Chapter 22: Counterbalance

The explosive popularity before her eyes was something Zheng Yue Ru had absolutely not anticipated.

From the moment it officially opened at dusk, Fengming Tower had been packed to capacity, overflowing with people. Wave after wave, this was simply phenomenal in the barren Yinzhou.

"Fine couplets, fine poetry, fine wine!"

Even the seventy or eighty-year-old Huang Lao was lingering today, forgetting when to return home.

With the grand reopening today, all of Liu Zheng's promotional methods had come into play. One was the allure of the couplets; countless people wanted to rely on them to ascend to the second, third, or even fourth floor, yet no one managed to get up there all night. Finally, Chen Xiang, unable to swallow his anger, drank a few cups of Zui Yinzhou and furiously smashed down three hundred taels just to barely make it to the second floor, Shuimo Xuan, all to enjoy the thrill of looking down from above!

Now, Young Master Wang was unhappy.

You want to look down from above?

"To the summit I shall climb, to view all mountains as small!"

This was the poem and couplet Liu Zheng had paired with Wangshu Terrace.

I want to view all mountains as small too!

One thousand taels to go to the third floor!

While things were very lively over there, it was even more so at Fengming Pavilion. Although there were many penniless scholars here, there were also no shortage of scholars from middle-class families.

The topic at Fengming Pavilion today was "Yinzhou Policy Discussion"!

It sounded grand, but in reality, the content encompassed many aspects. They were debating how Yinzhou should develop, how to change its barren and backward appearance, what heavy mission the emergence of the County Marquis Mansion shouldered, and from which aspects they should start first?

Of course.

This topic was definitely brought up by Liu Zheng.

Therefore, tonight, he held a pot of wine, ordered a plate of peanuts, and sat to the side, drinking while listening.

Regarding this viewpoint, the literati naturally all had their own opinions.

This also allowed Liu Zheng to understand the ideological trends of these intellectuals in Yinzhou. This was still very important for a territory.

After observing for a moment, he already had a conclusion.

Generally speaking, the literati in Yinzhou now could be divided into three factions. The first was the Conservative Faction; they felt that the reappearance of the County Marquis Mansion was of little significance to Yinzhou. After all, people in this era relied on the mountains if they lived by the mountains and on the water if they lived by the water, and the barrenness of Yinzhou had not changed for many years. They hoped more that the existing Four Great Noble Families could bring more changes to Yinzhou in terms of commerce. Therefore, they were more supportive of maintaining the status quo, with the Four Great Noble Families leading the development of Yinzhou.

The second type was the Radical Faction. This was mainly composed of a group of poor scholars represented by that penniless scholar Shen Xing. Shen Xing believed that the County Marquis Mansion would inevitably bring something different to Yinzhou. The Four Great Noble Families had controlled Yinzhou for too long, yet Yinzhou remained exhausted and impoverished; if the system was not changed, Yinzhou would not be cured.

The third type was the Neutral Faction, which naturally goes without saying.

In reality, this was the difference between those with vested interests and those seeking reform. Liu Zheng had studied The Prince quite thoroughly; if he wanted to gain a foothold in Yinzhou, there were two points: stabilize those with vested interests and win over the reformers. Therefore, he first had to understand who was craving reform.

He had also considered his attitude toward the Four Great Noble Families.

Killing them blindly was definitely not the way.

Then, the most important thing was balance!

This was also the reason why he chose to cooperate with the Zheng Family. Using barbarians to control barbarians had always been the smartest choice.

"Those young masters over there are arguing about 'viewing all mountains as small'; I see that although Brother Liu is sitting on the first floor right now, you possess a bit of that aloofness!"

Just then, Zheng Yue Ru, whose face was flushed red from drinking, walked over holding a wine cup and said with a smile.

"Is Miss Zheng reassured now?"

Liu Zheng laughed heartily and gave up the seat next to him. At this moment, Shen Xing over there was arguing until his face was red with some members of the Conservative Faction, and he found it quite interesting to listen to.

Zheng Yue Ru smiled nonchalantly: "Brother Liu has great talent; from now on, I will absolutely not doubt you again!"

"I came over because..."

She wanted to speak, but Liu Zheng raised his wine cup and chuckled: "Let's just drink a large cup first, and talk about other things later?"

Zheng Yue Ru felt a bitter smile in her heart and could only nod.

In fact, Liu Zheng knew what she wanted to talk about when she came over; it was nothing more than the Sales Right for "Zui Yinzhou"! Today, as long as one wasn't a fool, they would see the huge business opportunity in "Zui Yinzhou". How could a large firm like the Zheng Family not be interested?

Zheng Yue Ru naturally wanted to firmly grasp "Zui Yinzhou" in her hands at the first opportunity.

However, Liu Zheng was not in a hurry.

Of course, it was definitely unrealistic for him to sell "Zui Yinzhou" by himself. This was why he still had to play along with these noble families, because he needed their sales network! For example, the Zheng Family's horse caravans operated throughout the Longyang Dynasty; this was a strength not possessed by ordinary people.

And this did not affect him waiting for a better price.

So no matter how Zheng Yue Ru steered the topic to "Zui Yinzhou", Liu Zheng would just chuckle and avoid talking about it.

Enough about this side.

Of course, there were also those drinking contests over there.

Liu Zheng had prepared three carts of "Zui Yinzhou" today, a full thousand catties! He didn't expect that it would be bottoming out tonight!

With these horizontal and vertical promotional methods, Fengming Tower was simply exceptionally lively.

"Zheng, Zheng, we've made a fortune this time!"

When they returned to the County Marquis Mansion, it was already early morning, but Liu Dahao had not yet slept.

"Oh?"

Liu Zheng chuckled, watching his old man calculating accounts in the accounting room; the excitement was beyond words.

"It's already settled?"

Liu Zheng asked in surprise.

Liu Dahao chuckled: "You have to say that the Zheng Family is still quite decent! We give Fengming Tower ten taels of silver per catty of Zui Yinzhou, and the eldest Miss Zheng said that every time the goods are delivered, they pay on the spot!"

Liu Zheng nodded.

This Zheng Yue Ru was really going all out to compete for the Sales Right of this fine wine. Not to mention that Zui Yinzhou was accounted for separately, the profits also had to be split fifty-fifty with him.

"This is... ten thousand taels?"

Liu Zheng took a deep breath.

Liu Dahao was also very proud of his son; one had to know that in all his years in the business world, as the former richest man in Liangzhou, he had never seen anyone who could make money like this...

The cost of those one thousand catties of Zui Yinzhou was only five hundred taels!

What kind of profit was this?

"You didn't promise her anything, did you?"

Liu Zheng was also very happy.

With these ten thousand taels, he could do many things! Suddenly, he looked at Liu Dahao and asked.

Liu Dahao gave a start: "Zheng, your old man isn't stupid. How could I easily promise something like Drunken Yinzhou to her Zheng Family?"

Only then did Liu Zheng remember that his old man was also a cunning merchant.

The two looked at each other and laughed heartily.

The next day.

Sure enough, before Liu Zheng had even gotten out of bed, someone had come to visit.

"Who is it?"

Hearing that the courtyard nearby was quite lively, Liu Zheng got up with the help of a maid; although he was still quite unaccustomed to being served by a young girl like this, he really didn't know how to put on these ancient clothes.

"Young Master, the master of the Chen Family is here!"

The maid replied.

"Oh?"

Liu Zheng didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

These people's movements were quite fast.

"Oh yes, the master of the Chen Family sent a generous gift. I've never seen the master of the Chen Family be so polite to anyone before!" The maid covered her mouth and giggled.

Arriving at the reception hall, sure enough, the old man in brocade robes was none other than Chen Kui, who had been the most clamorous at the gate the first day they arrived in Yinzhou. At this moment, he was sitting below, chatting with Liu Dahao with a fawning smile. Seeing Liu Zheng arrive, he immediately stood up and beamed: "Young Master of the Liu Family, your reputation is widespread!"

"Now the whole of Liangzhou is spreading a saying: 'If one is to have a son, he should be like the son of the Liu Family!'"

"Alas, pity my few good-for-nothing children in the Chen Family."

Chen Kui showered him with praise, making Liu Zheng almost blush.

It turns out that when these ancient people get hypocritical, it is also quite terrifying.

This Chen Kui was also a slick person, asking about their well-being in every way, asking if the County Marquis Mansion lacked anything and saying the Chen Family could help. Throughout the conversation, he stubbornly didn't mention the matter of wanting the Sales Right for "Drunken Yinzhou," and only then said that when the day came for the County Marquis Mansion to be rebuilt, he would certainly come to show his support, and so on, before taking his leave.

Old fox!

As soon as Chen Kui left, Liu Zheng and Liu Dahao cursed at the same time.

Then, unexpectedly, just as Chen Kui left, people from the Wang Family also came, followed closely by the Cao Family. The three families acted almost identically: they all brought gifts, asked about their well-being, urged the County Marquis Mansion to open its doors soon, promised they would provide all kinds of full support, didn't say a single word about "Drunken Yinzhou," and then took their leave.

After these three families had come in turn, Liu Zheng's expression slowly darkened, and with a bang, he slapped the table hard.

This gave Liu Dahao a fright, and he jumped up: "Zheng, why is this?"

Liu Zheng rolled his eyes at him: "Father, didn't you hear? These three families actually dare to threaten us!"

Liu Dahao gave a start, only then realizing the deep meaning behind it. The three families didn't mention "Drunken Yinzhou" at all, but kept talking about the opening of the County Marquis Mansion; it was clearly implying something!

The threat was already very obvious!

The three families came here today, first to persuade this County Marquis to stay, because then they would have the opportunity to snatch the Sales Right for "Drunken Yinzhou," and the other purpose was to threaten them!

If you don't give us the Sales Right.

Then, the day the mansion opens will be the time we make you look bad!

It also showed from another aspect that even if the County Marquis stayed in Yinzhou, it would still be very easy for them to manipulate them!

"This..."

Liu Dahao was so angry he was trembling all over: "Too much, this is bullying us too far!"

A flash of sharp light also appeared in Liu Zheng's eyes, and he asked: "How is the training of the Garrison going?"

Liu Dahao immediately took Liu Zheng to the place where the County Marquis Garrison trained. In these few days, Liu Dahao had already recruited three hundred able-bodied young men and handed them over to Qin Zhangfeng for training.

But after all, the time was very short, and they could not yet form combat effectiveness.

In this land of Yinzhou, the folk customs were fierce; each of the Four Great Noble Families had two thousand elite soldiers and thousands of War Horses! How could three hundred shake them?

It was no wonder they dared to come to the door to threaten them today.

"Zheng, what should we do?"

Liu Dahao was full of worry.

Who would have thought that he just wanted to be a County Marquis, and what followed were all crises?

Liu Zheng said coldly: "Notify the Four Great Noble Families that three days from now, each shall send one representative to come to the County Marquis Mansion to discuss the matter of Drunken Yinzhou!"

Liu Dahao's expression changed drastically: "Zheng, don't burn your bridges. If you are impulsive, the two of us father and son will be finished here!"

Liu Zheng rolled his eyes.

Was he that stupid?

It was just that in the current situation, he could only consider winning through strategy.