Chapter 138
Chapter 138
It was the evening of July 26th, the 41st year of Huayuan.
Ji Yuan and his group of thirteen people settled down in a border village in Hehui State.
But they didn't enjoy the meal very much.
They did find Champa rice.
The local Champa rice can indeed mature in three months as rumored.
Now the problem is.
First, the output is not high.
This shortcoming is acceptable to Epoch.
Take the rice seeds back and cultivate them yourself.
But the bigger problem lies in the second point.
The royal family of Hehui Kingdom apparently also discovered the usefulness of this rice, and did not allow the people to take it out privately, and even did not leave any rice seeds for the people.
Obviously he wants to cultivate it himself.
Ji Yuan even took a breath.
He said to his men, "Luckily we are here."
If Hehui Country could really develop high-yield rice varieties, their country's grain production would definitely double.
If there is enough food, the population will increase.
Within ten years, the entire Hehui Kingdom will be drastically different, and it will be easy to surpass the neighboring Jing Kingdom.
This small country, which knew how to grow crops and was patient, secretly kept in mind its feud with the Tianqi Kingdom.
For the entire Tianqi Kingdom, it may just be an ant trying to shake a big tree.
But for the border residents of Tianqi State, this is not a good thing.
Therefore, it becomes particularly important to resolve the misunderstandings between the two countries.
Lord Ji’s explanation surprised everyone.
When you think about it carefully, it is true.
The royal family of Hehui Kingdom is indeed extraordinary.
But they ignored their own border residents and seemed quite cold-blooded.
This is definitely not the first time that these border residents have been harassed.
Not only did the royal family not deal with it, they also pretended not to know, clearly not treating the people living in the border areas as human beings.
There are some things that cannot be commented on by outsiders like them.
No matter what He Huiguo thinks.
For Ji Yuan, he must get this Champa rice.
The first priority is to ensure that more people have enough food to eat and more people gain more.
For him, there was no way he would miss such an opportunity.
"Then what should we do? Should we just ask He Huiguo for it?"
This is also an option.
As long as they reveal their identities, the royal family of Hehui Kingdom will not ignore them.
Compared with the Tianqi Kingdom, they are still too weak.
Ji Yuan also thought of this method.
But He Huiguo kept this matter a secret.
I’m afraid the price will be too high. Should I exchange the Champa rice or not?
If too much is given, the court will definitely be dissatisfied.
After all, Champa rice doesn’t seem to have that much value now.
Giving too little?
Given the importance that the Hehui Kingdom attached to Champa rice, and even named it Champa rice after the country's name, it can be seen that they already knew the great value of this product and would definitely not sell it at a low price.
Dilemma.
Ji Yuan still said: "Rest first, you can have a good rest today."
"We'll talk about the rest tomorrow."
I have been out for more than 20 days and have had basically no rest, and so many things happened today.
It’s just that everyone else went to rest, but Ji Yuan still couldn’t sleep.
The Champa rice he had been dreaming of was right in front of him, and he even got to eat it tonight, but he couldn't take it back. This was really hard for someone who loved farming.
Ji Yuan walked in the yard.
Of course he had many ways to get Champa rice.
But those who are deceived will definitely be held accountable by the royal family of Hehui Kingdom.
In that case, it would be his fault.
Ji Yuan looked at the starry sky and thought of the heavy rice.
If we could make the land grow rice like that, it would solve many hunger problems.
How can we obtain rice without harming the people of other countries?
Ji Yuan looked at the small village again and a bold idea came to his mind.
But this idea is a little too crazy.
The next morning, Ji Yuan was already up. He had slept well last night and looked refreshed.
But he was not in a hurry. He ate slowly with everyone and said, "Let's rest here. The mushrooms we had last night were good. Let's collect some wild delicacies in the nearby villages and towns."
ah?
Collect wild delicacies?
Right here?
At least we have to go to a big city, right?
Ji Yuan shook his head: "Just collect it nearby."
"I heard there's a small market near this village, open on the first and fifteenth of every month. Let's go check it out on the first day of August."
The villagers here were naturally happy, and Ji Yuan also said: "We are here to help you keep an eye on the soldiers and bandits of Jing State. If one escapes, it will be very dangerous."
This is true, the local villagers are indeed weaker.
Wu Renhao and his team are still more reliable.
The border village of Hehuiguo was completely relieved.
They do fear retaliation.
The villagers also said: "We also resisted at the beginning, but it's hard to be a thief for a thousand days, but you can't be a thief for a thousand days."
"The three nearby villages have all been destroyed by them. They come in and just rob things."
Ji Yuan asked again: "Didn't you tell the royal family of Hehui? Those officials really don't care at all?"
The villagers sighed again: "They told us to be patient and hide for a while."
Nothing else.
It seems like a matter of life and death.
The villager hesitated for a moment and said, "It's also because our border villages are too close to Tianqi and Jing. The language here is a little different from the language in Hehui."
To put it bluntly, they were not treated as their own people.
This situation is very common.
Take Ning'an Prefecture for example. They have been incorporated into Tianqi Kingdom for fifty years, and when troops were stationed there, they were subconsciously ignored.
This is also the case with similar languages and cultures.
The language of these border villages in Hehui Country is different from that of Hehui Country, so it is probably difficult to attract attention.
Ji Yuan understood and didn't ask any more questions.
After resting for another two days in the border village, the first day of August finally arrived.
There is a small market near Hehuiguobian Village. The market is near the local Buddhist temple. Villagers nearby would go there to buy things after worshiping Buddha. Over time, the market became very lively.
Ji Yuan only brought Wu Renhao, Chai Feng, and two lumberjacks.
Others stayed behind to guard the criminals.
The five of them didn't even ride horses to avoid conspicuousness.
The market was indeed not very big, and there were not many things to buy.
After a round look, there were still quite a few goods from Tianqi Country, and even more from Tianqi Country merchants. They were probably smuggled in from their own country and sold to people from Hehui Country.
Most of these goods were very popular, and when Ji Yuan and his friends went there, they had already been sold out.
"Come back on the 15th of this month. You can tell me in advance if you want to buy anything."
The merchants from Tianqi State looked at Ji Yuan and his party with smiles on their faces.
With this temperament and style, he is definitely generous.
Ji Yuan directly used Tianqi official language to ask: "Smuggling goods?"
The merchant's face changed and he looked like running away.
Wu Renhao and the lumberjack directly stopped the other party, and the merchant quickly begged for mercy.
Ji Yuan then changed his dialect: "Let's talk about it in private."
The merchant nodded and thought, today is really bad luck.
But who is this person? Is he from Tianqi Kingdom?
Why do you care about this kind of thing?
But the opponent's momentum forced him to bow his head. Besides, it was really scary to have such a burly confidant by his side.
The merchant seemed to follow them obediently and left, but he actually left a mark for his companions.
Come and rescue him quickly!
Otherwise he's finished!
Chai Feng was about to wipe it off, but Ji Yuan stopped him: "It's okay, keep it."
This is the purpose of Ji Yuan coming to the market.
In a border town market like this, there will definitely be merchants from Tianqi coming to do business.
Why?
Is that even necessary?
In order to do business, merchants from Tianqi Kingdom can even travel as far as the Atlantic Ocean!
Although this was said as a joke, the small countries near Tianqi have poor production capabilities and will inevitably rely on Tianqi for various goods.
Since there is dependence, there will inevitably be merchants from Tianqi State. If you don’t make money, you’re a bastard.
But there are also dangers.
Whether they are bandits on the road or they have violated the laws of Tianqi or even Hehui.
All in all, it's a dangerous but profitable way to go.
In modern times, people would call each other "dealers".
When they got to the alley, Ji Yuan got straight to the point and asked, "Do you know anything about Zhanhuidao?"
The merchant in front of him blinked.
Of course I understand!
Such good stuff.
Who doesn't want good.
The rice, which matures every three months, will be snapped up as soon as it is taken back for cultivation.
"Don't even think about it. The royal family of Hehui Kingdom is very strict. Even the wild Zhanhui rice can be pulled out."
Seeing that the person in front of him had something to ask for, the merchant also told the truth: "A dozen of us brothers also want to take some back, but it's too difficult."
"A few years ago, another team sneaked into the royal storehouse and was beaten to death."
"If nothing unexpected happens, that is the most heavily guarded warehouse in Hehui Country."
"A few years ago?" Ji Yuan caught on to this sentence. "They discovered Champa rice a few years ago, but haven't they increased the yield yet? Haven't they cultivated a new variety?"
The merchant continued, "They don't have that ability. Agriculture is not well developed, and now farming is not intensive."
"You said that in Ning'an Prefecture, over at Zhennan Pass, they have built canals and terraced fields, but here they have a feeling of slash-and-burn farming."
Probably because they were all from the same country, the merchants in front of them actually relaxed.
It was not until his companions came over aggressively that he wanted to fight back.
How can he be a mediocre person if he can become a trader?
He deliberately said that he had more than a dozen brothers just now, also to scare Ji Yuan.
What a pity.
They met Ji Yuan and Wu Renhao.
In an instant, fourteen or fifteen merchants who had come together from Tianqi Kingdom fell to the ground.
Some people also noticed that these fellow villagers did not seem to be ruthless. The leader, a merchant named Feng, said, "Who are you? You have such a good hand. Why do you embarrass us merchants?"
The first one to be caught said to the merchant, "They are asking about Zhanhui rice."
So that's how it is!
Merchant Feng also said something similar to what merchant Xiang said.
Such a good thing, everyone wants it!
But there’s nothing I can do!
He Huiguo won’t give it.
They were just merchants who came here secretly to buy and sell things, so they didn't want to make a big fuss.
Talk to the officials of Tianqi State?
They feel that they are not dying fast enough.
Going out of Tianqi State to do business for no reason is already against the law.
Merchant Feng also complained: "The farmers in Hehui Country don't know how to cultivate Zhanhui rice. It's such a waste, but they definitely won't give it to others."
"It's really like occupying the toilet without doing anything."
The words may be rough, but the truth is there.
But there's no way.
Who made them find this thing first?
And it is impressive for a small country to have such foresight.
Ji Yuan signaled Wu Renhao to let these people go, and said, "Are there any officials in Hehui who are easy to talk to?"
Translated, it means, is there any official in Hehui Country who can smooth over the relationship?
Merchant Feng and Merchant Xiang shook their heads: "No, the matter of Zhanhui rice is handled by the prince of Hehui country alone, without the help of others. This prince is not a simple person."
"Besides, the King of Hehui Kingdom trusts his eldest son very much, and no one dares to do anything about this matter."
The more Ji Yuan listened, the more frightened he became.
There is such a small country next to Tianqi Kingdom, which has ambitions and ideas, and even the king and his son trust each other very much.
Compared with them, it's completely different.
Of course, to Ji Yuan, it is like a seamless egg.
Ji Yuan said goodbye to these merchants in a friendly manner, and said, "Soldiers from Suixu City of Tianqi will come to deal with some matters recently. You'd better hide away."
???
Soldiers from Tianqi? !
hide!
Definitely hiding!
But who are you anyway?
Ji Yuan smiled: "Let's go, it will be good for everyone."
The merchants looked at each other and left early.
They were cautious on their way back and actually saw soldiers from Tianqi coming over.
It was no small matter that the soldiers and bandits of Jing State pretended to be soldiers of Tianqi State and committed crimes in Hehui State.
Officials from Suixu City of Tianqi State wanted to negotiate with both parties.
The main purpose is to take away the soldiers and bandits of Jing State, and then cause trouble for Jing State.
Among them, He Huiguo just said hello.
What Ji Yuan didn't expect was that with the support of Tianqi Kingdom, the officials from Hehui Kingdom did not make any demands.
It seems that he really doesn't want to offend Tianqi Kingdom, and even more so, he doesn't want to offend Jing Kingdom.
The sacrificed border villages seemed to have been in vain.
The officials from Hehui Country do have some strategies, but they are ruthless strategies.
This choice did indeed make He Huiguo disappear from this matter.
They really don't want to offend anyone.
When Ji Yuan and his companions returned from collecting the wild delicacies, it was already August 12th.
During this period, they went to several more markets and got the same news.
It is absolutely impossible to get Champa rice using conventional methods.
When we returned to the border village on August 12, the Jingguo soldiers and bandits had already been taken away.
The few soldiers and lumberjacks that Ji Yuan left behind hid in the mountains so that the Tianqi soldiers would not discover them.
The villagers here naturally helped to conceal the incident and not to cause trouble for their savior.
But at this time the villagers sighed.
Because when they saw the eyes of the Jing country soldiers and bandits, they hated them to the core.
The most infuriating thing is that the officials of Hehui State didn’t care at all and just kept saying “don’t want to hurt the harmony”.
What about the beatings they received, the food wasted, and the injured villagers?
The village chief couldn't even get up now.
It was not just their village that was like this. The atmosphere in several nearby villages that had been looted was extremely depressed.
I always feel that once this matter is over, those soldiers and bandits from Jing State will retaliate again.
Although some people say that with Tianqi State’s intervention, they won’t come for a while.
But if he doesn’t come for five years, what about ten years? Twenty years?
They have no one to protect them!
The four villages that had been looted were even discussing whether to merge into one.
By then, they will be numerous and powerful, so at least they won’t be bullied too badly.
While they were discussing, Ji Yuan made a suggestion.
"Or go to Tianqi Kingdom."
Ji Yuan continued: "The people of Tianqi."
The leaders of the four villages subconsciously looked at the wood collecting merchant. Going to Tianqi Kingdom?
Where to go?
Who will take them in?
The four villages together have a population of four to five thousand.
No matter where you go, you'll be discovered, right?
There was a young man who was well-informed: "Why not go to Ning'an Prefecture? They seem to have taken in more than 20,000 refugees from Jing Country."
Chai Feng and Wu Renhao were quite nervous.
Taking in the refugees from Jing State has already made them enemies of Jing State.
Are you going to kidnap these people now?
What does He Huiguo think?
Even though Ji Yuan had explained to them in advance that the benefits of this matter would definitely be huge enough.
And to put it bluntly.
With He Huiguo's "forbearance", he probably won't be able to make any counterattack.
The Hehui Kingdom is simply waiting for the Zhanhui rice to be cultivated in order to develop its own country, so a small number of people have to be sacrificed.
Since they are willing to "endure", then endure it.
He wants to take people away.
Not just people.
And rice seeds.
Don't forget.
These villages can apply for the Zhanhui rice variety.
This crop of Zhanhui rice has been harvested in early July.
Logically, they will plant another crop in September.
If you apply now, everything is just right.
As long as the rice seeds are in hand.
He just left with the four villages that had been robbed and bullied.
They returned to Ning'an Prefecture along with the people and rice seeds.
In this way, there is no need to worry about retaliation against local people, and Champa rice can be taken away.
It’s a win-win situation.
When Ji Yuan first told them about this, everyone took a deep breath.
Ji Yuan’s style of doing things is really bold!
But think about it carefully.
This is indeed a good choice.
The accent of the local border residents is very similar to that of Ning'an Prefecture and Suixu City, but their living habits may be slightly different.
But in the entire Dianzhou Prefecture, there are too many ethnic groups with different living habits.
It doesn't matter.
There are still a lot of fields in Ning'an Prefecture, so it is very easy to accommodate these four or five thousand people.
That's what I said.
But looking at them, it seemed that Lord Ji was "fooling" people again.
Everyone is still nervous.
Ji Yuan has continued to talk about this matter.
"If we join Tianqi, no Jingguo soldiers will come to harass us anymore. A big country like that will definitely protect us." Ji Yuan said, "If you believe me, I can take you to Ning'an Prefecture."
"We will definitely find a suitable home for everyone."
After Ji Yuan finished speaking, silence fell all around.
How to say it.
In the era of Ning'an Prefecture, Zhennan Pass, and even Dianzhou Prefecture, if these words were said, they would definitely receive a hundred responses.
But this place is not his home ground, it is the territory of Hehui Kingdom.
Among the four villages, only one had some trust in him.
Anyone else?
I definitely won't follow you.
Ning'an Prefecture is so far away, how can I live there? What can I eat and drink there?
Relocating your home is not an easy task.
So the silence at this moment seemed very awkward.
What everyone means is that we should discuss the merger of the four villages!
Ji Yuan also felt funny and helpless.
But now that he has proposed it, he will not give up easily.
"As long as you bring the seeds of Zhanhui rice, the local government will buy them at a high price."
"I'm sure."
What is the rice variety of Zhanhui rice?
Will the other party acquire it?
How much will it cost to acquire it?
People from the four villages all had a general impression of Zhanhui rice.
If there is really nothing else to grow, I would not choose this, because the yield is too low.
Is this timber merchant trying to cheat them?
Even if Tianqi Kingdom is the victim, it won't do this, right?
Ji Yuan's proposal was rejected again.
Ji Yuan rubbed his nose and said no more.
Chai Feng, Wu Renhao and others were anxious.
You don't want to listen to Ji Zhizhou's suggestion?
If it were them, I would definitely believe it unconditionally.
Ji Yuan asked them to be patient and continue to collect wild delicacies and various mushrooms in the next few days.
He was a good prefect, but he was almost becoming a mountain product merchant.
In the next few days, several groups of people came to these four villages one after another.
These groups of people all came from Tianqi Kingdom.
They are all asking the same thing.
"The new rice will be planted in September soon. Do you want to sell your Zhanhui rice seeds?"
"Can the royal family of Hehui sell a portion of the rice seeds of Zhanhui rice to you and resell them to us?"
“Buy rice seeds at high prices.”
At first, everyone thought these people were causing trouble.
But the fact that more than a dozen people kept asking seemed to prove one thing.
The timber merchant was right!
The Tianqi Kingdom wants to occupy Huidao!
To be precise, it was Ning'an Prefecture that wanted to take over Huidao.
They collected countless rice seeds from the local area and were rewarded generously.
Many villagers have already been tempted, and it doesn’t matter if they sell part of it, since the royal family of Hehui Kingdom doesn’t know about it anyway.
But then again, He Huiguo’s management is so strict that if he were discovered, he would probably be whipped to death.
I don’t know who it is.
Think of the timber merchant's proposal.
Take the Zhanhui rice that Ning'an Prefecture of Tianqi State wants and settle there?
"If you go there, you will not only be free from harassment from Jingguo, but also someone will protect your safety."
Ji Yuan said to the village chief lying on the sickbed: "Ning'an Prefecture took in the people of Jingguo, so it will naturally take in others."
"To be honest, if I can make this happen, it will be beneficial to me."
"I hope you can consider it carefully."
Ji Yuan patiently and patiently explained the pros and cons clearly.
On one side is the powerful Tianqi Kingdom.
On one hand, there is He Huiguo who doesn't care about them.
There is also Jing Guo who often comes to harass us.
Which one to choose?
It seems self-evident.
Just need to move.
We have to move hundreds of miles away.
Is this really possible?
Can they really settle down in Ning'an Prefecture with those rice seeds?
The people in the border villages of Hehui Country were hesitant.
Unexpectedly, another piece of news broke the news.
The soldiers and bandits of Jing State pretended to be soldiers of Tianqi State and harassed the people of Hehui State. The result of this matter has come to light.
The army of Jing State directly pushed the blame on the people in the border villages of Hehui State.
They said that they were arrogant and unreasonable, and cheated the Jingguo soldiers who passed by, which caused the trouble.
Therefore, the people of Jing apologized to Tianqi and asked the people of Hehui to apologize to their soldiers.
ah?
What is this saying?
It was the era, and my mind paused for a moment.
To put it bluntly.
It was the Tianqi Kingdom that was pressuring the Jing Kingdom to demand an explanation.
Jing Kingdom can't afford to offend Tianqi Kingdom, but can it afford to offend your Hehui Kingdom?
Just push this matter onto He Huiguo.
I was wrong!
But the one who made the most mistakes was He Huiguo!
It’s all the fault of these unruly people!
how?
He Huiguo, don’t you recognize him?
OK.
Then let's see whose fist is harder.
Jing Kingdom, with a population of about three million, and Hehui Kingdom, with a population of less than one million.
It seems obvious who has the harder fist.
What about Tianqi Kingdom?
They don't care about disputes between small countries, as long as they can save face in this matter.
This incident caused great turmoil within Hehui country.
But after discussion.
Still "forbearing".
no way.
They are too weak.
That's all there is to it.
Ji Yuan saw this and began to admire the prince who was in charge of the Hehui Kingdom.
If he really allows Hehui Kingdom to develop, this place cannot be underestimated.
It’s hard to say what will happen in the future.
But the current forbearance is actually to make the border residents of Hehui Kingdom apologize.
The food was stolen.
Someone was robbed.
Our own family members were beaten, chopped and insulted.
And you want them to apologize?
Four villages, four to five thousand people, all with red eyes.
humiliation.
It's so humiliating.
If it were before, they could only endure it like this.
What else can they do?
There is no second choice except to be humiliated.
But now, a second option is presented to them.
Make a fortune from Hehui Country’s Zhanhuidao.
Take Zhan Huidao directly to Ning'an Prefecture of Tianqi Kingdom!
They're leaving, and leaving now!
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