Chapter 85 Foreshadowing
Huanyinfang, back garden.

Although it is early spring, the warmth is only around noon during the day. It is still a bit chilly at night.

There is a small lake in the garden with water lilies swaying in the water, bobbing in the wind.

In this pleasant atmosphere, Xiao Yan and Miao Chengtian clinked their glasses. Besides, Ji Ruxue was also there, but she refused to drink more for other reasons. After drinking one glass, she replaced the wine with water.

"King Qi originally wanted to hold a grand banquet to entertain Xiao Lang, but he was helpless with the complicated government affairs. In addition, Xiao Lang mentioned that the Liang army was marching west. He really couldn't spare the time, so he had to let me accompany him." Miao Chengtian drank the clear wine, but he didn't show any sign of being drunk. He just respected the manners and laughed.

"Such a beautiful scenery is better than a grand banquet." Xiao Yan didn't mind.

Now that his goal had been achieved, it was no longer important for him to see the empress again or not. On the contrary, if Miao Chengtian had not wanted to keep him to discuss the establishment of a secret stake, he would have left Fengxiang in broad daylight.

So, he went straight to the point and said, "If you want to rebuild your intelligence network, you don't need to manage those places like brothels and other places too much."

"According to what Xiao Lang said, which places should be set up?"

"What most of the princes in the world want is nothing more than two words." Xiao Yan poured some wine on the table, dipped his finger in it, and wrote it down.

Ji Ruxue leaned forward slightly and subconsciously said, "Money, food..."

Miao Chengtian was surprised and said, "Forgive my ignorance, I don't know what Xiao Lang meant by that."

"Simple." Xiao Yan said: "Although the place you built before has a wide range of intelligence sources, it is too single and extremely difficult to transfer. If you can establish a relationship of interest with the local military governors, governors, and prefects, not only will the source of intelligence be extremely stable, but the information transfer will also be more secure."

"And money and food are necessary conditions to get in touch with these people."

After listening to this, Ji Ruxue looked thoughtful.

Miao Chengtian smiled, feeling that Xiao Yan's move was much more generous, unlike them, who only focused on the lower class people.

But she just shook her head and said, "What Xiao Lang said is so difficult. The people in Qi are in great difficulty, and the taxes are not much. How can we spend more money, let alone the precious food. The King of Qi rewards the armies in Qi every year, and the consumption of these two things is already huge. There is no money left to spend on this..."

"Shengji is thinking about something else."

Xiao Yan interrupted her, dipped his pen in the wine and wrote the words "horse administration" again, and asked, "As far as I know, King Qi should have set up quite a few horse farms?"

Miao Chengtian was shocked, "What does Xiao Lang mean..."

"If the King of Qi is willing to sell the surplus war horses, draft horses, pack horses, and riding horses to the Central Plains, or even to Xichuan, Lingnan, Jingnan, Wuyue, and Huainan, why worry about poor sales?"

Xiao Yan said: "Most of these princes are wealthy, but they are particularly short of horses. If we can do business with them and set up horse shops in every town, our intelligence network will be spread everywhere."

Miao Chengtian was stunned. She had subconsciously ignored the fact that Xiao Yan changed the address to "we". She only felt that this idea was really enlightening.

Ji Ruxue's eyes lit up, and then she frowned immediately and said, "But in this case, aren't the horses needed too many?"

Xiao Yan then looked at Miao Chengtian.

The latter also woke up instantly, and then thought: "King Qi does have a horse policy, but most of them can only be supplied to the army. Although he can set up a horse shop, it may not be as good as what Xiao Lang is planning..."

"No rush, just take it slow." Xiao Yan waved his hand.

However, Miao Chengtian suddenly said, "Speaking of horse farms, Qi does not have many, but Dingnan and Shuofang are adjacent to Qi. Although the land is vast and sparsely populated, the horse farms there are several times more than those in Qi."

Xiao Yan's eyes flashed, and he asked, "What is the relationship between the Dingnan Army and the Shuofang Army and King Qi?"

Miao Chengtian coughed lightly, "Not satisfactory."

"No problem. If we can deliver the food, King Qi might be able to exchange it for war horses?"

"It should be possible." Miao Chengtian thought for a while and said, "Both towns are not very rich, and food and other things should be in short supply."

"Then this can be done." Xiao Yan clapped his hands lightly, "We can first use the horses from Qidi to open a horse shop, sell them to the Central Plains, and exchange them for grain at the same price. Then, we can use the grain to exchange horses at a low price in Dingnan Town and other towns, and use them to build horse shops in Xichuan, Jiangnan and other places. At the same time, in addition to horse shops, I also intend to build grain shops and sell them in Hebei..."

On the side, Ji Ruxue was slightly shocked by Xiao Yan's sudden ambition.

Miao Chengtian was also a little surprised, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that this matter had great potential.

But she frowned and asked, "Xiao Lang's idea is brilliant, but Qi is located in the west of Guanzhong and can only communicate with Xichuan. Horses and grain are major commodities. If we want to trade with Huainan and other places, we have to transport and receive goods without going through the Central Plains. The journey is too long and it will cost a lot. If we go through the Central Plains, how can we hide it from the Liang people? Moreover, it is too conspicuous. I am afraid that this method will not last long..." "No hurry, Saint Ji, just report my idea to King Qi," Xiao Yan smiled and said, "I will arrange the transportation and sales. You can rest assured if you go through the Central Plains."

Miao Chengtian was a little hesitant, but seeing Xiao Yan's confident look, he could only believe it, and then asked: "If King Qi agrees, Xiao Lang, do you have any plans for this first horse transaction?"

Xiao Yan said without hesitation, "Sell it to Caozhou."

Ji Ruxue's heart sank, and she looked at him, already having some guesses.

Miao Chengtian didn't think much about it, she just felt that Xiao Yan was very bold, but she herself was actually a little excited and her cheeks were flushed.

She concealed her excitement and discussed the matter in detail for a long time.

It was not until the night was very dark that they finalized the specific strategy.

In general, Qiguo provided both manpower and personnel, while Xiao Yan provided personnel and ensured the smooth flow of trade routes. At the same time, he finally suggested that some brothels and brothels could continue to be left as secret agents, so that they could quickly change their identities if necessary in the future.

…………

It was late at night, and Miao Chengtian was anxious to put the matter into written form, so he said goodbye and left in a hurry.

Xiao Yan's residence was arranged very close to Ji Ruxue's, so he held a lantern and walked side by side with her. The moonlight was dim, and the path was paved with bluestone, creating an exceptionally quiet atmosphere.

After a long while, the girl said softly, "If we want to push this matter forward, it may not be easy..."

Because the lantern was held in Xiao Yan's hand, the candlelight only illuminated half of her face. In addition, the two were not far away, so he could clearly see the fine hairs on the girl's face.

She has always been a little cold, but at this moment, because she wanted to look at the road, her eyelashes curled up slightly, and her expression was a little focused, which revealed the beauty that a young girl should have.

Xiao Yan stared at her for a while.

As if she had noticed his gaze, Ji Ruxue's ears flushed red for an instant, and then she turned around unnaturally and boldly, staring into his eyes.

"Why not me?"

Xiao Yan smiled and said, "It is indeed not easy, but fortunately, I have Miss Xue'er to work with me, so it is much easier."

Ji Ruxue bit her lip, wanting to ask him what he really felt towards her.

She paused, then raised her head, stared at Xiao Yan with her bright eyes, and pursed her lips, as if she wanted to use all the courage she had accumulated over the past ten years.

Xiao Yan also stopped with her.

Just at this moment, a crisp cough was suddenly heard from the courtyard in front.

After a moment, the surrendered minister Yingying came over from the darkness with her hands behind her back.

This instantly calmed Ji Ruxue down. She lowered her eyes and took a step back.

"It's late, you should go to bed early..."

Jiang Chen walked over, watched the girl disappear into the night, and pointed his finger at Xiao Yan's chest.

"Article 3..."

The latter brushed her hand away and stared thoughtfully in the direction where Ji Ruxue left.

He frowned and thought carefully, then he realized whether he had missed something just now.

But then, his thoughts faded away.

He shouldn't have any weaknesses in this life.

"Corpse Ancestor, let's practice."

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(End of this chapter)