Shipin Dalizheng

The people who came to sell horses were obviously Hu people, with curly hair, high noses, gray-blue eyes, and even curly beards. When Rong Tang saw them, he couldn't help but think of the Tang brothers and sisters.

The horses were good and expensive. Ordinary horses cost sixty or seventy taels, but the ones they sold cost at least one hundred and twenty taels. When the onlookers heard the price, they booed and did not want to be taken advantage of.

One of them, a slightly taller man, spoke in broken Da Yue language, "Dear friends, the horses are good. If you think they're too expensive, we can negotiate. I have a few questions. Whoever can answer them will get a discount of ten taels of silver on the horse."

Someone was interested, "Is it ten taels cheaper to ask a question, or is it ten taels cheaper to answer all the questions?"

The two men discussed it for a while, and the taller one replied, "Ten taels for each correct answer."

"Okay, you ask."

The people around them were cheering and asking them to ask questions. It was unclear whether they could answer them or not. What if they found something unexpected?

The tall Hu man took out a wooden board and wrote a question on it: "There are chickens and rabbits in the same cage. Count the heads of 33 and the legs of 102. How many chickens and rabbits are there?"

Rong Tang almost laughed out loud, and before anyone else finished reading, he gave the answer, "Rooster is fifteen, Rabbit is eighteen."

The two Hu horse dealers did not expect someone to answer so quickly. They were stunned for a moment, then hurriedly flipped through an old thread-bound book, read the answer, and nodded together.

"Well, my lord, I'll give you ten taels for one horse. Do you still want to answer?"

"Keep answering."

Rong Tang was inspired to be heroic and asked all the questions to be arithmetic, and he could answer them until they went bankrupt.

"In an ancient temple, there are a hundred monks. Each of them drinks exactly a hundred bowls of porridge. One senior monk drinks three bowls of porridge, and three junior monks drink one bowl of porridge. So, how many senior monks are there? How many junior monks are there?"

"Twenty-five senior monks, seventy-five junior monks."

Zheng Changning always thought that he was smart and could solve these problems if given some time, but not so quickly. At this moment, he stared at Rong Tang with his mouth wide open.

The Hu horse dealer exchanged glances again and changed his question, "There's a towering ancient temple nestled in the mountains. I wonder how many monks there are inside. Three hundred and sixty-four bowls are just enough to use without a fight. Three people share a bowl of rice, and four people share a bowl of soup. Could you please tell me, sir, how many monks are there in this ancient temple?"

This time, Rong Tang paused for a few breaths. Just when everyone thought he couldn't answer, he said, "Six hundred and twenty-four monks."

This time, fewer people were amazed. Instead, another voice emerged: "Are you a shill? You answered such a difficult question without even thinking. You must be a shill. You know the answers to all the questions here."

Rong Tang smiled strangely, and he also felt that he was bullying others.

"Then come up with a question!"

Zheng Changning reacted and said to the crowd, "I am Zheng Changning from the Zheng family. I will ask a question on your behalf, please!"

In Shangjing, not many people knew about the Zheng family, so everyone spread out to give Zheng Changning enough space to ask questions.

"Young Master Rong, I'm sorry."

Rong Tang: "Please."

Zheng Changning's math skills were average, so he could only work backwards when answering questions. He felt guilty for a few moments and said, "This is also a question about chickens and rabbits in the same cage. There are 14,600 heads and 43,956 legs of chickens and rabbits in a large cage. The question is..."

He asked questions, and Rong Tang counted on his fingers. Before the teacher finished asking, the answer came out, "Seven thousand two hundred and twenty-two chickens, seven thousand three hundred and seventy-eight rabbits. Speaking of which, Master Zheng's cage is quite big!"

Zheng Changning: “…”

The two horse traders calculated on the ground and were speechless. "Your Excellency is right. This problem is already very complicated. I think none of our questions can stump you. However, since you are willing to answer, our agreement still stands."

In other words, Rong Tang chose to continue answering questions and hoped to buy it for free. Everyone looked at him with envy.

Rong Tang just smiled and gestured to Rong Zhan to pay for three horses. He picked out three horses with pleasing coat colors and gave a total of two hundred and forty taels.

"You've come a long way, and I don't want you to lose money. I only need three horses, so I'll pick these three."

Eighty taels of silver per horse was considered fair and just, and the onlookers applauded.

The Hu horse dealer placed his left hand on his chest and saluted, "Your Excellency is very generous. We happened to have brought a few saddles with us, so we will give them to you."

Another Hu man took out three saddles from the cart and presented them respectfully. Rong Tang saw that the saddles were inlaid with jewels and were not ordinary items, so he guessed that they were not short of silver.

"Well, I'd be remiss if you didn't. I'm Rongtang, the Earl of Jian'an. I can't say anything else, but as long as you two obey the law and conduct your business in Shangjing City, if you encounter any difficulties, you can come to the Earl of Jian'an's mansion to find me. Even if I'm not here, the steward will do his best to help."

The two Hu people bowed respectfully.

Zheng Changning also took a fancy to the saddle and asked, "I want to buy one too. How much is it?"

The two barbarians discussed it for a while, and the tall one said, "One hundred taels."

Zheng Changning choked. It’s not like he didn’t have the money, so why did it feel like something was wrong?

Someone among the onlookers advised the Hu merchant, "This is the son of the Prime Minister's Mansion. Give him a saddle. He is a more reliable supporter than Young Master Rong."

The tall Hu people were puzzled and said: "We are here to do business. If we give people away, won't we lose a lot? Besides, we are law-abiding and don't need backers."

The kind-hearted people looked at the horse dealer as if he were a fool. Zheng Changning was extremely depressed, as if he was trying to extort money for a saddle. He hurriedly paid the money and squeezed out of the crowd to get on the horse.

Rong Tang called him from behind, "Master Zheng."

Zheng Changning stopped and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Well, I'm planning to go on a long trip, and I'd like you to take care of Rongjia Village."

Zheng Changning looked at him strangely. "You are now in the emperor's favor, and the virtuous concubines in the palace are no longer the same as they used to be. Who would be so blind as to poke holes in your lair?"

"Just in case, don't think too much about it."

Rong Tang patted his shoulder. Zheng Changning looked a little awkward. "I can't help you with this because I have to go on a long trip too."

The two walked together for a while and then parted ways at Qianmen Street.

Rong Tang seemed to be lost in thought. Rong Zhan guessed, "Master Zheng is also going south!"

"He might be going to look for Zheng Jiu."

When he was about to reach the entertainment center, a young eunuch caught his attention.

"Eunuch Xiaoji."

Xiaoji turned his head when he heard him being called, and walked towards him in surprise. It was not convenient to talk on the street, so Rong Tang invited him into the shop and went straight to the private room on the third floor.

The new guards on this floor were Rong Yi and Rong Er, who left after serving tea. Without waiting for a sip of tea, Xiao Ji hurriedly said, "Young Master, as soon as the court was dismissed today, Imperial Tutor Xie followed His Majesty into the Imperial Study. Godfather asked me to warn you that Imperial Tutor Xie has reported your affairs in the Southern Dynasty to His Majesty."

Rong Tang found it difficult to understand Master Xie's hostility towards him. Not to mention that they looked alike and should naturally have some blood kinship, even if they were strangers, his hostility was too much.

After thanking Xiaoji and sending him away, Rong Tang held a meeting with Rong Zhan, Rong Wanli, and Rong Qianqi.

"Things are already very chaotic over there. I estimate that in a few days, the emperor will also get the news. Recovering Jiangnan has been his wish for twenty years. This time, he will not give up the opportunity."

Throughout history, no matter whether the emperor of any dynasty was incompetent or wise, as long as he could recover lost territories and reunify the country, he would leave a significant mark in history books.

Rong Tang disliked war, especially internal conflict, which meant the people of Dai Viet would turn on each other and kill each other. However, he also had a high-level perspective. If a nation could not achieve unity in the shortest possible time, the longer it took, the more alienated people would become. In the long run, this would be the most cruel thing.

He was willing to participate in this war, striving to achieve long-term stability for the people on both sides at the lowest cost of bloodshed, and then to allow him to prosper.