Princess Promotion

Yao Chuguang has always known that fighting a war is equivalent to burning money.

You can go to war without anything except money.

If she relied on the money that Qi owed the national treasury every day, she would not be able to fight the war, and getting money from it would be like asking for the lives of those ministers in the Ministry of Revenue.

But she has a wallet of money that no one knows about, and she and An Tian have business in Yan State.

Although war costs a lot of money these days, it is also the best opportunity to make money.

There are always casualties in war, and Yao Chuguang has never been a kind-hearted person.

Li Xinghan always said that she was too soft-hearted, but that was just because he didn't see Yao Chuguang's ruthless side.

Although An Tian and her business made a lot of money thanks to Yao Chuguang's ideas, the output could not keep up, and the money they earned was a huge sum of money for ordinary people.

But it is far from enough to cover the cost of a war.

If An Tian and her team were given enough time to slowly expand their business and increase output, they would still be able to make enough money.

But Yao Chuguang had no time left, she had to make a huge sum of money in a short period of time.

The people lived in poverty, but that only referred to the lower classes. After all, most of the wealth and land were in the hands of a small number of landlords and clans.

Increasing taxes will not only drive the lower classes to death but also fail to collect any money and may even trigger riots.

Then we can only turn our attention to these landlord families.

There are some things that are extremely scarce in the Central Plains, but abundant in other places.

Yao Chuguang thought of pepper and spices, crops that came from the distant Western Regions, but became extremely expensive due to the long journey.

Merchants had to cross deserts, mountains and rivers, and go through untold hardships to bring these spices back to the Central Plains. Every grain of pepper was worth its weight in gold.

Yao Chuguang also knew that land transportation was not worth the effort, but Yao Chuguang knew that the sea route could avoid the dangers of land transportation and reach the Western Regions directly.

If Yao Chuguang could open up a sea route, the transportation cost of pepper would be greatly reduced and the profit would double.

Almost all the money An Tian earned was invested in shipbuilding. After months of preparation, Yao Chuguang's fleet finally set sail.

After a long voyage, Yao Chuguang's fleet arrived at the port in the Western Regions.

Yao Chuguang didn't even want to bring real gold and silver, but only brought silk and porcelain, and in return he received goods full of pepper and spices.

In order to avoid being seen, Yao Chuguang even built a pier on an uninhabited island, and then used small boats to transport pepper and spices in batches to Qi, Western Zhou, and Yan, where they were sold in small batches at high prices.

Yao Chuguang naturally realized that once he started a war, those merchants would start hoarding grain and raising the price of grain.

But who could have known that war would break out earlier than her?

Once Yao Chuguang succeeds in his rebellion, Western Zhou and Yan will certainly be watching covetously.

As one move can affect the whole body, Yao Chuguang naturally needs to make full preparations.

Yao Chuguang put the peppers into the market in batches, selling them at a price slightly lower than the market price each time, attracting a large number of buyers.

As demand increased, the supply of pepper in the market gradually decreased and the price rose accordingly.

Yao Chuguang seized the opportunity and gradually raised the selling price. Each adjustment was just right, satisfying market demand without causing any resentment among buyers.

When the price of pepper reached its peak, Yao Chuguang acted decisively and sold all the pepper he had at a high price.

This move not only brought her huge profits, but also provided sufficient funds for her subsequent grain purchasing plans.

Yao Chuguang made a lot of money quickly and quietly from the first batch of spices.

Yao Chuguang used all the silver to buy food. The past two years have been good harvests and there have been no wars, so the price of food is relatively cheap.

Sure enough, after Yao Chuguang declared war on Western Zhou, food prices skyrocketed.

The price of grain, which usually cost several hundred coins per dan, had risen to several thousand coins per dan after the Qi army went to war.

The pavilions and towers in the garden are arranged in an orderly manner, and the lotus flowers in the pond sway gently in the breeze. Everything seems so quiet and peaceful.

Mengchangjun stood on the pavilion, his eyes piercing as he glanced at each of the merchants present. "Gentlemen, I have invited you here tonight not to admire the moon and drink tea, but to discuss an important matter with you."

Mengchangjun gently stroked his beard, his eyes sharp as an eagle's as he scanned the assembled people. He spoke slowly, his voice steady and magnetic: "Everyone, if the Qi army approaches and war breaks out, food will be as valuable as gold. Our opportunity has arrived."

A short, fat merchant named Wang Fugui, his eyes gleaming with greed, said eagerly, "Brother Meng, you're right! I heard that the Qi army has assembled and may attack at any time. We must act quickly, otherwise it will be too late."

Mengchangjun nodded slightly and continued, "Yes, we must act quickly. I have arranged for people to go to various villages and towns to purchase large quantities of grain at prices above the market price. But we need more silver."

Another tall, thin merchant frowned, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Money isn't a problem. I can contact some friends at banks and borrow money at high interest rates. But how can we guarantee the safety of this grain? What if it's stolen or something unexpected happens? Wouldn't we be completely bankrupt?"

Mengchangjun smiled faintly, a shrewd glint in his eyes. "I've already considered this. We will disperse the grain storage, with reliable personnel guarding each location. At the same time, I will use my connections to ensure that our actions will not be interfered with by the authorities. In addition, I will send servants to closely monitor the movements of the Qi army so that we can adjust our strategy in a timely manner."

Wang Fugui clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Brother Meng is indeed far-sighted. If we follow you, we will definitely make a fortune!"

Li Changfeng nodded in agreement. "In that case, let's proceed according to the plan. I'll be in charge of contacting the banks, Brother Wang will be in charge of purchasing grain, and everyone else will do their part. We must unite to profit from this war."

Mengchangjun stood up, his eyes firm and powerful. "Okay, it's settled then. Remember, our goal is to store enough food, wait for war to break out, and then sell it at a high price in the market."

Mengchangjun and his men began to act separately, traveling between villages and towns.

Their men carried gold and silver, shuttled between the fields, bargained with farmers, and loaded bags of grain onto trucks and transported them to secret warehouses.

Moreover, they found money houses and borrowed large amounts of money at high interest rates. They even mortgaged their houses, shops, and even their family property, just to get more liquidity to buy food.

Their greed is as deep as a bottomless pit.

In this food hoarding frenzy, some even resorted to some less than honorable means.

They bribed officials and used connections to ensure that their grain stockpiling operations were not interfered with.

They even spread rumors in the market to create panic, causing ordinary people to sell their food so that they could buy it at a lower price.

However, just as the merchants were immersed in beautiful fantasies about the future, the war situation in Qi took a dramatic turn.

In Mengchangjun's garden, the lights were bright and the faces of the merchants were filled with joy at the wealth that was about to be obtained.

They sat around a long table covered with gorgeous brocade, toasting to celebrate the impending victory.

However, just as they were intoxicated with the beautiful dream of the future, the sound of hurried footsteps broke the tranquility.

A messenger came running in breathlessly, holding a secret letter in his hand.

Mengchangjun took the secret letter, opened it, and his face suddenly became solemn.

Seeing this, the businessmen looked at each other, and a feeling of unease spread among the crowd.

A businessman named Zhang Zhong couldn't help but ask, "Brother Meng, what exactly happened?"

Mengchangjun took a deep breath and spoke slowly, "The Qi army conquered Western Zhou in just one month, and... they didn't buy any grain. Even worse, grain shops appeared out of nowhere and sold a fixed amount of grain in the city at low prices."

These words were like a bolt from the blue. Yao Chuguang had cut off all their escape routes.

No one buys grain in bulk anymore, they just want to sell it to the poor people.

But they bought all this grain at a high price of several thousand wen, but now suddenly there is a grain store selling grain for only a few hundred wen per dan.

It was also stipulated that each person could only buy one dan of grain, which was enough for a family to eat for a month. Who would buy expensive grain when there was cheap food?

A merchant named Liu Ji asked anxiously, "How is this possible? Could it be that the Qi army had already prepared for this and deliberately set this trap?"

Mengchangjun shook his head. "The specific situation is still unclear, but we must act now. If grain prices continue to fall, we will face huge losses."

Zhang Zhong frowned and proposed an idea: "Perhaps we can try to transport the food to other places where there may still be demand."

Before he could finish his words, someone collapsed to their knees, sobbing uncontrollably.

Mengchangjun's body trembled involuntarily, and the wine glass in his hand almost slipped, but he steadied his hand with the self-control he had cultivated over the years, and the wine only shook slightly without spilling a single drop.

His eyes became confused for a moment, as if they had lost focus, but soon regained their sharpness.

It seems that the only solution is to uproot that grain store that came from nowhere.

Mengchangjun summoned his trusted aides and said in a deep but powerful voice, "Find out the details of that grain store. I want to know who gave them the courage to steal food right under my nose."

The confidant took the order and left, and soon brought back the news.

Behind the grain store was the shadow of the Qi army.

This shocked Mengchangjun, and he realized that he had been fooled.

What Mengchangjun didn't expect was that this was just the beginning and his nightmare was yet to come.

Fu Hongxuan looked at An Tian. He thought that Yao Chuguang’s money should have come from An Tian.

But Fu Hongxuan really didn't expect that in just over a year, An Tian and her team's business could make so much money?

So much so that Fu Hongxuan couldn't help but ask, "Is your pure dew made of gold?"

An Tian smiled and said, "General, if you want to know, you can come with me to the imperial capital. His Majesty has instructed me to do something that I haven't done yet."

Fu Hongxuan: "What did Yao Chuguang tell you?"

An Tian said bluntly: "Debt collection."

Sometimes Fu Hongxuan really didn’t understand Yao Chuguang. After all, she was the empress, so why did she always do the things of a street thug.

It's bad enough that she doesn't learn well herself, but she also leads others astray.

If the debt collection matter were to be leaked, how would the king of a country put his face?

Fu Hongxuan asked, "How many guards did you bring with you?"

Li Yi looked at Fu Hongxuan in shock. Is the general going to be An Tian's debt collector?

An Tian said, "Not much. After all, this matter is not very glorious and will damage your Majesty's reputation. The fewer people who know about it, the better."

Fu Hongxuan looked at Li Yi and said, "Take the token and go to the camp to bring over a few reliable brothers with good martial arts skills."

Li Yi looked at Fu Hongxuan in disbelief while holding the token, his eyes even began to turn red again. General, you have fallen so low that you have become a debt collector.

An Tian: "Thank you very much, General. Don't worry, I will not treat you unfairly. I will pay you ten taels per day."

When Li Yi heard this, his tears were instantly held back. The general was indeed far-sighted. Ten taels was his monthly salary before!

Li Yi immediately said, "Miss An, please wait a moment. I'll go find someone right away. Are we going to collect the debt today?"

An Tian shook his head and said, "It won't start until tomorrow, but I'll pay for today's work. We'll need about ten people. Once you've found them, come find me at the inn. I'll cover their food, lodging, and clothing."

Li Yi's eyes lit up even more. This wasn't a debt collector, it was clearly the Good Fortune Boy!

He nodded repeatedly, grabbed the token, and immediately ran to the prisoner camp to find someone.

After Li Yi had completely walked away, An Tian looked at Fu Hongxuan with a smile and said, "General, do you need an advance on your wages?"

The implication is, I can see that you have no money.

Fu Hongxuan coughed awkwardly. He was taken out of the palace by Yao Chuguang.

He didn't have any silver on him, and although Yao Chuguang gave him a bag of silver, it was almost used up along the way.

He originally wanted to use the token to borrow some silver from the prisoner camp warden, and then send someone to return the silver when he returned to the imperial capital.

Fu Hongxuan nodded and said, "Can I get three days' wages in advance?"

An Tian smiled and replied, "No, one day at most. But if you want to borrow money from me, that's fine, but the interest rate might be higher. After all, this is business."

Fu Hongxuan: Is this just birds of a feather flock together? Yao Chuguang's friends are indeed scoundrels. What else can this be but taking advantage of someone's misfortune?

In the end, Fu Hongxuan still borrowed money from An Tian. When he calculated the interest, he felt that he was working for An Tian for free.

Not long after An Tian and Fu Hongxuan returned to the inn, Li Yi came over with nine strong men.

An Tian was also very generous. She prepared a banquet for them, clothes for the thugs, and even thoughtfully prepared masks.

After all, Fu Hongxuan was once a famous general of the Western Zhou Dynasty. It is possible that he did not know him, but he did.

It’s better to wear a mask and leave yourself a way out.

Not to mention ten burly men wearing uniform clothes and masks lined up in a row.

It does look quite intimidating.

An Tian set the time for departure tomorrow and everything is ready.