choke element

Chapter 1013 Destruction (Part )

"Mr. Li, long time no see!"

"Greetings, Master Li! Master Li looks more energetic now!"

Amid the greetings, someone asked, "Why didn't I see Master Jia come with me this time?"

The other man tugged at the sleeve of the man who had spoken earlier and whispered, "It has been several years since Master Li came to stay at the imperial palace, and Master Jia has been assigned to do something else. They haven't seen each other for a long time!"

The person who spoke earlier was startled, and then he realized that although the man in front of him had acted in the name of Jia Sidao, he was still a high-ranking official of the Great Zhou faction in the Great Song Dynasty. Moreover, that experience embarrassed many high-ranking officials of the Great Song Dynasty, and he must never mention it in public again.

Fortunately, Li Yun was not embarrassed by this. There were rumors that when he went to Huainan to meet Jia She, he half-jokingly showed the courtesy of a son to his father. This was the case in Huainan, and he didn't care even more when he went to Lin'an.

He smiled and extended his hand, nodding at the apologetic merchant, then stood up and stood in the middle of the hall: "You are all my old friends. I will not hide anything from you, nor will I say polite words! This time I hurried to Lin'an to discuss one thing, and that is money!"

Li Yun's eyes swept over everyone in the room, and he said in a deep voice: "I believe you all know that since the founding of our Great Zhou, the biggest enemy has been the black Tartars in the north. Over the years, there have been small-scale conflicts on the border, and this year there has been a major war! Fighting a war costs money, a lot of money. Everyone, your majesty needs the support of old friends, just like the Shandong coast and Goryeo, we need your support!"

The wealthy merchants of the Song Dynasty were already rich enough to rival a country, and this has become even more so in recent years. The number of wealthy merchants and their employees who lived in Lin'an alone exceeded 100,000. In terms of financial resources, they far surpassed any country in the world. The construction of several large ports and shipyards along the coast of the Great Zhou Dynasty, as well as its wanton plundering of Goryeo, was actually inseparable from their cooperation.

After cooperating for a long time, the two sides have developed a certain friendship and know each other well.

For example, at this moment, there was a plain-looking man following behind Li Yun, who said nothing the whole time. Everyone knew that this was a new trick from the Great Zhou. Because many middle and lower-level officers of the Great Zhou also contributed money to form a team to participate in the port investment. These were representatives selected by the soldiers, who were specifically responsible for going to the south for inspection, especially to determine whether the proportion of sea transportation volume increasing year by year was as previously predicted.

The Zhou Dynasty was founded on military power, and the status of soldiers was raised to a very high level. In the past, some military leaders were showing off their power, but in the past two years, even low-level soldiers have begun to run rampant in the territory of the Song Dynasty. Most people in the Song Dynasty could not stand this kind of behavior, but in business, they just ignored it for the sake of money.

"Master Li!" Zhang Kai, a famous sea merchant in Qingyuan Prefecture, looked around, stood up and asked, "If the Great Zhou needs money, we will definitely support it. After all, when the Great Zhou was making money, we were never left behind..."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was laughter all around and everyone nodded.

"But what is the specific situation of the war in the north? How much money does your emperor want? How long will it take? How to repay? Or, what kind of spoils of war will be used to offset it?"

"Yeah……"

The merchants in Qingyuan Prefecture who were familiar with Zhang Kai all said, "We share the same idea as Master Zhang. Money is not a problem. Mr. Li has led us over the years, and we all know what to do. However, it would be best if there were clear rules!"

"Yes, yes, yes... All the families in our Huainan are most familiar with Master Jia. Naturally, at this moment, we will only follow the lead of Young Master Jia... No, only Master Li. Once the rules are set, we will follow them immediately!" Xie Guoming, the merchant leader of Huainan who made his fortune by colluding with Jia She to engage in smuggling, also jumped out.

“It’s the same in every household in Fuzhou!”

A wealthy businessman stood up and said proudly. Li Yun knew that although Shi Xiang was from Yin County, Qingyuan Prefecture, because Qingyuan Prefecture was right under the eyes of the people, Shi Xiang's own business interests were mostly entrusted to Fuzhou Prefect Hu Yu and Shi Xiang's nephew Shi Songzhi. Over the years, Fuzhou merchants have become more confident than Qingyuan merchants.

"Of course there are rules."

Li Yun clapped his hands, and immediately someone came out from the back hall and handed out notebooks to everyone present.

He smiled and said, "Please look, everyone. I have discussed this with the Emperor of the Great Zhou and all the nobles in Daxing Prefecture. We are going to teach the Mongols a lesson, so a large number of newly made firearms will be sent to the grassland with the army, including the military and national weapons I demonstrated to you a while ago. This represents a special expenditure of more than 6.5 million strings of cash. Half of it will be raised in Tianjin Prefecture."

At this point, he paused, looked at everyone's expressions, and continued, "You are all old friends, and many of you are shareholders of the Shanghai Bank and Tianjin Bank. I will never forget you when something good happens, so I will take out another half from the half, 1.5 million strings of cash, and give it to you."

In the early years, even if the Song Dynasty was rich, figures over one million would not be discussed casually. The annual tribute was only 250,000!

But now that everyone was rich, their faces didn't change, but many people turned directly to the back of the book to see what benefits the Great Zhou promised. Sure enough, at the back of the book, there were complicated formulas to calculate the interest rate, and there were densely packed lines of names, locations and approximate valuations of industries that could be greatly expanded after completely eliminating the threat from the north.

Obviously, after the war, Da Zhou will not pay back the money directly, but will use these industries to make up the difference. This is a good thing!

How can a one-time business compare to an industry that generates continuous profits?

Sure enough, fighting is the fastest way to make money in this world! The Great Zhou used the money of the Great Song to fight the war, and the Great Song made a fortune from the war of the Great Zhou. Is there anything more beautiful than this in the world?
The merchants were slightly delighted and no longer wanted to linger here. They wanted to go back quickly and find reliable people to verify the properties listed in the book.

Li Yun did not want to keep them any longer. He gestured for them to leave and said that he would have a banquet at Yujin Boat in the evening.

When the noise was over, the merchants chatted with each other. A merchant who was rooted in Lin'an and had a good background said casually: "In the past two days, the group of gossipers in the court have been fiercely impeached by the people under the leadership of Prime Minister Shi, and they have no time to care about us... We just take this opportunity to get things done!"

When they were talking, Li Yun was far away and didn't pay attention. Zhang Kai happened to be nearby.

As the Crown Prince's health deteriorated, the political forces surrounding the heir of Prince Yi became increasingly active. The censors controlled by the Prime Minister Shi had already used all their tricks to deal with them, which was not news.

Everyone knows that most of the people standing beside Prince Yi's heir are people who are not successful and cannot be used in the court, as well as a few scholars and scholar leaders. Since they are not involved in practical affairs, they always sing a very high tone and always take a very positive stance. There are many talented but immoral people under the tutelage of Prime Minister Shi, and there are indeed many flaws. It is difficult to deal with them and it is inevitable to suffer losses.

As for the political right and wrong, merchants don't care. But the heir of Prince Yi and his party, in order to attack the prime minister, kept talking about the threat of the powerful northern neighbor, which was very unfavorable for them to make money under the wing of the prime minister. Therefore, merchants generally tend to support the prime minister, and they always look down on who has a brilliant idea. Now I heard that the censors have the upper hand, which is rare.

Zhang Kai asked casually, "What did you impeach them for?"

The local tycoon in Lin'an replied, "This time, it means that those who always talk about preparing the army for the time being, when the time comes to use them, are actually neither brave nor capable, and cannot help the court."

Someone thought about it and suddenly realized, "In the past, Han Dynasty doctor Di Shan advocated a marriage with the Xiongnu. As a result, Emperor Wu of Han became angry and questioned whether Di Shan was qualified to be a commandery, a county, or a barrier in the border areas. Di Shan was forced to take the position, and was beheaded by the Xiongnu in the blink of an eye. Is the prime minister using the allusion in reverse? He wants to send the heir of Prince Yi to the border military states, away from the center of the court?"

Several people shook their heads at the same time: "It's a good idea, but the world is peaceful and the borders are stable, so there is no need to use them. Can we throw them to Lingnan to suppress pirates? There are not many people to use them."

Someone nearby laughed and said, "If there is a sudden war in our northern border, it would be easy to find hundreds of messengers, not to mention a few... All the annoying people in the court who are singing high-sounding slogans will be swept away, haha, haha."

This statement was so absurd that everyone laughed.

Shi Xiang would naturally resort to cruel means to his political enemies, and would kill them as soon as possible. However, the trade with the Great Zhou was the basis of Shi Xiang's party. If there was turmoil on the border between the two countries, it would be a devastating blow to Shi Xiang's own financial resources and the foundation of his rule. Moreover, the heir of Prince Yi was not the heir to the throne after all. Even if Shi Xiang had thunderous means, why did he use them so hastily and so obviously?

Merchants all know what is more important, let alone the prime minister of the Song Dynasty who is so wise.
Everyone chatted and laughed and then dispersed.

Zhang Kai found an empty hall and went around the back corridor alone to look for Li Yun.

After listening to him, Li Yun was a little confused: "What do you mean?"

Zhang Kai coughed a few times. "When I was asked to work in the Song Dynasty, it was clearly stated that it would be for three years, but three years passed and another three years passed. I was suspicious every day, and my hair turned white. The messy thoughts in my mind kept popping up and I couldn't control them..."

"Tsk, just tell me what you think?"

"Prime Minister Shi is definitely not someone who does things without a purpose. The commotion in the court these days must have a reason. Could it be that... something happened somewhere that we don't know about yet, causing the situation in Lin'an to change drastically? And for a key reason, Prime Minister Shi did not hesitate to sacrifice his life at the border..."

How smart was Li Yun? He immediately thought of what Zhang Kai was referring to.

He gasped, wanting to laugh, but also a little worried: "How is that possible? It can't be that serious, right? Even if the sickly man in the palace couldn't hold on, how could Shi Miyuan have the confidence to do so? And which general in Song State would dare to cooperate with him?"

"I always feel like something is wrong. I'd better ask someone to check it out, just in case."

Li Yun nodded: "I can reflect on myself. You go now, don't reveal your whereabouts."

Zhang Kai was about to leave when he suddenly heard hurried footsteps on the corridor behind him, and then someone banged on the door recklessly.

This is too rude.

Li Yun frowned and shouted, "What's the matter!"

Someone from the outside said in a deep voice, "A secret letter has been delivered... No. 1 Jia just delivered it in person, and asked me to pass it on immediately."

Zhang Kai stepped back a little.

He himself was one of the hidden men placed in Song by the Great Zhou, and he also had a serial number used to deliver secret letters and indicate his identity, but it started with the character Yi. Obviously, the first character of the character Jia was placed beside an important person and was responsible for an extremely important task. It was better not to listen to the content of this secret letter.

The next moment, he saw Li Yun's face suddenly change after reading the secret letter, as if he had seen a living ghost.

Zhang Kai subconsciously asked, "Is there any hindrance?"

Li Yun's hands were shaking a little. After taking several deep breaths, he said in a hoarse voice, "No. 1 Jiazi is a trusted butler I bought with a lot of money in Shi Miyuan's mansion when I was working under him earlier."

"What did this trusted steward say?" Zhang Kai's heart skipped a beat. "Did I guess it right? Could it be that something really happened in the palace, and Prime Minister Shi sent people to provoke trouble on the border of my Great Zhou in order to exile his political enemies?"

Li Yun nodded and shook his head.

"The Crown Prince is indeed seriously ill, and Shi Miyuan did send people to provoke trouble on the border of my Great Zhou."

"Who? Is it Zhao Fang? Or Cui Yuzhi? Or maybe An Bing was transferred back to Sichuan?"

"It's the Mongolian army."

"..." Zhang Kai thought there was something wrong with his ears, or maybe his brain was confused. He stared at Li Yun: "What?"

"It's the Mongols. Shi Miyuan colluded with the Mongols and allowed a part of the elite Mongolian army to pass through the Lizhou East Road and attack directly to the Central Plains!"

"Is Shi Miyuan crazy?!"

"He's not crazy. He just hasn't seen how powerful the Mongols are! He's just stupid!"

Li Yun suddenly struck a bronze bell on the table, which immediately alarmed his subordinates outside. Then he waved his hand to Zhang Kai: "I need to send a message to the north as soon as possible. You can also help. Use any carrier pigeons, express ships, private post stations and post horses! It may be too late... It's too late!"

"Good! Good!"

Zhang Kai turned around and ran out. He was only looking ahead, not paying attention to his feet, and tripped over the threshold, stumbling all the way out.

(End of this chapter)