From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

Chapter 386

After the court was dismissed, Zhou Yuan did not go to see the eldest sister again. Surrounded by ministers, he and the eldest sister had to keep a low profile.

In addition, since he had obtained the position of the chief envoy of the peace talks and was leaving today, he should prepare for the Yehe tribe.

"Guan Lu, contact the Shanxi Guild Hall and ask Qiao Chaiqing to make an appointment with the special envoy of the Yehe tribe. I plan to meet him and talk about assistance."

"Also, let Zhang Fei leave for Tianjin tonight to find out the situation there in advance. I don't want to encounter the so-called assassination in a place where I am unfamiliar with people."

After receiving the order, Guan Lu left immediately.

Having experienced several assassinations in the past, which once threatened his life, Zhou Yuan has learned to be honest now. Wherever he goes, he will let Zhang Fei take the lead and clean up the things that need to be cleaned up.

But there is one more thing, who should the bodyguard find this time!

Li Yu'an left, Wanyan Daichan seemed to be busy with other things. Although the group of people under Zhang Fei were called masters in name, in Zhou Yuan's opinion, most of them were not even as good as himself.

Forget it, take Yu Feng with you, at least he can stand up at the critical moment.

Quickly returned home, Zhao Jianjia became nervous again when she told him about going to Tianjin.

"Husband, how long will it take this time? Will we have to fight again if we can't reach an agreement?"

Zhao Jianjia was very nervous. She was busy preparing for pregnancy, and her husband was going to leave again. What if it took another few months? When would she be able to get pregnant?

Zhou Yuan smiled and said, "It won't be long this time, at most ten days or half a month. Tianjin is not far away, and there are not so many details in the peace talks. It's nothing more than a game of chess."

Zhao Jianjia was relieved and smiled, "Then go, you can still wait for ten days or half a month."

"Also, my husband, when can we have time to go to Yangzhou? I haven't seen my father and mother for a long time, and I miss them so much."

Zhou Yuan nodded. Zhao Jianjia had never been separated from her parents for so long, so it was normal to miss them.

"Come back from Tianjin. You should be going to the south on business by then. You can go with me then."

Zhao Jianjia said: "Then let Ziyuan go with you for this peace talk. She is your personal maid after all. How can you leave her with you all the time?"

At this point, she leaned her head over and said in a low voice: "You took Qingyuan into the room. It seems that Ziyuan is very disappointed. According to the order, she should have gone first."

Zhou Yuan smiled and said: "It's not that I didn't give her a chance. She didn't have the courage."

Zhao Jianjia pouted and patted his chest, chuckled and said: "I'm a virgin girl. It's normal to be cowardly. Every girl is like this. It will be fine afterwards."

"Since Ziyuan has been with you, she has not been by your side for a long time. She will become less and less sense of existence. Husband, you should still care about her occasionally."

Zhou Yuan pondered for a moment before slowly "Okay, when we get back from Tianjin, I'll take her into the room so that I can take over for you. You can't stand it after a few hits anyway."

"Hate it!"

Zhao Jianjia said in a delicate voice, "Don't say these things in the daytime, it's too frivolous."

She leaned in Zhou Yuan's arms, her face slightly flushed, and whispered, "Once you get pregnant, there will be no chance to go to Yangzhou, so your husband should arrange it as soon as possible."

Zhou Yuan hugged her gently and chuckled, "Don't worry, my wife, we are still young, there is a long way to go, and there are many good days ahead."

"After all the things that should be done are done, your husband will take you to travel around the mountains and rivers, see the magnificent mountains and rivers of Dajin, and take a boat to appreciate the vast ocean. There are beautiful scenery everywhere in the world."

Zhao Jianjia's eyes were blurred, and she murmured, "I'm looking forward to that time."

...

When Zhou Yuan arrived at the Shanxi Guild Hall, it was already dark.

Walking to the second floor, Qiao Chaiqing and a middle-aged scholar stood up and said respectfully, "Greetings to the Marquis of Zhongwu."

The great victory of the Central Plains gave the Shanxi merchants enough confidence. Although they paid a huge price and even caused several major families to suffer heavy losses, the long-term benefits they gained were immeasurable.

When the celebration banquet was held in the Fifth Army Camp, several major families of the Shanxi merchants were also holding a celebration banquet. They even believed that Zhou Yuan's young title of marquis could at least ensure that the Shanxi merchants would stand firm for 50 years.

So at this moment, the Shanxi merchants were extremely respectful to Zhou Yuan.

"Sit down."

Zhou Yuan looked at the middle-aged scholar and squinted his eyes and said, "Are you from the Yehe tribe?"

The middle-aged scholar hurriedly said, "Lord Zhou, my Chinese name is Li Tan, my real name is Yehenara Nongtu, and I have been in Shenjing for eleven years."

No wonder he didn't sound like he had any accent and spoke Chinese so fluently.

Zhou Yuan nodded and said, "You and your tribal leader should have been communicating for a long time, what do you need now?"

Nongtu immediately became excited when he heard this.His attitude became more respectful, and he whispered, "My Lord, our Yehe tribe is in a difficult situation now. We lack various living materials, especially charcoal, cotton, salt and iron."

Since Nurhaci established the state, he swept the world with the momentum of war and fire. The Jurchen tribes were conquered one after another. Only the Yehe tribe persisted until now, but they were also driven to the edge of the Horqin grassland.

It was more remote and colder there. Under the blockade, firewood could not keep up with the demand. It was very difficult to keep warm in winter, and salt and iron were not enough. Nurhaci used such a blockade to force the Yehe tribe to surrender.

The reason why the Shanxi merchants could do business with them was that the Shanxi merchants could provide everything they wanted, but due to the transportation cost problem, the fees paid by the Yehe tribe were extremely high and gradually could not afford it.

Zhou Yuan sent someone to contact them at the end of last year when the mountains were closed due to heavy snow.

At that time, they were not very interested in Zhou Yuan's contact, but with the failure of King Jing's rebellion, Xuanfu changed its owner, and the Shanxi merchants were also hit hard, so they could not sit still.

Zhou Yuan was silent for a moment, and then slowly said: "Cotton, salt, iron, and charcoal are not a problem. I can directly give you 60,000 people in the Yehe tribe a full year's supply."

"At the same time, I will give you extra silk, tea and porcelain for your use."

Nomadic people eat beef and mutton and drink cow and sheep milk, which will be very greasy after a long time. They like Han tea very much, which can help them get rid of greasiness and oil. Of course, this is only available to powerful and wealthy nobles.

Porcelain is naturally not a high-end ornamental utensil, but a basic bowl, basin, cup and jar for daily life.

Hearing Zhou Yuan's words, Nongtu's face was not very surprised, but melancholy surged up.

The other party's tone is so generous, so the price must be very expensive, even too expensive to afford.

So Nongtu could only smile bitterly and said, "May I ask Lord Zhou, how much money do you need from our Yehe tribe?"

Zhou Yuan said calmly, "What can you give?"

Nongtu took a deep breath, wanting to show his utmost sincerity, so he gritted his teeth and said, "Except for people and horses, everything else can be given."

Horses and warriors are the foundation for the survival of the tribe, which is the bottom line of the Yehe tribe.

Zhou Yuan smiled and said slowly: "It seems that you know very well what I want, but after all, this is the first cooperation, and there is no trust foundation. I won't make it difficult for you."

"The conditions this time are very simple. I want your Yehe tribe to send 6,000 elite cavalry south to Shenzhou and hold out for at least half a month without retreating."

Nongtu's expression suddenly changed, and he said in surprise: "My Lord, Shengjing is where Nurhaci's heavy troops are gathered. For them, the status there is second only to Jianzhou. Our 6,000 elite soldiers will die if they go there. The Yehe tribe can't pay such a high price."

Zhou Yuan smiled and said: "I didn't ask you to fight, but just go south to put pressure on them. The peace talks in Tianjin are about to begin, and I need bargaining chips."

"Go back and pass the message. I need you to write me back within four days."

Nongtu gritted his teeth and pondered without saying a word.

After a moment, he suddenly raised his head and said directly: "How can I believe that the Marquis can transport so many supplies to our Yehe tribe?"

"The Marquis must show basic sincerity to make us believe it."

Hearing this, Zhou Yuan couldn't help laughing out loud: "Hahahaha!"

He stood up, patted Nongtu on the shoulder, and said with a smile: "You, the spy of the Yehe tribe, are not as professional as the spies of the Great Jin. Don't you know that Xue Changyue, the governor of Xuanfu, is my father-in-law?"

Nongtu's body stiffened suddenly, and then he was ecstatic.

If we can establish a good relationship with Xuanfu... the Yehe tribe may still have a way out!

Thinking of this, he immediately said: "Please give me some time, at most four days, I will give you an answer!"