Chapter 210: Great Wolf Capital

The room fell completely silent.

After a while, Salisa's tone, rarely so serious, said:

"Caiyang, I'm not an idiot or a blind man, and the elders of Civilization Civilization Vanguard City aren't either.

So when you send more than a thousand troops whose combat power is comparable to the Square Flag Legion or the Honey Drinkers into the city,

no matter what reason you give, it will be deemed an invasion.

The outcome will never be some 'freedom of trade'; it will only be war."

"Then how about a passionate clash with them?"

Seeing that the scale of the True Dragon Kingdom could no longer be hidden, Zhang Gui tentatively asked.

"If you can truly dispatch a force of over ten thousand strong troops, everyone will choose to leave.

The ultimate goal of overseas merchants is to make money, not dignity or rights.

Therefore, no one would be willing to challenge the authority of a powerful Eastern sovereign.

But likewise, no one wants to become a slave earning money for others.

Otherwise they wouldn't have to leave their homeland and come to the lawless, unpowered Outer Wild Ocean.

Also, while Longshou Island's location is indeed very advantageous, it is not irreplaceable.

The question is simply whether it's worth it."

Salisa seemed not to have heard Zhang Gui's question and finished speaking what she wanted on her own.

Zhang Gui understood her meaning,

"I understand, Salisa, so let's stop here.

Next, arrange for me to lease three Alchemy Cargo Ships of about five hundred liào, that is roughly five hundred gross tons…"

"No need to be so troublesome.

Coincidentally, the only sister of the Yuanshan Emperor, known on the grasslands as the 'True Prime Minister' Tiemulundun, is about to celebrate her fiftieth birthday, and many Yuanshan nobles are recruiting handsome men to please this Long Princess who wields great power.

And the owner of the 'Green Honey' salon, Vina Tang Tang'ang, plans to use this opportunity to open the erotic market of the upper society of this vast grassland empire.

So they will take the best 'gentlemen and ladies' at hand and go to Great Wolf Capital.

I can organize a medium-sized caravan with her and set out together."

Zhang Gui was taken aback,

"For you Western merchants, is a business partner really that important?"

"Ordinary ones, of course not.

But a business partner who can easily mobilize tens of thousands of strong troops is different."

Salisa answered very frankly:

"Caiyang, remember, you owe me once.

"Salisa, I owe you more than once," Zhang Gui said with a smile.

"Then stay here, drink coffee, have some snacks.

Leave the rest to me."

Salisa, hearing that, said no more.

She stood up, took a few pieces of dark chocolate from the drawer of her desk, tossed them in front of Zhang Gui, and swaggered away.

In just a day and a half,

this former top female broker of Civilization Civilization Vanguard City gathered a force from the city's third-largest salon, 'Green Honey';

two large-to-medium-sized merchant guilds, or rather companies;

a caravan composed of twelve small merchant guilds, set sail grandly.

heading toward Yuanshan Kingdom…

In mid‑July, the boundless grasslands of Yuanshan Kingdom were a sea of green.

The wind blew the grass low, but in a rainless summer the breeze was fleeting, intermittent.

Herds of cattle and sheep appeared and vanished intermittently, while the melodious shepherd's song constantly floated over the Great Canal.

In the wide river channel, over twenty zhang wide, a thousand boats surged.

On the deck of one Alchemy Armed Merchant Ship exceeding a thousand gross tons,

dressed in Western attire, with his left hand clutching a cigar and a 'Tree Knight Short Sword' from Paladin Bay;

Zhang Gui, with his right hand holding a glass of 'Green Grape Sparkling Wine'—ice‑chilled, made from Fruitful Island in the outer ring of the Chaotic Tooth Archipelago—stood with his legs elegantly crossed, leaning against the rail.

He nodded toward the plump, prosperous shepherd girl on the shore, whose cheeks were flushed red.

instead of sparking a series of hearty laughs.

"Caiyang, you should now be at the Versailles Palace of the Gaul Empire, singing a Sani Tune while flirting with the palace maids.

rather than on the Great Canal of the Yuan Mountain Grasslands, tossing flirtatious glances at a plain shepherdess."

"So that means I no longer resemble an official of the Mingsong Empire bound by Confucian rites, right?"

Zhang Gui asked contentedly.

"Don't worry, Caiyang, you've never seemed like an official who studied the so‑called 'rites'.

No need to worry about such trivialities."

Salisa said helplessly:

"Prepare yourselves; tonight we can reach the dock district of the outer city of Great Wolf Capital.

In Yuanshan Kingdom, 'officials are divided into three classes, civilians into four grades.'

As overseas merchants, our status corresponds to the lowest class of officials, 'Only Walk'.

Therefore, don't be overly humble, or it will arouse unnecessary suspicion and cause trouble.

But don't be deliberately arrogant.

After all, the Great Wolf Capital is the "Emperor's foot" of the Yuanshan People, so there shouldn't be too many nobles.

If we were to provoke it, it would undoubtedly be more troublesome.

"Salisa, as a Westerner, I didn't expect you to even use a term like 'the Emperor's foot'; it really surprised me greatly."

"We also have an Emperor, you know," Salisa said, rubbing the bridge of her brow.

The two were chatting idly when a short‑haired woman with a sturdy, androgynous appearance, looking somewhere between youth and middle age, walked over.

"Mr. Caiyang, Salisa, our destination is near; next…"

"Vina, from now on I will act with the caravan, and Caiyang may act freely."

Salisa interrupted the salon host Qingmi's words.

Then, feeling the attitude was a bit stiff, she smiled and made a small joke,

"I hope he is careful, and doesn't let those prairie nobles who recruit handsome men for the Yuanshan Long Princess cause him trouble."

As a result, the goal was achieved instantly, and even exceeded expectations.

"Hahaha…"

Salisa, you're truly humorous; I have to say this is the best joke I've heard this year.

Beside them, Zhang Gui first laughed a few times, but the more he thought about it, the more something felt off.

But by the time he fully processed it, Vina Tang Tang'ang, who had asked for clarification, had already returned to the cabin.

"This is the woman reputed throughout the Chaos Tooth Archipelago Outer Ring to be the most adept at flattering and pleasing the opposite sex!

Is it me who has gone mad, or is everyone living in the Chaos Tooth Archipelago Outer Ring gone mad!"

"Caiyang, knowing does not mean one can do it, or is willing to do it.

Isn't there a saying in your East, 'There are top disciples without top masters'?"

Moreover, perhaps Vina thinks that deep down you actually like being treated so openly and honestly by the opposite sex.

Zhang Gui was stunned for a while upon hearing that, his expression turning serious.

"Salisa, it's not that my appearance is plain, but that you and Vina have a problem with aesthetics.

Since childhood, Amu has always said I'm one of the few handsome young men in my hometown…"

As they spoke, the ship surged downstream with a swift current, and in the distance a magnificent city surrounded by lakes burst into Zhang Gui's view.

It left him with no desire to continue the joke.

"Salisa, I forgot to ask you, how many branches does the Yuanshan Empire's Great Canal have?"

"I don't know the exact number, but it must be more than ten; otherwise it wouldn't be called the Great Canal."

Salisa said:

"Perhaps your true identity is sufficiently noble, but Caiyang, handling this Yuanshan journey cautiously is indeed the right choice.

It's just that your method has a bit of a problem."

(End of Chapter)