Seeing Yang Qingzhi's smug look, Zhao Cheng understood perfectly.

Back in Lingshan, Yang Qingzhi was bullied terribly by him. He put himself in Yang Qingzhi's shoes and wanted to take revenge.

"What's there to be unaccustomed to?" Zhao Cheng recalled that scene from the past and said, "What did we say back then? Oh right! It's a pleasure to meet you, young governor of Southern Zhou."

Yang Qingzhi smiled and said, "Young Prime Minister of Dajing, we've finally met."

Zhao Cheng reenacted the scene, a smile playing on his lips, and said, "I'm thinking, should I kill you, or capture you and take you back for the reward?"

“That’s outrageous!” Yang Qingzhi said smugly. “Now it’s my turn to ask you.”

As he spoke, Yang Qingzhi put the cat down and reached out to pinch Zhao Cheng's chin.

Zhao Cheng said seriously, "Don't kiss me."

"How disgusting!" Yang Qingzhi's lips twitched as he said, "Do you want to live?"

"Is that even a question? My wife is pregnant, and I'm waiting to go home and hold the baby!" Zhao Cheng said frankly, without pretending to be fearless.

Yang Qingzhi laughed and said, "You're going to be a father soon? Congratulations!"

Zhao Cheng asked, "Are you a father now?"

Yang Qingzhi said, "I have no women by my side, only cats."

Zhao Cheng said quietly, "That can't be produced."

Yang Qingzhi: "..."

"What are we talking about?" Yang Qingzhi released Zhao Cheng's chin and said, "Don't interrupt. This is my turf."

“I didn’t interrupt,” Zhao Cheng argued.

"I'm not going to waste my breath on you!" Yang Qingzhi said, feeling a little dizzy. "If you want to live, I'll give you a chance. Write a letter to Yuan Zhang and have him send it to the Right Prime Minister's residence, or figure it out yourself. Hurry up and raise the money for you."

"Raise money?"

"Pay the money to ransom them, and the transaction is complete!"

Zhao Cheng was taken aback for a moment, then smiled.

Pay the ransom to redeem the person, and the transaction is complete!

How familiar those words are...

Yang Qingzhi is deliberately retaliating, copying what others have done!

Zhao Cheng asked, as if to confirm, "Can this be resolved with money?"

Yang Qingzhi said, "I have no interest in your life, but it depends on how much money they can offer to ransom you. If it's too little, it's an insult to you, and I can give you a knife so you can kill yourself."

Zhao Cheng asked, "How much is considered a lot, and how much is considered a little?"

"It will definitely be more than the ransom I paid back then!"

"I'm nowhere near as valuable as the young governor!"

"You're being modest, aren't you?"

Yang Qingzhi leaned closer to Zhao Cheng, staring into his eyes, and said, "You're not the same person you were before. You've transformed into a prince consort and started a business, selling immortal wine that's incredibly popular! How could I possibly compare to your wealth? So, my ransom was one million taels, you should at least multiply it several times over, right? Five million taels, isn't that reasonable?"

"Then you might as well just kill me. Where are Yuan Zhang and the others going to get five million taels of silver?!" Zhao Cheng simply lay down.

Yang Qingzhi said, "The Right Prime Minister's residence!"

Zhao Cheng shouted, "My father's pockets are cleaner than his face!"

Yang Qingzhi shrugged and said, "Then there's nothing I can do. I won't tell Yuan Zhang the exact amount; let him try to raise it and see how much he can get."

With that, Yang Qingzhi picked up the cat and walked out of the tent, saying, "You just stay here and be good. Someone will bring you food. Just call when you need to use the restroom, and I'll come back to keep you company tonight."

"Wait!" Zhao Cheng called out to Yang Qingzhi as he reached the tent entrance.

"What did you do to that girl?"

Yang Qingzhi turned around and smiled, saying, "It won't be a good outcome for a female warrior to become a prisoner."

Zhao Cheng's eyes widened as he struggled against the ropes, saying, "What kind of skill is it to bully women!"

Yang Qingzhi said, "I know, she's no ordinary woman."

"Listen to me, you don't have to go through all this trouble to get money!" Zhao Cheng, bound hand and foot, could only hop towards Yang Qingzhi and said, "I have a way to make you a lot of money, definitely much more than five million taels. Don't touch Zhou Nuo, protect her!"

Yang Qingzhi stroked the cat, smiled at Zhao Cheng, and said, "Tell me about it."

Zhao Cheng said, "You know my business is very profitable. Immortal Wine and goods from the Eastern Chamber of Commerce are all easy to sell. If we cooperate, we can introduce these products to Nanzhou, and you can have the entire Nanzhou market!"

"Just think about the profits involved. What's a mere five million taels?!"

Yang Qingzhi said with a half-smile, "Young Prime Minister, do you know that when I first heard the news that you had started doing business, I didn't believe it? After the battle of Lingshan, I promised you I wouldn't tell anyone, and I helped you keep it a secret from the Jingguo court. Others may not know your achievements, but I know what kind of person you are. A person like you, instead of thinking about making contributions and establishing a career, instead of seeking an official position, actually went into business?"

"Now I believe it."

"You're already a prisoner, and you're still thinking about business."

Yang Qingzhi took a few steps back and continued, "This is a good deal. Others lose their fighting spirit when they become prisoners, but you, even as a prisoner, still want to do business. If I agree to your request, wouldn't that be helping you open up the Southern Zhou market as well? I'm the one who captured you, and I'm supposed to help you count the money??"

"Do you even realize your place? You are a prisoner!!"

Zhao Cheng didn't argue, but simply asked, "Just tell me if you can make money?"

Yang Qingzhi was taken aback, then curled his lip and said, "The Governor's Mansion is not short of money, and I am not interested in money."

Zhao Cheng continued, "Take Jingdong County for example. The profit on average for a bar of soap is one tael of silver. Before I went south, the thirteen cities of Jingdong could sell more than 600,000 bars of soap every month. Add the profit from cologne, and a county could earn over a million taels of silver a month just from soap and cologne. And the immortal wine I'm launching now not only sells even better, but also has a higher profit margin. Most importantly, wine is a fast-moving consumer good and a perennial bestseller."

"Although the territory of Southern Zhou is not as large as that of Jingguo, it is still a kingdom of ten prefectures. Moreover, the people of Southern Zhou love beauty and are meticulous. Otherwise, why would so many merchants resell soap and cologne at high prices to Kangye? Little Commander, think about it. Even if you earn a million a month from one prefecture, ten prefectures would be tens of millions, and a hundred million taels a year!"

"This is just an estimate; the actual figure will definitely be more than that. Just hearing about it makes my mouth water... Are you sure you're not interested in money?"

Yang Qingzhi's facial muscles twitched as he said, "I said I'm not interested in money, not that I don't care about it. Look, eating, drinking, and relieving oneself all cost money, right? Clothing, food, shelter, and transportation all cost money, right? Most importantly, fighting a war costs money, right? Even this stupid cat of mine costs money for food and drink! And it can't get sick, because getting sick costs even more money!"

"Mmm-hmm-hmm!!" Zhao Cheng nodded vigorously in agreement.

Yang Qingzhi concluded, "So... even if you don't like money, you can't shut it out, right?"

"The young commander is right!"

Yang Qingzhi walked behind the tent flap, peeked out a corner, and shouted, "Bring in some drinks and food!"