Chapter 919: The Fifth Year of Yuanhuang (Part 1) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
With progress on the issue of grain seeds, Shen Tang felt reassured.
As for haggling and such things?
She felt completely at ease leaving the matter to Gu Chi and the others.
Shen Tang was relieved, but Wu Yuan was so frustrated that his low blood pressure had improved, and his blood pressure was soaring every day. The people from Bei Mo were also well-prepared. Whenever they encountered a point where they could argue their case, they would deliberately stir up their emotions, trying to gain the upper hand with their passionate emotions and momentum, and press their advantage. But they were just outmatched by Luan Xin, who was slow in everything he did. How could the people from Bei Mo keep up with their emotions?
This is like having someone pour cold water on your head when you're emotionally charged, or having your breath interrupted while you're doing something smoothly. Once or twice is fine, but three, four, or five times, who can stand it? No matter how well-mannered you are, someone can provoke your nameless anger, and when you're burning with anger, you're prone to making mistakes.
Gu Chi accurately grasped the other party's thoughts. However, most of these people had been advised by Wu Yuan and were very cautious during negotiations, even deliberately revealing their weaknesses and intentionally exposing their "bottom price" to lure in buyers. Gu Chi's side did not fall for it easily. The two sides went back and forth, scheming and plotting, arguing heatedly over the price of a standard quality tea brick. Gong Cheng listened for two days.
The purchase price from Beimo differed from Shentang's offer by only twelve coins. Both sides were fiercely competitive over these twelve coins, haggling over every single one. Beimo naturally wanted the price to be as low as possible, practically wanting to eliminate the twelve coins altogether, while Shentang presented facts, reasoned arguments, and cost estimates, refusing to lower the price by even a single coin. Gong Cheng watched helplessly as Luan Xin completely enraged Beimo. One man, so furious he glared, grabbed whatever was at hand and smashed it on the ground, even spewing out his Beimo dialect.
Gu Chi understands the language of the Northern Desert.
The argument escalated into a physical altercation.
He had only drawn his sword without using any spiritual energy, so the matter shouldn't escalate too much. Gong Cheng watched the commotion for a while, then continued to sit outside the tent, arms crossed, basking in the sun. The temperature in January was still quite cold; even the sunlight felt chilly. Behind him, the sounds of arguing rose and fell from the tents, and the occasional crackling of clothes tearing could be heard. Gong Cheng was yawning when Wu Yuan crouched down and ran out.
Gong Cheng didn't want to use the word "sleazy" to describe his friend.
So, to put it another way, sneaky or furtive?
"A fight broke out inside?"
Gong Cheng looked at Wu Yuan's crooked hair ornament.
Wu Yuan brushed the strands of hair that were hanging down her forehead back, straightened her hair crown, and asked with a slightly frightened expression, "Is it all this noisy?"
Uganda did not personally participate in the negotiations.
He represented the Northern Desert Royal Court and was the leader of the delegation. Since Shen Tang, as the ruler of Kang Kingdom, hadn't come in person, Wu Yuan couldn't easily intervene. He had more important business to attend to: accompanying Shen Tang to inspect the grain seeds. The grain seeds were crucial to the Northern Desert's grand plan, so Wu Yuan had to be cautious, fearing that Shen Tang might use the grain seeds to harm the Northern Desert. He was out early and back late, having no time to monitor the negotiation progress.
I finally had some free time to come and take a look, and I almost became a fish in the pond.
Gong Cheng said calmly, "More or less."
Wu Yuan's face turned ashen: "This is an insult to civility."
Gong Cheng reminded them: "Our side made the first move."
Negotiations can be done with words, but how do you get hands-on experience?
The people in the Northern Desert are hot-tempered and lack self-control. If Luan Gongyi keeps delaying them, they'll lose their temper and start fighting. Isn't that just handing over leverage to the other side? In Gong Cheng's opinion, they're definitely going to lose those twelve coins.
Wu Yuan felt aggrieved: "That Luan Gongyi is really..."
He couldn't think of a suitable word for the time being.
Gong Cheng finally smiled slightly: "I've inquired about it. Luan Gongyi has always been like this, slow to react."
They were born this way; it wasn't intentional.
Wu Yuan couldn't help but mutter a complaint: "How could Shen Youli recruit such a person? Doesn't she find it difficult to participate in discussions?"
If someone with a short temper were to encounter Luan Xin, they would be absolutely furious!
Gong Cheng: "Perhaps it's out of habit, or perhaps, out of consideration for Luan Gongyi's leg, we're more patient."
They have been staying at Shen Tang's camp for the past few days.
Although Gong Cheng had little direct contact with Shen Tang, judging from what he heard from the soldiers, this ruler of Kang was decisive in his external campaigns but kind and gentle to his own people, especially the elderly, weak, and disabled. This was unlike what one would expect of a ruler.
Upon hearing this, Wu Yuan mumbled something indistinctly.
The negotiations eventually yielded a result.
Of the twelve coins, only two were saved in the Northern Desert.
Besides tea bricks, the price of salt was also discussed.
With Shen Tang having exclusive access to the supply, Bei Mo didn't have much room for negotiation. Moreover, Bei Mo had its own plans—once Bei Mo was ready, they would march south and conquer Kang Guo, and they would have as much tea and salt as they wanted! Even if Shen Tang gained an advantage, how many years could she enjoy it? She gritted her teeth and accepted it, and Bei Mo even used "generosity" to once again demonstrate their sincerity in the trade.
It's worth it as long as it makes her lower her guard a little.
Besides these two major items, the discussion also covered horses and farming tools.
The proportion of warriors with martial prowess in the army is not high, and not all of them can conjure warhorses. Furthermore, warhorses are not solely used for combat; external demand for horses remains consistently high. Most of the Northern Desert is a natural horse-breeding ground, giving it a significant advantage in horse breeding, and horse exports are a major economic pillar of the Northern Desert. Therefore, Shen Tang naturally needs to purchase horses to establish a postal relay system.
The Northern Desert negotiation delegation, acting as the seller, instantly perked up.
When it came to the farming tools, they wilted again after a few words.
Shen Tang needs horses from the Northern Desert, and the Northern Desert also needs farming tools from Shen Tang. Good farming tools can greatly improve labor efficiency and farmland yield. However, the Northern Desert has not developed much technology in this area, and its manufacturing industry is still in its infancy. The farming tools they use are old models from decades or even hundreds of years ago.
A typical example of a set of farming tools being passed down through three generations!
After a preliminary agreement was reached, Wu Yuan and the others did not want to stay for half a day.
This was the seventeenth day of the first month of the first year of the Yuanhuang era.
After Shen Tang received the news that Wu Yuan and his group had left Linxiang County, she finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Bei Mo really knows how to dawdle. Now that Gong Yunchi is gone, I can finally relax for two days."
With Gong Cheng's current strength, staying in his own base, he could easily have any secrets stolen by the other side if he wasn't careful. Shen Tang outwardly appeared unconcerned, but secretly she was on edge, not daring to relax. Now they're finally gone, completely unsealed!
It's supposed to be relaxing, but it's not really relaxing at all.
According to Shen Tang's initial plan, she intended to finalize the current official system before the seventh day of the first lunar month and arrange for it to be sent throughout the entire territory along with the reign title. However, Wu Yuan's arrival prompted them to engage in trade, and Shen Tang was busy with matters in the Northern Desert, so she postponed the official system matter again.
The eighteenth day of the first month of the first year of Yuanhuang.
It was also the second to last day before Qishan was to set off back to Sibao County.
Shen Tang notified everyone two days in advance that there would be a large meeting, which was in a sense a court assembly. Everyone was required to attend unless they were seriously ill. She also specially changed the venue to a spacious one to avoid everyone feeling uncomfortable in a crowded setting.
When everyone arrived, the seating arrangements had already been made.
Simply take your seats according to your names.
Several booklets were also placed on the table.
Shen Tang did not formally announce it to the world; everyone still addressed her as "My Lord." Shen Tang waved her hand: "No need for formalities. Let's decide by voting, based on the principles of fairness and impartiality."
Generally speaking, official systems are either inherited from predecessors or slightly modified. Whether or not names should be avoided, and whether official titles and responsibilities should be deleted or modified, all these factors must be taken into consideration. Everything revolves around the will of the ruler.
If you say Shen Tang is lazy, she has gathered all the official information she could find, and after removing the duplicates and redundancies, she still has more than a dozen sets left.
To say that Shen Tang is diligent is an understatement; she lets everyone vote for themselves.
Seeing that no one spoke, Shen Tang said, "We're all on the same side, what's wrong with choosing a nicer title for yourself?"
Upon entering officialdom, officials are often referred to by their titles: "Look at this, under the ruler, there are the Three Dukes and Three Ministers, the Grand Chancellor, the Commander-in-Chief of the Military Affairs of the Capital and the Foreign Regions, and the Grand Chancellor... At first glance, one might mistake him for the Grand Chancellor, or so-and-so Grand Chancellor? But this system does sound nice, with Heavenly Officials, Earthly Officials, Spring Officials, Summer Officials, Autumn Officials, Winter Officials... It's just too complicated, and the titles are hard to pronounce."
Everyone: "..."
I completely rejected this whole idea.
For example, the Heavenly Official had subordinate officials such as the Imperial Censor Grand Master, who was responsible for drafting imperial edicts; the Grand Councilor, who served the ruler; the Grand Councilor, who was in charge of financial auditing; and the Grand Steward, who was in charge of the royal court and the ruler's food... They were also in charge of the palace guards and eunuchs. The other five officials were somewhat more normal: the Earthly Official was in charge of the people and land; the Summer Official was in charge of military and political affairs; the Autumn Official was in charge of criminal law; and the Winter Official's functions were similar to those of the Ministry of Works...
Shen Tang pulled out another scroll and opened it, saying, "This set is quite special too. Under the ruler, there are officials in the inner court and officials in the outer court..."
Of course, she didn't intend to use it.
Shen Tang pulled out another copy, and everyone else opened it as well, secretly relieved. This was normal. According to the intelligence gathered, this was a fairly common version; the Northwest Continent and other regions mostly used this set as a template, making modifications as needed.
|ω`)
I need to ask for leave.
I recently signed up for personal training sessions and go every afternoon. My weight hasn't gone down much, but my complexion looks better than before.
PS: Using the time-speed technique, we directly enter the fifth year of Yuanhuang, and the plot fast-forwards to the year before the attack on Beimo.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
