Chapter 612: Unusual Movements

Yancheng.

Within a month, apart from the officials heading to Yunzhou who were still on the road, the other officials had returned one after another.

First was Qi, then the Xie Family, then Southern Liang, and finally Wu.

After these four parties all agreed to the matter, Zhao Xu's extortion was basically a success.

As for whether the Fan Family agreed in the end, it no longer mattered to the overall situation; after all, the Fan Family was too far away, and it would likely take a year or more just to travel from south to north.

It would not have much impact on trade.

And as everyone lifted the restrictions on trade, Yanzhou City became even more bustling than usual.

Yang He's bitter face also turned into a smiling one.

"Your Highness, this method of using the plague to extort them is truly brilliant. From now on, unless they find a way to resist smallpox, even if we beat them until they are bruised and bleeding, they will still have to hold their noses and trade with us."

Yan Commandery Trading Firm.

At this moment inside the trading firm, merchants were gathered in crowds, packed so tightly there was no room to move, while Yang He was spitting as he talked, gesturing wildly.

Emerging from the trading firm, Zhao Xu gazed at the sparkling Golden Scale Pond, feeling relaxed.

Trade in Yanzhou was gradually recovering, which put his mind at ease.

Otherwise, Yanzhou's industrial progress would truly be affected; after all, no one could support a pile of money-losing Workshops.

Especially since Yanzhou was at a critical moment in its first Industrial Revolution.

He was very fortunate that the powerful clans did not understand the importance of the Industrial Revolution at all; otherwise, even if it meant death, they likely would not have allowed Yanzhou to successfully cross the threshold of the Industrial Revolution.

"Taking advantage of the recovery in trade, hurry and sell off the backlogged goods," Zhao Xu said to Yang He, having thought of something.

Fortunately, the goods they sold, such as Wine, Perfume, Soap, and Glass, would not spoil for a year or two.

Otherwise, they would have suffered heavy losses.

"Your Highness, there is no need for you to say it; even if I don't sleep or eat, I will sell off the stockpiled items and exchange them for Silver and raw materials."

"Mm, I can only let you work hard, work hard during this period," Zhao Xu said while looking toward the direction of Chengde Workshop.

There, several white columns of smoke were rising into the sky, which was precisely the smoke emitted from the Steam Engine chimneys.

"Besides the previous goods, it seems we can also sell commercial goods like cotton yarn and cloth," Zhao Xu reminded him again.

"Of course, this subordinate has kept it in mind. Our cloth is of good quality and low cost; as long as we take it out to sell, we will definitely be able to quickly occupy the local market," Yang He said with immense pride.

Zhao Xu nodded; maintaining trade exchanges in troubled times could only be described as extremely difficult.

Taking advantage of this period, one must of course earn the maximum profit while trade was recovering.

And the way to obtain this profit was, on one hand, to sell off the stockpiled goods, and on the other, to increase the variety of commercial goods—that is, to create demand.

Moreover, Yanzhou's goods previously targeted the noble class of Dasong.

Now, cotton yarn and cloth were targeted at all classes.

Although the profit margin was thin, it was valuable for its high volume.

It could likewise bring in substantial profits.

However, he had not abandoned the high-end market.

Steam Engines, Lathes, precise Vernier Calipers, and Glass that could be used to manufacture magnifying lenses.

These conditions allowed the Workshop craftsmen to master a certain level of precision manufacturing.

In his view, they were currently capable of manufacturing two types of timekeeping machines.

These were pendulum clocks and Pocket Watches.

In the contemporary 16th or 17th century, pendulum clocks had already been developed.

It could be said that as long as one mastered the craft of manufacturing Flintlocks, one could manufacture pendulum clocks.

Because the key structure in a pendulum clock, the mainspring, used Spring Steel, and this type of steel was first used for Flintlocks.

However, pendulum clocks were merely household decorations, while the Pocket Watch—a small and easily portable machine—could be called an absolute luxury item until the 20th century.

This type of machine also appeared around the 16th or 17th century, but due to the craftsmanship, the earliest Pocket Watches were quite large and were called pocket clocks.

Later, as the craftsmanship became more and more refined, the size of Pocket Watches became smaller and smaller, eventually becoming the style people see today.

Thinking of this, he returned to the Prince's Mansion and drew the design blueprints for the pendulum clock and Pocket Watch, as well as the dimensions and styles of the parts.

Over these past few years, as he drew more and more, his ability to draw had become stronger, making him look more like a professional.

Moreover, he had recently been using pencils to draw.

The principle of a pencil was very simple: one only needed to grind graphite into powder, stir and heat it until it solidified into the shape of a pen, then find a wooden rod, drill a hole, and insert the lead core.

Therefore, the appearance of the pencil, like chalk, did not cause any Bolan.

It merely made it more convenient for the students in the school to draw and study.

After finishing the drawings for the pendulum clock and Pocket Watch, Zhao Xu had them sent to the Workshop.

He did not intend to hand the manufacturing of these two machines to Wang Chong and the others.

Instead, he prepared to hand them directly to the old craftsmen of the Workshop to manufacture.

The machines Wang Chong and the others were responsible for concerned industrial development; this small matter was enough to leave to the craftsmen.

Moreover, Zhao Xu had great confidence in the craftsmen under his command; he had always believed that the craftsmen of Dongtu would not lose to the craftsmen of the Western Lands.

The reason they had not built things like Pocket Watches was not that they could not do it, but that they had not received the correct guidance.

The blueprints had just been sent away.

At this moment, Xu Ke walked in hurriedly with a serious expression.

"Your Highness, there has been a change in Qi," Xu Ke said.

Zhao Xu's brow furrowed; he had been keeping an eye on Qi and Dongying during this period.

He had also learned that Dongying had sold a batch of Flintlocks to Qi.

Regarding this, he had scolded Zhou Yi, blaming him for not stopping this matter.

However, he was also clear that Zhou Yi's military strength was truly stretched thin; they were not afraid to gather together to fight a war.

But they found it very troublesome to play Sparrow Tactics against Dongying and the Han Family.

Throughout the entire sea area, on many shipping routes, there were their Merchant Ships and warships; twelve Warships simply could not keep up with the work.

However, it was not as if they had no gains at all.

During this period, they had captured several ships of Potato.

He had already ordered Zhou Yi to transport these Potato to Yancheng, and was preparing to have the agricultural officials of the Ministry of Agriculture cultivate Potato seedlings.

The newly captured Ningjin Dusi was actually very suitable for planting Potato; after all, Potato prefers cold and dislikes heat.

In hot places, Potato will grow smaller year by year, while cold places can slow down this trend.

"What unusual movement?" Zhao Xu asked.

Xu Ke said in a deep voice: "A Qi army composed of one thousand men has snuck into the territory of Yanzhou; it is estimated they will be able to enter Yanzhou in a day or two."

Zhao Xu shook his head, "I thought it was some big deal; this many troops aren't even enough to fill the gaps in the teeth of the Prince's Mansion's thousands of troops."

Xu Ke said: "Your Highness, if it were that simple, this subordinate would not have come over so hurriedly; our men discovered that among this army, there are quite a few soldiers speaking the Dongying language."

"Is that so?" A fierce glint flashed in Zhao Xu's eyes; in an instant, he realized the purpose of this army.

Dongying was preparing to test his strength.