Reborn to marry the emperor, I just want to confuse the emperor and seize the throne

Both of them had their own thoughts, but what Jiang Fenghua didn't know was that Wan Qianshan's thoughts had strayed somewhat.

Wan Qianshan was not without pressure. He pretended to be calm as he watched the other person "drink tea," but his heart was surging with emotion.

The Wan family wasn't stupid. They knew that the imperial court was at war and would definitely be in dire need of military supplies. The elders in the family had already prepared to sell them at high prices.

The Wan family has never been wary of the Bai family. If it weren't for the natural disaster that affected both families, neither would have considered a marriage alliance. This matter must not be known to Grandmother, otherwise she would never agree.

What Wan Qianshan didn't know was that his father had another idea: he wanted the Bai family's rouge formula, which was actually more valuable than the Bai family's eldest daughter.

He said, "Now that Brother Ruan has made it clear that he is here to raise military supplies, I believe that only our Wan family in the entire Yuzhou has the ability to help. As for other families, Brother Ruan probably hasn't found out clearly."

The Wan family is actually very united, unlike the Bai family, which is internally disorganized.

Jiang Fenghua said, "It would be best if the Wan family could help, but the word 'cooperation' was left unsaid."

Now Wan Qianshan was getting greedy. He wanted to negotiate a higher price. He said, "I'm just afraid that I won't be able to reach an agreement with the Wan family when I go home. You don't know that my family's business is not just my father's. There are other uncles and elders involved. With so many people involved, I can't make decisions for them."

Jiang Fenghua saw through his thoughts and said calmly, "That makes sense. After all, there can only be one position in charge of the Imperial Merchants Bureau. It's impossible for so many people from the Wan family to want to take it. I'll give Young Master Wan some time to consider. Please, Young Master Wan!"

It means that if he wants to leave, she will never try to stop him.

"Wait a minute..." Wan Qianshan suddenly blurted out, looking at the lively atmosphere in the hall, "We may be friends, but the affairs of the Wan family are not something I can decide. My father just happened to be busy today."

Actually, he shared the same thoughts as the Bai family; they all wanted to outmaneuver Prefect Zhang and felt there was no need to deal with him, which is why they sent him.

Bai Yuhan was also sent in this way.

“I understand Young Master Wan’s difficulties,” Jiang Fenghua said in a deep voice.

Wan Qianshan added, "Besides, the Wan family isn't going to be taken advantage of!"

He regretted saying that as soon as he said it; he could have stalled for time.

Jiang Fenghua knew that he felt the conditions were not enough; to put it bluntly, the Wan family would not do a losing business.

Her expression remained unchanged, calm and composed.

She knew that the negotiations between the two sides were a test of composure.

Then, she immediately changed the subject: "The relationship between the court and the people should not be entirely one of mutual benefit, but rather one of being of the same blood, bound by blood, sharing both prosperity and adversity!"

Wan Qianshan was stunned. "Isn't what Brother Ruan said just what ordinary people mean by 'family'?"

Jiang Fenghua said, "Brother Wan's understanding is correct."

Wan Qianshan scoffed, "Brother Ruan, even if you told Prefect Zhang Qian what he said, he wouldn't believe it. The court and the people are one family. What a strange phenomenon. In everyone's mind, officials exploit the common people. The powerful and influential bully the powerless and weak."

Jiang Fenghua could hardly refute it; the reality was indeed like that, and she couldn't guarantee that Xie Shang's rule would be free of corrupt officials.

"Then where does the saying 'unscrupulous merchants are in power, and no merchant is honest' come from?" Jiang Fenghua asked.

Wan Qianshan felt that he couldn't argue with his silver tongue and had no way to refute him.

"Ultimately, there's a reason why officials get criticized and businessmen get criticized; neither is clean."

She continued in a deep voice, "The people think that even if the world were changed, their lives would still be the same, and they would still suffer. I still hope to eradicate this kind of thinking from the people's hearts."

Wan Qianshan immediately perked up and joked, "Unless all the officials in the world are like Prefect Zhang, people might be able to put aside their prejudices."

"It seems that Young Master Wan has a very high opinion of Prefect Zhang!" Jiang Fenghua joked. "So not all officials in the imperial court are completely useless."

Wan Qianshan still couldn't refute it.

Jiang Fenghua said, "To get back to the point, if the Wan family gets the power to manage the Imperial Merchants Bureau, they will be considered to be taken advantage of. In the eyes of Young Master Wan, the court's collection of military supplies from the people to fight the war is also an exploitation of everyone."

Why were there so many merchants in the Great Zhou Dynasty willing to be taken advantage of? What were they after? It was nothing more than power, fame, and profit. When it comes to profit, no one can claim to be morally superior.

Wasn't Young Master Wan's decision only made after careful consideration and weighing of the pros and cons? Because you also felt there was profit to be made, you fought so hard for the position of head of the Imperial Merchants Bureau. From this perspective, it seems that none of us are truly noble.

Wan Qianshan felt as if a stone was stuck in his throat, making him choke and uncomfortable. Had he been a bit too arrogant just now? In fact, Zhang Qian was an honest official. Who said that the Great Zhou Dynasty wouldn't produce a second Zhang Qian?

She learned from Feng Qingyu that Wan Qianshan was a person of impeccable character and that he might be the next head of the Wan family. Of course, having the authority to manage the Imperial Merchants Bureau did not mean he could do whatever he wanted. The laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty were in place, and the establishment of the Imperial Merchants Bureau should also be subject to the law.

Wan Qianshan finally gave in. What a silver tongue! He said, “I can persuade my father to open the granaries and donate grain to relieve the Emperor’s burden. The world is too difficult, but I also hope that Lord Ruan can give us common people an explanation on behalf of the court.”

"Of course, I'll stake my life on it," Jiang Fenghua declared confidently.

Wan Qianshan said, "I believe Feng Jiu wouldn't lie to me."

This means that the imperial court was able to borrow grain entirely thanks to Master Feng, and no amount of persuasion from Jiang Fenghua could compare to Feng Qingyu making a single call.

Jiang Fenghua paused. So he had also gone to see his uncle. What did Feng Qingyu say to him? He didn't say anything inappropriate, did he?

Meanwhile, Gongsun Ling saw her calmly and strategically drinking tea, so he sat to the side and leisurely watched her drink tea, thinking to himself, "The Empress has Wan Qianshan completely under her thumb. This is hardly the attitude of asking for help, yet Wan Qianshan actually agreed in the end. But can he really make the decision? The Empress is overestimating him."

He had always thought that Empress Jiang was just a woman in the harem who was good at manipulating power. All she did was eliminate dissidents. For example, Su Tingwan, the girl from the Su family who was once the emperor's favorite, was defeated by her. This only shows that Empress Jiang was indeed very cunning.

Her calm and composed demeanor at this moment was truly admirable. Even if the imperial court had sent diplomats to negotiate with the merchants, they probably wouldn't have been as composed as she was.

There is a war going on in the Northwest, and given the current situation in the Great Zhou, it is very easy for negotiations to break down.

Merchants only care about profit, and on the other hand, government officials look down on them even more. Now, if you need their help, they may not be willing to oblige.

The current situation has become one where the imperial court is neither pressuring the merchants nor trying to curry favor; the winds have suddenly shifted to one of cooperation and mutual benefit.

To Gongsun Ling's surprise, the news that the Wan family wanted to donate military supplies to the imperial court quickly received a definite reply.

The merchants who received the news were shocked by the speed of the Wan family's actions, after all, Prefect Zhang hadn't even posted a notice.

After returning home, Bai Yuhan told the Bai family about the imperial court's plan to establish the Imperial Merchants Bureau. The Bai family members were filled with regret, wishing they had accepted the invitation to the banquet.

The Bai family busied themselves asking Prefect Zhang about the situation.

Bai Yuhan went directly to Jiang Fenghua.