Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 853: Courtesy first, then attack
"Xiao Wu'er...are you really planning to build a trading post in Lianzhou City?"

The banquet ended in a bad mood. Although King Zhou was really planning to set up a market in Lianzhou Prefecture, in the end, this market was not chosen by any family. The chieftains were happy but also inevitably felt a little disappointed.

After eating and drinking, they left the table and asked Zhu Su for leave, wanting to go to the clan to discuss with the elders and clan members to see how they could gain the greatest benefit for their clan amidst the nonsense of Prince Zhou.

After they left, Cao Guogong Li Wenzhong, who had been drinking silently behind Zhu Su and acting as Zhu Su's backer, finally asked Zhu Su, "It's not that I don't support you, but this Lianzhou City was only a military city in the past. In terms of geography and scenery, it is indeed not suitable for building a market."

"Besides...does this market really have to be built? I saw that we clearly have a better way just now."

"Oh?" Zhu Su raised his eyebrows and smiled, saying, "Brother Baoer, do you think there is any solution?"

"Just now, the chieftains were arguing over where to locate the market... Why don't we put it aside for the time being, and wait until the chieftains have settled their dispute, and then..."

Zhu Su heard this, smiled lightly, shook his head and said: "Two peaches to kill three warriors, this method will not work."

"Not to mention that these chieftains are actually cunning people. If they realize that the Ming Dynasty wants to use the market as bait to lure them into killing each other... not only will they not really fight, but from then on, they will definitely become alienated from the Ming Dynasty."

"Father wants to strengthen his control over the southwest region, and then better influence and assimilate Annan through the southwest in the future, rather than eliminating the chieftains. Even if we provoke a fight among the chieftains, or even take advantage of the situation to eliminate them, it will definitely make the chieftains in Yunnan and Guizhou wary. You know, the chieftain of Lianzhou is just an appetizer. The big chieftains in Yunnan and Guizhou are our real targets."

Li Wenzhong nodded, agreeing. After all, he was a military commander, and when considering affairs, he would inevitably only focus on the victory or defeat of a corner, and would not subconsciously coordinate the overall situation of the world.

"Then why do we need to place the market in Lianzhou?" Li Wenzhong asked. "Lianzhou is not suitable for a market. If we want to set up a port market here, we need to build canals and repair the city, connect the north and the south, and build roads... The cost will be huge."

"It is not us who set up the market in Lianzhou City, but this market can only be set up in Lianzhou City." Zhu Su said.

His face was quite solemn, no longer the arrogant and frivolous image of the prince at the banquet. He asked Li Wenzhong, "Brother Baoer, do you think that besides this Lianzhou City, in the entire Lianzhou Prefecture, there is any place that the Ming Dynasty court can completely control?"

Hearing this, Li Wenzhong was slightly stunned, and then his expression turned solemn.

He thought for a moment, shook his head slightly, and said, "Although, this Lianzhou Prefecture is a prefecture under the jurisdiction of my Great Ming."

"But if we are serious, if the Ming Dynasty court has an imperial decree, we can rule the territory with a single word..."

"Except for this Lianzhou Prefecture City, there is really nothing else."

"Yes." Zhu Su sighed softly and said, "The southwest has been influenced by China for more than a thousand years. However, for a thousand years, it has been ruled by chieftains and ordered by the emperor, and it is often difficult to leave the prefecture walls. Magistrate Wang is a fourth-rank official, but in this Lianzhou Prefecture, he is humble and embarrassed, not as good as a county magistrate in the Central Plains. The government office is so idle that it can catch sparrows."

"Is this still under the rule of the imperial court? If the imperial court's laws and orders are not implemented here without the cooperation of those chieftains, I'm afraid it will be difficult to move forward, right? Most of the chieftains in Lianzhou Prefecture are small chieftains with little power. In Yunnan and Guizhou, there are many big chieftains who cross the mountains and provinces. What about them?"

"If we set up the market outside the city, in the area governed by the chieftains, when you leave Lianzhou, is this market built for our Ming Dynasty court, or for the chieftains of the country within the country?"

As Li Wenzhong listened, his expression became more serious, and he nodded slightly without saying anything.

"It doesn't matter if we spend more money. The court has plenty of money now, and we have built a market. The tax revenue alone will probably bring a lot of revenue to the court... If it is built in the territory of the chieftain, I'm afraid we won't even be able to collect taxes! If we want to build this market, it can only be built within the area controlled by the court and governed by officials sent by the court. Only in this way can the court increase its influence in Lianzhou, slowly radiate to the surrounding chieftains, and strengthen its influence in Lianzhou."

"We must also increase the power and influence of the prefectural government in Lianzhou. Setting up the market in the city will give the prefectural government a means to control the chieftains... If the prefectural government can decide how much share these chieftains have in the market and control their economic power, will the chieftains still dare to ignore the laws issued by the government and think that the prefectural officials of the Ming Dynasty can do whatever they want?"

"Yes, that makes sense." Li Wenzhong nodded sincerely, and silently kept these words in mind. To be fair, he also wanted to establish meritorious service and go overseas to establish a country. These skills of how to control various forces and how to focus on the surrounding political situation are all golden words to him, which are completely different from the knowledge of marching and fighting. After thinking for a while, he asked again: "But if these chieftains are unwilling to cooperate, how can the market operate?"

"Lianzhou's products are still too poor. Without the support of the chieftains, the market will hardly be effective, right?"

"Who said Lianzhou doesn't have a lot of it?" Zhu Su smiled slyly. "As long as the silk of our Great Ming is transported to the west, it can be exchanged for a full shipload of gold, not to mention the pearls of Hepu?"

"What's more, these chieftains in Lianzhou include both the Tu and Han ethnic groups, and their customs and education are very different. It is impossible for them to be united and advance and retreat together."

"Once the market is built, people will naturally be willing to cooperate with it because of the huge profits. If one chieftain gains profits, will the other chieftains still be able to isolate the market? Moreover, they think that the market cannot be maintained for long... I am afraid that they will be thinking about making profits as much as possible and will not waste time on maintaining the market for a long time with us."

Zhu Su said with great certainty.

Since Zhu Su had made up his mind, Li Wenzhong had no objection. Lianzhou City was short of manpower, but the Lianzhou Guards and the elite Ming troops stationed here recruited by Li Wenzhong still had tens of thousands of people. These tens of thousands of people started working together, and Zhu Su transferred cement, wood, stone and other building materials from the Fujian merchants who cooperated with the royal palace in Hangzhou and Guangzhou. The construction of the canals, rivers, and market in Lianzhou City was very smooth, and the progress was extremely impressive.

With Li Wenzhong in charge, although the chieftains were resentful of Zhu Su's decision to set up the market in Lianzhou, they did not dare to easily make trouble. In fact, before the market was fully built, some chieftains secretly approached Zhu Su, intending to participate in the operation of the market.

(End of this chapter)