Chapter 451

Chen Dynasty, a separate villa.

The atmosphere of the guardians' meeting, having grown somewhat solemn after the appearance of Yelü Zongzhen of the northern borders, Zhang Cheng timely raised a new topic.

My lord, everyone.

Zhang Cheng cleared his throat and spread a neatly organized document on the desk.

On the False Song side, the Iron Crow Army's 'Yinying' remains active, tightly monitoring the civil bureaucracy and technological fields.

The technological seeds we previously scattered, though slowly growing at the grassroots, are unlikely to form a major trend in the short term.

Moreover, due to the 'Heavenly Book' affair, the atmosphere in the False Song court has become restless, not a good opportunity for us to guide.

He shifted his tone, his gaze sweeping over everyone.

However, the False Song's territory is vast and populous; its economic lifelines, like the body's blood vessels, spread throughout.

The Iron Crow Army can monitor officials' words and deeds, restrict the spread of technology, but could it possibly minutely control every thread of copper coin and every bolt of silk?

Wang Ru, lost in thought:

Chancellor Zhang means……shifting to the economic level?

Exactly.

Zhang Cheng nodded, tapping his finger on the document.

The False Song has long enjoyed peace and prosperity, its commerce naturally flourishing.

Its Jiangnan region is even more a land of fish and rice, with silk, tea, porcelain, and salt abundant, also being a major source of tax revenue.

We could start here, conducting some……minor probes.

Shi Dun frowned:

The way of economics is illusory and real; how to begin? Could we send merchant caravans to compete for profit with them?

Qian Gui's eyes, however, lit up slightly:

Not directly competing for profit.

What Chancellor Zhang meant should be infiltration and influence.

Through commercial activity, subtly disturbing their market, understanding its operational rules, seeking its weak points.

Zhao Lao Nian scratched his head:

This roundabout talk sounds more brain‑taxing than forging iron.

Chen Wen had been listening silently; now he spoke:

Zhang Cheng, elaborate on your idea.

Yes, my lord.

Zhang Cheng organized his thoughts.

I suggest that the South Wind Chronicle, using its preliminary commercial network and accumulated funds in the False Song's Jiangnan region, select one or two key commodities to carry out small‑scale, dispersed purchasing and storage.

For example, raw silk; for example, porcelain.

The actions must be minute, dispersed across different prefectures and counties, carried out at different times, each purchase volume kept within the normal market fluctuation range locally, absolutely not drawing attention.

The purpose is not to hoard for profit, but rather……

He paused.

It is to understand the supply chain's direction like water droplets seeping into sand, to sense its price sensitivity, and even……to subtly affect local supply, demand, and prices without anyone noticing.

This is an initial trial of economic infiltration, meant to cast a stone to test the waters and accumulate experience.

Chen Wen pondered for a moment.

This method is feasible.

The scale must be strictly controlled; better ineffective than exposed.

What we need is understanding, not immediate destruction.

Let the South Wind Chronicle be the stone that tests the path.

I obey your order!

Zhang Cheng solemnly accepted.

False Song, Suzhou, Wujiang County.

The canal runs through the city, bringing northern and southern goods and travelers, also nourishing its prosperity.

The manager of the South Wind Chronicle's Suzhou branch, Zhou An, is a middle‑aged man with a prosperous appearance and a welcoming smile.

On the surface he runs a general store of southern and northern goods, his business neither big nor small, he is smooth‑handed, an inconspicuous figure in the county's merchant circle.

That day, he received an order from the headquarters, transmitted via a secret channel.

The order required him, over the next three months, in Suzhou, Xiuzhou, Huzhou and nearby areas, to covertly purchase in batches, small quantities, high‑grade raw silk and celadon porcelain from specific kilns.

The purchase price was to be slightly above market price by half to one tenth, but each purchase amount must not exceed one tenth of the local normal monthly circulation.

The order especially emphasized at the end: the actions must be natural, like spring rain moistening things, causing no ripples.

Zhou An read it carefully, then burned the order in the candle flame, watching it turn to ash.

He narrowed his eyes, his fingers unconsciously tapping the tabletop, his mind racing with calculations.

Raw silk……porcelain……

He muttered to himself.

They are in demand, but Jiangnan's output is also large; purchasing small amounts is not difficult.

Being slightly above market price will better attract small‑scale sellers, without drawing the notice of the big silk firms and porcelain merchants.

What does the headquarters intend by this……?

Although he did not grasp the deeper intention, as a long‑buried covert agent he knew the importance of obedience.

Soon, Zhou An set into action.

He did not make a show of it; instead, through a few trusted aides under him, he had them pose as ordinary merchants from different places and sent them separately to the silk and porcelain production areas of Wu River, Black City, and Return Peace, among others.

At the market, in the brokerages, and while chatting casually with familiar workshop owners, they would seemingly offhandedly express their purchasing intent.

"The ladies of my household wish to weave a few bolts of fine silk; they need some top-quality lake silk, and the price is negotiable."

"Our longtime customers in the north favor this kiln's porcelain; if there are any fine pieces, we are willing to pay a premium to acquire some."

The transactions were scattered, the amounts small, mixed into the daily massive flow of goods, like tributaries merging into a river, without causing even a ripple of abnormality.

Occasionally, due to the injection of these several tiny demands, the silk price in a certain small town will, for a day or two, be slightly firmer than that of neighboring towns;

At a certain kiln, the porcelain, having been bought off at a premium in small quantities of fine pieces, would make the kiln owner secretly pleased, yet he would not think much of it.

The branches of the South Wind Chronicle set up in various places would silently gather these scatteredly purchased goods and quietly concentrate them in a few remote, inconspicuous warehouses for storage.

The whole process was slow, covert, and……tedious.

There was nothing exciting, only day-after-day of trivial transactions and account records.

One month later, the preliminary aggregated data was sent to Chen Chao's separate estate.

Zhang Cheng reported to Chen Wen:

"Your Majesty, the South Wind Chronicle's initial month of probing is complete."

"In the regions of Su, Xiu, and Hu prefectures, we have scatteredly purchased raw silk totaling about 150 dan, and various porcelain items about 400 pieces."

"The funds expended accounted for less than half of the circulating capital in the Jiangnan region, attracting no notice from officials or major merchants."

"From feedback across the regions, the False Song's Jiangnan products are indeed abundant, private capital active, but its commodity circulation relies mostly on traditional brokerages and merchant guilds, with many layers, and efficiency……is actually low."

"Our 'breaking the whole into parts' purchasing approach conveniently bypasses the middlemen, directly connecting with small producers, thereby allowing us to notice some details that large firms might overlook."

"Oh? What details?"

Chen Wen asked.

"For example, the subtle relationship between the quality differences of raw silk and their places of origin;"

"the instability in the firing of small-kiln porcelain and its effect on price;"

"and also, the elasticity with which local officials levy market taxes, as well as certain local unwritten rules."

Zhang Cheng replied.

"These pieces of information may seem trivial, but when pieced together they can more clearly outline the true context of the False Song's grassroots economy."

Chen Wen gave a slight nod.

"Good."

"This is exactly what we want—understanding its operating rules."

"Continue onward, maintain patience, maintain concealment."

"We must attach ourselves like leeches, silently and soundlessly, first to understand the flow of its lifeblood, rather than rush to suck blood."

"Yes."

Zhang Cheng responded, then immediately added.

Qian Gui's side also confirmed that the Iron Crow Army's shadow attention remains focused on officials' mansions and the Ministry of Works offices nearby, showing no special interest in our South Wind Chronicle-type 'ordinary businesses'.

Chen Wen walked to the window and gazed southward.

"The way of economics, though formless, is powerful."

"The Iron Crow Army can tamper with memories, can plant doubles, can push the 'Heavenly Book'."

"But can they precisely control the flow of every copper coin? Can they completely eliminate spontaneous market fluctuations?"

"This, perhaps, is the gap we can exploit."

He seemed to see, beneath the seemingly prosperous and stable economic body of the False Song, countless tiny tendrils of the South Wind Chronicle, like mycelium, slowly and tenaciously extending and exploring.

They are still weak and scattered now.

But their very existence signifies a new means of intervention.

A more grassroots, less detectable infiltration.

This silent economic plot has no flashing blades or swords, no courtroom clashes.

Yet in the faint click of abacus beads and the subtle sound of silver changing hands, it quietly inaugurates a new, more protracted contest.