Chapter 41: Setting Out Again

Chapter 41: Setting Out Again

On the way to the restaurant.

Xu Zhiyuan was very forthcoming, telling Xiao Ce all about the various merchant houses in Anhua City.

The Great Xiao Kingdom looked down on commerce.

So, even though these merchants were rich, they actually didn’t have much social status.

Therefore, they also tended to stick together.

Among them, the five largest merchant houses were the Zhou, Qian, Zhao, Sun, and Li families.

These five families were the Councilors in the merchant association. Any decisions or rules here required following the majority.

Their association was much more well-organized than Xiao Ce had imagined.

If he could cooperate with them,

he would have a lot less trouble in the future.

When they arrived at the best restaurant in Anhua City, the merchants were already waiting.

Seeing Xiao Ce approach, they came forward to greet him.

Although these merchants lived in Anhua City,

they were actually the top merchant houses in the Great Xiao Kingdom.

Having reached this level, their ability to judge and understand people was already extremely sharp.

Through their brief interactions with Xiao Ce,

they realized that he was definitely not the loser rumored in the stories.

Perhaps someone had taught Xiao Ce those words. However, the aura Xiao Ce radiated when he spoke was the aura of someone in a high position.

That was something that couldn’t be taught.

Moreover, they found themselves completely agreeing with Xiao Ce’s arguments from the bottom of their hearts.

They saw an opportunity for changing the status of merchants in Xiao Ce.

“Everyone, please,” Xiao Ce said with a smile, exchanging pleasantries.

The group went up to a private room, where Xiao Ce took the seat of honor.

The Councilors of the merchant association were seated on either side of Xiao Ce.

“Everyone, I invited you here today firstly to thank you all. If not for your strong support, this Tianshan Snow Salt and Tianshan Snow Frost Sugar wouldn’t have sold for such high prices. Let’s toast to you with this cup of wine.”

As he spoke, Xiao Ce picked up a cup of wine and drank it all in one go.

The merchants all stood up and drank as well.

“King of Northern Desert, you are too kind. We only provided modest help. Besides, your goods are truly priceless treasures! Moreover, you saved us.”

“Yes, King of Northern Desert, we were so worried about these disaster victims that our hair turned white. Honestly, if you had arrived any later, we would have fled too!”

“Thanks to you. If you hadn’t proposed this plan, we were really afraid we wouldn’t be able to stay in Anhua City. You are our benefactor; we should be the ones thanking you.”

…

The merchants offered their flattery one after another.

“This is what the eldest legitimate son of Great Xiao should do!” Xiao Ce said with a beaming smile.

The boss of the Qian’s Merchant House, Qian Dahai, waved his hand. “Prince, not at all… Not everyone would dare to use this method. It requires courage and personal charisma. Prince, I, Qian Dahai, don’t have much skill, but I do have some money. Just based on your courage, I’ll say no more. Our Qian’s Merchant House will additionally donate fifty thousand taels of Silver to support the disaster victims for their resettlement in the Four Northern Desert Prefectures.”

“Our Zhou’s Merchant House will also donate fifty thousand!”

“Our Li’s Merchant House will also give fifty thousand…”

Soon, everyone present said they would donate extra money. The five Councilors each gave fifty thousand taels.

Other members of the merchant association each gave ten thousand taels.

Thus, Xiao Ce received another four hundred thousand taels!

Clearly, this was an investment because they had high hopes for Xiao Ce.

In their eyes, Xiao Ce was the king of the Four Northern Desert Prefectures. If he really took hundreds of thousands of disaster victims to settle down in the Northern Desert,

this investment would definitely yield returns.

Xiao Ce stood up, smiling. “Since everyone is so passionate, then This Prince won’t be polite! I thank you all on behalf of those disaster victims.”

“I invited everyone here today because I actually have another important matter.”

Everyone looked at Xiao Ce expectantly.

Xiao Ce addressed the group. “Everyone, what do you think of the Tianshan Snow Frost Sugar and Tianshan Snow Salt I gave you?”

The boss of the Qian’s Merchant House quickly said, “Of course they are divine products. Prince, we are also merchants. So, the price we offered definitely won’t leave you at a loss! And these items! To be honest, given how rare they are, if we merchants of Anhua City unite and sell them outside, the nobles would pay a thousand taels per catty for them!”

“Exactly! Everything is good, except there’s too little. It’s simply not enough to sell…”

“Right, based on how scarce they are, some people might offer even higher prices. Anyway, I only managed to buy this little bit and I can’t bear to sell it. I’m not short on money; I’ll keep it to eat myself. Living a few more years is better than anything.”

…

Once one person spoke up, the others chimed in one after another.

Soon, the lead boss of the Zhou’s Merchant House said to Xiao Ce, “Prince, did you call us here to talk about these items?”

Xiao Ce smiled and said, “Exactly. I heard about your merchant association from Lord Xu Zhiyuan. I think it’s a great setup. Only by uniting can everyone make big money. Actually, some clever people here must have guessed already. This Prince has far more than just this Tianshan Snow Frost Sugar and Tianshan Snow Salt!”

“I won’t hide it from you all. That wandering Immortal actually told me the exact location. So, I had people go there to mine it!”

“I invited you all here because I was thinking, if you are interested, I will fully entrust the selling of this Tianshan Snow Frost Sugar and Tianshan Snow Salt to you from now on. In the future, whatever amount I mine, I will sell it to you.”

As soon as Xiao Ce said this, all the merchants in the room began to tremble with excitement.

“Might I ask, Prince, how much can you mine per month?”

Xiao Ce was silent for a moment. He clearly understood the principle of scarcity increasing value.

After thinking for a bit, he said, “If I send more people, I can provide three thousand catties each of Frost Sugar and Snow Salt per month.”

Actually, given the production capacity of the workers, they could make even more.

However, these items were targeted at the nobles. If the production volume was too high, the price would definitely drop.

Three thousand catties of Frost Sugar and Snow Salt probably still wouldn’t meet the demand of all the wealthy people in the Great Xiao Empire. As long as supply fell short of demand,

the price wouldn’t drop. Naturally, he preferred doing less work for more gain.

“Can you handle that amount!” After speaking, Xiao Ce looked at them.

The lead merchant boss said, “Prince, of course we can handle it… Not just three thousand catties a month, even thirty thousand catties, we could take it…”

“Yes, three thousand catties, we’re worried it won’t be enough to share. We want it. As long as you produce it, we’ll take every single catty.”

After listening to them, Xiao Ce nodded with satisfaction. “Good, then regarding the price. I will sell it to you for fifteen thousand taels per hundred catties. How much you sell it for is your business. Consider it my way of making friends with you. What do you say?”

“Thank you, Prince! Thank you, Prince!” The merchants said, raising their cups one by one to toast Xiao Ce.

Xiao Ce felt incredibly happy inside. Once this deal was settled,

just casually producing some sugar and salt would be enough to support an army of a hundred thousand men.

“To be honest, that Immortal also taught me some methods for making divine wine, but I haven’t had time to work on it yet. In the future, when I produce that divine wine, I’ll still entrust you to sell it! Rest assured, my products are absolutely things not found in this mortal world.”

Xiao Ce’s words made everyone’s expressions grow even more excited.

Xiao Ce didn’t hold back, feeding them big promises and a lot of smooth talk.

He was most skilled at persuasion. A large part of why his company could go public before was thanks to his glib tongue.

He could convince those modern investors; these ancient merchants were not even a challenge.

Seeing that he had charmed them enough,

Xiao Ce got to the main point. “Oh, right, I actually have another matter. I need a favor from all you bosses.”

The lead merchant boss said, “Prince, you can just give the order.”

Xiao Ce took out all the money they had donated.

“Everyone knows that His Majesty ordered me to form a large army of a hundred thousand men. But, first, he didn’t give me funds for provisions. Second, he didn’t provide military equipment or supplies. Third, there are no horses, weapons… Everything, I have to manage myself.”

“You all also know that in the Northern Desert Region, the Noble Clans are everywhere! If I go there all by myself, I’m afraid they’ll swallow me whole. I’ve almost finished the recruitment. The only things missing now are weapons, horses, and military equipment.”

“So, I’d like to ask all you bosses for help! Of course, as long as you get the things for me, money is not a problem.”

Xiao Ce expected them to be polite and hesitate a bit…

But, to his complete surprise, the five Councilors were very straightforward. “Prince, just give us a list of what you need. We’ll take care of getting it for you!”

“That’s right, Prince! You think highly of us, and we also hope a wise ruler like you can succeed. That way, we merchants have a future! We’ll help you! Whatever you need, we’ll get it for you.”

Seeing this, Xiao Ce was very pleased. He immediately handed them the prepared list of supplies, some of which were urgently needed.

After reading the list, the merchant boss said, “Prince, no problem. We can gather all the things you need within fifteen days.”

Xiao Ce was genuinely surprised. “Fifteen days is enough?”

The merchant boss said, “It’s more than enough!”

Then, the lead merchant boss said, “Prince, don’t you need grain?”

Xiao Ce replied with a smile, “I have a way to get grain!”

After chatting with the merchants for quite a while, the gathering ended.

Xiao Ce couldn’t have been happier. This one meal had solved the problems that troubled him most.

For the next few days, Xiao Ce stayed outside the city distributing supplies to the disaster victims.

As more and more people joined, some who were hesitant also chose to give it a try.

Xiao Ce had the disaster victims take their rations and set off. Because they moved slowly,

it wasn’t until four days later that Uncle Zhong arrived with a large group of people.

Xiao Ce paid them the Frost Sugar and Snow Salt he owed them.

The merchants from the association were very reliable. In a matter of days, they obtained three thousand fine horses, along with various bows, arrows, Long Spears, and short blades.

During these days, Han Da and Yan Jia had already organized the original five thousand men transporting provisions into a proper force.

Xiao Ce immediately had them equipped with those weapons.

Then, to travel light, they calculated the provisions needed for the journey. The rest was left behind to be distributed to the disaster victims.

Xiao Ce also asked Xu Zhiyuan for help, having three thousand sets of leather Stirrups made and installed on the horses purchased from the merchants.

After resting and preparing for another five days here,

Xiao Ce’s main force finally set out.

What Xiao Ce didn’t expect was that by the time they departed, over two hundred thousand disaster victims had already received travel rations and were hurrying toward the Four Northern Desert Prefectures, with many more still queuing up. Xu Zhiyuan estimated that at least three hundred thousand disaster victims had chosen to go.

This delighted Xiao Ce immensely. These people were worth more than a thousand pieces of gold!

When Xiao Ce left, Xu Zhiyuan led many merchants and commoners who came voluntarily to see him off.

They all clearly understood that if not for Xiao Ce’s arrival, their city would probably have been taken over by now!

The merchants were especially moved. Through their city gate auctions, this Tianshan Snow Salt and Snow Frost Sugar had completely spread among the noble circles.

The Snow Salt and Frost Sugar, which cost one hundred and fifty taels per catty to produce, were sold by them for a thousand taels per catty.

And it was still in short supply! This allowed the merchants to make a huge profit, far more than selling grain ever could…

Xiao Ce sat on his horse and said to Han Da and Yan Jia, “Han Da, Yan Jia, I need you to train them as quickly as possible! The news about me must have reached the Four Northern Desert Prefectures by now. Those Noble Clans in the Four Northern Desert Prefectures definitely won’t let those disaster victims in! So, it won’t be long before we have a tough battle on our hands!”