Chapter 76 - Bad predictions

While Ding Qi and Zhang Xiaofan resume their activities in the palace, the pigeon carrying the letter to Zhejiang arrives in Jinhua. Zhong Kunyi invites Feng Long to go to his room to tell him his forecasts for the economy of the empire.

Feng Long arrives, knocking on the door. Zhong Kunyi opens it and bows as he sees him:

-Please, your majesty, come in.

-My gratitude. You can rise.

Feng Long smiles and helps Zhong Kunyi to rise. Zhong Kunyi then gently takes his left hand and guides him to a table, offering some tea:

-May I offer some tea to your majesty? It's Wuyang Chunyu tea mixed with orchids, your favorite one. - Zhong Kunyi smiles.

-I'll accept it, gratitude.

Zhong Kunyi brings the already steeped tea to the table, serving a teacup for Feng Long and one for him. He sits down:

-Your majesty, the notice I'll bring to you may not be so positive.

-Do we have any problems, Zhong Kunyi? Everything seems to be ok, well, not perfectly fine, but not that bad either.

Zhong Kunyi hands out some papers to Feng Long:

-If your majesty looks closely, you will find that our empire was hit hard by the restrictions imposed by Ding Qi. It may not be really that bad by now, as you said. But things will go really bad in a couple of months if we don't do anything. 

-Is there anything we can do to avoid it? 

-Well, not so much. We've spent a sizable portion of our reserves that day when you gave away 500 taels to every single people in the empire. I noticed an increase in per capita spending. Due to the restrictions in Huangshan, some businesses in Zhejiang went bust. Also, we rely too much on raw materials coming from Anhui.

-So, basically, are we doomed?

-Well, no any time soon. The economy may recover faster as the immunization campaign gains steam, but relying on it is risky. We must diversify our array of suppliers, which may lead to lowered costs on average. And we must review our tax policies on other empires as well. 

-As we have done in Jiangsu?

-Exactly. And we need to do it in person. It may not mean much, but face-to-face negotiations give us some advantages compared to just sending letters.

-I agree, you know... - Feng Long smirks.

-Ahh... whatever, this is a bonus of visiting other empires. So, how about a visit to Jiangxi?

-Jiangxi? Would it ever be needed? As far as I can tell, Meng Zhang seems to agree with whatever we ask him for. 

-I'm not so sure about that. Xie Yun is a problem for us. He keeps telling Meng Zhang to not lower their tariffs. His arguments seem doable at first glance, but he is lying to the emperor most of the time. I think we can visit them, and come back with a good deal for us.

-Don't you think Anhui would be more important?

-Anhui should not be a priority by now. Jiangxi is very rich and has just as many resources, but no one seems to care because the empire is so remote and the infrastructure is still poor. Yu Lexuan told me some time ago about it.

-I agree... Maybe we can visit Anhui on another occasion.

-Yes, we should.

-So, I'll get it done. Who is going to accompany us? May Yu Lexuan go with me?

-Maybe you can go alone, or I can go with him. Your majesty can choose. 

-Don't you want to also go there and have a conversation with Xie Yun? - Feng Long smiles.

-Yes, I can do it. But the travel time will be about five days as we will need a large carriage.

-Not really. I suggest you do something different: use racing horses.

-Racing horses? But how about the supplies for us? Food? Water?

-A racing horse can cover 320 li in 13 hours. We can change horses four times, first in Quzhou, then Shangrao, and lastly, in Yingtan. Of course, we will have to send a letter to Meng Zhang. He will provide the horses for us. 

-Riding a horse for 13 hours straight is tough. I think we might not withstand it.

-Yes, it is hard but will cut our travel time considerably. 

-Well, let's arrange it then. How much food would we have to carry?

-To be honest, nothing at all. We will make at least two stops in a day. We can buy whatever we need instead of carrying it around. Our load should be as lightweight as possible to not overload the horses and allow for the fastest possible pace. 

-I agree. I'll pack my suitcase, then tell Yu Lexuan about our plan.

-Of course... Ah, Zhong Kunyi...

-Your majesty?

Feng Long gets up and kisses him:

-Thank you for the report.

-My pleasure... - Zhong Kunyi blushes.

Feng long smiles and moves out of the room. Walking through the hallway, he meets Yu Lexuan. Yu Lexuan smiles and bows to him:

-Greetings to your majesty.

-Please, you can rise...

 Feng Long helps Yu Lexuan to rise:

-Yu Lexuan, would you bother if I invite you to visit Meng Zhang with Zhong Kunyi and me?

-Wow, this is going to be a long journey!

-Not really. I proposed the following: change horses four times, using racing horses only. This way, I believe we can get there in up to two days.

-We may get there, but how about all the supplies, food, and water?

-There's no need. We will have at least two stops in a day. This is enough for us to have some food and do our necessities. We can carry some water, but I'm not sure if we will need a large amount. 

-Well, I don't care, as long as I'm with you...

Yu Lexuan looks into Feng Long's eyes, moves a step forward, and hugs him. Feng Lng smiles:

-All set then. I'll send a letter to Meng Zhang asking for racing horses. We only need two horses, but my priority is speed, so I'll ask for three.  

-I'm so sad... I'd love to ride with you. Even though... we can ride later! - Yu Lexuan smirks.

Feng Long blushes:

-Hmmm... This is gonna be hot but, whatever, I'll write the letter and send it. Hopefully, we will get Meng Zhang's reply tomorrow so we can depart in the morning. 

-I'll wait for you. 

Yu Lexuan and Feng Long kiss:

-This trip is about improving our relationship with Jiangxi. We should succeed. - Feng Long smiles.

-We will succeed.

Yu Lexuan smiles back. Feng Long turns and walks away. Arriving at his room, he sits down, writes the letter, and sends it using a pigeon. He looks at the pigeon flying away:

-I hope this all goes well...

 ...

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