Chapter 549: True Fragrance

Latest website: Jinyin Island.

While Zhao Xu was inspecting Yanguan, the merchants of the Black Shark Trading Firm gathered here.

On the north side of the island, near the side facing Gaoli, Yang He and Zhou Yi ordered the trading firm's merchants to temporarily set up straw sheds.

Goods from Yanzhou were laid out on long tables under the straw sheds, looking just like a marketplace.

At this time, many Gaoli merchants were walking through the market, looking for goods that caught their fancy.

Unable to bear the harassment of the Black Shark Sea Bandits, the Gaoli Imperial Court had no choice but to agree to the conditions of the Black Shark Sea Bandits.

They had recently been ordered by imperial officials to go to Jinyin Island.

However, the imperial officials did not force them to buy the Black Shark Sea Bandits' goods.

It seemed they were only asked to come to go through the motions.

They had come to Jinyin Island with that same mindset.

But when they saw the Black Shark Sea Bandits' goods with their own eyes, they were all dumbfounded.

Even now, bursts of exclamations could still be heard from time to time in the market.

"Ah, I have never in my life drunk such delicious wine; if this were shipped back to Gaoli, the lords of the Imperial Court would surely love it very much."

"This perfume will definitely drive the women of Gaoli crazy."

"The soap is also very good, and this thing called glass is simply extraordinary."

"..."

While the Gaoli merchants were discussing loudly, they scrambled to ask the Black Shark Trading Firm's merchants for prices.

Some merchants even placed orders directly; it was incredibly lively.

"It's just that the variety of goods is still too small," Zhou Yi said while patrolling the market with Yang He.

The goods that drove the Gaoli merchants crazy were the few items that were very popular in Da Song.

Other ordinary goods from Da Song did not seem to have much appeal to the Gaoli merchants.

Yang He nodded,

not denying this point.

They had occupied the Gaoli market and needed to increase the variety of goods to boost profits.

Afterwards, they would use the substantial profits to purchase Gaoli goods.

Such as grain, minerals, timber, and so on.

In this way, even if Yanzhou's trade within Da Song was affected,

they would still be able to obtain necessary supplies from Gaoli.

"Don't worry about this; the Steam Engine that His Highness and Wang Chong recently developed is very powerful. His Highness said that Yanzhou will soon be able to manufacture more goods," Yang He said, his eyes full of anticipation.

After a pause, he said: "And our Black Shark Trading Firm only needs to sell the goods to every corner of the world."

Frequently attending lectures at the Government Academy, Yang He, like other officials of the Government Office, had learned about the world outside Da Song through Yan Wang.

The word "world" was also mastered from that time.

As a naval commander, Zhou Yi naturally understood this word better than Yang He, and he could not help but yearn for it.

Although his fleet was still only active in the waters near Yanzhou,

his heart was already galloping across the vast ocean.

"With His Highness's grand ambitions, this day will come," Zhou Yi said with a determined expression.

Chatting along the way, the two arrived at the beach.

At this moment, it was bustling with activity; some craftsmen were driving wooden piles into the shallow water, as this was to build a pier.

Besides this, there were craftsmen building a fort.

And at a distance of five li from the coast, more craftsmen were building barracks.

This place was to become a transit base for the navy at sea.

Looking at everything before them, Yang He and Zhou Yi both felt some emotion.

Thinking back to the beginning, a single Zhang Family in Yan Commandery had given the Prince's Mansion a headache.

Now, they were actually able to occupy an island and force Gaoli to trade with Yanzhou.

"Zhou Yi, I'll leave this place to you. When I return to Yanzhou, I will find a way to pester His Highness to spare some effort to develop new goods," Yang He said as he walked toward a merchant ship by the sea.

They had a clear division of labor; Zhou Yi's Black Shark Sea Bandits were the muscle, and he was the one who opened up the market.

Zhou Yi nodded and cupped his hands toward Yang He.

Before long, Yang He's ship slowly departed.

Zhou Yi watched for a while, then his gaze shifted to the three departing Gaoli merchant ships.

These merchant ships were fully loaded with goods purchased from the island.

He believed that once these goods arrived in Gaoli, they would surely cause a sensation.

One day later, these three merchant ships arrived at Nanpu Wharf.

After being destroyed by the Black Shark Sea Bandits, many craftsmen had come here to rebuild it.

However, the merchant ships did not stay at the pier for long before heading straight along the Nanpu River to the Gaoli royal capital, Rang City.

When crates of Fine Wine in Glass Bottles and perfume were unloaded from the merchant ships, it immediately caused a sensation.

Amidst the envious gazes of the crowd, the owner of the three merchant ships, Yin Zhengqi, ordered his servants to carry a crate of Fine Wine and a crate of perfume straight to the mansion of the Left State Councilor, Yin Boming.

He was a distant relative of Yin Boming and relied on Yin Boming's connections to operate several shops in Rang City.

Originally, Yin Boming had sent him to Jinyin Island to deal with the Black Shark Sea Bandits.

He had not expected that Jinyin Island would truly be a "Jinyin Island," allowing him to buy such astonishing goods.

"My Lord, these are the goods of the Black Shark Sea Bandits; they are simply works of exquisite craftsmanship. If not for your patronage, My Lord, I would never have had the chance to see these," Yin Zhengqi said, having his servants open the crates in front of Yin Boming.

When Yin Boming heard about the goods from the Black Shark Sea Bandits, he was somewhat dismissive, but when the contents of the chests were fully revealed, he was instantly stunned.

Yin Zhengqi took out a bottle of Wine, poured a glass for Yin Boming, and brought it before him, "My lord, this Wine is not only beautiful to look at, its taste is also the best in the world."

"Is that so?" Although Yin Boming said this, he smelled the rich aroma of the Wine and could not help but take a sip.

In an instant, his gaze went blank for a moment, followed by a sound of exclamation, "Tsk."

Looking at the Wine in the chest, his eyes shone with brilliance, "Truly a good thing; if the Black Shark Sea Bandits had brought these things out earlier, why would there have been a need to fight this battle?"

Having said that, he and Yin Zhengqi laughed heartily.

Immediately after, Yin Zhengqi introduced items such as Perfume, Soap, and mirrors, which drew a series of shrieks and screams from Yin Boming's wife and concubines.

The residence was in an uproar for a while because of these novel goods.

Yin Boming suddenly remembered something and slapped his forehead, "Quick, quick, take these things and come with me to see the King."

Yin Zhengqi understood and immediately ordered servants to carry the many goods toward the royal palace.

The next day.

Some rumors spread from the mouths of palace maids to every corner of Rang City.

Yin Boming presented immortal nectar, and the King drank until he was dead drunk.

The Imperial Concubines in the palace fought incessantly over items like Perfume and mirrors, so excited they did not sleep all night.

All these things became known to everyone in Rang City.

Soon, news came that these were all commercial goods that merchants had bought from Jinyin Island.

The nobles of Rang City immediately thought of the Merchant Ship that had arrived in Rang City yesterday.

They naturally also wanted to possess the goods that had made the King and the Imperial Concubines in the palace unable to restrain themselves.

And more merchants smelled business opportunities; they one after another chartered Merchant Ships to head to Jinyin Island.

For a time, Jinyin Island became exceptionally bustling and lively, with frequent trade exchanges.

……

Yanzhou.

Zhao Xu stayed at Yanguan for two days before returning to Yancheng.

On the second day after he arrived, Yang He also returned and reported the situation on Jinyin Island to him.

A few days later, news of the hot trade on Jinyin Island was brought back by the merchants of the Black Shark Trading Firm.

Zhao Xu and Yang He both breathed a sigh of relief.

In fact, this was all within their expectations.

The Song People could not refuse the goods from Yanzhou, and the Gaoli people could not refuse them either.

"The trade on Jinyin Island is secure; next, it is time to focus on dealing with the Northern Di." In the study, Zhao Xu looked at the map of the Ningjin Dusi and clenched his fist.

The Northern Di, this poisonous snake, lay on the north side of Yanzhou, truly making it difficult for him to sleep peacefully.

The next two months or so.

Zhao Xu continued to have Liu Fu and Chang Wei create the illusion of a plague.

At the same time, they dug pits to bury corpses, making it appear that the people of Yanzhou were dying heavily due to the plague.

Time unknowingly passed from the third month to the sixth month of the twenty-fourth year of Taihe.

On the twelfth day of the sixth month, Xu Ke sent intelligence regarding unusual movements by the Northern Di.