Chapter 160: The Isolated Border City
Cheng Yu knew that taking too long to check would displease Yan Jiu. Although he hadn’t figured out Yan Jiu’s true purpose for going to the Northern Frontier, Yan Jiu’s attitude was clear: she disliked Gu Changxiao.
If it weren’t for Daoist Ji’s mediation before, the Yan family wouldn’t have had any dealings with the border city.
But Cheng Yu still held out hope. With Daoist Ji in this group, the chances of the Prince of the Northern Frontier and the Black Feather Camp soldiers returning safely would be much greater.
Since Daoist Ji was not in this group, he also hoped Yan Jiu could lend the Prince a hand. As long as a third party entered the game, breaking the stalemate would become much easier.
Cheng Yu stepped forward and smiled at Yan Jiu, saying, “Lord Yan, I happen to have some supplies that need to be delivered to the Prince. Could you trouble you to take them along?”
Before Yan Jiu could reply, he suddenly changed the subject, “Several new businesses are being developed in the border city. If you’re interested, Lord Yan, you can come and take a look after you return from the Northern Frontier.”
Yan Jiu said gently, “If it’s not too much, I can help you carry it. However, I’m not interested in business matters.”
Cheng Yu chuckled, “Not interested in business, but are you interested in sea salt and refined iron, Lord Yan?”
Jin Sui, waiting in the carriage, frowned slightly. This was why she hated talking to smart people; they always spoke in riddles. Couldn’t they just say it directly?
Cheng Yu was showing goodwill to Yan Jiu. As long as you are willing to help the Prince during your trip to the Northern Frontier, the border city’s businesses will prioritize cooperation with the Yan family upon your return.
Then Yan Jiu stated that she disdained petty business dealings.
Cheng Yu then used sea salt and refined iron weapons, which interested all the young masters of Yandi, to persuade her. Jin Sui didn’t blame Cheng Yu for acting on his own initiative by offering refined iron weapons for trade.
If Gu Changxiao couldn’t return alive, these things would be divided by Prince Yu and the gentry of Yandi. At that time, the border city would likely return to its dilapidated and desolate state of a year ago.
The most important thing right now was for Gu Changxiao to return alive, so Jin Sui felt that whatever Cheng Yu offered to recruit help was justified.
Indeed, the business of refined iron was hard to refuse. Refined iron meant more powerful weapons and sturdier armor.
Of course, the Yan family couldn’t openly sell armor and weapons, but even if they crafted one famous sword or saber a year, they could earn a lot of money.
Furthermore, secretly arming their own soldiers would not be discovered by the Imperial Court.
After a few moments of thought, Yan Jiu said, “I have heard from Eleventh Young Master that the refined iron from the border city makes incredibly sharp weapons.”
Cheng Yu’s eyes lit up, and he immediately smiled, “I will visit Eleventh Young Master tomorrow to discuss this matter.”
Jin Sui’s eye twitched. Yan Shiyi Lang seemed like a fool in her eyes, and she probably seemed like a fool to Yan Jiu and Cheng Yu as well!
Listening to these two talk was frustrating and annoying. Did they think speaking plainly would make them seem stupid or something?
Soon, Yan Jiu re-boarded the carriage and had the supplies Cheng Yu entrusted to her placed in the carriage behind.
The supplies were just an excuse for Yan Jiu to meet Gu Changxiao, so there weren’t many, just a single box of items.
Just as the convoy was about to depart, Chen Yunniang appeared with a group of female medical staff. Jin Sui’s heart leaped, and she immediately shrank back and sat properly.
Cheng Yu might have felt awkward scrutinizing her as a ‘female family member,’ but the considerate Chen Yunniang could.
Peeking through the crack in the window, Chen Yunniang and the women were giving Yan Jiu’s bodyguards cotton clothes and some common medicines.
One package was specifically for Yan Jiu, stating that she had asked Miss Yan about his measurements and made two pairs of cotton shoes and two sets of cotton clothes, hoping Lord Yan wouldn’t mind.
She spoke words of thanks, solicitous and polite, especially to Yan Jiu, almost kneeling to beg him to help the people of the border city when he was in the Northern Frontier.
Jin Sui, inside the carriage, bit her lip tightly, afraid that she might not be able to bear it and jump out of the carriage to embrace Chen Yunniang.
When they set off again, Jin Sui peeked through the window. Cheng Yu, Chen Yunniang, and the women of the border city stood in the snow, bowing to see them off.
They didn’t leave until they became a tiny black dot.
Jin Sui’s heart ached. It felt like watching her own family members beg for help in a subservient manner for the sake of their family’s future and safety.
Cheng Yu was a proud man. He couldn’t stand the gentry of Yandi and would rather die than bow to them for Chen Yunniang. But now, for the sake of the border city, he had bowed to Yan Jiu.
And Chen Yunniang, she must have felt guilty that she couldn’t help much. At the critical moment of the border city’s survival, this was all she could do.
At this moment, the border city was isolated and helpless. The gentry of Yandi even hoped that King Li would die in the Northern Frontier so they could carve up the border city like a feast.
Even if the important things went to Prince Yu, and they only got a few scraps of business or technology, it would be enough for them to eat.
In Jin Sui’s heart, Han Xing and Hei Hu were like brothers. Cheng Yu and Wei Qingquan were capable and reliable elders, and Chen Yunniang was a warm-hearted elder sister she had saved herself.
Seeing them so careful and humble in order to protect their homeland and their families thousands of miles away, how could Jin Sui not be moved!
She wished she could jump out of the carriage and go back to Cheng Yu and Chen Yunniang, telling them not to worry, that she would definitely bring back the Black Feather Camp and Gu Changxiao.
The border city would be fine!
We even defended against the Tartars’ attack, so why would we fear those demons and monsters!
But she couldn’t do that.
Yan Jiu silently read her book, pretending to ignore Miss Ji’s low spirits, fearing that a single word might provoke Miss Ji to turn back.
Only after completely leaving the border city’s territory did she say:
“With officials like Cheng Yu in the border city, it will be fine.”
Jin Sui sneered, “Cheng Yu is just a county magistrate. What can he use to fight Prince Yu and the gentry?”
If Gu Changxiao died in the Northern Frontier and Prince Yu’s men took over the border city, Cheng Yu would have only two options: first, to protect the common people and border soldiers, lead a surrender, and earn eternal infamy.
Second, commit suicide to show loyalty to his former lord. Chen Yunniang would surely follow him, and the people and border soldiers of the border city would return to their former difficult predicament.
Of course, there was a third option: to lead a rebellion. But he had no troops or power, and rebellion would only lead him to wander beyond the border and become one of the bandits and horse thieves he had once suppressed.
Many border soldiers and civilians would die. Cheng Yu would definitely not choose the third path.
Everyone was doing their best to protect the border city. That was the home we had built with such difficulty!
Jin Sui had previously told Cheng Yu to let the refugees consider the border city their home, and to protect it even at the cost of their lives.
Now, it seemed the border soldiers had done so. But why did she feel like crying so much?
She blamed that scoundrel Gu Changxiao for being self-righteous, thinking he was doing what was best for her and excluding her from the plan.
But if ‘letting the other person live’ was for her own good, what was the meaning of living like a walking dead person?
I would rather die a glorious death than live day and night tormented by my conscience.
She also blamed herself for being so foolish at the time. When Gu Changxiao’s attitude turned cold, and he seemed to be afraid she would snatch the Black Feather Camp, he quickly drove her away.
She took it seriously, didn’t even ask for clarification, didn’t investigate, didn’t even have a proper talk with Cheng Yu and Han Xing, and just fled.
She was even more angry that she had always felt that Gu Changxiao’s affairs in Chang’an had nothing to do with the border city, and she didn’t want to inquire, ask more, or get involved.
But a mere flick of a finger from Chang’an could crush the border city!
I was too silly, too stupid, too naive!
And too soft-hearted. Why couldn’t I be as hard-hearted and selfish as some people, and flee with Grandpa and Jin An?
Wasn’t I also self-righteous? Weren’t Han Xing and Cheng Yu the ones you incited to shed blood and sacrifice for the border city!
Jin Sui bit her lip tightly, preventing her tears from falling. She wasn’t crying for herself, but for the kind people of the border city.
They trusted her so much!
Yan Jiu put down his book again, but he didn’t know how to comfort the distressed young lady.
She was so delicate, yet so strong. Like a red plum blooming freely in the cold wind of the snowy mountain, delicate and beautiful, yet unafraid of the wind and snow.
He had never known that such a woman existed in the world.
Any comfort was superfluous, and Yan Jiu couldn’t comfort her anyway. He couldn’t say he would wholeheartedly assist, because he wouldn’t do that either.
He had to be responsible for the safety of the Yan family’s men.
Gu Changxiao’s life or death had little to do with the Yan family. No matter how far Prince Yu’s influence reached, it wouldn’t extend to Yanzhou.
All he could do was safely bring Miss Ji back.
Jin Sui naturally understood Yan Jiu’s position, so she didn’t use any grand pronouncements or moral blackmail against Yan Jiu throughout.
She herself hated moral blackmail the most. Do not do to others what you would not want done to yourself.
They were all adults and should know that friendships were fleeting, only interests were real.
So she used interests to move Yan Jiu. The navigation chart was real, and once the Northern Frontier matters were settled, she would personally lead a fleet to open up trade routes for the Yan family.
It must be said, our Lord Yan was quite desperate to retain talent.
Seeing Yan Jiu glance at her from time to time, Jin Sui simply closed her eyes and leaned against the thick animal hide cushion, “I’m going to sleep for a while. Call me if you need anything, Lord Yan.”
Seeing that she had truly fallen asleep leaning against the seat, Yan Jiu sighed softly, stepped forward, helped her lie down on the seat, and covered her with his cloak.
He couldn’t help but recall the scenes of Miss Ji and Gu Changxiao laughing together in the border city, no matter the time or place.
Was he too clumsy with his words? But he really wasn’t good at chatting with women, especially women like Miss Ji, who were independent, intelligent, and quick-witted.
Moreover, it was impossible for them to happily chat for half the night like they did when discussing the Thirty-Six Stratagems.
What did she think of me? Did she think I was like the gentry of Yandi, watching the border city’s plight with cold eyes, waiting for Gu Changxiao to die so I could snatch the border city’s profits?
Or did my attitude towards Cheng Yu just now displease her?
He had no idea that Jin Sui was actually asleep. She needed to enter her space to research medicines. With Gu Changxiao’s careful observations before, she naturally became wary of Yan Jiu as well.
She couldn’t change clothes or wash up in the space, nor could she bring out too much food. So she decided to use this opportunity to make some useful medicines.
Common medicines were a given, but the most important were poisons and anesthetics, which would definitely be useful in the Northern Frontier.
She also needed to boil more fish oil. Gu Changxiao definitely wouldn’t have brought much, and she didn’t have much prepared either. Such powerful weapons were naturally the more the better.
Fortunately, the space had been upgraded. Now she could stay inside for an hour and enter and exit at any time, no longer needing to carefully time herself as before.
She didn’t understand the reason for the upgrade and once suspected that there was an AI system inside the space, but she couldn’t find it.
If she couldn’t figure it out, she wouldn’t worry about it for now. Stocking up on more items was the most important thing.
Weapons, food, cold-weather clothing, and fuel were all sorted and stored. Also, since she was going to the Northern Frontier with Yan Jiu under the guise of doing business.
Of course, she had to prepare more items that could be exchanged for money from the Northern Frontier people.
She had already thought of something that all Northern Frontier people couldn’t refuse and would pay a high price for.
That would be glassware, specifically shaped like wolves, as the wolf was the totem of the Northern Frontier people.
She had already prepared the raw materials for burning glass, and with the boost from the space’s laboratory, it was easy to produce molten glass.
She had found craftsmen to carve wolf molds when she was still in the border city. At that time, it was prepared for trading with the herdsmen of the Northern Frontier for warhorses, but she didn’t expect it to be more useful now.
Besides wolves, there were also molds for horses, eagles, and other animals that the Northern Frontier people loved. There were also jewelry and tea sets that women liked.
Heh heh, in the past, Western Region merchants made a fortune in Great Xia with glass. Now, let’s see this young lady make a fortune in the Northern Frontier with glass!
At the same time, Jin Sui also planned to purchase a large quantity of rabbit fur, not from official markets, but by secretly acquiring it from small tribes.
She would buy it at a price unexpectedly high for the small tribes and secretly instruct them that she would return next year. Raising sheep was a waste of fodder and didn’t fetch a high price, so they should raise more rabbits.
In this way, the impoverished small tribes would definitely raise rabbits in large numbers. By the time the authorities reacted and issued a ban, it would be at least two or three years.
During these two or three years, she would indeed purchase rabbit fur at a high price. When the authorities issued a ban, the herdsmen who got rich by raising rabbits would be alienated from the authorities and would still raise them in secret.
Do you think Jin Sui is doing a futile thing? Why would buying rabbit fur from the Northern Frontier people with gold and silver benefit us?
Heh heh, this stratagem is as malicious as sending cooked seeds to another country.
Because rabbits are good at digging holes and eat grass down to the roots, they not only damage the grasslands of the Northern Frontier but also leave holes that can cause warhorses to sprain their hooves and get injured.
More importantly, it can sow discord between the small herdsmen and the authorities. You see, the authorities tell people to raise horses and sheep but don’t care if you can eat and stay warm.
Raising rabbits can make tribes prosperous, but the authorities have explicitly banned it.
This kind of strategy might not show results in one or two years, but after several years, it will be a silent and pervasive way to cause unrest among the lower levels of the Northern Frontier.
When doing business with the small herdsmen of the Northern Frontier, they generally don’t want gold and silver, but rather grain, cloth, tea, sugar, and salt.
So Jin Sui planned to stock up on these items along the way. The fact that the original supplies in the space would reset after being taken out was very useful.
Perhaps it was because she had stayed in the space for too long, but after coming out, although not much time had passed outside, Jin Sui felt a severe headache.
It was a painful sensation like staying up all night to study. Yan Jiu, who had been paying close attention to her, quickly noticed that Miss Ji had only slept for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.
However, after waking up, her complexion was even worse, her brows furrowed, and she kept massaging her temples with her fingers.
Yan Jiu couldn’t help but ask, “Are you feeling unwell? Should I have a doctor take a look?” Yes, he had brought a doctor with him.
But he quickly realized that Miss Ji herself was a skilled physician, so he poured her a cup of hot tea and handed it to her.
When Jin Sui opened her eyes, she saw his cloak covering her. Yan Jiu was handing her hot tea with a worried expression.
Uh, big brother, have you forgotten my persona? Who is the lord and who is the maidservant between us?
Please vote, thank you everyone for your support of Sui Sui
