The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 368 I'm a little dizzy

After Qin Hui finished his audience with the emperor, he hurried home to see Jing Ke and reported on his outrageous actions.

After hearing this, Yue Wenxuan couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time: You bastard! You're really ruthless.

However, this is also an opportunity. Let's just ignore martial ethics for once, detain Fu Songqing, and get a good official position for free.

Moreover, Qin Hui helped Yue Wenxuan create a new idea: the good officials of the Southern Song Dynasty no longer need to be captured on the battlefield. We can let treacherous officials like Qin Hui do their work and send them to me one after another. Wouldn't that be wonderful?
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A few days later, Fu Songqing sighed, took off his official robes as an imperial envoy, changed into ordinary clothes, boarded a merchant ship at the dock in Yangzhou, and set off for Chuzhou on his mission!

Believe it or not, if you were to go on a diplomatic mission to another country, there would be some danger involved, at least when crossing the border you would be subject to inspection.

But when I went on a diplomatic mission to the Northern Song Dynasty, I felt particularly relaxed for some reason.

All he had to do was find a merchant ship on the Grand Canal, board it, and the ship would easily carry Fu Songqing towards Chuzhou.

Fu Songqing didn't bring many people with him, only two loyal servants.

He sensed that this trip was fraught with danger and did not want to harm his followers. He originally intended to go alone, but his two loyal servants insisted on coming along, so he had no choice but to take them with him.

Interestingly, he randomly picked a merchant ship, only to find that it was another one belonging to the Chiang family.

This time, there was no cargo on the ship. In the empty cargo hold, there was only a woman dressed in martial arts attire. When she saw Fu Songqing board the ship, she smiled and waved to him from afar.

Since men and women shouldn't be involved in such matters, Fu Songqing didn't want to get entangled with women from the martial arts world. Pretending not to see anything, he sat down on the side of the boat, looking at the surging river in silence.

He didn't speak, but the woman came closer to talk to him, sitting down beside him with a smile: "Lord Fu, you must be feeling very heavy-hearted on your mission to the Northern Song Dynasty?"

Fu Songqing was startled: "Who are you? How do you know me, and how do you know that I am an envoy to the Northern Song Dynasty?"

The woman was none other than Jing Ke, possessed by Yue Wenxuan, who chuckled and said, "My name is A Ke, and I'm an assassin!"

Upon hearing this, Fu Songqing was greatly surprised. Two loyal servants simultaneously drew their swords and blocked his path.

However, the two loyal servants reacted too slowly. By the time they drew their swords, Jing Ke's dagger was already pressed against Fu Songqing's neck, making him feel the icy coldness of his skin.

Fu Songqing cried out in his heart: My life is over!

But in the next instant, Yue Wenxuan had already sheathed his sword and retreated, instantly taking three steps back and simultaneously dodging the waist knives raised by the two loyal servants.

Yue Wenxuan chuckled and said, "Don't worry, although I'm an assassin, I don't intend to take your life."

Fu Songqing touched his neck, looking astonished: "Then you are..."

"I'm here to be your guide," Yue Wenxuan chuckled. "If you have any questions on the way to the Northern Song Dynasty, feel free to ask me, and I'll answer them all."

Fu Songqing was utterly astonished: "You're from the Northern Song Dynasty?"

“That’s right.” Yue Wenxuan: “Isn’t Lord Fu going on a mission to the Northern Song Dynasty? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have someone from the Northern Song Dynasty guide him?”

Fu Songqing felt something was extremely wrong. He had been demoted by the Southern Song emperor and sent as an envoy to the Northern Song. How could the Northern Song seem to have known about this all along, and even sent someone to act as a guide? This was just too outrageous.

He was filled with suspicion, but there seemed to be no point in talking to a female assassin, so he snorted and remained silent. Yue Wenxuan didn't waste any more words and walked to the other side of the ship's railing to sit down.

The merchant ship departed the port and headed north.

By this time, the toll checkpoints set up by Liu Guangshi and Zhang Jun were no longer on the river. These two notorious cowards had set off first, leading their troops to rescue Shouchun.

The smooth flow of the Grand Canal reassured the Jiang family: "With the toll checkpoints gone, our cotton prices can drop a bit."

Fu Songqing said, "I don't believe that merchants will voluntarily lower prices. Without toll booths, your prices will be as high as those with toll fees."

The Jiang family member said, "Sir, you are mistaken. Our patriarch is the renowned Jiang Ziliang. He is the fairest in business. Back when Lin'an was short of grain, our Jiang family sold the grain we bought in the fall to the people at the original price without making a single penny. We even let the people call him Ziliang. This is not a fabrication. Who in Lin'an, Xixi and other places does not know this story?"

Fu Songqing exclaimed, "Oh! So this is Jiang Ziliang's ship. I was mistaken."

He then changed the subject, saying, "But only Jiang Ziliang knows how to do business properly; other merchants will still sell at high prices..."

This time, the Jiang family remained silent.

But Yue Wenxuan laughed: "Lord Fu! Your idea makes sense when there are few merchants. But it doesn't make sense when there are many merchants."

Fu Songqing: "Hmm? What do you mean?"

Yue Wenxuan said, “If there are few merchants in a place, only one, he can raise the price high. Or if there are only two or three, they can agree on a price and sell at that price together, which can also raise the price. But what if there are many merchants? Ten, a hundred... There are many people doing the same business, so it is unlikely that a price cartel can be formed.”

Fu Songqing: "Huh?"

Yue Wenxuan: "Instead of blaming merchants with sarcastic remarks, we should think of ways to attract more merchants through administrative means. As long as there are enough merchants, it will be impossible for them to be monopolistic. They will compete for their own interests, thus preventing the formation of monopolies and price cartels. Some merchants will desperately lower prices within their cost limits, while those who sell at high prices will have no choice but to lower their prices in response... In the end, prices will naturally return to a reasonable range, benefiting the people."

Upon hearing this, Fu Songqing was secretly surprised: You know what, this method actually seems to work: "Miss, you actually know these things?"

Yue Wenxuan chuckled: "I don't understand, these are what my young master said."

Fu Songqing: "Who is your young master?"

Yue Wenxuan: "My young master's surname is Yue, and his given name is Wenxuan. He is currently a guest in the Northern Song Dynasty."

Fu Songqing did know Yue Wenxuan. Although he held no official position in the Northern Song Dynasty, all the messages sent back by his spies said that he was very important and his words carried great weight.

Fu Songqing silently processed the idea of ​​"more businessmen"...

Think about it carefully!

In the minds of traditional literati, merchants were not a good word. There was a saying that "no merchant is without guile" and "even innocent people should be killed." Traditional literati always felt that merchants were cunning and harmful to the people, and believed that merchants should be controlled and restrained as much as possible.

But after hearing what Yue Wenxuan said, he realized that controlling merchants might actually lead to bad results. It seemed that having more merchants competing with each other would be more beneficial to the people.

This completely overturned his understanding and left him a little dizzy.

(End of this chapter)