The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

Upon seeing the contents, Prince Zhongshun was so angry he almost vomited blood; his heart burned with rage and he felt like killing someone.

The matter is actually very simple: local powerful families, gentry, and landlords from all over the country have taken action to raise prices specifically for the Prince's Palace, clearly wanting to earn more profits!

How could Prince Zhongshun tolerate such an insult?

It's already quite commendable that he can do business according to the rules.

As a result, the local gentry and landlords became arrogant and thought that the Prince's Mansion was easy to bully.

"Your Highness, please calm down. This humble official feels that something is amiss!"

The chief secretary of the Prince's mansion hurriedly tried to appease them, frowning as he said, "Logically speaking, the purchasing personnel we sent out should have already made their identities clear, but those gentry and landlords are still being unreasonable. It's very strange!"

"Why is it weird?"

Prince Zhongshun suppressed his anger and said unhappily, "I think they are just blinded by greed!"

"It has been said since ancient times that the common people cannot fight against the officials!"

The chief clerk of the Prince's mansion pondered and said, "Not to mention, they knew they might offend the Prince's mansion, yet they still dared to act so recklessly. Could it be that they have someone supporting them behind the scenes?"

"Hmph, no matter what, since these local bullies dare to disrespect us, we'll teach them a lesson!"

Prince Zhongshun coldly said, "Tell the officials below to find an excuse to deal with them, let them know what's what, and don't let it delay the Prince's grand plan!"

"Your Highness, should we inform the other princely residences about this matter?"

The chief secretary of the Prince's mansion did not try to dissuade him; he also felt it was time to show some strength and let those audacious local bullies know the power of the Prince's mansion.

However, he always felt that something was wrong and wanted to get more members of the royal family involved.

Even if there are any traps in the end, the Prince Zhongshun's family won't have to face them alone.

He explained his thoughts, and although Prince Zhongshun was unhappy, he still agreed to his idea.

Soon, other prominent members of the royal family also received the news, and they were all surprised.

They never expected that the dignified Prince Zhongshun would encounter such a thing!

Haha, they still haven't experienced enough. They don't know how many strange things happen in the local area, to a degree they can't even imagine. They will encounter them all in the future.

Sure enough, a group of powerful members of the imperial clan tried to influence local officials, but it didn't do much good.

Those local gentry and landlords are determined to raise prices. Unless they completely break off relations, the local officials can't really do anything about it. Do they still want to continue to be officials in peace?

Can this be tolerated?

Prince Zhongshun was enraged, his eyes bloodshot, and he was ready to go on a killing spree!

But when they were about to take action, they were embarrassed to find that the Prince's mansion couldn't reach that far!

Imperial power does not extend to the county level!

This is not just empty talk.

The nature of power is bottom-up, not top-down.

In fact, if the officials below don't cooperate, even the emperor is just a rubber stamp.

This time, Prince Zhongshun encountered just such a thing!

They weren't his trusted officials, so why would they risk their lives to fight against local gentry and landlords for the sake of the Prince's mansion?

Not to mention, there are some inside stories involved that even Prince Zhongshun has not yet discovered.

"What's going on?"

When things didn't go well, Prince Zhongshun finally snapped out of his anger.

He was not the emperor after all, but the title of a powerful prince was still quite impressive.

But if local officials are tough and simply ignore him, you can't just wipe out a dozen or so mid- to low-level officials in one fell swoop, can you?

The reason?

They just won't listen to orders and are unwilling to risk their lives and fight for the Prince's Mansion?

If it were just a typical business tactic, local officials who wanted to curry favor would certainly not hesitate to offer their services.

It's a pity, the details of this matter are waiting for Prince Zhongshun to discover them slowly.

Even so, the recent large-scale purchases have resulted in considerable additional expenses for the Prince's Mansion.

When Prince Chungshun saw the account book, he was quite distressed.

Exploring the open seas sounds exciting, but the costs involved are also quite staggering.

Unless you want to develop and build it slowly, the initial investment is quite staggering.

Once the newly developed territories are productive and can even achieve a balance between income and expenditure, there will be no need to continue providing continuous financial support.

The overseas territories under the control of Prince Chungshun are definitely not small!

The first offshore territory, Jeju Island, has actually been developed and constructed quite well.

We are currently able to break even, and even have a slight surplus, which is quite remarkable.

Unfortunately, the investment in the territory of Ezo Island is too large. At the current rate of development, it is impossible to develop rapidly without an investment of more than 500,000 taels per year.

Prince Zhongshun has tried many ways to get money!

Of course, you can forget about using any underhanded methods; the current emperor is watching closely.

If this gave the current emperor a handle to use against him, and he were to have to cut off more territory in the outer seas, Prince Zhongshun felt he couldn't bear it any longer.

Fortunately, the investment in the outer sea territories only required an equivalent amount of silver in materials; otherwise, even with the power of the Prince's Mansion, it would not have been able to sustain it, and the Prince's Mansion did not have any silver mines!

But at this time, the prices of bulk commodities purchased within the Great Qian territory suddenly increased. Wasn't this stabbing him in the back? It was simply outrageous.

Meanwhile, the brothers Jia Lian and Jia Cong, who had already carried the coffin south to Jinling, also encountered trouble.

The Jinling clan cooperated very well, and the patriarch's coffin was laid to rest smoothly.

The brothers Jia Lian and Jia Cong planned to stay in Jinling for at least two years.

Here stands the old residence left by the Duke of Rongguo, which has always been maintained by Jin Yuanyang's parents, so it is not exactly dilapidated.

As for how much benefit the Jin couple gained from it, the two brothers had no interest in caring.

Once things settled down, local powerful figures from Jinling began to visit them.

First, naturally, are the heads of the other three of the four major families.

These guys have long been envious of the Jia family of Jinling's glorious days in recent years.

The Jinling clan, taking advantage of the influence of the clans in the capital, caught the wave of overseas trade and expansion.

They provided a great deal of assistance in the procurement of supplies and the transportation of personnel, and in turn, they made a fortune.

The business channels held by the Jinling clan do not conflict with those of the Xue family, serving as a kind of insurance.

As the demand for supplies increased, the Jinling clan's profits naturally followed suit.

The money they earned was actually not much; compared to the many wealthy people in Jiangnan, it was nothing.

However, the impact of large-scale commodity procurement and circulation is enormous.

Just think about how many farmers in Jinling and Jiangnan are eagerly waiting for the Jinling clans to send people to buy their agricultural products and other supplies every year.

Under Jia Huan's strong pressure, the Jinling clan did not resort to any underhanded tactics when making purchases, and were much more fair and generous than other buyers.

what is this?

The Jinling clan was able to extend its influence to the grassroots farmers, and the sheer size of its influence and prestige accumulated over several years is unimaginable.

It wasn't just the lower-class farmers; the gentry and landlords above them all benefited from it.

Over the course of several years, a relatively stable business network and a channel for the procurement and delivery of supplies have been established, resulting in a win-win situation for all.

The Jinling clan here has received strong support from the clans in the capital!

Outstanding children could even be sent to the clan school in the capital for further training!

It can be said that the Jia family of Jinling has been living a very prosperous life in recent years!

Of the other four families, apart from the Xue family, which one wasn't extremely envious?

Even the Xue family has to be careful in supporting the Jia family members!

There was nothing they could do; the Jia family had connections in officialdom, and in high positions at that!

Without comparison, there is no harm; the most frustrated people must be the members of the Jinling Wang family.

When Wang Ziteng was at the height of his fame, they didn't get much of a share of the glory!

Of course, there are many conveniences from the government offices, but not many actual benefits.

Unlike the Jia family, the Jia family in the capital seems to be guiding the Jia family in Jinling to make money!

In the Jiangnan region, wealth and power are valued, and people don't have a deep understanding of authority.

Therefore, people in Jiangnan place more emphasis on tangible wealth!

If a member of the clan can lead the clan to make money, and make a lot of money, he will receive unanimous praise from the entire clan.

Otherwise, what good is it if Wang Ziteng holds a high official position?

Ordinary members of the tribe don't receive any tangible benefits, so why would they appreciate his kindness?