The Later Three Kingdoms: Slaying Deng Ai, and Reviving the Han Dynasty

Outside Fanxian County.

On the river, a medium-sized boat, steered by the boatman, sails forward through the wind and waves.

A chubby middle-aged man stood on the deck. It wasn't hot today, and he wasn't wearing thick clothes, but sweat still kept pouring out, soaking his clothes.

He gave a wry smile, took out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat, but the more he wiped, the more sweat he produced.

"I never imagined that after Prime Minister Zhuge Liang, a King of the North would emerge. Relying on his fearsome reputation, he has driven up the price of Shu brocade," the man sighed.

He was from Wu County, and his name was Zhu Chang. He was a well-known Shu brocade merchant in Wu County, backed by the Zhu family of Wu County.

Zhuge Liang was skilled at governing the country, making it prosperous and the law was clear. Even people from Eastern Wu and Cao Wei admired him, and many were willing to call him "Prime Minister".

During Zhuge Liang's time, Shu brocade dominated the market, and its price remained high. Later, as the people of Shu fought for power and profit, the price of Shu brocade was driven down.

Now things are much better; the King of the North has entered the fray and reunified the Shu brocade world.

Today, Huang Chong has come forward to summon merchants from Cao Wei, Eastern Wu, and the South.

After another fifteen minutes of sailing, the boat arrived at a small ferry crossing. The ferry crossing was full of boats, some of which had banners that Zhu Chang recognized; they were all merchants from Eastern Wu.

Not far away is a manor, rumored to be the property of the King of the North, with 3,500 acres of land.

After the ship docked, Zhu Chang disembarked and walked to the manor with his entourage.

Strong men guarded the gate of the manor. After inquiring about Zhu Chang's identity and background, they invited him inside and led him to a room where he sat down.

Three people were already seated in the room. They looked up at Zhu Chang and sighed in unison.

They were intimately familiar with each other, all being merchants of Shu brocade from the Eastern Wu, and having countless connections with prominent families in Jiangdong.

Zhu Chang was not the last person. In the end, seven wealthy merchants sat in this small room.

After a while, Huang Chong, surrounded by his entourage, entered the room with his hand on his sword and knelt down in the main seat. Before the merchants could greet him, Huang Chong said directly, "You all know what happened, and I'm telling you now clearly: the price of Shu brocade is going to increase."

Huang Chong's aggressive attitude left the seven businessmen exchanging bewildered glances, their faces showing even more bitterness.

Huang Chong ignored him and continued, "Secondly, everyone knows that trade doesn't involve empty ships. Eastern Wu needs Shu brocade, and the Han Dynasty also needs Eastern Wu's goods. Pearls, grain, and rare treasures are nothing special, so I won't go into them. The King of the North needs people."

He raised his head and said in an unquestionable tone, "Because our Great Han has repeatedly launched northern expeditions and fought against Cao Wei, the fields have become barren. The King of Beidi has many fields, but he suffers from a lack of people to cultivate them. Of course, I also know the rules. Eastern Wu does not allow people to leave the country. Therefore, the King of Beidi does not want ordinary people, but rather Menghu and Shanyue people."

"Whoever brings the Menghu and Shanyue people here can trade Shu brocade first."

After speaking, Huang Chong straightened his posture and looked at the seven merchants, indicating that he had finished speaking and they could now speak.

The seven wealthy merchants were dumbfounded and speechless.

They knew Liu Chen would raise prices, and there was nothing they could do about it. All the powerful and wealthy in the land needed Shu brocade, and only the Liu Han dynasty possessed it. But in addition to his exorbitant demands, Liu Chen also wanted more people.

Although they are not considered part of the official population, the Moehu and Yama-etsu people are not something that can be created simply by wishing for them.

Menghu can also buy them privately, while the Shanyue people have to send troops to capture them, or wait for the Shanyue people to come down the mountain to plunder, and take the opportunity to defeat and capture them.

This is not a simple matter.

After a while, the seven merchants wanted to speak, but they couldn't bring themselves to say anything. Huang Chong's attitude was clear: he wouldn't relax his conditions.

They could only negotiate with the powerful families behind them to capture the Yue people.

Huang Chong was satisfied with the attitude of the seven merchants. He had other matters to attend to, so after saying a few words, he got up and left.

Huang Chong arrived at the inner courtyard and entered a room. Chen Yongzheng, who was kneeling and drinking tea, quickly put down his teacup upon seeing Huang Chong enter and asked, "Lord Huang, how did things go?"

Huang Chong shook his head and said casually, "We have Shu brocade, and it's not the imperial court that wants the Yue people, but the King of Beidi who wants them to farm. They will find a way to capture them. But if this continues, the Eastern Wu court will eventually realize what's going on. I'm afraid the human trafficking won't last long."

Chen Yong nodded. That was to be expected; the Eastern Wu court wasn't going to be idle. The Jiangdong region was mountainous and watery, largely undeveloped. Eastern Wu had been capturing the Yue people, using the weak to develop Jiangdong and the strong to train elite troops.

Huang Chong has almost finished taking care of things here. He's leaving tomorrow, and he has some things to tell Chen Yong before he goes.

The two sat and drank tea, chatting. After finishing their business, Chen Yong suddenly said, "By the way, does Master Huang know of the River-Turning Dragon: Chang Heng?"

"I know." Huang Chong nodded. Yizhou is a place with many rivers and lakes, and the government is in chaos. Men either go up the mountain to become mountain bandits or go down the river to become river bandits. Speaking of river bandits in Yizhou, the most famous one a few decades ago was Gan Ning, the Jinfan Bandit, a general of Eastern Wu.

But the most famous river pirate at present is Chang Heng, also known as the River-Turning Dragon. He is extremely brave, has a good command of river pirates, and is very secretive.

He robbed passing merchant ships everywhere, but people knew neither his origins nor what he looked like. Now that the imperial court was weak and the prefectures and counties were powerless to subdue Chang Heng, Chang Heng's reputation grew ever stronger.

Huang Chong said, "I know that Lord Chen is worried that Chang Heng is blocking the trade routes, but please rest assured. Although the pirates led by Chang Heng have indeed caused damage to merchant ships, there are countless merchant ships traveling between Eastern Wu and the Han Dynasty, so the losses are negligible. It's nothing to worry about."

After a pause, a glint of murderous intent flashed in his eyes as he said, "Of course. If he manages to rob the King of the North, Lieutenant Zhang Sheng will lead his troops to defeat him."

Chen Yong did have such concerns, but since Huang Chong had already said so, he didn't say anything more and just nodded.

Shortly after, Chen Yong got up and left the manor. Huang Chong saw him off, then returned to his bedroom to rest and recharge.

The next morning, Huang Chong left the manor without informing anyone, and with his entourage, boarded a carriage and returned to Chengdu.

It was evening.

Huang Chong returned to the Northern King's Palace outside Chengdu.

Liu Chen sent someone to welcome Huang Chong in.

Under the eaves in front of the side hall, Liu Chen stood smiling, dressed in coarse linen. Though in commoner's clothes, he still exuded an air of royalty. He addressed Huang Chong, "Minister Huang, you are truly my trusted advisor. I have prepared wine and dishes; please, Lord Huang, take your seat and drink with me."

Liu Chen was very happy. A plan is one thing, but whether it will actually be implemented is another matter entirely.

Huang Chong handled things well, and his wealth is about to experience even faster growth.

There is also the population of the Yue people in the mountains.

Huang Chong looked up at Liu Chen, whose smile made all his fatigue disappear, replaced by a feeling of joy.

The emperor sits on the dragon throne, and his ministers exert their utmost efforts.

They are like fish and water, that's wonderful.

"Yes." Huang Chong readily agreed and went up. Liu Chen took Huang Chong's hand, and the emperor and his minister entered the side hall together for a joyous feast.