Chapter 20: Acquiring the Agency

"Your Highness, this is Wang Yanzhong, the head of the Yan Commandery Agency."

In the guest hall, a middle-aged man wearing a black silk long gown prostrated himself on the ground.

"Commoner Wang Yanzhong pays respects to Your Highness."

After Liu Fu introduced him, Wang Yanzhong kowtowed to Zhao Xu.

"Rise," Zhao Xu said, looking Wang Yanzhong over.

His face was dark, and there was a knife scar on his chin.

In ancient times, an Agency was a business that traded in human beings.

From high officials down to the common people, anyone in need of servants could find them there.

This kind of trade was legal in this era.

Zhao Xu looking for him was naturally also for a transaction.

As the saying goes, every trade has its own specialty.

Since the Agency worked in this trade, they naturally knew how to procure people.

And what he currently needed most was people.

Whether it was to fill the Prince's Personal Army, to work the fields, or for the next step of developing various technologies.

"I have sought you out because I wish to buy some servants; I wonder how many you have on hand?" Zhao Xu asked.

He had just obtained 100,000 taels of silver from the Zhang Family, which he could use to buy a large number of servants.

Wang Yanzhong breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the Agency was a legitimate business, it was the most despised.

Like a brothel, it was often subjected to harassment by the government.

On the way here, he had been anxious, fearing that Yan Wang was going to cause him trouble.

Hearing this, he felt much more at ease.

He spoke up: "Replying to Your Highness, this commoner has three hundred servants on hand, including one hundred and fifty-six able-bodied men, sixty-three women, and some are craftsmen. I wonder what Your Highness requires?"

Zhao Xu revealed a look of disappointment; this number was too small.

However, Yan Commandery was only a small place, so he could not expect too much.

He said: "What is the value of the women and the able-bodied men? What is the value of the craftsmen?"

"Unskilled women and able-bodied men are five taels, craftsmen are ten taels, songstresses are fifteen taels..."

Zhao Xu nodded, "I will take them all."

Now that he had established the Prince's Personal Army and gained control of the Yan County Garrison.

Aside from daily training, what he needed to do was provide them with excellent weapons and armor.

Only then could he forge a strong army.

Otherwise, how could a group of soldiers at the same level as the private troops of the Rich Clans protect Yan Commandery?

Those Northern Di who roamed Yanzhou, aggressive as fire, were not to be trifled with; if he wanted to win against superior numbers, he had to have his own sharp teeth and claws.

Therefore, he had taken on the task of forging weapons and armor; he wanted to use the advanced technology in his mind to give his army the best equipment.

After all, if you have an advantage and don't use it, are you a fool?

And this was the reason for his urgent need for able-bodied men and craftsmen; he wanted to bypass the Government Office's Weaponry Bureau and set up his own operation.

"This commoner will deliver them to Your Highness tomorrow morning." Wang Yanzhong was overjoyed.

He had not expected to encounter such a big deal.

Zhao Xu did not intend to let Wang Yanzhong go just like that.

He said: "Do you want to do a big business with the Prince's Mansion?"

"A big business? Isn't this already a big business?" Wang Yanzhong wore a puzzled expression.

Zhao Xu shook his head, "Can a business of a thousand taels of silver be called a big business? What I want to do with you is a business of millions or tens of millions of taels. If you do well, in the future, I will even consider giving you an official post in the Prince's Mansion."

"Millions, tens of millions, an official post?" Wang Yanzhong was so surprised his jaw dropped.

He was merely a lowly person; how could he have ever had such extravagant hopes?

He hesitated for a long while, unable to guess Zhao Xu's thoughts, so he said: "I hope Your Highness will clarify?"

"I want to buy your Agency. From now on, you will work for the Prince's Mansion, scouring for people for the Prince's Mansion in Great Song, in the Grassland, and on the seas. How about it?" Zhao Xu said indifferently, "Of course, if you are unwilling, then forget it."

Wang Yanzhong was stunned.

He did not understand why Yan Wang wanted so many people.

As a Yan Wang and the master of Yan Commandery, the entire Yan Commandery was his.

Why worry about having no people?

However, he thought about it again, and this seemed to be an opportunity.

His Agency was only a small business and was looked down upon by others.

If the Prince's Mansion bought it, he would become a man under the Prince's Mansion.

As Yan Wang said, if he could secure an official post in the future, it would be like his ancestral graves emitting blue smoke.

Immediately, he kowtowed again and said: "Since Your Highness favors me, how could this commoner dare to refuse? I hope for Your Highness's guidance in the future."

"That is very good," Zhao Xu laughed.

His buying of the Agency was also a precaution.

The population of Yan Commandery was the smallest in Yanzhou.

This was like a person born with a frail body; it could not withstand much tossing.

Perhaps after one battle with the Northern Di, if the losses were great, the able-bodied men of Yan Commandery would be exhausted.

Moreover, most of the people in Yan Commandery were still in the hands of the Rich Clans.

And gathering displaced people from across the Great Song through the Agency to head to Yan Commandery is precisely to make up for this.

After all, rather than letting the many displaced people of the Great Song who have lost their land and cannot survive die in vain, it is better to gather them under his own banner to build up his fief.

And he will give them a brand new life.

However, this is his first contact with Wang Yanzhong.

He is not clear about the man's character, so he said to the servant standing at the door, "Zhou Yi, from today on, you and Wang Yanzhong shall be responsible for the Agency's affairs."

This Zhou Yi is one of the servants who defected along with Liu Fu in the beginning.

Sending him there is precisely to supervise Wang Yanzhong.

"Yes, Your Highness," said Zhou Yi.

Liu Fu has turned into the Prince's Tutor of the Prince's Mansion in the blink of an eye;

they are envious as well.

Zhao Xu has given him a task at this moment, and his heart is filled with excitement.

Having worked in the Agency for a long time, Wang Yanzhong is also a shrewd person and naturally understands Zhao Xu's intention.

He does not point it out and says, "Brother Zhou, from today on, the two of us will both be working for the Prince's Mansion; if there is any offense, please bear with me."

"Rest assured, as long as you work wholeheartedly for His Highness, that is all that matters," Zhou Yi said with a bow.

Zhao Xu let his gaze wander over the two of them and said, "Starting tomorrow, you shall exert yourselves to gather displaced people and go everywhere to redeem slaves and craftsmen; if you need Silver, just take it from the Prince's Mansion."

"Yes, Your Highness," Wang Yanzhong and Zhou Yi replied in unison.

Having settled this matter, Zhao Xu let Wang Yanzhong go to the treasury to take the Silver.

Business is business; the Silver for purchasing slaves and for the Agency must be given to him.

After the two left, Liu Fu said, "Your Highness, this population is extremely Silver-consuming; if it goes on like this, the Prince's Mansion's Silver will not last long."

Zhao Xu walked out of the guest hall with his hands behind his back, recalling the Wine he drank at the banquet at noon, and laughed, "Do not worry, this Prince has a way to make a fortune right now."

Liu Fu was taken aback.

He thought to himself, is this Yan Wang a celestial being? A new idea in the blink of an eye.

While he was still in shock, he saw Zhao Xu call over a servant.

"You go find an earthenware jar and a section of Bamboo Tube, make a hole in the jar, insert the bamboo tube, and then set up a stove," Zhao Xu said.

Although the servant was confused, he still obeyed the order and left.

Before long, two servants carried an earthenware jar over.

Just as he requested, a hole had been made in the earthenware jar, and a Bamboo Tube as thick as a wrist was inserted into it.

"What does Your Highness want this thing for?" Liu Fu asked, finding it strange.

"Have you ever drunk Wine?"

"Of course, who in this world does not drink Wine? Even those women drink Wine," Liu Fu said as a matter of course.

Zhao Xu nodded slightly; the Wine culture of the Great Song is as prosperous as in the modern era, and it can be said that as long as one has a little spare money, there is no one who does not drink.

Last time he went to Tianxiang Lou, and at the banquet this noon, he drank more than a catty, yet he was only slightly tipsy.

This is not because this body of his has a high tolerance for alcohol, but because the alcohol content of the Wine is too low, just like drinking beer.

But this is the current state of the ancient Wine industry, because the ancients have not yet mastered the technology of distilled spirits and can only drink low-alcohol Wine.

Therefore, he absolutely cannot let go of such a highly profitable industry.

Just think of the market value of Moutai today, and one can understand how much money Wine can make among the common people.

And he possesses the technology to manufacture the Great Song version of Moutai.