His Majesty is plotting a rebellion? Quickly, summon the Imperial Advisor!

"Traitor, what right does a mere Imperial Advisor have to punish me?" Ji Yuan turned his head away, looking at the falling snow outside the window, and muttered to himself.

Now that they were riding in the same carriage, she didn't dare to provoke them openly.

The four sides of Da Xi City, in the east, west, south, and north, correspond to the four urban areas of the Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise, respectively.

The streets in each district are scattered and not particularly well-organized. However, as the capital of the entire Dae Hee Kingdom, it is generally orderly. There are also quite a few markets, restaurants, and workshops.

Because of Dae Hee's low productivity and insufficient food production, more manpower needed to be devoted to agriculture. This inevitably led to weaknesses in other areas.

Xu Bing now has a lot of money in his hands. The worst thing in business is to only take in money and not give it out.

Only by allowing money to circulate can it fulfill its intended purpose.

Of course, Xu Bing hadn't figured out what to do yet. He was just thinking that since he was in the city, he might as well take care of some things.

Now that winter has arrived and the weather is getting colder, he needs to provide his men with extra blankets and clothing.

In Da Xi, a bolt of cloth costs around 300 wen, enough to make five sets of clothes, including a top and bottom. Any leftover cloth can be used to make pockets and outer garments.

The carriage stopped in front of a cloth shop on Qinglong Street.

This cloth shop is called "Zhang's Cloth Shop". The owner is a man surnamed Zhang, who is considered a person of some importance in Daxi City.

Xu Bing had Bai Shangxue investigate the background of Zhang's Cloth Shop. The lack of powerful connections within the imperial court explained the shop's relatively small size.

The taxes paid by Zhang's Cloth Shop were far more than those paid by other cloth shops with family backgrounds.

Therefore, after comparing various options, Xu Bing decided to cooperate with this cloth shop.

Although his cooking army numbered less than a thousand, it was counted as a thousand, plus the more than two hundred and fifty villagers of Tan Village.

There were about 1,200 people in total. Before Xu Binglai arrived, he had calculated that he could buy 500 bolts of cloth on this trip.

What he wanted was thicker fabric, which had excellent warmth retention. Many common women, passing by the cloth shop, saw the fabrics and lingered there, reluctant to leave.

It should be understood that, given the average person's financial resources, they could only save some money to buy fabric and new clothes during years of plenty.

The clothes he was wearing were old and patched, and when they were too small, they were passed down to his younger siblings, generation after generation, until they were no longer suitable to be worn out before they were discarded.

This thickened fabric, of course, needs no further explanation.

When Xu Bing entered the cloth shop and explained his intentions, he immediately attracted the attention of the shop owner, who recognized this as a potentially lucrative business opportunity.

The owner of Zhang's Cloth Shop was named Zhang Dekai. He was a plump middle-aged man with a round face, ruddy complexion, and bright eyes.

Hearing that a distinguished guest had arrived, he hurried over to greet him. Before he even got close, he saw a man who was nine feet tall and wore a mask.

In the tea room.

Zhang Dekai and Xu Bingji sat facing each other.

"It's alright, just be natural."

Xu Bing waved his hand, noticing the somewhat restrained atmosphere around him, and broke the silence.

Ji Yuan, standing to the side, was numb. Xu Bing's aura was too powerful; even without revealing his true face, no one dared to be negligent.

And when she was beside it, the dragon's aura was suppressed, and she could do nothing.

For some reason, I felt that this man was steady and reliable, and there was an inexplicable sense of dependability in his every move.

Anything that falls into his hands will be resolved step by step, calmly and methodically.

Ji Yuan herself was the one who got eliminated.

Meeting in a teahouse naturally meant there was a big deal to discuss. Xu Bing sipped his tea and casually offered his opinion: he wanted to buy five hundred bolts of cloth.

Moreover, it's made of thick, warm fabric.

He had no interest in scheming and haggling, after all, he was not a businessman, but a national advisor; his perspective and style of doing things were very different.

Seeing that the other party was like this, Zhang Dekai got straight to the point and told Xu Bing that an ordinary bolt of cloth would cost around 280 coins. Sometimes the price would fluctuate.

Thicker cloth is more expensive, costing 420 coins per bolt. If further processing is required, an additional processing fee of 40 coins per bolt of cloth will be charged.

Xu Bing didn't hesitate and bought it directly. Five hundred bolts of thick cloth cost 210,000 cash, which is 210 taels of silver.

This is no small sum; Xu Bing's entire fortune is only a little over nine thousand taels of silver.

Just the task of collecting clothes from these thousand-plus people cost over two hundred taels of silver.

Without Jiu Mi as a powerful weapon, he wouldn't have been able to play so easily.

In addition, there is a processing fee: 40 cash for one bolt of cloth, so 500 bolts would cost 20,000 cash, or 20 taels of silver.

The total is 230 taels.

Xu Bing didn't mince words. He signed an order with Zhang Dekai, stamped it, and only needed Xu Bing to pay 40% of the silver upfront before the order could be processed.

"and many more."

"Could you show me your workshop?"

Xu Bing asked.

Ji Yuan glanced sideways, wondering what this thief was up to.

"Sure, of course, I'll prepare the horses right away." Zhang Dekai beamed with joy. Having received such a large order, he would be willing to warm someone's bed even if it meant doing something else.

Moreover, this gentleman is so straightforward, there's no reason not to serve him well.

Zhang's Cloth Shop's workshop was not located in Daxi City, where land rent was expensive and expenses were high. Instead, it was located in a village below Daxi City.

That village is called Zhangjia Village, which is also Zhang Dekai's hometown.

The village has about a hundred households. Zhang Dekai opened a workshop in the village, employing some local women and others professional women.

Most women in Da Xi are skilled in needlework, including needlework, embroidery, and weaving. Zhang Dekai's workshop never lacks workers.

With a simple call, anyone who's free will come over.

Xu Bing arrived at Zhangjia Village, inspected the area, and already understood the situation.

"Someone will deliver the deposit to your residence tonight. I need to get these clothes as soon as possible."

Xu Bing said.

Zhang Dekai patted his chest and promised that he would deliver it within three days. After saying that, he muttered to himself that this time he would probably have to mobilize the whole village.

Zhangjia Village is relatively wealthy and has some surplus because of Zhang Dekai.

On the way back, Xu Bing was deeply moved. He realized that if he had money, he might be able to open a cloth shop.

A conscientious cloth shop can make life much better for an entire village.

As Xu Bing was building up his army, the shortage of cloth would only worsen, and his dealings with cloth merchants would become even closer.

There are still many things to take care of.

Xu Bing, rubbing his chin, sat in the carriage and headed towards Da Xi City.

Ji Yuan was in a state of utter confusion. Xu Bing's actions today were undoubtedly telling her that he was raising an army.

That army must have been around a thousand people.

Moreover, they were private troops, receiving no funding or provisions from the imperial court.

It is extremely difficult to maintain an army with one's own financial resources. Today's two hundred taels is just a drop in the ocean.

Moreover, after meeting the soldiers' basic living needs, they also need management and training.

Xu Bing couldn't possibly be unaware of all this. Where did his confidence come from? ... Ji Yuan looked at Xu Bing, trying to see through this man.