After Wanyan Loushi received Wanyan Zonghan's order, he suddenly felt dizzy.

He knew in his heart that this kind of cotton clothing was rare and expensive in the Song Dynasty. If he wanted to purchase 100,000 pieces, he would probably have to spend a huge amount of silver, which was undoubtedly a heavy burden on the treasury of the Kingdom of Jin.

He knew that although Wanyan Zonghan loved this kind of cotton clothes, he would never empty out the entire treasury for it.

After going to court, Wanyan Lou's room found Han Fang, the Minister of Rites, and told him his troubles.

After hearing this, Han Fang pondered for a moment, and then gave him an idea: "General Wanyan, if we can't purchase cotton clothes, we can try to purchase seeds. Now that Wanyan Zongyi is in exile in Kaifeng, we can send a messenger to contact him privately. If he Can you help us purchase cotton seeds and plant them on our territory in the Kingdom of Jin, so that we can solve the problem of the source of cotton clothes once and for all?"

After hearing this, Wanyan Loushi suddenly realized. He patted his head and said: "What Han Shangshu said is absolutely true! Why didn't I think of this before? Wanyan Zongyi purchased the high-yielding seeds of the Jin Kingdom from the Song Dynasty. If If we can bring in cotton seeds, the problem will be solved."

Therefore, Wanyan Loushi quickly sent people to Kaifeng. On the one hand, they tried to contact local businessmen to buy cotton clothes; on the other hand, they also contacted Wanyan Zongyi and told him that as long as he could purchase 100,000 acres of cotton seeds, he would be exempted from the crime of treason.

After entering the twelfth lunar month, the people sent by Wanyan Loushi finally arrived in Kaifeng. Some people started difficult negotiations with local businessmen. When these merchants saw that they were from the Kingdom of Jin, they deliberately raised their prices. One hundred cotton clothes were charged ten thousand taels of silver, and they would not sell them for a penny less.

"Isn't your Kingdom of Jin very rich? Why can't you part with this little money?" A Song Dynasty businessman deliberately provoked.

"That's right, if you want cotton clothes, just use silver to exchange for them, no matter how much you lose!" another businessman agreed.

The merchants of the Kingdom of Jin were so angry that they had no choice but to do anything.

They knew that they had no advantage at all on the territory of the Song Dynasty, so they could only negotiate in silence.

After some fierce bargaining, they finally purchased a batch of cotton clothes at a high price, but the quantity was far from Wanyan Zonghan's requirements.

At the same time, another group of people also found Wanyan Zongyi. They conveyed Wanyan Loushi's wishes to Wanyan Zongyi and promised that as long as he could complete the task, he would be exempted from guilt. However, unexpectedly, Wanyan Zongyi rejected their proposal.

"Go back and tell Wanyan Lou that I, Wanyan Zongyi, are at odds with him!" Wanyan Zongyi said angrily, "I regard Wanyan Zonghan as my enemy, how can I help him buy cotton seeds? Just give up on this idea!"

The envoys were shocked by Wanyan Zongyi's decisive attitude. They did not expect that the exiled prince would reject their request so firmly.

They knew that any further persuasion would be useless, so they had no choice but to return to the Kingdom of Jin.

After Wanyan Loushi heard the news, he was furious. He did not expect that his carefully planned plan would encounter such strong opposition and obstruction. He knew that to solve this problem, he had to find another way.

However, time was running out and he didn't have much time to waste. He must come up with a perfect strategy as soon as possible, otherwise he will not be able to explain to Wanyan Zonghan.

As the saying goes, businessmen cannot afford to lose money early. Since cotton seeds were so precious in the Song Dynasty and the way to buy them was not feasible, those Jin businessmen were naturally unwilling to give up. They thought, since they couldn’t buy it, they would steal it or rob it! In any case, as long as you can get the cotton seeds and transport them back to the Golden Kingdom, you will make a lot of money.

In a dim inn in Kaifeng City, several Jin businessmen sat together with gloomy expressions.

"It's really hard to get cotton seeds from the Song Dynasty." A businessman sighed.

"So what if it's difficult? We must find a way to get what His Majesty the Emperor wants." A trace of cruelty flashed in the eyes of another businessman, "If you can't buy it, grab it!"

"That's right! We can find some gangsters to steal and give them some money afterwards." The third businessman suggested. "What a great idea! There are a lot of idle people like this in Kaifeng City." The businessman who initially sighed nodded in agreement.

Just do what they said, and several Jin Kingdom businessmen immediately took out their banknotes and discussed a detailed plan.

These ruffians usually idle around and do all kinds of evil, but when they see that there is money to be made, they naturally agree happily.

Early the next morning, a group of ragged ruffians gathered in a remote place outside the city.

"Have you heard? A few businessmen from the Kingdom of Jin offered us a big price to steal cotton seeds." A rogue who looked like a leader said mysteriously.

"One pound of seeds and one tael of silver? This is a good deal!" Another rogue's eyes lit up.

"Yes! Let's take action tonight and go to those farmers' houses to steal. Whoever robs more will get more money!" the leader encouraged.

In the excitement of the crowd, this group of local ruffians quietly left the city that night and went to the farmers' homes.

For several days, farmers' homes in the suburbs of Kaifeng were in chaos and there was no peace. Taking advantage of their numbers, these ruffians broke into farmers' homes, snatched cotton seeds when they saw them, and beat them when they encountered obstacles.

On a dark and windy night, farmer Li and his family were sleeping soundly.

Suddenly, there was a rapid knock on the door, followed by the sound of the door being broken in.

"Who? What are you doing?" Old Man Li woke up and shouted in panic.

"Stop yelling! Hand over the cotton seeds quickly!" Several black figures broke into the house, holding sticks and roaring fiercely.

Old Man Li's son tried to resist, but was knocked to the ground with a stick.

Old Man Li's wife cried and begged for mercy, but to no avail. In the end, the three members of Old Man Li's family were brutally murdered, and all the cotton seeds in the house were looted.

The same tragedy happened in the homes of many farmers in the suburbs of Kaifeng. These local ruffians were like wolves and tigers, and they fought fiercely when they faced resistance. For a while, everyone in the farmers was in danger, and there were cries everywhere.

The news quickly spread to Kaifeng Mansion. Xinwang Zhao Zhen, who was also the governor of Kaifeng Prefecture, was furious after learning about this series of injury cases.

He knew well the importance of cotton seeds to the Song Dynasty, and he also understood that there must be the shadow of the Jin Kingdom behind it.

So, he immediately reported the matter to his imperial sister Zhao Yingluo.

After Zhao Yingluo heard about this, she sneered: "This must be the Jin State plotting against our cotton seeds!" She knew the value of this seed very well, and she also knew that the Jin State had been coveting it.

Now that something like this happens, who else but the Kingdom of Jin can do it?

"Order the Criminal Department to send people to arrest immediately, and we must arrest all the criminals!"


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