Chapter 645

First Volume, Chapter 645: Luring the Gentleman into the Trap!

"Brother Zhao, do you think you're ridiculous?"

"Heh, from the fact that you only care about commerce itself, you're not a proper merchant."

"A true merchant must have broad vision—surveying all of Heaven is what matters."

Zhao Li felt he had already secured victory, and couldn't help raising an eyebrow.

"Surveying all of Heaven? Then tell me, exactly how do you survey all of Heaven?"

Qin Feng wasn't in a hurry to answer.

First, he had Qin Xiaofu collect all the silver on the table.

Exactly one hundred and twenty thousand taels of silver.

Then he pointed at Zhao Zan and smiled warmly at Zhao Li: "Your brother is yours."

Zhao Li froze, surprised Qin Feng had surrendered so easily.

This guy, why is he acting so unpredictably?

But…

There was nothing to fear!

The initiative in Yanshou County was firmly in Zhao Li's hands.

Qin Feng must know he has no chance of winning, so he's offering goodwill.

It must be this way!

Zhao Zan, as if granted amnesty, scrambled to his feet and hurried behind Zhao Li.

"Big brother, thank goodness you came."

"Only you can control Qin Feng!"

For the first time in his life, Zhao Zan truly admired Zhao Li.

Zhao Li snorted, ignoring the useless brother, and fixed his gaze on Qin Feng.

"The famed Young Master Qin of Heaven has surrendered so easily? Heh heh—he truly is less than what the rumors say!"

"Still, I must admit, I admire Young Master Qin."

"Shi Shi Zhe Wei Junjie."

"Cutting losses decisively, refusing to throw more money into a bottomless pit—this decisiveness is indeed a merchant's virtue."

Qin Feng let Zhao Li's triumph roll off him, showing no anger.

Because in Qin Feng's mind, Zhao Li was already a corpse.

Especially since Qin Feng arrived in Yanshou County and Zhao Li immediately began hoarding grain, Zhao Li's defeat was sealed.

"Surrender? Sorry, my dictionary has no such word."

"As for merchant's virtue—you have no right to teach me how to do business."

Qin Feng's gaze fell on the chest of money before him.

"There are one hundred thousand taels of White Silver inside, plus those jewels—totaling one hundred and twenty thousand taels."

"Brother Zhao, do you know how much grain this one hundred and twenty thousand taels can buy?"

What kind of question is this?

Even a small merchant could calculate it instantly.

To Zhao Li, Qin Feng had clearly lost his mind.

If so, let's see what tricks this fellow can still pull!

Zhao Li's face beamed with triumph, blurting out:

"Four million shi!"

Qin Feng nodded: "You're calculating at normal market price."

"But in Yanshou County, how much could you buy?"

Zhao Li pondered, silently calculating.

"Between five and six million shi."

Qin Feng raised an eyebrow: "Exactly how much?"

Zhao Li felt a surge of impatience.

But to make Qin Feng submit, he didn't mind expending a little effort.

Instantly, he mentally clacked his abacus.

After a moment, he replied coldly: "Round it—five million seven hundred thousand shi."

Due to low productivity in this era, yield per mu was barely two shi.

A typical three-person household consumed about twenty to thirty shi of grain per year.

Taking the midpoint: twenty-five shi.

This one hundred and twenty thousand taels of silver could buy the annual rations of over two hundred Battalion Commander.

In other words, Zhao Li traded twelve thousand taels of silver to save Zhao Zan's life.

One man's life—equivalent to the lives of two hundred thousand Common People.

The lives of the Common People were worth less than grass.

Qin Feng took a deep breath, suppressing the rising fury in his heart.

He continued: "What if you bought Military Rations instead? How much could you get?"

Hearing the words "Military Rations," Zhao Li felt a creeping unease.

Still, he forced himself to answer grimly.

"Double the grain price of Yanshou County."

Qin Feng nodded, and said lightly: "That would be eleven million, forty thousand shi."

Zhao Li grew more cautious and quickly added a word.

"Military rations cannot be calculated entirely by grain price."

"Although the Great Liang Code already has a set standard for military ration pricing."

"But if it's transported from the place of production to the military camp, especially a border military camp."

"Accounting for various losses along the way, it costs at least fifty wen per shi."

Of course Qin Feng understood this point. If it weren't for the excessively high losses of military rations, the Great Liang Code wouldn't have explicitly stipulated restrictions on the price of military rations.

Otherwise, every time a war was fought, the military rations alone could empty the National Treasury.

"Brother Zhao, as for the cost of transporting grain and losses along the way, you need not trouble yourself."

Something was off about those words!

The smile vanished from Zhao Li's face, and he suddenly grew stern.

"Qin Feng, what do you mean by that?"

"Your marquis title of a Ten-Battalion Commander Marquis has long been stripped by the Sage. You are now nothing but a commoner."

"You're a commoner—what business is it of yours to worry about military rations?"

Lin Ziyi was also baffled, unable to understand what military rations had to do with Yanshou County.

Qin Feng shrugged, his face the picture of matter-of-course.

"I'm a commoner, true, but the one beside me is not."

Ning Hu, who had been standing to the side in silence, glared.

"What, my title of Thousand-Household Marquis doesn't carry any weight?"

"Or is it that I, as the Vice General of Beixi County, cannot keep you in line?"

Zhao Li's heart skipped a beat.

Only at this moment did he suddenly realize.

Although Qin Feng was a commoner, his status and position were terrifyingly high.

Ning Hu, as a Thousand-Household Marquis, also stood loyally beside Qin Feng like a bodyguard.

It could be said that even the current Three Dukes, upon meeting Qin Feng, would have to treat him with due courtesy, despite his having neither title nor official rank!

Qin Feng gave Zhao Li no time to react.

He blurted out: "Brother Zhao, are you aware that the Northern Di Envoy Group is about to enter Beijing?"

Zhao Li clenched his fists and replied cautiously: "I know!"

Qin Feng took the opportunity to add: "But they haven't entered Beijing yet."

Zhao Li frowned tightly. He had spent his whole life in commerce—where would he understand matters of the Imperial Court?

The Northern Di Envoy Group entering Beijing for State Peace Talks was, for Zhao Li, something entirely out of his reach, not something he should be concerning himself with.

"What does the Northern Di Envoy Group have to do with my Zhao Family?"

"Could it be that those barbarians plan to plunder me on their way into Beijing?"

Qin Feng pressed his hand down, signaling Zhao Li not to get too worked up.

He explained unhurriedly: "The fact that the envoy group hasn't entered Beijing yet means the peace talks haven't begun."

"As long as there are no peace talks, it means the war between Shedynasty and the Northern Di has not yet ended."

"Brother Zhao, our Shedynasty is currently still in a state of war preparedness; the crisis has not been lifted."

"Therefore, to prevent any accidents, my purchasing some military rations and sending them to the Northern Border, to prepare for unforeseen needs—is that perfectly reasonable?"

Zhao Li drew a sharp breath.

He finally understood exactly what Qin Feng was plotting!

From the very beginning, Qin Feng had dug a huge pit for him.

Yet Zhao Li had been oblivious, stumbling into the pit like a fool.

"Qi... Qin Feng, when it comes to purchasing military rations, you don't get to decide!"

Seeing Zhao Li still trying to struggle, Qin Feng couldn't help but sneer: "If I don't get to decide, then my father, the Minister of War, does, doesn't he?"

"My three Grand Generals on the Northern Border, three Deputy Generals, one Thousand-Household Marquis, plus the Ming King and the heir—can all decide, can't they?"

Zhao Li's face turned deathly pale, and he involuntarily staggered two steps back.