The Heavens: A Qing, the Yue Girl at the beginning

Chapter 513 International Scam, Reform of the Past (4k)

"It's good to be able to complete a small part of it." The little crow nodded and replied, "We can take our time with this matter, and do it according to our ability. Whatever we can get in return, it's enough... Who knows when the situation in Qin Territory will change?"

"The second thing I want to talk about is how to deal with the remaining copper and silver that cannot be processed for the time being. I wonder if the fish market can accept transactions commissioned with this as payment? After all, the reason why I want to exchange a large amount of gold and mica knife coins is to spend them."

“It’s not about how much money is, but how it is used. No matter where the copper and silver are spent, or how many hands they pass through, as long as they can achieve results that satisfy me in the end, it makes no difference.”

"So your purpose is just to make this wealth circulate quickly and exert its huge influence? This is indeed an unusual idea." The hunchbacked old man's mind moved slightly, and he immediately guessed the other party's general intention.

It's like an undercurrent that quietly penetrates into every corner of the economy, using huge amounts of capital to stir up the market, and then influencing policies, people's hearts and even the direction of the entire country, making every transaction and every circulation a chess piece to drive changes in the situation.

Once upon a time, the Zheng family in Jiaodong County, to which the queen belonged, had risen step by step to a high position through similar sophisticated manipulation and infiltration methods, becoming an unprecedentedly powerful force. This old merchant servant was also a witness of that era, so he quickly thought of this precedent.

"That's right, old man, you really see through things."

The little raven tilted his head in approval. "Everything in the world has its own way, and so does money. If you can use its power well, it is no less than a mighty army. The fish market is the largest underground trading market in Qin, with well-informed information and extensive channels. I think this may be a win-win opportunity."

"Win-win?" asked the hunchbacked old man with raised eyebrows, obviously interested in the proposal.

"Yes, a win-win situation." The little raven looked up at the other party and explained, "The fish market can help me convert these copper and silver into various resources, whether it is supplies, intelligence or connections."

"At the same time, the fish market can also earn a considerable commission from it, and expand its business scope, enhancing its influence in Changling and even the surrounding areas. Isn't this killing two birds with one stone?"

"You're wrong." The hunchbacked old man shook his head and declined, "For more than ten years, the merchant's orphan has lived in this corner of the city's east fish market. All he wants is a safe place to stay, not the benefits of hosting an underground transaction."

"It's only a few months before the Lushan Alliance. Emperor Yuanwu has been in seclusion for a long time, and Empress Zheng Xiu and the two prime ministers are in charge of government affairs. The current situation in Qin is far more complicated than ordinary people imagine. Whether it is the court or the rivers and lakes, there are undercurrents. Every risky action may lead to unexpected consequences."

"This matter involves a lot of things. If we really want to proceed, I need to confirm your identity, and whether the source of these copper and silver is clean, and whether their storage and transportation methods are safe. If it involves foreign spies, the fish market dare not easily get involved in this muddy water, and can only let the distinguished guest seek other help."

The black bamboo stick in his hand shook slightly, and a dozen bamboo shoots grew out of the ground nearby, looking quite alert.

After all, at least 90% of the seventh-level masters who practice the way of Yin Qi and ghosts are from Qi territory, and those like Shang Jia who are located in Qin territory are extremely rare. Therefore, the hunchbacked old man had long suspected that the other party was sent by the princes of Qi or even the emperor of Qi. Otherwise, how could he have the confidence to come up with so much copper and silver?

"It seems that the old man is acting cautiously and misunderstood my intention." The little crow blinked and responded frankly: "The fish market has been under the surveillance of both parties. I know this, and I will not embarrass you with something that will have serious consequences and far-reaching implications..."

"In fact, what I want is just to pass on a message to those who are interested: a dragon crossing the river, a group of outsiders with huge wealth and power that cannot be underestimated, has quietly sneaked into the Changling area. They are an excellent target for cooperation."

"Your purpose of secretly expanding your influence is to let the powerful people in Changling know of your existence, so as to get in touch with the real top leaders of the Qin Dynasty and reach some kind of tacit understanding?"

The hunchbacked old man pondered for a moment and slowly said, "Using copper and silver that are obviously higher than the market price to purchase and exchange for gold and mica knife coins, this kind of profit transfer will be regarded as a signal of friendship... I understand, and I will not continue to ask you about the source of goods next time."

The so-called mica knife coin is made of the shell of a rare mica clam in the deep sea overseas. It is dark and translucent like the moon. It is a coin unique to the Qin Dynasty. The face value of one coin is as high as five hundred gold, and it was not produced in other dynasties.

Therefore, the large-scale exchange of this kind of currency can actually be regarded as an act of giving money to the Qin Dynasty or even "surrendering".

Assuming that the hunchbacked old man's guess is true, the plan that the strange master behind the two ravens intends to implement has been instructed by the top leaders of the Qi Dynasty. Doesn't this mean that the two previously almost hostile dynasties have the intention to reach a major cooperation agreement and form an alliance with each other?

"That's perfect." Little Raven nodded. "At the same time, I also hope that the position of the fish market can be more stable. As a black and gray industrial zone that is necessary for the dignitaries of Changling, the more benefits it delivers to the top leaders of the Qin Dynasty, the more important and indispensable its position will naturally become."

"With our strong support, which has become the key fulcrum of this cooperation, the fish market and merchants who have been struggling to maintain the balance of the situation in Changling in the past will no longer face a crisis like the fourth year of Yuanwu. The situation will surely improve a lot..."

The hunchbacked old man was silent for a moment, seemingly digesting the information and weighing the pros and cons. Finally, he nodded slowly, turned around, opened the door, and motioned for the other party to come in for further discussion.

Two ravens flapped their wings and flew into the dark room, where a woman in a red shirt was vaguely seen sitting.

There was a zither in front of her, an incense burner next to it, and a few black bamboos swaying gently beside them.

Black smoke curled up from the incense burner, and the figure of the red-shirted woman seemed to sway in the air, as eerie as a ghost. However, her voice was surprisingly clear, gentle, and indescribably polite, making people feel comfortable when they heard it, and the whole dark room seemed to warm up:

"My friend, thank you for your willingness to help us improve our situation when we were looking for cooperation in Changling. Since Uncle Sun is optimistic about this 'big business' and has agreed to it, I will not ask too much. Let's just follow your plan."

This woman in red was obviously the orphan of the merchant who presided over the reform in the past. She smiled slightly, and that smile was both gentle and resolute, as if she could see through people's hearts, but would not easily reveal her true thoughts.

She waved her hand gently, signaling the raven to continue.

The small raven landed in a corner of the room, turned into a wisp of black gas and merged back into the body of the large raven. The latter continued, "Miss Shang is straightforward, so I won't beat around the bush. In addition to the previous suggestion, I have one more thing to ask of you."

"Just say it." The woman in red plucked the strings of the zither gently. The melodious sound seemed to soothe the restlessness and anxiety in people's hearts.

"To put it simply, I recently heard that after the seventh disciple of the Sword Furnace, Zhao Zhan, was killed by the Heavenly Supervisor Ye Celeng, the two remaining swords of Zhao Jianlu have come to Changling and seem to be temporarily staying in the fish market area." The big raven looked at the red-shirted woman behind the gauze curtain and continued:

"If possible, I hope Miss Shang can help introduce Mr. Zhao Yi and Mr. Zhao Si to make two new friends." "...It seems that my friend's trip is not sincere and sincere to form an alliance with the Qin State, but has other reasons." Hearing that such a secret news was exposed by the other party, the red-shirted woman was very surprised, but despite this, her voice was still thin, and her speed and tone made people feel comfortable:
"If my guess is correct, my friend is not from Qi, but wants to disguise himself as a pro-Qin faction within the Qi Dynasty through some means, and establish a relationship with Yuan Wu, Zheng Xiu, and the two prime ministers, so as to obtain important intelligence and mislead the other party at a critical moment."

The hunchbacked old man was immediately shocked, and found it difficult to understand why his young lady made such a judgment.

Although Zhao Jianlu's disciples were traitors to the Qin Dynasty, the people of the Qi Dynasty cooperated with Yuan Wu and Zheng Xiu on the one hand, and made friends with Zhao Yi and Zhao Si on the other. This is by no means a contradiction, but a common double-dealing operation in the underworld and politics.

"Uncle Sun, the cultivation method of our Ghost Bamboo Sect is considered first-rate even in the Great Qi Dynasty. However, compared with this friend's Yin Qi transformation technique, whether it is the level of change of creation, the obscure and difficult to distinguish aura, or the real essence, it is far inferior."

Sensing the old servant's confusion, the red-shirted woman explained, "If you want to find a sect with such a high level of skills in the Qi Dynasty, apart from Yan Ying of the Shanyin Sect, I'm afraid you can only trace it back to the legendary Twelve Witch Gods."

"I have heard that the Emperor of Qi has long respected Yan Ying as his teacher, and his position is not inferior to his own, similar to the position of 'that person' in Qin in the past. If he wanted to secretly form an alliance with the Qin Dynasty, he would never let Yan Ying take the risk to come to the heavily guarded Changling... As for the Twelve Witch Gods, it is even more impossible for Qi to act in this way if he obtains them."

"Miss Shang is extremely intelligent, and her attainments in the art of dealing with Yin Qi and ghosts are also outstanding. She is expected to become a grandmaster."

The big raven exclaimed: "Regarding the purpose of my disguise as the envoy of Qi, I can also reveal a piece of information here: the Twelve Witch God Heads, the most precious treasure of the former Jin Dynasty, were stolen by a traitor and lost for many years. After being passed around for many years, they are now in the hands of Zheng Xiu."

"I see!"

The red-shirted woman quickly understood the layout involved and was shocked. Several black bamboos beside her could not help but sway, as if there was wind blowing. The black gauze curtain in front of her also swayed and gathered to one side. The mysterious merchant lady finally made her official appearance.

Her facial features were not particularly pretty, and her skin was a sickly pale color, but her expression was exceptionally quiet and peaceful. Her pupils were very distinctive, especially black and bright. Her red skirt was very long, completely dragging on the ground, covering her feet.

"For us practitioners of the Way of Yin Qi and Ghosts, the twelve supreme techniques passed down from the Witch Ancestor are indeed not something that can be measured by a mere tens of billions of gold."

The red-shirted woman was silent for a few breaths, and said sincerely: "Since there is a reason for this, and it is to covet the treasure in Zheng Xiu's hands, then I, the merchant, will do my best to help him."

When Emperor Yuanwu used merchants to carry out reforms, he had not officially ascended the throne, but in fact he had already firmly controlled the court. However, because the new policies infringed on the interests of too many prominent families, he still encountered unimaginably strong opposition.

This kind of struggle between powerful aristocratic families and the court would not only endanger the throne of an emperor, but would even cause a dynasty to decline rapidly. Even with the full support of Bashan Sword Field, it would inevitably collapse.

Some powerful and prominent families have even begun to borrow the power of external dynasties to fight against Emperor Yuanwu.

In the eyes of the vast majority of people at that time, and even most of the officials in the court who were loyal to Emperor Yuanwu, this reform was completely impossible to succeed.

Faced with such a critical situation, although Wang Jingmeng and many people from Bashan Sword Field were fighting outside and their strength was slightly weak, Yuan Wu and Zheng Xiu did not hesitate at all. They directly adopted the most iron-blooded and powerful means at the fastest speed and immediately attacked the most powerful Gongsun clan.

On the grounds that the Gongsun clan had driven their horses out to enjoy the spring scenery and destroyed farmland, the new law gave them a heavy punishment and those few people were executed. When the Gongsun clan fought back strongly, a large army and countless practitioners were mobilized overnight to uproot the entire Gongsun clan from Changling, and the four major clans were wiped out overnight.

Soon after, in order to avoid chaos and quell the anger of the remaining aristocratic families, Shang merchants were pushed out as scapegoats. At a place in the Wei River, the water surged backwards and washed out a golden man. On its back were listed charges that were all related to Shang merchants, saying that Shang merchants had bewitched the royal family and forged an imperial edict to mobilize troops.

So the Shang family was destroyed. When Wang Jingmeng received the news and rushed back day and night, there was only one orphan left, whom he successfully rescued. She was the eldest daughter of the Shang family who was now hiding in the fish market. However, the original reform was still slowly maintained.

It was different from Shang Yang's reforms in normal history. Because it was a different Shang family, the main driving force behind the reforms was not the Qin royal family but the Bashan Sword Field. The new laws here naturally did not emphasize the "Five Techniques of Governing the People" and "Heavy Punishments and Light Rewards", but a real system of military merit and titles, and promotion was much fairer.

Even if one is of the humblest origin, as long as one is brave enough, one can accumulate military merits in exchange for fiefdoms, rely on the resources in the army to continuously practice and improve one's realm and martial arts, gain rewards and promotions, become an important general in the army, and eventually be granted a title of nobility.

Among the Thirteen Marquises of the Great Qin today, more than half of them were not of prominent origin and were granted titles based on their military merits. Soldiers, officers, and officials who benefited from the Shang Dynasty's reforms are spread all over the court and the country. It can be said that the grace has spread throughout the world, and countless people feel indebted.

Therefore, although Zheng Xiu always wanted to erase all traces of Bashan Sword Field and Wang Jingmeng, when she tried to kill the orphan girl from Shang Merchants again, many old men in the court, including the two prime ministers, tried their best to stop her. After many twists and turns, the fish market was finally preserved, but it also became an invisible "cage" for Shang Merchants.

Even though the eldest daughter of a merchant family is open-minded by nature, Yuan Wu and Zheng Xiu are not only the masterminds behind the extermination of the merchant family, but also the culprits who killed her savior. If there is anything that can be used to retaliate against them and cause trouble for them, she will naturally choose to support them and try her best to provide assistance.

"As long as you can deceive the Twelve Witch Gods with the cooperation of the fish market, or get the general clues of the hiding places of these treasures in Changling, I, Zhao Qing, will reward you handsomely. After I decipher the corresponding cultivation methods, I will also share a copy with the merchants."

The raven circled and flew up, adding: "As for the crisis risk that this incident may cause, the Shang family will not be involved in the slightest. I will only blame it on the Qi Dynasty. Of course, in order to prevent Zheng Xiu and others from taking their anger out on me, I will also arrange a corresponding retreat for you at that time."

Zhao Qing? Isn't this the new Grandmaster who suddenly appeared in Baiyang Cave?
Such an outrageous international scam seems to be very confident. Could it be that the recent theft of the warehouse of the Changling Tiger Wolf Northern Army was also done by the other party? The eldest lady of the Shang family and the old servant looked at each other and had such thoughts in their hearts at the same time.

"Two blazing furnace-like auras are approaching this place..." Without continuing to look at the stunned and surprised expressions of the two people, the raven flapped its wings and quickly flew out of the door: "It seems that today I can experience the skills of Mr. Zhao Yi and Mr. Zhao Si. I have been looking forward to it for a long time."

"Please wait for a moment, I'll be back soon!"

After saying that, the raven turned into a black shadow and disappeared into the night outside the door in an instant, leaving behind only a series of low and long crow calls, echoing in the silent night sky, as if foreshadowing the coming storm.

Inside the house, the red-shirted woman and the hunchbacked old man looked at each other, their hearts filled with mixed emotions, unable to calm down.

……