Fifteen years ago, Takeshita Junichiro and the others would have believed Xiao Bei's words. At that time, the Great Tang was very easy to negotiate with. Sending some rotten fish and prawns as tributes could be exchanged for precious silk and porcelain.
Seeing that the Great Tang had advanced technology, they could also learn it. Moreover, if the Great Tang Emperor was happy, he might even send craftsmen to Japan to teach them.
But now, that was impossible. Would the Great Tang be so kind? Those worthless craftsmen with no status had now become treasures.
As for technology, there was even less hope. Let alone military technology, even if they wanted to learn some basic technology, the Great Tang would not teach them.
Thus, when they heard Xiao Bei say that he would help Japan, Takeshita Junichiro and the others were not happy. On the contrary, they couldn't help but tremble. What kind of rotten idea was Zhang Xiaobao coming up with now?
"Everything I said is true. Do you believe me?" Xiao Bei asked, looking as if he was waiting for others to acknowledge him.
The three nodded. "We believe, we believe. How could Patrol Envoy Zhang's words be false?"
"Really? You believe me? I don't believe you. " Xiao Bei said to the three. While the three were flabbergasted, he continued, "I don't believe why Big Brother and Big Sister would give you the technology, but it's true. There's also the people in the southwest.
We're not giving you the technology because we're afraid of you. We're sincerely helping you. However, the technology is not military technology, but smelting. The metal you sold us was too inferior, hindering our work.
So I think that by helping you, we'll be helping ourselves. What do you think? "
"Yes, yes. By helping us, you'll be helping yourselves. Patrol Envoy Zhang, you're truly too amazing. You've thought of this crucial point. With your abilities, it won't be a problem for each of you to become a governor of a province. The people under your rule will also have better lives."
Takeshita Junichiro felt that Xiao Bei's words made sense. Otherwise, why would he teach them technology without any intentions? Learning the smelting technology would probably require them to pay a great price, but it would be worth it.
Hearing Takeshita Junichiro's flattery, Xiao Bei's expression sank. He coldly snorted. "Hmph! You have bad intentions. "
"Why do you say that?" Takeshita Junichiro didn't know what he had said wrong.
"You said that each of us should be the provincial governor of a province? That's clearly harming us. Once the nine of us are separated, we're nothing. Only when we're together can we be the real inspectors. What can I do if I'm the provincial governor alone? I don't even know how to calculate. You're trying to divide us. I'm very angry. My young heart has been hurt. What should I do? "
As Xiao Bei spoke, he covered his heart with his hand. Indeed, he was very sad.
Takeshita Junichiro was dazed for a moment. "Ah! Patrol Inspector Zhang, don't be sad. We brought money with us when we came. When the time comes … "
"Your money is to compensate the people of the Great Tang who were harmed. What does it have to do with me? What's more, do you think that money can make up for the damage to your heart?
However, I heard that it's okay to eat abalone. Dried abalone, the kind with two to four heads, is a folk recipe. I heard that Japan has it. Do you remember? I don't know if it's true. "
Xiao Bei righteously refused the money and changed the topic, talking about dried abalones.
"Ah? Dried abalones? The kind with two to four heads per catty? I remember, I remember. It's true. It's true. However, there aren't many two-headed and three-headed abalones. After those things are dried, they become lighter. "
Takeshita Junichiro understood. Xiao Bei was extorting him. He wanted to eat abalone. That's right. Who wouldn't want to eat abalone? The problem was that most people didn't even dare to think about it, much less eat it. It was too expensive.
Xiao Bei's eyes widened a little. He said happily, "It's actually true. I didn't expect it. Actually, I don't want much. Just a hundred or so catties will do. You have a lot of four-headed abalone, right? Give me a thousand catties. I believe that we don't need to search Japan to gather enough, right? "
Takeshita Junichiro calculated in his heart. He reckoned that they could really gather enough. Dried abalones weren't all harvested this year. There were also those that had been prepared and preserved in the past.
He nodded. "Alright. A hundred catties of two-headed and three-headed abalone, and a thousand catties of four-headed abalone. I'll immediately get someone to do it and bring it back to Patrol Inspector Zhang."
"It's a deal. I won't take your things for free. I'll use my skills in exchange. If you give me a thousand catties of abalone, I'll give you ten thousand catties of willow weaving dolls. Don't look down on dolls. Not only do they have weaving skills, but they also have planting skills.
After you take them, learn them seriously. Once you've learned them, you can plant willow trees and grass if you want to plant them. Isn't that awesome? "
Xiao Bei said very fairly. He didn't take advantage of them.
Takeshita Junichiro swallowed two mouthfuls of saliva. Clearly, he was shocked by Xiao Bei's generosity. He could have willow trees and grass in the future.
Looking at his expression, Xiao Bei sighed like an adult and said, "Do you think that I'm lying to you?"
"No, no one thinks that you're lying to us." Takeshita Junichiro hurriedly said. However, he felt deeply sorrowful in his heart. He knew that the other party was bullying him, but he had no choice but to play along. He just wanted to curry favor with the other party, even if the other party was a child.
Who asked the other party to have such a good brother and sister? If he really offended the other party with his words, perhaps before the Tang Empire's army was mobilized, the other party's guards would have already boarded a ship and attacked.
Was there anything more sorrowful and helpless in the world than this? Not only was the other party powerful, but more importantly, it was the other party's will.
If everyone in his country was wholeheartedly committed to war, the Tang Empire wouldn't dare to start a war lightly. How long would it take for the Tang Empire to kill all the Japanese? Would they still be able to kill more people?
It was a pity that the Tang Empire's supporters of peace had been enduring time and time again. They always thought that if they took a step back, the Tang Empire would let Japan off. However, they didn't know that Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan had the ambition to destroy the country.
When the Bohai Sea Commander-In-Chief's Office's ocean-going fishing team came to his country to search for fish, the fishermen of his country had no choice but to hide far away when they saw them, even though they knew that they were very close to his country.
Why? Wasn't it because the Tang Empire's supporters of peace were afraid that the fishermen would offend the other party and cause them to send the Bohai Sea Commander-In-Chief's Office's fleet over?
What was frightening wasn't the Tang Empire's gunboats but their will as a strong country. When the fishermen of his country backed down, what they lost was not only the harvest they were about to gain, but also their confidence in their country.
As he thought about it, Takeshita Junichiro's eyes turned red.
Xiaobei didn't know what the other party was thinking about. When he saw that Takeshita Junichiro was about to cry, he said angrily, "I just said that I didn't take advantage of you. Why are you crying? What's wrong with planting willow trees? What's wrong with planting grass? Isn't it good? Do you know how much the grass here is worth? One meter long and one meter wide, don't you? "
"How, how much?" His train of thought was interrupted by Xiaobei's words, so Takeshita Junichiro asked in confusion. Yamamoto and Yamamoto behind him were also puzzled. F * ck, it can be calculated based on the area? If one were to say how much a pile of grass was worth, they might be able to give a number. If there were too many, they could be used to make fires. Or, like the Tang Empire's current situation, they could be used to make dung and fill up the methane pools.
Xiaobei gestured with his hand and said, "60 copper coins for such a big place. Of course, there are special requirements for the grass as well. Don't believe me? The grass in the soccer field is also called Cuju. Do you remember? The kind that many people in the Tang Empire like to play. "
The three of them nodded at the same time.
"I remember now. The grass there is 60 copper coins for a square meter?" Yamamoto really didn't know that the grass in the soccer field was worth so much.
"It's not a square meter. A square meter is a square meter, and the perimeter is different. It's 60 copper coins. You don't know how to cultivate abalones, so it's just a lucky income. But you can plant grass. If you can grow grass that's more suitable for soccer, we'll buy it for 100 copper coins per square meter.
Since you have nothing to do, why don't you study how to grow grass? No matter how expensive two-headed abalone is, you have to find it first. The grass won't grow legs and run away, right? "
Xiaobei guided the three of them to develop the idea of growing grass.
Just as Takeshita Junichiro and company felt that it was a good idea, they suddenly realized that if grass was that easy to grow, why would Xiaobei give them the benefits?
Furthermore, they were talking about exchanging a lot of abalones for willow weave dolls. Even if they wanted to learn techniques, they didn't need dolls that weighed more than 5,000 kilograms, right? When did willow weave dolls start to be weighed by kilograms? They weren't sold by the size.
"That … Patrolling Inspector Zhang, there's no need to talk about the transaction. We are willing, so let's talk about other matters."
Takeshita Junichiro felt that he shouldn't be caught up in whether it was worth it or not. If others didn't want to give them dolls, would they dare not give them dried abalones?
"Other matters? I've already said it before, so I won't repeat it. Let's talk about something that I didn't mention before. You have quite a number of people on the ship, right? "
Xiaobei was too embarrassed to continue when he saw that the other party wasn't mentioning the willow weave. He changed the topic.
Takeshita Junichiro nodded. "Yes, there are people escorting the goods."
"It's good that there are people. How about this? Let's organize a few soccer matches. Apart from the people who report back, there's nothing else to do. We can use it for fun, alright?"
Xiaobei said, following the idea of the lawn earlier.
Takeshita Junichiro and the others were more familiar with this. In the past, Tang Dynasty liked to compete with others in various things. There were boat races, polo, hunting, and so on.
The only thing they were worried about was what they would lose if they lost. Hence, Yamamoto asked, "Are there any stakes?"
"No." Xiaobei shook her head. "What else can you use as a stake? However, if you win each match, you'll be rewarded. I'll pay for the rewards, and I won't charge entrance fees. It's not my place to ask for money from the people of Lu Zhou. This is purely for fun. I don't mean anything else, alright? Otherwise, all of you can't go back. There's no point in staying here, right? "
When they heard Xiaobei's words, the three of them were suspicious again. Since when was Xiaobei so easy to talk to? Why would she do something that did not benefit her?
The three of them looked at each other. They could not see any clear hints from the eyes of the people around them. It was as though they did not understand anything.
"There's no harm to us?" Takeshita Junichiro asked with uncertainty.
Xiaobei shook her head vigorously. "Absolutely not. Do I look like a liar?"
"If that's the case, we'll participate." Takeshita Junichiro made up his mind.
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