I started as a concubine, and I made the crown prince cry with my delicious food.

Xiao Jingshi fell silent.

He knew it was impossible. The Great Liang Dynasty was barely able to pay its soldiers' salaries.

"So, simply resorting to violence won't work. That's just treating the symptoms, not the root cause." Ye An'an held up a finger and shook it. "We need to find a way to solve the problem at its source."

"What method?" Xiao Jingshi pressed.

"Since they're robbing us because they're poor, then let's make them not so poor," Ye An'an said matter-of-factly.

"What?" Xiao Jingshi thought he had misheard. "We're going to help them? Help our enemies?"

"It's not helping, it's 'cooperation'," Ye An'an corrected. "It's a kind of cooperation that makes them unable to leave us, and even willing to protect us in return."

She picked up a calligraphy brush from the table and drew a simple map of Daliang on a blank sheet of Xuan paper. She then drew an area to the north, representing the Rouran.

"Look," she said, pointing to the border between the two countries, "we can build a 'trading city' here."

"Trade City?"

"Yes. An undefended city, specifically for trade." Ye An'an's thoughts were becoming clearer. "In this city, we can sell them anything they need. Our silk, tea, porcelain, iron pots, salt... even grain!"

"And they can trade what they have—cattle, horses, sheep, and various furs and precious minerals."

"In this way, they won't have to risk their lives to plunder southwards anymore, and they can obtain the Central Plains resources they've been dreaming of at a much lower cost. As for us, we can not only earn a large sum of silver, but also acquire important strategic resources such as warhorses and ores! Isn't this a win-win situation?"

Xiao Jingshi was stunned by her bold idea.

Can trade end war?

Replace war with business?

This...this is simply unheard of!

"But...that's too risky!" He immediately pointed out the problem. "If we sell them ironware and food, aren't we aiding the enemy? What if they get fed and use the iron pots we sold them to make weapons, then turn around and fight us?"

"That's the key," Ye An'an smiled confidently. "Of course, we can't sell everything. For example, refined iron, weapons, and armor are strictly prohibited from export. But ordinary civilian iron pots and farm tools can be sold. We can control their lifeline by controlling the trade of these core materials."

"Moreover, once trade reaches a certain scale, they will become dependent on our goods. Think about it, would a Rouran nobleman who is used to drinking our tea, using our iron pots, and wearing our silk be willing to go back to a life of eating raw meat and drinking blood? He wouldn't. In order to maintain this trade route that brings him a luxurious life, he would even actively stop those tribes that want to go south to start a war."

"Over time, the cost of war will far outweigh the benefits of peaceful trade for them. At that point, we won't even need to fight; they will fight amongst themselves over whether or not to do business with Daliang."

"We can also export our culture and our way of life to them through trade. When their young people are proud to speak Mandarin and use chopsticks, will they still see us as enemies?"

Ye An'an finished speaking in one breath, picked up the bowl of lotus seed soup that had cooled down a bit, took a sip, and moistened her throat.

Xiao Jingshi, however, was completely lost in thought.

In his mind, it was as if a brand new door had been slowly pushed open.

He saw an unprecedented and magnificent future.

War is no longer the only means of resolving border issues.

The wheels of the caravan will replace the iron hooves of soldiers, traversing every corner of the grassland.

The goods and culture of Daliang will, like spring rain, subtly and silently conquer those former enemies.

What a magnificent and ingenious idea this is!

He raised his head and looked at his empress again.

She looked at him expectantly, like a student awaiting praise from a teacher. In the candlelight, her face radiated a soft yet wise glow.

Xiao Jingshi suddenly realized that his insistence on marrying her was perhaps the most correct and luckiest decision he had ever made in his life.

She brought him more than just love and family.

It's a completely new world.

"An'an," he said, holding her hand, his eyes filled with unprecedented fervor and admiration, "you... are the best gift that Heaven has given to me, to the Great Liang."