Chapter 132: Interesting Little Master Ji
Jin Sui asked again: "How are the business preparations going?"
Cheng Yu took out a list from his sleeve and handed it to Jin Sui, then asked someone to bring samples: "This is the team uniform that the prince mentioned, as well as special saddles, knee pads, cushions, headscarves, team flags and other equipment."
Jin Sui checked it and asked casually, "How is the price determined?"
"A set of team uniforms costs three hundred coins, a set of saddles costs ten taels of silver, and knee pads..."
Jin Sui raised his hand hurriedly: "Wait! Master Cheng, did you get the wrong customer group? Our customers are all young men from noble families, and they are also literati! Have they ever seen a penny of money?"
“Polo is a luxury sport, and we sell luxury products!
Re-price. The team uniforms are ten taels of silver a set, and the saddles can be customized with the team name and emblem engraved on them for one hundred taels of silver a set! The same goes for other items, all prices have gone up!"
"In this case, the polo products sold in our border town will be unaffordable for the people!"
Jin Sui sneered: "Have you ever seen ordinary people playing polo? Many people have never seen it in their entire lives! This is a game played by the rich and powerful."
"However, the peripherals of Cuju, such as small flags and headbands for watching the game, and betting tickets for buying teams, should be set at a low price, two cents per ticket. The fairness of the game must be guaranteed, and it must be very convenient for people to redeem their prizes afterwards."
Cheng Yu smiled admiringly and said, "Your Highness, this is a great move. From now on, polo will be a sport for the rich and powerful, while Cuju will be a sport for all the people."
"Two cents a ticket, ordinary people can afford it, but if you win the prize, you can at least multiply it tenfold, I guess everyone in the city will buy it."
Jin Sui smiled and said, "That's right! But it must be strictly regulated. Our border town is completely forbidden to gamble. Only during this football match can we openly sell betting tickets."
"Believe me, as long as this side city ball game is well organized, it will be much more attractive than the treasure competition held by the nobles of Yanzhou City!"
"Although there is only one football match a year, if it lasts for half a month, it can multiply the economy of the border town several times, and all industries will prosper."
After talking about the football game, Cheng Yu waved away the people around him, but of course he did not wave away Gu Changxiao. They were all smart people, and even if they could not guess the truth, they could guess that Gu Tiqi was different from others.
"Your Majesty, I think Zheng Yun's matter is more important! How are you going to deal with it? Do you want me to inform the soldiers first?"
Cheng Yu's face was solemn, and a hint of cruelty flashed in his eyes.
To be honest, based on his current thoughts, even if the Li Wang in front of him is a fake, he will admit it! With three thousand soldiers as a backing, our fake prince can also become a real prince! The worst that can happen is to kill him! Anyway, he is at the frontier, so the worst that can happen is to escape to the outside of the frontier and occupy the land as a king.
With just two calm sentences, Cheng Yu demonstrated to Jin Sui and Gu Chang Xiao what it meant to "a person can be without pride, but cannot be without pride" and what it meant to "be extremely courageous".
It can be said that Jinsui was trying to sow discord between Gu Changxiao and Chang'an in order to make him focus all his energy on the border town.
Then Cheng Yu, you are instigating the fake King of Li to rebel in front of the real King of Li! Thinking of Cheng Yu's brutal appearance when he killed the Tartars on the battlefield, it is completely different from the gentle uncle who is busy running around for the game.
Master Cheng, Master Cheng, I still underestimated you! Han Xing would feel inferior, why are you so arrogant?
Jin Sui didn't dare to look at Gu Changxiao's face. What if the big boss took it seriously and thought that she would rely on the trust of the Black Feather Army to be the King of Li for life? Can I still leave Border Town alive? She quickly waved her hand and said, "No need! Lord Gu and I have a comprehensive plan for this matter. Don't worry, Border Town will not be in chaos."
She turned around and said to Gu Changxiao in a flattering manner: "The Black Feather Battalion is a frontier soldier, the personal guard of the Li King. Haha, I will never use it for personal purposes."
Gu Changxiao's face was solemn and his brows were slightly raised, but he was laughing in his heart, "Master Ji, it turns out that you are afraid sometimes!"
Also, your panicked expression is really funny.
There were some things Gu Changxiao couldn't say. He felt that if he said them, it would seem like he was evading responsibility.
Before arriving at the border town, when he heard about what King Li had done in the border town along the way, he became anxious and angry. He regretted his own carelessness and was furious at how Taoist Xiao Ji could be so bold!
The biggest change in his opinion of Taoist Xiao Ji was when he heard that he was going to fight the Tartars with the poor and weak border soldiers without any fear! After he arrived at the border town, it was no exaggeration to say that the time he spent as a personal guard beside Taoist Xiao Ji was the most relaxed and comfortable time in Gu Changxiao's life.
Instead of feeling physically relaxed, the two of them only slept for about two and a half hours a day, and they were always busy.
That was a spiritual relaxation. Even in his childhood, he was bound by palace rules. After he started to learn at the age of two, he was not allowed to relax for a moment, reading, practicing martial arts and discussing politics.
During this time, Taoist Xiao Ji brought him to a completely new realm. It turned out that the Border Prince could do this! Just like Taoist Xiao Ji sometimes forgot that he was the fake Li King, and devoted himself to thinking of strategies for the development of Border Town.
He would occasionally forget that he was the True Li King and only consider himself as Taoist Xiao Ji's personal guard and partner.
At that moment, the string that had been tense for eighteen years finally relaxed.
At this moment, seeing that Taoist Ji looked nervous, he raised the corners of his mouth imperceptibly, leaned over and whispered: "No need to be so troublesome! If Brother Ji is willing to be the King of Li forever, I am also willing to be your personal guard forever."
Jin Sui didn't think this joke was funny! This was clearly a warning, a threat, and a warning! She was sweating profusely. Why don't you hurry up and get the imperial edict from the court? Why is the court always so slow in doing things? I will change my identity back as soon as possible. I will stay away from the Black Feather Camp and never let His Royal Highness the King of Li have the illusion that Taoist Xiao Ji will use the Black Feather Camp to do something! With a dry laugh, he reminded Cheng Yu: "The soldiers don't have to worry about Zheng Yun and the imperial envoy. Just let Captain Han be prepared and take Zheng Yun to wipe out the mountain bandits and horse thieves in one fell swoop."
Cheng Yu glanced at Gu Changxiao obscurely, and a bold idea arose in his mind. Thinking of Huo Zian's testimony before, the fake Li King... the real Li King...
But he said nothing, bowed and left.
The next step was to check the logistics preparations, but Jin Sui had not been paying attention to this at all. She had been reflecting on herself, wondering what she had done to make Cheng Yu want to lead the Black Feather Battalion to fight her to the end? She wanted to play the role of the fake Li Wang successfully, but she didn't expect to be too successful!
Others are like a cat replacing a prince, and you are like a cat replacing a prince, so who cares who the real prince is! Gu Changxiao, on the other hand, was watching with great interest. In the past, when he participated in polo matches, he only brought his own team to the scene and didn't have to worry about anything.
I didn't expect that such a large-scale competition would require so much preparation! Even horse feed, spare golf equipment, salt water for athletes to drink, stretchers for emergency treatment, etc., everything was prepared in detail.
There are even various emergency response reports, such as "How to rescue in case of stampede", "What to do if a racehorse gets scared and runs into the crowd", "Food poisoning", "Fire"...
He felt that with Taoist Xiao Ji in overall coordination and command of this event, and with these plans left behind, no matter what events Border Town held in the future, there would be no major mistakes.
Taoist Xiao Ji really took great pains! Until passing by a fully enclosed temporary tent, there were two heavy soldiers guarding it.
Gu Changxiao asked curiously: "What's in it?"
He guessed that it was a firearm used for performance, such as fireworks, flamethrower, etc.
Unexpectedly, Jin Sui was also surprised. She didn't know about this tent. She opened a crack and saw dozens of sealed barrels of various sizes inside, and a strange smell.
She recognized it immediately and asked the guard, "Why did you move here?"
The guard hurriedly said, "It was Lord Cheng who ordered it to be moved here. He said that this was prepared by the prince for the imperial envoy, and he was afraid that he would need it urgently, so he moved it here in advance."
Gu Changxiao became even more curious: "What exactly is it for the imperial envoy?"
Jin Sui took him in and asked with a smile, "What do you think it looks like?"
Gu Changxiao answered seriously: "Pickled vegetables? Pickled sea fish?"
It's a little better than Hei Hu's belief that firearms and crossbows are tools for making sausages, but not too outrageous.
He took a handkerchief and handed it to him: "Cover your mouth and nose."
Passing by, he saw "mustard greens", "melon rinds", and "grains of rice"... until he saw "citrus aurantium peels", Jinsui took out the bucket.
Then I saw the number "one" on it, and then I numbered the Zhipi, and found two and three.
Only then did they open them one by one, and then Gu Changxiao saw a bucket of yellow water with green mold. To be honest, it was only slightly better than泔水, and the smell was relatively not that smelly.
"Bucket number 1 contains the crushed citrus aurantium peels soaked in rice washing water, which have successfully produced penicillium mold."
"Bucket No. 2 contains a water solution of Penicillium mold mixed with rapeseed oil after successful separation of water and oil."
"Bucket No. 3 is a solution made of baking soda made from wood ash, vinegar and borax, old alkali and mold water from bucket No. 2, which has been purified many times."
"The mustard greens are the easiest to prepare. Just bury them underground for more than ten years and they will become aged mustard greens and become medicinal."
Hearing this, Gu Changxiao finally understood: "Brother Ji, are you saying this is medicine?"
Jin Sui took the notebook next to him and showed it to him: "This is not only medicine, but also a good medicine for curing plague!"
"The amount of medicine used in our wounded camp is limited. It is not enough for us to use ourselves. There is really no surplus for the imperial envoy to take to save the people in the city."
"They want a prescription, don't they? Here's the prescription for penicillin."
"It's relatively easy to make. As long as the Imperial Hospital works hard on research, they can extract purer penicillin to treat a variety of acute diseases."
"I have asked Chen Yunniang to pick a dozen attentive girls from the families of the Tuntian Camp to learn how to cultivate this medicine from me. Of course, we can't give the people to the imperial envoy! Just give him the prescription."
Gu Changxiao looked at the record book very seriously. He did not doubt what Taoist Xiao Ji said at all. Although Taoist Xiao Ji might exaggerate on other things and brag without realizing it.
But when it comes to medicine, he has always been humble, serious and persistent.
This made Gu Changxiao convinced that Taoist Xiao Ji's main job was a doctor, and he only learned other miscellaneous subjects as a by-product.
Because people will only be confident enough to brag when they have only half a knowledge of something, but when they really study a subject in depth, they will lament their own shortcomings and treat it with the utmost humility.
"He can take the dozen or so barrels of medicine he has cultivated here. But if he wants to ask me for medicine in the border town later, he must pay with silver!"
She turned her head and asked Gu Changxiao: "Besides capturing Zheng Yun, what else do you think we should ask the imperial envoy for?"
Gu Changxiao laughed: "The imperial envoy is not like Li Heng. He has all his belongings with him. He is just following orders. If you ask him for something, he should ask the court."
Jin Sui slapped his thigh and said, "Then ask the court for it! Don't even think about saving money for the court. The money those corrupt officials embezzle in one year is enough for our Black Feather Camp to spend in ten years!"
Gu Changxiao's eyelashes trembled slightly and his voice was a little depressed: "But that person will not give King Li any reward. They even think that King Li should naturally present treasures to the court."
Jinsui knew he was talking about the emperor, and didn't know how to comfort him for a moment. The royal father and son were the most heartless.
His eyes rolled and a plan came to his mind: "You can't ask him for that, but I am the King of Li now!"
Gu Changxiao was startled, then smiled: "Oh, then what good plan do you have, Brother Ji?"
Jin Sui chuckled and said, "Penicillin alone is nothing. I also have a prescription for golden wounds that can stop bleeding and a prescription for artemisinin that can cure dysentery."
"If the imperial court wants it, it must give something in exchange! Give the King of Li the power to collect 100,000 soldiers and horses, and he can collect half of the taxes in Yan. Fully open border trade, and the whole country is not allowed to set up checkpoints for merchants in border cities..."
Before she finished speaking, Gu Changxiao laughed out loud: "You can't expect such a reward with just a few prescriptions."
Jin Sui said as a matter of course: "We can bargain! I'll set the conditions, let's see how the court responds! It's because you don't like to say anything and just bear it silently that others think you are easy to bully."
Gu Changxiao was startled again. Was he easy to bully? Yes, if not, why would everyone want him dead that night?
"By the way, do you want to give a gift to the emperor?"
Gu Changxiao was amused again. It was really fun to be with Taoist Xiao Ji!
"This is not called giving a gift, it's called offering a gift or paying tribute. Logically speaking, I, as a vassal king, should be giving a New Year gift to my father."
Jin Sui smiled and said, "Okay, let's cry poor first. The people have no food to eat, no clothes to wear in the winter, and the soldiers are not even as good as the horse feed of the Chang'an Army.
I tell you, you must cry poor! The crying child gets candy! Li Heng has to help with this. If he doesn’t agree, I will send the people who starve to death to the gate of Yanzhou next time.”
"We can't afford gold and silver as New Year gifts, so let's give the emperor a mirror, the one I bought for five thousand taels. If the emperor is in a good mood, can you give more gifts to the border town in return?"
Gu Changxiao asked in surprise: "How many mirrors do you have?"
When they sold it to Jin Zilin, they said it was unique in the world. When they gave it to the Yan family, they said there were only two in the world. Now they have a third one to give to the emperor.
Jin Sui chuckled and said, “It depends on how many we need!
Didn’t I take you to see the sand kiln? That mirror is made of sand. I used a little Taoist trick to decorate it and it became a shining mirror. Actually, to be honest, it’s not worth anything at all!”
Gu Changxiao laughed grimly: "Okay, then, the annual gift will be a mirror for the emperor, and a box of Yanzhizhai's merchandise will be given to the empress and concubines. No need to give gifts to others."
Jin Sui disagreed: "Of course we have to give it! Only after we give it can we ask for a return gift! Don't worry, I will arrange it. I guarantee that the gifts we give will be flashy and worthless. We can ask for food and cloth as a return gift."
"I still don't believe that the princes and nobles in Chang'an are so shameless. The Black Feather Camp is outside the gate asking for a return gift, saying that they don't want gold or silver, but some food and grass will do. How can they have the nerve to refuse to give it?"
(End of this chapter)
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