Zhang Ruhui’s gaze was full of honour, as if it was a great honour for him to ask him a question.
Sensing Zhang Ruhui’s gaze, Xu Qingnian paused and then spoke.
“Brother Zhang, as you are a merchant, I would like to ask a question of Xu.”
“Suppose you have a batch of goods, which are each worth a hundred taels of silver, but you know that someone needs this batch of goods from you.”
“What would be your first reaction?”
Xu Qingnian asked.
Because she was not a merchant herself, it was difficult to think from a merchant’s point of view.
One could guess what a merchant was thinking, but one could not really think differently, after all, a merchant’s mind was inscrutable.
“Sitting on the ground.”
Zhang Ru would say what a normal businessman would do.
“Then how much is the increase?”
Xu Qingnian asked.
When this was said, Zhang Ruhui was silent.
How much would it go up?
“Is this cargo precious?”
Zhang Ruhui asked Xu Qingnian.
“It’s not precious, it’s always available, but it’s produced on an annual basis.”
Xu Qingnian replied.
“Not precious, if it’s available every year, an increase of 10% or half a percent is almost enough, maximum benefit.”
Zhang Ruhui said without thinking.
This answer was within Xu Qingnian’s expectation.
Unproducible things can be sold for a sky-high price, such as antique paintings and calligraphy, you can say that they are worth a million taels, or you can say that they are worth nothing.
If the market is good, the price will be higher; if the market is bad, the price will be lower.
Even if you know that there is a shortage of goods, you can’t raise the price too much, no matter how you look at it, long-term or short-term.
It is the nature of a businessman to raise it by half a percent, but to raise it by more would be problematic.
“What if it’s doubled?”
Xu Qingnian sipped his tea and said calmly.
When this was said, Zhang Ruhui immediately frowned.
“Doubled?”
“Lord Xu, you …… are serious?”
Zhang Ruhui didn’t know what to say, normally raising it by half a percent is the nature of a businessman, raising it by 10 percent is a bit greedy, raising it by 30 or 40 percent is a bit vindictive, or knowing that you will definitely buy my stuff.
Doubling?
This is not the way normal people think about doing business.
“I also hope that Brother Zhang will answer.” Xu Qingnian spoke in a calm tone.
And Zhang Ruhui fell into deep thought.
After a while, he spoke up.
“Lord Xu, I ask Zhang three things.”
“First, are the canals difficult?”
“Second, do the two sides have an enmity?”
“Third, does the other side necessarily believe that you will buy it?”
Zhang Ruhui asked three questions.
And Xu Qingnian answered quickly, “Normal canal transportation, no enmity with merchants, but some people will make trouble out of it, not daring to trust it completely, because it can be don’t.”
This was Xu Qingnian’s answer; it went without saying that transporting 50 county lands was not a very difficult task.
As for having an enemy? Even if one was certain that Prince Huaining was in on it, the feud was not particularly big, for merchants, there was only profit in their eyes.
Unless one had killed the other’s father, even the revenge of killing one’s father was not a big revenge in the eyes of merchants, especially the heads of the three major chambers of commerce.
As for whether they believe they must buy it? Who would be willing to buy it if the asking price was so high? Of course if the issue could not be resolved, Xu Qingnian would still choose to buy it.
Because this matter, which was indeed beneficial to the country and the people, was not something that could be measured by a little bit of silver.
Once this was said, Zhang Ruhui gave a reply.
“Then there is a problem.”
“Since there is no canal and no deep hatred, I am not sure that you will buy it.”
“No normal merchant would do so, not even an abnormal one.”
“No merchant would have a problem with silver, this is very fishy.”
Zhang Ruhui muttered to himself.
Xu Qingnian did not rush, but let him think about it first.
After thinking for a while, Zhang Ruhui suddenly thought of something and spoke up at once.
“Lord Xu.”
“Normally, it would never be possible for a merchant to do this, but there is one possibility that would make them dare to raise the price like this.”
Zhang Ruhui replied.
“What way?”
Xu Qingnian asked directly.
“There is another group of people who would set the goods at a price that is not too different, but this is not very likely, after all, no one would be so stupid.”
Zhang Ru would give his answer.
This was his answer, looking at this matter from a merchant’s point of view, it was impossible to have business without doing ah, doubling the price, without deep hatred, and people would not necessarily buy.
That’s not possible either, the only possibility is that I’m not short of sellers, someone has negotiated a price which is more than the normal price, but I’m still willing to do business with you.
Only the price you offer must be a little more than the other side, or the same price offered, in which case I can consider doing business with you.
Zhang Ruhui’s reply caused Xu Qingnian to instantly fall into contemplation.
This one sentence simply woke Xu Qingnian up.
Yes.
Why did the three great chambers of commerce dare to offer such a price?
Were they not afraid of the Great Wei Dynasty?
Furthermore, merchants were driven by profit, although they knew that Great Wei needed this item and were in a bit of a hurry, they were not so much as to say that they were asking for a roaring price?
Unless you can eat up Great Wei.
But is that possible?
Although Wei is in decline, it doesn’t mean that it is no longer viable.
It’s not so bad that it’s being bullied by merchants.
So they wouldn’t dare to really offend Great Wei, but why would they dare to double the price?
What Zhang Ruhui said enlightened Xu Qingnian, someone had already booked these materials and even let them harvest them in advance, offering a price that would not be any less.
It was also because of this that the three major chambers of commerce dared to offer this price, and the three major chambers of commerce still wanted to cooperate with Great Wei, after all, they still wanted to do business in Great Wei.
So who has such terrifying financial resources to buy these waterwheel materials?
The foreigners? The foreign states?
Xu Qingnian shook his head straight away. 70,000,000 taels of silver, plus labour costs and so on, would probably cost 80,000,000 taels of silver, or even 90,000,000 taels of silver.
Unless the foreign states add up to buy it, they can’t afford it, and why would they buy it? Aren’t they afraid that they might be able to get away with it?
If the waterwheel had been successfully promoted in Wei, and had received a huge response and harvest, they would have no problem buying it at a higher price.
But the problem was that the waterwheel project had not even been launched, it was just a setup and a framework, what made them think that this thing could make a fortune?
In the beginning, the officials in the court did not even approve of it, let alone these people.
So the foreigners didn’t dare to buy it, at least not before the success of the Great Wei, they couldn’t afford to gamble.
If not the foreigners, who was so powerful? Personal power is impossible, so there are only two possibilities.
The Sudden Evil Dynasty.
The First Yuan Dynasty.
These two dynasties formed a triumvirate with the Great Wei, but at the time it was the Sudden Evil Dynasty plus the Primordial Yuan Dynasty that were able to take on the Great Wei.
Now, however, of the three dynasties, the Tusi Dynasty is the strongest, but the Chuyuan Dynasty is the best economically, and the Great Wei Dynasty is still not bad militarily, but it is completely outcla*sed economically.
The shame of Jingcheng and the seven northern expeditions had indeed brought down Great Wei.
“If it had been either of these two dynasties, the cost would have been 100,000,000 taels of silver.”
“How rich.”
Xu Qingnian understood completely, daring to offer this price and being able to make the three major chambers of commerce this crazy, only these two dynasties could do it.
The next moment.
A chill, an extremely terrifying chill, appeared in Xu Qingnian’s eyes as he got up and turned his back on Zhang Ruhui, an extremely terrifying chill.
Xu Qingnian did not hate the Sudden Evil Dynasty, nor did he hate the Primordial Yuan Dynasty.
The reason is that what they did was not wrong in any way, they were just on different sides.
But what Xu Qingnian hated was what the three major chambers of commerce had done.
Instead of helping their own countrymen, they helped other countries and victimised their own country for something so beneficial to the people.
There is nothing wrong with merchants seeking profit!
But this is already a traitor to the country.
This kind of person is really a tenth of an evil, is he still a human being?
Relying on the Great Wei, they grew big and strong and made a fortune, but now they are selling out their country for glory, they are not even comparable to animals.
“If this is really the case, this second sword of Xu Mou will not have any mercy.”
Xu Qingnian muttered in his heart.
His first blade was a Fan merchant.
The second blade, was the Great Wei merchants, but considering many things, so this second blade definitely did not dare to fall straight away, it had to be the right time.
It was just that the three major chambers of commerce had gone so far as to sell out the country for glory, Xu Qingnian would have had to lay the groundwork in advance, and once it fell, this second knife, it would definitely be a bloodbath, and would definitely lead to great trouble.
So one must lay out a good game, not a single mistake, a little mistake, the unlucky one will be himself.
The first thing you need to do is to be careful.
One must be cautious, extremely cautious.
All thoughts retracted, Xu Qingnian’s face was calm, then he turned around and poured a cup of tea for Zhang Ruhui.
“Thank you, brother Zhang, for clearing up the confusion.”
Xu Qingnian personally poured the tea for him, and the latter was flattered, holding the cup of tea, carefully accepting it, and then taking a small sip.
“Lord Xu, your words are really too polite, how can this be considered any kind of explanation, it’s just words of experience.”
“Lord Xu, I do admire you, whether it is your people or your talent, I admire you immensely, I would be honoured to make your acquaintance.”
Zhang Ruhui spoke up, he truly admired and looked up to Xu Qingnian.
He was also a scholar, but he did not enter the rank, but he loved to read, and his family had a lot of money, so he had many businesses and properties, and he made friends with many people, and he respected all the scholars.
He had many business properties and had made many friends. He respected anyone who was a scholar, especially someone like Xu Qingnian, who was both talented and able to stand up for the people.
“In terms of age, Brother Zhang is quite a bit older than me, so I have to call Xu a brother.”
Xu Qingnian politely said.
The face was born from the heart, Zhang Ruhui’s face was very good, and then the talk was elegant, Xu Qingnian had Confucianism divine eyes, and also had a hugely positive aura, not to say that he could directly tell whether a person was good or bad, but would have an intuition.
This Zhang Ruhui does not have any personal feelings towards himself, but indeed reveres himself, worships himself, admires himself, and is extremely strong in admiration.
There is a cla*sic saying that is very true.
You can never hate a person who admires you.
After all, he admires you.
If he’s rich, then he’s a Pungent One big brother.
Whether or not Zhang Ruhui was his own Pungent One Big Brother, Xu Qingnian was still unclear, but coming up with all kinds of gifts, at the very least, it proved that Zhang Ruhui had a heart.
“I can’t afford it, I can’t afford it, Lord Xu is the Minister of Household and a great talent, how can this brother take up the responsibility?”
Zhang Ruhui was a bit frightened, he felt that he was not worthy of it, this fear was not disguised, Xu Qingnian could see it.
“Brother Zhang, in any case, you are twenty years older than me, and in the court I am the Minister of Household Affairs, but in Shouren Academy, I am just an ordinary scholar.”
“Public is public, private is private, if brother Zhang joined the court, a call of Lord Xu, I dare to admit, but brother is not an official position, this call of Lord Xu, I dare not admit.”
“If this were to get out, wouldn’t it look like I have no one in sight? Not respecting the size?”
Xu Qingnian said so, and his attitude was sincere.
To be honest, he was over forty years old, but he was only twenty, so calling him elder brother was definitely not a disadvantage.
Moreover, he was also a big fan of his own, so big brother.
“This! This!”
Zhang Ruhui was indeed very frightened. Today he came over and wanted to get to know Xu Qingnian, so he made a bridge through Wang Ru, Xu Qingnian’s best friend.
To be honest he was actually particularly panicked, afraid that Xu Qingnian would not see him, because some literati are very arrogant and especially hate businessmen like him, even though they are also scholars, people should be upset with themselves, still upset with themselves.
Of course if you use money, you can smash out feelings, but the question is, what is the use of such feelings? As long as one day one has no money, will people still care about oneself?
But what he didn’t expect was that Xu Qingnian not only met him, but also called him brother in one breath. No matter what Xu Qingnian’s purpose was, he was inwardly pleased, pleased and touched.
What is a man of letters? That’s what a literati is.
However, he was still a little bit nervous when he really agreed to do so, because after all, he was the youngest minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs in Wei, plus Xu Qingnian’s prestige and so on.
He was indeed a bit embarra*sed to be called his elder brother.
But at that moment, Wang Ru spoke up.
He had been sitting by the side listening because he couldn’t interrupt, but now he was finally able to do so.
“Boss Zhang, Brother Xu is a modest person, what he dislikes most is pretentiousness, and he also looks down on fame and fortune, otherwise, with Brother Xu’s position and status at this time, I wouldn’t be able to climb high.”
Wang Ru spoke up, praising Xu Qingnian.
Once this was said, Zhang Ruhui was also not pretentious, he was a businessman and knew the most about the world of people, no matter if Xu Qingnian was real or not, at least this brother was shouted.
He also agreed to do so.
“Since that is the case, then I will be thick-skinned and acknowledge a brother, Xu Xiandi, my brother respects people of learning, especially you.”
“How many officials are there in this world? How many officials have I met? But I have never seen anyone like you, and now you think so highly of me.”
“Please don’t worry, I still have some money, so if I need any help in the future, I will do whatever I can.”
Zhang Ruhui said from the bottom of his heart.
If Xu Qingnian gave him face like this, he gave him face as well.
“You are very kind, brother.”
Xu Qingnian smiled faintly, it was a good thing for himself to make acquaintance with someone who had financial power, not so much to make money, but a force of his own.
Of course he would also give Zhang Ruhui the benefit of the doubt and would not let Zhang Ruhui suffer.
“I am grateful to Xiandi for not minding, and I have not prepared any generous gifts today, this jade pendant, which is my brother’s personal jade pendant, is called the Spiritual Yang Treasure Jade, and can regulate Xiandi’s qi and blood, so that he will not be attacked by all diseases.”
As Zhang Ruhui spoke, he took out his own jade pendant and handed it to Xu Qingnian.
The jade was carved with a coiled dragon and was crystal clear, just by looking at the jade surface, one could tell that this item was worth a lot of money.
“You are very kind, brother, how can I dare to accept such a precious thing.”
Xu Qingnian opened his mouth and pushed back repeatedly.
“No, no, no, Xiandi accept it, if not, my brother really can’t afford the word brother.”
However, Zhang Ruhui was determined to give this piece of jade to Xu Qingnian, and even forced it.
Xu Qingnian was a bit helpless, but he still accepted it, after all, if he didn’t accept anything at all, it wouldn’t do. As for people saying that he took bribes, Xu Qingnian wasn’t afraid.
The actual fact is that you’ll be able to get a lot more than just a few of these. The actual fact is that the actual fact is that the particulars of the actuals are not really a lot of. The only thing I’m afraid of is that if you go to the Ministry of Military Affairs, you’ll probably be beaten over the head with blood.
However, when the precious jade fell into the hand, the blood did start to surge and the effect was obvious.
This thing is a treasure, let’s return it later when we have the chance.
Xu Qingnian thought to himself.
Only after Xu Qingnian had accepted this object did Zhang Ruhui’s smile widen.
Afterwards, Zhang Ruhui continued to speak.
“Xiandi, this is my token, in the future, if you spend money at Zhang’s shop, everything will be counted as my brother’s, so don’t pay.”
“If you leave the capital, as long as there is a Zhang’s money shop, as long as there is a Zhang’s money shop, within 100,000 taels of silver, Xiandi is free to withdraw it that day, if you need more, just have someone send me a message.”
Zhang Ruhui said so, giving Xu Qingnian his token and arrow.
His token was worth a lot of money, and all purchases at Zhang’s shops were free, and he could go to Zhang’s major money changers and withdraw 100,000 taels of silver for emergencies.
However Xu Qingnian was a little surprised.
“Brother Zhang, I didn’t expect you to have such a wide range of business? You do money changers too?”
Xu Qingnian was now a little surprised, although Xu Qingnian knew that Zhang Ruhui was rich, he did not expect that he would even open a money bank, and that the opening was 100,000 taels of silver.
How big a family fortune must this be?
“A little or two, a little or two.”
Zhang Ruhui smiled, as a businessman, the most taboo thing is to say how much money you have, this is not telling others, I am rich, come and rip me off.
Smart businessmen knew how to pretend to be poor, but in front of Xu Qingnian, he still couldn’t help but show off slightly, but also kept his sanity.
“That’s fine.”
“Brother, there might be a big business for you in the future.”
Hearing the word money bank, Xu Qingnian couldn’t help but think of his own An Guo policy, which he had thought could be implemented quickly, but then realised for himself that he was too young.
He himself did not know what the country’s situation was, and only after he knew did he understand why the An Guo Ce had been suppressed.
Because it simply didn’t fit, at least not with the way things were going.
“Big business? How big is it?”
Zhang Ruhui was slightly curious.
“First, let me ask a question, how many a*sets do you have today, how much do you take in, you don’t need to be too explicit, just roughly.”
Xu Qingnian asked calmly.
When this was said, Zhang Ruhui pondered slightly, and Xu Qingnian continued to speak, “Of course, if it is inconvenient for Brother Xian to say, then there is no harm in doing so.”
Xu Qingnian took a sip of tea. For a businessman, revealing his family’s background was a relatively private matter, and asking Zhang Ruhui was actually a way of finding out what was going on.
He wanted to see what kind of attitude Zhang Ruhui had towards himself, it didn’t matter if he didn’t say anything, this was understandable, if he did, it would prove that Zhang Ruhui was really friendly with himself, or at least willing to be friendly.
“No, no, no.”
“Xiandi misunderstood, my brother is just thinking.”
Zhang Ruhui explained, and after a while, he gave his answer.
“The annual income, fifteen million taels of silver, will not fluctuate up or down by more than thirty percent.”
Zhang Ruhui gave an explanation.
This answer did not surprise Xu Qingnian, but Wang Ru, who was at the side, was confused.
What was the concept of 15 million taels of silver?
He couldn’t even calculate it, it was simply an astronomical figure.
The reason why Xu Qingnian was not shocked was simple. Ever since he had cut down the merchants of Great Wei, Xu Qingnian had understood one thing: Great Wei was poor, but the merchants of Great Wei were not poor.
Therefore, Xu Qingnian was not surprised by the annual income of 15 million.
Of course, one tael of silver was equal to one thousand dollars in the previous world, which meant that Zhang Ruhui had an annual income of fifteen billion.
Then according to the description in the previous world, the valuation would be at least three hundred billion.
It was considered quite good, the top group of people in Great Wei.
“This business, if it is done, will make Brother Xian’s wealth, more than ten times.”
Xu Qingnian calmly said.
But as soon as he said this, Zhang Ruhui and Wang Ru both instantly froze in place.
In Wang Ru’s eyes, 15 million taels of silver was already an astronomical figure that he would not be able to earn in a hundred lifetimes, not to mention his lifetime.
Now Xu Qingnian said that the amount could be doubled ten times, what concept is this? Fifteen million taels of silver? How much money would that be?
Zhang Ruhui was also dumbfounded. Now that he had reached this level, he was more and more aware of the fact that the more money his family had, the harder it was to make money.
But when you have a lot of money, you meet a lot of people, everyone wants to suck a mouthful of blood from you, everyone wants to bite a piece of your flesh off.
Everyone wants to rip you off and at this point in time, whatever you want to do, you have your own interests underneath, you have your own ideas and you want to grow unless you encounter an unparalleled opportunity.
To be honest, even doubling it, let alone ten times, would be of immense value to him.
Ten times?
What kind of concept is that? The national tax of Great Wei is not that much silver taels a year, right?
Wouldn’t he become the richest man in Wei?
Even if there were still three major chambers of commerce, he would be the fourth largest chamber of commerce, and he would be the head of it.
This must not take off?
But soon, Zhang Ru would calm down, for no other reason.
It was because ten times was too much.
It wasn’t that he didn’t believe Xu Qingnian, but he didn’t believe himself.
But Xu Qingnian dared to say ten times the profit, even if it was a bit exaggerated, at least double it, right?
If he could really double it, he would be close to the three major chambers of commerce, and perhaps his own children and grandchildren could raise his Sun’s Chamber of Commerce to the level of the four major chambers of commerce.
So he still had some expectations.
“Dare I ask Xiandi, what kind of business is it?”
Zhang Ruhui opened his mouth and asked.
“Let’s talk about it later, there’s no rush now.”
Xu Qingnian smiled faintly, the matter of the Great Wei Chambers, relying on the imperial court alone would definitely not be able to make it big, more merchants had to be absorbed in, these merchants were smart enough to leave professional matters to professional people, there was no problem with that.
The great thing is to ask His Majesty to deliberately open up a system, such as ‘red-top merchants’, so that these merchants can also have official positions. I guess when the time really comes, I don’t know how many merchants will be crying with excitement and crying out to join.
After all, the status of merchants is not high, rather monstrous, but not so low as to say that it is too low, only to say that in front of the scholars, it is as humble as dust.
So Xu Qingnian did have an idea, but of course this plan, for the time being, could not be spoken of, and would have to wait for the moment when the second knife fell.
When he heard Xu Qingnian open his mouth like this, Zhang Ruhui did not continue to ask questions, Xu Qingnian did not say, he believed there was a reason for Xu Qingnian not to say.
At that moment, a voice rang out.
“Lord Xu, Minister Gu asks you to go to the Ministry of the Household.”
It was the junior historian from the Ministry of the Household, asking Xu Qingnian to go to the Ministry of the Household.
At that moment, Zhang Ruhui saw this scene and immediately got up and said.
“Xiandi, the hour is getting late, so my brother will not delay, after all, you have something to do now, so I will leave first.”
Zhang Ruhui spoke thus.
“Fine, take care, in a few days’ time, when the Peaceful Poetry Fair is over, I will go to the Peach Blossom Temple to look for you.”
Xu Qingnian could see that this Zhang Ruhui was very sincere with himself, a force to be used, but of course the other party could also use him for profit.
Everyone was like this, you help me, I help you, if only by virtue of the good feeling, where could it be so good?
In the world of adults, it’s more about profit.
“Good, good, good, I will definitely host a grand banquet when the time comes.”
Hearing these words, Zhang Ruhui immediately opened his mouth to host a grand banquet.
“See you then.”
“Brother Wang Ru, let’s go first.”
Xu Qingnian did not linger and immediately got up, while bidding farewell to Wang Ru.
Wang Ru nodded and followed Zhang Ruhui.
And Xu Qingnian also followed the Household Ministry roll official to leave.
Soon.
The Ministry of the Household.
Xu Qingnian saw Gu Yan, and before Xu Qingnian could say anything, Gu Yan’s voice had already sounded.
“Shouren, they have sent someone to the capital, asking us to meet tomorrow.”
Gu Yan opened the door and said.
“A meeting tomorrow? When?”
Xu Qingnian frowned.
Why did these three major chambers of commerce suddenly come to the capital? And about meeting tomorrow?
“Around eleventh hour, as per normal, we have to go there half an hour earlier to discuss the matter after all, and you are named to go, otherwise we won’t talk.”
Gu Yan replied.
When this was said, Xu Qingnian understood somewhat.
“Are they trying to stop me from going to the poetry duel?”
Xu Qingnian opened her mouth and said with some curiosity.
And Gu Yan nodded.
“What they mean is that they want to stop you from going to the poetry duel.”
“What the old man means is that I’ll bring someone there, so you don’t have to go, and you can’t be missing from the poetry duel tomorrow.”
Gu Yan gave a reply, the Taiping Poetry Competition was still important, something like negotiating prices, there was no need for Xu Qingnian to go, what could be done if she went? Would the price be lowered because of Xu Qingnian?
Just Gu Yan was a little curious, why did they have to stop Xu Qingnian from participating in the poetry competition?
Was it so hateful? This had all been laid out on the stage.
“No.” Xu Qingnian shook her head and looked towards Gu Yan.
“Shang Shu Gu, I’ll go.”
“They want to see me so that I can’t attend the Taiping Poetry Festival, although I don’t know why they are doing so.”
“But the more they do, the more I have to go over and meet them, and the more I want to meet these people, too, to know myself and my enemy before I can win a hundred battles.”
This was Xu Qingnian’s reply.
It was good that the other party wanted to meet him, although the timing of the selection was, obviously, problematic, but that did not stop him.
“No, the Taiping Poetry Competition is important, do you know what’s happening in Kyoto?”
“The talented men of the ten kingdoms have fought with the literati of Great Wei, both sides are on fire, and now the conflict is getting worse, if you don’t attend, if you lose, I am afraid that my Great Wei will lose face.”
“Although you taught the Confucian students of the Great Wei Literary Palace a lesson yesterday, I am still not sure, his Majesty has already started to investigate this matter, but no matter how you investigate it, the Peace Poetry Society still needs to be stable.”
Gu Yan, however, rejected Xu Qingnian’s proposal.
The ten great talents of the ten kingdoms were at war with the literati of Great Wei, and they were at odds with each other.
Xu Qingnian’s general wine was a relief to the people.
However, the Ten Kingdoms’ great talent was shameless, insisting that Xu Qingnian had received the test questions in advance, and even insisting that Xu Qingnian had not composed the famous poem himself.
If not, what makes Xu Qingnian think that he would have been able to write the famous poem of the ages?
And why must it come after the appearance of the Zhen Guo poem?
So they were not convinced!
Not at all.
This made the people of Great Wei furious and their teeth ached, but the other party was shameless, what could they do? His Majesty had decreed that no more such brawls would be allowed, and once they happened, they would be stripped of their merit.
So neither the literati of Great Wei nor the talented scholars of the Ten Kingdoms dared to continue shouting, and both sides just left all their anger for tomorrow’s poetry fight.
Whoever wins, the loser shuts up.
But many people knew that even if the Great Wei won, it was expected that the great talents of the Ten Kingdoms would not be convinced, as they had already established themselves as undefeated in the first heaven, so the crowd was hoping that Xu Qingnian would write three more poems of ancient fame in the next three days.
If that were true, there would probably be nothing left to say about the great talents of the Ten Kingdoms.
But three days in a row, three poems of a thousand ancient names?
This is something that even the people, not to mention the literati of Great Wei, wouldn’t dare to think about. They knew that Xu Qingnian was a great talent of the Ten Kingdoms, but they weren’t so confident, a thousand ancient poems a day?
If this were to happen, the Liyang Palace would collapse, shaken by the talent.
But no matter what, if Xu Qingnian entered the competition, he would definitely be able to achieve a good ranking, because Xu Qingnian could create a miracle.
Powerfully overpowering the great talents of the ten nations.
Therefore, Gu Yan did not agree with Xu Qingnian going to the meeting, and the reason he called out to Xu Qingnian was to tell him about this matter and ask him what he thought.
“Lord Gu, don’t worry, I will go to the banquet tomorrow, but Qingnian can also guarantee that she will not lose in the poetry battle tomorrow.”
Xu Qingnian said with a serious expression.
Once these words were said, Gu Yan frowned a little.
“Why are you so sure?”
Gu Yan frowned and couldn’t help but ask.
“This, Lord Gu, don’t ask, when has Qingnian ever lied to you?”
Xu Qingnian had her own plans, it was just that when this solution was said, she was afraid that Gu Yan would be even more reluctant to agree.
“How can you win if you don’t go there yourself?”
Gu Yan was really a little confused, but when he thought about it, Xu Qingnian had indeed not lied ah.
“Lord Gu, don’t you believe me?”
“Also, since the three great merchants have named me to go over, then Qingnian can guess that as long as Qingnian doesn’t go, they will definitely use this as an excuse to say that the Great Wei Ministry of Household despises them.”
“It’s small to turn around and walk away, when the time comes, people will have the upper hand.”
Xu Qingnian continued to speak, and at the same time he was certain that these people would use this as an excuse to bash the Household Ministry and spread the word everywhere that they had come all the way to Kyoto and were willing to negotiate a good price with Great Wei.
But what he didn’t expect was that Xu Qingnian, the Ministry of Household Affairs of Great Wei, would look down on them and ask them to lower their prices, and wouldn’t meet them.
Such words Xu Qingnian himself had made up for them.
Indeed, as Xu Qingnian opened her mouth like this, Gu Yan’s face sank.
Because what Xu Qingnian had said was exactly right, the three great merchants had extraordinarily instructed that Xu Qingnian must be allowed to come over, or else he would not be seen.
Thinking of this, Gu Yan stopped speaking.
And Xu Qingnian’s voice rang out.
“Lord Gu, there is one thing that Qingnian has to say.”
“The three great merchants are emboldened to ask for a sky-high price, it is likely that they have already negotiated a price with another group of people behind their backs.”
Xu Qingnian said with a suppressed voice, speaking this matter out.
“En.”
Only Gu Yan was not half surprised, but nodded his head before speaking.
“Old man has already guessed, Shouren, you are really smart to guess on this, have the great talent of the Ministry of Household, just this matter, you should not get involved, it involves a lot.”
Gu Yan had already known about it, in fact he guessed it when the other party’s letter came.
It was just that he did not speak to Xu Qingnian, not because he did not consider Xu Qingnian as one of his own, rather it was because he considered Xu Qingnian as one of his own that he did not inform Xu Qingnian.
After all, according to Xu Qingnian’s character, if she learns about this matter, she might cause some kind of trouble.
He hoped that Xu Qingnian could become the Minister of Household Affairs without any problems and sit in his position, then these matters would be solved by him.
“En, Qingnian understands.”
Seeing that Gu Yan had already known, Xu Qingnian couldn’t help but feel a sigh of relief in his heart.
Ginger was really old and spicy.
Xu Qingnian understood in an instant that Gu Yan did not want to get himself into trouble, so he was unwilling to inform himself and pretended that he did not understand.
But he didn’t expect that he had still guessed it, but this was something that Xu Qingnian would not touch for the time being, just know it.
“Just understand, okay, the rest of the old me won’t say much, since you are confident of winning the top spot in the Taiping Poetry Competition, then you will go with the old me tomorrow.”
“But there is one thing, you must not lose the poetry fight, otherwise old me would rather be insulted by them than definitely let them hold you back.”
Gu Yan said no more and promised Xu Qingnian to go with him tomorrow.
After all, what Xu Qingnian said was exactly right.
If Xu Qingnian really didn’t go, these merchants would definitely use this as a reason to bash Xu Qingnian in all sorts of ways, standing on the moral high ground themselves.
And this was what Xu Qingnian was best at, so naturally there was no way she would leave a talking point for others.
“Good, then Qingnian will go and prepare for the poetry competition.”
Xu Qingnian nodded, and then excused herself and left.
Xu Qingnian came quickly and left quickly as well.
He had to go back to settle the matter of tomorrow’s poetry competition.
The three great chambers of commerce clearly wanted to stall themselves and allow the great talents of the ten kingdoms to suppress the Great Wei literati, and if he did not go, they would use this as a reason to attack and create rumours.
If he went, the poetry contest would be half lost.
It was a good plan.
Unfortunately, the person they were facing was a travellers who had experienced nine years of compulsory education since childhood.
If they let Xu Qingnian write an article, Xu Qingnian could not see that every article was a masterpiece.
But to let oneself write poetry?
If you want to write a poem, you can write a poem by yourself.
So Xu Qingnian doesn’t care at all about the Ten Kingdoms’ great talents.
Guoren Academy.
Xu Qingnian’s pace was not slow.
“Senior brother!”
“Senior brother!”
Xu Qingnian shouted a few times.
“What’s wrong?”
Chen Xinghe walked out from the dining room, carrying his bowls and chopsticks, a little curious.
“Ask you one thing, think about it before you answer.”
“Isn’t there going to be a poetry competition at the Taiping Poetry Fair tomorrow? Can you guess the questions?”
Xu Qingnian opened her mouth and asked directly.
“Guess the question?”
Hearing these words, Chen Xinghe immediately put down his bowl and chopsticks before saying with a serious face.
“Senior brother, you’ve asked the right person with this question. Although senior brother is good at composing poems, senior brother’s real talent is guessing questions.”
“I’m not afraid to tell you that I told the teacher about the question for the government exam, but later the teacher had to say that he guessed it himself, so I couldn’t do anything about it, you know it’s impossible for a student to compete with the teacher.”
Chen Xinghe said so, full of confidence.
“Okay, senior brother, help me guess the questions for the next three days, you can guess a few more and write them down on a piece of paper.”
Xu Qingnian said so.
“Okay, senior brother wait a moment, I’ll be right there.”
Chen Xinghe was full of expectations and then walked into his study.
He was happy, extremely happy.
His own senior brother, at last, was asking for something.
At that moment, Xu Qingnian returned to his study and began to contemplate, before writing on one topic after another.
Xu Qingnian waited quietly outside.
After about half an hour.
Chen Xinghe came out.
Holding a piece of rice paper, he said.
“Senior brother, the poetry duel will be held for three days, and there will also be questions, one question a day, so I conservatively estimate that it should be these five questions.”
“After all, these are the ones that come and go.”
Chen Xinghe handed the rice paper to Xu Qingnian.
“Five questions? No plus plus?”
Xu Qingnian frowned slightly and said.
“One question without addition.”
Chen Xinghe said with unparalleled confidence.
Seeing how confident Chen Xinghe was, Xu Qingnian didn’t think too much about it and turned around to go back to her room.
Looking at Xu Qingnian, who had gone back to ‘study’, Chen Xinghe was very proud of himself.
When he thought that tomorrow, Xu Qingnian would win the poetry competition and come back to thank himself, Chen Xinghe was even more pleased.
And so it was.
It was well into the evening.
The Peace Poetry Competition started again, but this day, Xu Qingnian did not participate, saying that she would not participate.
Today was not a poetry competition, but still a poem with a question.
However, just an hour after the Peace Poetry Fair began.
Talented qi poured into the Taiping Poetry Fair.
Above the dome of the sky, there was still golden script.
It was the Zhen Guo poem.
But this poem was written by Hua Xinyun, and the poem came out of the Zhen Guo, overpowering the great talents of the ten nations.
It was just that the Ten Great Talents of the Ten Kingdoms basically did not compose a poem today.
Apparently they had no intention of doing it today, and tomorrow’s poetry battle was their session.
So, for this day, everything was peaceful.
But everyone knew that tomorrow’s poetry competition would be the real event.
Everyone was nervous and looking forward to it.
And so it went.
The following day, at the end of the day, Xu Qingnian came out of her room.
Xu Qingnian walked out of the room.
With a few envelopes in her hand, she pushed open the door to Chen Xinghe’s room.
