Chapter 314

The Six-Nots Agreement, the profit from timber, the exclusive supply of barbarian goods, the Wanshan cargo station... So, it can be played like this...

If what he spoke of at Ruyi Tower before was the general strategy for pacifying the barbarians, then is this the concrete method of implementation?

As Xiao Baoyue learned Wang Yang's rhetorical techniques and pondered his train of thought, she felt she had gained a great deal.

It's just that the art of eloquence is somewhat mysterious; it is not merely about being articulate and having a meticulous flow of words, nor is it just about being well-versed in worldly affairs and having a retentive memory. While these are certainly not easy to achieve, they at least have rules to follow. What Xiao Baoyue found most difficult to fathom and imitate was Wang Yang's ability to mobilize emotions and bewitch people's hearts when he spoke.

When to be urgent, when to be slow, when to emphasize, when to lighten—this subtle sense of proportion was handled perfectly by him in just a few words. Listening to him speak is like being led by an invisible thread; one moment he makes your blood surge, the next he makes your heart tighten. By the time he has finished, you realize you have already followed his line of thought through who knows how many twists and turns! Your previous doubts and resistance have long since dissipated, and all that lingers in your heart is his argument, which you find more and more reasonable the more you think about it!

This is first seeing through the other party's mind, then thinking through the gains and losses, joys and sorrows for them, and finally choosing the words that can best strike the heart. Therefore, he can always reach the soul directly. This kind of thorough insight is harder to learn than any rhetorical technique, not to mention that just thinking of it is not enough; one must also be able to select the most appropriate words and sentences, so that speech can fully express meaning and the mouth can respond to the heart. Such ability is truly not something that can be learned through deconstruction and imitation. As for responding to infinite changes with swift adaptability, that is even further beyond what diligence and effort can achieve. Baoyue asks herself if she is no match for him, and can only look up to him and sigh.

Although she is always angered half to death every time she clashes with Wang Yang, she often gains something when reviewing the situation afterward. Xiao Baoyue feels like a chess player playing against a master; even if her strategy is broken, her chess skills are honed. Therefore, the more she loses, the more she improves. This kind of tempering between winning and losing is more useful than winning any number of smooth-sailing games. Thinking about it this way, Wang Yang doesn't seem so hateful after all...

No! He is still extremely, extremely hateful!!!

Xiao Baoyue thinks Wang Yang is hateful, but Angta, on the other hand, finds Wang Yang more pleasing to the eye the more he looks at him.

It is no wonder the Wenyang tribe is willing to submit; if the trade route is really opened, the profit will be huge. Isn't this what he has always hoped for? It's just that kneeling to the Han court like this makes him somewhat reluctant. Moreover, having schemed for so long, seeing an opportunity to take revenge on the Wenyang tribe, should he just give up? And that land of the Sanshan—it would indeed be a pity to abandon it. Angta thought back and forth, but still felt unwilling to give up and did not want to stop there.

Seeing the negotiations fall into a stalemate, Xiao Baoyue tried to put herself in Wang Yang's shoes, only to find that she couldn't find a way to break the deadlock at all.

Perhaps he could only use the court's military power to intimidate them? But the matter involves submission, and the court's reach is too far; without solid evidence for deploying troops, the Wenyang tribe wouldn't be afraid just by relying on intimidation. And threatening to cut off the silk trade might not necessarily work either. Besides, if he uses coercion and force, wouldn't the situation he worked so hard to open up after much talk be ruined? If Angta is really pushed to the limit, and a dog jumps over a wall in desperation...

After pondering, Xiao Baoyue felt it was a dead end, and also believed Wang Yang was too greedy. Being able to reconcile the two tribes was already not easy, yet he was actually thinking of letting the Yongning tribe submit as well; it was truly somewhat...

"To tell the truth, the conditions given by the Han envoy are indeed good, but the land of the Sanshan is our—"

Although Angta expressed refusal, his tone had become much more polite, but he was interrupted by Wang Yang with a smile before he could finish.

"Understood. Houzeng feels that the profit given by our dynasty is still not enough to make Houzeng abandon the land of the Sanshan."

"The Han envoy misunderstands. The land of the Sanshan is like the flesh and blood of our Yongning tribe—"

"I will give you another piece of flesh and blood, flesh and blood that will continuously generate profit for your tribe. Also, Young Master, I said before that the trade route would only open one path for the Wenyang tribe for the time being. If the Yongning tribe submits—"

Angta said: "We will not submit."

Wang Yang smiled slightly: "I am speaking of 'if'."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Le Luo Luo again: "If the Yongning tribe submits, then I have spoken in error. Therefore, I will also give the Young Master a piece of flesh and blood as an apology."

Le Luo Luo immediately bowed with a Han salute: "The Han envoy speaks too seriously."

In Le Luo Luo's mind, Wang Yang being able to stop the extortion by the Yongning tribe and preserve the land of the Sanshan was already a great favor. Moreover, the Wenyang tribe's transaction tax had preferential treatment, while the four-percent tax (four out of every hundred) that Wang Yang just mentioned for the Yongning tribe was not reduced by a single point. However, he was indeed a little worried whether the Yongning tribe would split their business after opening the barbarian route.

Wang Yang tapped his palm with his folding fan:

"Houzeng likes brocade; the amount used for wearing should only be a small part. More of it is because brocade is very valuable among the barbarians, so it is taken and used as money, just like we in the Han lands use cloth as currency, right?"

"Correct."

"Then why can't Houzeng produce money yourself?"

Angta was puzzled: "Produce money myself?"

"That's right. Since brocade is money, wouldn't us producing brocade ourselves be equivalent to producing money ourselves? Isn't this better than buying brocade from others?"

Xiao Baoyue thought to herself: Is he going to teach the barbarians the skills of weaving brocade and spinning satin? But let alone the court not allowing it, even if it were allowed, you couldn't teach it. Do you really think you can send a few embroiderers and turn those barbarian women into skilled craftsmen? Even if they were taught, it would be useless. From planting and raising mulberry and hemp to silkworm cocoons and reeling silk, from dye preparation to warp and weft weaving, which one is not the work of years and months? The barbarian lands don't even have spinning wheels, let alone patterns and techniques. Starting from nothing, even if you invest more money and manpower, and exhaust years of time, you might not be able to weave decent brocade.

Angta also wanted to dream like this, but reality did not allow it:

"The Han envoy makes it sound easy. We don't have mulberry trees here; should we plant them now? We don't know how to raise silkworms; should we learn now? As for dyeing, weaving, and embroidery, we know even less. What will we use to produce brocade?"

"You don't need to have these; having me alone is enough. Currently, several major brocade workshops in Jingzhou have closed down, and the remaining ones are scattered and do not form a climate. If we take this opportunity to integrate them into one family, and hold both the weaving of satin and the making of garments in our hands, we can unify allocation and concentrate production. This will not only ensure the supply of satin but also guarantee the materials for finished garments. From spinning silk to finished garments, one line runs through it. Internally, we reduce costs; externally, we purchase in large quantities, pressing down the prices of silk and dyes—it will definitely be very promising! And as for the person who comes forward to integrate this, in the whole of Jingzhou, perhaps there is no one more suitable than me. Regardless of the size of the workshops, weaving machines, or dyeing factories, how they are managed, what the technology is, the background of the shopkeepers, or the cost and price—they are all in my mind..."

Wang Yang smiled at Angta when he said this:

"You may not know yet that if it weren't for my presiding, the Prince of Badong wouldn't be able to give you two thousand brocade robes and two thousand crimson satin jackets. However, when I helped him, I didn't know this batch of brocade was for you."

Angta was startled and looked at Xiao Baoyue.

Wang Yang also looked at Xiao Baoyue.

Xiao Baoyue had no choice but to nod. But she still couldn't understand what Wang Yang was going to do.

Is he going to spend money and then give brocade to the barbarian tribes for free? No, he wouldn't do such a losing thing. Is he going to let the barbarian tribes invest money and then take a share of the profit? This does look like his style of doing things, but given the nature of the barbarians, I'm afraid they won't be willing to pay in advance...

Le Luo Luo, upon hearing that the brocade obtained by the Yongning tribe was actually due to Wang Yang's help, couldn't help but have a deeper understanding of the strength of this noble young master Wang. At the same time, he felt very puzzled in his heart: Why did the Prince of Badong give the Yongning tribe so much brocade? The barbarian route hasn't even opened yet! He only heard Wang Yang continue:

"I have already thought of the name for this brocade workshop of ours. Let's call it 'Cloud Rainbow Pavilion', taken from Qu Zi's 'Raising the cloud rainbow in the dimness, the jade phoenix rings with a chirp'. Do you two think it is good?"

"Chu Ci Supplementary Commentary", Zhonghuashu Bureau, 1983 edition.

Le Luo Luo and Angta looked at each other.

Xinyi shook her head.

Wang Yang looked at Xinyi and asked with a smile: "Miss Xinyi, what do you think is not good?"

She was actually named and asked for her opinion!

Xinyi was about to speak excitedly, but immediately felt Xiao Baoyue's stern gaze. She hurriedly covered her mouth, blinked at Wang Yang quickly, and then secretly glanced at Xiao Baoyue. Her long eyelashes fluttered, trying to tell Wang Yang with her eyes: It's not that I don't want to say, it's that the Young Master won't let me say.

Wang Yang had an expression of "sympathetic understanding, understanding sympathy," nodded to Xinyi, and signaled with his eyes.

Seeing the way the two were "exchanging glances," Xiao Baoyue was so angry that she clenched her fists again, determined to give Xinyi a sound beating when she got back, otherwise her bodyguard would have the surname Wang sooner or later!

Wang Yang deliberately stopped speaking here, teasing Xinyi without haste, while Angta and Le Luo Luo were both full of questions.

Angta couldn't help but say:

"I don't quite understand the Han envoy's meaning. Is the Han envoy going to give the Cloud... Cloud Rainbow Pavilion to us?"

"It's about the same as giving, but not all of it. Instead, I am giving each of the two chieftains a twenty percent dry share. The so-called dry share means that four out of ten parts of the Cloud Rainbow Pavilion belong to the two chieftains, which is to say, nearly half of the Cloud Rainbow Pavilion is in the hands of the two chieftains! With so many weaving workshops and cloth shops, such a big business, the annual profit is at least several million, and at most over ten million. This dry share is endless; you get money this year, and it will still generate money next year! Every year! The two chieftains don't have to manage anything, just sit and collect the money! And since the Cloud Rainbow Pavilion is our own family's, why be polite about taking brocade in the future? You can have as much brocade as you want! Just take it at the lowest cost price..."

Angta and Le Luo Luo were both overjoyed and ecstatic! However, neither of them was so blinded by profit that they didn't know such huge benefits would probably not be easily given to others. Angta suppressed his joy and asked:

"The Han envoy gives us such great benefits—what return do you want?"

"First of all, this Cloud Rainbow Pavilion is in Jingzhou City. Since Houzeng wants to hold a dry share, you must submit. Without submission, the court cannot allow Houzeng to have industries in the Han lands. So you must submit first, and then you will have dry shares and trade routes. This should be expected, right?"

Wang Yang looked at Angta, his eyes deliberately slightly dissatisfied.

Angta nodded: "Expected, expected."

He didn't even realize himself that, induced by Wang Yang, his tone unconsciously added a few points of flattery.

"Secondly, since it is submission, then in the future, the Wenyang tribe and the Yongning tribe will be our own people and cannot resort to force again. Not to mention that our dynasty does not allow private fighting, just say if you fight here, what will happen to the trade route? What will happen to the Wanshan cargo station? Every day of delay is a loss of real gold and silver. If you cannot achieve this, let's break up early..."

The two immediately expressed that they would not fight, absolutely not fight!

"Thirdly, integrating so many workshops requires a large amount of money. Giving the two chieftains dry shares also requires the court's consent. As for this money, the court will pay it. But for the court to give the two of you dry shares for free, there must be a reason that can convince the public. How about this: the two chieftains have been threatened by the Wu Ning barbarians during this period. This group of people is not decent, using the contradictions between the two tribes to seek profit. I, Wang, am very disdainful! Today, I invite the two chieftains to join hands with our Great Qi to point our swords at the Wu Ning barbarians! Tell their chieftain—"

Wang Yang closed his folding fan, pointed to the outside of the tent, his brows like blades, his eyes like essence. The leisurely and elegant demeanor from just a moment ago instantly turned into a tiger's roar and a dragon's chant:

"Yongning and Wenyang have already submitted to the King's transformation! The heavenly might is upon you; come and surrender quickly!

Surrender, and the barbarian route will open, gold and silver will be shared, and you will be given a ten percent dry share to ensure your wealth and honor!

If you do not surrender, three paths will advance together to break your lair, burn your shrines, and slaughter you without leaving a single one!

Surrender or fight—one word will decide your survival! Obey and live, resist and die; do not say you were not warned!"

As the voice faded, the whole tent was shocked.