I glared at him and said, "Go away, this is not the time to fight over a girl!" You're supposed to be in business, but you don't have any sense of cost-saving. It's like going on a trip. You're just hiring a car, so whether you go alone or with 10 people, it's the same. But if you bring 10 people, the cost per person will be 10 times less.
At this point, I wondered, "By the way, we've been fighting this kid surnamed Zhao (Liu Dongyang glared at me) in front of his house for so many days, why haven't we seen him make a move?"
Fang La laughed and said, "Everyone knows whose emperor it is. Painter Zhao is probably scared out of his wits."
I chuckled mischievously and said, "This is a great opportunity to fleece a fat sheep, who wants to go?"
Chapter 163 Descendants of the Zhao Family
As soon as I finished speaking, someone stood up timidly and said, "I'll go."
As soon as we saw this person, we all said in unison, "You can't go!"
The man who stood up was none other than Song Jiang. This bandit leader, who was obsessed with being granted amnesty, if we let him go, let alone whether he could get any benefits, he would probably betray our allied forces.
Song Jiang asked in astonishment, "Why can't I go?"
We all remained silent. After all, he was still the top leader on Liangshan, and we would have to deal with him in the future. We couldn't say anything too definitive. A group of us laughed and tried to cover it up by saying, "The risk of going there is too great. Brother, it's not advisable for you to take the risk."
"So who do you plan to send?"
Wu Yong, resting his chin on his hand, said, "This person must be well-versed in the inner workings of the imperial court, and must not be kind on the surface but soft on the inside."
There are quite a few people on Liangshan who meet his criteria, such as Huyan Zhuo, Qin Ning, and Zhang Qing, who all used to work in government agencies. However, they don't seem to be high enough in rank to be familiar with the inner workings of the imperial court. Lin Chong is a high-ranking official, but our instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards is a kind-hearted man and not ruthless enough. I looked around and suddenly came to an old man in the corner of the tent. The old man was wearing a small undershirt, holding a Yixing purple clay teapot, and leisurely sipping his tea, like an accountant. Seeing me come over, he put down the teapot, picked up a brush, and said, "I've noted down all the marshal's orders."
This man's surname is Wang. He used to be the Grand Commandant of the imperial court. Some time ago, he was sent to be recruited by the government, but we turned the tables and recruited him instead. Now he is in charge of some small accounts under Hu Sanniang and Wang Ying. This time, when Liangshan went out to fight, he also served as the army clerk.
I took his brush away, helped him stand up, looked him up and down, and said, "Hmm, you're already like one of us from Liangshan."
Commander Wang chuckled, and I patted him on the shoulder, saying, "I'm giving you a chance to return home in glory and hold your head high!"
Grand Commandant Wang asked, bewildered, "What are you doing?"
I said, "I've thought about it, and you're the one who's best suited for this job. Didn't Gao Qiu and his gang persecute you? You can go back and deal with them, and while you're at it, extort some money from your former master to get him to send us the grain."
Grand Commandant Wang asked with a pained expression, "Is it appropriate for me to go?"
"There's no better option. After all, you've served in the high ranks of the imperial court. I'm now appointing you as the chief grain commissioner in my capacity as the commander-in-chief of the allied forces, to borrow grain from Emperor Huizong of Song."
Grand Commandant Wang asked, "But under what pretext should I go?"
I thought for a moment and said, "Let's talk about travel expenses. A company as big as his has to pay a reporter for their trouble to do a soft advertisement. Our 8 million-strong coalition has helped him resist the financial crisis for so many days, he should at least give us something in return, right? As for how much food and supplies you can get, that depends on your ability. You probably have a general idea of how much wealth the painter Zhao has, right?"
Grand Commandant Wang's eyes lit up and he said, "I have dealt with people from the Six Ministries. With the imperial court's resources, supporting 3 million troops for a month or two is not a problem."
I waved my hand and said, "You have to tell everyone it's 8 million. Alright, you can set off now."
Grand Commandant Wang spread his hands and said, "But what am I supposed to wear? All my old official robes have been burned."
I said, "Even if you could, you can't wear it anymore. You represent our allied forces now, so how about this—" I took off my hat and put it on his head, "I'll lend you this helmet, and you can go find a pair of armor in the Tang or Ming army, anyway, those people in the imperial court don't know you."
My words rekindled Wang Taiwei's spirits, and the cunning glint in his eyes returned. He cupped his hands and said, "I will certainly live up to the Commander's expectations—how many men will I take this time?"
"Just bring a few as a token gesture. Bringing too many will make our coalition look weak."
Grand Commandant Wang said, "I feel uneasy if I bring too few men..."
I waved and said, "Go quickly. You are the first official representative in history to have an army of 8 million as your backing. Cherish this opportunity."
With Grand Commandant Wang dismissed, the problem of provisions finally had a solution. Although the Song Dynasty's army was not strong, its economy was undoubtedly the best in the world at the time. They once had a military force of over a million men, but it was scattered by the Jin army. Rather than let the Jin army plunder these reserves of military provisions, it would be better to give them to us.
A few hours later, Wang Yin drove his Jinbei van, pulling two flatbed carts, to the entrance of our command tent. I went out to look and saw that the two flatbed carts were packed full of large bundles. I asked him, "Didn't the stuff fly away?"
Wang Yin tossed me a pack of cigarettes through the car window. Li Jingshui jumped onto the cart, lifted the canvas, and inspected everything, saying, "It's instant noodles and bread. They're almost expired, but they're still edible."
I laughed and said, "I'll take this one that's almost expired. Coming from Yu-Tsai, it's definitely fresher than the ones that just came out of the factory."
Wang Yin got out of the car and said to me, "I've already borrowed all the flatbed carts from the farmers around Yucai, and I've also contacted several food factories that are facing severe oversupply. As long as the money is in place, there will be a huge amount of supplies coming in!"
Jin Shaoyan stuffed a bank card into Wang Yin's hand and said, "Brother Wang, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you. After this is over, I'll buy you a villa by West Lake."
Wang Yin pouted and said, "Why did you arrange for me to be by West Lake? If your sister-in-law finds out, she'll think I'm having an affair."
Jin Shaoyan said embarrassedly, "Hey, if you think the property we bought before is inconvenient, I can help you move it to one near Yucai... We're a bit short on cash lately, aren't we?"
I laughed and said, "You finally know how to save money, kid—hey, why did you bring a bank card with you when you came to the Northern Song Dynasty?"
Jin Shaoyan scratched his head and laughed, "I'm used to it. I really don't feel safe without a card."
"Are you trying to advertise UnionPay? Would it even be possible to spend that money in the Northern Song Dynasty?"
Jin Shaoyan said, "Isn't that money already spent?"
Wang Yin said, "Alright, alright, sell your villa to our Fang family army to improve their lives. It's my way of contributing to my own brothers."
I said, "You're not allowed to form cliques, especially in your sensitive position. It would be really bad if others found out."
Wang Yin nodded repeatedly at first, then asked in astonishment, "What position do I hold? I used to be a truck driver, but now I'm driving a train."
Jin Shaoyan joked, "Don't worry about saving me money, just spend it like it's going to ruin our families. Besides instant noodles and bread, let the soldiers eat as much milk, sausages, and luncheon meat as they want." As things became clearer, the guy's mood improved.
Fang Zhenjiang strolled over from the side and said, "That won't cost much. If you support 3 million people, at 10 yuan per person per day, that's only 30 million. You could hire any celebrity who has won the Palme d'Or for that amount, right?" He walked over to Wang Yin and said, "I'll take turns driving with you. With a second pilot, we'll be like pilots."
Jin Shaoyan suddenly had a brilliant idea: "That's right, why don't we rent a dozen or so planes to airdrop supplies?"
I chuckled and said, "Stop using your pretentious, empty movie formula. There are plenty of people around here who can shoot arrows..."
Jin Shaoyan clenched his fists and said, "Brother Qiang's words reminded me that such a big scene should have been filmed long ago. Brother Wang, please bring me a digital camera when you go back this time. I want to film our daily lives so that we can use it as a reference for future big scenes."