Chapter 527 Bluffing?

“Brother Lin, we’ve known each other for a long time. I’ve only ever bought from your workshop since I came to Dayuan. I’ve never chosen anyone else. Now that you’re suddenly not taking orders, I’m going to be starving! My customers have all paid deposits. If I can’t deliver the goods, they’ll eat me alive!”

"Old Liu! It's not that I'm deliberately withholding your goods. Our refined iron equipment is a controlled resource. Normally, it's not prohibited from being bought and sold, but now... we have to follow the military's orders! But don't worry, I won't shortchange you a single penny of the goods you've already ordered. As for the rest, you'll just have to wait and see!"

Master Liu is the third son of the Liu family of Jinbei in Daxia. He is in charge of the entire Liu family's business. Ever since the Dayuan goods began to run rampant in Daxia, Master Liu seized this opportunity to make a fortune.

The Jinbei region is very close to the northern grasslands. The barbarians on the grasslands lack everything due to the control of the imperial court, and the merchants in Jinbei have always been secretly making a fortune by displaying their skills.

While other merchants in northern Shanxi were still foolishly selling grain and iron pots, Liu Sanye used his brother-in-law's connection as a border military commander of the Great Xia Dynasty to sell Dayuan's knife wound medicine, iron arrowheads, sugar, and strong liquor to the grasslands. In just a few years, the Liu family of northern Shanxi had multiplied their wealth several times over.

But when Master Liu returned to Da Yuan today with cash, he couldn't buy any goods. Apart from a few merchants who had paid deposits last year, everyone else refused to sell.

Master Liu wasn't afraid of rising prices; the higher the price, the better the market demand. He would never lose out as prices rose. But the fact that he couldn't buy goods no matter how much he raised the price left him dumbfounded.

"Brother Lin, you have so many goods in your warehouse... are you going to follow the military's orders all the way through? What if they decide they don't want them halfway through? What if they take the goods and don't pay? Won't you suffer a huge loss?"

"Old Liu! We merchants from Dayuan are not like you. We owe our wealth and peaceful lives to the Prince. What was I like before? What am I like now? Now that the Prince has been provoked, let alone demanding that my workshop sell at cost, I'll give him my life if he wants!"

Old Lin pounded his chest and said with fanaticism in his eyes, "I registered with the military conscription office yesterday. I'm not old yet, I can still handle knives and guns. As long as His Highness gives the order, I'll still take up a knife and chop people down!"

"Yes, yes, Brother Lin was a top figure in the army back then, his prestige is as strong as ever, haha!"

Liu Laosan glanced at Lao Lin's large belly and thought to himself, "You may have been a hero before, but are you still one now?"

Of course, Liu Laosan was more envious of Lao Lin. A wounded squad leader, he managed to get a "franchise license" from the Prince Heng's mansion based on his injuries. He could get a certain amount of fine steel every year. Although it was not much, it was enough for his workshop to use, allowing him to live a carefree life. In just a few years, he had a wife and four concubines, and a son and a daughter.

Moreover, as long as the Lin family holds this "franchise license," they can remain wealthy for three generations. Even if you have the money, you might not be able to buy the top-grade steel from the Taiyuan Steel Works. Didn't you hear that the Royal Workshop had to stop production recently due to a shortage?

"Alright then, Brother Lin, please help me load the goods I ordered before the New Year onto the ship! I'll ship them back first to tide me over!"

"Old Liu, didn't you used to bring your own boat here?"

"Brother Lin, please stop talking. Your shipping fleet is fast and cheap, and it doesn't attract pirates. I used it once last year and I remember it. Why would I waste money?"

"Why didn't you say so sooner, Lao Liu? Hurry up and come with me to the dock. Now, the military has the right to requisition any ship belonging to high-ranking officials, whether it belongs to the Development Bureau or is privately owned."

"What? Brother Lin, you have to help me, I'm..."

"Hurry, hurry! I have an old buddy who has a small fleet of boats. See if he can spare two for you..."

Scenes like those between Liu Laosan and Lao Lin were constantly playing out among the high-ranking officials. Workshops involved in war materials stopped accepting new orders and voluntarily registered with the military headquarters, explaining the types of materials they could produce and their production capacity.

The military has not yet assigned full production quotas, but the high-ranking official's workshop is willing to keep the workers and equipment idle without complaint, waiting for orders to produce at full capacity at any time.

Several understaffed infantry regiments under the military headquarters also began to fill their ranks. A large number of retired veterans were unconditionally conscripted. No matter how much you are worth now, whether you are a boss or a servant, as long as you are healthy, you must obey the arrangements of the conscription office.

Meanwhile, the Japanese and Koreans who had not yet obtained official household registration saw an opportunity and excitedly rushed to the conscription office.

"Hurry up, Sanlang! If you're late, it'll be too late. I heard they're only recruiting two battalions of new soldiers this time, and we'll have to compete with those Koreans for spots!"

"Oozumi, my age... I'm still a year too young. What if the officer finds out I'm lying..."

"You're even taller than me, who would know you're only fifteen? Back in my hometown in Japan, thirteen is enough to be a soldier. Don't you... want your blue household registration book... to turn green?"

"I.....Okay, let's go. At worst, I'll get beaten up and do hard labor for a few years!" Attracted by the green household registration of the high-ranking official, Nomura Saburo gritted his teeth, put down his work, and ran with Muranishi Osamu towards the conscription office.

Officials' household registrations are divided into three colors. Red represents local residents, and Qin Mo's retainers are all red-registered. Green represents outsiders who have made sufficient contributions to the official and have their household registration converted to green, and they can enjoy most of the benefits enjoyed by red-registered residents.

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