Chapter 917: Let Me Show You My Tricks [Seeking Monthly Tickets]
Wu Yuan's face suddenly stiffened.
Feigning ignorance: "A castrated...hen? Ha, I wonder what King Kang means by that. Does the Northern Desert truly want to facilitate this cooperation so that the common people of both regions can be spared from the ravages of war..."
Shen Tang raised her hand and broke his wheel.
Moral blackmail can only blackmail moral people, but she prides herself on being barbaric and immoral, so she is even less likely to be blackmailed.
"I'm speaking frankly with the envoy here, hoping that he can be more sincere and less calculating and manipulative. Why don't you go to the countryside and ask any farmer if they would be willing to sell you their endless supply of laying hens for the price of eggs? Would they? Probably not! After all, they're not stupid. Farmers aren't stupid. Do you think I'm stupid?"
Wu Yuan: "If the King of Kang is not satisfied with the price, I, Wu, am willing to offer the utmost sincerity within my authority; the price—"
Shen Tang interrupted him: "It's not about the price, it has nothing to do with the price. This kind of high-yield grain variety is an trump card that tens of thousands of elite troops couldn't buy in any politically stable country! No matter how sincere the Northern Desert is, we still have to take precautions. Blame the Northern Desert for having too many past mistakes. If you keep the grain for yourself, hoard it for several years, and then launch an attack south..."
Wu Yuan felt a slight tingling sensation on his scalp.
The smile became noticeably stiff.
"This is impossible."
Shen Tang said, "Nothing in this world is certain to happen. To put my mind at ease and to reciprocate the friendliness of the King of the Northern Desert Kingdom, the grain seeds can be sold, and the highest-yielding grain seeds will be sold, but—it can only be planted once."
Wu Yuan took a deep breath.
What crop seeds can only be planted once?
Bei Mo was willing to pay a high price for the seeds so that they could be planted stably and help Bei Mo overcome the last hurdle of supplies. But Shen Tang tricked him with such an outrageous method! Wu Yuan couldn't retaliate, lest Shen Tang change her mind again.
Shen Tang explained to Wu Yuan with a smile.
"Please don't be angry, envoy. Actually, I did this for the good of the Northern Desert. Any farmer with some farming experience knows that the higher the crop yield, the more fertility the soil needs. If the soil fertility is not up to par, no matter how good the quality or how high the yield of the grain, a good harvest will not be achieved. After each planting, the land needs to be left fallow or rotated to allow the land time to recover its fertility."
There are also skilled farmers in the northern desert.
If Shen Tang says nothing and lets Wu Yuan take the grain seeds back, given Bei Mo's style of doing things, they most likely won't cultivate it on a large scale. At most, they will probably set aside a small area for trial planting to see the results. Shen Tang is wary of Bei Mo, but Bei Mo isn't stupid.
Experienced farmers will discover the trick once they try planting it – the yield is high, but it consumes too much soil fertility.
This type of grain is too aggressive. If it's planted three or four times, and the soil fertility doesn't keep up, not only will there be no harvest in the fourth year, but the field will also be ruined. The arable land area in the northern desert is not as large as that in the interior, and there isn't much land suitable for cultivation. The northern desert leadership will definitely be very cautious.
She's selling disposable grain seeds for the good of the northern desert.
Furthermore—
Unfazed by the prospect of scaring away a major client, Shen Tang continued, "These high-yield grain seeds have undergone special processing, a top secret of Kang Kingdom. You can't have your cake and eat it too. To achieve the high-yield characteristic, we have to sacrifice the seeds' ability to stably pass on their genes. It's not that I'm selling castrated hens, it's just that these hens are very special..."
Wu Yuan's expression did not change much.
But looking at the details, it has become much more relaxed.
His gaze flickered, as if he were weighing whether Shen Tang's words were true or false, after all, politicians' mouths are full of lies.
Shen Tang observed his reaction: "Is the envoy now wondering why I am being so frank? It is naturally because of the word 'trust'—a person cannot stand without trust, a business cannot prosper without trust, and a country will decline without trust. The first thing Kangguo did after its founding was to cooperate with Beimo, so it needs to make a good start. If this matter is successful, neighboring countries will naturally be willing to trust Kangguo, so why worry about the prosperity of all industries?"
When businessmen exaggerate the advantages of their products but evade the disadvantages, even a booming industry can go bankrupt.
Upon hearing this, Wu Yuan's face turned pale and then flushed.
After all, Beimo's reputation in business is even worse than Shiwu's.
It's hard to say that Shen Tang's words weren't a veiled criticism.
He secretly exhaled a breath of stale air, took a deep breath to mentally prepare himself, and forced out an unnatural smile, saying admiringly, "King Kang's magnanimity is something I admire to the core."
Regardless of how much truth or falsehood Shen Tang spoke, the fact that the other party was willing to point out the various drawbacks instead of using them to harm Bei Mo was indeed beyond Wu Yuan's expectations. If he were Shen Tang, he would have been eager for Bei Mo to buy him back and then ruin him.
remind?
Why should we remind you?
Deceit and treachery, life and death struggles—this is only natural.
Wu Yuan changed the subject, his brows furrowing with a hint of hesitation and difficulty: "However, we were unaware of these drawbacks of the grain beforehand, and I cannot act on my own initiative. The purchase will need to be discussed with my subordinates... I hope the King of Kang can understand."
Shen Tang smiled and said, "Of course."
He looked at Wu Yuan as if he were looking at prey already in his pocket: "Even if the deal falls through, we can still be on good terms. Envoy, there's no need to worry."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Wu Yuan bowed deeply in respect.
Although he traveled with minimal entourage, he was, after all, a powerful prince of the Northern Desert, and had all the necessary attendants and subordinates. They gathered together and whispered amongst themselves for over an hour. Gong Cheng sat outside, arms crossed, watching from the sidelines, not joining in.
He didn't care about any of Bei Mo's decisions.
From time to time, loud arguments could be heard from inside.
These staff members were clearly divided into two factions.
One faction supports purchasing one-time grain seeds. The Northern Desert is severely lacking in food resources, and Shen Tang is now difficult to persuade. Although he seems to be loosening restrictions on trade, he will undoubtedly demand exorbitant prices later. The Northern Desert must find a way to become self-sufficient, break free from this soft control, and eliminate these obstacles! So what if these grain seeds damage the land? The Northern Desert already suffers far more losses from purchasing grain from outside every year.
In the past, when the forces within the Great Wall were in constant conflict, the Northern Desert could take advantage of the chaos to secretly smuggle in more goods. But once the Shen family came to power, they completely shut down these channels! No merchant dared to defy the rules! Now is the perfect opportunity to break free of these shackles!
One faction opposes purchasing single-use grain seeds.
The Northern Desert has little farmland, and its inhabitants are not as skilled at cultivating and maintaining the land as those within the Great Wall. If a piece of land is abandoned, it's uncertain how many years it will take to recover. The man surnamed Chen has dug a pit, waiting for them to fall into it. In any case, the Northern Desert cannot fall for this trap.
Gong Cheng listened as the noise inside gradually subsided.
A look of understanding flashed across his face.
Despite the numerous tribes and diverse ethnicities within the Northern Desert, and their frequent battles, they are strangely united when facing a common enemy. These advisors, regardless of which faction they align with, never lowered their guard against Shen Tang's malice.
The two sides disagreed, but they agreed on one point—
"That guy surnamed Chen is definitely up to no good!"
"This is utter nonsense; don't believe it!"
"They say the grain can only be cultivated once, but the information from the farmers says otherwise... It's clearly a lie!"
The area around Heyin has had bumper harvests for several years in a row.
Although the yield per mu wasn't as high as in Longwu County, it was still a decent bumper year! Anyone who's ever farmed knows that farming is all about the weather. Having one great harvest in ten years, and only two or three minor harvests, is considered incredibly lucky.
He Yin, however, went from Dafeng to Xiaofeng in succession.
Xu Wenzhu, the prefect of Heyin County, was very strict about this matter.
Bei Mo had no choice but to utilize his decades-old network of connections to secretly obtain a batch of grain seeds produced by He Yin, intending to smuggle them into Bei Mo under the guise of a merchant. However, he failed to smuggle them out; the border checks were too strict! It's unclear just how poor the man surnamed Chen was, but despite the large number of merchants crossing the border, they were all being checked. Each one was checked individually, each batch was thoroughly examined; merchants without export trading qualifications were not allowed to carry goods beyond the permitted quantity. Bei Mo managed to obtain only a small bag of grain seeds after bypassing several undercover agents.
These grains circulated within the territory of Heyin. The climate in Heyin was not bad, so the grains did not need to be cold-resistant, or even drought-resistant. During Shen Tang's tenure, he dug irrigation canals and built reservoirs, so there was no shortage of water.
It is conceivable—
These grain varieties were unable to adapt to the local climate and soil conditions in the northern desert.
The little tricks on the Northern Desert side have gone to waste.
Shen Tang said that these grain seeds were obtained using secret techniques, and his advisors believed him. However, to say that they could only be planted once was definitely a lie. The reason they could only be planted once was to prevent the Northern Desert from keeping the seeds for themselves!
There must be some secret here.
There are advantages to having a makeshift team; a streamlined staff greatly reduces the chances of secrets being leaked. It's unlikely we'll be able to get any classified information from the Northern Desert in the short term. If we want to gather real intelligence, we can only rely on the efforts of the spies we've placed in.
The staff members sighed and groaned.
Until one of them made a firm decision, his eyes gleaming with a sinister light: "I believe we should still buy grain seeds. This will not only alleviate the famine within our borders but also lower the guard of the Chen family. The trade between the two places must be finalized, otherwise—who knows how long the Chen family will make things difficult for us. We cannot let this century-long plan fail here!"
The mere mention of this "century-long plan" silenced the opposition, leaving them in a dilemma. The plan to invade the north had been in the works for over a century. Now that they had finally obtained the imperial seal, all they lacked was provisions, and they could once again launch a southward campaign.
Staff members, more or less, all have a gambling spirit.
Wu Yuan's staff were no exception.
Or rather, he himself is like that.
"If we succeed in heading south, how much land will we lose?" Wu Yuan's face was grim, like a viper spitting its tongue, his words cold and ruthless. "Don't you gentlemen believe the wise man's prophecy? Heaven's mandate lies in the north! The Northern Desert is Heaven's mandate! These fields, if they're lost, they're lost!"
A long silence fell over everyone again.
Indeed, a prophecy by a sage has circulated within the Northern Desert for two or three hundred years, perhaps even longer—the Mandate of Heaven lies in the North! This North is the "Northern Desert"! Among the elders of the Northern Desert, there are also legends passed down through generations: their ancestors possessed superior bloodlines and once ruled the entire continent. Those despicable villains within the pass usurped divine positions, driving their ancestors to barren and desolate lands, subjecting them to immense suffering.
Then a thief appeared out of nowhere, the Northern Desert lost its imperial seal, and was suppressed by the interior for more than two hundred years without lifting a finger. They had had enough!
The Sage of the Northern Desert, whose name and origin are unknown.
Only two prophecies remained.
One path—Destiny lies in the North.
A thief star descends upon the world.
Legend has it that this thieving star will bring new life to the world. According to prophecy, it should have landed in the northern desert, but instead it landed inside the pass. A wise man of that era performed divination and said that a villain inside the pass had tampered with the destiny of heaven, causing the prophecy of the sage to be distorted.
The principle that Heaven's Mandate resides in the North must not be altered again!
Greed is ingrained in human nature.
Wu Yuan wanted to gamble on the fate of the nation. As long as the southward expansion plan succeeded, the loss of these fields in the northern desert would be insignificant.
Before long, the supporters took the lead in expressing their support for Ukrainian Yuan.
The opposition also began to waver.
Half an hour later, everyone was completely in agreement.
Wu Yuan went to see Shen Tang again.
Beimo granted Wuyuan considerable authority, accepting prices within a certain range, and even those exceeding the limits but not being outrageous were acceptable. Shen Tang requested Beimo to pay a deposit first, with Kangguo delivering the goods within a specified period; however, that would only be the first batch.
Wu Yuan frowned: "Just the first batch?"
He looked at the draft contract and didn't quite approve of it.
Shen Tang smiled and said, "The amount of grain purchased by Beimo is not small, and I need time to prepare. Besides, it is the rule of the trade to exchange money for goods. Given Beimo's long history of wrongdoing and Kangguo's recent establishment, we need to be cautious."
Wu Yuan was speechless after being choked by a single sentence.
In fact, Bei Mo really didn't intend to renege on his debt this time.
The grain seeds were a one-time purchase, and the trade market hadn't been established yet. Taking advantage of Shen Tang at this crucial juncture would only anger people and wouldn't benefit Bei Mo at all. But Shen Tang's move wasn't wrong either. Bei Mo didn't intend to renege on the debt, but they didn't say they would definitely pay on time.
They are capable of deliberately dragging things out.
Once the cooperation is confirmed, the remaining task is to negotiate the price.
Shen Tang handed the matter over to Gu Chi, Luan Xin, and Lin Feng. Gu Chi was good at understanding people's thoughts and had a sharp tongue, while Luan Xin spoke slowly, almost like a koala. If his opponent was impatient, he could make them lose their temper. Lin Feng was the one in charge of this matter.
Grain seeds and such were matters for the Household Affairs Department.
Next came the border trade that Wu Yuan was most looking forward to.
Shen Tang showed him another move.
"A border trade is possible, but there are restrictions on the items that can be traded. Some goods are prohibited from being sold or circulated; to be precise, they are prohibited from being traded by private merchants." Wu Yuan listened with a dark face, then slowly opened the thick, long scroll of prohibitions.
Tea ranks among the top.
Wu Yuan: "..."
Gong Cheng noticed that Wu Yuan's fingers were trembling.
The latter took a deep breath, suppressing his surging anger.
"King Kang, why is tea banned?"
Shen Tang had already prepared her explanation.
"Oh, this is because of the war last year. Yanzhou and Ganzhou suffered varying degrees of flooding, which directly led to a sharp decline in tea production this year. Alas, tea supply in Kangguo is insufficient to meet demand, and prices remain high. If tea were still allowed to be traded among the common people at the border, the price of tea in Kangguo would probably be even higher. If the common people follow suit and start planting tea, not only will there be a risk of food shortages next year due to reduced grain production, but the surge in tea production will also cause prices to plummet. This would disrupt the balance, hence the explicit prohibition."
Her eyes were very sincere.
There was absolutely no indication that they were trying to make things difficult for me.
Wu Yuan: "..."
|ω`)
Tea and salt are both very important in the Northern Desert, but Tangmei has banned them.
(End of this chapter)
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