After getting off the carriage, Yang Sichen followed his parents to the Cang Hai Hall to pay his respects to Old Master Yang.
Seeing that it was time for dinner, Old Master Yang decided to stay for dinner with the family.
When all the dishes were served, Old Master Yang took the lead and the family sat around the table. Old Master Yang said directly," You've been out for a day. You're all hungry now. Eat first. It's not too late to talk after eating."”
Hearing this, Old Master Yang nodded and picked up his bowl. After Old Master Yang started eating, he started to eat. Madam Zheng and Yang Sichen looked at each other and started eating. The two little girls were even more straightforward. As soon as Old Master Yang finished speaking, he grabbed his chopsticks and quickly ate. It was obvious that he was very hungry.
"Happy!" The two little girls replied at the same time.”
After all, Yang Siwen was older, so she was more open-minded."Brother Chen is so stupid! Even Wen 'er can't catch up."
Yang Siwen blinked and said,""When Brother Chen chased after my sister and I in the vegetable garden, he could only catch one of us. When Brother Chen wanted to catch the other one, he let go of the one he caught. Grandpa, don't you think Brother Chen is stupid?”
Yang Sijing also nodded her head at the side, as if she agreed with her sister's words.
When Old Master Yang heard this, he turned to look at Yang Sichen. Seeing his disheveled face, he laughed heartily and said,""Your Brother Chen is indeed a big idiot!! Hahahaha…"
Seeing that Old Master Yang had no intention of blaming him, Yang Sichen heaved a sigh of relief. Then, he said half-jokingly,"Grandfather, the younger sisters are at their most innocent age. When grandson was this age, he must have been quite mischievous, right?”
When Old Master Yang heard this, he pointed at Yang Sichen and scolded,""You little brat, you still have the cheek to say that? When you were four years old, you secretly took your father's sword and ran to the Anlan Garden's garden. You cut down a large patch of roses that your mother had planted, and your mother caught you and argued that you were practicing some 'Fallen Flower Swordsmanship.' When you were five years old, you took your mother's soft bow and shot a hole in your father's painting. After shooting, you ran and shouted,'I shot the eagle to death, I shot the eagle to death'. Hahahaha…"
When Yang Sichen heard this, he turned to look at his parents. Seeing that both of them had a helpless expression, he complained to Old Master Yang,"Grandfather! Don't expose your grandson's shortcomings like this!" After saying that, he looked at Old Master Yang with a face full of resentment.
Old Master Yang slapped Yang Sichen's head and smiled,""What's wrong? You little brat, are you embarrassed now? Why didn't you show mercy when you shot my condor painting back then?”
Madam Zheng saw that her son was deflated and smiled as she teased,"Old Master, you still have the nerve to talk about the big condor you drew back then. At first glance, I thought it was a pigeon! It's good to let Chen 'er shoot, so that he won't hang there and embarrass our family!”
Old Master Yang blushed and looked at Old Master Yang in embarrassment.
Old Master Yang could only nod with a smile.
" Grandpa," Yang Siwen interrupted," Brother Chen used to be even more mischievous than us. Now, he's acting more serious than anyone else. He's really a wolf with a big tail!"”
Old Master Yang and Old Master Yang looked at each other and then laughed. Madam Zheng also covered her mouth and laughed. When Yang Sichen saw this, he took the opportunity to put on a fierce look and said to his sister,""Big tailed wolves like to eat little girls the most!”
Yang Siwen quickly hid in her mother's arms and made a face at Yang Sichen.
The family laughed even more happily…
The family laughed and chatted for an hour before leaving.
When Yang Sichen returned to the Emerald Wave Courtyard, Granny Zhao had already prepared hot water, a change of clothes, and was waiting for Yang Sichen to come back to take a shower.
Yang Sichen had been running around with the two little girls for the whole day and was already tired. After taking a bath, she was served by the purple handkerchief and went to bed. As for the envelope, it had been thrown away in Java since she returned home.
…………
It was almost noon on the 10th day of the first lunar month, and Yang Sichen was writing a book in his study. Xia Zhong came over to look for Yang Sichen, saying that Old Master Yang wanted him to go to the Blue Sea Hall and that he had something to discuss with Yang Sichen.
Yang Sichen put down the book, called Zijuan, and followed Xia Zhong to the Blue Sea Hall.
On the way, Yang Sichen asked Xia Zhong,"Uncle Zhong, why is Grandfather looking for me?"”
Xia Zhong replied,"The people that Old Master sent to Liaodong have returned. They have just entered the residence."”
Yang Sichen didn't delay any longer and quickened his pace to follow Xia Zhong to the Blue Sea Hall.
After the time it took to make a cup of tea, the three of them arrived at the front courtyard of the Blue Sea Hall. The purple handkerchief was left at the door, and Yang Sichen followed Xia Zhong into the courtyard.
After entering the main room of the Blue Sea Hall, Yang Sichen saw Old Master Yang sitting in the main seat, his father sitting on the lower right, his mother sitting on the same side as his father, and a man standing in the middle of the room talking to Old Master Yang. As this man was facing Old Master Yang, Yang Sichen couldn't see his face clearly. However, he could still feel the faint aura that this man emitted, giving people a sense of comfort like a spring breeze.
Yang Sichen greeted the elders and then stood beside Old Master Yang. Only then did he see the man standing in the middle of the room. He looked to be in his thirties and had a medium build. He wore a Confucian robe and other than a belt, he had no other accessories on him. His face looked very friendly and his nose was a little big. However, there was a faint glint in his eyes, but he didn't seem to have any ill intentions.
This man was also sizing up Yang Sichen, his eyes occasionally revealing a hint of admiration.
"Li Fulin, did you get anything from Liaodong?”Old Master Yang asked when he saw that everyone had arrived.
"On this trip to Liaodong, I found the trusted subordinate of the Jianzhou Jurchen leader, Xi Fu. He was very interested in our proposal. Soon, they introduced me to their leader.”Old Fulin replied. "The leader is also very interested in my suggestion.”
"So it's done?" Old Master Yang raised his eyebrows and asked.
Li Fulin shook his head and said: " No, at that time, the trading location was confirmed to be in a small fishing village on the south coast of the North Sea. The Jurchen leader Nurhachi wanted us to provide pig iron to them, but the imperial court strictly prohibited the sale of pig iron. I didn't agree to it." The leader also hoped that our family could give him ten thousand taels of silver as a gift. I couldn't make the decision on this matter, so I came back to discuss it with the boss.”
"Promise him this. We just want to make money. We have to be willing to give up.”Old Master Yang said.
"How is the situation in Liaodong?" Old Master Yang asked.
Old Fulin thought for a while: "Ever since the imperial court placed restrictions on the trade route from Jinzhou to Liaodong, the tea needed by the Jurchen people can only reach Liaodong by bypassing Mongolia and passing through western Liaoning. The price had risen by 60% within a year. The ginseng and furs produced by Jurchen could not be sold, so they could only be piled up in the warehouse to mold. The heads of the Jurchen were still able to survive. They were not short of money and could buy tea leaves at a high price, but the lives of the ordinary Jurchen people were much more difficult than before.”
"This has nothing to do with us. We're just merchants."”
Yang Sichen glanced at Old Master Yang and said,""Grandfather, father, grandson seems like this Nurhachi is also a formidable person. Grandfather and father were both killed by the Great Ming Imperial Court, but he still accepted the imperial court's appointment. This bearing of bearing humiliation is not any worse than Gou Jian or Han Xin. From what I can see, this person's goal is not small.”
Old Master Yang smiled and asked,"Little Chenzi, what do you think he's after?"”
Yang Sichen didn't answer and only said,""Grandfather, do you remember who chased the Song Dynasty to Jiangnan? And who was the one who threatened to 'search the mountains and sea to capture Zhao Gou'?”
Old Master Yang and Old Master Yang looked at each other and did not speak.
Old Master Yang didn't talk to Yang Sichen anymore. He turned his head and asked Li Fulin: "How many Han are there in Nurgan?”
Old Fulin thought for a while before answering: "I'm not too sure about that either, but since Nu Er Gan is so big, there should be at least 1.5 million Han there. If the North Koreans and others were included, the number of people farming in Liaodong might be about two million, or about 900,000.”
Old Master Yang and his grandson looked at each other. Finally, Old Master Yang asked,"How are the Han people getting along with the Jurchen?”
"It's not good, but it's not bad either. Some Jurchen can get along well with each other, and some Jurchen can bully the Han people very badly." The Han didn't like these rude Jurchen people either, but they couldn't find anyone to control them, so they had to swallow their anger. However, the Jurchen did not reject any Han caravan.”
"What is Nurhachi's attitude towards the Han people?" Old Master Yang asked again.”
"It's very contradictory," replied Li Fulin."He admires the hard work of the Han people, but at the same time he envies the wealth of the Han people.”
Madam Zheng sighed and suddenly said,"From the looks of it, there will be a fight between the Han people of Nurgan and the Jurchen sooner or later. If a conflict really broke out, the Han people would not be able to defeat the Jurchen who was skilled in riding and archery without horses and bows.”
"Madam is right," said Fulin. Boss, are we still selling tea leaves to Nurgan Dusi?”
Old Master Yang said,"Sell!" Instead of letting the Mongolians earn the money, it would be better to keep the money in our own pockets. Once we get in touch with Nurhachi, we might be able to help the Han people in Nurgan Dusi in the future!”As she spoke, she gave Yang Sichen a meaningful look.
Yang Sichen said," From what Steward Li said, this Nurhachi wants both pig iron and silver. I'm afraid he's going to war, right?"”
"Yes, I am. The Zhenren was divided into many tribes, and there were endless grudges between them. Nurhachi spent more than 30 years to unify the Jianzhou Jurchen. To the north of Jianzhou Jurchen was the Savage Jurchen, to the west was the Yehe Jurchen, and in the middle were some Oroqen tribes. The situation was rather complicated. The Jianzhou Jurchen and the Yehe Jurchen were mortal enemies. The Yehe Jurchen were not as strong as the Jianzhou Jurchen. If the imperial court had not been biased towards the Yehe Jurchen, the Jianzhou Jurchen would have destroyed the Yehe Jurchen long ago. This time, the battle was mostly against Ye He.”
Yang Sichen thought to himself,'The Battle of Sa Er Hu is still two years away, and Nurha is already preparing for it. Isn't this too long? At the same time, it also shows a problem-the productivity of the Houjin Empire at this time is far inferior to the Ming Dynasty.'
Yang Sichen glanced at Old Master Yang and said,""Grandfather, I think we can do it this way. We will transport five thousand catties of pig iron from Japan to Nurhachi, but this pig iron is not free. Our Yang family can ask Nurhachi to sell all the ginseng and fur in his jurisdiction to us at the agreed price in the next two years. The price was 90% of the current market price of Nurgan Dusi. He also told Nurhachi,"If he agrees, our Yang family will do business with him for a long time. After seven or eight months, when our iron factory overseas is completed, we can sell him all the weapons, armor, bows, and arrows!" As for the price, they could discuss it together. Once it was decided, it would remain unchanged for five years! By controlling Nurhachi's source of weapons, we can control the Jianzhou Jurchen to a certain extent! This is only good for our Yang family. In a few days, his grandson would come up with the blueprint for a bigger flying scissors sailboat. A three-masted sailboat with 2,700 pieces of material would be enough to do whatever it wanted in Southeast Asia.”
" Hiss!" Everyone in the room gasped.
"Little Chen, you're much more ruthless than your father! Your father still only wants a few eggs, but you're going to destroy the chicken coop!”Old Master Yang patted Yang Sichen's shoulder, half sighing and half laughing.
"You little brat, you were so cruel when you schemed against people just now, but now you're acting like something…Watch how I deal with you later!”Old Master Yang pointed at Yang Sichen and laughed, then turned his head and ordered Li Fulin,"Just follow Little Chenzi's instructions and talk to Nurhachi. The price of the fur and ginseng can be increased by about 25% according to the current price." As for the armor, he only needed to say a few words. There was no need to talk too much. After all, the armor had not been created yet.”
Old Fulin nodded and chatted with the family about the scenery of Nurgan before leaving.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]