After Wan Yan Lou received Wan Yan Zonghan's order, he suddenly felt a big head.

He knew in his heart that this kind of cotton clothing was a rare thing in the Great Song Dynasty, and the price was expensive, and if he wanted to purchase 100,000 pieces, he was afraid that he would have to spend a huge amount of silver taels, which was undoubtedly a heavy burden on the treasury of the Jin State.

He knew that although Wanyan Zonghan loved this kind of cotton clothes, he would never empty the entire treasury for it.

After going down to the court, Wanyan Lou found Han Fang, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and told him about his troubles.

After hearing this, Han Fang pondered for a moment, and then gave him an idea: "General Wanyan, cotton clothes can't be purchased, we can try to purchase seeds." Now that Wanyan Zongyi is in exile in Kaifeng, we can privately send messengers to contact him. If he can help us procure cotton seeds and plant them on the territory of our country, won't we be able to solve the problem of the source of cotton clothing once and for all? ”

After hearing this, Yan Lou suddenly realized, he patted his head and said, "What Han Shangshu said is extremely true! Why didn't I think of this before? The high-yielding seeds of the Jin Kingdom were all purchased by Wanyan Zongyi from the Great Song Dynasty, and if we could also bring in cotton seeds, then the problem would be solved. ”

So, Wanyan Lou quickly sent someone to Kaifeng. On the one hand, they tried to approach local merchants to buy cotton clothes; On the other hand, they also got in touch with Wanyan Zongyi and told him that as long as he could purchase 100,000 mu of cotton seeds, he could be exempted from treason.

After entering Layue, the people sent out by Wanyan Lou's room finally arrived in Kaifeng. A part of them began difficult negotiations with local merchants. When these merchants saw that they were from the Kingdom of Jin, they deliberately raised the price, and a hundred cotton clothes were sold for 10,000 taels of silver, and they did not sell a cent.

"Aren't you very rich? Why can't you even give up this bit of silver? A Great Song businessman deliberately provoked.

"That's it, if you want cotton clothes, you can exchange it for silver, and you can't lose a penny!" Another businessman chimed in.

The merchants of Jin were so angry that they were smoking, but they were helpless.

They knew that they had no advantage in the territory of the Great Song Dynasty, so they could only negotiate with their anger.

After some fierce bargaining, they finally bought a batch of cotton clothes at a high price, but the quantity was far from meeting Yan Zonghan's requirements.

At the same time, another part of the people also found Wanyan Zongyi. They conveyed Wanyan Zongyi's wishes to Wanyan Zongyi, and promised that as long as he could complete the task, he would be exempted from criminal responsibility. However, unexpectedly, Wanyan Zongyi actually rejected their proposal.

"Go back and tell Yan Lou that I am inseparable from Yan Zongyi and him!" Wan Yan Zongyi said angrily, "I regard Wan Yan Zonghan as an enemy, how can I help him buy cotton seeds?" Die to this heart! ”

Lai Rang was shocked by Wanyan Zongyi's resolute attitude, they didn't expect this exiled prince to refuse their request so firmly.

They knew that it would be useless to persuade them any longer, so they had no choice but to return to Jinguo.

After Yan Lou learned the news, he was furious. He didn't expect that his carefully planned plan would be met with such strong opposition and obstruction. He knew that to solve this problem, he had to find another way.

However, time was of the essence, and he didn't have much time to waste. He had to come up with a foolproof plan as soon as possible, otherwise he would not be able to explain to Wanyan Zonghan.

As the saying goes, merchants can't afford to be early if they can't make a profit, since this cotton seed is so precious in the Great Song Dynasty, and the road to purchase it is not feasible, those merchants of the Jin Kingdom naturally refuse to give up. They thought to themselves, since they can't buy it, then steal or rob it! In any case, as long as you can get this cotton seed, you will make a lot of money by transporting it back to Jinguo.

In a dimly lit inn in Kaifeng City, several merchants of the Jin Kingdom sat around with gloomy faces.

"It's really hard to get your hands on the cotton seeds of the Great Song Dynasty." A businessman sighed.

"What's the difficulty? What His Majesty the Emperor wants, we must find a way. Another businessman's eyes flashed with a hint of cruelty, "If you can't buy it, grab it!" ”

"That's right! We can find some ruffians to steal and give them some money afterwards. The third merchant proposed.

"Great idea! There are many such idlers in this Kaifeng city. The merchant who sighed initially nodded in agreement.

As soon as they said it, several merchants of the Jin Kingdom immediately took out silver tickets and discussed a detailed plan.

These ruffians are idle and do all kinds of evil on weekdays, and when they see that there is money to be earned, they naturally gladly agree.

The next morning, a group of ragged ruffians gathered in a remote place outside the city.

"Did you hear that? There were a few merchants from the Golden Kingdom who paid a lot of money for us to steal cotton seeds. A leader-like scoundrel said mysteriously.

"A pound of seeds and a tael of silver? It's a good deal! The other scoundrel's eyes lit up.

"That's right! Let's act tonight, go to those farmers' houses and steal, whoever robs more will have more silver! The leader encouraged.

Excited by the crowd, the group of ruffians quietly went out of the city that night and went to the farmer's house.

For several days in a row, the chickens and dogs in the peasant homes in the suburbs of Kaifeng were not peaceful. These ruffians took advantage of the large number of people to break into the homes of farmers, snatch cotton seeds when they saw them, and beat them when they encountered obstacles.

The moon was dark and the wind was high, and the farmer Li Laohan's family was sleeping soundly.

Suddenly, there was a sharp knock on the door, followed by the sound of a breakdown.

"Who? Do? Li Laohan woke up and shouted in panic.

"Don't shout! Hand over the cotton seeds! Several dark figures broke into the house, clubs in hand, and roared viciously.

Li Laohan's son tried to resist, but was beaten to the ground with a stick.

Li Laohan's wife cried and begged for mercy, but to no avail. In the end, Li Laohan's family of three was brutally murdered, and the cotton seeds in the house were also looted.

The same tragedy was staged in many peasant homes in the suburbs of Kaifeng. These ruffians were like wolves and tigers, and when they encountered resistance, they fought violently, and for a time the peasants were all in danger and cried all over the wilderness.

The news soon spread to Kaifeng Prefecture. Zhao Zhen, the king of letters, who is also the governor of Kaifeng Prefecture, was furious after getting this series of hurting cases.

He knew very well the importance of this cotton seed to the Great Song Dynasty, and also understood that there must be the shadow of the Jin Kingdom behind it.

So, he immediately reported the matter to his imperial sister Zhao Yingluo.

After Zhao Yingluo heard this, she sneered: "This must be the Jin Kingdom plotting against our cotton seeds!" She knows the value of this kind of seed too well, and she also knows that Jin Guo has always coveted it.

Now that such a thing has happened, who else can there be besides Jin Guo?

"Order the Criminal Department to immediately send someone to arrest you, and you must arrest all the criminals!"