This was not the only trouble that caused Wu Feng. After seeing the benefits that his engagement to Princess Anne brought to the northwest, the important officials in the northwest government system had their thoughts on Loulan, the daughter of the King of Loulan. On the body of Haliqina, known as the Pearl. In their view, since the marriage to Princess Anne can close the relationship between the two parties, the same can be done in the Western Region. A marriage can solve the relationship between the Western Region and the Central Northwest that has been troubled for a long time, even if Hariqina looks like Wuyan's mother-in-law, as a lord, Wufeng should also take into account the overall situation, not to mention that Hariqina was born into a beautiful country and was known as the Mulan of the Western Regions. Such a beautiful thing couldn't be better.
This marriage was highly praised by government officials such as Su Qin and Wang Zongxi, as well as Cui Wenxiu and Hu Yanqiu from the military. Haliqina's brother, Prince Khalid of Loulan, who was studying at Northwest University, was highly praised. He fully supports this marriage. In his eyes, this marriage can improve the current embarrassing position of Loulan Kingdom among the countries in the Western Region and in the eyes of the northwest. It may even restore the somewhat faded Loulan Kingdom to its past glory.
It's just that although Wu Feng was a little attracted to Hariqina's beauty, he never thought of including her as his concubine. Princess Anne already gave him a headache. If he added such a princess who wanted to marry her at any time, Mulan of the Western Regions risked her life, so wouldn't her own private life be immersed in dire straits? So he resolutely rejected everyone's proposal, but the stubborn subordinates seemed not to give up and continued to lobby their lord through various methods, which made Wu Feng very troubled.
Seeing that the situation was somewhat cold due to his own reasons, Wu Feng was also secretly thinking about how to resolve the deadlock. He didn't want such a meeting to end in such a scene.
"Yutang, I want you to take a trip to the imperial capital for me. Are you willing?" Wu Feng is always good at creating suspense and resolving embarrassing situations, especially making a mystery based on the other party's preferences and concerns can often have miraculous results. , this time is no exception.
"Oh?" Situ Yutang's displeasure was immediately driven away by the sudden request, and his attention suddenly focused on the question raised by the other party, "Going to the Imperial Capital? What's important?"
"In view of the current rise in food prices in the Imperial Capital and the food shortage in the Imperial Capital, His Majesty the Emperor has issued an edict requesting Kansai and Northwest China to provide food to ensure that the people of the Imperial Capital have sufficient food supply. However, His Majesty the Emperor has requested supplies. The amount of food is too large and the price is too low. In addition, the edict regarding the establishment of the Western Xinjiang Protectorate has not been issued. I heard that His Majesty the Emperor has not signed or sealed it. I want to ask you to make this trip to meet your brother. Let's discuss these two issues and hope to get a result that satisfies both parties." Wu Feng said slowly.
The empire and even the eastern continent suffered from widespread disasters, and the grain harvest failed across the board. The entire empire was experiencing food shortages. This was no longer a secret. Although the price of food in the northwest and Kansai had also risen sharply, at least there was still food supply in the two places, and the empire In some other areas, prices are already high and there is no market. Many grain merchants are hoarding grain because they are worried that the drought will continue to spread. However, the administrative measures taken by the central government to stabilize grain prices have not had much effect on these grain merchants who have strong backers behind them. The large sales of the empire's strategic grain reserves at the beginning of the year also made Situ Lang regret and beat his chest. But now that the matter has come to this, if there is no countermeasures, the people of the imperial capital will fluctuate, and most of the soldiers of the several legions under his command come from the imperial capital and surrounding areas. Afraid of endangering his rule, Situ Lang had to seek help, and Northwest and Guanxi naturally became the best emergency targets.
Of course, Situ Yutang was aware of Wu Feng's grain speculation at the beginning of the year. At that time, she even despised Wu Feng's unfounded speculation, thinking that the other party was gambling with his already insufficient finances. She also roughly knew that the northwest was from India. De'an received a sum of funds, but she didn't think that this would allow her to speculate and gamble like some vulgar nouveau riche show off. However, the subsequent facts forced her to admit that her fiancé's luck was so good that he even managed to lose money in a row. Such speculation can also be successful.
But she did not expect that the losers in this gambling and speculation war actually included her brother, His Majesty the Emperor of the Empire. Having lost a large amount of strategic grain reserves, His Majesty the Emperor had to lower his head and ask for assistance from his vassal, although in name only Still aloof, but everyone knows that this request is actually a disguised request. He hopes to buy back the grain at a price slightly higher than the price originally sold to Northwest. This is of course unacceptable to Wu Feng. The current price is already three times the original price. Even if Wu Feng can make some concessions, it is impossible to do so. Generous.
"What are your plans?" After a moment of silence, Situ Yutang finally asked.
"Your brother wants to buy it at a price of ten gold coins per load. The current market price in Kansai is sixteen gold coins per load, but I have banned the outflow of grain. The price of food in the imperial capital should be more than twenty gold coins per load. I think the minimum price is The price should be equal to the price in Kansai, so that I can explain the following. Grain merchants in Kansai and Northwest China have made representations to the Legal Affairs Agency through the Chamber of Commerce, believing that the government’s temporary decree banning grain exports violates the norms of free commercial circulation. Molun has already made a suggestion to me to abolish the request, and I am under a lot of pressure. If I sell food at a low price now, I will attract blame from all sides." Wu Feng saw that the other party's mood had eased, and he deliberately Get close to the other person, casually wrap your arms around the other person's waist, and walk forward.
After a moment of stiffness, Situ Yutang still didn't push away the opponent's big hand. Instead, Shanfa's infinitely hot palm pressed against his waist, which had only one layer of silk clothing, giving Situ Yutang an indescribable feeling. A subtle feeling, as her footsteps moved and her body rubbed, the numb and numb feeling seemed to spread from her waist to her whole body, which even affected her thinking and judgment.
"Wufeng, do you no longer have the concept of the center of the empire in your heart? I am the daughter of the Situ family, and I am also your legitimate fiancée. My brother is also thinking about the people of the imperial capital. Do you want to do this just for these few gold coins? Are you arguing with my brother?" Situ Yutang lowered his head slightly and asked with some sadness.
Situ Yutang's words made Wu Feng unable to find the right words to respond. If he said he didn't care about the gold coins, he could only return the grain to Situ Lang at a fair price. If he said he didn't care, then what? The relationship between the two of them was greatly hurt. Wu Feng hesitated before replying: "Yutang, if you really think that by returning this batch of grain to your brother at a fair price, I have preserved the friendship between us, then I No objection. I also know that Situ Yuan and Situ Lang have a very good relationship with you, but I can tell you clearly that even if your two brothers get the support of this batch of food from me, it will be difficult for them. It's probably not a good thing to maintain it for a long time and threaten it for a longer time. It's just that this is a family matter of your Situ family, so I can't say too much about it."
As if he heard something in his fiancé's words, Situ Yutang raised his beautiful red phoenix eyes and asked doubtfully: "Wufeng, what do you mean by this?"
"Yutang, the situation has changed. You can't wallow in the past glory of the empire. You can probably see the current situation more clearly. His Majesty the Emperor's rule is now limited to a corner of the imperial capital. Although on the surface he still controls four An army of 500,000 people, but how many of the 400,000 to 500,000 troops are capable of fighting a tough battle? According to my observation, the Guards Corps may not be truly controlled by His Majesty. As for having a closer relationship with you His Royal Highness the King of Chu, with all due respect, if the Milan people don't send troops to help him, I'm afraid he will become a prisoner of His Highness within three months. Even with the help of the Milan people, the outcome will be 50-50. , the greater possibility will be to plunge the prosperous Jiangnan into a fire of war. It is a pity that all the essence of the empire for hundreds of years is concentrated in Jiangnan. If it is destroyed in the war in vain, it will be a huge irreparable loss for us Tang people. ." Wu Feng turned around, held the opponent's delicate hands with both hands, and stared at the opponent's beautiful face with a pair of deep eyes.
A flash of panic flashed across Situ Yutang's cheeks, and she seemed to hear the hidden meaning in Wu Feng: "Wufeng, do you mean that both my seventh brother and ninth brother will be in danger?"
"There may not be much danger to their personal safety, but if they want to maintain their current power, it is unlikely. I know you have always disliked your eldest brother, but your eldest brother's strength is indeed not that of your seventh brother. No army in the empire can withstand the combat power of the First and Second Legions that can compete with Brother Nine. Jiangnan will fall sooner or later. Once Jiangnan falls, His Majesty the Emperor will not have the financial support of Jiangnan. What can he do to maintain him? The Wuhu area is actually under the control of your sixth brother Situ Biao, and Situ Jun is also a grasshopper after the autumn and will not be able to reach it for a few days. But the continuous war within us Tanghe people will only bring trouble to foreigners. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the longer the civil war lasts and the more brutal it becomes, the happier the foreigners around us will be. I hope you can view the problem from the perspective of the entire Tang people, and don't pretend to be super smart like your Thirteenth Sister. , I think her knowledge is very short-sighted." Wufeng's voice became a little deeper, but more convincing, and his eyes became extremely deep, looking at the east from a distance, with a complicated and unspeakable expression on his face. look.