Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 268 Anyway, I'll go rob it (2)

"Wuji, Heishui, Mohe, Baishan, Bodu, Anchegu, Funie!"

"To be able to connect with the Anchegu tribe, one of the seven major tribes of the Jurchen, the Zhang family's business is bigger than I imagined. I heard that the Anchegu tribe has tens of thousands of warriors and nearly 100,000 people?"

"That's true." Seeing that Song Yan didn't seem to intend to delve into the matter, Zhang Ci was slightly relieved. His wrinkled face was full of smiles. He always felt that since Song Yan appeared in Pingyang City, he had been smiling more often than in the previous few years, although most of the time he had to smile. "However, our Zhang family's business is nothing to mention. The Huang family's business is really big. They've already reached the Jurchen royal court."

"The Huang family almost fell into ruin back then."

"If Huang Tianyang hadn't opened up this trade route, the Huang family probably wouldn't have been able to revive."

As they were talking, the waiter reappeared in the private room. The dishes certainly wouldn't be ready so quickly; instead, he first served a pot of tea and a pot of wine.

The tea is still just tea soup.

Roasted tea is not yet widely popular. Most importantly, roasted tea is quite expensive at present. Although Xuelou is considered high-end in Pingyang City, it can hardly afford to supply it.

Zhang Gong gave Zhang Yan a wink, and the girl, who was only fifteen or sixteen years old, hurriedly got up to pour tea for Song Yan. However, her little hands trembled so much that Song Yan was terrified.

When you're scared, your hands shake; the more your hands shake, the more panicked you become!
then……

Snap.

The teapot fell onto the table, and some tea splashed onto Song Yan.

Zhang Yan was terrified; her face turned deathly pale, and she knelt down on the ground with a thud.
"My lord... please... please don't kill me. I... I didn't mean to. I'll clean it up for you right away, I'll wash it clean for you..."

She had even forgotten her status and dignity as the eldest daughter of the Zhang family. With her forehead pressed to the ground, her voice seemed to have changed tone due to the trembling of her body. As she spoke, a pair of small hands hurriedly reached out, as if trying to wipe the wine stains off Song Yan's body.

Zhang Gong, who was standing next to him, also turned pale instantly, and a layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

Seeing that, Song Yan was speechless.

No, are we that scary?

It's as if I'm some kind of demon who kills indiscriminately... Well, it seems I have indeed killed quite a few people. Since entering Pingyang City, the number of people who have died directly or indirectly because of me is probably over ten thousand.

In addition, there was the torture of being groomed.

Song Yan could roughly imagine what kind of image he had in the eyes of the people of Pingyang City.

Although he had killed quite a few people, Song Yan asked himself if he had killed the wrong people:

Shouldn't the Japanese pirates who ravaged the coast of Ningguo, burning, killing, and looting, be killed?

Shouldn't the Jurchens who turned Pingyang Prefecture into a place littered with corpses and where nine out of ten houses were empty be killed?

Some might argue that those who committed the killings in Pingyang Prefecture within the Wugulun tribe were all young and strong, while women, children, the elderly, and adults did not commit any killings and should not have been killed!

But Song Yan had his own set of standards for judgment... The elderly, women and children may not have burned, killed and looted in Pingyang Prefecture, but were they really innocent? Did the grain that their children, husbands and fathers stole not end up in their stomachs?

Those grains were stained with blood!
If they are spared, where will the old people, children, and women who were brutally murdered and abducted in Pingyang Prefecture seek revenge?

Repaying kindness with kindness?
Bullshit! Only by repaying blood with blood and tooth with tooth can one achieve true understanding.

Only by killing to stop killing, killing until the foreign tribes have no power to start another war, killing until the foreign tribes are terrified and dare not start another war, can the Central Plains obtain true peace.

Not to mention, shouldn't scum like Qian Yaozu, and the 132 corrupt officials in Pingyang City, be killed?

Perhaps, the number of people killed was truly enormous.

Perhaps, sometimes you'll wake up from a nightmare.

But Song Yan never regretted anything she had done.

He did nothing wrong.

Song Yan has always believed this.

However, it seems impossible to say that one has a clear conscience. If one truly had a clear conscience, one probably wouldn't have nightmares.

Zhang Yan's reaction ultimately left Song Yan feeling somewhat dejected.

The eldest daughter of the Zhang family, she probably doesn't understand the suffering of the lower classes. He still remembers that when he was conferred the title of Earl, the common people of Pingyang City were even happier than he was. Thinking this, Song Yan's mood improved considerably. He pursed his lips and reached out to grab Zhang Yan's shoulder. Zhang Yan's body immediately trembled violently, but she quickly realized that Song Yan had no intention of hurting her. A tremendous force came, and her body uncontrollably stood up from the ground.

Song Yan wouldn't get angry at such a young girl. He looked at her hand, which was red from the burn, and said, "Go put some ice on it, otherwise it might blister and leave a scar."

Zhang Yan was still in a daze until Zhang Ci gave her another instruction, at which point she came to her senses. Her mind was blank as she walked out of the private room. Only after leaving did she let out a heavy sigh of relief, and then she realized with a start that her whole body was soaked in cold sweat. She put one small hand on her chest, and her heart was still pounding.

I wonder if she had a brush with death?
Thinking this, Zhang Yan's expression became somewhat strange. She felt that this nobleman wasn't as scary as she had imagined.

I looked down at the back of my hand; it was a little red from being scalded by the hot tea. I decided to get some snow and press it on; it wouldn't look good if it left a scar.

"Mr. Zhang, could you tell me if there are many merchants like the Zhang and Huang families who do business with the Jurchens?" Inside the private room, Song Yan waved his hand, signaling to Zhang Gong, who kept apologizing, to relax and that he wouldn't hold such a small matter against him. Then, he somewhat abruptly brought the topic back to the present.

Zhang Ci wiped the sweat from his forehead: "Merchants, of course there are quite a few. The Zhang family, the Huang family, and the eight great families of Jin all do business with foreign tribes. Besides them, there are also some scattered merchants, backpackers and the like, and there are quite a lot of them."

Song Yan was somewhat surprised: "So many merchants are willing to do business with the Jurchens? Those Jurchen barbarians don't seem like the type to do business properly."

Zhang Ci smiled and said, "Of course. Merchants like us, with enough power, don't have to worry about anything. It's much worse for traveling merchants and backpackers. They get killed almost every month. But even so, there are still countless merchants going to other races to do business."

Song Yan raised an eyebrow: "Is there a lot of money involved here?"

“There’s no profit to be made here,” Zhang Ci complained. “The Jurchens are truly a harsh and cold land. There’s nothing of value there. The only things that are worth a little money are old ginseng, old lingzhi, tiger skin, bear skin, and deer antler. What they want are expensive items like ironware, tea, silk, grain, and strong liquor.”

“Just like last time, I delivered a large batch of goods to Anche Bone Department, which included ten iron pots. Each iron pot was exchanged for three old ginseng roots.”

"Also, I traded one bolt of silk for a Ganoderma lucidum the size of a washbasin."

"We really lost a lot of money."

Song Yan held the wine pot, her hand trembled, and she almost did the same thing as Zhang Yan just now.

A single iron pot with three old ginseng roots? And a lingzhi mushroom the size of a washbasin?

Is this guy not just showing off?

"Hmm... Mr. Zhang, if I may ask, how much does one of your iron pots cost?"

"Seven qian of silver."

Seven hundred copper coins are less than an ounce of silver.

"What about the old ginseng?"

"One, three hundred taels of silver."

Song Yan let out a heavy sigh. He figured that the Ganoderma lucidum, which was the size of a washbasin, must have been incredibly expensive. He could roughly understand why, despite knowing that the Jurchen barbarians were cruel and bloodthirsty, so many merchants still wanted to do business with foreign tribes.

The profits are just too high.

It's insanely high.

This isn't making money, it's robbing money, it's printing money.

Zhang Gong, being an experienced and shrewd man, could naturally see that Song Yan was tempted. In fact, in Zhang Gong's opinion, Song Yan had a rebellious streak. Without a rebellious streak, would he dare to arm his soldiers with full-body steel armor? Without a rebellious streak, would he dare to accept the surrender of 12,000 soldiers so easily? Without a rebellious streak, would he dare to behead more than a hundred officials without going through the court's review?

The imperial court issued an imperial edict appointing Song Yan as the temporary prefect of Pingyang.

Even without this imperial edict, isn't Song Yan still the one in charge of Pingyang now?
A person like this naturally needs a lot of money, otherwise how can he support his army?
As long as Song Yan wanted money, the matter was already half successful. Thinking this, Zhang Gong spoke again: "Your Excellency, as you know, whether it's ginseng, deer antler, lingzhi, or tiger skin and bear skin, if these things were transported to the Central Plains, they would be extremely expensive. Even tiger penis would be sought after by a large group of nobles. Those people are not short of money at all."

"And what do the Jurchens want?"

"Second-grade silk that can't be sold at a good price in the Central Plains can only be worn by royalty in the tribes."

"They relish even the worst, swill-like drinks."

"Because they eat meat all year round, their stomachs are full of oil, and they need tea to cut through the grease and clear their intestines. But they don't know how to appreciate tea. Even if you give them a handful of starfruit, they will still like it."

"The only thing of any value might be pig iron... but we don't usually smuggle that stuff... cough cough, it's just that there's too much to transport. Ten pots are enough for a caravan trip. As long as we don't transport it to the Jurchens by the cartload like the Huang family or the eight great families of Jin, the Jurchens' weapons won't improve much."

"And you are now the Prefect of Pingyang."

He also served concurrently as the magistrate of Xinhou County.

"It's no exaggeration to say that the trade route to the Jurchens is now completely under your control... If you can stop the eight great families of Jin, as well as those merchants and backpackers, then this will be our exclusive business."

Tsk.

Monopolies have emerged.

Who says the ancients were stupid? They were quite clever!

In a daze, he seemed to hear the slightly hoarse voice of the old man, Zhang Gong, which sounded almost seductive: "If my Zhang family can secure this trade route, I guarantee at least this much for a year..."

As he spoke, Zhang Gong held up four fingers.

"Four hundred thousand?"

"No, it's four million."

Song Yan admitted that his heart skipped a beat.

That's four million! He raided Pingyang City and that's all he got. And that's the amount Zhang Gong mentioned for a year.

"I'll say it again, Your Excellency doesn't need to do too much. You just need to strictly enforce the law, strictly prohibit the caravans of the eight great families of Jin from entering Jurchen territory, and strictly investigate backpackers. Then, the profits will be split 30/70," Zhang Gong said in a deep voice.

Song Yan's expression was strange: "I only did such a small thing, and you're only taking 30%? That's not quite right, is it?"

Zhang Gong's face immediately lit up with a smile: "My lord, what are you saying? Thirty percent is mine, and seventy percent is yours."

She's a sensible person, though.

As a businessman, Zhang Ci naturally loved money, but he knew very well what money he should take and what money he shouldn't take. If he really recklessly tried to take 70% of the profits, then who knows when Song Yan would be short of money, and the Zhang family would be put on the chopping block.

A businessman who only cares about money is destined to have a short life.

Although they gave up the vast majority of the profits, as long as they could monopolize this trade route, 30% would still be a figure the Zhang family never dared to dream of before. If they could get on Song Yan's good side, coupled with the profits brought by this trade route, the Zhang family might have a chance to become the most prestigious clan in the entire Ning Kingdom.

Song Yan wanted to point out that this was a violation of Ningguo's laws... However, Zhang Ci's promise was too grand and hit his weak spot perfectly, so he ultimately failed the test.

"Fine, I can agree, but I have a few conditions."

call.

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Ci breathed a heavy sigh of relief. As long as Song Yan agreed, the conditions didn't matter. He could even accept Song Yan changing the profit split to 20/80: "My lord, please speak."

"First, the caravan must have someone skilled in mapmaking accompanying it." Song Yan's expression suddenly turned stern, and even his voice carried an added pressure: "Moreover, the caravan cannot be limited to the Anchegu tribe. I want your caravan to traverse every mountain and river of the Jurchen people and visit every tribe."

In the era before navigation, maps were the most common, and perhaps only, method for armies to determine their location and find the enemy.

"The map must be detailed, clearly marking where there are rivers, mountains, and forests."

Zhang Gong was also clever; a tremor ran through him, and he immediately understood that the man before him was planning to completely annex the Jurchens. Of course, this goal couldn't be achieved in a short time; it might take several years, or even more than a decade. This period would be enough time for the Zhang family to amass a fortune.

"No problem, Your Excellency. We will do our best to fulfill your arrangements."

"Secondly, I need to know the detailed situation of each Jurchen tribe. I also need to know how many warhorses, how many swords, how many warriors they have, what the leaders' personalities are like, their relationships with other tribes, their allies, their enemies, and so on..."

"In short, I want any information about these tribes."

"In return, if anyone in the Zhang family wants to become an official, as long as you expel that person from the family register, I can arrange for them to take up an official post."

If you want the other party to do work for you, then you can't skimp on the benefits.

In any case, Emperor Ninghe said that he could make his own decisions regarding the situation in Pingyang Prefecture. He could arrange for officials such as county magistrate, military commander, prefectural judge, and deputy prefect. Most of the offspring of such merchant families are shrewd and capable, so there should be no problem with their abilities. Of course, if the other party cannot restrain their greedy nature as a merchant and commits any mistakes, Song Yan can take back the official position at any time.

Scholars, farmers, industry and commerce.

Merchants were ranked last, belonging to the lowest social class.

Some merchants were talented, but the rule that their families could not hold official positions for three generations severely restricted them.

Song Yan believed that his promise to appoint one member of the Zhang family to an official position would be extremely attractive to Old Master Zhang.

As expected, Zhang Gong's face instantly turned red, his breathing became extremely rapid, and his beard twitched: "Thank you, Your Excellency. Please feel free to name any other conditions, and I guarantee to fulfill them."

Having money, he still wanted to become an official.

Song Yan smiled and said, "And then there's... warhorses."

"This is not a requirement. It would be best if we could buy warhorses from the Jurchens, but it's okay if we can't." Song Yan's expression was indifferent, his tone was low and there was no inflection, as if he were making a simple and calm statement: "Anyway, I will go and steal them."

Zhang Gong's lips trembled, but he ultimately remained silent. This man made no attempt to conceal his greed.

"Since you've come to talk to me, the caravan must be ready, right?" Song Yan walked to the bedside and casually glanced out the window. With the opening of Pingyang City, there were quite a few more people in the city, and it was indeed quite lively.

"The manpower is ready, the goods are loaded onto the trucks, and if everything goes smoothly today, we will set off for the Anchegu tribe tomorrow."

"I'll write you a note, let's set off today."

Gazing out the window, Song Yan smiled faintly... Let the next wave of attacks on the Jurchens begin with the Anchegu tribe.

Suddenly, Song Yan tapped his eyebrows and turned to look at Zhang Ci: "Master Zhang, do you know the Kong family?"

"One of the eight great families of Shanxi, I know that."

As he spoke, Zhang Ci came to Song Yan's side and looked down in the direction of Song Yan's gaze. He saw a line of cars slowly moving along the street in front of Xue Lou.

The Kong family flag was displayed on the convoy.

The area seemed to contain only some miscellaneous goods, with some burlap sacks, wine jars, and the like.

The car moved slowly, leaving two deep ruts on the ground as it passed.

Song Yan silently watched the convoy below, and suddenly a question came to mind: Princess Gaoyang's mother, the Princess Consort of Prince Fu, seemed to have the surname Kong.

However, it is unknown whether the Princess Consort of Fu is related to the Kong family.

Is the Kong family related to Confucius?

Qingluan has been gone for a while now, and I wonder how the matter they were asked to investigate is going.

Those who come to the Imperial City Guard must have some skills, right?

(End of this chapter)