianping really sign the deed, he still couldn't help but feel a strong sigh in his heart.

Although after Jiang Xinghuo told him the method and made him ready for this transaction, he was ready to be opened by the lion.

Even, he had already thought of various ways to deal with Chen Tianping in his heart.

But he didn't expect that Chen Tianping didn't even have the idea of bargaining, and signed the deed directly.

Could it be that Chen Tianping doesn't know how to fight for his own interests?

Of course not!

You must know that before this, Imagawa Ryozhiro also deliberately sent someone to bribe the officials of the Ministry of Rites of the Huitong Pavilion to investigate Chen Tianping.

In the last case of the Champa mission wounding people, Chen Tianping showed amazing calmness, agility, and thoroughness, Imagawa Liaojun originally thought that Chen Tianping was a cunning and shrewd person, and he would definitely bargain with him constantly, but now it seems that he was wrong.

This courage impressed him.

And what is even more rare is that Chen Tianping is very confident in Jiang Xinghuo's reputation, which is also what he admires most about Chen Tianping.

Jiang Xinghuo is really the most amazing character Imagawa Lijun has ever seen in his life, and an extremely difficult thing was easily solved by Jiang Xinghuo, and the wisdom reflected in it is really amazing.

Moreover, signing a deed with Chen Tianping to transfer the goods carried by these Japanese businessmen to Chen Tianping, the grandson of the king of Annam, in the name of "free support for the movement for the restoration of the country in Annam" was only the first step in the whole plan, that is, Jiang Xinghuo told him yesterday.

The next step of the plan, he still has to complete this step, and then go to meet Li Jinglong in person to know.

Thinking of this, the look on Imagawa Rytoshi's face instantly became extremely solemn: "Since the deed has been signed, Chen San, I hope we can become very good friends in the future." ”

"Haha, it will."

Chen Tianping laughed heartily, and he also thought that this was an opportunity for him to establish a good relationship with Imagawa Rytoshi.

After all, Imagawa Ryotoshi is a big man in Japan, and being able to get close to this kind of person will definitely help him gain a firm foothold in Annam after returning to China.

After everything was done, the two chatted for a while, and then Chen Tianping left.

Imagawa stayed where he was and waited for half an hour, then walked out of the station with the deed, got into a carriage and hurried straight to the manor on the outskirts of the city to meet Li Jinglong.

——————

Tangshan is located directly east of Zhongshan, about 40 miles away from the urban area of Nanjing.

At the location of the hot springs under Tangshan, there is a garden industry, which is the property of the Cao Guo Mansion.

This special industry covers a wide area, and the architectural style is similar to that of Suzhou gardens, full of Jiangnan style.

But the family members standing guard at the door exuded a strong killing aura all over their bodies.

Not only that, but the surroundings of Beiye are full of families patrolling with knives, and the defense is so tight that it can be said to be leaky.

"The head of the house is waiting for you inside."

Just as Imagawa Rytoshi came to Beshiro's door, a housekeeper in a strong suit greeted him respectfully.

It stands to reason that they can actually wear armor, the prince and the uncle are third-class nobles, and there are different numbers of legal armor places in the family, and the military equipment such as iron armor and strong crossbows that are not allowed to be held by the people are not difficult things for them, but after all, this is at the feet of the Son of Heaven, and they still don't wear armor at ordinary times, so as not to let the Son of Heaven know that someone wants to harm him.

After the keeper confirmed that it was correct, he let him go directly.

Imagawa nodded lightly and said, "Take me to see His Excellency the General." ”

"Please follow me!"

Cao Adaa nodded and walked into Beiye with Imagawa Ryokyoshi.

In front of a hot spring courtyard, Cao Adaa stopped, turned his head and said to Imagawa Ryoshiro, "The head of the family is waiting for you inside, please come in." ”

"Thank you."

Imagawa nodded, and then walked in.

The mist rose in the natural hot spring pool, and two men could be vaguely seen sitting in the pool with their eyes closed, it was Li Jinglong and his younger brother Li Zengzhi.

Li Zengzhi is the second son of Li Wenzhong of the King of Qiyang, if Li Jinglong also inherited part of his father's military talent, then Li Zengzhi can be said to have not inherited at all, only interested in making money, these years relying on the power of the Cao Guo Mansion, in the village to set up more farmland, each village to raise tenants is often hundreds of thousands of households, although a little exceeded, but Li Wenzhong is Zhu Yuanzhang's nephew, Li Jinglong and Li Zengzhi in the generation with Zhu Yunwen, Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Gaochu is a generation, serious top nobles and royal relatives, So the imperial historians turned a blind eye.

However, Li Jinglong dared to say that he "has a little family resources", obviously relying on Li Zengzhi's vigorous efforts to make money when he was not at home, which gave him the confidence.

"Signed?"

"Signed."

Imagawa Ryōtoshi put down his clothes and the deed under the service of the maid, and then wrapped a sweat towel into the hot spring pool, which is the meaning of the sincere conversation between the two sides without carrying blades.

Li Jinglongping retreated, and this is the second step to officially start the plan.

Chen Tianping's agreement to the deal did not surprise Li Jinglong, Jiang Xinghuo told him the steps of the plan, this matter has to be handled by him throughout the whole process, not only to do it cleanly and beautifully without leaving traces, not to give people a handle, but also within the tolerance range of Emperor Yongle, the operation is very difficult, but Li Jinglong is very confident, because Jiang Xinghuo's plan is meticulous enough and amazing enough.

Li Jinglong pointed to Li Zengzhi and introduced Imagawa to Imagawa Ryōjun:

"My younger brother usually likes to buy property for his family, and he is still familiar with the rich businessmen and tycoons in Nanjing, and he will take the next step."

"Understood."

Imagawa Lijun is very aware of the sensitivity of the temple here, Jiang Xinghuo must not leave any evidence behind, and Li Jinglong can participate as a friend, but he can't operate on the surface, so he can only let his younger brother Li Zengzhi participate in the name of doing business, as a white glove.

Even the reason why he chose to talk in the hot springs, in addition to guarding against carrying a hidden blade, there is another reason, that is, he can't fall on paper and can only talk in this thick white mist.

In the aftermath, everything will be like a white mist, drifting away with the wind.

"Your Excellency, what is the second step of the plan?"

"Kill two birds with one stone."

Li Jinglong smiled and explained: "Now all the goods are in the name of free donations to Chen Tianping's name, but these goods are to be sold for cash, but in the plan of the national teacher, since Wang Jing has set up a plan to kill two birds with one stone, we can also kill two birds with one stone." ”

"I want to hear about it." Imagawa was very curious.

"Chen Tianping's move, does it solve the problem that Japan and the Ming Dynasty have no tributary trade relations, so they can't sell goods?"

Imagawa Ryōtoshi nodded, and Li Jinglong continued: "But the national teacher means that the way to solve the problem is not only to solve the problem as the purpose, but also to open up the pattern, take a long-term view, and do more things through this matter." ”

"For example?"

"The next unarmed free trade zone of tomorrow."

Listening to Li Jinglong's words, Imagawa Ryokjun was a little confused, he didn't understand how the sale of these goods was related to the unarmed free trade zone of tomorrow, was it to introduce some Ming merchants who bought goods?

Listening to Imagawa Ryōjun's conjecture, Li Jinglong shook his head with a smile and said, "That's not the case, but we want to organize a bargaining event, and the ultimate purpose of the event is to sell limited commodity discount option coupons." ”

"What is an option?"

At this time, Li Zengzhi, who is more good at commercial activities, said: "According to the explanation of the national teacher, an option is actually an expiration deed of a commodity, which gives the option holder the right to buy or sell a commodity at a fixed price within a specific date range. ”

"For example, the merchants of the Ming Dynasty and the Japanese merchants agreed to trade a thousand sea otter skins, and the goods of the thousand sea otter skins should be delivered at the port of Tsushima Island in the free trade zone of tomorrow, and the delivery date range is one year later, that is, from May to June in the second year of Yongle, and the agreed price is 2,500 Wen, so no matter whether it is today next year, the price of sea otter skins will rise or fall, and the merchants of the Ming Dynasty will have to trade at this agreed price. If the price drops, even if it is worthless, the Ming merchants have to buy it. In the same way, if it is the goods of the Ming Dynasty, such as silk, tea, porcelain and other items, the same is true for futures options trading. ”

The reason why sea otter skin is taken as an example is because it is a specialty of the northern part of Japan's main island of Honshu and Ezo, in fact, sea otter skin has always been very marketable in China, because it is a skin taken from mammals in the alpine zone, that is, the so-called fur, not only is it very warm, it looks smooth and smooth to the touch, and it is very soft to the touch, which is much more expensive than mink fur.

In Jiang Xinghuo's previous life, in the early nineteenth century, trading houses in Russia and the United States and other countries usually exchanged a sea otter skin for two to three large boxes of Chinese tea, and the sea otters on both sides of the Pacific Ocean were captured and almost extinct.

Getting back to the point, Imagawa Ryōjun probably understood this gameplay.

"Actually, it's a bet that the price will rise in the future, but what if the merchants don't want to gamble?" Imagawa Rytoshi's thinking is actually very reasonable, although merchants value interests, but also consider risks, especially in this era, just experienced a large-scale sea ban, maritime trade for the merchants of the Ming Dynasty, is actually a very risky thing.

Even if the coastal pirates are now cleared, even if the Ming Dynasty and Japan began to negotiate free trade, in any case, if there are not enough benefits, it is certainly impossible for the merchants to ignore the risk of crossing the ocean for commodity delivery.

"Therefore, we must first sell limited commodity discount option coupons, and cultivate and promote this trading model through concessions."

Li Zengzhi explained: "At the same time as the goods are sold, organize bargaining activities, buy goods up to 10,000 wen alone, get a bargaining knife, or buy goods up to 100,000 wen separately, get eleven bargaining knives (an extra gift), and all the merchants who participate in the purchase can use the bargaining knife in their hands at the option auction to bargain and buy discount option coupons for their favorite goods." ”

"The number of this commodity discount option coupon is not much, but it must be that as long as it can be cut, it will make a lot of money by the agreed delivery date of the option (not necessarily a year, but also several months and days)."

Imagawa Ryōjun understood, and thought that Li Zengzhi's role was to use his semi-official identity and his deep connections in the Nanjing business community to make these Ming businessmen believe that the option deed was workable, and there was no need to be afraid of being deceived, after all, Cao Guogong came back from Japan and asked his younger brother to endorse it himself.

Imagawa Rytoshi has also roughly understood the various social classes of the Ming Dynasty in the past few days, the merchants of the Ming Dynasty are different from the Japanese merchants, they do not have their own weapons in their hands, and it is difficult to influence the temple, so if a person like Li Zengzhi who is extremely noble and often deals with them comes forward, it is easy to use his reputation and the Cao Guogong Mansion as a guarantee to promote this first batch of futures trading.

After all, the businessmen know very well that for the Cao Guo Mansion, this money cannot be compared with the credibility and face at all, and with the credit guarantee of the Cao Guo Mansion, they are relieved enough.

Imagawa said thoughtfully: "So in order to get more bargaining knives to overwhelm competitors in the options auction and obtain discount coupons with lower discounts and better product variety, they will definitely buy these goods under Chen Tianping's name?" ”

"Exactly." Li Zengzhi nodded.

Imagawa was thoughtful, and he asked again, "What if there are many people who come to fight?" What should I do if the product is swept away? ”

"The national teacher has already had a countermeasure."

Li Zengzhi said with a smile: "Purchase qualification lottery, plus daily purchase limit." ”

Imagawa Ryatotoshi: "."

Even if Imagawa Ryokan prides himself on being well-informed, today is a complete eye-opener, this "King of Kyushu" never thought that commercial trade could be played like this, it is simply to let this Ming national teacher play flowers, it is really unheard of, unseen.

Li Zengzhi explained: "And whether they sell the option discount coupon again, or really come to the Tomorrow's Unarmed Free Trade Zone for delivery according to the option deed, when the futures are delivered, there will always be people who will trade with the option deed." ”

Li Jinglong patted the splash of water, took over and said: "So in fact, the first batch of deals in the unarmed free trade zone tomorrow has been reached in this way, and as long as it is successfully delivered on a large scale, the two sides will have gained mutual trust, and they can continue according to this model in the future." ”

"This is the national teacher's plan to kill two birds with one stone, not only skillfully resolve Wang Jing's difficulties, sell this batch of goods, but also pave the way for tomorrow's free trade in the future, and even the free trade of more countries, and provide a flexible new form of trading The wisdom of the national teacher, it is really like the abyss!"

(End of chapter)