novelhk Chapter 45 Begging on Knees
Chapter 45 Begging on Knees
Time flies, and ten days have passed since Hu Xu and the others were brought back to the city.
During these ten days, Qin Xuan waited for news from the monkey while distributing grain as relief. Beining City finally gritted its teeth and weathered the biggest food crisis.
As for the monkey, it went directly to Twin Dragons City that same day.
Shuanglin City is located southeast of Tianshan City, about six or seven days' journey from Beining City.
Qin Xuan thought that with the monkey on the scene, news of Qiu Xingzhi would arrive soon, but ten days have passed and there is still no word.
However, although Qiu Xingzhi has not yet found it, the Xuantian Chamber of Commerce and the Baiyue Chamber of Commerce, two of the four major chambers of commerce, finally arrived with great difficulty in the past two days.
Because the Great Qi Dynasty had issued a ban, the Xuantian Chamber of Commerce and the Baiyue Chamber of Commerce had gone through countless hardships along the way. The Xuantian Chamber of Commerce even had to give up one-fifth of its assets in order to escape.
At this moment, Mo Gu, the president of the Xuantian Chamber of Commerce, and Huai Yun, the president of the Baiyue Chamber of Commerce, led by Hu Xu, arrived at the Chu King's Mansion to pay their respects to Qin Xuan.
The two were old acquaintances, and after exchanging pleasantries, they got straight to the point.
"I believe you two have already seen the refined salt and coal stove, so I hope that you can use the power of your chamber of commerce to quickly promote these products."
Qin Xuan got straight to the point.
"Your Highness, please don't say that."
Mogu immediately said, "Back in the borderlands, if it weren't for you and the Shence Army saving my life, I wouldn't be alive today."
"Besides, these two items you have, if given to anyone who knows business, would bring in a fortune."
"Your trust in us so much, and your willingness to entrust us with the sale of refined salt and coal stoves, is itself a great favor to us."
As soon as Mo Gu finished speaking, Huai Yun smiled and continued, "Your Highness, Old Mo is right."
"The most scarce resources in the border regions are iron and salt. If you have either of these, they will pay any price to exchange them with you."
"You're not just waiting for us to help you, you're clearly leading us to get rich!"
Huaiyun was in her forties, a middle-aged woman, and the only female manager among the four major merchant guilds.
But don't underestimate this woman. The Baiyue Chamber of Commerce is second only to the Mintai Chamber of Commerce among the four major chambers of commerce, which shows that Huaiyun's business acumen is extraordinary.
"In that case, I won't waste any more words. I hope to see a steady stream of food and winter supplies delivered to my Beining City in the next two weeks."
Qin Xuan nodded.
In fact, Qin Xuan knew that what Mo Gu and Huai Yun said was true. In this era, some things were indeed overwhelmingly superior.
As Huaiyun said, as long as you have refined salt and iron, people will naturally come to you begging for them, even kneeling down to beg.
"I will never let Your Highness down."
Mo Gu and Huai Yun immediately stood up and bowed.
Qin Xuan waved his hand and smiled, "Actually, Hu Xu only came back a couple of days ago. He had already gone to the Khan Kingdom and had some success."
“But relying on him alone is definitely not enough. There are so many people in Beining City, I need more supplies.”
"Also, Manager Huai, I know that you own the largest number of merchant ships among the four major merchant guilds, so there is something I would like to ask you."
Upon hearing this, Huaiyun was somewhat flattered: "Your Highness, please don't say that. Although you didn't save Huaiyun's life, you were the one who named the Baiyue Chamber of Commerce. Just give the order."
The Baiyue Chamber of Commerce was originally just a small, insignificant local money exchange. However, after meeting Qin Xuan, he provided it with a modern financial lending solution, which propelled the Baiyue Chamber of Commerce to become one of the four major chambers of commerce.
"Help me recruit a group of the best shipbuilding craftsmen."
Qin Xuan spoke briefly, but whether it was Huai Yun, Mo Gu, or even Hu Xu, they couldn't help but get excited at this moment.
When they were with Qin Xuan back then, they heard him talk about some secrets about overseas. Could it be that the prince has finally decided to go to sea to fight?
Seemingly guessing what the others were thinking, Qin Xuan laughed and said, "Beining City doesn't have a sea."
The three were slightly disappointed, but Qin Xuan continued, "But the Yangtze River runs through it, so you don't need to worry. I'm just taking precautions."
Upon hearing this, the three most powerful managers of the time immediately lit up with a gleam in their eyes.
However, the three of them wisely refrained from asking any further questions, as they understood their prince's temperament and always knew when to stop.
But as soon as he left the Chu Prince's residence, Huaiyun immediately became excited: "Old Hu, you better tell me honestly, is the prince planning to build warships?"
"I don't know that."
Hu Xu shook his head vigorously and said, "This kind of thing is not my responsibility, and I only heard about it from the prince today."
Mo Gu and Huai Yun immediately looked suspicious, scrutinizing Hu Xu from head to toe.
Hu Xu felt uncomfortable under their gazes and said irritably, "What kind of looks are those? I really don't know!"
"We don't care. Anyway, the prince trusts you the most. If the prince has any good deals, you must inform us immediately."
Mogu solemnly reminded him.
Huaiyun immediately chimed in, "That's right, don't even think about hogging it all!"
Hu Xu was both amused and exasperated, but his admiration for Qin Xuan grew even stronger.
Mo Gu and Huai Yun are both incredibly shrewd individuals, but so what?
Upon hearing that Qin Xuan had settled in Beining City, they were willing to abandon most of their foundation in Daqi and even risk losing their property to rush to Beining City.
Because they knew that in Daqi, they might still be able to enjoy wealth and glory, but that would only be within the territory of Daqi.
Only by following Qin Xuan could they possibly leave the Great Qi and venture into the whole world.
Hu Xu still remembers what Qin Xuan said to him after he got drunk one time:
"I want all the lands illuminated by the sun and moon to be the territory of my Great Qi!"
Unfortunately, the current emperor of the Great Qi Dynasty is incompetent and foolish, forcing his own prince to flee to Beining City.
Qin Xuan was unaware that Hu Xu and the other two were currently speculating about the merchant ship. He had just summoned Zhao Luoying to discuss the gunpowder.
This matter is of great importance, and Qin Xuan does not even intend to tell Zhuge Xuan first.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Zhuge Xuan, but gunpowder was still in the early stages of development, so he had to be cautious.
"Your Highness, the workshop you asked me to build is almost finished. Did you call me here to take a look?"
Zhao Luoying's mood has improved a lot in the past few days, after all, the food crisis has been alleviated.
Qin Xuan smiled and said, "I'm not worried about that. I just want you to help me gather some things."
"What is it? What strange thing are you planning to build now?"
Zhao Luoying's eyes immediately lit up with anticipation.
Recently, Qin Xuan, relying on his memories from his previous life, has drawn up as many simple blueprints as possible to realize his vision.
These things included new waterwheels for irrigation and weapons more suitable for battlefield use, such as repeating crossbows. All of these things left Zhao Luoying in awe.
"Remember those fireworks that I told you about that would bloom in the night sky? That's what I'm going to make."
Qin Xuan planned to surprise Zhao Luoying, so he deliberately didn't mention the power of real gunpowder.
"Really?"
Sure enough, Zhao Luoying immediately cheered and jumped for joy like a young girl.
Seeing Zhao Luoying so relaxed and joyful, Qin Xuan silently thought to himself, "Let this world truly change starting with the first fireworks I gave you!"