Xu Long and Eunuch Li, who were present, stood aside. Although on the surface it was a banquet hosted by Emperor Wei to welcome the empress of the Canglan Empire, in fact both parties knew that there was a potential tension between them, and no one could predict whether the other would suddenly take action.
After thinking for a moment, Chu Fan responded with a smile: "Regarding the refined salt business, I can arrange for the staff of the Imperial Censorate to discuss the specific details with you, but the premise is that we must ensure that the interests of both parties can be balanced.
I also need to confirm one thing: should this business be fully entrusted to the royal family of your Canglan Empire, or should it be fully managed by the forces you two represent?"
Given that Chu Fan was interested in establishing a cooperative relationship with the Canglan Empire, he instructed Eunuch Li to collect and organize detailed information about the Canglan Empire the night before so that he could better understand this potential partner.
The current power structure within the Canglan Empire appears to be quite complicated, and many members of the royal family have objections to the rule of the current empress.
Local power groups often only obey the orders of the Empress of Canglan Empire in name, but actually act on their own, making it difficult for the Empress of Canglan to effectively control the entire empire in practice.
However, Chu Fan seemed unaware of a crucial detail: the maidservant serving Empress Canglan was none other than Liu Ruyan. If Chu Fan had been aware of this, he certainly wouldn't have been so careless in arranging this important meeting at the Royal Restaurant.
Liu Ruyan replied in a calm tone, "Regarding the sales rights of the Canglan Empire, of course, it is up to the Emperor Wei to decide. Emperor Wei, whoever you choose to give the management rights to in the Canglan Empire, then that person will be in charge. We will follow your instructions and hand over the management rights to the appropriate person in charge. We will naturally ensure that everything is arranged in an orderly manner."
Liu Ruyan deeply understands that there are many things that cannot be said too much, and sometimes the more you say, the more mistakes you make.
Although Wei's intelligence agencies may have some information about the internal situation of the Canglan Empire, this information is not comprehensive or complete. As long as we don't reveal the true situation ourselves, Wei will not be able to fully understand the true face and internal operations of the Canglan Empire.
The question Chu Fan had just posed actually contained a clever trap. Whether Liu Ruyan's answer was to hand over management rights to the royal family or to the forces she controlled, it would likely give the Wei Kingdom some clues, leading to a deeper understanding of the internal situation within the Canglan Empire.
Although the emperors of the two empires are here now and maintain friendly exchanges and conversations on the surface, as long as either side reveals the slightest flaw, it may arouse the greed and covetousness of the other side, which will undoubtedly lay hidden dangers for the relationship between the two sides.
When Chu Fan heard this answer, he couldn't help but think to himself, isn't this just meaningless nonsense? If they really made the decision entirely by themselves, then there would be no need for them to travel thousands of miles to the State of Wei to seek cooperation.
Chu Fan learned from the intelligence he had collected previously that due to the existence of many local forces in the Canglan Empire, and the royal family made considerable profits by importing refined salt from the Wei State and selling it in the Canglan Empire.
After all, refined salt is different from other ordinary commodities. It is a necessity that affects the national economy and people's lives. The profits it brings are not only lucrative but also very stable.
These forces accumulated a lot of wealth through the refined salt trade. They not only used this wealth to win over talents and strengthen their own power, but also formed a powerful interest group that even the court did not dare to touch easily.
Even more worrying is that these forces may have infiltrated the court, and there may be accomplices among the ministers. When Empress Canglan tried to weaken these forces, she found her actions difficult and even threatened to trigger civil unrest.
That's why Liu Mengli and Liu Ruyan thought of coming to Wei to seek cooperation, hoping to weaken these forces by directly cutting off their economic sources.
If refined salt can be directly controlled by Queen Canglan, then after these forces lose refined salt, the people of Canglan Empire will no longer need to be coerced by the people of these forces.
In this way, when Empress Canglan wants to clean up these forces in the future, there will not be too many people used as shields by them. This will help weaken their foundation and make it smoother for Empress Canglan to completely control the Canglan Empire in the future.
Chu Fan did not choose to expose Liu Ruyan's little trick at this time. Instead, he smiled and said gently to Liu Mengli and Liu Ruyan, "Since it is up to me to decide today, I have decided to hand over the refined salt sales rights of the Canglan Empire to you. After all, our Queen is so beautiful.
From now on, the Canglan Empire's refined salt trade will be entirely your responsibility. Our Wei Kingdom will no longer sell refined salt to other factions or merchants within the Canglan Empire. Furthermore, if any Wei citizens are found to be secretly trading refined salt with other factions within the Canglan Empire, we will impose severe penalties and show no mercy."
After hearing Chu Fan's words, Liu Mengli's eyes flashed with a barely perceptible surprise, but she quickly concealed her emotions and responded with a smile: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your high praise and deep trust."
However, Liu Ruyan remained calm and asked in a calm and thoughtful tone, "Then, Your Majesty, what price or conditions do you expect our Canglan Empire to pay?"
Liu Ruyan knew very well that there was no such thing as getting something for nothing in the world. Since Chu Fan agreed to her request so easily, there must be some conditions hidden behind it that she was not aware of yet, which needed to be completed or satisfied by the Canglan Empire.
Chu Fan did not directly answer Liu Ruyan's question, but continued to ask in a cautious manner:
"Perhaps you could first explain in detail what kind of help you would like us to provide? For example, in what specific areas or matters do you still need our support and assistance? Then I can tell you what you need to do for Wei."
After hearing Chu Fan's words, Liu Mengli and Liu Ruyan exchanged a meaningful look. After a brief silence, Liu Mengli chose not to speak herself, but decided to let Liu Ruyan continue to negotiate and discuss with Chu Fan on their behalf.
Liu Ruyan pondered for a moment, then slowly asked, "Can the Supreme Cards held by us in the Canglan Empire also enjoy a 50% discount on refined salt?"
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