"Ah? This..."
Hearing him say that, Sun Fu was suddenly stunned. Then, he looked at the dancing courtesans in the hall.
How could these people be involved in matters of state?
"You all go down first. Don't come back unless you're called!"
Seeing his hesitant look, Zhang Bangchang immediately reacted and waved his hand at the courtesans.
"Now you can speak!"
Only after the footsteps of those people had faded away did Zhang Bangchang look at Sun Fu again.
"My lord, in my opinion, we probably can't fight them..."
After a long silence, Sun Fu finally spoke tentatively.
As he spoke, he carefully observed the expression on Zhang Bangchang's face.
He had pondered this matter for a long time, but he had never found a suitable opportunity to test Zhang Bangchang's attitude. Now that he heard Zhang Bangchang asking, he felt a bit uneasy.
"Go on!"
Seeing his nervous expression, Zhang Bangchang calmly poured himself a cup of wine.
"The Jurchens have marched south, using the excuse that the Former Emperor violated the alliance. But the Former Emperor has already abdicated. The Jurchens' excuse is gone! Isn't this the best time for us to negotiate peace?"
Seeing no change in Zhang Bangchang's expression, Sun Fu gritted his teeth and spoke again.
"But this is not something an ordinary person can do. To negotiate, one must at least have the status of a Grand Councilor!"
Seeing the beads of sweat on Sun Fu's forehead, Zhang Bangchang spoke again.
"My lord, you bear the heavy responsibility of the nation now, so you cannot easily put yourself at risk. But isn't there another Grand Councilor?"
"Are you referring to Li Ruoshui?"
After listening to Sun Fu's words, a smile finally appeared on Zhang Bangchang's face.
He had already thought of this plan. After all, if the Song Dynasty could negotiate peace with the Liao, why couldn't they negotiate peace with the Jurchens?
This was merely rehashing an old idea and was nothing special.
The only thing that worried Zhang Bangchang was that the person who proposed this idea first would be criticized for life.
He promoted Sun Fu at this time precisely to let him take the blame.
Now, before he had even said anything, this fellow had already taken the initiative, which truly satisfied Zhang Bangchang.
Especially since this fellow was cunning enough to take the blame while also helping him get rid of a political rival.
"That's right. To put it bluntly, he and my lord are not of the same path! With someone like him in the court, he might cause trouble for you at any time!"
"You mean..."
"Kill with a borrowed knife!"
Hearing him say that, the corners of Zhang Bangchang's mouth twitched.
This fellow was even more ruthless than he was!
Should he continue to promote this fellow?
"My lord, rest assured. I will handle the specific matters. My lord will know nothing about it!"
Before Zhang Bangchang could speak, Sun Fu said directly.
"Do it cleanly. If anything goes wrong..."
"My lord, rest assured, I know what I'm doing!"
"Come, I'll toast you!"
After hearing his reply, Zhang Bangchang nodded in satisfaction and raised his cup again.
"Thank you, my lord. Please watch the Grand Court session the day after tomorrow morning!"
"Hahahaha, don't worry, I won't let you work for nothing!"
"Thank you, my lord!"
After a brief private conversation, they parted ways.
As soon as the news of the Jurchens' southward march spread, prices in Bianliang city began to soar.
Other things were fine, but the price of grain was simply unbearable.
In just two days, the price of grain rose from fifteen hundred coins per dou to five thousand coins per dou.
This exorbitant price immediately caused the common people in the city to lament their misfortune.
Middle and high-ranking officials were relatively fine, but low-ranking officials and students from the Imperial Academy began to struggle.
"Husband, come here..."
In the study of the Chen family, while discussing current affairs with a few classmates, Chen Dong's wife, Madam Fang, called out to him with an embarrassed expression.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing Madam Fang's embarrassed expression, Chen Dong quickly bowed to his classmates and then turned to walk out.
"How much money do you have left? I just went to buy rice, but the price of grain is too high. The money I have can only buy this much..."
As Madam Fang spoke, she pointed with a worried expression at the shriveled rice bag beside her.
"This is the two taels of silver you gave me earlier, plus some loose change. There should be about three or four taels left!"
Chen Dong said as he quickly handed over his money pouch.
But that wasn't enough!
All this money added up to only one dou of rice. Your classmates have large appetites, and one dou of rice might barely...
Madam Fang said up to this point, and Chen Dong himself felt embarrassed.
His life was not very comfortable to begin with, and after getting married, with an extra person in the household, the subsidy from the court ran out by the middle of the month.
If his wife hadn't sold some of her dowry to supplement their income, the couple might have starved to death by now.
The last time Han Mo gave him so much money, he didn't keep any for himself and gave it all to the poor classmates. Now, he realized that in terms of wealth, he was actually the poorest among his classmates.
"Let's just buy as much as we can. After today, I'll go out this afternoon and think of a way!"
Looking at his classmates who were engaged in heated discussions, and then at the nearly bare house, Chen Dong's face showed a hint of self-reproach.
"Is this the residence of the young master of the Chen family?"
Just as Madam Fang was about to say something, a clear voice suddenly came from outside the door.
"Who are you?"
After exchanging a look with Madam Fang, Chen Dong stepped forward and opened the door, curiously observing the man in front of him.
Although this person was dressed as a servant, his clothes and shoes were all new. In fact, they were more refined than those of Chen Dong, a student of the Imperial Academy.
"I am a shop assistant from the Zhe Family Merchant House. My master sent me to deliver these things to the young master. Please check them! Oh, and there's a letter from my master to the young master."
As the shop assistant spoke, he reached into his embrace and handed a letter to Chen Dong.
The companions behind him, without any further ado, began to unload several large sacks from the cart and carried them directly into the Chen family's residence.
"My dear brother Han! This is truly a timely rain. It seems I owe him a great favor again!"
Looking at the familiar handwriting on the envelope and his wife who was happily checking the supplies, Chen Dong couldn't help but show a wry smile.