Chapter 235: Pros and Cons

The winter in Yanzhou always appears desolate and lonely.

Especially after the rebellion of the Rich Clans, it has added a sense of ruin.

But after Yan Wang took charge of Yanzhou, the common people always held some hope in their hearts.

They hoped that Yan Wang could let them live the same life as the people of Yan Commandery.

"Your Highness, good news from Jingshi."

Early in the morning, Liu Fu rushed into Zhao Xu's study and presented a document before Zhao Xu.

This had just been delivered to Yancheng from Jingshi, and he brought it over the moment he received it.

Seeing Liu Fu looking as if he had been injected with adrenaline, Zhao Xu could not help but become excited as well.

He flipped through the document, a smile gradually blooming on his face, and finally, he slapped the table in excitement, "Hahaha, it is done after all. It seems that even Father Emperor could not resist the temptation of the Artillery this time."

Liu Fu nodded; this set of documents contained the certificates for the Yan Commandery Trading Firm to have the rights of an Imperial Merchant, as well as the certificates permitting Yan Wang to engage in maritime trade.

At the same time, there was another matter, which was the opening of a Border Market.

This matter was also to be handled by Yan Wang.

With these three things, he had effectively and thoroughly defeated the containment of his trade by the powerful clans.

The two were just rejoicing when suddenly, the voice of Yang He came from outside the study.

Before long, Yang He also entered with a smile on his face, performed a salute, and said, "Your Highness, the merchants of the powerful clans are no longer making trouble, and now they are even requesting to take goods from the Prince's Mansion again."

The three looked at each other and laughed heartily.

Liu Fu said, "Your Highness, these powerful clans have their moments of weakness too. They wanted to throttle the trade of Yanzhou, but ended up bumping into a wall themselves. Now, not only is the trade of the Great Song unobstructed, but we also have a Border Market and maritime trade; it is truly a joyous occasion."

"Indeed, during this period, this subordinate often could not sleep at night; now I can finally have a good sleep." Yang He looked relaxed.

Zhao Xu put away the documents and said to Yang He, "Since this trade storm has now subsided, the trading firm should go all out to earn Silver for this Prince."

Liu Fu patted Yang He on the shoulder and said, "Manager Yang, the monthly stipends of all the officials in Yanzhou are counting on you."

After incorporating the affairs of the seven commanderies into the Prince's Mansion, the initial excitement he felt was followed by a cold sweat.

Although the Rich Clans of Yanzhou had been wiped out completely this time.

During the cleanup, many Rich Clans had also fled with their assets.

Especially those who fled to Yuzhou and Qizhou, these two places.

But they left, and what remained was a mess.

The matter of cleaning up the Rich Clans was a small affair compared to the Yuan Family rebellion.

But it was also exceptionally cruel.

The fleeing Rich Clans were unwilling to leave anything for the Prince's Mansion.

Not only did they take away the Silver, but they also burned the Granary.

And this exacerbated the difficulties for Yan Wang in taking over Yanzhou.

Therefore, for the time being, he could only count on the trading firm to sell the Prince's Mansion's goods to the south in exchange for grain to alleviate the current crisis.

Waiting until the harvest in the fifth or sixth month of the coming year.

"Previously, this subordinate would not have dared to make such a boast, but now that Your Highness has allowed the goods to not only travel freely throughout the Great Song but also opened up external trade routes, there is absolutely no problem." Yang He patted his chest in assurance.

Zhao Xu nodded, his hanging heart finally settling.

Now, there were too many places in Yanzhou that needed Silver.

The maritime trade right had been secured,

but the ships still had to be built before they could go out.

And building ships would consume a massive amount of Silver.

Besides that, there were the five Lengbao still under construction.

Although the Northern Di had sued for peace, he would not be lulled into complacency.

These Lengbao still had to be built; after all, in the contemporary era, cases where a ceasefire agreement was signed yesterday and fighting resumed the next day were numerous.

The ancient times would not be more committed to promises than the modern era.

Everyone knew in their hearts that after a great war, everyone just wanted to take a breather.

Moreover, the Northern Di had only suffered superficial damage in this great war.

At the same time, he had another idea, which was to renovate the northern city wall of Yanguan.

During this siege battle, he noticed that the straight-line style of the Yanguan city wall had poor defensive capabilities.

Therefore, he wanted to build several protruding corner walls on the outer side of the Yanguan city wall, just like the Lengbao.

In this way, the northern city wall would have the shape of a Lengbao.

Not only could more Artillery be placed on top, but it was also equivalent to expanding the defensive surface.

At the same time, it could provide all-around, blind-spot-free defense, increasing the difficulty for the enemy to attack the city.

He could not afford to be careless.

The Artillery was indeed immensely powerful, but the reason it achieved such good results this time was entirely due to the surprise effect of its first use.

During the war, the Northern Di soldiers performed very fiercely.

And in an era where cold and hot Weapons alternated, one could not say that having firearms meant everything was worry-free.

After all, Cavalry only gradually exited the stage of history after the appearance of the Machine Gun and the Tank.

Before that, highly mobile Cavalry remained an important force on the battlefield.

Therefore, for him at present, holding Yanguan was still the first choice.

However, renovating Yanguan was another huge expense.

It still required Silver.

"The Glass Workshop has resumed production. This Prince had them make a batch of bottles, some for Wine and some for Perfume. When the time comes, you take these goods to Jingshi and have Dong An organize an exhibition." Thinking of Glass, Zhao Xu said to Yang He.

Now that the Glass has been produced, the next step is naturally to turn it into Silver.

"An exhibition?" Yang He was taken aback for a moment.

"It means finding a bustling location, inviting the dignitaries of Jingshi, and hiring famous courtesans from Jingshi to sing, taking the opportunity to display the new goods from the Wangfu for them to see."

"Oh..." Yang He was well-versed in business and understood immediately, "In this way, the new goods of the Wangfu can spread rapidly among them."

Zhao Xu showed an expression of "the student is teachable."

Wine bottled in Glass is naturally in the most expensive tier, as it includes the value of the Glass itself.

Only the dignitaries, wealthy merchants, and powerful clans of the Great Song can afford it.

It is their Silver that he wants to earn; for them, accustomed to a life of luxury,

they are willing to spend this Silver.

Of course, using Glass just to hold Wine would be a waste; he will also specifically craft Glass into items like wine cups as goods, which will be another profit.

After discussing the business firm, Liu Fu brought up the Border Market, "Your Highness, opening a Border Market at Yanguan has both advantages and disadvantages."

According to the documents, after the Great Song and the Northern Di negotiated, they decided to reopen an old market within Yanguan.

This old market was the place where the Great Song and the Northern Di previously conducted border trade.

In this way, merchants from both the Northern Di and the Great Song will need to come to this place to trade.

By then, Yanguan will inevitably be a place where all sorts of people gather.

Zhao Xu frowned; this was an unavoidable problem.

In Yanzhou, only Yanguan is the most suitable location for a Border Market.

After all, this is the border.

Or rather, this is an open scheme by the Northern Di, wanting to use the Border Market to spy on intelligence in Yanzhou.

However, everything has its pros and cons, and he feels that for Yanzhou, the benefits still outweigh the disadvantages.

With a Border Market, one can buy horses, and another can buy cattle and sheep to enrich the meat supply for the Wangfu Army.

One can also buy calves and lambs to develop the livestock industry in Yanzhou.

As for the spies of the Northern Di, leave them to the Flame Guard.

With the Yuan Family destroyed, they have become quite a bit more idle anyway.

Just use Yanguan as their training ground.