Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

Zhou Wenqing picked up his teacup, using the act of sipping tea to conceal the fleeting thought that crossed his eyes.

He had actually been thinking about a question: Qin's policy of prioritizing agriculture and suppressing commerce was a national policy with its own reasons. In times of chaos, food was the foundation. Merchants pursued profit, and if left unchecked, he feared that all the food would be smuggled out of the country, the people would starve to death, and the army would have no food.

The problem is that you can't build a rich country just by farming.

The establishment of the Bureau of All Things was a cautious attempt, but in the end, it was still dominated by the government and hardly any merchants were involved.

What he wanted was to get the merchants moving on their own, to make them feel that following Qin was more profitable than following anyone else; to get them to spontaneously maintain trade routes, spontaneously serve the country, and spontaneously... move silver from the six states to Qin.

But he doesn't understand business, and he's not entirely suited to this era.

In his previous life, he was just a liberal arts student who had flipped through a few general economics books and memorized a few market rule terms. He would never dare to design a complete business system.

It's easy to talk about things on paper, but difficult to put them into practice.

If a policy is decided on a whim and comes up with a "taken-for-granted" idea, it might disrupt existing trade routes, which would be a real loss.

So he's waiting, waiting for someone who truly understands business and can be trusted to do this for him.

Du He and Chen Kang are good friends, loyal and capable, but... that's not enough.

He was looking for someone who could rise to the top of the business world on his own without his help, someone who harbored patriotic aspirations and was ambitious and eager to go further.

Only those with such firm will, strong opinions, and courage can resist the temptations of power and profit and not easily lose their original intentions or change their principles.

And Ba Qing, standing before them, seemed to be the most suitable candidate.

She was well-versed in the ways of business, knew when to advance and retreat, and was reasonable. She had a bottom line and a sense of propriety. What was even more remarkable was that, as a businesswoman, she had the sense of national righteousness ingrained in her bones and always kept the Qin Dynasty in her heart.

This is also why he deliberately abandoned his magnanimity and adopted an aggressive stance, pressing forward step by step.

In emergency situations, there isn't much time to think, so what you say comes more from your heart.

Zhou Wenqing was well-versed in history and knew that Ba Qing's future was destined to be closely linked to the fate of the Qin Dynasty, sharing both glory and disgrace, and even... life and death.

But he also feared that behind this firm choice was more of a weighing of pros and cons to avoid harm, and that he was completely swayed by calculations of interests, while lacking that pure sense of national and familial duty.

In this era, such a choice is certainly not wrong, but unfortunately... that kind of person is not the one he is looking for.

Fortunately, Ba Qing did not disappoint him.

Those resounding words completely dispelled all his concerns and finally put his mind at ease.

Ba Qing was the person he was looking for.

As expected of her...

Zhou Wenqing slowly lowered his eyelashes, his fingertips gently and steadily placing the teacup on the table. The porcelain surfaces touched, producing only a very soft muffled sound, yet it was like a rock settling down, completely settling his plans.

He subtly shifted his gaze, sweeping over Fusu beside him, whose face was filled with anticipation and whose eyes were burning with longing. He chuckled inwardly, his heart brimming with unwavering affection.

You brat, thank your teacher!

You probably can't even imagine how long and wide the path I've paved for you truly is.

Of course, if you dare to take the wrong path, even if I have to crawl out of my coffin, I will still jump out and spank you!

Under Fusu's anticipation, Ba Qing thought for a moment and finally spoke.

"Since you have inquired about my intentions, I will speak frankly and without reservation."

She slowly raised her eyes, her gaze sweeping over the two people in the hall, her tone carrying a worldly wisdom and sincerity.

"When I was young, I traveled to various states with my father. At that time, Qin had not yet unified the territory, and the boundaries of Ba and Shu were unclear. After leaving the pass, the land was devastated."

"When a country is weak, its people are lowly; when merchants are weak, goods stagnate. Our Ba family caravan was once robbed by bandits in the territory of Wei, and our clansmen suffered heavy casualties. When we reported to the authorities, the officials of various states arbitrarily shirked their responsibilities. This was because we were Qin merchants, without the protection of a country, and were like duckweed and weeds, subject to being bullied by others."

"What's worse, when we were powerless and could only swallow our anger, and were about to return the favor, we were almost targeted by the bandits for revenge. If it weren't for her—"

Ba Qing raised his hand, his gaze gently falling on the maid beside him who had been quietly bowing her head, and even his voice softened slightly.

"The bandits scattered us, and I and a few of my clansmen hid in a cave. Outside the cave entrance were the shadows of the bandits and the faint light of torches."

"We dared not light a fire, dared not make a sound, and even had to suppress our breathing. The cave was cold and damp. We knew that if we dragged this on, we would either be found by them or starve and freeze to death."

She paused, her gaze falling on the maid's face, her voice filled with heartache: "It was her. She was just a teenager at the time. Under the cover of night, she crawled out of the cave and moved down the mountainside little by little, risking her life with every step. But even with her hands and feet cut and bleeding, she never stopped and managed to find the lost guard and bring him to their aid."

"If it weren't for her, we would probably have perished in the wilderness long ago."

After he finished speaking, the hall fell silent.

Only the maid knelt down with a thud, her back ramrod straight, gazing at Ba Qing with sincere and resolute eyes:

"Master, please don't say that. If it weren't for you bringing A'Ruo out of the mass grave, she would probably have become someone's food long ago and wouldn't be alive today. A'Ruo's life belongs to you, Master. She would die for you without any regrets. Besides—"

She paused, looked down at her hands, crisscrossed with scars, and said, "Even after my hands were crippled, the head of the family always kept me by his side, seeking out renowned doctors, teaching me to read and write, and learning business accounting. He took me all over the world to do business, treating me like a sister, never showing the slightest estrangement. I can never repay this kindness in my lifetime!"

After saying this, she bowed her head and kowtowed, her forehead touching the ground with a soft sound.

Ba Qing quickly reached out to help her up, his voice tinged with a hint of reproach: "You silly girl, this is clearly a bond forged in hardship, how can you talk about repaying a debt of gratitude? Get up quickly."

"I never imagined that Madam Qing had such a thrilling experience."

Fusu was deeply moved, leaning forward slightly, his tone filled with respect: "What's even more remarkable is the affection between Madam and Miss A'ruo, which is truly touching."

Ba Qing helped A Ruo up, gently patted the back of her hand, and said softly, "It is precisely because you have tasted the bitterness of being isolated and helpless that you cherish the current stability even more, and you understand even more how rare it is to be able to rely on the Great Qin, to have someone to lean on when doing business in other countries, not to be looked down upon, and to have someone to appeal to."

After listening to these heartfelt words, Zhou Wenqing also sighed softly, his eyes deep and his expression full of complex and difficult-to-discern emotions, including praise, admiration, and a touch of lament for the people in this chaotic world.

He looked up at Ba Qing, his tone sincere, completely devoid of his previous sharp scrutiny:

"Despite experiencing life-and-death ordeals, the lady still cherishes the greater good of her country and family. With such a pure and innocent heart, she demonstrates a resilient and kind nature that is truly rare in this world. It is a blessing for the Qin Dynasty to have such a loyal and virtuous merchant as the lady."

After a slight pause, Zhou Wenqing stood up, solemnly cupped his hands, and bowed in apology: "Just now, Jia made things difficult for me for no reason, and his words were quite abrupt. I hope Madam will forgive any offense he may have caused."

"My esteemed guest, you must not do such a thing! I am utterly unworthy of such praise!"

Upon seeing this, Ba Qing quickly spoke up to stop him, bowing slightly in return. His expression was not angry at all, but rather full of sincerity and understanding.

"In Qing's view, the fact that our guest minister is willing to inquire about matters of state and commerce shows that he is not making things difficult, but rather treating Qing with great respect. How can this be considered an offense?"

Ba Qing's words were not false. In fact, she had spent half her life as a merchant, traveling between the feudal lords of various states and ordinary merchants in the marketplace. She had seen the world's contempt and disdain for women who went into business.

Those who truly despise her and deliberately make things difficult for her never bother to discuss matters of national importance or business with her—in their eyes, she is just a woman who is a bit luckier and more ruthless; they don't understand her and are not worthy of her attention.

Only the person before her, though sharp-tongued and seemingly difficult, truly treated her as an equal, focusing on the matter at hand... not on the person.

"Madam's magnanimity is truly admirable; I am ashamed of my own shortcomings."

Zhou Wenqing and the others sat back down, and when they looked at her again, their gazes held a newfound seriousness.

"What Madam Qing just said has explained the reasons behind my mindset and cleared up my doubts. However, I have another question: how to restrain merchants throughout the world? I hope Madam will not hesitate to enlighten me."