A powerful minister of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 405 Song Envoy
Way out?

When Song Xuan heard those two words, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Hahaha."

"What you, You Hui, said is a huge joke to me."

Song Xuan glanced at the grain merchant who had slightly raised his head:

"You Hui, let me ask you, when the price of grain rose to more than 100,000 wen per shi, did you ever think about the livelihood of the people in Dongjing City?"

You Hui swallowed subconsciously, and sweat began to bead on his forehead.

"Now that grain prices have fallen, you're fucking telling me to give you a way to survive?"

"You feel pain now that I've just smashed this golden mace over your head?"

"I am a petty person, a petty person."

You Hui was so flustered by Song Xuan's questioning that he almost lost his balance.

"You're only realizing you're a petty person now? You're way too late."

Faced with Song Xuan's sarcastic remarks, You Hui had no way to answer, nor did he dare to.

“If you hadn’t made this unscrupulous money back then, I would have spared your life. Now that you’ve made the money and gotten all the benefits, I’ll let you live.”

"You can't sit still and start jumping up and down about how big your losses are if you lose even a little bit of profit?"

"You damn bastard who profited from the national crisis, do you even dare to cry out for justice and beg for a way to live in front of me?"

"If I don't immediately give you a blow, it means I'm kind-hearted, I've done my duty to the Emperor, and I've upheld the laws of the Song Dynasty!"

Unable to support his body, You Hui collapsed to the ground.

Now he understands everything.

All of this was indeed planned in secret by Song Xuan.

How could Song Xuan, a righteous and upright official, not only remain indifferent to such a sharp rise in grain prices, but also add fuel to the fire?

All the forbearance was a trap laid for today's sharp drop in grain prices, luring me all the way in.

As for Liu Congde, he was Song Xuan's subordinate and followed his orders, so everything made sense.

You Hui regretted that after years of hunting birds, he had been blinded by profit and ended up being pecked by the birds.

He also thought that Song Xuan was easy to talk to and, being a new official, certainly wouldn't understand the principles of doing business.

But in the end, he had outsmarted her!
Sweat poured down You Hui's forehead, and his heart was pounding.

From the moment the government opened the granaries to distribute grain, he realized that his deception of Liu Congde into joining forces was tantamount to seeking help from a tiger.

All the schemes were laid bare in Song Xuan's eyes.

First, there were tentative price reductions that changed three times a day, then ten times a day. Step by step, Liu Congde led him by the nose into the quagmire of a price war.

Then Liu Congde drastically cut the grain price in half, far below the market price.

Food prices in Tokyo have suddenly collapsed.

Not only You Hui himself, but also all the other grain merchants were beaten down and collapsed.

Their previous method of controlling grain prices through partnerships has fundamentally and completely lost its ability to control prices.

You Hui could only try to make peace and establish dialogue, but was angrily rebuked by Liu Congde to his face.

After I left, they immediately lowered the price to the lowest possible level, effectively slashing the price in half and causing a fatal sell-off.

Anyway, the main theme is that nobody should live.

You Hui didn't understand why Liu Congde spent a lot of money, not to make money, but to crash the market.

In all his years in business, he had never encountered such a shameless and unscrupulous business battle.

If you're not doing this to make money, why would you do it?
Rumor has it that Liu Congde was the most greedy person. What kind of spell did Song Xuan cast on him that made him lose all interest in money and even try to overturn the table?
Liu Congde's wealth and influence came from the blessings and accumulating wealth of two generations, a foundation that they could never match.

They, the grain merchants, are now in a desperate situation where they have lost everything!

All of this was done by the county magistrate whom he had looked down upon.

"My lord, I... I know I was wrong."

You Hui instinctively started begging for mercy, slapping himself in the face. He was willing to accept any form of godfathership as long as the money came back.

Zhao Zhen sat to the side, picked up his teacup, slowly blew on it, and then took a sip.

You heartless grain merchants, where did your smugness about raising prices go?
The rapid rise in grain prices in Tokyo is a major concern for Emperor Zhao Zhen.

This is his core base.

Even though he can't manage anything right now, the responsibilities on his shoulders keep him worried.

Now that the grain merchants had finally been taught a lesson by the Twelfth Brother, Zhao Zhen felt very pleased.

"You Hui, please don't say that. You don't know you're wrong; you clearly know your money is going to be gone."

"puff."

Zhao Zhen spat out his saliva; his twelfth brother was absolutely right.

You Hui almost shoved Song Xuan's head to the ground.

"Song Zhuangyuan is right."

"Song Zhuangyuan is right."

Song Xuan didn't bother wasting words with such a tough nut to crack.
"Grain prices won't go up. Your coming to me will only make me hate you, not pity you, because you don't deserve pity."

You Hui, enraged, quickly spoke:

“The villain deserved his punishment, but many others in the grain shop had purchased their goods by taking out high-interest loans.”

"I humbly request that you, sir, purchase their grain to mitigate some of their losses."

“Prefect Liu’s grain is already selling for four hundred cash per shi, why don’t you just follow suit and sell it too?”

"My lord, they dare not sell anymore."

You Hui was afraid they wouldn't even be able to sell it for four hundred coins.

Because Liu Congde's reserves are even higher than theirs.

If they hadn't been there together at the new dock overseeing the unloading, they wouldn't have known that Liu Congde was playing such a big game!
These grain merchants dared to sell for four hundred coins, but Liu Congde could sell for three hundred coins, or even one coin, and they couldn't do anything about it.

After this window of opportunity passes, the imperial court will have even less shortage of food.

The Song Dynasty was neither very large nor very small.

Currently, several counties, including Huazhou, have suffered losses in tax revenue due to the breach of the Yellow River.

However, Champa rice from Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces had already reached a considerable scale during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong.

This indirectly ensured that even though many people in the Song Dynasty abandoned their land and their land was taken over by large landowners, they would not easily starve to death.

They could also choose to go to the city to work; becoming a slave was not allowed.

Everyone wants to buy low and sell high, but whether you can seize the last window of opportunity and avoid losing money is a combination of ability and luck.

Song Xuan glanced at him:
“You Hui, you know that all the money I have has been donated to disaster relief.”

"Even if we raise some money by holding a fish-catching competition and a Mid-Autumn Festival parade, it's all for paying the wages of the people who work."

"If I buy a large quantity of your rice and grain, what if I can't pay the workers and the project is delayed?"

Song Xuan completely ignored his comment.

The more he wanted to sell, the more he wanted to sell.

Song Xuan should be even more careful not to show that he wants to buy.

Even if Song Xuan wanted to buy it, he would push it to the white gloves section, not his own hands.

“My lord, I have a use for you. We are willing to sell our grain at a low price.”

"You Hui, you're just the president of a grain store. When everyone's making money, they're willing to call you president, but when they lose money, they call you a nobody. Who respects you anymore?"

You Hui admitted that Song Xuan was right.

But if we don't cut our losses now, we'll be completely devoured.

There will be no turning back now.

"You're useful, but do you think you're more important to me, or money and supplies?"

When Song Xuan asked him a question, You Hui turned pale.

He certainly understood what Song Xuan meant.

The one thing Tokyo has in abundance is people.

Grain Merchants Association President, if you can't handle it, someone else will naturally come and eye this lucrative opportunity to replace you.

"I'm willing to listen to whatever you say, my lord!"

You Hui's head was stuck to the ground.

Invite them to a feast, behead them, and take them in as dogs.

silence.

There was a long silence.

Song Xuan picked up his teacup and took a sip:
"I can give you a suggestion."

Only then did You Hui dare to raise his head and look at Song Xuan.

“Go sell it to Liu Congde, he has money.”

You Hui dared not agree at all.

Because Liu Congde will only push the price even lower.

Even if he wanted to buy it for him, You Hui would need Song Xuan to step in and help mediate.

Without a middleman, You Hui felt he would definitely not be able to continue serving as the president of the grain store.

There are also conflicts of interest involved, which will make it even harder for him to recover.

You Hui wanted to minimize losses, but he was also thinking about his own future.

Song Xuan is right. If you lead everyone to make money, these peers will be willing to praise you and follow you.

But now I'm losing all my underwear.

Who still recognizes you?

Ultimately, they are just a loose alliance, a small circle protecting their own interests, jointly excluding outsiders and trying to take a piece of their flesh.

Now that they can't even protect their own interests, they have to cut their own losses to get through the crisis.

Even husband and wife will fly away when disaster strikes.

Not to mention loose alliances formed because of money.

That's just human nature.

Unless You Hui asks Song Xuan to mediate.

Only by doing what others cannot do can he continue to demonstrate his "value," gain recognition from others, and maintain this loose alliance so that he can profit from it.

"By the way, if you don't want to live anymore, burn all the food you bought, and someone will send your whole family on their way."

Upon hearing this, You Hui's last shred of hope vanished.

He was certain that this was a setup by Song Xuan, designed to punish them.

Song Qingtian's slogan is widely praised, but don't forget that his nickname "Song Taisui" wasn't given for nothing.

Who would want to die if there's still a chance to live?

Moreover, as long as we overcome the current difficulties, there may be a chance for a turnaround in the future.

You Hui's weakness was completely exploited by Song Xuan.

Zhao Zhen couldn't understand who would send his entire family on their way.

"I humbly request that you, sir, mediate and persuade Prefect Liu to buy my grain."

"Go and discuss this with the other grain merchants, lest you go back on your word and make me lose face in front of Prefect Liu."

Song Xuan glanced at him:
"Other grain merchants can also come to me for a talk; it's up to us who can negotiate the best."

Upon hearing this, You Hui's mind went blank.

Others can also be discussed!

That means the others are also among Song Xuan's choices.

If I can't handle this matter well, Master Song won't make any promises.

You only have value if you do a good job!
Without further ado, You Hui stood up, bowed again, and went back to prepare for the matter.

After everyone left, Song Xuan snapped his fingers:

"Let's see who has the ability to compete for the position."

"Twelfth Brother, why don't you just buy it directly?"

"What if they hold a grudge and poison the food?"

Song Xuan looked at Zhao Zhen and said:
"Sixth Brother, these people may not have the guts to rebel, but they can still be tempted to do something sneaky."

"Their forced sale to Liu Congde was a failure in business warfare, a consequence of their own lack of understanding;"

“Selling it to me would be an act of coercion, and the two kinds of messages that get out are very different.”

"Besides, it's more convincing to let Liu Congde make the acquisition than for me to be the bad guy. It doesn't matter if we cut our losses a bit."

Zhao Zhen smiled wryly. He always felt that even fallacies became reasonable when spoken by his twelfth brother.

This is quite interesting.

No wonder many people can't argue with him.

"Hey hey hey."

Song Xuan breathed a sigh of relief:
"By acquiring this batch of grain, the grain that has been sent out of the Xiangjun and Jinjun granaries can be replenished, so that they can eat fresh grain, and the granaries of my county government can be full."

"Ordinary people can also eat affordable grain."

"The supply of food for disaster relief has been secured. Anyway, Liu Congde is going to lose money anyway, so losing more won't be a big deal for him."

“He could also buy them and give them to the officials to flatter them. I think he would be willing to do that.”

"Hahaha."

Zhao Zhen also looked somewhat excited.

He had hardly ever been flattered by his subjects.

At least not in front of his twelfth brother, he had never experienced it.

On the contrary, I have so much to learn from being by his side.

Although they were not much different in age, Zhao Zhen felt that Song Xuan was the kind of genius who knew everything from astronomy to geography.

He can talk about anything and everything.

When You Hui returned, he first gathered his inner circle and explained the current situation, as well as the solutions Song Xuan had proposed.

Now everyone is like fish on a chopping board; how they die is entirely in someone else's hands.

If we continue to support him, he is confident that he won't let everyone lose everything.

But if things fall apart, then everyone will have no future.

Although they harbored resentment within their small circle, they also agreed with You Hui's words.

In this way, You Hui won over one group and attacked another, letting them figure out their own way. They made a decision to sell some of the grain to Liu Congde through Song Xuan as an intermediary.

Thanks to Song Xuan's mediation, the grain was sold to Liu Congde, and the price of grain in Dongjing City then uniformly increased by one hundred coins.

Such actions also send a message to the outside world that grain prices will not fall indefinitely.

Otherwise, low grain prices will truly harm farmers.

As soon as the news spread, the people of Tokyo immediately began to discuss it.

More and more people now believe that Song Xuan is setting up a scheme to deliberately lure grain merchants, and that he is not restricting price increases.

Otherwise, how could Song Qingtian have turned a blind eye?

However, many people still have doubts about this.

However, more people went to buy grain, at least they no longer worried that if they bought grain today, they would be ripped off tomorrow.

How many more days can the government distribute grain?
After Lü Yijian returned home for dinner, Lü Gongbi said excitedly:
“Father, I’ve heard that there have been quite a few people impeaching Scholar Song recently, but after so many days of sharp drops in grain prices, they have stabilized today.”

"These grain merchants who sold grain at high prices all lost money and had to pawn their clothes just to survive. They were really ripped off."

"All of this was done by Song Zhuangyuan alone. Didn't you expect Song Zhuangyuan to do the opposite?"

Lü Gongbi worked alongside Song Xuan.

I naturally heard all sorts of opinions.

The fact that Wang Qixiong was brutally beaten and that there were no restrictions on high grain prices represent two extremes.

Even so, it didn't stop this group of people from participating in the official gambling game.

In addition, Lü Gongbi had heard from his father that many court officials had impeached Song Xuan.

Now they're praising Song Qingtian for his ability to manipulate events at will, which has completely deceived many people.

After all this, Lü Gongbi realized how interesting it truly was; this was a master at manipulating people's hearts!
Lü Yijian nodded first, then shook his head.

"Father, what do you mean by this?"

Even the ten-year-old third son, Lü Gongzhu, couldn't understand his father's meaning.

After Lü Yijian served food to his three sons:

"For a while, I really didn't know what Song Xuan was doing. I just thought it was a bit strange. His inaction seemed like he was urging us to help him solve the food problem."

"But after he suddenly convinced the Empress Dowager to open the granary and release grain, the situation became very clear."

"So, Dad, you only found out a few days before us."

Lü Gongbi still had a smile on his face:
"Song Zhuangyuan's river repair work was truly meticulous, with each step linked to the next, and his far-sighted planning was unmatched. I am quite looking forward to the future repair of the Yellow River; how wonderful that will be!"

"If I hadn't been in Tokyo, and hadn't been working alongside him, I wouldn't have been able to learn such brilliant techniques."

Hearing his second brother's words, Lü Gongchuo curled his lip.

What do you have to be proud of? You didn't even do it.

But as he listened to his second brother's speech, he could clearly sense that his brother's manner of speaking was quite different from before. He raised an eyebrow slightly and didn't want to say anything more.

"Indeed, Song Xuan has the potential to become a capable minister."

After Lü Gongbi finished speaking, he glanced at his daughter again.

It's a pity she wasn't in good health, otherwise she really could have competed with Cao Liyong's daughter.

Unfortunately, fate always likes to play tricks on people.

"In my opinion, he might become prime minister in the future."

Lü Gongbi had now become a fan of the Song Dynasty, something he hadn't done before.

Especially because of his sister's health condition, they did not marry.

As for Song Xuan's previous actions, none of them changed his opinion.

Only by handling a thorny matter so subtly and effectively could Lü Gongbi be completely convinced and feel proud that he had unexpectedly become Song Xuan's assistant.

"That's a bit of an overstatement."

The eldest brother, Lü Gongchuo, couldn't help but retort:
“Song Xuan has a tough style of doing things and has offended many people. It’s still a question whether he can hold his position in the future.”

Who did he offend?

Lu Gongbi countered, "Chen Yaozuo and his brothers, Ma Jiliang, Wang Qixiong—which one of them wasn't at fault?"

"But Master Song deliberately provoked trouble?"

"It's clearly someone else's fault, brother! How can you falsely accuse Master Song? You're completely unable to distinguish right from wrong!"

"Hey you."

Lu Gongchuo was severely reprimanded by his younger brother Lu Gongbi. He wanted to argue but couldn't, so he could only leave the table under the pretext of not having an appetite.

"Ah."

At this time, Lü Gongbi had not yet been influenced by officialdom, so his thoughts were naturally very different from those of the officials.

"He also knew that it was all a false accusation, a matter of smearing Master Song."

"I've heard the saying that if an official doesn't serve the people, he might as well go home and sell rice. My elder brother even served as the magistrate of Chenliu County, so how could he not know how shrewd Master Song's actions are?"

Faced with his son's fervent praise of Song Xuan, Lü Yijian felt somewhat helpless and could only say:

"At eighteen, Li He wrote: 'I will repay your kindness on the Golden Terrace and die for you with my jade dragon sword.' But at twenty-eight, he wrote: 'I do not know the height of the blue sky or the thickness of the yellow earth, but only the cold moon and warm sun, which come to erode human life.'"

"Baochen, people's thoughts and actions change as they get older."

"Father is right."

Lü Gongbi put down his chopsticks:

"But after that sentence comes 'I will cut off the dragon's feet, chew its flesh, so that it may not return in the morning, nor lie down at night,' I wonder how Father interprets that?"

Lu Yijian gave a wry smile, yet also felt somewhat gratified.

Because his son has learned to think independently instead of just following the crowd, this is a huge transformation for him.

It turns out that the ancient saying, "One who stays near vermilion gets stained red, and one who stays near ink gets stained black," is indeed true.

“You’re right. At this age, you should be full of energy. How can you be like your father, so old and decrepit, always thinking things through before acting?”

Lu Gongbi smiled in response to his father's praise.

At that time, he still liked Song Xuan's way of dealing with the murderer Wang Qixiong the most.

What the hell are you babbling about? I'll just unleash my mighty dragon, give you a good beating, take you away, throw you in jail to suffer, and wait to be sentenced to death.

Perhaps after some time, Lü Gongbi will be able to see Wang Qixiong's head rolling around on the ground.

Inside the palace.

Empress Liu was praising Liu Congde, saying, "You did a good job buying the grain."

Liu Congde was initially feeling quite pleased with himself for killing those grain merchants.

I never expected to receive praise from the Empress Dowager; it was a truly delightful surprise.

"Your Majesty, I was only doing this to cooperate with Scholar Song, and it was also thanks to Your Majesty's divine intervention that we were able to stabilize grain prices in the capital city."

Liu Congde was too embarrassed to say that he originally wanted to make a lot of money.

After all, he also cares about his reputation and wants to save face.

This was the first time Liu Congde had been praised by the Empress Dowager for his efficient work.

This was an experience he had never had before.

Liu Congde did not want to expose himself.

Bringing Song Xuan into the picture now is the best option for him.

Liu Congde especially felt that Song Xuan had also contributed a lot to the project.

Otherwise, given the greed of these grain merchants, if they had stubbornly resisted to the end, their grain wouldn't have been acquired by me at such a low price.

Even if you don't make a lot of money, or even lose money.

But Liu Congde was secretly pleased!
"Indeed, Scholar Song is extremely reliable in his work and is a great talent."

Empress Liu E also gained a more accurate understanding of Song Xuan's economic methods.

Many officials in the court impeached Song Xuan, saying that he was only good at writing poetry and had luckily passed the imperial examinations in three rounds, but was too young to shoulder the heavy responsibility of governing the capital.

He is now completely failing to take any countermeasures against the rising grain prices in Tokyo, letting the situation develop unchecked, which is utterly negligent.

However, in Liu E's view, this was originally something that the Prefect of Kaifeng should have done, and now this group of people had tacitly accepted that Song Xuan had become the Prefect of Kaifeng, which was simply deliberately causing trouble.

Most importantly, Song Xuan was appointed by himself.

Their attack on Song Xuan is an attack on my poor judgment of character.

Now that Song Xuan had pulled off such a brilliant move, Liu E naturally felt proud.

My judgment of people is never wrong.

They can't do it themselves, so they falsely accuse others of not being able to do it either.

Even now, they are kept in the dark.

One after another, when a dynasty ran into trouble, instead of finding ways to solve the problems, they only knew how to attack those who were capable of doing things.

Empress Liu looked down on these veteran officials in the court even more.

“Your Majesty, the grain I have can be sold to the people of Dongjing City so that they can get through the winter in peace.”

"On the other hand, the Imperial Guards' granaries can also be replenished."

Liu Congde smiled and said, "The thing Tokyo City has in abundance right now is food, and more food will be arriving later."

"Ah."

Empress Liu was quite satisfied with Liu Congde's growth, and she immediately inquired:

"How are the preparations for that auction going?"

"Pretty much. After the fishing competition is over and the construction site is cleared again, that priceless treasure will be exhibited at Fanlou for people to see."

"Yes, then we must send heavy troops to guard it to prevent the treasure from being broken by too many people."

"clear."

Liu Congde left the palace with a happy smile.

Working with Song Xuan this time, he was able to turn a crisis into an opportunity, which truly made him feel very happy.

As for going home, it was because his brother-in-law had been sentenced to death, and his mother-in-law came to plead with his wife.

Aside from being a bit nagging, Liu Congde felt that these days were wonderful.

This is something he can't decide.

The brother-in-law brought this upon himself; he has no one to blame but himself.

But tonight, there was another bout of nagging, which really annoyed Liu Congde.

The "Slacking Off the Fish" competition has reached its final stage, and there are no longer any ticket restrictions like A, B, C, or D.

Even the 30 finalists were taken into custody to prevent them from colluding.

To let everyone guess the weight of the fish, the government even bought a batch of live fish and kept them there.

Moreover, they could choose their own numbers based solely on luck, and the thirty numbers were available for purchase by the people of Tokyo for three consecutive days.

Nobody knows who will win.

Because once they arrived at the venue, the shortlisted individuals had to draw lots, and the selection was entirely blind.

It's a battle of luck.

Double-blind testing is a valid method.

Song Xuan was also very much looking forward to this, and according to the account book, the current profits were already quite good.

One last round of profit-taking, and then another round of money given away.

Since there are only thirty numbers available, and hundreds of thousands of people are buying them, there's a fairly high probability of winning.

The top prize for this contestant has now increased to 500 guan.

Song Xuan flipped through the ledgers, carefully calculating the profits.

"My lord, Liu Congde requests an audience."

A short while later, Liu Congde also looked troubled:
"Scholar Song, I have come to ask you for a favor today."

"Hmm?" Song Xuan invited him to sit down.
"It's rare for Prefect Liu to ask for favors, especially since I'm just a county magistrate."

“Your position as county magistrate is different from that of Pang Yu County magistrate.”

Liu Congde then went on to say things like how the Empress Dowager praised him.

Song Xuan listened without much feeling, but when it came to the point where she wanted to bring Zhao Zongshi to the palace...

If I criticize her then, the Empress Dowager will definitely not think the same way she does now.

Liu Congde also praised Song Xuan in various ways before cautiously speaking:
“Scholar Song, you know that my brother-in-law has been sentenced to death, and my wife has been wiping away tears.”

"So can you help me think of a solution?"

"What can I do?"

Song Xuan leaned back in his chair and spread his hands:
"Your Majesty is determined to uphold justice by eliminating your own family to set things right. Did you order him to kill someone?"

"No way, I can't even sleep if I were to order someone to kill someone."

"So I made him kill someone?"

"That's definitely not it."

Liu Congde quickly shook his head:
“It’s his own fault. The main problem is that I don’t want my wife to keep nagging me. I hope Scholar Song can give me some advice.”

"another."

"That won't work."

Liu Congde shook his head repeatedly:
“We are quite loving, but we can’t stand her parents’ constant gossip. It makes me feel uncomfortable if I don’t get angry, but I also feel uneasy if I don’t. We’re stuck here.”

"Since that's the case, why not use the strategy of besieging Wei to rescue Zhao?"

Song Xuan mentioned it briefly, before he could ask:
"It was your brother-in-law who confessed to his father's crimes in order to mitigate his own punishment. The court has also investigated this matter, so your father-in-law should be the one who is worried now."

"what?"

Liu Congde truly did not expect this outcome.

For a moment, he didn't know what to say.

Now that his brother-in-law has screwed him over, he's going to screw his father too?

Then you can't blame yourself for not lending a hand.

He even betrayed his own father, let alone anyone else.

"You can use that as an excuse now."

Hearing Song Xuan's words, Liu Congde nodded: "Then may I bring my wife to visit him in prison?"

"After all, they are siblings. It's only natural for them to see each other before they die."

"That's totally fine."

Song Xuan sent someone to summon the jailer Mao Lang and tell him.

When Prefect Liu comes to visit with his family, serve them well and carefully explain what they can and cannot take.

Mao Lang responded repeatedly.

Liu Congde was about to leave when Song Xuan stopped him: "Prefect Liu, can you grant me a request?"

"Please speak, Scholar Song."

"When your brother-in-law reports your father-in-law, it's best to wait until your wife's visit to the prison is over before telling her, so as not to affect your relationship."

Liu Congde thanked Song Xuan, which was a well-intentioned reminder.

After everyone left, Zhao Zhen came out from behind the screen: "Twelfth Brother, it seems the Wang family father and son will be keeping each other company."

"Can't tell."

Song Xuan waved his hand slightly.

Because Empress Liu had dealt with Wang Mengzheng's son and then with him, it's highly unlikely she would have done something like sending the father and son on their journey together.

"If Wang Mengzheng could be exiled, that would be a good ending."

Zhao Zhen nodded and sat down to discuss the accounts as well.

After finishing his meal, Song Xuan went to the courtyard to digest his food and noticed that there were many copper coins piled up in the two newly built classrooms.

It's estimated that the children of the county government officials won't be able to study here in the short term, as there's nowhere to put them.

He needed to quickly start the third phase of the project and spend the money, so he planned to put some of the money and supplies into the old base at Wuyou Cave.

It would be best to vacate the classroom.

"My lord, Eunuch Yang is here again."

Song Xuan had Qi Lecheng take him directly to the backyard, not knowing what was going on.

"Scholar Song, I've come to bring you good news."

"Eunuch Yang, what is the source of my joy?"

Yang Huaimin repeated what Liu Congde had said, which was basically the Empress Dowager praising him.

Those of them who depended on the Great Goddess for survival were extremely envious of her continuous praise of one person.

They longed to replace her and become the empress's favorite.

Only in this way can one be respected wherever one goes.

If Song Xuan went to the palace to pay his respects, the people around the Empress Dowager usually didn't greet him much; only Yang Huaimin would do so.

Yang Huaimin now feels that if Song Xuan enters the palace, all those people will want to revolve around him.

After all, who doesn't like being the center of attention for power?

Yang Huaimin can only be thankful that he went to Nanjing in his early years, where he first resolved his misunderstanding with Cao Yongli, Song Xuan's father-in-law, and then, because he was assigned by the Empress Dowager, he established a friendship with Song Xuan.

Even if it came to flattery and cultivating relationships, none of the people in the palace could compare to him at this point.

"I am unworthy of such praise."

Song Xuan waved his hands repeatedly:

"If it weren't for the Empress Dowager's decisive action and bold trust in me, a newcomer, and the Eunuch Yang's mediation, how could I have achieved what I have today?"

Yang Huaimin's smile deepened. He wished that Song Zhuangyuan could say these words to the Empress Dowager if he had the chance.

After the two exchanged compliments for a while, Yang Huaimin quickly said, "I almost forgot about the important matter."

"What's the matter?"

"Tomorrow, the Jurchens who have come to join our Great Song will arrive in the capital city of Tokyo. The Empress Dowager will have the top scholar of Song carefully examine and test them."

"Let's see if these barbarians are truly surrendering or if they've come here to be spies."

"So that's what happened."

Song Xuan nodded slightly: "Can they speak the Central Plains dialect?"

"Only the leader, Guo Yanduan, and his son can speak it."

The Jurchens officially began using Chinese during the Jin Dynasty. With the influx of Han Chinese and Bohai people, the process of Sinicization of the Jurchens was accelerated.

Until the mid-Jin Dynasty, when Chinese was adopted as the official language and the use of Chinese characters was promoted, the number of people speaking Jurchen language decreased significantly.

"Are there any people in our Tokyo who can understand the Jurchen language?"

“Too few.” Yang Huaimin shook his head repeatedly: “Our Great Song Dynasty has severed ties with the Jurchens for more than ten years, so we rarely have the opportunity to use them.”

"I would like to trouble Eunuch Yang to find a translator for me at Banjing Pavilion, so that they can speak to each other in Jurchen language, which I cannot understand."

"That's no problem."

Yang Huaimin left in a hurry.

Upon arriving in Tokyo, these envoys had to rest and register at an inn outside the city and undergo further inspection.

You must not bring any prohibited items into the capital.

It was quite common for the emperor to host a banquet.

So they had to leave their weapons and other equipment here in order to enter Tokyo.

Song Xuan first instructed Duan Shaolian to pretend he didn't understand the Jurchen language, and then repeat it after they left.

Duan Shaolian is actually a young man.

He is a native of Kaifeng. His grandfather was eloquent, and he learned some of it. Now he is a proofreader in the Secretariat.

“I will keep Song Zhuangyuan’s words in mind.”

"Ah."

Song Xuan nodded repeatedly:

"Master Duan, our main goal is to find out their true intentions, but we still need to take precautions."

After giving his instructions, Song Xuan rode his tall horse and led his men a hundred paces away from the city gate to avoid blocking the people's way into the city.

Guo Yanduan also instructed his son that the Song people were powerful, cunning, and vengeful, and that he should not say anything he shouldn't.

Guo Yanyu nodded to indicate that he had remembered.

Led by a Song man, the ten of them headed towards the south gate of Tokyo.

This gate is a landmark building in Tokyo and an essential route for the emperor's travels. It is magnificent and has a long-standing legend that the south gate can slay demons.

Song Xuan waited here as instructed for the arrival of the foreign envoys, hoping to teach them a lesson.

However, he felt there was little need for it.

These fewer than two hundred Jurchen people who came to seek refuge were probably not spies, but rather power-seizing failures who couldn't survive locally and wanted to cross the sea to come here.

"Scholar Song, the Jurchens are here."

Song Xuan took out his monocular telescope and looked carefully.

The entire group of people had shaved heads.

The leader had a tuft of hair standing up in the middle of his head like a mushroom cap, and he had shaved his head into a Mediterranean style, with the surrounding hair hanging down naturally.

The rest of the people all had shaved their heads into a receding hairline, with the remaining hair tied into two long braids.

It is highly recognizable, as its hairstyle is different from that of the Khitans.

The Khitans didn't have hair this long.

Song Xuan couldn't understand their lip movements, but he could clearly see that the leader was talking to the person next to him, and he guessed that it was the father and son.

“Scholar Song, you don’t need to say a word in a moment, just watch me.”

Yang Huaimin volunteered, because he had to give Song Xuan face.

Not everyone has the privilege of having a palace eunuch announce their number.

However, in the Song Dynasty, this was not a taboo matter.

Since Song Xuan was a civil official, his main focus was on creating a relaxed atmosphere.

Guo Yan Duan was also a seasoned fishing and hunting expert, and he spotted the Song envoy in the distance at a glance.

It was unclear what he was holding in his hand, which he then carefully tucked into his pocket; it didn't seem to be a weapon.

As they drew closer, Guo Yanduan felt that the Song people were giving him a taste of their own medicine.

Surrounded by a crowd, the Song envoy exuded an extremely imposing and oppressive aura simply by riding on horseback. If one were to be armed with a long spear, they would probably immediately spur their horse and charge at him.

Guo Yan hurriedly bowed to Song Xuan, speaking as he did so.

The people around them also followed suit.

At this point, without Song Xuan even needing to speak, Yang Huaimin immediately launched into a proclamation.

In short, the envoys who are receiving you are of extremely high status.

Guo Yanduan and the others bowed again.

Song Xuan grunted through his nose and greeted them according to proper etiquette.

Guo Yanduan could not have imagined that this distinguished envoy would be accompanied by eunuchs, which suggested that he must have achieved more than just passing the imperial examinations.

He had visited the Song Dynasty in his early years, but his trip was interrupted due to the Khitans.

Although the Khitans and the Song people had made peace, the Khitans still attacked them.

If we can't defeat the Song people, surely the Liao Dynasty, which inherited the legacy of the Tang Dynasty, can defeat you barbarians?

Song Xuan didn't talk in detail, but instead led them into the city to stay at Banjing Inn for the time being.

When they arrived at the entrance, Song Xuan did not ask the people to make way, but instead ordered them to line up slowly, since there was still plenty of time today.

Although Yang Huaimin wanted to say something, he immediately shut up after Song Xuan spoke.

"Father, this Song man is a bit strange."

Guo Yanyu muttered to himself, "If he's so amazing, why does he have to wait in line?"

"When others see him, they should immediately give way and kneel on both sides to wait."

"Don't say that. The people of the Song Dynasty were people of great etiquette and manners. Do you think you can just run away with a woman and have a child?"

Guo Yanduan was lost in memories:
"I remember that women had to ride in sedan chairs, and men had to ride tall horses like him, with a large group of people playing music and making a lot of noise."

Guo Yanyu nodded: "Father, looking at it up close, this city is really big!"

"Tokyo has a population of one million."

"What is one million?"

(End of this chapter)