Chapter 55: A Massive Transaction
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“Brother Han, what do you think of this trade guild?”
After Xiao Ming’s summons, the merchants of Qingzhou gathered in groups at the Weijia Restaurant. The waiters were so busy they barely had time to catch their breath—business had boomed thanks to the influx of merchants.
“All I can say is that Prince Qi is a master strategist. With this move, even though he remains in Qingzhou, he has effectively put merchants across the entire empire under his control. Any merchant who joins the guild must follow his lead.” A merchant surnamed Han sighed.
“I was thinking the same. But the problem is, Prince Qi holds the keys to fine wine, perfume, and soap. If we don’t join, we get nothing. Yet if we do join, we’ll be at his mercy, forced to pay a hefty sum just to sell products in lands that should belong to Prince Yan. Why not pressure him by having Prince Yan issue a ban on these goods?”
“That won’t work!” Han shook his head. “Prince Qi wouldn’t care if Prince Yan banned sales in his territory. Other merchants would just smuggle the goods in anyway, and Prince Qi wouldn’t lose much. But you and I? We’d be the ones losing out on a fortune.”
“So we have no choice but to join the guild.”
“Exactly. It’s a brilliant move on Prince Qi’s part. We have no alternatives.”
As the two of them debated, similar discussions took place at other tables. In the end, all the merchants came to the same realization—they had no leverage over Prince Qi.
Thus, when the auction began the next day, the same merchants who had gathered at the Governor’s Office returned once more.
They scoured the map of Great Yu, searching for their hometowns. Though they felt reluctant, they knew they had to buy the rights to sell in their home regions. And if they didn’t bid high enough, they’d be stuck producing soap instead.
Just as he had the day before, Xiao Ming arrived at the Governor’s Office, accompanied by Pang Yukun, Li Kaiyuan, and Qian Dafu. If today’s event succeeded, the Qi Royal Estate would rake in an enormous sum of silver.