Deposed Crown Prince: After three years of service on the frontier, the entire court knelt and begge

On the way to the restaurant.

Xu Zhiyuan was very forthcoming and told Xiao Ce about the situation of various merchants in Anhua City.

The Great Xiao Kingdom was not fond of commerce.

Therefore, even though these businessmen are wealthy, they don't actually have much social standing.

So, they can be considered to have banded together.

The five largest merchant houses were Zhou, Qian, Zhao, Sun, and Li.

The five families are directors of the chamber of commerce. The chamber of commerce has rules that require the minority to obey the majority.

Their chamber of commerce was much more complete than Xiao Ce had imagined.

If we can reach a cooperation agreement with them.

This will save me a lot of trouble in the future.

Upon arriving at the best restaurant in Anhua City, the merchants were already waiting.

Seeing Xiao Ce approaching, they came to greet him.

These merchants, although they lived in Anhua City.

However, they were all top-tier merchant firms in the Great Xiao Kingdom.

Those who can reach this level have already mastered the art of recognizing and judging people.

During his brief time with Xiao Ce.

They realized that Xiao Ce was definitely not the useless person the rumors suggested.

Perhaps Xiao Ce's remarks were taught to him. However, the aura he exuded when he spoke was that of a person in a superior position.

This is something that can't be taught.

Moreover, they wholeheartedly agreed with Xiao Ce's theory.

They saw in Xiao Ce an opportunity to change their status as merchants.

"Please, everyone," Xiao Ce greeted everyone with a smile.

After the group entered the private room, Xiao Ce sat down in the main seat.

The council members of the chamber of commerce were arranged on either side of Xiao Ce.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the first thing I want to do is to thank you all for coming here today. Without your great help, these Tianshan snow salt and Tianshan snow sugar would not be able to fetch such a high price. This glass of wine is a toast to you."

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

The group of merchants stood up and drank as well.

"King of the Northern Desert, you are too kind. Our efforts are but a small token, and what you possess are truly priceless treasures! Moreover, you have saved us."

"Yes, King of the Northern Desert, we've been so worried about these disaster victims that our hair has turned white. To be honest, if you had come any later, we would have run away too!"

"Thanks to you, if it weren't for your proposal, we really wouldn't be able to stay in Anhua City. You are our benefactor, and we should be the ones thanking you."

...

These businessmen flattered each other, one after another.

"These are things that the eldest son of the Great Xiao should do!" Xiao Ce said with a smile.

Qian Dahai, the owner of Qianji Trading Company, waved his hand: "Your Highness, it's not that simple... To dare to use this method, one needs not only courage but also personal charisma. Your Highness, I, Qian Dahai, may not have much ability, but I do have some money. Based on Your Highness's courage, I won't say much more. Our Qianji Trading Company will provide an additional 50,000 taels of silver to the disaster victims as support for them to settle down in the four prefectures of Mobei."

“Our Zhouji Trading Company will also contribute 50,000!”

"Our Li's Trading Company will also contribute 50,000..."

Soon everyone present said they would contribute additional money, with each of the five chamber of commerce directors contributing 50,000 taels.

Other members of the chamber of commerce received 10,000 taels each.

As a result, Xiao Ce received another 400,000 taels of silver!

Clearly, they were investing because they believed in Xiao Ce.

In their eyes, Xiao Ce was the king of the four prefectures of the northern desert. If he were to truly lead hundreds of thousands of refugees to settle down in the northern desert...

These investments have definitely paid off.

Xiao Ce stood up and smiled, "Since everyone is so enthusiastic, then I won't stand on ceremony! On behalf of the disaster victims, I thank you all."

"Today, I've invited everyone here. Actually, I have another important matter to discuss."

Everyone looked at Xiao Ce expectantly.

Xiao Ce addressed the crowd: "Gentlemen, what do you think of me giving you Tianshan Snow Frost Sugar and Tianshan Snow Salt?"

The owner of Qianji Trading Company hurriedly replied, "Of course, they are divine treasures. Your Highness, we are merchants as well. Therefore, the price we offer will definitely not be a loss! These things! To be honest, these things are so rare that if we, the merchants of Anhua City, unite and sell them, even the powerful and wealthy will have people willing to buy them for a thousand taels per kilogram!"

"Great! Everything's good, except there's too little. There simply aren't enough to go around..."

"Yes, given this level of scarcity, someone would probably offer an even higher price. Anyway, I've only managed to buy this much, and I'm reluctant to sell it. I'm not short of money; I need to keep it for myself so I can live a few more years. That's better than anything else."

...

Once one person spoke up, the others chimed in.

Soon, the owner of Zhouji Trading Company, who was leading the group, said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, did you come to us to talk about these things?"

Xiao Ce smiled and said, "That's right. I heard about your Chamber of Commerce from Lord Xu Zhiyuan. I think it's a good thing. Only by uniting can we make big money. Actually, the smart people here have already guessed it, haven't they? I have far more than just Tianshan Snow Frost Sugar; I also have Tianshan Snow Salt!"

"I won't hide it from you all. That wandering immortal told me the exact location. So, I actually ordered people to mine these!"

"I called you all here because I thought that if you were interested, I would entrust you with the full responsibility of selling Tianshan Snow Frost Sugar and Tianshan Snow Salt. As long as I mine them, I will sell them to you."

Upon hearing Xiao Ce's words, all the merchants present began to tremble.

"I wonder, Your Highness, how much can you harvest in a month?"

Xiao Ce remained silent for a moment, well aware of the principle that scarcity increases value.

After a moment's thought, he said, "If we send more people, we can provide 3,000 catties of frost sugar and snow salt each month."

In fact, given their current production capacity, they could produce even more.

However, these products are targeted at the powerful and wealthy. If there is too much production capacity, prices will inevitably fall.

Three thousand catties of sugar and salt would probably not be enough to meet the needs of the wealthy in the entire Great Xiao Empire, as long as the supply could not keep up with demand.

The price won't come down. Naturally, he'd rather do something that requires less effort.

"Can you eat all of this?" Xiao Ce asked, looking at the others after he finished speaking.

The head of the merchant guilds said, "Your Highness, of course we can eat it... Let alone three thousand catties a month, even thirty thousand catties, we could eat it..."

"Yes, three thousand catties, we're worried it won't be enough to go around. We want it, as long as you provide it, we'll take it all."

After listening to their words, Xiao Ce nodded in satisfaction: "Alright, then I'll sell it to you for 15,000 taels for every 100 catties. How much you sell it for is up to you. Consider it me making friends with you. How about it?"

"Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Your Highness!" the merchants said, raising their cups one by one to toast Xiao Ce.

Xiao Ce was overjoyed; he was just happy to have this deal settled.

With just some sugar and salt, one can easily support an army of 100,000.

"To be honest, that immortal also taught me some methods for making immortal wine, but I still have time to work on it. After I make those immortal wines, I will still entrust them to you to sell! Don't worry, my products are absolutely unique in the mortal world."

Xiao Ce's words made everyone's expressions even more excited.

Xiao Ce didn't hold back, giving everyone a bunch of empty promises and empty promises.

His greatest talent is deception; his company's ability to go public is largely due to his smooth talk.

If he can fool those investors, then these ancient merchants are even less of a problem.

Seeing that he had fooled most of the people.

Xiao Ce got straight to the point: "By the way, I have some things to attend to right now, and I need your help, bosses."

The head of the merchant guild said, "Your Highness, just give the order."

Xiao Ce then took out all the money they had given him.

"As you all know, His Majesty has ordered me to build an army of 100,000, but he has not provided me with any provisions, military equipment, or horses and weapons... I have to do everything myself."

"As everyone knows, the northern desert is rife with powerful clans! If I go there alone, I'm afraid they'll devour me. I've almost finished the recruitment. Now all that's left is weapons, horses, and military equipment."

"So, I would like to ask you bosses for a favor! Of course, as long as you bring the goods, money is not a problem."

Xiao Ce had assumed they would exchange pleasantries...

However, to everyone's surprise, the five directors were very agreeable: "Your Highness, just give us a list of what you need. We'll take care of getting it for you!"

“That’s right, Your Highness! You think highly of us, and we also hope that a wise ruler like you can win, so that we merchants will have a way out! We’ll help you! Whatever you need, we’ll get it for you.”

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

After reviewing the documents, the merchant guild leader said, "Your Highness, no problem. We can gather everything you need within half a month!"

Xiao Ce was genuinely surprised: "Half a month is enough!"

The chamber of commerce owner said, "That's enough!"

Then, one of the leading business owners said, "Your Highness, don't you need any food?"

Xiao Ce smiled and said, "I have a way to get the grain!"

The meeting ended after we chatted with these businessmen for quite a while.

Xiao Ce was overjoyed; this meal had solved the problem that had been troubling him the most.

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

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

Xiao Ce had the disaster victims take their rations and set off, but they were moving rather slowly.

Four days later, Uncle Zhong arrived with a large group of people.

Xiao Ce paid them back the sugar and salt he owed them.

The people in those chambers of commerce were very reliable. In just a few days, they brought in three thousand fine horses, as well as various bows, arrows, spears, and short swords.

In the past few days, Han Da and Yan Jia have organized the original 5,000 men who were transporting grain into a team.

Xiao Ce immediately equipped them with those weapons.

To travel light, they calculated the amount of food needed for transport, leaving only what was needed for human consumption and distributing the rest to the disaster victims.

Xiao Ce then asked Xu Zhiyuan to help him make three thousand sets of leather stirrups, which were then installed on the horses purchased by the merchants.

After resting here for another five days,

Xiao Ce's main force had just begun to set off.

To Xiao Ce's surprise, by the time they set off, over 200,000 disaster victims had already received their road rations and were heading towards the four prefectures of Mobei, with many still queuing up. Xu Zhiyuan estimated that at least 300,000 disaster victims had chosen to go.

This made Xiao Ce extremely happy; these people were priceless!

When Xiao Ce left, Xu Zhiyuan led many merchants and common people to see him off.

They all knew very well that if it weren't for Xiao Ce's appearance, their city would probably have been occupied by someone else by now!

The merchants were deeply moved. After their auction at the city gates, the Tianshan snow salt and snow sugar became widely known among the elite.

They sold snow salt and frosting sugar, which cost 150 taels per catty, for a high price of 1,000 taels per catty.

And demand still exceeded supply! This made these merchants incredibly wealthy, far more than they could earn selling grain...

Xiao Ce, riding his horse, said to Han Da and Yan Jia, "Han Da, Yan Jia, I need you to train them as soon as possible! The four prefectures of Mobei must have heard about my situation. When that happens, those powerful and influential families in the four prefectures of Mobei will definitely not let those disaster victims in! So, we won't be long before we have a tough battle!"