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

Is your heart set on Daliang?

In the dimly lit room, the head of the Chuzhou Chamber of Commerce, who was sitting on a stool with only half his buttocks on, had a somewhat dazed look in his eyes.

"His heart is with Daliang?!" He felt somewhat incredulous.

Click. Ning Nan opened a brocade box on the round table, took out a scroll-shaped piece of yellow silk, and waved it.

"Imperial edict?" Dong Ang's lips parted slightly as he recognized the object.

Ning Nan glanced at him and smiled:

"Chief Dong, this is an imperial edict stamped with the jade seal by His Majesty the Emperor, containing the letter of appointment for foreign merchants from the Great Liang."

"Daliang...foreign merchants?"

"Exactly."

Ningnan Province:

"That patron has his heart set on Daliang. I have already put his name on the document, making him a foreign merchant of Daliang. The imperial edict will be issued to him later."

"With this imperial edict in hand, he can negotiate anything with my Great Liang, and the tariffs on goods can be reduced by 30%."

"The Du Kang rulers are all sold for one hundred taels, but each area is designated, and only seven people are allowed to use them. Well, that is, one person from each of the seven provinces of the Northern Dynasty, and only one person is allowed."

"Of course, Chuzhou is the place where our founding emperor rose to power, so I naturally have to give face to his fellow townsman. Chuzhou can be considered an exception."

"...Tariffs will be reduced by 30%?"

Ning Nan shook his head and smiled, "It's not that good. There are limits. Goods with annual trade exceeding 200,000 taels of silver are not eligible for exemptions."

That's all.

Ning Nan put the imperial edict back and closed the lid:

"Chairman Dong, don't panic. I have already selected the seven great businessmen."

"Firstly, in the Northern Dynasty, accepting such an imperial edict would mean losing one's head."

"Ning has already secured several of that person's children for our Daliang. They will not change their surnames, only their given names, and they will later study at the Imperial Academy."

"Secondly..." Ning Nan looked Dong up and down with a slight smile, which immediately made the other party tense up.

"Secondly... Although Chairman Dong is the head of the Chuzhou Association, his main business is wine. I, Ning, even had a few sips of Chairman Dong's 'Jin Xichun' wine that evening, and the taste was truly rare."

"However, although you have the backing of Prefect Dong of Chuzhou, the official title of Prefect is still a bit too small."

"In a place like Chuzhou, perhaps Master Wang, the brother-in-law of the Governor of Jiangnan, would be a better fit than Chief Dong..."

The young man's voice was unhurried, calm, and carried a hint of contemplation.

He seemed to be genuinely thinking about these things and didn't seem to be looking down on him.

But these words were enough to make Dong Ang freeze in shock.

The other party not only found out his backer, but also Wang Qiaosheng's backer.

This made Dong Ang's heart sink.

Although he is currently the head of the Chuzhou Association, the Wang family has been at the height of its power ever since Wang Qiaosheng became the brother-in-law of the Governor of Jiangnan.

For example, today, Wang Qiaosheng was in charge of receiving the Southern Dynasty delegation, and he had nothing to do with it.

It seems the head of the Chuzhou association will be replaced in a few years.

Ning Nan calmly said:

"Chairman Dong, we've finished discussing matters. If you're still willing to buy Du Kang rulers, I can lower the price to three hundred taels of silver per ruler, but I can only sell one hundred... Hmm... Heh... This is a small matter; you can discuss it with Uncle Ru Hai. He can make the decision... Thank you, Uncle Ru Hai. Please see the guest out."

Ning Nan clasped his hands in a fist and smiled, "I thank Chairman Dong for our meeting today."

The honest and simple-minded Chen Ruhai immediately stood up, chuckled, and spread his hands, saying, "Chairman Dong, please."

Dong Ang grunted in response and stood up blankly.

Tap, tap, tap—the dull sound of footsteps echoed in the dimly lit room.

Accompanied by Chen Ruhai, Dong Ang walked step by step toward the door of the room.

When we were only three steps away from the room door.

Dong Ang turned around.

He looked directly at the young man who was sitting quietly, bowed, and said in a deep voice:

"May I ask Your Highness, if... if I, Dong, also wish to become a foreign merchant of this Great Liang... I wonder, I wonder if Your Highness could grant me such a favor?"

"Oh?" Ning Nan asked in confusion, "Does Chairman Dong also have his eye on Daliang?"

"I will not lie in front of a true person. Now that the Grand Prince Consort is here, I, Dong, will lay my heart bare today."

Dong Ang sighed deeply and said solemnly:

"In fact, since our ancestors, the Dong family has always held a loyal and patriotic heart that has remained unchanged for a hundred years! Even now, my ancestor is ninety years old, and he often leads the Dong family members to face south and pay homage. I asked my ancestor who he was worshipping. My ancestor wept uncontrollably and said: 'It is my hero from Chuzhou—the founding emperor of the Great Liang Dynasty!'"

Dong Ang's eyes instantly reddened.

Ning Nan also stood up, took a few steps towards the other party, her eyes reddening, and bowed in thanks:

"This unworthy son-in-law, Ning Nan, thanks your grandfather for remembering the kindness of our great-grandfather."

"You flatter me, Your Highness...you flatter me..."

"Sigh..." Ning Nan sighed and squeezed Dong Ang's hand tightly.

"Brother Dong,"

He addressed the other person as "brother," and pointed to Chu Feixiong, who had also stood up.

"I understand Brother Dong's intentions. To be honest, this...this is my classmate. My classmate has always wanted to open a restaurant opposite the Jiangnan Governor's Office in Huai'an, so that gourmets from Jiangbei can taste the flavors of Jiangnan. If Brother Dong is willing to lend my classmate a hand..."

Ning Nan gritted his teeth and looked at Dong Ang with sincere eyes:

"This will demonstrate that Brother Dong's abilities far surpass those of that so-called brother-in-law of the Governor of Jiangnan! Then, why couldn't the imperial edict appointing him as one of the seven major foreign merchants of the Great Liang Dynasty be granted to Brother Dong?"

……

A soft thud was heard as the door closed.

As night fell, Chen Ruhai and Chu Feixiong led Dong Ang, and the three of them left the mansion with light steps.

In a somewhat dimly lit room.

Ning Nan slowly ground the ink.

He took out a blank imperial edict given to him by his wife.

After some thought, he wrote the letter of appointment for "Dong Ang," a foreign merchant from Daliang, on the imperial edict...

It was just a small matter that I asked the other party to do.

In order to get this small matter done, the other party had to contact the Governor-General of Jiangnan.

The current Governor-General of Jiangnan... is named Li Wei.

The Governor-General of Jiangnan's office was in Huaizhou, which was also the next destination the delegation was to visit.

Li Wei… Master Ning's calligraphy flowed like dragons and snakes, and he sighed slightly in his heart. He couldn't describe how he felt when he first saw this name a few days ago.

It is said that Li Wei in this world was originally from Jiangnan. He was illiterate and became a merchant in his early years. He often dressed like a beggar and had the nickname "Beggar Li".

While doing business in the Northern Dynasty, Li Wei discovered that one could become an official through donation. He was overjoyed and decided to shave his head completely and become a minor official in the Northern Dynasty through donation.

Later, when Emperor Yongzheng was living incognito in his former residence, he met Li Wei by chance and discovered that he was a man of great talent.

He was promoted again and again, eventually reaching the position of Vice Minister of Revenue and concurrently Governor-General of Zhili, and was granted the title of First-Class Duke... The Minister of Revenue was Prince Yi, and Li Wei was only slightly inferior to him.

Now that he's serving as the Governor-General of Jiangnan, it's actually a waste of his talents. It's just that Yongzheng was worried about unrest in Jiangnan, so he appointed him as a high-ranking official to keep things under control.

After writing the imperial edict, he blew on the ink to dry it, and then handed it to Qian Sijin.

"After Dong Ang has finished this matter, have someone issue the decree to him. Remember, when issuing the decree, he must be ordered to bathe and burn incense, face south, and kneel and kowtow three times and nine times. There must be no slightest carelessness in the etiquette."

A sense of ritual is very important; if you miss one, the other person may easily think it's fake.

Qian Sijin nodded immediately.

……

Chuzhou boasts a wide variety of delicious foods.

Fengyang stuffed tofu, Qinlan braised goose, steamed whitebait, Leiguan salted duck... Ningnan and Miss Zhu, who had arrived a day earlier, ate their way through Chuzhou.

Of course, because we're leaving this afternoon.

In reality, they simply ordered the same dish from Tianxinlou and tried a little of it.

The Taoist priest Xu Xiyin was a vegetarian and only tried Fengyang stuffed tofu. Most of the meat was given to the guards who accompanied them.

Chuzhou is about 200 li away from Huai'an.

The mission rested at post stations along the way and traveled on the official road for four days, until nightfall.

They finally arrived in Huai'an City.

Huai'an City was the location of the Governor-General's Office of Jiangnan.

When they arrived outside the city, bonfires lit up the entire city, drums and gongs resounded, banners fluttered in the wind, and cannons and fireworks were set off inside the city.

Governor-General of Jiangnan Li Wei, Governor Wei Fangtai, Provincial Treasurer Shi Yizhi, Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Wang Jing, and other officials of all ranks came out of the city to welcome them.