Liu Bian at the start, so you're called Dong Zhuo, right?

"The throne is passed to Cao Song, the Grand Minister of Agriculture."

Not long after, a slightly shrill voice rang out from outside the Zhangde Hall:

"Grand Minister of Agriculture Cao Song has arrived."

Cao Song entered, walking steadily until he reached the Emperor, where he kowtowed and said:

"Your subject Cao Song pays his respects to Your Majesty."

Get up.

Emperor Ling of Han slightly raised his hand and glanced at Zhang Rang.

Zhang Rang understood immediately, picked up the account book on the table, and handed it to Cao Song.

"Minister Cao, please take a look first." Emperor Ling's voice was devoid of any emotion.

Cao Song took the book with both hands, and after scanning only two pages, he understood immediately—the accounts were clear, the regulations were in order, and even the formats of "merchant registers," "road signs," and "warehouse certificates" were already systematic.

Emperor Ling of Han looked at Cao Song and said:

"Regarding the rumors circulating in the capital, the Crown Prince offered himself up as the Tongsheng Society, wishing to change it into the Tianshang Society and place it under the control of the imperial court."

"I grant your permission."

"From this day forward—the Tian Shang Association will be managed by the Grand Minister of Agriculture."

He paused, then tapped his fingers lightly on the table:

"You manage the grain reserves, you manage the taxes and profits, and you also manage the trade routes for me."

"Official appointments will be granted, and regulations will be followed as before. Those who register their household will be protected, while those who act recklessly will be punished. Anyone who dares to use the business to spread rumors and mislead the public—you will cut off their path for me."

Cao Song bowed and kowtowed:

"Your subject obeys the decree."

Though he spoke, a storm raged within him—

A few days ago, during a late-night conversation at the Crown Prince's Palace, the topic of the Chamber of Commerce came up.

That day, the Crown Prince simply had everyone step outside the curtain, saying that he would be in charge of the merchants' association from then on, and not just the Tong Sheng Association, but all the merchants' associations in the world.

That night, Cao Song felt it was absurd that a ten-year-old prince dared to speak so frankly about the affairs of the world's merchants' associations.

Even more absurdly, the prince's voice from that night still seemed to echo in his ears:

"Father will want it."

Cao Song dismissed it as youthful impetuosity and even advised him, "This matter is too big and may arouse suspicion."

But today, in the Zhangde Hall, Emperor Ling of Han handed over the "Heavenly Merchants Association" to him with just a few words.

Cao Song then realized: that wasn't just being hot-tempered.

That was calculated accurately.

He lowered his head even further, his throat tightening:

"Your Majesty, I dare not fail to live up to your trust."

Emperor Ling of Han nodded in satisfaction and gestured for him to rise:

"Go and do it."

"Well done, I reward you."

"It's not going to be stable—you know my temper."

Cao Song bowed again to take his leave. When he left Zhangde Hall, his clothes on his back were already slightly damp.

He glanced at the palace wall, then turned and walked towards Chengde Hall.

-

Inside the Chengde Hall, Liu Bian was writing something on his desk.

Wang Ming remained behind him, not daring to utter a sound.

His Highness the Crown Prince has been writing something down since last night, and he started again as soon as he returned from Zhangde Palace today, before he could even rest.

An announcement rang out from outside the hall:

"Grand Minister of Agriculture Cao Song requests an audience."

Liu Bian paused, the ink falling as a single dot, as if deliberately left as a mark:

"pass."

Cao Song entered the hall, first bowed, and then lowered his voice to say:

"Your Highness, His Majesty has entrusted the Tian Shang Association to my administration."

"Your Majesty, I am hereby ordered to establish regulations according to the old system, open merchant registers, issue road permits... and to use this as a means to quell the seditious rumors in the capital."

As he said this, he glanced at Liu Bian, his expression complex:

"Your Highness, I have come to seek your instructions."

Liu Bian looked at him and smiled:

"Lord Cao need not consult me."

"Now that the Heavenly Merchants Association has come under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, it naturally obeys the Grand Minister of Agriculture."

He paused:

"I only ask for one thing—don't change the regulations too quickly. First, let merchants across the land get used to 'becoming a citizen and receiving protection,' and then let them get used to 'not becoming a citizen and having no way to travel.'"

Cao Song's Adam's apple bobbed, and he finally whispered:

"Your Highness...was all this exactly what you predicted?"

Liu Bian responded:

"It wasn't calculated correctly."

"It has to be this way."

"It is only natural for the Emperor to be suspicious. If I do not hand over the Tongsheng Society, his suspicions will only grow deeper."

Cao Song felt a chill run down his spine: "Suspicion turned into use; there's a sharp edge to these words."

He was about to speak again when Liu Bian raised his hand to stop him, pointing to a spot of ink on the table:

"After you return, Lord Cao should take care of three things."

"First, disclose half of the Tianshang Association's name, income and expenditure to His Majesty—so that His Majesty can 'see the money'."

"Second, start with the twelve wards of Luoyang in the commercial registration system, focusing on the 'large shops' and 'grain and medicine' sectors—so that His Majesty can 'see and control' them."

"Third, road signs will be issued first, but only to caravans that are willing to sign a guarantee—so that people will first learn that 'if you want to walk, you must first follow the rules.'"

"After you've finished these three things, I'll come find you."

After listening, Cao Song remained silent for a long time before finally bowing solemnly:

"Your subject understands."

He stepped back to the doorway and glanced back at the boy.

Under the lamp, Liu Bian remained hunched over his desk, seemingly without looking up, yet as if he had already seen the end of the road ahead.

-

After Cao Song left, a long time passed.

When Liu Bian finally put down his pen, his knuckles were a little stiff.

He raised his hand and rubbed his wrist, his gaze still fixed on the stack of papers on the table.

The top page has eight characters written on it: salt, iron, wine, cloth, paper, sugar, medicine, and grain.

Further down, each item records the most feasible and achievable method of improvement that Liu Bian could think of.

Paper, sugar, medicine—he had already tried them at the Tongsheng Society: a piece of paper could make contracts systematic, a piece of sugar could bring glory to the Yuan family and other ten clans, and a single medicine could render talismanic water powerless.

For the other five items, he didn't seek anything earth-shattering, but simply aimed to make them faster, more economical, and more stable based on the existing foundation.

Salt production should be conserved for firewood, iron production should be refined into steel, liquor production should be increased, cloth production should be increased, and grain production should be increased.

Wang Ming glanced at it briefly and felt that the method above was something he had never heard of or seen before.

Liu Bian stood up, gathered the papers on the table, and handed them to Wang Ming:

"Keep it safe."

"Tomorrow morning, have someone prepare all the old and new accounts, as well as the workshop registers, for the three items: paper, sugar, and medicine."

"If the Tianshang Association is to be established, it should first have something to offer."

Wang Ming quickly replied, "Yes, sir."

Liu Bian walked to the window, looking at the vast palace, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

He transmigrated here, his only thought being how to survive.

Now, however, they are beginning to pave the way for the lives of billions upon billions of people in this world.

"Only when the Tian Chamber of Commerce is firmly established, road signs are laid out, and a network of business registrations is formed—these things can then get moving."

"At that time, all people in the world will have enough to eat, enough to wear, enough to buy salt, and enough to get medical treatment."

"No matter how eloquent the Taiping Dao is, they can't persuade a hungry mouth."

He had many thoughts in his mind, but he could only talk to himself about them.

A feeling of loneliness suddenly welled up from the bottom of my heart.

Liu Bian shook his head and sat back down at his desk.

Wang Ming had replaced the paper on the table with new paper. Liu Bian raised his hand, picked up a pen, and wrote two words:

Jizhou.

In his memory, Jizhou was the root of all the chaos, and the saying "The Blue Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise" originated from here.

Immediately afterwards, he wrote three more lines below—

Using the name of the Tianshang Association, we investigated the merchant registers of Jizhou.

By borrowing the road sign, the sulfur-soaked linen was cut.

Using the guise of "contraband," they recruit people without actually using a knife.

Just as Liu Bian was about to continue writing, an announcement suddenly rang out from outside the hall:

"Grand Commandant Yang has arrived."

The curtain was lifted.

Yang Ci entered the hall and immediately raised his hand in a salute:

"Your subject Yang Ci greets Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Liu Bian put down his pen, stood up to return the greeting, and spoke with a respectful yet not servile tone:

"The Grand Commandant's nighttime visit must be no small matter."

"This is no small matter." Yang Ci didn't mince words and turned to let him pass.

A young man followed behind him.

His clothes were simple, yet impeccably neat; his eyes and brows held the clear, bright look of a scholar. When he stood still, he first bowed to Liu Bian, his movements slow but steady.

"Kong Rong of Beihai pays his respects to His Highness the Crown Prince."