Chapter 53: Merchant Association

"Imperial decree?"

Zhao Xu held a cup of tea, looking at the group of Rich Clan descendants who were gazing at him with eager eyes.

This bunch of fellows was too idle.

The Merchant Association currently only had two types of goods, ice and Wine, so they had nothing to do.

Glancing at Dong An, he then looked at Yang He.

He felt that it was a waste to keep these fellows who could read and write here, so they could be put to use.

Although they were unlearned and unskilled, in the reality of the ancient world with a ninety-nine percent illiteracy rate, they were not entirely useless.

Moreover, it could also prevent them from idling about and causing trouble in Yancheng.

Clearing his throat, he said, "This Wang indeed has an idea; I intend to turn the Merchant Association into an official agency under the Prince's Mansion?"

The Rich Clan descendants were stunned upon hearing this.

Turning a merchant firm into an official agency was simply unheard of.

However, they wondered what exactly their Yan Wang intended to do.

But without a doubt, it seemed like a good thing.

Thus, the Rich Clan descendants all crowded forward.

They cocked their ears, waiting for the Yan Wang's follow-up.

Blowing on his hot tea, he said slowly, "But rest assured, the profits your respective families receive from the Merchant Association will not be reduced; it is just that some people will be selected from among you to become Staff Officers of the Prince's Mansion, formally serving as officials to manage the Merchant Association, manage the Merchant Association's business, and execute the Prince's Mansion's administrative orders."

"Hiss..." The Rich Clan descendants gasped upon hearing this, their faces showing excitement.

The reason they had ended up in the Merchant Association was that they had failed when the Government Office officials were being selected.

According to Liu Fu's words at the time, they were not suitable to be officials.

For this reason, they resented Liu Fu in private, but there was nothing they could do.

After all, the Prince's Mansion was not someone they could afford to provoke.

During this time staying in the Merchant Association, they felt as if they had been shelved by their families, so they were all extremely dejected.

Now, the Yan Wang had suddenly thrown out such bait; how could they bear it?

"Does Your Highness mean to let us become officials?" The fat on Dong An's chubby face quivered.

As the legitimate eldest son of the Dong Family, his official position had been snatched away by descendants of other branches in the family, and he had lost all face.

Precisely because of this, his father was greatly disappointed in him, and was even too lazy to let him handle the matter of meeting the Yan Wang.

Now, an opportunity for him to hold his head high was right before his eyes; how could he not be excited?

Yang He and Dong An were also notoriously dissolute sons in Yan Commandery in the past.

They had also been eliminated in Liu Fu's selection.

"Frivolous in character, difficult to serve as an official." This was the evaluation Liu Fu gave him, which made him so angry he couldn't sleep well for several days; every time he saw Liu Fu, he wanted to beat him up.

Thinking of how he, the dignified eldest son of the Yang Family, was actually mocked by his clansmen.

Now that an opportunity was before his eyes, he immediately decided to go all out.

He would cast aside all shame.

With a mournful howl, he suddenly took a few quick steps, fell to his knees with a thud in front of Zhao Xu, hugged Zhao Xu's thigh, and wailed, "Your Highness, please leave the management of the Merchant Association to this subordinate; this subordinate will definitely make the Merchant Association flourish and earn large amounts of Silver for Your Highness."

Xu Lie had just been startled, but seeing Yang He like this, he withdrew his unsheathed sword.

Dong An and the other Rich Clan descendants heard this and immediately began to clamor.

Dong An cursed, "Yang He, you are truly shameless; when did His Highness agree to you, yet you dare to call yourself 'this subordinate'?"

Having said that, he slid to his knees and hugged Zhao Xu's other leg, "Your Highness, this subordinate pays his respects to Your Highness."

"Shameless..." The Rich Clan descendants were dumbfounded, one after another looking at the two with contempt.

"Ahem..." Zhao Xu was somewhat speechless; it seemed Liu Fu's evaluation of the two was not wrong at all.

He said, "You two get up, don't be anxious, listen to this Wang first."

Dong An and Yang He heard this, exchanged a glance, snorted simultaneously, and stood back up.

Looking at the twenty-some Rich Clan descendants in the room, Zhao Xu felt a bit troubled; he couldn't possibly make all of them officials.

Thinking of the purpose of his visit this time,

He said, "For the sake of fairness, this Wang will give you all a chance. Currently, the Prince's Mansion needs a massive amount of Iron Ore and Limestone. Starting from today, within ten days, whoever can secure the most and cheapest Iron Ore, Limestone, and stinky coal for the Armament Bureau will be the Merchant Association Manager, ranked as a Viscount, while others will be given positions at my discretion according to their ranking. How about that?"

"Fair and just," Dong An and Yang He said happily.

In their view, this matter was simple; they would just go back and use Silver to buy it.

"Your Highness, in that case, wouldn't whoever has the most money win?" A Rich Clan descendant spotted the loophole.

Zhao Xu had naturally already thought of this, and he said, "The Silver to purchase these things will be paid uniformly by the Merchant Association; whoever cheats will never be employed."

He was serious about selecting officials for the Merchant Association.

In the future, besides selling goods, his Merchant Association would also be responsible for managing the commerce of Yan Commandery.

To him, the technology in his mind was important, but many modern management concepts were equally important.

This Merchant Association was the tool he used to implement certain commercial concepts.

And Dong An, Yang He, and the others were not suitable to be officials close to the common people.

But according to his understanding, some of the Rich Clan descendants within the group had quite some achievements in their family businesses.

For example, Dong An and Yang He were frivolous, but that was just right for dealing with other merchants; they were adept at wining, dining, and playing with women with them.

Thinking of this, he decided to give them a chance.

"Hmph, you are just jealous." Dong An and Yang He were dissatisfied, the two having reached a united front at this moment.

Rolling up his sleeves, facing the other Rich Clan descendants, Yang He said, "Let's do this for real this time; I, Yang He, will absolutely not cheat. Let's see who ends up the winner."

"Fine, bring it on." The other Rich Clan descendants were not afraid either.

To compete for this official position, they were desperate.

Dong An was already impatient, "Your Highness, I shall go at once, and I guarantee that within ten days I will find the most raw materials for Your Highness, but what is this limestone that Your Highness speaks of?"

Zhao Xu nodded with satisfaction.

The other fellows were only thinking about becoming officials.

Only Dong An still remembered one thing he did not understand.

"Go to the Armory Bureau and ask Director Wang; they will tell you where to find it," Zhao Xu said.

Only then did the group remember, and after offering their excuses, they headed toward the Armory Bureau one after another.

Seizing a bit of an advantage meant one more hope for victory.

In the blink of an eye, only servants remained in the Merchant Association, and Zhao Xu laughed.

He probably wouldn't have to worry about the raw material supply for the Armory Bureau for some time.

As for something like limestone, there was no harm in telling them.

After all, the mines could not run away, and sooner or later they would know of this thing's existence.

As long as the technology was in his hands, there was no problem; even if they obtained the limestone, they wouldn't know what it could be used for.

On this side, Dong An and the others hurried to the Armory Bureau.

Upon seeing the written order from Yan Wang, Wang Ying told Dong An, Yang He, and the others where the limestone was and what it looked like.

Hearing this, the group immediately returned home.

"Father, I will soon be a high-ranking official."

As soon as he arrived home, Dong An found his father, who was supervising the firing of Wine Jars for the Prince's Mansion at the pottery workshop.

"What madness is this? It would be enough if you didn't cause trouble for me, let alone becoming an official." Dong An's father was furious.

The eldest son of his younger brother had been chosen by Liu Fu and was now a County Magistrate.

This caused him to lose all face within the Dong Family.

It was precisely to salvage his prestige within the family that he had personally stepped forward to curry favor with Yan Wang.

Otherwise, in a few more years, the position of Head of the Family would change hands.