Chapter 173 Military Force as a Backing

The Spring Festival is a very important festival for Da Xia. Shops will close and children will reunite with their elders to share their feelings and chat.

Qin Mo was an anomaly. He had no close relatives in this world. Allen didn't care about the Spring Festival, and Uncle Lin had his own children and grandchildren around him, laughing and playing. Why should he bother others with their family reunions? So, since he came into this world, he had never had a peaceful Spring Festival. He was either on the battlefield in the north or on a voyage at sea.

He originally thought that he could have a peaceful Lunar New Year in Singapore this year by simply speaking to the garrison laborers. Unfortunately, he completely underestimated the meaning of the word "retainers". Uncle Lin and Xu Liyan arrived in Singapore directly with the secret fleet transporting goods and laborers.

"Uncle Lin and Uncle Xu, why are you two, instead of spending New Year's Eve in Taiyuan, coming to Lion City?"

“Your Highness, you are no longer the heir apparent you once were. You can no longer address him as ‘uncle’ or ‘aunt,’ lest you break the rules and diminish the dignity of the court. As for Old Xu and I, we are here to pay our respects to the head of the family on New Year’s Eve. If Lion City weren’t still a secret location, the other generals would also have come to pay their respects. But Your Highness, rest assured, Allen has already promised to take good care of the high-ranking officials.”

Qin Mo was the head of these vassal families and was supposed to receive the worship of his subordinates on New Year's Eve. However, in recent years, his whereabouts had been uncertain, so he had neglected this ritual and forgotten this custom.

"Alright, Uncle Lin and Uncle Xu, let's not discuss these formalities when outsiders aren't around. We're all family, so let's not stand on ceremony. Now that you two have come to Lion City, let's see how vast this land is and how rich the ocean is."

"I have bought a piece of land in Malacca. Once it is built, I will let various businesses move in and wait for business to come to us. Then I will find a guide and start capital invasion."

Qin Mo briefly explained her business strategy to Lin Huaiyuan and Xu Liyan, but the two Xuan Realm experts obviously didn't understand a thing and just remained silent, pretending to be confused.

Qin Mo understood from the expressions of the two men that this kind of capital dumping couldn't be explained in a few words, so she simply gathered the heads of each company for a dinner party and explained it in detail.

"Malacca is a commercial area that I allocated to the orphans of some of my soldiers. But the Malacca Free Trade Zone is different. It was a piece of land that I obtained by chance, and it has been of great help to our development plans."

Qin Mo drew a simple map on the blackboard showing the relative positions of Sumatra and Java with Malacca. Pointing to the three points of Aceh, Palembang, and Jambi, he said, "These places are currently subjugated by the powerful Majapahit, but they have a lot of freedom and are very close to Malacca. There must be some connection between the two places."

“We’ll offer them a few items they can’t refuse, and wait for their people to come and test us, or find someone in the area who is familiar with the situation on the other side. Then we won’t be far from success.”

"The pioneering team can follow the method of our pioneering administration and find a few families in each kingdom to act as agents. Let them get rich first. Once they are rich, they will become the best guides. They will help you deal with a lot of troubles, and if they can't handle it, they will also tip you off."

"Our goal is to let some people get rich first, and then help more people get rich. These people will ignore any power and law, and they will support whoever makes them money."

Qin Mo, who had been sitting upright, stood up when he got to this point, and his infectious gestures made all the colonists present feel excited.

"I do not recommend using force to solve problems. Goods are the best weapon, but force will always be your strong backing. If you have no difficulties, come back to Lion City. The fleet and infantry of our homeland will show these ungrateful barbarians what the dignity of our great men is!"

"To the prosperity and glory of our esteemed officials, cheers!"

Qin Mo raised his glass in a gesture of respect, then drank it all in one gulp. Everyone stood up in unison, tilted their heads back, and downed their drinks as well. Even the seasoned Uncle Lin had red eyes. They had only half-understood what Qin Mo had said, but they understood the meaning of "blocking someone's path to wealth is like killing their parents." He was telling them to support a few locals who helped him sell his goods. If they sold well, fine; if not, they would take up arms and fight!

The Spring Festival of the seventh year of Zhaowu has passed, and the new and old laborers in Lion City have resumed their busy lives. They all sent letters and money back to their hometowns. The heat near the equator did not deter their desire to make money.

The nouveau riche were far more eager to make money than the laborers. Right after the Lunar New Year, they brought thousands of laborers to the port in Malacca that Qin Mo had bought. Some built docks, some built markets, and they were busy as bees.

"Bailimisula, I'm giving you a few opportunities to make a fortune, are you in or not?"

"The benefactor smiled; who doesn't want to get rich!"

"Do they have connections with the nobles on the southern island?"

"...That was many years ago, and I haven't contacted them for a long time," Sudan said with an awkward laugh. He had been kicked out, and it was really difficult for others to know him.

“Send someone over with these goods and tell them that anyone interested in doing this business should come to the bonded zone to discuss it. If a deal is reached, you, the Sultan, will get five percent of the profits. What do you think?”

"...Well, I'll give it a try!" Bairimisula had little understanding of the five-point rate and struggled to cope. If Qin Mo's subordinates knew that he was getting five percent just for relaying a message, and he wasn't happy about it, they'd slap him across the face, no matter who he was, Sultan or anyone else.

A small boat carrying sugar, tea, wine, cloth, and ironware headed south. The Strait of Malacca is very narrow, and crossing it would only take a few hours. The Sultan sent Sula, an old acquaintance of Qin Mo, to accompany the boat to find someone, and then went to see his new palace.

Qin Mo gave him a magnificent architectural plan and even assigned him an experienced master craftsman, which delighted him. Compared to Qin Mo's business, he felt that the palace plan was more valuable.

The experienced master craftsman from the high-ranking official, along with his two apprentices, managed to keep the lazy natives in line. Soon, Sultan Parameswara saw the results and realized that he would be able to move into the new palace in just a few months.

When the Sultan Gao Xin invited the master chef to a banquet, sincerely offering him the best dishes and wines, he noticed the gourd the master chef carried with him. The generous master chef then let him taste the truly fine wine of Da Yuan.

"Great Xia... what a magical country!" The drunken Sultan muttered the same sentence before going to sleep.

"Sultan...Sultan, wake up."

A knock on the door woke Bairimisula. He recognized the voice of his trusted confidant, Sula, and sobered up considerably: "Sula, didn't you go to Palembang? Why are you back so soon?"

The Sultan opened the door and saw Sula, who was covered in sweat. "Sultan, the prince of Palembang has arrived!"

“The prince of Palembang? Aren’t I the prince of Palembang?” Parameswara was getting agitated. He shook his head, which was feeling dizzy, and said angrily.

"My dear brother, it's been so many years! How have you been? Your palace... it's truly tasteful!"

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