Chapter 88: The severance of grassland trade
Zhou Qi still couldn't persuade his son. That night, A Yuan insisted on sleeping with his mother, so he had to agree to his wish. When awake, the little brat would only annoy him, but when asleep, he would snuggle into his arms. Zhou Qi could only sigh as he held his son to sleep.
Gu Youan smiled and said, "Just be content. When he grows up a little bit, he won't even want to listen to you even if you say a few words to him, let alone ask you to hold him."
Zhou Qi looked down at his son's rosy cheeks and felt soft in his heart. This was his blood.
Gu Youan asked him gently, "When you look at your son, does it remind you of your childhood?"
What happened in his childhood? His father's hypocritical smile? His mother's constant crying? His brothers were afraid that he would use his grandfather's support, who held military power, to compete with them for the throne, so they secretly bullied him?
He said, "After having Yuan, watching him grow up day by day, seeing him smile at me, all the resentment and anger I had before seemed to have subsided."
The appearance of Yuan filled the gap in his childhood. Yuan was like another self. When Yuan was good, he felt good.
Gu Youan looked down at him. After so many years, he still had the same handsome face, but his eyes were no longer as cold and intimidating as when they first met at Tianyi Temple. At this moment, his eyes were filled with her and A Yuan, and his gentle gaze was so addictive.
"Zhou Qi."
"Um?"
Gu Youan couldn't help but touch him: "Have I ever told you that your face is three times more handsome than Pan An's?"
He held his son in one hand and her wrist in the other, his brows raised. "Who is Pan An? Your beloved?"
Gu Youan smiled with her head down, and fell into his arms. He held her shoulders to prevent her from pressing on his son.
Zhou Qi also laughed: "I am magnanimous and will not pursue the fact that you are thinking of other wild men in your heart. You should also be sensible and not speak nonsense in front of your husband and your son."
Gu Youan's laughter became even more unrestrained, and his face turned red from laughing. His face was as white and rosy as a lotus beauty, which made him fall in love with him no matter how he looked at it.
His personality made him seldom praise her appearance as directly as she praised him, but his expression and his eyes told her that in his heart she was an unparalleled beauty.
Putting his sleeping son aside, Zhou Qi stood up, picked up his sweetheart and left through the layers of gauze curtains.
Autumn nights should be so sweet that it makes people's heart palpitate.
After a night of hard work, Gu Youan woke up late the next morning. When she opened her eyes, she saw her son looking at her with the same aggrieved face as his father.
Gu Youan suddenly woke up and looked around. She was not sleeping in the bedroom, but on the low couch under the window.
"Mom, you didn't sleep with me last night."
"Who said that? I slept with you." Gu Youan retorted subconsciously.
"Liar, then why are you here?"
She coughed lightly and looked around, her newly awakened mind trying to find an excuse. She asked doubtfully, "Yeah, I was with you when I fell asleep? Why am I here?"
A Yuan was angry and slapped the quilt with his little palm: "It must be Father who took Mom away while she was sleeping."
Gu Youan's old face flushed, he sat up and rubbed his waist, and asked guiltily, "Where is your father?"
A Yuan said gloomily that he didn't know.
"Your father must be busy. We're going to the seaside in a few days to take a big ship. We need to prepare in advance, right?"
"oh."
Yuan also wanted to take a big boat ride, so he wasn't angry anymore.
"My dear son, go out first. I'll talk to you after I wash up."
After sending his son out, Gu Youan called the maid to wash, dress and make up. After everything was ready, he had a simple bowl of meat porridge and then took his son to the study to take care of some chores.
She handled the matter while Yuan listened obediently beside her.
Since Dongshan Port was put into use a few years ago, most of the caravans from Songjiang City have traveled to Jiangnan by sea, and the same is true for the caravan under Gu Youan's name.
Now, the caravan under her name is involved in the sale of medicinal materials, cloth, and grain, as well as minerals.
The mines her caravan had purchased were all private mines, and the iron ore they had purchased was used to supply the weapons department. The mines she was inquiring about now were not these private mines.
Liu Zhong reported: "Our people have explored the eastern part of Wo according to the mineral map you provided. The mineral deposits are very accurate. The gold and silver mines are occupied by the local big families, so it is difficult for us to get our hands on them."
Merchant ships traveling from Dongshan Port, the eastern outlet of Songjiang City, to Jiangnan must pass through the strait between East Japan and Korea. The business has grown and it has aroused envy. Last autumn, the merchant caravan was almost robbed. Zhou Qi immediately ordered troops to deal with East Japan and Korea on both sides of the strait, and only then did they feel a little relieved.
The couple and the officials of Songjiang City have a consensus that if Dongshan Port's port business is to be stable and long-term, East Japan and Korea must be honest and supportive, and only then will they be able to build a navy so efficiently after the beginning of this spring.
Gu Youan thought a little further. Once the navy becomes strong, even if troops are sent out in the future, they cannot be sent in vain. If war cannot bring huge profits, then what is the point of fighting?
Therefore, Gu Youan arranged people to go to the island to explore the terrain and mineral deposits in advance, in preparation for a day when they would be useful.
Gu Youan was reading the secret letter sent back while listening to Liu Zhong's report. A Yuan, a little boy who had only been learning for a year, was standing beside her and reading the letter with a serious expression.
He didn't recognize many words, and the map looked better than the words. He stared carefully at the icons of various shapes on the map and tried hard to memorize them.
Liu Zhong said, "Since the battle last year, the families on both sides of the strait have become more docile. Not only do they not dare to attack us, they even want to do business with us. Shopkeeper Han said that the East Japanese wanted to buy our grain, so Shopkeeper Han sold some to them at a high price."
"What do they buy it with?"
"silver."
Gu Youan said, "Go and warn the caravan below that there are plenty of gold and silver mines on their island. Don't hesitate to do business with them. After all, those nobles who don't produce anything can afford a little bit of it."
"Will you continue your business in the future?"
"Well, do as you're told. Let's stabilize them first. They are not our most important opponent in Songjiang City right now."
Liu Zhong understood and said he knew.
"Princess, on the western grasslands, Doli, the youngest son of the Black Hawk tribe, bought a batch of grain, tea, porcelain, cloth, and other goods from us last year. A while ago, Doli sent a letter to Anxi City, saying that he wanted to buy another batch of goods from us this year. Here is the list of goods."
The Black Hawk Tribe was originally a tribe in the far north of the grassland. Seven years ago, Zhou Qi led his troops to destroy most of the tribe. The remaining remnants were forced to move westward, and the grassland they occupied became vacant. Over the years, the Black Hawk Tribe slowly moved from north to south and settled to the outskirts of the Northeast Army.
Tens of thousands of Northeast Army soldiers were stationed on the grassland. Over the years, a small city named Anxi City gradually formed outside the military camp. The herdsmen grazing on the grassland would occasionally go to Anxi City to barter for some things. Gradually, trade was formed and caravans appeared.
The caravans from Songjiang City would stay in Anxi City when they went to the western grasslands to buy furs. The Gu family caravan naturally also had a shop in Anxi City. Duoli found the Gu family caravan in Anxi City.
If it was just one or two ordinary herdsmen buying in bulk, the shopkeeper of Anxi City would not report it to Liu Zhong. The Black Hawk tribe where Doli was located was a large tribe with more than 5,000 people, so they had to be a little vigilant.
Gu Youan finished reading the list of goods and handed it to Liu Zhong, saying, "A tribe of 5,000 people can't consume all these things. What is he going to do with them? Is he going to resell them?"
"The shopkeeper in Anxi City didn't have much contact with Duoli, so he doesn't know the details."
Gu Youan thought for a moment and said, "Since he wants it, we'll give him all the goods. Tell him that if he wants to do business with us, he can exchange them for cattle and sheep."
"Only cattle and sheep? Dolly said he had gold and silver to trade with."
"We don't want gold or silver, only barter. We can trade fine horses, but cattle and sheep are our main focus. Besides cattle and sheep, we can also trade medicinal herbs. We don't know much about the medicinal herbs on the grasslands, so go to the military medical clinic and ask how to deal with them."
"yes."
Yuan didn't understand what his mother was saying. After Liu Zhong left, he asked, "Isn't the purpose of doing business to make money? Why don't you want gold and silver?"
Gu Youan picked up his son and placed him on his lap, saying with a smile, "Of course, the purpose of doing business is to make money, but what's the use of making money?"
"Buy things with silver."
Gu Youan smiled and asked his son again: "So, the money is not the most important thing, the important thing is the exchange of goods, right?"
Yuan nodded, then asked curiously, "Why only cattle and sheep?"
"Because cattle and sheep are delicious."
"But there are too many. We can't eat all the cattle and sheep." A Yuan still remembers that last month he and his mother went to inspect the farm. His mother told them not to raise too many chickens and ducks because the house couldn't eat them all.
Gu Youan laughed and stopped fooling her son. She took out a piece of paper and told him, "Look at this piece of paper. Pretend that this is a grassland. You can raise horses, cattle, and sheep on this grassland. As long as they can survive, you can raise whatever you want."
Gu Youan casually drew cows and sheep on a piece of paper and taught his son as he drew: "There's only so much grass on the grassland. If we raise all these horses, we won't be able to support many cows and sheep. I only want cows and sheep. If they want to do business with me, should we raise more cows and sheep and reduce the horses?"
A Yuan nodded obediently: "Mom, do you want them to raise cattle and sheep, but not horses?"
"My dear Yuan is so smart!"
Yuan grinned and lay in his mother's arms: "Why?"
"Because horses run fast and far. If they raise too many horses, they will be a threat to us."
A Yuan seemed to be thinking about something, as if he understood, but also as if he didn't understand.
Gu Youan did not tell his son that the premise of using economic trade to control the grassland tribes is the support of military strength. Without the protection of military strength, the economic and trade power will no longer exist.
After all, robbing is not as profitable as doing business.
On the grassland west of Songjiang City, tens of thousands of soldiers of the Northeast Army are stationed there. The Black Hawk Tribe dare not test their strength. If they want to do business, they can only follow her rules.
I wanted to talk to Zhou Qi about what happened on the grassland and asked where Zhou Qi was. Xiaoyue came to report that the prince had gone to the yamen.
Gu Youan took his son out and said, "You haven't moved much today. Mother will take you to find your father."
The west corner gate of Prince Qi's mansion was relatively close to the west street where the government office was located. The mother and daughter went out from the west corner gate and passed by several government offices along the way before they found someone outside the Ministry of Agriculture government office.
Zhou Qi brought the yamen officials from the direction of the west city gate, and no one knew what they had been doing just now.
Gu Wen was also here. Gu Youan called him dad, and A Yuan also followed his mother to call people, calling his grandfather An.
Gu Wen smiled when he saw his grandson and daughter. He said, "Why are you two here? It's so hot, I hope you don't get too hot."
Gu Youan was afraid that her father would scold her, so she said, "A Yuan misses his father, the king. I brought him here to see him."
A Yuan naturally believed whatever his mother said, and he blinked at his father.
Zhou Qi had already come over and touched his son's head: "Is it hot?"
Yuan nodded, feeling a little hot.
Zhou Qi carried his son into the yamen and asked someone to bring water.
Gu Wen had other things to do, so he chatted with his daughter for a while and then left with his people.
"Goodbye, Dad."
Gu Wen left, taking the other officials in the yamen with him. Now there were only the three of them in the yamen lobby, and a group of guards outside the door.
The water was served, and Zhou Qi sat down to feed his son, asking, "What's the urgent matter that brought you to see me?"
Gu Youan sat down beside him and said with a smile, "It's nothing urgent. I just wanted to take Yuan out for a walk."
"Even if it's not urgent, there must be something. Tell me about it."
Gu Youan drank half a cup of tea and leisurely told him about the Black Hawk Tribe. After listening to her plan, Zhou Qi said, "I know the Black Hawk Tribe. They're not the kind of people who like to stir up trouble. Otherwise, Dong Yizhong would have expelled them long ago."
Zhou Qi held his son in his arms and said with a smile, "If the guy named Duoli you mentioned has the ability to expand his business to other tribes, it would be a good thing if we could influence more tribes through the Black Hawk Tribe."
Gu Youan heard the hidden meaning in his words: "What do you mean?"
Zhou Qi smiled and said, "Someone in the imperial court has had this idea before, but in the end, they just overindulged their appetites and attracted robbery. But you're right. There are no major grassland tribes threatening Songjiang City. The Northeast Army can control the situation, so business can be done."
The grassland, Songjiang City, Dongshan Port, and Jiangnan, as long as they can control them, this line will be connected, even if Shanhaiguan is completely blocked, Songjiang City will still have a constant flow of water and will be endless.
Gu Youan said: "Dongshan Port is still a bit far. It would be more convenient to enter the sea from the Liaodong Army Base."
Zhou Qi snorted coldly: "That day will come sooner or later. Once the navy is stable, the next step will be to deal with Bai Shijie."
Two years ago, Zhang Minghui, the commander-in-chief of the Yanzhou Army, retired to Songjiang City to live out his days. Liu Baoshu, the deputy commander-in-chief of the Yanzhou Army, succeeded him as the commander-in-chief of the Yanzhou Army. The Yanzhou Army completely became an army under the control of Prince Qi's Mansion.
After the Yanzhou Army surrendered to the Prince Qi's Mansion, Bai Shijie, the chief general of the Liaodong Army, who had been ambiguous with the Prince Qi's Mansion in recent years but refused to completely turn to the Prince Qi's Mansion, has become much more active in the past year or two, but it was only on the surface.
Bai Shijie is not like General Meng and Zhang Minghui who are too old to live for many years. He is still young and strong and is unwilling to give up his military power and retire in Songjiang City.
It's not impossible to talk about Bai Shijie's love of power, but he made a stupid move last year. In order to get closer to Prince Qi, he sent his daughter to Prince Qi's mansion as a concubine, saying that he had no other request but to serve Prince Qi and give birth to his offspring.
At that time, Gu Youan was not angry yet, so Zhou Qi drove the man out and asked Xu Zhi to send him back to Liaodong. He asked Xu Zhi to curse Bai Shijie in the past: He traded women for power and is not worthy of being the commander of an army!
Bai Shijie's face was trampled on the ground, but he didn't dare to do anything to Prince Qi's Mansion. He could only pretend that nothing happened and sent gifts to Prince Qi's Mansion during festivals.
After all, he just wanted to turn against Prince Qi's Mansion, and the court would not be able to help him at all. Prince Qi would even cut off his military pay, and the Liaodong Army would be completely finished.
In the eyes of Prince Qi's Mansion, after the chief general of the Yanzhou Army was replaced by Liu Baoshu, the Liaodong Army became a trapped beast, and it was only a matter of time before Prince Qi could control it and drive Bai Shijie out of the position of chief general.
Gu Youan smiled and said, "Why are you angry? I don't suspect you of anything."
Zhou Qi looked at her and said, "You are only being nice to me now. If I really fall into some woman's trap by accident, you will not be so nice to me then."
He understood her quite well. Gu Youan smiled and said, "Look at you. I said I trust you, but you don't appreciate it."
There would be no accidents happening around such scheming people as this couple. If there were, it would definitely be with his tacit approval.
A Yuan glanced at his father, then at his mother. The sun shone through the open window and fell on his arm. Seeing that his parents were silent, he said, "I'm hot."
Zhou Qi glanced at the sun, and Gu Youan patted him: "What are you looking at? Your son said it's hot. Come on, go back home."
A Yuan laughed and imitated his mother to pat his father. Zhou Qi said to him as they walked away, "Little boy, your father will beat you up sooner or later."
A Yuan said nothing, but just hugged his father's neck and stayed close to him.
Zhou Qi's heart softened in an instant.
Gu Youan saw that his expression softened again and couldn't help laughing. A Yuan knew how to deal with his father.
Zhou Qi said angrily, "You two are teaming up to bully me."
"Stop talking nonsense and hurry up. It's almost noon. Aren't you hungry?"
The family of three walked back to the mansion with their guards, and they went through the nearest Xijiaomen. Many officials and people saw them along the way. The prince, princess and their family of three were really good.
The couple was busy for another two days. On the third day, they asked someone to pack their luggage and take their son to Dongshan Port.
When the convoy of Prince Qi's Mansion was leaving the city, Axuan, who had stayed in the neighboring mountain village for a few days, finally escaped her mother's nagging and ran away. Her carriage had just entered the city, and she was about to talk to her sister to ask for advice, when she heard that her sister had gone to Dongshan Port.
A Xuan sighed and had no choice but to go home.
Her mother and sister-in-law were still in the neighboring village, her elder brother was not in Songjiang City, and her father was in the government office and had not returned yet. She was alone at home with nothing to do and was looking for somewhere to relax.
The clerk from the concierge office came in with a card for her. She took a look and saw it was from the fifth lady of the Duan family.
After reading it, Ah Xuan threw the post aside and told the maid who was serving pens and ink, "Write a reply saying thank you for Miss Duan Wu's invitation. I'm busy these days, so I won't be going on that outing."
The girl nodded, added water to the inkstone, and picked up the ink stick to grind the ink.
The housekeeper, Madam Zhang, said with a smile, "Miss Duan Wu is always good at gathering people, and you love the hustle and bustle. You always went in the past, so why didn't you go this time?"
"If you don't want to go, then don't go. Why so many whys?" A Xuan said in a cold tone.
Mother Zhang was stunned for a moment, then quickly smiled and said, "It's my fault that I can't speak. Please don't blame me, young lady."
Mother Zhang came into the mansion the year the princess got married. When she came, there was only this young lady in the Gu family, and there was no one of her age to play with in the mansion on weekdays.
There is only this one in the Gu family, but the Duan family, which is related to the Gu family, has several young ladies. Mother Zhang works in the young lady's room, and she follows the young lady every time she goes to the Duan family.
This young lady of our family has always been a good person. She has never had any conflicts with the young lady from the Duan family over the years. She is even quite polite to the young lady from the Duan family for the sake of the young lady's face.
Why did you suddenly change your gender today?
Ah Xuan said coldly, "From now on, the invitations sent to me by the Duan family don't need to be delivered to my room. Just ask the doorman to take them back."
"Yes, I'll tell the doorman right away."
Mother Zhang really wanted to ask what had happened, but the young lady's tone was not good, so she didn't dare to ask and had to agree first.
If it were in other families, the housekeeper in the young ladies' rooms would have the responsibility to teach the young masters, but it was not the case in the Gu family. Mother Zhang only had the responsibility to follow orders.
The maid who served with pens and ink wrote the reply, and Mother Zhang personally delivered the reply to the gatehouse. When she came back, she saw that the young lady had gone to the study. She then pulled Lancao, the eldest maid who had accompanied the young lady to the old house in the past few days, to a deserted place and asked her what had happened in the past few days.
"Mom, please don't ask. Even if you ask, I can't tell you. You know, our young lady has strict rules. If I spread gossip about the master and the young lady finds out, I'm afraid I'll be kicked out immediately."
Mother Zhang was guarding the yard at home and couldn't go to the old house with them. She wanted to know what was going on at the old house, but Lancao refused to tell her, so she had no idea what to do.
Madam Zhang said a lot of nice things, but Lancao just said, "Don't ask questions that you shouldn't ask. We servants just obey the young lady's orders."
When the orchid grass spread out, Mother Zhang wanted to go to the yard to take care of it, but Mother Zhang had no choice but to give up.
Mother Zhang privately speculated, could it be that there is some grudge between the young lady and the fifth daughter of the Duan family?
Even servants like Mama Zhang, who knew her master's temper well, had guesses, and Miss Duan Wu, who had never been treated coldly by A Xuan, knew even more clearly that something was wrong.
It’s bad enough that Axuan doesn’t come to play with her, but even the reply isn’t in her handwriting. Why is that?
Those who are familiar with Axuan know that she has a clear distinction between love and hate, but she is not unreasonable. Miss Duan Wu wrote another letter and sent it to the Gu family. Half an hour later, the maid who delivered the letter came back with the letter, saying that the doorman of the Gu family had apologized and said that their young lady was really too busy.
Miss Duan Wu felt something was wrong and suddenly remembered that her sixth cousin had been beaten a few days ago, so she went to ask her grandmother what had happened.
Mrs. Duan frowned when she heard her granddaughter say that Miss Gu did not accept her invitation.
The Duan family's eldest lady saw her mother-in-law was unhappy. She had always known that her parents-in-law doted on Liu Lang, so she tentatively spoke up for him, saying, "Even if Liu Lang spoke rudely, it wouldn't mean you two girls have to break off your friendship. After all, you still have your aunt in the middle. Miss Gu is really..."
Miss Duan Wu smiled bitterly: "A Xuan asked the maid to write the replies. I don't know if it's because of Liu Lang."
Madam Duan sighed and said to her granddaughter, "She has always been spoiled and has a strong personality. If she doesn't want to accept your invitation anymore, even your aunt can't control her."
The Duan family's eldest lady was surprised and asked, "Is it really because of Liu Lang?"
The fifth young lady just shook her head. How could she know?
Mrs. Duan sighed, "Regardless of whether this is because of this matter or not, Liu Lang must be strictly disciplined. He will not be allowed to go out until his temper is changed."
Mrs. Duan hesitated for a moment, then said to her eldest daughter-in-law, "Go tell the second daughter-in-law that your father said that even a family as wealthy as the Meng family, which has been rich for generations, can't afford to support a playboy, let alone a family like ours. The Meng family declined after four generations, and our Duan family will probably be completely ruined in just two. If they can't manage Liu Lang, then we should split up and live separately."
The eldest lady of the Duan family was suddenly awakened. She originally thought that it was just a few quarrels between children, but from what her mother-in-law said, it seemed that her father-in-law felt that Prince Qi’s Mansion and the Gu family had opinions about their Duan family. If something went wrong, it would affect the future of the entire Duan family?
Without her mother-in-law saying much, the eldest lady of the Duan family immediately went to find her second brother's wife. She had even thought that if the second couple could not teach the child, then she, as the eldest aunt, would do it.
A Xuan didn't know that so many things had happened in the Duan family's backyard because she didn't interact with Miss Duan Wu. She couldn't stay idle at home, so the next day she took her maids, old women and guards out of the city to visit her land in Liaodong.
Ever since the Liaodong Army showed goodwill to the Qi Wang Mansion a few years ago, there has been no progress in terms of military power, but the large piece of wasteland in Liaodong has fallen into the hands of the Qi Wang Mansion.
The Prince Qi's Mansion originally wanted to place its own people in the Liaodong Army. As soon as Bai Shijie agreed, Gu Youan ordered people to build a farm there and asked the head of the farm to take people to open up wasteland and cultivate the land there.
Axuan had long wanted to own a large piece of land like her sister. A few years ago, she finally got her wish. She acquired a large piece of wasteland in Liaodong and built a farm there. Her sister said that the land was a dowry given to her in advance.
Riding a horse on the road, Axuan felt very happy. This kind of day was suitable for her.
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