Chapter 117 Assassination
Song Yutang felt that Zhao Xiao had set the price too high. One had to know that in Daqi, a set of fine porcelain would sell for a maximum of ten taels of silver, and even an official kiln porcelain would not sell for more than a hundred taels of silver.
Zhao Xiao said: "Tell them the offer price. If it is too high, we can change it." Money is dead, but people are alive, so we can make appropriate adjustments.
"Okay, then I'll go tell the Duke." Song Yutang walked over again with a wine glass in hand and a professional smile on his face.
Antonio was still bragging to the viscount next to him about his experiences along the way. When he saw Song Yutang leave, he immediately made an excuse to leave.
"General Zhao."
Zhao Xiao took a sip of red wine and said, "Anything else?"
Antonio scratched his head and coughed, "Excuse me... Is Mr. Song married?"
"marry?"
"Ah... your Daqi should be called Chengqin."
Zhao Xiao was a little confused: "Why are you asking this?"
"My sister...fell in love with Mr. Song at first sight..."
This story begins when Antonio returned home. Since he went to sea, his sister has been living with her uncle. When he left, his sister was only twelve years old and still a naughty child. In four years, his sister has grown into a big girl.
After returning, during their conversation, the sister learned about this oriental man who could speak English from her brother and became curious about him.
Anne happened to meet Song Yutang at the cocktail party today. Seeing him chatting with the Duke, she couldn't help but feel admiration for him and wanted to ask her brother to find out whether he was married.
Zhao Xiao couldn't help laughing and said, "I don't know about that. You should go and ask in person."
Antonio was somewhat helpless. As a brother, he certainly wanted his sister to be happy. But Lord Song would definitely not stay here. If his sister married him, she might follow him to the East. Although Daqi was good, it was not her hometown after all.
"Okay, I'll go ask in person when I have time."
After Song Yutang told Duke Bell about Zhao Xiao's offer, other nobles began to discuss the matter. Some thought that the porcelain was too expensive, and two thousand gold coins could almost buy a set of pure gold tea sets.
Song Yutang smiled and said, "Your Excellency has never seen what porcelain looks like. You will not say that if you see it later."
Everyone was curious about it and wanted to see what it looked like regardless of whether they wanted to buy it or not.
Half an hour later, Ge Zhongshun hurried back with a box of porcelain. There were twenty-four pieces of porcelain in the box, including four teacups, a teapot, five round plates, five petal bowls, five wine glasses, a pair of gourd bottles, and a pair of eight-treasure vases.
When the crystal clear porcelain was taken out of the box, everyone stopped talking involuntarily, holding their breath and staring at the porcelain motionlessly.
"It's perfect..." Duke Bell couldn't help but sigh.
Yes, the porcelain is indeed flawless. The snow-white glaze is like the body of a beauty, reflecting the light of the candlelight. The blue and white painting on it adds a lot of exotic charm.
Song Yutang picked up a wine glass and handed it to him: "Why don't you use this glass to drink a glass of wine."
The attendant beside him quickly brought the wine and poured it into the glass. The purple-red wine was particularly attractive against the white glaze. Duke Bell drank it all in one gulp, his cheeks flushed. "Great! Great! Order me a set... the best one!"
The earls nearby all said, "I want one too!"
"Leave one for me too!"
Song Yutang smiled so hard that his teeth were showing: "Don't worry, I'll write it down first." He took out a pencil and a notebook from his pocket and wrote down the names of these earls.
I remember that when the time came, a thin viscount came over and asked in a low voice: "Um... can I buy the smallest set?"
This man's name is Andre. He is a well-known pauper here. Although he has the title of viscount, his family has no money left.
"Of course, I'll take your name."
Andre blushed and said, "No... no, can you sell this set to me?"
“This set has already been used.”
"It's okay, I don't mind." Andre quickly asked the servant to go back and get the money.
Of course Song Yutang was willing. This set was sold for 500 gold coins, which was not cheap! Soon the servant came with the money bag. He put the porcelain back into the box, sorted it out and handed it to him.
Andre picked up the box of porcelain excitedly. He didn't know that his unintentional action would earn him a good future.
Because porcelain soon became popular throughout England, drinking black tea from porcelain has become a symbol of status.
The nobles rushed to buy it, but there were only so many of them and there were no extras to sell. Andre gave his share to a cardinal in England, winning himself a promising position.
By the way, Song Yutang counted the number of porcelains ordered by these people and found that he had sold more than 3,000 pieces! Even if the remaining ones could not be sold, he would not lose money.
Just when he was filled with joy, a gentle female voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Ah, please...Excuse me, are you Lord Song?"
Hearing the voice, Song Yutang turned around and saw a barbarian woman wearing Daqi clothing standing behind him.
"Yes, what's up?"
The girl's cheeks flushed and she stammered, "I...I am Antonio's sister. My name is Annie."
"Hello, Miss Anne."
"Excuse me, do you have a girlfriend?"
Song Yutang was stunned and didn't understand what she meant by asking this question.
Annie mustered up the courage to say, "I like you, can we date?"
Song Yutang said seriously: "I'm sorry Miss Annie, I'm already married and have two children at home."
"Ah... but you look... so young." Anne's heart was broken. This was the first time she fell in love, but she didn't expect that the other party was already married. The girl ran out sadly, and Antonio beside her followed her out.
Song Yutang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He took the account book to show Zhao Xiao. This cocktail party sold more than 3,000 pieces of porcelain, totaling more than 40,000 gold coins, almost empty-handed the nobles here.
Zhao Xiao counted the cargo on the ship and said, "Let's buy the corn seeds as soon as possible and prepare to return."
They would surely be envied if they sold so much money. Although Zhao Xiao was not afraid of them, he was afraid of accidents. So it would be better to return home as soon as possible. It would not be too late to sell the remaining porcelain and silk back to Anton Tepu.
After the cocktail party, the four of them got on the carriage and prepared to return to the ship. Before leaving, Song Yutang mentioned to the Duke: "I heard that you have some corn planted in your manor. Can you sell us some to let us know what it tastes like?"
Duke Bell burped and said, "That thing doesn't taste good. We feed it to the horses."
Song Yutang smiled and said, "Our general likes to try different foods. Maybe he will like it."
The Duke could not help laughing: "Well, I'll ask my servants to send some to you tomorrow." It was just some worthless corn, but these Orientals gave him triple the profit. He got both exquisite porcelain and gold coins, and he was very happy.
*
It was dark and the carriage was driving on a bumpy road. Zhao Xiao had drunk a few more glasses of wine and was feeling a little drowsy. He leaned against the carriage and took a nap.
Song Yutang was still calculating the prices of porcelain and silk when Captain Chen suddenly said, "General, why do I feel that this road is different from the way we came here?"
Zhao Xiao opened his eyes and looked around when he heard the voice. Although the buildings here were basically the same, the orientation was indeed different from when he came here.
"Tell him to stop the car."
Song Yutang shouted quickly: "Stop the car!"
The driver acted as if he didn't hear anything. Instead, he sped up and whipped the horse to make it run.
Ge Zhongshun was quick to pull out his belt and put it around the coachman's neck, pulling it hard to force him to stop the carriage.
The driver was so scared that he quickly grabbed the reins and knelt on the ground begging for mercy.
"What did he say?"
Song Yutang translated: "He said that he took money from someone and wanted to bring us here." Just as he finished speaking, there was a sudden sound of noisy footsteps beside him.
The four men raised their heads vigilantly, and saw that a lot of people had suddenly gathered around them. They were wearing armor, with cloth covering their faces, and holding swords and scimitars in their hands.
Zhao Xiao thought that there was no need to cover them with a piece of cloth, because in their eyes, these barbarians all looked the same and it was impossible to tell who was who.
The moonlight is like ice, reflecting on the sharp sword, making people feel cold in their hearts.
These people slowly narrowed the encirclement. Zhao Xiao was not afraid of fighting, but there was also Song Yutang who didn't know kung fu. If something happened, he would not be able to explain to Yuzhu when he returned.
"Xiao Ge, you're fast, find a chance to run out and call the brothers over."
"Yes!" Ge Zhongshun responded.
Soon these people rushed up with roars. Zhao Xiao dodged while protecting Song Yutang beside him. He kicked away a man's sword, picked it up, turned the tables, and started chopping at the opposite side.
Zhao Xiao's martial arts were acquired through practice in actual combat. His attacks were ruthless and effortless, and he could inflict the greatest damage in the shortest time.
The other party seemed to realize that he was not someone to be trifled with, and they all targeted several other people. Chen Jing also grabbed a scimitar, but he was not good at using it, and was stabbed in the shoulder while dodging.
Seeing this, Ge Zhongshun hurried over to help, "Are you okay?"
Chen Jing chopped down an enemy and said, "No problem! Go ahead."
Ge Zhongshun knew that this was not the time to show off his strength and he had to find an opportunity to run away and ask for help.
Zhao Xiao and Chen Jing worked together to tear a hole in the enemy's encirclement. Xiao Ge took the opportunity to cut the reins on the carriage, jumped on the horse and ran towards the beach.
While Zhao Xiao was distracted, he suddenly felt a chill on his back, followed by a sharp pain, and blood instantly dyed his clothes red.
Song Yutang was so frightened that he gasped. He mustered up his courage, picked up a sword on the ground, and stabbed the man in the neck. Blood spurted out and splashed all over him.
Zhao Xiao said, "Thank you!" Then he swung his sword and killed all the people nearby with one blow!
"No... you're welcome." Song Yutang trembled all over as he clenched his sword tightly. His mind was filled with the image of himself killing someone just now. He had never killed even a chicken in his life, and he didn't expect to actually kill someone...
On the other side, Ge Zhongshun shook off several pursuers and quickly ran to the beach. He returned to the Hope and shouted, "Boys, grab your weapons quickly! The general is in danger!"
Yao Qing hurried over and asked, "Captain Ge, what happened?"
"There's no time to talk. Five hundred men, follow me down the boat to rescue the general! The rest of you stay on the boat and be on guard. If anyone dares to get on board, kill them without mercy!"
"Yes!" Yao Qing quickly took the remaining soldiers on the boat and put them on alert.
The soldiers were well-trained and quickly assembled. Ge Zhongshun picked up his long sword and led everyone to run back the way they came.
In less than half an incense stick of time, they came to support. At this time, Zhao Xiao was a little dizzy due to blood loss, Chen Jing was also injured, and although Song Yutang was not injured, he was scared to death and dared not move with the sword in his hand.
When the other side saw the reinforcements coming, they retreated.
How could Zhao Xiao let them escape when he suffered such a loss? Order the soldiers to chase them and kill them without mercy!
He didn't intend to leave anyone alive, nor did he want to ask who sent them. Even if he did, what would be the point? This wasn't Daqi, and no one could help them settle the case. It would be better to just kill them.
The remaining soldiers helped them onto the carriage and sent Zhao Xiao back to the boat. The doctor quickly bandaged them.
The wound on Zhao Xiao's back looked scary, but in fact, it didn't hurt his bones. He just needed to clean the wound and apply some medicine. Chen Jing's shoulder injury was a little troublesome, but it didn't threaten his life.
Song Yutang was frightened. He refused to put down his sword even when he got on the boat, and kept muttering, "I killed someone... I killed someone..."
Chen Jing comforted him, "Sir Song, these barbarians harmed us first. You killed him to protect yourself. Don't take it too seriously."
Song Yutang also understood it, but he just couldn't get over it in his heart. In the end, the doctor prescribed him some sedatives, and he fell asleep after drinking them.
Not long after, Ge Zhongshun returned to the ship with his subordinates: "Greetings, General. I led my brothers to kill 120 enemies, and more than ten escaped."
"good."
"Who sent someone to assassinate us?"
Zhao Xiao said: "It doesn't matter. We have made too much money and have already made them jealous. We will return home directly after the transaction is completed tomorrow."
(End of this chapter)
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