Water Margin people

"If we can't take the strait, we'll take the land route!"

Finally someone spoke.

"If we go by land, we have to cross the Alps!"

Everyone looked hesitant. Crossing the Alps was not easy. The trade route they often took was through the strait to Byzantium, Jerusalem, and the Red Sea.

"It's not like we haven't been here before! What are you afraid of? At most, the profit can be increased a little bit, ten times!"

The man spoke.

"ten times!"

The other merchants no longer hesitated, as the tenfold profit was enough for them to take the risk.

"That's settled then, we'll do it in secret!"

Everyone quickly reached a consensus.

on the island.

"It looks like they can't help it!"

Yue Fei looked at Wu Yong and spoke.

"These businessmen really value money over life. We were scared to death before, but now we're in peace for just two days and they're causing trouble again! Oh!"

Wu Yong sighed and said.

"Okay, let them explore the way first!"

Yue Fei nodded and said that all this was part of their plan and they took advantage of the greed of these businessmen.

Yue Fei did not believe the so-called map. The Alps were very dangerous. This was not the Central Plains. Civilization was limited. All places were in a state of division and autonomy. There was no unified country and the roads had not been opened.

"We're just afraid they'll bring back the Black Death, which we've worked so hard to control."

Wu Yong expressed his concerns. Although he had seen many deaths and killed many people, the horror of the plague was not so easy to control.

“Maybe they won’t have to come back!”

Yue Fei said.

"Could it be that troops have been dispatched over there?"

Wu Yong immediately spoke up and said that they had been in Venice for several months and that the many kingdoms in the north should be sending troops soon.

"Yes, according to the news we received, the Northern Coalition is mainly composed of the Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdom of France. The kingdom will send out troops in seven or eight hours, totaling 150,000 troops!"

Yue Fei said.

"One hundred and fifty thousand?"

Wu Yong frowned. They only had a few thousand people, and it would be difficult to fight against 500,000 people.

"The Byzantine Empire has also sent out troops, 70,000 strong, coming by ship!"

Yue Fei said.

"This is troublesome!"

Wu Yong frowned even more tightly, the worst situation had occurred.

"We have finally been able to successfully spread the gospel. If we withdraw now, I'm afraid all our efforts will be in vain!"

Wu Yong sat down and drank a sip of tea and said anxiously that their missionary work had been going very smoothly during this period. Qi State was able to cure the Black Death, although it was not 100% certain, but this also showed the strength of Qi State.

Coupled with the various incredible magic methods that Wu Yong created, the Westerners, who were already full of religious atmosphere, immediately believed in the Imperial Religion.

“Drip… drip… drip… drip…”

Just when the two were at a loss, the telegraph machine began to beep.

"General Yue, it's General Ruan! General Ruan's signal!"

the telegraph operator shouted.

"A telegram from Ruan Xiaoqi! Hurry, ask them where they are!"

Yue Fei was overjoyed. Being able to receive the telegram proved that Ruan Xiaoqi's ships were only a few thousand miles away from here.

"General Yue, General Ruan and his fleet have already arrived in the waters near Sicily! General Ruan is leading the fleet to come here at full speed, and they will arrive today!"

The telegraph operator spoke and handed over a message.

"It finally came. It's just in time. Is this the timely rain?"

Yue Fei laughed out loud when he read the telegram.

"Timely Rain? Haha, Brother Xiaoqi has a new nickname!"

Wu Yong also laughed. As long as the Qi fleet came, they would not have to fear any enemy. No matter whether there were hundreds of thousands of enemies or millions of enemies, they were nothing but chickens and dogs in front of the fleet.

...Inside the Venice City Lord's Palace.

The clueless businessmen were discussing where to do business.

"Go to the Kingdom of France, they have money and will be willing to buy our goods!"

"There are a lot of people over there in the Holy Roman Empire!"

"Other kingdoms will want to buy things too!"

……

The businessmen were arguing with each other, but the reason was just for profit. Each of them had their own familiar routes, and of course they were willing to follow their own routes, as they could make more money by following familiar routes.

But they were unwilling to separate. The Black Death was rampant, wars were ongoing everywhere, and the mountains were full of bandits. If they were separated, there would be no way they could guarantee their safety.

"In terms of routes, which is the best way to go?"

The Doge of Venice asked, looking at everyone.

"Of course, to the Kingdom of France! The road over there is the easiest to travel, I have walked there in winter!"

A businessman spoke up.

"It's easier to go to the Holy Roman Empire. The mountains there are flatter! But the snow is a little deeper!"

Someone else said that the further inland you go, the colder it gets and the thicker the snow.

"Then we split into two teams. How can we do business in the same kingdom?"

The Governor spoke.

"Governor, will this anger the State of Qi?"

Rice looked at the governor and reminded him that Qi State did not agree to their people going out to do business.

"We have to listen to them when doing business?"

"Viscount Rice, what do you mean by this?"

“Don’t we have the right to do business?”

"As long as there are no taboos in the law, it will work!"

……

The merchants pointed at Rice and began to blame him. For the sake of interests, they didn't mind disobeying Qi's orders.

"Qi State didn't say no, and we didn't take the strait!"

The governor laughed and said that the Black Death had caused them great losses, and they needed a huge profit to make up for the losses.

After the discussion, the merchants decided to quietly leave Venice the next night.

Yue Fei saw all this, but he did not try to stop it and pretended not to know.

The Doge of Venice hosted a banquet for Yue Fei that night. The purpose was obvious: to cover the caravan's departure.

Yue Fei brought his people to the banquet.

"Let's toast to General Yue!"

The governor smiled and raised his glass while looking at Yue Fei. The other nobles and businessmen all raised their glasses.

"Hey, your wine tastes a bit bad!"

Yue Fei said bluntly.

"General Yue, please forgive me for making fun of you. Our area is poor, so this wine cannot compare to the fragrance and purity of Qi's!"

The governor didn't care and kept flattering him.

"General, it's too troublesome to transport alcohol. It would be great if we could build a winery here!"

A businessman rolled his eyes and spoke.

“Oh, the winery?”

Yue Fei laughed. Building a winery is a small matter. What is real is wanting the secret recipe of Qi State’s winemaking.

"I know you are all masters of business, and you even dare to interfere in the Crusades. I heard that you once suggested that the Crusaders plunder Byzantium?"

Yue Fei looked at the governor and others and asked.

"General, you are joking. How dare we do that?"

Everyone looked embarrassed and denied it, but they sounded guilty because they had indeed made suggestions before.

The number of Crusaders was too large and their marching speed was slow. It took two years from the west to Jerusalem from gathering to arrival. Who could endure the food and clothing?

Although the kingdoms along the way would provide some food, those kingdoms were too small and this was just a drop in the bucket.

The largest kingdom along the way was Byzantium, which was an extremely wealthy country that could fully fund the entire Eastern Expedition. (End of this chapter)