Longzang

Chapter 612 Unhealthy Trends
The majority of transactions with the Wild Ancestor Tribe were barter trade. Small price differences were recorded in the books, while large differences were settled by offering ancient immortal plants as payment.

Wei Yuan exchanged brocade worth tens of millions of taels of silver for tens of millions of kilograms of raw materials. Over time, these raw materials will gradually be transformed into gunpowder, and then into various deadly weapons.

Massive quantities of Hell Iron gradually began to be used throughout Qingming, and elite troops had begun to fully replace their weapons and equipment with those containing Hell Iron. Because Hell Iron is more durable and does not heat up easily, the barrel thickness of the new musket is only half that of the original, yet its strength is actually higher. A musket is 40 to 50 pounds lighter, while the power of the ammunition can be increased by 30%.

Just as Wei Yuan was running wildly on the road full of martial virtue, the aristocratic families in the western counties of Ningzhou were still immersed in joy.

For several months, the reopening of the trade route with Wuyu has benefited every aristocratic family. Every household is expanding its mulberry fields, while those with resources are building brocade workshops on a large scale.

The looms for brocade require a type of spirit wood called silver nanmu, and its price has skyrocketed more than tenfold recently, yet it remains scarce. The wages of brocade weavers have doubled even for apprentices, while those of skilled craftsmen have more than tripled. However, the new brocade workshops are recklessly poaching talent, even bringing back some elderly craftsmen nearing their graves to work shakily in their workshops.

For a time, the entire industry felt that money was coming so easily.

Even though the aristocratic families made money, they couldn't come up with anything fancy. It was just the same old thing: hunting, banquets, dancers, and entertainers. Anything more would easily be associated with treason.

On this day, the Yao family hosted a banquet, inviting all the owners of the Jinhang trading companies who were on good terms with them within a radius of three hundred miles to come and stay in their newly built villa. They hunted during the day and drank at night, intending to stay drunk for ten days straight.

All the owners and managers came gladly; they had no choice but to come. The head of the Yao family made a grand gesture, booking up all the better brothels in the vicinity and sending them to another courtyard.

As a result, people roared and horses neighed during the day, and danced and made merry at night, ruining the surrounding area for miles.

That evening, the Yao family patriarch, surrounded by seven or eight young women, was toasting and exchanging drinks with the other patriarchs. From the very beginning, the Yao family had bet on mulberry fields and acquired a large amount of farmland to convert to mulberry cultivation. Now, they owned 200,000 mu of mulberry fields! With silk prices soaring, the Yao family had already become the richest family in the county, leaving everyone else far behind.

Now, taking advantage of the soaring silk prices, the Yao family has begun a major foray into the brocade industry, opening eight brocade workshops and signing lifelong contracts with more than 5,000 brocade craftsmen.

Just as the banquet was in full swing, a servant suddenly entered and whispered something in the ear of the Yao family patriarch.

The Yao family patriarch remained unfazed, snorted, and rebuked, "What's there to panic about? It's just a hundred bolts a day! Tell them we want all the brocade and they're not allowed to sell any more to outsiders!"

The manager looked distressed and said, "They refuse, saying that each person can only buy one horse per day, and they absolutely will not sell them in bulk!"

The Yao family patriarch's face immediately darkened: "So tough? What's the background of this trading company? Aren't they afraid they won't be able to return to their hometown?"

At this time, the head of the family, who was also well-informed, also learned of the news, and it quickly spread throughout the entire manor. All the heads of the family knew that a newly established trading company was selling brocade in the county town at a price that was a full tael lower than the market price.

Many large local buyers of brocade have turned to this trading company, and the daily quotas are sold out in no time.

Since brocade is not a necessity, buying it today or tomorrow makes no difference. As a result, many wealthy families in the county town began to queue up at this shop, and the sales of brocade at other shops plummeted.

The Yao family patriarch didn't really care. If the brocade couldn't be sold, so be it; the lion's share was going to be sent to the Wu tribe anyway. Why sell it for eight taels when it could fetch fifteen taels?

But this merchant's actions were provoking trouble. Seeing everyone watching him, the Yao family patriarch naturally had to adopt the attitude of the eldest son, so he said, "Since they don't know what's good for them, then we won't be polite. Let's start with courtesy, then proceed with force. Tomorrow morning, send a hundred of our employees to line up and buy back all of Jindu!"

The steward whispered, "Sir, the queue for tomorrow morning has already started this afternoon."

The Yao family patriarch's face darkened. He said, "Show us your Yao family name and make the top one hundred people give up their spots! If you do, we'll give you one tael of silver; if you don't..."

The manager's face turned grim: "I'll break their legs right away!"

The patriarch nodded, satisfied, and said, "Don't forget to investigate the background of that merchant guild. I need to know their secrets!"

With the minor incident over, everyone continued drinking.

Three more days passed in the blink of an eye, and just as the hunt was drawing to a close, news suddenly arrived: the Witch Clan had suspended their purchases!

Even the Yao family patriarch couldn't hold back this time and hurriedly asked, "What does the Witch Clan mean by this?"

The messenger reported, "News has come from over there that someone has recently been dumping large quantities of brocade in the Witch Clan, cheaper and better than ours. Several elders of the Leize Tribe are very angry and are demanding that we lower our prices, or they will return the goods."

The Yao family patriarch said, "Fifteen taels a bolt is already cheap enough! You want to lower the price? How?"

Everyone agreed.

The messenger looked troubled and said, "I heard from the Wu tribe that the brocade on the other side is only selling for twenty taels. The Leize tribe has nearly two hundred thousand bolts of brocade stuck with them and can't sell them. Elder Leize said that they are also selling for twenty taels, so they want us to lower the price to ten taels."

One of the young masters immediately exclaimed, "Ten taels? The price of silk is already four taels, and the craftsman's silver is more than two taels. Add in the travel expenses, what are we going to make with ten taels? Are we only going to make one and a half taels per bolt?"

All the clan heads were filled with righteous indignation and denounced the Leize tribe. The Yao family head, however, remained calm and said, "Let's send someone to the Leize tribe first and see who on the Wu tribe is trying to steal our business."

"Could it be the State of Zhao?" a clan head asked.

The Yao family patriarch shook his head: "No way! The quality of Zhao's silk brocade is far inferior to ours. In my opinion, the person in the shadows is most likely from one of the Eight Counties!"

For the next two days, the situation remained unchanged, and everyone became preoccupied, so the hunt ended a day early.

As soon as the Yao family patriarch returned to his residence, someone reported, "Master Chuhe has arrived!"

The Yao family head, however, was of a different status at this moment. He frowned and said, "Is he here to buy silk again? Let him wait until I have lunch."

At this moment, the old Taoist priest was sitting in the guest room, drinking cup after cup of tea. He was quite patient and not in a hurry. He took out a storybook and turned the pages one by one, reading at a leisurely pace.

It took a long time for the Yao family patriarch to appear, his face beaming with smiles, and he said, "I'm late, please don't blame me, Elder Master."

Master Chuhe then expressed his intention to buy silk. The Yao family head's smile remained unchanged, but he said, "This is a bit of a problem. Our Yao family is also making brocade now, and we have already found the craftsmen. We are not selling silk outside the family at the moment."

Master Chuhe chuckled and said, "For the sake of our past relationship, let me offer a word of advice: silk is a good business, but brocade is not. That's all I have to say. Farewell!"

After Master Chuhe left, the Yao family patriarch snorted but didn't listen.

At this moment, Wei Yuan was gathering the cultivators around a sand table map that extended deep into the Witch Domain, assigning them tasks.

"This time we are going to capture the Red Sand Oasis, which is 3,400 li away from us. The area within 200 li is roughly the size of three or four counties on our side."

Eight human sacrificial tribes live in this area. The Raize tribe has 15,000 troops stationed here, including only 200 heavily armored giant lizard knights. Xu Yi, you will lead 5,000 light cavalry ahead to scout the terrain along the way and establish supply camps where necessary. The Wild Ancestor tribe will send people to guide and support you along the way.

Upon approaching the Red Sand Oasis, do not attack rashly. First, ascertain the enemy's strength and weaknesses, thoroughly survey the terrain, and make contact with the guides of the Wild Ancestor Tribe. Wait for the main force to arrive before launching an attack. Local tribesmen loyal to the Wild Ancestor Tribe may provide assistance on the spot.

"Cui Yu, you will lead ten thousand men and depart in ten days, following the scouted route. I will provide you with two thousand heavy cavalry and eight thousand mounted infantry. Disciples from the medical clinic and alchemy temple will accompany you. Any further questions?"

Cui Yu said, "You've already crippled their Flying Eagle Cavalry. What else do they have to offer? I think we don't need to bring so many cannons. Just bring five to test their power. Fifty cannons are too many and cumbersome!"

Wei Yuan immediately rejected the idea: "No way! If the road weren't so long and difficult, I would have let you carry five hundred guns. These are new-style infantry guns, very lightweight. You could carry two by yourself. If it really doesn't work, have the Dao Foundation officers carry them. What are they saving their magic power for?"

"A mere 15,000 shaman soldiers, and they're just local garrison troops? Aren't they just our local militia? One-on-one, I could beat them with my bare fists even without armor!"

"Without the power of the boundary over there, do you think the battle will be so easy?"

"Even without the power of realms, there's still the human world, isn't there? Just fly over and manifest it; it's not much worse than the power of realms."

Wei Yuan said irritably, "You can't fight a war without me, can you?"

Cui Yu rolled his eyes at him and said, "You're idle all day long with nothing to do, so why don't you come and fight? What could be more important than fighting the Wu tribe? Besides, you don't need to fight, you just need to show up. Just find a place to squat for a while, and you can leave after the battle is over."

"Oh, right, don't make any rash moves. Many of my brothers are lined up waiting for their Heavenly Skills! If you grab too hard, you'll lose dozens of them with just one squeeze. The brothers are just one more thing away from going home to check on things."

Wei Yuan said, "What do they want to exchange? If they need it urgently, I can exchange it for them first, and then we can recoup the difference later."

Cui Yu said, "They lack nothing! What they lack now is something impressive to show off when they go home. These days, you can't even go back to your hometown to visit your family without having at least a few dozen Heavenly Merits!"

For some reason, Wei Yuan always felt that these spoiled brats had some abnormal ideas: "No, instead of using the Heavenly Merit to exchange for supplies, they take it back to show off?"

"Didn't you start this bad trend?"

Upon further inquiry, Wei Yuan learned that a strange trend of competing in Heavenly Skills had emerged among the young disciples of the powerful families in the states of Jin and Zhao, as well as the surrounding areas.

The origin of this matter lies in the younger generation who were working hard in Qingming returning home to visit their families. Initially, it was Xu Yi and Wang Yu's group, but more and more people came later. Those who came to Qingming in the beginning were actually not well-received at home, which is why they were ostracized.

Now that they've achieved success and returned home in glory, they know they can't compete with the direct descendants in terms of wealth or magical treasures, so they're resorting to Heavenly Merit. This kind of merit only comes from actually striking the Dharma Image, which has stumped the young masters and ladies of the direct descendants.

These young masters and ladies, unwilling to be humiliated, each tried their best to acquire Heavenly Skills. Suddenly, competing in Heavenly Skills became a trend among the younger generation of wealthy families, with some even organizing Heavenly Skill Poetry Gatherings. The quality of the poems was unimportant; what mattered was that the participating young talents all possessed Heavenly Skills. These poetry gatherings were immediately popular with the young ladies of noble families, turning a poetry event into a marriage-hunting contest.

(End of this chapter)