When it was time to rest at night, Zhou Chu came running over to report to Han Qian that after the evening banquet, several merchants introduced by Protocol Officer Song Hongzhong were interested in undertaking the transport of their bulk goods into the Shu capital, both this time and in the future.
Han Qian had spent half the night organizing materials on the southern Sichuan Liao people and was feeling dizzy and muddled. Hearing Zhou Chu’s report, he asked curiously: “Yesterday they gave us two beatings, and today they’re sending over sweet dates already? With their attitude and stance, they should at least drag us along for a few days!”
That Protocol Officer Song Hongzhong was the Marquis of Qingjiang Wang Hongyi’s man was not surprising in the least. Previously arranging them in the southern courtyard, with their comings and goings all observed by those in the main building, clearly couldn’t have been Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial Wei Qun alone deliberately trying to make things difficult for them.
After all, the Marquis of Qingjiang Wang Hongyi was the legitimate heir apparent of Shu. Although somewhat narrow-minded, his temperament wasn’t particularly perverse or dissolute. He had no outrageous bad character. The entire court, civil and military officials, were eager to befriend the heir apparent and willing to serve him. This naturally included a group of officials from the Court of State Ceremonial.
Unlike the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong’s estate gate where it was so desolate that sparrows could be caught—not even a few cats and dogs walked by.
Thinking this way, Han Qian felt like a little lamb fallen into a wolf’s den!
“It’s not necessarily sweet dates. Their price-cutting is rather ruthless. Coming through the Wushan Gorges, our profits don’t even match selling in Hunan provinces. At the same time, they also require that all goods transported from Xuzhou into Sichuan-Shu be handled by them!” Zhou Chu, seeing Han Qian had misunderstood, explained with some embarrassment.
“Is that so!” Han Qian pondered with some hesitation. “This way, we gain no advantage at all, while the Marquis of Qingjiang wants to take complete advantage of us!”
How to sell iron implements, cotton cloth from Xuzhou, and goods from other parts of Chu when transported into Sichuan-Shu—this was precisely the key point being negotiated in the mutual trade arrangements.
No matter what, however open Shu might be, it would never allow Xuzhou to directly send people to establish warehouses and shops throughout Shu. In that case, heaven knows how many spies, scouts, or even elite forces Chu would stuff into Shu?
The final negotiation result would inevitably allow Chu’s merchant caravans to enter under official supervision to conduct bulk transactions with designated merchants or directly with Shu’s state-run institutions.
Similarly, if Shu’s goods wanted to enter Chu, they would have to follow the same rules.
From Zhou Chu’s meaning, the Marquis of Qingjiang’s side sending people to make contact wasn’t about offering sweet dates after establishing dominance to show favor. In reality, it was still about monopolizing part of the benefits from mutual trade between the two nations.
Of course, the excellent iron implements and cotton cloth produced in Xuzhou had extreme cost advantages. If they could suppress other competitors and quickly expand the market, lower prices wouldn’t matter. In the end, they could still expand trade volume and increase profits.
However, even if the Marquis of Qingjiang and forces like the imperial in-laws, the Zhao clan, didn’t directly control large amounts of Shu brocade and iron implement industries under their names, as Shu’s heir apparent, the Marquis of Qingjiang couldn’t possibly be so short-sighted as to allow Xuzhou’s cloth and iron to enter en masse, striking at Shu’s brocade, forged iron, and other industries.
Regarding the mutual trade issue, the types and scale of goods traded annually between both sides were key negotiation points, while also involving the assessment and collection of market and port taxes.
Shu initially proposed only allowing Chu-produced cotton, hemp, silk, and silk fabrics to enter Shu up to one hundred thousand bolts annually. This quota couldn’t possibly all be taken by Xuzhou-produced Qianyang cloth. Otherwise, it would look rather ugly and easily become a target for all.
If Xuzhou-produced Qianyang cloth could only have ten or twenty thousand bolts transported into Sichuan-Shu for sale annually, and at that time the prices were still completely controlled by merchants under the Marquis of Qingjiang, then this entire matter would be completely meaningless for Xuzhou—after all, Qianyang cloth hadn’t even filled the markets of Hunan’s eight provinces. Currently, they mainly hoped to sell it at high prices in Shu.
“Fortunately, we didn’t place our hopes on the Marquis of Qingjiang.” Thinking this far, Han Qian said to Xi Ren with a smile.
“Yet the Marquis of Qingjiang seems to think he has us completely in his grasp and doesn’t believe we could possibly collude with the Marquis of Changxiang,” Xi Ren said.
“The Marquis of Changxiang’s situation is somewhat dire!” Han Qian said pensively.
Xi Ren thought to herself—this was more than just somewhat dire!
They could now confirm that the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong’s leisure with poetry these years was actually due to suspicion and vigilance from his father Wang Jian. Ordinary people would have long since determined the Marquis of Changxiang had absolutely no chance of rising again.
Yet the Marquis of Changxiang harbored ambitions that didn’t match his actual power. This was actually already a path to death.
Han Qian pondered for a while, then said to Zhou Chu: “Since Song Hongzhong is so ‘well-intentioned,’ you might as well continue negotiating with them…”
At any time, having contact was better than having no contact. Only by continuing contact could they possibly gather more useful information.
“Very well.” Zhou Chu responded and took his leave first.
……
……
Over the following days, both sides mainly conducted in-depth discussions on the details of welcoming the bride and forming the alliance. The Lord of Shu Wang Jian sent over some symbolic rewards, but whatever ideas Han Qian’s side had were still relayed through officials from the Court of State Ceremonial.
A formal audience wasn’t urgent for the moment.
However, the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong came to report to Han Qian’s side every day. Princess Qingyang occasionally accompanied him in male disguise, but both sides hadn’t discussed more substantive issues, nor mentioned meeting with Jing Qiongwen.
Not until the eighth day of the twelfth month, when the Shu capital for the first time in several years had a heavy snowfall, Jinhua Tower’s eastern courtyard was packed with high-ranking officials, nobles, literati, and poets enjoying the snow and admiring plum blossoms.
On this day, the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong specially arranged a banquet on Jinhua Tower’s top floor, inviting Han Qian and Guo Rong to come appreciate the snow. He also specially invited Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial Wei Qun, Protocol Officer Song Hongzhong, and other officials to accompany them.
Although there was a side door from the southern courtyard that could directly enter the eastern courtyard, in the dozen or so days since Han Qian had entered the Shu capital, aside from secretly using a telescope to observe all sorts of people climbing the tower to look high, he himself had never stepped into the eastern courtyard.
Walking in now, he saw that Jinhua Tower’s base was a stone-built platform nearly five zhang high. On top of this platform stood a three-story wooden building that naturally appeared towering and lofty within the Shu capital.
Jinhua Tower occupied an extremely large area. The platform resembled a small stone fortress, with a circumference of about two hundred paces. Ascending the platform, the three-story wooden building was rarely matched in grandeur in this era. The first and second floors were divided into large and small private rooms—nearly sixty or seventy chambers. The top floor was entirely an open hall with a depth of about six zhang. Leaning on the railings and looking in all directions, one could take in nearly the entire Shu capital.
Everyone said the Shu capital was prosperous with countless household lights, but when Han Qian climbed to Jinhua Tower’s top floor and gazed across the wilderness, the so-called lights were still sparse. Compared to the brilliant lights of the dream world, there was truly a vast difference. The entire city lay quietly in the dim night, giving one a different kind of strange feeling.
“Is this gentleman beside the Marquis the Chu envoy, Lord Han Qian?”
Han Qian was gazing into the distance with the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong, Princess Qingyang in male disguise, and others when he suddenly heard someone nearby speak in greeting. Turning around, he saw another five or six people climbing the tower. The person in the lead wore a crane-patterned casual robe, had a clear and resolute face, and appeared to be about fifty years old.
“So it’s Director of the Music Bureau, Master Jing. This is indeed Chu Envoy Lord Han.” The Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong bowed to the newcomer while also making introductions for Han Qian and Jing Qiongwen.
With Han Qian’s comings and goings at Jinhua Tower’s southern courtyard being inconvenient, especially being watched by the Marquis of Qingjiang, arranging a private meeting with Jing Qiongwen at the Marquis of Changxiang’s estate was also unrealistic. They could only arrange a chance encounter while appreciating snow at Jinhua Tower.
However, Jinhua Tower was a place where officials and literati of the Shu capital held banquets and entertained. If Han Qian could come with the Marquis of Changxiang, and Jing Qiongwen could come, and tonight was the first heavy snow the Shu capital had seen in several years, it was difficult to block other banquet guests from entering. Already several groups of people had greeted him and the Marquis of Changxiang.
At this moment, Han Qian could only calmly bow to Jing Qiongwen and step aside to allow Jing Qiongwen to come forward and lean on the railing to admire the night snow.
“Jinhua Tower is truly lively tonight!”
Just as Han Qian was about to chat idly with Jing Qiongwen, he heard another commotion nearby. He saw the crowd on the top floor enjoying the snow become agitated, then saw surrounded by a group of people, the Marquis of Wei Wang Xiaoxian accompanying two men in brocade robes. As they climbed to the top floor, one of them exclaimed loudly.
Of the two men in brocade, one appeared to be about thirty-two or thirty-three years old, with two short mustaches on his upper lip, a thin face, piercing eyes, and a short sword at his waist. After climbing the tower, his gaze immediately fixed on the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong and Han Qian. The other man was about the same age as Jing Qiongwen but was quite portly, greeting the crowd enjoying the snow with a face full of smiles.
Without the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong’s introduction, Han Qian knew the man with the short mustaches was Shu’s heir apparent Wang Hongyi. Through the stairway opening, he could see quite a few of Wang Hongyi’s personal bodyguards standing on the floor below.
Jinhua Tower had rules—banquet guests were not permitted to bring attendants or guards up the tower. But as heir apparent, Wang Hongyi could obviously disregard the rules and enjoy privileges that even the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong didn’t have.
The other man was Shu’s current National Uncle, Duke Qiangguo Zhao Weisheng.
“Wang Yong greets elder brother.” Seeing the Marquis of Qingjiang Wang Hongyi also climbing Jinhua Tower to enjoy the snow tonight, the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong could only honestly step forward and bow.
Princess Qingyang knew she couldn’t escape the Marquis of Qingjiang’s eyes and bowed following beside the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong.
“Hmph!” The Marquis of Qingjiang glanced at Qingyang and gave a light snort but didn’t expose her.
“Jing Qiongwen greets the Heir Apparent. I didn’t expect the Heir Apparent, Duke Qiangguo, and the Marquis of Wei would also have such refined interest tonight,” Jing Qiongwen was much more at ease, saying with a smile as he bowed to the Marquis of Qingjiang.
“Master Jing also has refined interest,” the Marquis of Qingjiang hadn’t yet ascended the throne, so he didn’t dare be too negligent of those close to his father the King. After exchanging pleasantries, his eyes moved between Han Qian and the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong. “The Chu envoy has been in the Shu capital for many days, yet this marquis has never been able to find time to extend an invitation. Please don’t blame this marquis for being remiss as a host.”
“The Heir Apparent is too kind. Han Qian’s mission to Shu has been accompanied daily by the Marquis of Changxiang, so I haven’t felt the slightest neglect. Please don’t trouble yourself, Heir Apparent,” Han Qian said with a smile.
The Marquis of Qingjiang’s pupils contracted, then in a flash he smiled again: “When people are fated, a chance meeting is better than an appointment. Since we’ve met at Jinhua Tower, this marquis will arrange a banquet here at Jinhua Tower to converse with Lord Han while enjoying the snow. This too can be counted as one of life’s pleasures.”
“I’d be disrespectful to decline such courtesy.” Han Qian didn’t refuse, smilingly accepting.
At this moment, without need for any signal, those who knew they weren’t qualified to linger before the Heir Apparent took their leave and descended after paying respects. The top floor that had been somewhat crowded immediately became spacious. Besides several attendants who had come with the Marquis of Qingjiang, Duke Qiangguo, and the Marquis of Wei, only eight or nine people including Jing Qiongwen and Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial Wei Qun were persuaded to stay when taking their leave, to drink and enjoy the snow together.