When Shen Yu heard that the people of Xijiang came to Dayan to look for Wan Xueying, he hurried to see Du Jin, the commander of the Ningjiang County Guard, before Wan Xueying.
Because he needed to ask the garrison for old weapons in order to make red tassel spears for the reserve soldiers of the reserve team, he had several dealings with the garrison and became a familiar face to Du Jin.
After a casual chat, I learned that Du Jin's ancestors had some connection with the Duke of Heping's Mansion. Du Jin began to take better care of Shen Yu and treated him as a junior.
If this had not happened before the incident at the Duke Ping's Mansion, Du Jin would not have rushed to establish this relationship. This is also the reason why Shen Yu felt that Du Jin was trustworthy.
"Don't be nervous, kid. This commander sent his personal guards to invite Miss Wan, and they will definitely not treat her with disrespect." Du Jin had already heard that Wan Xueying was Shen Yu's fiancée. He was afraid that Shen Yu would come to accuse him, so he started explaining before he could tell him the purpose of his visit.
"Then I wonder why the commander invited my fiancée here?" Shen Yu's face was calm, but his tone was not very happy. If possible, he didn't want Wan Xueying to be involved in this mess.
"Please sit down first and listen to my explanation."
"Thank you, Commander!" Shen Yu clasped his fists in thanks and sat down on the chair below.
"You are really good! You found such a capable fiancée." Du Jin praised with a smile.
"My fiancée is very good," Shen Yu said, proud of this, "but finding the water source depends largely on another person."
In this dynasty, it was considered undesirable for a woman to be too prominent, especially before she was strong enough to defend herself. Therefore, Shen Yu, like Wan Xueying, tried to downplay her contribution and put the credit on Gu Ming. However, in the eyes of outsiders, although Gu Ming was the teacher of An Ping and An Fan, he had previously been more like Wan Xueying's subordinate. Therefore, the villagers in each village still attributed the credit for finding the water source to Wan Xueying alone.
"But this time, the people from Xijiang Country specifically asked Miss Wan to come over for help." Du Jin looked embarrassed.
"Then I wonder who this person is?" If it was just an ordinary person, Du Jin would never take it so seriously.
"The people who returned this time are quite influential. They're led by Cui Yincheng, the second son of Cui Hao, Xijiang's largest grain merchant." The Cui family, besides being Xijiang's largest grain merchant, is also the largest landowner. Due to the severe drought, they've suffered heavy losses. To recover their losses, and to prevent future droughts, they've sent people to seek out Wan Xueying to help them find a water source.
"Commander, aren't you afraid that helping Xijiang Kingdom will harm Ningjiang County in the future?"
Du Jin smiled and said, "It seems that we are helping the Cui family, but in fact we are also helping ourselves."
"I am a foolish subordinate. Please explain it to me, Commander!"
"You are not stupid, you just want to get the commander's advice, right?" Du Jin said this without any anger.
"I am indeed stupid." Shen Yu acted very sincerely.
"Let me put it this way," Du Jin explained, regardless of whether Shen Yu was genuinely confused or pretending to be. "If Xijiang Kingdom continues to be short of food and water, will their people flee like us in the northern border? Where can they flee to? They'll have to flee to Ningjiang County, which is closest to them. But we can barely support ourselves, so how can we possibly care about them? Will there be a catastrophe? If unfortunately, it will be us who suffer, right? This is only the first point. Secondly," he continued after a pause, "even if the people of Xijiang Kingdom don't flee to us, will they follow the example of the Northern Hu Kingdom and come to us from time to time to extort money? Then it will still be us, the people of Ningjiang County, who will suffer."
"As the commander of the Ningjiang County Guard, haven't you ever thought that only by fighting between the two armies can you achieve military merit and get promoted?" Shen Yu asked.
"Alas!" Du Jin sighed deeply. "A general's success is built on the sacrifices of thousands of men. Rather than relying on fighting to gain military merit, this commander would rather our Ningjiang County never see war."
After hearing this, Shen Yu couldn't help but wonder: Shouldn't a man's greatest ambition be to fight on the battlefield, defend his country, and achieve great things? Why did every superior he met only care about comfort? However, Ningjiang County couldn't withstand any war at the moment, and it was indeed not suitable for receiving disaster victims.
"At your age, this commander would have wanted to fight every day to serve the country and the court. But when you have experienced batches of your comrades dying on the battlefield, perhaps you will understand how this commander feels now. However, we are not afraid of anything. If the Xijiang Kingdom dares to invade, we will beat them to death!" As soldiers, no matter how their mentality changes, the passion in their bones will never dissipate.
"Your Excellency is right." Shen Yu agreed with the last point. He then asked, "Aren't you afraid someone will make a fuss about this? After all, our Great Yan is still suffering from a severe drought, yet you're helping another country find water? What if they think you're collaborating with the enemy?" At this point, Shen Yu was even more reluctant to involve Wan Xueying.
"So this matter can only be done in secret." The same is true for Xijiang Country, otherwise they would not come secretly to look for Miss Wan.
"That won't work!" Shen Yu objected immediately, "It will put my fiancée in danger!"
"But there is no better way. We have caught them. If we hadn't, they would have used force instead of courtesy. It's good that Miss Wan agrees. If she doesn't agree, they will find other ways to take people away. Wouldn't that be more dangerous?" At least the matter has been registered with them. If the other party does not want to cause disputes between the two countries, they will not easily harm Wan Xueying.
"If my fiancée must go, I will bring someone with me." This was Shen Yu's biggest concession.
Du Jin smiled and said, "Then you have to find a good excuse to tell Sun Jianzhang. I can't control your side."
"Okay, I'll figure it out myself."
Wan Xueying didn't get off the carriage after arriving, riding all the way to the Ningjiang County Guard's meeting hall. Knowing what was going on, she wasn't too nervous. Seeing Shen Yu waiting for her at the door, she relaxed even more.
She walked up to Shen Yu and asked with a smile, "Why are you here?"
"Why else?" Shen Yu looked at her worriedly, "It's all for you."
Wan Xueying smiled sweetly, "I was a little worried at first, but seeing you makes me feel relieved."
"Don't be too happy too soon. This matter is not as simple as it seems."
"No matter if it's easy or difficult, business is business. As long as we can agree on the price, everything is fine." If the other party was just an ordinary citizen asking her for help, she would have a headache. Since they were the largest grain merchant in Xijiang State, they must have plenty of money. As long as the money was in place, everything would be fine.
"What if someone doesn't want the Cui family to have a good life and tries to interfere?" Then it is very likely that someone will find a way to kill Wan Xueying.
"What you said makes sense," Wan Xueying nodded, "I really need to think about this carefully."
"Don't worry, no matter what decision you make, I will definitely be with you during this period."
After Shen Yu took Wan Xueying to see Du Jin, Du Jin asked someone to call Cui Yincheng over.
After Cui Yincheng explained his purpose, Wan Xueying replied, "To be clear, I'm not some goddess you're talking about. The reason Mr. Gu and I were able to help our village and several surrounding villages find water was actually due to some skill and luck. There's nothing to hide about this. It's all about finding lush green vegetation in particularly arid areas. Think about it: everywhere else, there's no grass, but why is there not only vegetation there, but also so much lush growth? What does that mean?"
When she looked at Cui Yincheng, Cui Yincheng replied naturally: "Because there is water there."
"That's right," Wan Xueying nodded, "The second young master is very smart, it's because there is a water source there." So she would rather announce this method to everyone and not be deified.
Cui Yincheng nodded, "I see." He then asked, "What if there's no lush green vegetation?"
"This depends on Feng Shui and requires a certain amount of luck. However, I'm not very good at this." She really wasn't good at it.
"Who are you talking about?" Cui Yincheng was naturally asking about Gu Ming.
"He only knows a little bit." Gu Ming's ambition was to take the imperial examination, and until he had enough money, he had no choice but to follow her. Wan Xueying didn't want him to be bothered by this matter all the time.
"Then if we ask Miss Wan to go to Xijiang for help, would you agree?" Even though Cui Yincheng thought Wan Xueying's words made sense, knowing the source of water was one thing, and finding it was another. Regardless, he had come to Dayan specifically to bring someone back to help, so he brought the topic back around.
"I can help you, but you have to ensure my safety." Wan Xueying put forward the first condition.
"That's no problem." As long as people follow, any conditions are acceptable.
Cui Yincheng agreed so readily that Wan Xueying felt he was unreliable. She raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure." Cui Yincheng still agreed happily.
Wan Xueying smiled with a hint of sarcasm, "If you were sure, you guys wouldn't be captured by our Great Yan soldiers."
Her words made Cui Yincheng blush, and Cui Yincheng muttered awkwardly: "That was an accident." They were really cautious enough, but they didn't expect that their identities would still be exposed.
"Well, let's put aside the question of whether I can be guaranteed safe for now. See if the other conditions can be met."
"Miss Wan, feel free to ask."
"I can go to Xijiang, but not with you guys, especially not with you."
"Why is that?"
"Why? Of course I don't want to reveal my identity too early." Wan Xueying almost said the word "stupid".
"Oh, what if you don't speak Xijiang dialect?"
"Please arrange for someone who can speak both Xijiang and Dayan languages. It's best if she's a woman, so she can travel with me."
"That's fine too."
"Also, I need an official deed that allows me to conduct business in and out of Xijiang Country." If Wan Xueying wanted to conduct business in Xijiang Country in a legitimate manner, she would need an official deed signed and stamped by both countries. Not only would obtaining such an official deed cost a fortune, but it would also require a major trading company recognized by both countries. Since the Cui family had offered to help, of course she had to ask them for this favor.
Not to mention any other rewards for this trip, this official deed is worth it.
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