pjbooks Chapter 238 has a good idea, but next time try a different one.
Chapter 238 has a good idea, but next time try a different one.
"Foreign lands?" Qin Yizhen was taken aback.
"Yes, I've heard that ships from the Southern Qi go out to sea and bring back large amounts of money and all sorts of novel items each time they go. They can then resell them for a fortune."
Of the four kingdoms, the other three were in dire straits, while the Southern Qi was very wealthy. Moreover, these people did not like war, so they sent a sum of money to the other three kingdoms every year to report their peace.
The annual cost for a country is 300,000 taels.
They can spend millions of taels of silver in no time, while the Eastern Qin can only collect one million taels of silver from its national treasury.
It’s really infuriating to see people compare to each other.
Granny Jin's expression was strange. She said, "Dong Qin has also thought about learning from Nan Qi and going to sea by ship. However, Nan Qi is surrounded by the sea on the southeast and east sides. If you go east, you won't see any land even after half a year. But if you go south, there are many small countries there."
"Eastern Qin can only sail eastward, much like Southern Qi. There used to be a piece of land there, a small country, but Marquis Wu'an destroyed it. Now it is Eastern Qin's territory. Further east, it will take half a year to reach the sea."
Therefore, the Dongqin voyage plan was not feasible.
Although it was said that they gained a piece of territory, it was only the size of a bullet, nothing more.
If one wanted to learn from the Southern Qi dynasty's sea route to the south, one would either have to pass through the Southern Qi or travel south along the coast. Passing through the Southern Qi would naturally be unacceptable, and taking the sea route would be too far and take too long.
In short, we cannot learn the ways of getting rich from the Southern Qi dynasty.
“This servant has another idea.” Green Qiao suddenly slammed her hand on the table, startling everyone. They all turned to look at her. She said, “Let’s destroy Southern Qi.”
Qin Yizhen: "??"
Granny Jin and Granny Gui: "!!"
Lü Qiao thought her idea was sound and rubbed her hands together excitedly: "Right? As long as we destroy Southern Qi, Southern Qi's seafaring will be ours, hahaha!"
Granny Jin gave her a thumbs up: You're amazing.
Qin Yizhen frowned, her gaze towards Lü Qiao extremely complicated: "The idea is good, but next time think of something different. I not only want to destroy Southern Qi, but also Northern Wei and Western Liang."
Even though the Southern Qi Dynasty was so wealthy, and everyone received 300,000 coins a year, there were still quite a few people who secretly wanted to take action.
Just like the bandit incident in Lanzhou this time in Dongqin, although the troops were only dispatched to suppress the bandits, if a conflict were to occur with Nanqi, they would have to fight several battles with Nanqi first. If the conflict were too big, the army that had already been prepared would have to go south.
Brother, I'm just here to suppress bandits, and you're attacking my men. I can't swallow this insult. Come on, let's fight.
In the end, Eastern Qin would not agree unless Southern Qi ceded territory or paid a satisfactory sum of money.
In short, the Southern Qi was a wealthy state, while the Eastern Qin had a strong military. If the Southern Qi were to be conquered, the unification of the world by the Eastern Qin would be just around the corner.
Qin Yizhen pressed her hand to her forehead, trying not to think about it anymore, because if she kept thinking about it, she would wish she could ride a horse into battle.
"Ahem, let's put this matter aside for now. You all go about your business. I'm a little tired and want to rest. By the way, Granny Jin, you and Steward Zhou should arrange for the Mid-Autumn Festival gifts to be delivered to each household as soon as possible."
"Yes."
After finishing her business, Qin Yizhen went to sleep again. When she woke up again, the sky was dark and gloomy, a strong wind was blowing, and a heavy rain was about to fall.
In the courtyard, Lü Qiao and a group of maids were picking up fallen osmanthus blossoms under the tree. Qin Yizhen opened the window and looked out, only to see a heavy rain coming. The rain was pouring down, and everyone, protecting the osmanthus blossoms in their arms, ran away to find shelter from the rain.
"Why are you picking these osmanthus flowers?" Qin Yizhen asked the maids who were sheltering from the rain as she left the house and walked to the porch.
"Princess." Everyone bowed, and Lü Qiao said, "Princess, we thought it was a pity that these osmanthus flowers had fallen, so we picked them up and asked Madam Chen to make some osmanthus jam."
Chen Niangzi is Chen Yinniang.
Qin Yizhen glanced at it and said, "How much can we make with just this much? Should we go and pick some more later?"
Green Bridge shook her head vigorously: "That's definitely not possible. There's only one osmanthus tree in this courtyard, and the flowers have just started to bloom. Mid-Autumn Festival hasn't even arrived yet, so how can we pick the osmanthus flowers? Besides, we don't need much. Just add more sugar and boil it into osmanthus jam. When we make it into water, it will be fragrant and sweet."
"Exactly." Everyone agreed.
Qin Yizhen, as the mistress, was very kind to those who served her. They did their jobs well and would help solve any difficulties they encountered.
However, if you want to stay by her side and work for her, you also need to be mindful of your boundaries and sometimes learn to say no.
Just like now, she suggested that you pick osmanthus flowers to make osmanthus jam. But if you actually pick them, she herself might not say anything. However, when Cheng Yan comes back and sees that the osmanthus flowers are gone and have been picked by the servants, after a few days, she will probably have to return them to some of the more sensible servants.
In short, take whatever benefits you can get. For example, in the small kitchen, if there's extra food made by Chen Yinniang, they can also get some. Or, if the princess is in a good mood, she might reward you with some fruit or jewelry.
But things like picking flowers are forbidden unless the master wants them.
"Yes, it's Mid-Autumn Festival, time to make osmanthus jam." Qin Yizhen also remembered this. She quite liked Chen Yinniang's osmanthus jam, whether used in desserts or tea, it tasted very good.
"Send someone to ask Hongying which village has osmanthus trees and have someone pick some."
Green Qiao's eyes lit up: "That's good. Make more so we can eat for longer. I'll send someone over tomorrow."
Qin Yizhen nodded, glanced at the rain, and asked, "Did you bring an umbrella today, Lord Marquis? It's raining so hard."
“I brought it, I brought it,” Lü Qiao said with a smile. “The Marquis doesn’t like riding horses lately, he prefers to ride in a carriage. There must be an umbrella in the carriage, but with such heavy rain, the Marquis isn’t stupid enough to come back in the rain.”
As soon as Lü Qiao finished speaking, Qin Yizhen felt a blur before her eyes, and saw someone walking towards her from not far away across the courtyard, holding a plain blue oil-paper umbrella.
Green Qiao turned her head and looked over, her expression freezing, she was dumbfounded.
Haha... She was just talking nonsense, does anyone believe her?
Cheng Yan strode across the courtyard, then stepped onto the stairs: "Wife, I'm back."
Water dripped from the eaves, forming ripples, while outside, a torrential downpour swept across the land, and the trees swayed in the wind and rain.
The young man, thinking of his wife at home, returned home in the heavy rain. When he saw his wife waiting for him under the eaves, he smiled.
The most tender and joyful moments in the world are nothing more than this.
In an instant, it seems as if the world favors you, and the person you love also favors you.
It was as if, in an instant, the golden wind and jade dew met, surpassing countless encounters in the mortal world.
Cheng Yan closed the umbrella and handed it to Lü Qiao beside him, then reached out and pulled Qin Yizhen into the house.
The couple walked together.
"It's getting a bit windy; the princess should put on a coat..."