knife

Chapter 261 Openly Weakening You

When Chang Xin entered Li Dachui's office, he was much more composed than Chen Liang.

This is not only because Chang Jian has now advanced to the Innate Realm.
This was also due to the Chang family's strong influence and power outside the Great Wall.

The fact that the Chang family was able to mobilize tens of thousands of cavalry at once, as seen in this instance, demonstrates that they are a truly powerful and influential family.

Their strength is in no way inferior to that of the Yan family of Baoping Prefecture in the past.

However, for many years, the Chang family was categorized under Linghu's sphere of influence and was not ranked separately, which allowed the Yan family to rise to third place.

In truth, the Chang family is the real third.

Of course, sometimes, having too much power may not be a blessing, but a curse.

The Yan family of Baoping Prefecture is a typical example of this.

They may appear very powerful, but when they are truly feared by those in power...
In the blink of an eye, it vanished into thin air.

However, compared to the Yan family, the Chang family was more cautious.
At least they still upheld their bottom line when it came to national interests.

Li Dachui's conversation with Chen Liang resembled a friendly chat between old friends, but when he met Chang Xin, it became a proper meeting.

The guard served tea, then left the study, gently closing the door behind him, leaving the room to the two of them.

The guards outside were stationed dozens of paces away, so no one outside could hear what was being said inside.

"My father told me about the Protector-General's grand plan. To be honest, I admire the Protector-General immensely and find him astounding. Many of his ideas have truly broadened my horizons," Chang Xin said.

Li Dachui laughed and said, "Brother Chang, we're all family, no need for formalities, just say 'but'!"

Li Dachui's directness made Chang Xin, who was planning to beat around the bush, feel a little awkward. However, as a candidate for the head of the family, he quickly covered up his embarrassment and said with a smile, "Indeed, there are some things I would like to explain to the Protector."

"Please come in!"

“The Chang family mainly relies on manor production, with hundreds of thousands of people depending on the Chang family for their livelihood. Now, suddenly, we want to release them, give them land and houses, and let them become self-reliant. This doesn’t really affect the Chang family, but as soon as we released some information about this proposal, there was already an uproar below. They don’t want it!” Chang Xin said with some difficulty, “These days, the people below have been looking for me day and night. I’m really exhausted from dealing with them.”

"The Chang clan is used to a dependent lifestyle, so their reaction isn't surprising. Actually, there's no rush; we can take it slowly!" Li Dachui laughed. "Those willing to leave, the Chang family will let them go. The Chang family doesn't need to use their own land to subsidize these people; the Protectorate will provide for them. Housing, land, and even livestock will all be provided. It's unreasonable to expect the Chang clan to support the Protectorate's policies while also losing money!"

"So, this was done voluntarily rather than by force?"

"Of course it's voluntary!" Li Dachui laughed. "Forced relationships are never sweet!"

Chang Xin visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

“But Brother Chang, there’s something I need to remind you of!” Li Dachui picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, “Outside the Great Wall, there will soon be no more distinction between the Anxi Protectorate and the Andong Protectorate. The Beiting Protectorate will be re-established. Our memorial has already been submitted to Chang’an. Given the current situation in Chang’an, I reckon they’ll approve whatever we say! To put it bluntly, we’re the only ones who still take the Chang’an court seriously!”

"That's to be expected!" Chang Xin said without any surprise.

When Linghu Ye was in power, it was the Beiting Protectorate. Later, Xiao Changche and Li Dachui rose to power, and the division between Andong and Anxi was formed. That was just a check and balance by the court. Now that Linghu Ye has entered the pass, the area outside the pass has once again become the sphere of influence of one family, so naturally the situation needs to be adjusted back.

Li Dachui continued, "From the perspective of the future Beiting Protectorate, the entire area outside the Great Wall should be a unified whole, not only politically but also commercially!"

"The Protector-General means..." Chang Xin felt the main event was about to begin.

“Outside the pass, there will be a unified market!” Li Dachui said, “A unified tax rate and unified management. It will no longer be possible for each region to use its own local policies to manage the various industries in the past. In the past, the Chang family collected taxes and used them on their own territories, but that will no longer be the case. All these taxes will be collected by the government.”

"Understood!" Chang Xin nodded and said, "The old family-style management model will be abandoned. The Chang family will certainly abide by the new regulations, and will pay all taxes on time and in full, without a single penny arrears!"

"The Chang family has always been a model family outside the Great Wall!" Li Dachui said with a smile. "But I still have to remind you, Brother Chang, that when the area outside the Great Wall becomes a unified metropolis, the competition between goods will be extremely fierce. For example, I know that the Chang family has its own ironworks, producing all kinds of iron products, weapons, armor, and so on. In the past, you didn't have to worry about sales, as you could only use what you produced on your own territory. But that won't be the case in the future. Foreign goods will flood in."

Chang Xin's expression changed slightly.

“Brother Chang, from what I understand, the iron products produced in Tai’an City are of much better quality than those produced by the Chang family, but their prices are only half or even a third of what they cost. Once the market opens up, I reckon the Chang family’s ironworks will definitely go out of business. The people will definitely choose the cheaper and better products, won’t they? This can greatly improve labor efficiency and lead to greater profits. And the soldiers will also choose the cheaper but sharper swords and the stronger armor, after all, these are matters of life and death!” Chang Xinqiang laughed and said, “If we lose in normal market competition, then of course we won’t say a word.”

"That's good, that's good!" Li Dachui gave a thumbs up: "I was just worried that if Brother Chang came to provide local protection, it would inevitably cause disputes. With Brother Chang's statement, I'm relieved. Actually, Brother Chang, I might as well be frank: after the market is unified, without local protection, it will be very difficult for the manor economy to continue."

Chang Xin bit her lip and remained silent.

"However, I can still offer Brother Chang another suggestion!"

"Please enlighten me, Protector!"

“For ordinary, large-scale products, your family certainly can’t compete with those in Tai’an City, but you can go the high-end route!” Li Dachui said.

"For example?"

“Take armor for example!” Li Dachui said, “Tai’an City has unique secrets in smelting and large-scale manufacturing processes, which you definitely can’t compete with. But you can make custom-made ones. This way, the quantity will be reduced, but the price will be increased, and you can still make money. In fact, the profit margin will probably be even stronger than before. Similar approaches can be implemented in this way.”

Chang Xin suddenly realized that he had really oversimplified things.

They thought that a simple statement of non-coercion would guarantee Chang's certain degree of independence.

But Li Dachui simply uttered the four words "unified market," which was enough to pierce a hole in what Chang thought was a hard shell.

It's not just ironworks; it's the same for everything from firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea.
Chang Xin knew very well that Tai'an City was a city based on commerce. All the goods produced there were produced on a large scale and were known for being cheap and durable. When their products flooded in, his own businesses would probably all go bankrupt.

But what happens to the family members who work in these industries if the business goes bankrupt?
Are we just raising them for nothing?
Of course not, they should be released.

In this way, these people were freed from the control of the Chang family and became truly free citizens.

This was a blatant and overt scheme, and Chang Xin was momentarily at a loss for how to deal with it.

"I have nothing to say about fair competition!" Chang Xin tried his best to remain calm. "There's one more thing, and that's the 'Decree of Grace' that the Protector-General mentioned!"

Li Dachui laughed heartily: "I know, I know, it's not forced, it's purely voluntary! Brother Chang, the Chang family now has three main branches and more than ten side branches. If someone proposes to divide the family, the Chang family cannot stop them!"

"Of course, but if no one brings it up..."

“But someone has already brought it up!” Li Dachui smiled and pulled a file from the large table: “Chang Wei of the Ninth Branch wants to separate from the main family and live independently, but he is worried that the main family will not allow it, so he wants to ask the Protectorate to act as a notary. I have already approved this matter, and the Protectorate will send officials to supervise this separation of the family!”

Chang Xin took the case file, looked at its contents, and his face turned extremely ugly.

There's never a shortage of traitors.

These ungrateful bastards.

“Since someone has brought it up, the Chang family won’t be petty. What’s theirs will be theirs, and what’s not theirs, they shouldn’t even think about!” Chang Xin said through gritted teeth.

"This is a family matter for the Chang family. The Protectorate is just acting as a notary; we won't interfere!" Li Dachui said. "Brother Chang, now that we've finished discussing these matters, let's talk about the troop deployment! Lord Chang said he hopes to choose either Wild Boar Ridge or Qingtong Gorge. I've discussed it with Protector Xiao, and we've decided on Wild Boar Ridge! As for Qingtong Gorge, Protector Xiao wants to reserve it for General Xiao Dongwei. General Dongwei has served Protector Xiao for many years; we must give him that much face!"

Is this a case of giving someone a beating and then offering them a sweet treat?

Chang Xin was speechless.

He didn't have any good solutions to these problems.

Li Dachui is trying to break up and weaken the Chang family, but he doesn't do it secretly. Instead, he tells you openly that he's going to do it this way. If you don't have a good countermeasure, who can you blame?

The key point is that the father didn't care about it at all and left it entirely to me to handle.

(End of this chapter)