Starting with choosing a wife, creating the most powerful Xia

Wang Fang was extremely efficient; he handed the list to Chu Xuan early the next morning.

It didn't take much effort at all. Most of the people he found agreed without hesitation, and the rest accepted after just a little thought. Not a single person refused.

Mountain bandits are sometimes more grateful and repaying than those who consider themselves noble.

Chu Xuan didn't say anything more.

That afternoon, these people were taken from the village under the pretext of guarding the salt fields and sent to an unnamed mountain valley.

Chu Xuan personally escorted them there.

Most of these people were single men, with no family to worry about. Only a few had families, so Chu Xuan made a special trip to their homes to comfort them and gave them a lot of silver.

Those women weren't completely unaware. When Chu Xuan arrived, he saw that their eyes were all red, so they probably already knew what their husband was going to do.

He didn't say much, but simply accepted the money silently.

That's just how the world is. They were grateful to Chu Xuan, and since their husbands were willing to die for their benefactor, they, as women, had no right to refuse and could only silently accept it.

Chu Xuan was speechless in front of them. After leaving the silver and promising to treat the men well, he left directly.

They then found the village chief and began planning the weaving factory, which would provide the women with a place to settle down and make a living.

The village chief was a little confused.

"Sir, who exactly are those people...?"

Many things that happened today were somewhat unexpected to him.

It's certainly not good to leave the salt fields unattended, and it's normal to station people there. But when those people left, their faces were all as hard as iron, as if they were going to their deaths. Chu Xuan even personally saw them off, which is very strange.

But before he could finish speaking, Chu Xuan waved his hand.

"Village chief, don't ask. In the future, don't mention anything about them in the village. Just pretend they really went to the salt fields. Over three months, under the pretext of being killed by wild animals, slowly register them in Lucheng."

“Those of them who have families should be registered as migrants in the village. You, the village chief, will distribute all their living necessities. Give them more during festivals and holidays, and there must be no shortage of them.”

"Yes……"

Upon hearing this, the village chief was even more shocked.

Putting aside how bizarre it was to be killed by wild animals and registered as dead, the treatment they received afterward made him even more curious about what these people were doing.

But the village chief was a wise old man. Although he didn't have much experience, he knew a lot about how to conduct oneself. He knew that Chu Xuan didn't want to talk about it, so he didn't ask any further questions.

But Chu Xuan still shook his head and said seriously.

“They will be a nightmare for others, but for us, they will be heroes.”

A seemingly random remark caused the old village chief to momentarily lose his composure.

When I came to my senses, Chu Xuan was already gone.

After settling everyone's families, Chu Xuan began to handle matters related to the salt fields.

In three days, with the purifier running at full capacity, the harvest was quite substantial.

On the day An Youzhong's people arrived, Chu Xuan already had three hundred catties of snow salt in his hands.

"Please come in and speak."

Seeing several elderly men in brocade robes and a few guards outside the door, Chu Ling'er smiled faintly and led them into Chu Xuan's study.

"Greetings, Young Master Chu."

After entering the room, the group bowed to Chu Xuan, who was reviewing reports.

Chu Xuan stood up and invited them to sit down, while Chu Ling'er, with great tact, withdrew and closed the door.

"Are you gentlemen sent by His Highness the Crown Prince to collect salt?"

“Indeed. I am Chen Youzhong, a clerk by His Highness the Crown Prince’s side.”

The elderly man at the head of the group was stern and looked at Chu Xuan with a hint of doubt in his eyes.

Chu Xuan didn't care. After all, they were from a noble family and were cautious in their actions. It was only natural that they looked down on a young man like him, and there was no need to argue.

He nodded slightly, opened the black cloth beside him, and several bags came into view.

"Two hundred and fifty catties, all of them are here. Please check them yourselves."

Chu Xuan returned to his seat as he spoke.

The group frowned slightly, looking somewhat displeased.

Before setting off, An Youzhong told them to be very polite to Chu Xuan, even saying that he was An Youzhong's honored guest.

However, the people present were all from the Prince's Mansion and were trusted confidants of An You. Otherwise, they would not have been sent here. Their status naturally brought them a lot of arrogance. It was already a favor for them to show respect to a young man from a mountain village. However, Chu Xuan even seemed somewhat indifferent, which naturally made them dissatisfied.

"Young Master Chu, is it? Our young master values ​​you because he believes you are indeed capable, but..."

"Do not talk nonsense."

Chu Xuan suddenly looked up at him, his eyes sharp and cold, like a blade suddenly drawn from its sheath, its gleam chilling and making one instinctively tremble with fear.

Chen Youzhong swallowed hard.

What's going on? Isn't this just a collateral branch of the Chu family in a mountain village?

What was that imposing aura just now?

In all his decades of experience, he had only ever seen such an aura in the Prince of Liyang, so how could it appear in a young man?

That look in his eyes... clearly, Chu Xuan has taken lives on his hands, and more than one!

He even had reason to suspect that if he continued, Chu Xuan might actually kill him.

madman!

Chu Xuan looked at the group with a cold eye.

"Let me make this clear: I'm a partner to your master, not his subordinate. Besides, given the current situation, he needs my help, but I'm not indispensable to him, do you understand?"

"Just because you come from a royal family, you dare to bark at me like that? Believe me, even if I kill you and send your head back, your master won't dare say a word to me."

These words left An You with almost no face whatsoever.

But the group unexpectedly fell silent.

They knew that Chu Xuan was telling the truth.

An You was desperately short of money; otherwise, let alone seizing the throne, the mutiny of his subordinates without their monthly stipends could have dragged him down.

In this sense, An Youzhong does indeed need Chu Xuan's help, and Chu Xuan? He can simply find someone else. The world is vast, and An Youzhong is not the only one who can sell smuggled salt. With Chu Xuan's current status and reputation, finding someone to do this is extremely easy.

It just takes a lot more effort at best.

Seeing the others fall silent, Chu Xuan sneered inwardly.

He knew that these people from royal families considered themselves superior, so he hadn't intended to argue with them. But these people were oblivious to their own fate and insisted on pointing fingers at him, relying on An Youzhong as their backer.

Chu Xuan could naturally not care, but he also needed to make it clear to these people who was in control of this deal.

After this show of force, these people probably won't dare to act recklessly anymore.