After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

"He certainly has the courage... but as for strategy..." Lychee nodded her chin, her expression calm, "He's just average."

"Oh?" Zhu Boqing asked with amusement. "Do you have a better idea?"

No, not at all.

The maid shook her head decisively and frowned.

"His method..."

Lychee's lips twitched slightly. After considering for a moment, she shook her head and said...

"The risk is too great. The slightest disturbance, or a misjudgment of the timing, could lead to total defeat... Hmm, it won't be as smooth as he imagines."

……

A gentle night breeze was blowing.

It swept across the empty and spacious Datong Street.

The Moon-Holding Pavilion.

A quiet private room on the second floor.

"He needs to keep the cotton from Songjiang Prefecture to appease the imperial merchants. The only cotton he can sell is the cotton he bought from the cotton merchants in Suzhou Prefecture, Brother Meng. According to the amount he owes..."

Dou Yuan shook his white fan, creating a gentle breeze, and sighed with a wistful expression.

"The price of cotton needs to rise to at least eight times for him to survive. If it's less than eight times, Sujinge will still have a large debt to repay."

"After all, the price of cotton was five times the original price, and he couldn't renege on the 200,000 taels of silver."

"Moreover, with so much cotton on hand, if we want to sell it all, the price of cotton would need to rise more than tenfold, so that the average selling price would be around eight times higher."

"Otherwise, once a huge amount of cotton enters the market, the price of cotton will plummet. Only when the price reaches more than ten times the original price will it be possible to make up for Sujin Pavilion's losses... Heh... That's quite a clever plan."

Meng Shichen and the others stared intently for a while before expressing their admiration for Dou Yuan.

"Mr. Dou hit the nail on the head!"

"A desolate and quiet place is indeed easy to scheme against!"

"Phew... that kind of boldness doesn't seem like something a young person would have."

"Heh, it's only because of Mr. Dou that he saw through his scheme in just one day. We are so foolish."

"However, even if it doesn't sell for eight times the price, as long as it rises to five times or more, Leng Lengqing will make a profit, and Sujinge will be able to catch its breath. It does give them a bit more opportunities."

"Tsk tsk, so in this case, isn't he the one with the most cotton in Nanjing?"

In an instant, voices of praise and admiration rose from the private room of Xianyue Pavilion.

Meng Shichen was filled with emotion.

Dou Yuan truly lives up to his reputation as the chief advisor of the Prince of Qi's mansion!

These Suzhou cotton merchants, having just emerged from the deserted area, were invited to Xianyue Pavilion by Dou Yuan's men.

At that time, Chen Yangxuan of the First Cloth Shop Chen Ji, some cotton merchants from Songjiang Prefecture, and some big businessmen were also in the private room.

As soon as they sat down, the owner of a large cloth shop next to them praised Mr. Dou, saying that he was incredibly insightful.

Only after asking did they learn that more than an hour earlier, when they were still talking with Ning Nan, Mr. Dou had already told them that this cold invitation to the big cotton merchants from Suzhou Prefecture was not to borrow money, but to buy more cotton, and the price would definitely not be low.

At first, no one believed it, but as more information came in, everyone was impressed.

Meng Shichen glanced again at the smiling chief advisor of the Prince's mansion.

Actually, he had already guessed most of what Leng Leng Qingqing wanted to do back at Fu Lai Tavern.

But this was after the other party offered to buy cotton from them again, at five times the price.

Unlike Dou Yuan, who could foresee the future.

I'm not the only one who thought of this.

It could even be said that it was precisely because they understood why Leng Lengqing was doing this that the people of Suzhou dared to sell so much cotton to him.

He alone sold a total of one million catties of cotton to the other party.

This is a huge gamble.

After removing the already signed purchase contracts, he didn't have much left to offer.

They locked in five times the price in advance. And because of this cotton, a large portion of it was always sold, even though the market was quiet.

Their money is secure; at least most of it will be returned. Even if there are losses, they'll just quietly bear them.

Meng Shichen smiled with a relaxed expression. Moreover, he didn't have to worry about being made an example of by the court, so why not?

pat.

Dou Yuan tapped his white fan and laughed, "However—" he smiled slightly, "this cold and desolate place is destined to lose."

"Does Mr. Dou mean reconciliation?" someone asked.

"First," Dou Yuan said, "the imperial court will certainly not sit idly by. As long as anyone hoards goods for speculation, once the price reaches a certain level, such as six or seven times the original price, they will definitely start targeting and killing people. However, many high-ranking officials in the imperial court also grow cotton on their land, so the killings will not be too excessive."

Everyone nodded in agreement; that made sense.

Everyone here has a powerful background. If the court starts killing people, the higher-ups will send a message back. At that time, we can sell a batch of cotton and drive the price down to three times.

"Secondly," Dou Yuan said, shaking his folding fan, "Jiangnan suffered a disaster, but the Northern Dynasty did not. Although Northern Dynasty merchants also want to make a fortune, once the price reaches seven or eight times, seeing the court start killing people, they naturally won't wait any longer. At that time, the Northern Dynasty will definitely disregard the needs of the northern cloth merchants and prioritize letting cotton cross the river. It will be difficult enough for cotton prices to remain at five times, let alone eight or ten times, which would allow them to make a meager profit."

Everyone nodded in agreement, saying that Mr. Dou's words made sense.

In particular, some cotton merchants in Songjiang Prefecture and Suzhou Prefecture nodded in agreement—they felt the same way.

So when they offered five times the price in a cold and quiet manner, I agreed without much hesitation.

Even if cotton prices rise further, they won't skyrocket. Rather than worrying about the price dropping before you've sold all your cotton, it's better to sell it early.

As for whether Leng Lengqing can repay the money, people are not too worried about that.

It's a foregone conclusion that Sujinge will handle this imperial merchant situation. Even if it's quiet and deserted, it can still make a profit by using cotton from Suzhou Prefecture.

At worst, we can ransack the deserted house again.

That's still not enough. Anyway, Sujin Pavilion is still around, so we can keep paying them interest forever.

Dou Yuan subtly exchanged glances with Chen Yangxuan and the heads of several large cloth shops.

In the afternoon, he had already had tea with the people from these cloth merchants and privately showed them the cotton supply contracts he had signed with various merchant groups in the Northern Dynasty.

The group immediately admired him immensely and felt more confident.

The cotton from the North could alleviate at least 30% of their shortage, which would play a significant role in suppressing cotton prices. They were no longer in such a hurry.

Dou Yuan summoned these cotton merchants, including Meng Shichen, to give them a warning—not to raise prices too excessively—the imperial court has its sword, and the Northern Dynasty also has its cotton.

"Heh," Dou Yuan smirked, "The Grand Prince Consort..." he thought to himself, "is rather unexpected."

Dou Yuan shook his fan.

Now is certainly not the time. When the price of cotton rises sixfold, the Prince Xin's son-in-law will start to act, but there will be no more money in the market to continue buying cotton.

The cotton from the Northern Dynasties should be ready to cross the river.

He would join forces with cloth merchants such as Chen Ji, using the purchase volume of the next five years as a bargaining chip to keep the price of cotton suppressed by the Northern Dynasty merchants, eventually reducing it to about twice the original price.

To completely drive down cotton prices.

Ten times? Eight times? Five times?

Do not……

If your cost price is five times, then I'll drive the cotton price down to three times, making you make a mistake that could empty His Majesty's treasury!

"Oh……"

Dou Yuan smiled with a complicated expression.

"Just wait and see if you'll end up losing more than you gain."

Authority can be dismantled little by little, and the throne is not so easy to sit on.

Dou Yuan's smile was deep and complex.

Many things are forced upon them. If the Prince Xin's Mansion hadn't attacked them and taken away Sujin Pavilion, he wouldn't have had to set up this scheme.

Furthermore, this imperial son-in-law was too confident and inadvertently put the emperor's private funds on the gambling table. If we don't seize the opportunity to control and guide the situation, it will be a case of refusing a gift from heaven and suffering the consequences instead.

If the imperial treasury were empty before Prince Xin ascended the throne, would the emperor still dare to allow Prince Xin to succeed him?

Dou Yuan's face trembled, and his heart stirred slightly.

This is what is meant by "A true man should seek life in the face of death and turn misfortune into fortune."

Being tricked by the Prince Xin's mansion and having Su Jin Ge taken away was a bad thing; but in the blink of an eye, the bad thing turned into a good thing. This ability to constantly turn bad things into good things was Dou Yuan's most proud ability.

If Prince Xin and his son-in-law fail to resolve the problem this time, and instead make the hole bigger and bigger, dragging the imperial treasury down with them, then the emperor may not be able to suppress the opinions of the imperial family and the vassal states.

"Hmm... this is the stroke of genius in this year's cotton war..."

After thinking for a while...

Dou Yuan slowly exhaled, and the smug look in his eyes faded again.

A somewhat tired smile appeared on his lips.

Whether it was King Qi, the people present, or those who knew him well, they all said that he was a master strategist with countless brilliant ideas... Hmm... But where is there any master strategist?

"But it's just..."

The chief advisor of the Prince's residence put down his folding fan, picked up his teacup, and sipped the tea.

"It's simply a matter of adapting to circumstances and responding to each move as it comes."