Chapter 281: Merchant's Plan
"Master Shen, the Prime Minister ordered you to calm the situation, but you caused such a big commotion. This is simply unreasonable!"

August 21st, Jinling City.

In the private room of Wanxian Tower, Minister Jia's grief-stricken and angry rebukes had lasted for a whole incense stick of time.

However, Shen Dongshan turned a blind eye to his anger and turned a deaf ear to it, enjoying himself leisurely under the delicate service of two thinly dressed and soft-looking beautiful women.

At this moment, Kui Qi and Feng Tianba stood aside with awkward expressions, looking at the two people with completely different expressions, and no one dared to interrupt.

"Now it's all right? Everyone in the world is busy electing some 'Martial Arts Leader'?"

Minister Jia was furious and restless. He paced back and forth in the room, pointing his finger at Shen Dongshan and scolding him, "Do you know how big a mess you have made this time? You forged an imperial decree and openly recruited the gangsters. Now even the emperor..."

At this point, Minister Jia suddenly lowered his voice a little, raised his hands to the sky, bowed, and said in a serious manner: "Even the current emperor is asking about this matter. Those bastards in the Privy Council are afraid that the world will not be in chaos. Now they have caught the handle and reported the prime minister to the emperor. What do you think, how should this matter end?"

After that, Minister Jia rushed to Shen Dongshan, pushed the two women away, snatched the wine glass from Shen Dongshan's hand, and said angrily: "I am extremely anxious and worried, and you still have the leisure to drink and have fun? You have caused a huge disaster, but you are completely unaware of it. It's pathetic, infuriating, and hateful!"

Looking at the anxious Minister Jia, Shen Dongshan smiled slightly and said calmly: "Master Jia, please be patient. Although Shen is not talented, I still have some sense of propriety in doing things. I just don't know... Are you worried about me or yourself?"

"What do you mean?" Minister Jia's face changed and he asked in a deep voice, "What do I worry about?"

"Don't forget, when I was recruiting in Xijing Prefecture, I used Lord Jia's official seal." Shen Dongshan pretended to be innocent and replied, "If the emperor investigates this matter, the prime minister will definitely find someone to take the blame. By then, it seems that neither I nor Lord Jia can escape the blame."

"Shen Dongshan! How dare you harm me?"

Minister Jia was furious, his features grim. He grabbed Shen Dongshan by the collar and shouted, "You said that, and you borrowed the official seal. It was your idea to forge the imperial edict and recruit the amnesty in a false name. Don't even think about dragging me down with you!"

Seeing Shen Dongshan being threatened, Kui Qi's face changed immediately and he wanted to step forward, but Shen Dongshan waved his hand to stop him.

"It was Lord Jia and the Prime Minister who dragged me into this first." Facing the ferocious Minister Jia, Shen Dongshan remained calm and smiled, "If you hadn't forced me to intervene, why would I resort to such a desperate measure? Lord Jia, we are two grasshoppers on the same rope. Why should we quarrel with each other and mess up our own situation at this time? Forgive Shen's stupidity, I really don't understand why you are so nervous?"

"Misusing the official seal, forging an imperial edict, pretending to be the imperial court to offer amnesty..." Minister Jia said indignantly, "Any one of these is a capital crime punishable by execution of the entire family. How can I not be nervous? It is precisely because you and I are two grasshoppers on the same rope that I rushed to Nanjing to find you."

"Everything I did was in accordance with the Prime Minister's orders. What's wrong with that?" Shen Dongshan pretended to be confused and asked, "The Prime Minister ordered me to calm the disturbance. Now the six major sects and the four great families have stopped fighting and made peace. Could it be that the Prime Minister is still not satisfied?"

"You know I don't care about this." Minister Jia pushed Shen Dongshan away, sat aside angrily, and said unhappily, "It's about what happened later."

Shen Dongshan looked bewildered and said in astonishment: "For the rest of the matter, I will still follow the orders of the Prime Minister and do everything I can to help Luo Tianjin unify the martial arts world..."

"On the orders of the Prime Minister?" Minister Jia glared and said, "The Prime Minister did not ask you to fake the imperial decree, nor did he ask you to pretend to be the court to offer amnesty."

"Sir, do you still remember what I said when I borrowed your official seal in Qixia Temple that day?" Shen Dongshan asked back.

"What?"

"I said I had a plan in mind, and that this plan might have a miraculous effect on people in the martial arts world." Shen Dongshan reminded him, "At that time, the Lord didn't even think about it, and readily agreed. He also said that as long as I could achieve my goal, I could do whatever I wanted without any scruples. Did the Lord forget?"

Upon hearing this, Minister Jia could not help but frown and asked suspiciously, "The strategy you said that day that would be effective against the people in the martial arts world... was 'recruiting them'?"

"That's right!" Shen Dongshan nodded and said, "Your Excellency is in a high position in the government, and you may not know much about these rough men in the martial arts world. You can never deal with them by attacking them directly, but you have to attack them indirectly and lure them into the trap. At that time, if I directly proposed to nominate a leader of the martial arts world, they would certainly suspect that I had ulterior motives, and then they would be suspicious of each other, and it would be difficult to achieve great things in the end. The people in the martial arts world have always been hostile to the court, so I deliberately proposed to recruit them, and they would certainly be indignant and unanimously oppose it. In this way, they can relax their vigilance and alertness against me, and coupled with the constant pressure from the Mongols, they will finally take the initiative to propose to nominate someone to preside over the overall situation of the martial arts world. In this way, isn't it the best of both worlds?"

Minister Jia pondered for a moment and said hesitantly, "Let's not talk about the false imperial decree for now. Just talking about the matter of recommending the leader of the martial arts world, how do you explain it? The Prime Minister wants you to help Luo Tianjin unify the martial arts world, but why do you want to make so many names for yourself? Do you know that everyone in the martial arts world is ready to make a move, and anyone with a little power wants to compete with him."

"Master Jia, you think too highly of me." Shen Dongshan said with a wry smile, "I am not a god, and I am worthless in their eyes. Do you think I can command the heroes with just a few gold ingots? If it were so easy to unify the martial arts world, I would have been the leader of the martial arts world long ago. Why would I have to work so hard to do business everywhere? Master, if you want to win over a person, you must first win his heart. If you want Luo Tianjin to be the leader of the martial arts world, you must let him sit on the throne of the martial arts world legitimately. Only in this way can the heroes of the martial arts world be won over. Otherwise, even if the court appointed Luo Tianjin as the ten martial arts leaders, it would only be in name only. What's the point? Most of these martial artists are conservative in their thinking, old-fashioned in their behavior, and have very strange tempers. If they don't obey, they will never surrender even if the emperor comes. But if they obey, even if he is a beggar, they will be loyal and loyal to him. Therefore, Luo Tianjin can only be worthy of the title and have a hundred people respond to his call if he becomes the martial arts leader in an open and aboveboard manner. "

"But this will take a year..."

"The Prime Minister has been working hard on this plan for more than ten years. Do you still care about waiting for one more year?"

"How can you guarantee that Luo Tianjin will become the leader of the martial arts world in a year?"

"According to the current situation, the two people who are most likely to ascend to the throne of the leader of the martial arts world are nothing more than two people. One is Luo Tianjin, and the other is Jin Fuyu." Shen Dongshan pondered, "Not only are the two of them powerful, but they are also popular and have a group of powerful supporters. Together, these people are enough to occupy 70% to 80% of the Central Plains martial arts world. As for the others, they are powerless in front of these two people and are not to be feared."

Minister Jia snorted, "When the Prime Minister does something, he always wants to succeed. Now you have to choose between the two. How can you guarantee that Luo Tianjin will be able to defeat Jin Fuyu?"

"What virtue and ability do I have? How can I influence the situation in the martial arts world?" Shen Dongshan waved his hand and said, "To be honest, I have done everything I can do. As for the rest, it will be up to the Prime Minister and Lord Jia..."

"What do you mean?" Minister Jia raised his eyebrows and asked, "You want us to help Luo Tianjin?" "Rumor has it that Jin Fuyu is a descendant of the Jin royal family. I think the court would not want to see him take the throne. If Jin Fuyu is allowed to become the leader of the martial arts world, there is no guarantee that he will not stir up civil strife and wait for an opportunity to retaliate against the Song Dynasty."

Shen Dongshan's words were like a heavy hammer, hitting Minister Jia's heart hard, making his back cold and his hair stand on end.

"You should know that the Prime Minister and I will never interfere in the affairs of the martial arts world. Asking us to help Luo Tianjin... is absolutely impossible!"

"Master Jia, don't worry too much. Don't forget who Luo Tianjin is." Shen Dongshan comforted him, "He must have a way to deal with Jin Fuyu. At present, the strength of the Xianwang Mansion is slightly better than that of Jinjianwu, so Luo Tianjin has a greater chance of winning the battle for the leader of the martial arts world on September 9th next year. Of course, Shen will do his best to provide convenience for Luo Tianjin. Hehe..."

"Master Shen, are you gambling?" Minister Jia said bitterly, "Now, you are not only gambling with your own life, but also with the lives of me and the Prime Minister, and even the survival of the Song Dynasty. At this moment, there are countless eyes outside, staring at this gambling game. This is a big gamble. If we lose... we will all lose our heads..."

"Life is a gamble." Shen Dongshan said with a smile, "How can there be so many sure things in the world? Only if you dare to gamble, you have a chance to win. If you don't dare to gamble, you will die."

"Alas!" Shen Dongshan's words were like bitter medicine, leaving Minister Jia speechless. He was suddenly filled with a myriad of emotions and sighed endlessly.

"That's it! That's it!"

Minister Jia seemed to have aged dozens of years in an instant. He waved to Shen Dongshan with tired eyes, turned to greet Feng Tianba, and slowly walked out the door.

"Master Shen, since the cause of the matter has been investigated, I will negotiate for you in front of the Prime Minister after I return. You, take care of yourself! Goodbye."

Looking at the worried figure of Minister Jia, Shen Dongshan slowly stood up and greeted him, "Since you are here, why don't you rest in the Wanxian Tower for a few days? Recently, several beautiful Korean beauties have come here..."

"Master Shen, you are joking. Now that things have come to this, how can I still have that kind of thought? I'd better go back and report to the Prime Minister as soon as possible! Alas..."

Before he finished speaking, Minister Jia, accompanied by Feng Tianba and several guards, gradually disappeared from Shen Dongshan's sight.

Looking at the empty door, Shen Dongshan couldn't help but raise a sly smile. He waved his hand gently, calling the two beautiful women waiting beside him to continue drinking with him.

"Master, Luo Tianjin is ignorant of the current situation. He is unwilling to hand over a small Tang Afu to us. It is really hateful!" Kui Qi muttered indignantly, "But we still have to help him seize the leader of the martial arts world. The more I think about it, the more aggrieved I feel."

Shen Dongshan chuckled and said, "Luo Tianjin is a man who cares about his reputation. He refused to hand Tang Afu over to me because he was afraid that someone would stab him in the back in the future. He is hypocritical and selfish, and he is two-faced. When he is using you, he calls you a brother and talks about everything with you. After using you, he immediately changes his face. You can't trust him easily, let alone make close friends with him."

"Then the Prime Minister and Lord Jia..."

"If they want to respect Luo Tianjin, that's their business." Shen Dongshan sneered, "The reason why I brought up the 'Leader of the Martial World' issue was actually to escape without offending anyone. Kui Qi, do you still remember the master's signature?"

"Su Qin hangs up his seal." Kui Qi blurted out.

"That's right." Shen Dongshan said quietly, "Su Qin once wore the seals of six countries, was versatile and could get along with everyone. Who do you think he belongs to?"

"This……"

"He belongs to no one! Similarly, the rulers of the six countries have never really regarded him as their own. They are all using him." Shen Dongshan explained, "Master, I am just like this. I am a lobbyist for the court, a helper of Luo Tianjin, and a friend of Jin Fuyu. Now, they all want to use me, so naturally they are open with me, but one day when they succeed, they will hide their bows and throw away their birds, and cook away the dogs. How can I not be prepared in advance? There are no fish in clear water, and there are no followers if you are observant. Therefore, sometimes you have to learn to pretend to be confused and know how to smooth things over. Haha... Let's stir up this world first. After all, it's easier to fish in muddy water!"

"So that's it!" Kui Qi suddenly realized, "This year is not only for Luo Tianjin and Jin Fuyu, but also for me."

"Not long ago, I negotiated a business deal with a Korean businessman. Hearing him tell me about the customs and people of Korea, I was very moved. I would like to go and see it if I have the chance, haha..."

"Goryeo?" Kui Qi asked in confusion, "It's just a tiny place, what's so good about going there? The master is already doing them a honor by doing business with them!"

"Let's talk business with the Koreans first. Maybe we will go to Korea to do business in the future."

Shen Dongshan suddenly said something inexplicable, which made Kui Qi stunned. After thinking about it for a long time, he still couldn't figure it out.

"Master, I..."

"tired!"

Without waiting for Kui Qi to ask further questions, Shen Dongshan uttered two words lightly.

Hearing this, Kui Qi's face suddenly straightened, and then he quickly turned around and left the room quickly amidst the laughter of young girls.

……

(End of this chapter)