We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

With the bag of rubber tree seeds in his arms, Li Che felt much better.

However, he soon realized that this packet of seeds would be of little help to Fengguo in the short term.

Reality is not a business simulation game. Getting rubber seeds does not mean you can get rubber immediately.

It usually takes six to eight years for a rubber tree to mature from planting, a stage known as the sapling stage.

The rubber tree then enters a mature period that can last 25 to 30 years, during which rubber production reaches its peak.

This means that it will take at least six years for Feng State to obtain rubber. Moreover, rubber is a tropical plant and is not suitable for cultivation in the Northeast, so people have to be sent to the South to cultivate it.

Li Che felt somewhat helpless, as the task of establishing the Iron Torrent Army was still a long and arduous one.

The best way is to send a fleet to the Western Ocean to look for sweet potatoes, potatoes, rubber and other things.

Fortunately, we have conquered Goryeo and have the industrial foundation for shipbuilding. We will focus on this aspect after we return.

However, Li Che did not give up. He took Qiu Bai and others to clear out the rare stocks in the stalls of various Hu merchants.

Li Che was very generous, and the Hu merchants were grinning from ear to ear. They all regarded Li Che as the God of Wealth.

The Hu Jis were even more excited and kept flirting with Li Che. When they saw Li Che and others coming, the little cloth on their bodies fell down.

These were some strange toys, not of much value, and Li Che planned to give them as gifts to his men.

But Li Che still got some useful things, including but not limited to:

Some tobacco seeds.

Tobacco is a high-value commercial crop. You certainly can't smoke it yourself, but you can sell it to other countries.

Some coffee seeds.

Coffee is a good thing for refreshing, and it works faster than tea. It should be liked by the upper class, especially those officials who like to involute themselves.

Two live turkeys.

This thing isn't very tasty, after all, it wasn't carefully selected by our ancestors, but it has a lot of meat and is easy to raise. If it's properly cultivated, it might enrich the meat source for the people of Feng State.

In addition, there are some turquoise, obsidian, cocoa beans and other items.

Unfortunately, Li Che still couldn't find potatoes and sweet potatoes. Perhaps because they were difficult to preserve, the traveling merchants had no stock.

But Li Che still found out from more than one person that they had heard of similar crops before.

As long as they have it, it’s fine. Even if I have to travel thousands of miles, I will let Fengguo grow potatoes and sweet potatoes to achieve food freedom.

Li Che had almost finished his shopping and was about to go home.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the crowd, and faint sounds of argument came from a stall in the distance.

Li Che looked up and saw a group of people gathered together. From among them came the chatter of foreign languages, mixed with the anxious persuasion of officials.

Qiu Bai frowned and came to Li Che's side: "Your Highness, it seems to be the Indian envoy."

Li Che nodded slightly and led everyone closer.

India during this period was collectively called Tianzhu, but in fact, the area was divided into five countries: east, west, south, north and center, and was not a powerful unified dynasty.

Among the neighboring countries around Daqing, the Indian countries are relatively honest, but the quality of their envoys is indeed difficult to evaluate.

"Your Excellency, this donkey is the life-saving money I need to pay for my mother's medical treatment. I really can't exchange it!" A ragged peddler pleaded.

I saw a middle-aged man dressed in Indian clothes, waving a brightly colored feather arrogantly.

He was followed by several followers, all of whom had unfriendly expressions.

The accompanying official from the Ministry of Rites was sweating profusely: "Your Excellency may not know that barter is rarely used in Daqing."

The Indian envoy suddenly grinned, mumbled something, and then looked at the official from the Ministry of Rites beside him.

The official's face darkened, but out of duty, he still translated, "He said this is the feather of a mythical Indian bird. It will definitely fetch a high price. You won't lose out if you exchange it for your donkey."

The vendor said with a sad face, "I can't even tell if it's a feather from a sacred bird. This donkey is our family's treasure. If my mother wasn't seriously ill, I wouldn't have brought it to the market to sell."

"My mother's illness cannot be delayed. Even if this divine bird feather can be sold at a high price, I don't have the time to find a buyer."

When the onlookers heard the hawker's words, they were in an uproar.

Only then did they realize that the foreign envoy was actually planning to exchange a broken feather for someone else's donkey?

Daqing is an agricultural society, and the donkeys of every household are precious production tools. Unless they encounter life-threatening situations, they will never be sold.

If you really want to buy it, just pay the equivalent amount in silver. Even if it's a little less, it doesn't matter. After all, you need the money urgently.

You want to exchange someone else's donkey for a broken feather. Do you really think we, the people of Daqing, are fools?

Daqing was founded on military power, and having just experienced the bloody chaos of the previous dynasty, the people still have some courage.

Seeing this scene, everyone was filled with righteous indignation and surrounded him and started cursing:

"Get into your mother's hole! You're trading feathers for donkeys. Are your feathers made of gold?"

"Black ghost, you bastard! Is your mother dead?"

"You're so blinded by greed! Don't you have donkeys in your country? You come to Daqing to rip us off!"

"Why are the Ministry of Rites's dog officials protecting them?!"

The officials from the Ministry of Rites also turned pale when they saw how excited the people were, but they did not dare to get angry.

He also knew that these Indian envoys were not good people. They probably had never seen a donkey before and just thought it was fun on a whim.

However, the Ministry of Rites was responsible for entertaining and protecting envoys from various countries, and he could not really allow the people to rush up and beat up the Indian delegation.

He had no choice but to ask the guards to step forward and stop the people who were rushing over.

The Indian envoy was protected by the guards and knew that he was safe. Not only was he not afraid, but he looked very proud.

Seeing this scene, the people became more and more angry and began to push the guards around them, saying that they would teach the Indian envoy a lesson.

A group of common people picked up farm tools and walked past the guards to pat the Indian envoys behind them.

Someone else picked up a Western Region scimitar from the stall of a nearby Hu merchant, ready to rush in and stab the envoy to death, making the Hu merchant scream in anxiety.

The official from the Ministry of Rites saw that the situation was getting out of control and was anxious: "Don't come any closer, or I'll throw you all into jail!"

After hearing what the Ministry of Rites officials said, the people became even angrier.

Our family members were bullied, and you officials kept silent. We stood up for them, but you want to arrest us instead?

Is there still the king's law? Is there still the Daqing Law?

The people cursed the officials as corrupt officials and rushed forward, forcing the guards to retreat step by step.

A young guard may have just joined the job and was experiencing this kind of scene for the first time. In a hurry, he drew the sword from his waist!

Clang——

The sound of the sword being unsheathed stimulated the sensitive nerves of the other guards, and they subconsciously drew their swords.

Clang, Clang, Clang——

For a moment, the sound of metal clashing filled the air.

"Back off! Everyone, back off!" The young guard pointed the knife in his hand at the crowd, shaking constantly.

The crowd fell silent.

After all, we are just ordinary people, and the guards of the Ministry of Rites are soldiers drawn from the army.

Although they were angry, the courage generated by anger alone was not enough to make the people really fight against the Daqing officials and soldiers.

At this moment, a young voice sounded: "Put the knife back."

The young guard immediately turned around and saw a young man in a plain robe slowly approaching.

"The strong wield their sword against the stronger, and the weak wield their sword against the weaker. Do you think you are upholding your duty by drawing your sword?"

"Wrong! Drawing your sword out of cowardice is the act of a weakling. Your actions will only bring shame to our Daqing army!"

"That's not how you pull out a knife..."