The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 235 Irreversible
Zhou Shiming finally realized what was happening, his eyes wide with disbelief as he stared at Wang Xin in shock.

wrong.

I was wrong from the very beginning.

Zhou Shiming's eyelids twitched. He stared intently at Wang Xin and asked anxiously, "What does the general want to do?"

Wang Xin didn't keep anyone in suspense. He had come all the way to Datong for the sake of cooperation, and he answered frankly: "The newly built city is outside the pass, and no one can interfere with it. It will be managed by the merchants themselves, including how to use the surrounding land. That's all up to the merchants."

Upon hearing Wang Xin's statement, Zhou Shiming had even more questions to ask, and for a moment he was speechless.

Suddenly, he felt a pang of regret. He shouldn't have refused Wang Xin's invitation. Many of his peers were probably already aware of it and had even begun making preparations, while he had fallen far behind. Fortunately, the Zhou family was powerful.

Zhou Shiming understood perfectly well that this person's requirements, even without a deep understanding, were enough to attract the interest of many people from just the few words he revealed. He should not lack partners, but this person valued the strength and financial resources of the Zhou family.

In a flash, Zhou Shiming made several deductions and asked, "What does the general want?"

He's a smart person indeed; he knows what he wants to do, so he can understand the direction he should take.

Wang Xin did not hide anything and truthfully replied, "Twenty percent of the profits each year."

"What's it for?"

Most people want the benefits for themselves, but Zhou Shiming was attracted by Wang Xin's boldness and did not think that this man was greedy for money, but must have a big plan.

"Raising an army".

“If the army is maintained, it can protect the new city from disturbance, the interests of the merchants will be guaranteed, and the invested capital can be earned back quickly.”

This is the right thing to do, and it brings huge benefits.

Since officials are unreliable, then we should rely on merchants. As for merchants pursuing profit, who in the world doesn't? Don't officials also pursue profit? If officials don't pursue profit, then why can't the court afford to support their own army?

If the officials of the Great Zhou are reliable, then I don't need to rely on merchants.

As for whether merchants are reliable or not, Wang Xin doesn't care much, because merchants are profit-driven. As long as there is profit, there will be money. The next issue is how to distribute it, not the merchants themselves.

"Why do we need these middlemen like Taiji? Why should we let them go through the middleman? Moreover, they are unstable and have a great negative impact on business. I want to create a stable business environment that provides long-term benefits."

Wang Xin smiled and introduced, then changed the subject, "But I am a soldier. Fighting is what I should do, but doing business is what merchants should do. Everyone should do their own thing. So the new city is protected by the army, but it is managed by you merchants. Each business must guarantee the army's expenditures, 20% of the profits each year. At the same time, even in the year with the lowest profit, the minimum guarantee is 100,000 taels."

Upon hearing Wang Xin's next conditions, Zhou Shiming came to his senses.

One hundred thousand taels of silver! Judging from Wang Xin's tone, he still thinks one hundred thousand taels of silver a year is not enough. His appetite is really too big. Zhou Shiming had to consider more. For a moment, the hall fell silent.

Tao Sheng, the interpreter, was completely silent, as if he didn't exist.

My mind was in turmoil. What had I just heard? I always knew that General Wang acted in a wildly unpredictable way, like a gazelle hanging its horns without leaving a trace, but I still hadn't expected this.

He's really bold. How did he come up with that idea?
A city built and managed by merchants? Can you believe such a thing? But then again, considering the geographical advantages of Chiershan, the current situation in Datong, the strength of the various merchants, and Wang Xin's cooperation...

The news that Wang Xin was to be promoted to the rank of Assistant General and take sole command of the Datong Route was true, as many important figures remained silent about it.

So this matter can indeed be accomplished; the key is that no one has ever thought of it this way before.

Tao Sheng was speechless, wondering why Wang Xin would let him hear such important news.

Wang Xin wasn't worried about Tao Sheng hearing about what he wanted to do. He was the one who initiated the project, but the merchants, not him, would be the ones to carry it out. All he needed to do was lead the army.

The wealthy landowners broke the law and violated taboos in the local area, ruling the mountains, mining privately, and even minting coins. As long as there was profit, what wouldn't they do? The imperial court couldn't control them. If the imperial court could, they wouldn't be in this predicament today.

What are deep-seated problems?

Whether the East Wind prevails over the West Wind or the West Wind prevails over the East Wind, this is a long-standing problem, and it is still just a game of strategy.

Eliminating the enemy and creating a stable and prosperous place for merchants to develop the economy and make people rich, while also gaining money to support the army, is a path that, once taken, can never be reversed.

Because merchants pursue profit.

She opened Pandora's box herself.

I really don't know where things will lead in the future.

Zhou Shiming couldn't make a judgment based solely on Wang Xin's words, so he set off for Weiyuan Pass that afternoon to personally visit Chiershan. He knew Chiershan, of course, as he often led his family's caravan through that area when he was young, but things were different now.
-
Zhou Shiming will definitely join, as he is a businessman; however, whether the conditions for joining can be agreed upon is still uncertain.

However, Wang Xin was not worried. He knew the Hetao region far better than even the locals of Datong, because the Great Zhou Dynasty was currently dealing with a divided Hetao region. A stable Hetao region could supply the interior with 30,000 horses, 60,000 to 80,000 cattle, and 200,000 to 300,000 sheep every year.

There certainly wouldn't be that many just from Tu Mao Chuan alone. Moreover, the construction of the new city and the raising of cattle, sheep, and horses also take time. Everything takes time, but commerce can be overdrawn.

If there is a very high probability, then one can borrow the future in advance.

This is the power of fundraising: it can make things that are currently impossible to do possible, such as building railways, which is a long-term project that takes twenty or thirty years to recoup its costs.

Before the emergence of a fundraising business model, the only way to accomplish this was through forced labor. For example, the construction of the Great Wall was something that any dynasty could only achieve by oppressing the people and forcing them to work.

However, commercial activities involving fundraising are different; by investing future profits, ample funds can be obtained in advance.

With commercial trade generating millions of taels of silver annually in the future, Wang Xin believed that even if the profits were to be overdrawn for ten years, let alone just two or three years, many merchants would still participate.

Businessmen don't lack money; they lack investment opportunities.

Lacking investment opportunities, the Great Zhou Dynasty, besides using its enormous overseas trade revenue for land annexation, had nothing left but to cast silver gourds and hide them in cellars. Wang Xin knew all too well how wealthy the merchants of the Great Zhou Dynasty were.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the imperial court is dirt poor while the wealthy are rolling in money. After all, silver from all over the world is flowing into the Great Zhou Dynasty. This is real silver, not just empty paper money.

Wang Xin wasn't worried, but Tang Ping was very worried.

After Wang Xin left, Tang Ping quietly found Zhang Can, who was happily riding his horse around the drill ground. No one would complain about having too many soldiers, since the general would take care of the worries anyway.

Tang Ping glanced at Zhang Can.

Zhang Can, covered in sweat and shirtless, dismounted when he reached Tang Ping's side. Several guards came up and led him away. Zhang Can washed his face in a copper basin on a shelf and wiped the sweat off his body.

After a while, Zhang Can laughed and said, "What, are you staring at me again?"

The conflict between Tang Ping and Zhao Yong became a laughing stock after the general returned to Datong. Zhang Can was not afraid of Tang Ping, so he joked about it.

Tang Ping asked casually, "Have you heard any rumors circulating in the military camp?"

"What rumors are you spreading? Speak your mind."

Compared to himself, Zhang Can was more impatient. Tang Ping had heard the general introduce Zhang Can, who had suffered a lot of suppression in Datong because of his bad temper, and the same thing happened when he went to the Beijing garrison.

However, he later learned from Shi Ping that it was the general who saved him; otherwise, he would have been dealt with back in the Beijing garrison.

Tang Ping said calmly, "What do you mean by 'the public treasury doesn't have much silver left and it's not enough to cover expenses'?"

"So that's what it is," Zhang Can smiled and scolded, "I never pay attention to it, and I forbid my subordinates from talking about it. I believe the general will handle this matter well. If the general can't handle it, then you and I are even less able to handle it. So worrying about it is pointless."

Indeed, Tang Ping nodded. "The general intends for me to garrison Weiyuan Pass, while you will be in charge of the new city that is about to be built. Don't you have any thoughts on this?"

"Why do you always talk in such roundabout ways?" Zhang Can said, a little annoyed.

Upon hearing this, Tang Ping couldn't help but touch his nose, recalling the letter He Kuan had given him.

Zhang Can ignored what Tang Ping wanted to do and said directly, "Just do what the general tells you to do. You don't need to worry about it. Do you really think you can keep up with the general's ideas? Don't do something bad with good intentions."

After Zhang Can finished speaking, he ignored Tang Ping, threw the towel into the basin, and turned to leave the training ground.

The general is right. For a soldier, winning battles is the most important thing.

I never worry about anything else; the general will naturally make arrangements. All I need to do is lead the cavalry well. The general has instructed me to lead my troops away and stay in Tu Mao Chuan in the future, so I will stay in Tu Mao Chuan and guard it well.

Zhang Can had never bothered with such matters before. The only time he spoke up against the general was because he was worried that Shuo Erhui was unreliable. However, the general was right. It was thanks to Shuo Erhui's guidance that he was able to achieve a series of easy victories later on.

However, Zhang Can also somewhat understood Tang Ping. Tang Ping had once been a member of the Yangzhou Camp and was one of the earliest to follow the general. However, the well-established Yangzhou Camp was disbanded, which left him with a lingering shadow and a great deal of hostility towards the imperial court.

It is estimated that the general also felt that this person was too idle, so he sent him to guard Weiyuan Pass.

The Mandarin Duck Formation was led by Liu Tong. As the general said, the artillery was a purely technical branch, relying on the soldiers' professional abilities. Tang Ping, who also came from the Mandarin Duck Formation, was indeed somewhat useless.

However, it is also possible that the general valued Tang Ping's wariness of the imperial court.

After all, the matter of Tu Mao Chuan could be big or small, and who knows what trouble might arise. As the general said, it concerns the future of the entire army, and we need someone like him to guard the gate. If anyone is blind to the danger, no matter their identity, Tang Ping will not hesitate to take action.

(End of this chapter)