Chapter 323: The Demon Concubine Does Not Harm the Country, She Only Wants to Harm the Imperial Master (Twenty-Seven)
It was called a banquet, but Yu Huo was really stingy. There was no big fish or meat at all, just a small plate of noodles and half a bowl of stewed meat. After everyone got used to the novelty of it, they ate it up quickly.
Many pro-peace officials showed some resistance to the war with Ukraine and left in a hurry after eating on the pretext of something.
Several officials from the pro-war faction chatted with Yu Huo for a while, and when the sun set they said goodbye.
The remaining ten merchants wanted to follow those high-ranking officials and curry their favor along the way.
Yu Huo stopped them and said, "Please be patient, my dear bosses. I have trouble seeing. Would you mind taking your glassware back with you?"
Upon hearing this, the merchants hurriedly sat back down as instructed.
Seeing this, the officials who advocated war showed envy in their eyes. However, in the current national conditions, any official who was dedicated to serving the people and the country did not have much money. They might be able to take out five thousand taels, but to buy two plates and bowls for eating... no one was willing to spend them.
They walked very slowly, and the eagerness on their faces was evident. When the merchants saw this, the smiles in their eyes widened, and they all secretly sighed that the money was well spent.
After all, when you spend money, you buy a sense of superiority.
But what they didn't know was that after those pro-war officials left, they all received a gift from the accountant of the National Master's Mansion, a glass bowl. This housewarming party of the National Master's Mansion was a good one for both the host and the guests.
On the other side, several merchants felt uneasy when they saw that the servants had not yet delivered the glass tableware. The head of the Li family was impatient and hesitated to ask.
"Master Imperial Master, why haven't the servants returned yet?"
Yu Huo pretended to be worried and sighed: "To be honest, I have something to discuss with you guys."
Several merchants looked at each other, wariness in their eyes, but still cautiously asked, "What instructions does the Master have for you?"
Yu Huo tapped the table lightly with his slender fingers, looking embarrassed: "After chatting today, I found that several of the bosses are righteous businessmen. Their hearts for the country and the people are touching, so I told them the truth.
Right now, the war between Daning and Wu is imminent, and the military rations are really worrying me.
In troubled times, food will definitely be difficult to transport. If we buy a large amount of food in the capital now, once war breaks out, the capital will be in short supply. When that happens, food prices will remain high. What will the people of the capital do?"
Which merchant present here does not have a large amount of food stored up?
Once food becomes scarce, they will definitely seize the opportunity to make a fortune. Merchants are profit-driven. In this world, for merchants to become one of the top ten merchants, the first element of their success is to be ruthless.
Even if the grain will rot in the granary, they will not use it to reduce the high food prices.
So after Yu Huo expressed his concerns, the scene fell into a strange silence.
These businessmen are the kind of people who won't act until they see the rabbit. Without the motivation of interests, it is impossible for them to be taken advantage of.
Yu Huo had anticipated this scene, and without waiting long, he turned his head to look at Gao Ling, who was standing beside him with his eyes lowered.
"Eunuch Gao, has the list of imperial merchants for this year's assessment been released?"
As soon as these words came out, the expressions of the three imperial merchants instantly became cold.
Gao Ling took a step forward calmly upon hearing this: "Master Imperial Master, His Majesty has been unwell recently. The matter of the Imperial Merchant Assessment has been submitted to the Imperial Desk, but no decision has been made yet."
Yu Huo nodded gently: "In that case, I will go to the palace tomorrow to pray for the king."
Gao Ling said very tactfully, "That's great! With the Imperial Master here, Your Majesty will definitely recover. Only when Your Majesty is well can he deal with the accumulated matters on the imperial desk as soon as possible, right?"
Yu Huo smiled and said, "That's right, the war is about to start, and Your Majesty is needed to take charge and make decisions. With Your Majesty here, those of us who work for the court can have no worries.
In fact, everything in this world is the same. Take business, for example. As long as you have the title of "Royal Merchant", you can rely on it when doing business and will not be restricted by others. Don't you agree?"
After giving sweet dates, the slap in the face will come.
Everyone knew that Yu Huo, the Imperial Master, had gained the favor of His Majesty in just one month. If the Imperial Merchant wanted to replace him, it would only take a word.
The three imperial merchants could not help but break out in cold sweat. The head of the Zhao family quickly stepped forward to express his loyalty: "Master Imperial Master, please rest assured. I am willing to draw on the grain stored in the warehouse to control the grain prices in the capital."
Yu Huo was deeply moved when he heard this: "The Patriarch of the Zhao family is indeed worthy of being one of the three great imperial merchants. His awareness is really high. Don't worry, Boss Zhao, I will definitely put in a few good words for you in front of the king and protect your position as an imperial merchant."
The Zhao family patriarch was unable to express his grievances. He smiled awkwardly and said, "Then I would like to thank the Imperial Master."
One person couldn't hold on, and the remaining heads of the Sun and Li families also quickly stood up and showed their loyalty.
Yu Huo bowed to them with satisfaction: "Then I would like to thank you all very much."
The three family heads said with pale faces: "We don't deserve the thanks from the Imperial Master."
"You are welcome, I am grateful to the three Patriarchs from the bottom of my heart."
Yu Huo shook his head after he finished speaking, his voice trembling: "You may not know yet, this time the war with Wu Kingdom was entirely provoked by Wu Kingdom. They wrote a letter asking our Daning princess to marry their prince who has one foot in the coffin. The words in the letter are full of threats. If she marries, not only will the princess be a widow, but what will become of Daning's reputation?
So the Empress took the initiative to volunteer to go to the border, the mother of a country put on armor and went to the battlefield. I am really heartbroken. For the princess, for the Empress, for the national prestige of Daning, how can I not be anxious?
Upon hearing this, the merchants present all looked terrified, their eyes filled with anger. "Ah... The Empress is leading the troops? How can this be?"
Yu Huo continued, "What else can we do? You all saw at the banquet just now that there are only a handful of officials who advocate war. The court has no one to use, so we can only let a woman save face for our Daning."
"Ah!" The head of the Li family's eyes turned red after hearing this. His original idea of obtaining the approval of the imperial merchant first and then pretending to obey and secretly making money for the war was instantly shattered. He even wanted to secretly slap himself a few times in his heart.
"Master Imperial Master, rest assured, even if we were to use up all of the Li family's stored grain, I would not raise the price of grain in the capital by even a penny!"
Yu Huo covered his face, seemingly deeply moved: "Those officials who eat the imperial court's food and wages but have no achievements, are not as good as you merchants who understand the righteousness of the cause. I am really moved!
If I had known this... Hey! I apologize for any offense I caused you with my words just now. Please forgive me."
Several family heads hurriedly asked, "How could that be? The Imperial Master is concerned about the country and the people. I admire you."
"That won't do. If it's wrong, it's wrong." Yu Huo waved his hand and looked up and called out, "Xiao Zhuzi, quickly go to the warehouse and get the treasures I made as gifts to the three family heads."
Xiao Zhuzi: "...Yes."
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