Chapter 240

Jinling City.

A drunken Beidi official arrogantly knocked a young man pushing a wheelbarrow to the ground.

Seeming unsatisfied, he raised his horse whip and lashed out fiercely, cursing, "You blind dog thing..."

The Jinling commoners passing by were as silent as cicadas in winter; not daring to linger for even a moment, they fled one by one.

To them, the joy of Yan Wang repelling the enemy during this period had gradually been replaced by the resentment brought about by the Beidi envoys.

Since these envoys arrived in Jinling City, they had shown no intention of leaving.

They ate, drank, and made merry in Jinling, acting overbearingly and wantonly beating Da Song commoners and officials.

There were even rumors that respectable women had been bullied by them and had jumped into the river to commit suicide.

Yet the government turned a deaf ear to the various behaviors of the Beidi envoys.

When righteous men among the people could not stand it and struck a Beidi person, they were instead thrown into prison by the government, which displayed the utmost sycophancy.

This made the Jinling commoners even more afraid to speak out despite their anger, and they could only bitterly mock themselves: Beidi people are people, but Da Song people are not.

"Well struck, such blind things deserve to be beaten." While the Beidi envoy was acting like a thug, a young master in green brocade suddenly clapped and cheered.

Tiemuta had originally just been watching the show while mounted on his horse, but at this moment, he cast his gaze toward the young master in green.

Coming to Jinling this time, besides the two matters of peace talks and the Border Market, he also bore a secret mission.

That was to befriend the powerful and influential figures of Da Song, understand the Da Song court, and find Yan Wang's enemies from within.

Although the previous plot with the Yuan Family had failed.

It had made his father realize that this was a way to divide and disintegrate Da Song.

If they could get the Song People to eliminate Yan Wang themselves, that would be best.

Thus, he used the gold and silver brought from the Grassland to bribe a minor official of the Court of State Ceremonial who was responsible for hosting them.

Through him, he learned that currently, all of the Eight Great Clans of Da Song held hostility toward Yan Wang.

Moreover, the Royal Clan and the influential clans had always been locked in a struggle.

This news made him vaguely grasp something.

So he decided to stay for a few more days, using the bribed official to subtly express goodwill to the officials of the influential clans.

However, this did not bring him the expected results.

The officials in Jinling City seemed to deliberately avoid contact with him.

Unreconciled, he released news that he would return to the Grassland in three days.

Today, with only one day left before his return to the Grassland, someone finally could not hold back.

Although the young man before him was not a Da Song official.

He was Han Xin, the eldest son of the Han Family, one of the Eight Great Clans of Da Song.

After cheering, Han Xin did not speak to Tiemuta, but turned and left directly.

However, when the servant following behind him passed by a Beidi official, he quickly slipped a paper ball over, and not even Tiemuta noticed.

It was not until the Beidi official whispered a few words in his ear that he revealed a smile.

That night.

Tiemuta waited quietly in the Honglu Post House, which was specifically for hosting envoys in Jinling.

At midnight, footsteps were heard outside his room door.

Then, led by an official from the Court of State Ceremonial, seven people draped in black robes walked in.

"Dou Kuang, the eldest son of the Dou Family,

Wang Bi, the eldest son of the Wang Family, Han Xin, the eldest son of the Han Family, Fan Tong, the eldest son of the Fan Family, Liang Feng, the eldest son of the Liang Family." The official from the Court of State Ceremonial introduced them to Tiemuta one by one.

Tiemuta was stunned for a moment, then laughed heartily, "What an honor, what an honor. I didn't expect to see six of the Jinling Seven Young Masters today, though it is a pity that the Xie Family and the Ma Family are missing."

"The Xie Family is currently sitting on the fence, and the Ma Family is on good terms with Yan Wang and is unwilling to join us in resisting him, but the Ma Family will soon get what's coming to them..." Dou Kuang snorted coldly, though he only said half of what he meant, seemingly unwilling to reveal too much.

Hearing this, Tiemuta's pupils dilated slightly, but he immediately returned to normal.

For him, he needed every piece of important intelligence.

Laughing lightly a few times, he feigned surprise and asked, "I wonder what important matter brings the six young masters here?"

"Why must the envoy play dumb? Beidi and we now have a common enemy, and that is Yan Wang. Coming here this time, we are also risking being discovered by the Royal Clan's spies, so we might as well be straightforward," said Han Xin.

The Beidi official behind Tiemuta immediately revealed a fierce look in his eyes.

Before these Da Song influential clans stood the son of the Beidi Khan, the future heir to the Khanate; how dare they speak so rudely.

Tiemuta felt displeased in his heart, but he coughed lightly to stop his accompanying official from getting angry.

Moreover, this showed from the side that no one in Da Song knew his true identity.

"Do not take offense, Envoy. He just has this kind of temperament," Wang Bi immediately smoothed things over, appearing slightly slick and worldly.

"No matter. Young Master Han is quite right. Why not be straightforward? What do you want to get from Beidi?" Tiemuta said.

"Warhorses, ox tendons, ox horns, furs..." Dou Kuang said, "For this Border Market, we hope the Beidi merchants can make things convenient for us."

Because of the Border Market, the influential clans chose to make concessions in trade matters.

This was to exchange Yan Wang's goods flowing smoothly in their provinces for Yan Wang not making things difficult for them at the Border Market.

However, even so, they were still not at ease.

So after the Beidi envoy showed goodwill, the influential clans decided to make contact, wanting to gain great benefits at the Border Market.

"That is very simple, but what can you give Beidi?" Tiemuta's eyes narrowed.

The things the influential clans wanted were all materials needed for war.

Warhorses go without saying; ox tendons and ox horns could be used to manufacture bows and arrows, and furs could be used as linings for Armor.

The six men looked at each other upon hearing this.

Dou Kuang said, "We have already helped you. Yan Wang currently only has 150,000 troops under his command, whereas originally, he could have had 210,000."

Tiemuta nodded slightly.

He had already confirmed this news; Yan Wang indeed only had one hundred and fifty thousand troops, which was undoubtedly very favorable for Northern Di.

However, he would not be deceived by a greenhorn like Dou Kuang: "This matter doesn't count; doing this is only for your own sake. If you don't show some sincerity, then go back. After the Border Market opens, we, Northern Di, will sell the best Warhorses to Yan Wang."

He did this to provoke the powerful clans.

Because he was clear that what the powerful clans worried about most was the Imperial Clan continuing to grow stronger.

The things Yan Wang obtained would first be given to the Imperial Guards, not to them.

Dou Kuang frowned; when he came, his father had already said that the Northern Di envoy would not be so easy to dismiss.

So he took a slip of paper from his bosom and handed it to Tiemuta.

"This is our sincerity, but at the Border Market, I hope you, Northern Di, will definitely not let Yan Wang take advantage," Dou Kuang said.

After reading the contents on the slip of paper, Tiemuta revealed a satisfied smile.

"Deal," Tiemuta nodded.

It was a very obvious fact that it was currently impossible to wipe out Yan Wang.

But if the powerful clans of Great Song could weaken Yan Wang, it would undoubtedly be favorable for Northern Di.

For this, paying a small price was something Northern Di could bear.

However, he was clear that even if he did not give them convenience at the Border Market, the powerful clans would still do what was on the paper.

But by giving them a little sweetness, they would be more willing to take risks.

And this could be considered a meeting gift from Northern Di to befriend the powerful clans of Great Song.

One day, they might perhaps continue to cooperate with Northern Di.