I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 282 Shanxi Merchants
"The material shipped from Qizhou before was only enough to make more than 10,000 anti-arrow silk coats, and all of them were given to the new army. I also placed an order with the Qizhou Textile Factory, but it will take two months to complete the order." Wu Liangshan did not answer the question directly.

Zhu Houxuan understood Wu Liangshan's meaning and frowned.
"Did you get it from a Shanxi merchant?" Zhu Houxuan asked.

"Yes, it was a businessman named Qiao from Pingyang, Shanxi. He took the initiative to find me." Wu Liangshan said quickly.

"He came to you on his own initiative?" Zhu Houxuan raised his eyebrows and said.

"Yes."

"Interesting." Zhu Houzhao stroked his chin and said, "Where is that businessman? Bring him to see me."

"As ordered!"

The businessman named Qiao was brought over quickly.

After meeting Zhu Houchun, the businessman named Qiao was obviously a little nervous. He could tell Zhu Houchun's identity from his clothes. He didn't expect to meet the legendary figure in the Ming Dynasty's business world like this.

"Commoner Qiao Rongzhi pays homage to His Majesty the King of Jing"

"No need to be so polite. I'm sure you know why I came to you. Just tell me." Zhu Houxuan said very directly.

"Your Highness, please allow me to report. I am in the fur business. The other day someone suddenly came to my shop and asked me if I would accept good stuff, and then took out these silk clothes. Although I am in the fur business, I also know good stuff. These silk clothes are made of very solid materials, the weaving method is ingenious, and the craftsmanship is unheard of. So I was delighted and bought this batch of goods for one and a half taels of silver each," Qiao Rongzhi said quickly.

"Fur business. Humph!" Zhu Houzhao sneered, "These parasites are quite thoughtful. They knew that the Royal Group had many connections in the textile industry, so they found a fur shop to sell it. What a good plan!"

Qiao Rongzhi broke out in a cold sweat when he heard this, and at the same time he was secretly happy in his heart, because he knew that his bet was right.
"How did you think of contacting the Royal Group?" Zhu Houxuan looked straight at Qiao Rongzhi.

Qiao Rongzhi only felt that Zhu Houxuan's gaze contained a huge pressure, so he hurriedly said: "These silk clothes have been processed, and I know that the seller wants to cover up something, but some of the Royal Group's logos have not been cleaned up. After seeing them, I knew they were Royal Group's products, and I also guessed that there must be something hidden, so I found the Royal Group."

Zhu Houxuan nodded slightly, "Yes, you have made a contribution. Tell me what you want."

Qiao Rongzhi was overjoyed, but still said modestly: "It is a blessing for me to work for the Royal Group. I don't ask for anything..."

"My time is very precious," Zhu Houxuan looked at Qiao Rongzhi coldly.

Qiao Rongzhi felt that Zhu Houxuan's eyes had seen through him, and his heart tightened. He quickly said, "I want to become a partner of the Royal Group."

Zhu Houxuan then smiled, "That's right." Then he turned to look at Chen Hong and said, "Give him the qualification of a junior partner, and reward him with a black dragon flag and 2000 taels of silver to buy his more than silk clothes."

"No need to give money, I'll give you the silk dress," said Qiao Rongzhi, suppressing his inner excitement.

"Just take it if I tell you to. Royal Group believes in fairness when doing business." Zhu Houxuan interrupted him directly.

"Yes, yes, yes," Qiao Rongzhi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said hurriedly. He was extremely excited. This qualification of a junior partner was something that could not be exchanged for even 10,000 taels of silver. The black dragon flag could save him from a lot of trouble. The interests involved were huge. With these two things, the Qiao family would take off in the future.
"What other characteristics does the seller have?" Zhu Houxuan asked again.

Qiao Rongzhi thought about it carefully and said, "The seller doesn't look very special, he's very ordinary, but I remember that the seller's accent is from Shanxi, which may be why he came to me, after all, we are from the same hometown."

"Shanxi accent." Zhu Houxuan looked thoughtful.

At this time, Chen Hong also wrote a check for four thousand silver coins and handed it to Qiao Rongzhi.

Zhu Houxuan also waved to Qiao Rongzhi, indicating that he could leave.
Qiao Rongzhi saluted Zhu Houxuan again and was about to leave.

Zhu Houxuan suddenly stopped him and said, "You are from Pingyang, Shanxi. How much do you know about the things on the grassland?"

Qiao Rongzhi was stunned by the question and quickly said, "I am just doing my own business and I know nothing about what is happening on the grassland."

"Don't be anxious. I'm just asking casually. I see that you are in the fur business, so I'm curious whether your goods come from the grassland." Zhu Houxuan said with a smile.

Qiao Rongzhi swallowed hard, he just felt that Zhu Houxuan's smile was very scary.
"No, no," Qiao Rongzhi said hurriedly.

"Yes, it's nothing. I have always been in favor of conducting trade with the Mongols."

"Oh oh." Qiao Rongzhi breathed a sigh of relief.

"If you know any fellow villagers who know about what's happening on the grassland, you can introduce them to me and I will reward you with a merit." Zhu Houxuan patted Qiao Rongzhi's shoulder gently.

Qiao Rongzhi's body instantly shrank by three points, and he nodded and said, "Okay, okay."

Then I started to think about how to tell Zhu Houxuan about the things on the grassland.
Watching Qiao Rongzhi's departure, Zhu Houxuan fell into deep thought. Qiao Rongzhi's appearance suddenly reminded him
The Ming court's current understanding of the situation on the grassland is still stuck in the past few decades, and the intelligence from decades ago was rather rough, far from as detailed as in the early Ming Dynasty.

However, no matter how detailed the records of the early Ming Dynasty were, they were of little significance. A hundred years had passed, and the situation on the grassland had changed dramatically.
In order to go deep into the grassland and attack Huanglong, it is necessary to continue to grasp the intelligence on the grassland, especially the terrain and the location of each tribe. However, now the Jinyiwei and other special agencies have completely lost the ability to collect and explore foreign intelligence. Therefore, if Zhu Houxuan wants to obtain intelligence on the grassland, he must consider other channels.
The Shanxi merchants were the best channel he could find to obtain information about the grasslands. As a time traveler, he naturally knew what the Shanxi merchants had done in history. They first smuggled to Mongolia, and then to the Later Jin in the late Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Houxuan was sure that the Shanxi merchants at that time must have colluded with the Mongols. After all, smuggling trade was too profitable.
However, Zhu Houxuan was too lazy to pursue the problems of the Shanxi merchants. As he said, compared with the economic blockade, he supported trade with the Mongols.
The most urgent task now is to establish a stable source of intelligence. In the past few decades, the Ming Dynasty has been in a passive defensive state. Because of this state, it has become more passive in obtaining intelligence on the grassland.
The only channel to obtain information about the grassland is the news brought back by the Ming envoys sent to the grassland, but this channel is still too narrow.
(End of this chapter)