The Prodigal Son

Under Murong Wujiang's persistent questioning, Fu Jiu revealed the reasons behind his guess.

Although the official story of Da Ning is that the Empress Dowager saw through the conspiracy of the Prince of Chengyang and his son, this story only fools the people of Da Ning.

According to their spies, before Qin Yu returned to the capital from Chenzhou, Zhao Luan was quite passive in the face of Zhao Yan's marriage proposal!

It seems that Zhao Luan made a rapid change after Qin Yu returned to the capital of Ningguo!

After that, a series of upheavals occurred in the capital of Da Ning.

Therefore, he guessed that the plan to lure and kill the Prince of Chengyang might have been proposed by Qin Yu!

Listening to Fu Jiu's analysis, Murong Wujiang couldn't help but ponder it silently.

She didn't know Qin Yu well, but they had had some contact.

This thief is not only tenacious, but also cunning and shameless!

This brilliant plan to lure and kill the Prince of Chengyang may very well have been proposed by Qin Yu!

For some inexplicable reason, she thought of the time when Qin Yu threatened her in the capital city of Daning.

Whenever she thought about that incident, she wished she could tear Qin Yu to pieces!

"Your guess is probably correct! Qin Yu, this thief, is definitely not simple!"

A hint of killing intent flashed in Murong Wujiang's eyes again, and he asked in a deep voice, "By the way, were any of your men injured?"

"No!"

Fu Jiu shook his head. "They acted too quickly. Before our people could even make a move, Zhao Chong had already been killed! After learning of Zhao Chong's death, our people dared not take any further action! The people I placed around Zhao Chong also fled to the Min Kingdom in advance."

"Okay, that's good!"

Murong Wujiang's expression softened slightly, and he asked again, "How is their affair going?"

Fu Jiu replied solemnly, "Our people are still working hard to make this happen, and according to the information he sent back, the chances of success are very high!"

"I hope it succeeds! Just tell me how you need my cooperation!"

Murong Wujiang gave him his full support, "Furthermore, order your men to focus their investigation on Qin Yu! This scoundrel may become a major enemy of our Northern Qi in the future! It would be best to place someone by his side!"

"I had already given those instructions."

Fu Jiu replied, "However, because Qin Yu had been punished by being confined to his room to reflect on his actions, our people hadn't found an opportunity to approach him..."

Now, Qin Yu certainly doesn't need to stay behind closed doors to reflect on his mistakes anymore.

Their people should be able to find an opportunity to get close to Qin Yu.

"very good!"

Murong Wujiang nodded approvingly.

Fu Jiu: "By the way, Your Majesty, there is one more thing."

"explain!"

"Trade between Ning and Yan is going very smoothly. Thanks to the grain purchased from Ning, Yan's famine has been somewhat alleviated. Pepper sold by Ning to Yan has been driven up to astronomical prices, while long-staple cotton sold by Yan to Ning has also been driven up to astronomical prices..."

"Are you trying to sabotage their trade behind the scenes?"

"Yes! I fear that if things continue like this, the Yan Kingdom will completely side with the Ning Kingdom and become an enemy of Northern Qi!"

"There's no need to worry about that. Ning State won't let Yan State get too fat, and Yan State won't completely side with Ning State! They're just getting what they need right now; they're not going to form a genuine alliance! If possible, we could contact Yan State and try to buy some grain from them..."

Regarding the relationship between Ning and Yan, she still held onto her previous judgment.

Today, there is a delicate balance among the three kingdoms.

The State of Yan was key to maintaining this delicate balance.

If this delicate balance is disrupted, the Yan state will be the first to suffer!

She believed that the emperor and ministers of Yan understood this principle.

After chatting with Fu Jiu for a while, Murong Wujiang gestured for Fu Jiu to leave and then sent for Han Cizhang and Xiao Yangguang.

Before long, the two men arrived as summoned.

Murong Wujiang told the two of them the news he had just received.

"That's... all?"

"Zhao Chong commands 100,000 troops! And he didn't even make a ripple?"

The two looked at each other, cursing Zhao Chong as a stupid pig in their hearts.

Commanding 100,000 troops, he was so easily killed by Zhao Luan!

waste!

They were so happy for nothing!

Moreover, with Zhao Chong removed as a thorn in their side, it is almost impossible for Ningguo to experience any major internal strife.

If they want to recover lost territory or retrieve the half of the Nine Dragons Pendant, they'll probably have to confront Ningguo head-on.

This is the last thing they want to see.

"All I can say is that Zhao Luan's move was incredibly brilliant!"

Murong Wujiang sighed softly, "Right now, we need to plan this carefully."

"What does Your Majesty wish to do?"

Xiao Yanguang inquired.

He knew that since Murong Wujiang had mentioned taking a long-term approach, she must have some ideas.

Murong Wujiang's eyes flashed with a cold light as he said in a deep voice, "I intend to continue reinforcing our troops towards Yichi City, putting pressure on Ning Kingdom head-on and drawing their attention to Wuguan! At the same time, we will secretly reinforce the front lines of Cangzhou, looking for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack and capture Zhubei City..."

Zhubei City was a fortress placed by Ningguo on the front line of Shuozhou.

Once they capture Zhubei City, the gates of Shuozhou will be open to them.

Upon hearing Murong Wujiang's words, the two men's eyelids twitched suddenly.

Is she trying to turn this into a real relationship?

Han Cizhang pondered for a moment, then advised, "Now is not the time to wage a full-scale war against Ningguo. I urge Your Majesty to reconsider!"

"yes!"

Xiao Yanguang also chimed in with advice: "The battle a few years ago was enough to demonstrate Ning Kingdom's war potential! I know Your Majesty wants to recover the lost territories of the Nine Provinces, and I also want to recover them, but if we rashly start a war without a suitable opportunity, even if we win, it will inevitably be a Pyrrhic victory..."

Xiao Yanguang patiently offered his advice.

Everyone knows that Murong Wujiang and Zhao Luan will eventually have to settle their score.

However, neither Beiqi nor Ningguo dared to easily launch a full-scale war against the other before finding a suitable opportunity.

None of them were absolutely certain of victory!

"I understand!"

Murong Wujiang glanced at the two men. "My meaning is, if there's an opportunity, launch a surprise attack! If there isn't, remain inactive!"

Their opportunity may come soon!

……

A few days later, the brothers Wang Dou and Wang Su returned to the capital and were sent to Qin Yu to report for duty.

Qin Yu had just assigned them a task and sent them away when Luo Qingyi rushed in, bringing with her a fragrant breeze.

"Thirteenth Young Master, our wine has sold!"

Luo Qingyi was extremely excited, her chest heaving with each rapid breath, making Qin Yu's heart flutter.

Qin Yu suppressed the urge to hug her and shower her with affection, looking at her in surprise, "Don't tell me those fifty jars of wine are already sold out?"

This wine was only sold on a small scale at Wanjia Restaurant today, and it was priced at ten taels of silver per catty. It's already sold out so quickly.

Are there really that many wealthy people in the capital?

Could it be that my pricing is too low?

Luo Qingyi's lips curled into a smile. "Someone did try to buy all fifty jars of wine we have at Wanjia Restaurant at once, but I refused!"

"Why won't you agree?"

Nan Que'er was speechless. "Do you have a grudge against money?"

"I want to play the long game!"

Luo Qingyi sat down next to Qin Yu and smiled, "Today, Feng Yingxu was entertaining guests at Wanjia Restaurant. Hearing that we had a new wine, he had someone bring out a jar to try first. After that, he wanted to buy all fifty jars of our wine..."

Feng Yingxu was a well-known wealthy merchant in the capital. He seized the opportunity to make his fortune when the late emperor was vigorously developing foreign trade.

The Feng family owns a large fleet of merchant ships, reportedly more than twenty large vessels.

Although the Feng family was not a royal merchant, their wealth far surpassed that of the Luo family, who were royal merchants.

As the head of the Feng family, Feng Yingxu naturally understood the principle that scarcity increases value.

Their wine is only about five jin (2.5 kg) per jar.

Even if all fifty jars of wine were sold, it would only cost two thousand five hundred taels of silver.

But if Feng Yingxu were to sell these fifty jars of wine to another country, he would probably have to pay two or three times the price!

"Feng Yingxu has a good eye!"

Qin Yu nodded slightly. "Perhaps we can talk to him later!"

What he valued was not the Feng family's wealth, but their connections.

If their wine wants to sell better, they must expand beyond Daning!

"That's what I think too!"

Luo Qingyi nodded and smiled, "We definitely won't sell many bottles of wine by ourselves alone!"

"Only by partnering with a major business like the Feng family can we sell more of our wine!"

"However, we don't need to talk to Feng Yingxu right now. We have to wait until our wine sells well in the capital before we talk to him..."

At this point, Feng Yingxu has only just recognized the enormous potential of this wine.

In time, more people will surely see the potential of this wine.

The more people who see the potential of this wine, the more initiative they can gain and the greater the profits they can reap!

Hearing Luo Qingyi's words, Qin Yu nodded repeatedly, his gaze fixed intently on her.

She's a natural-born businesswoman!

"What's wrong?"

Luo Qingyi looked at Qin Yu, puzzled. "Did I say something wrong?"

"You're right!"

Qin Yu laughed heartily, pulled Luo Qingyi into his arms, and exclaimed, "You are the future business queen of Da Ning!"

A business queen?

Luo Qingyi's eyes lit up.

Suddenly, it seemed she had found her goal...