Chapter 39
The map, filled with depictions of mountains and rivers and a sense of impending doom, was still lying open on the table.
Cui Yunshu felt as if she were sitting next to a huge, cold corpse that had been dissected.
Tang Pu is gone.
The private room was finally quiet again, a silence that could drown a person.
But this time, Cui Yunshu didn't feel tired.
I didn't feel any fear.
She just felt cold.
A kind of absolute, emotionless, and icy clarity that spreads from the fingertips, along the veins, all the way to the heart.
She walked to the desk and spread out a new sheet of paper.
It's not an account book.
It is an order.
She picked up her pen, dipped it in ink, and the tip hovered on the paper for a moment before falling.
Without the slightest hesitation.
The handwriting is no longer the delicate small regular script of a young lady in her boudoir, but a slender and firm running script with sharp strokes and decisive lines.
"Taiyuan Branch, Order No. 7 (Type A)"
"Pingyang Branch, Order No. 7 (Type A)"
"Shangdang, Xihe, Yanmen..."
One instruction after another flowed from her pen, like black, sharp snowflakes. They had no warmth, only a goal. They asked no questions of reason, only for the result.
"Activate the 'Winter Thunder' contingency plan. Within three days, regardless of cost, clear out all stockpiles of cotton cloth, furs, spirits, medicinal herbs, and high-calorie foods within the jurisdiction. Based on the highest reputation of 'Cloud Pavilion,' we will allow payment after collection, with a 30% premium. Pack all supplies, mark them, and head north to assemble."
She didn't stop after writing the last letter.
She took another piece of paper.
This time, it was written to my mother, Madam Song.
"Greetings, Mother. The situation in the North is urgent, and we need to mobilize all of the Cui family's northern freight channels. There is no need to report to the government or wait for official documents. Any obstacles will be handled according to the military orders of the Prince of An's Mansion. Any losses will be borne by your daughter alone."
I'm too lazy to write anymore.
Everything that needed to be said has been said.
She put the stack of instructions, which were as numerous as snowflakes, and the letter from home into a black letterbox and handed it to the shopkeeper who was waiting outside the door like a shadow.
"Use the 'Albatross' channel to send it out as quickly as possible."
"yes."
The shopkeeper took the letter box; it was very light, yet it felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. Without asking a single question, he turned and disappeared into the darkness.
An unprecedented, massive commercial operation that bypassed the entire bureaucratic system of the Qin Empire was launched in such an almost silent manner.
Like a well-oiled and meticulously tested war machine, it instantly began to roar into operation the moment it received the order.
...
Taiyuan Prefecture.
Wang Defa, the manager of "Yunjian Pavilion", was woken up from his sleep.
He glanced at the instruction letter, sealed with sealing wax and marked "Type A No. 7," which the messenger had handed him. All his sleepiness vanished instantly.
He didn't even have time to change out of his silk nightgown before rushing into the accounting room and taking out a heavy, pure gold token engraved with the character "Yun" from the deepest safe.
After an incense stick has burned.
The owner of Jinlongchang, the largest cloth merchant in Taiyuan Prefecture, was dragged out of his warm bed. He looked at Manager Wang, who was only wearing a bathrobe but whose eyes were burning with fire, and the golden token in his hand, and his legs went weak with fear.
"Manager Wang... Manager Wang, what's wrong...?"
"I want all the cotton cloth and leather from Jinlongchang," Wang Defa said in a hoarse but undeniable voice. "Name your price. I want to see the goods at the freight yard in the north of the city first thing tomorrow morning."
Pingyang Prefecture.
The largest herbal medicine shop in the city, "Bai Cao Tang," was brightly lit.
The old, white-haired medicine merchant's hands trembled as he looked at the note delivered by Manager Liu of "Yunjian Pavilion".
That's not a banknote.
It was a blank certificate of credit, stamped with the personal seal of the head of the Cui family. With this certificate, one could redeem up to 500,000 taels of silver at any Cui family money shop throughout the country.
"Manager Liu...you...you're going to empty this old man's shop?"
Manager Liu smiled and pushed the note forward.
"Old Master Sun, haven't you always wanted to secure a good future for your son who is an official in the capital?" His voice was very soft. "The Cui family still has some influence in the Eastern Palace."
The old pharmacist's pupils suddenly contracted.
Without further hesitation, he roared at the men behind him, "What are you all standing there for! Bring out all the ginseng, astragalus, angelica, typhoid medicine... everything from the warehouse!!"
Shangdang. Xihe. Yanmen. Daijun...
Countless such scenes unfolded simultaneously on the same night throughout the northern part of the Qin Dynasty.
Countless horse-drawn carriages creaked and groaned as they drove out of the warehouse.
Countless workers, their eyes red, packed the goods.
Countless sums of money and reputation, like water, flowed silently yet surgingly to every corner that could provide supplies.
The entire commercial network in the north was completely united overnight by an unseen hand.
It made no noise, yet it unleashed a phenomenal efficiency more terrifying than any army.
...
The North. At the foot of the Great Wall.
The snow is still falling.
Like endless, cold goose feathers, they were about to bury the world completely.
Soldier Zhang Tieniu felt like he was about to freeze to death.
His thin cotton coat was already soaked through by the wind and snow, clinging to his body like a cold sheet of iron. He huddled in a corner of the beacon tower, his teeth chattering uncontrollably.
Beside him, his fellow villager, Li Ergou, was coughing violently. Each cough seemed to rip out his heart and lungs. His face was an unhealthy, sickly flush.
Zhang Tieniu knew he was dying.
In the military camp, hundreds of brothers have already frozen to death silently in their sleep.
The medicine is gone.
Only a little bit of grain remained: coarse rice mixed with sand.
Everyone says that the imperial supplies are already on their way.
But the road had long been blocked by snow more than ten feet deep.
despair.
Like the boundless white snow, it was thick, cold, and suffocating.
Looking at the gray sky in the distance, Zhang Tieniu suddenly thought that perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to just freeze to death here.
At least, I won't have to suffer anymore.
Just as he was about to close his eyes.
A deep, rumbling sound, as if coming from underground, momentarily cleared his muddled consciousness.
What was that sound?
It's not the wind.
It wasn't the sound of barbarian war drums either.
The sound grew closer and louder, like hundreds of drums beating simultaneously, causing the entire earth to tremble slightly.
The sentry on the beacon tower let out a hoarse, tearful roar:
"Reinforcements! It's reinforcements!!"
Zhang Tieniu used his last bit of strength to struggle and climb to the edge of the wall, sticking his head out.
Then, he saw a sight he would never forget for the rest of his life.
A long black dragon appeared on the horizon.
That's not the army.
It was a huge caravan consisting of hundreds and thousands of horse-drawn carriages, oxcarts, mule carts, and even wheelbarrows pushed by people, stretching as far as the eye could see!
At the end of the convoy was a large, black flag fluttering in the wind.
The flag is embroidered with a golden "Tang" character in a flamboyant style.
A young general, clad in heavy black armor, his face weathered but his eyes shining like stars, rode a magnificent black horse at the forefront.
It was Prince An, Tang Pu.
He's here.
They've arrived.
The convoy did not stop at the entrance of the military camp, but rushed in like an unstoppable torrent.
There was no complicated handover ceremony.
There was no empty talk from officials.
The drivers, their eyes red, jumped off the cart and, in the most violent and direct way, threw the contents off.
Bundles of brand-new, thick cotton-padded coats, still smelling of cotton.
Boxes of medicinal herbs sealed with "Baicaotang" labels.
Jars sealed with red clay, filled with strong liquor that exudes a rich aroma.
There were also bags of fragrant dried meat and flatbread wrapped in oil paper.
"Brothers! Stop standing there! Come and get your stuff!!" an officer roared, his voice trembling with tears.
Zhang Tieniu was helped to receive a new cotton-padded coat.
The cotton coat was thick and soft, and it even smelled of sunshine. He wrapped it tightly around his body, and a long-lost warmth, almost making him want to cry, instantly spread throughout his body.
Someone handed him a bag of strong liquor.
He pulled out the stopper and took a big gulp.
The spicy liquid, like a line of fire, burned from his throat all the way to his stomach, making every pore on his body open up.
He received a flatbread and a handful of dried meat.
He wolfed down his food, tears streaming uncontrollably down his face, falling in large drops onto the pancake.
He saw that Li Ergou, whom he thought was about to die, was being held down by a military doctor and forced to drink a bowl of steaming, dark-colored medicinal soup.
He saw that the ruthless, eight-foot-tall captain, who usually killed without blinking an eye, was holding a jar of wine, drinking it while wailing loudly.
He saw that the legendary General Zhenbei, the highest-ranking general in the Northern Frontier who never took anyone seriously, was holding the hand of Prince Tang Pu tightly, his tiger-like eyes filled with tears, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.
Tang Pu remained silent.
He simply took out a small, pure gold token from his pocket and placed it in the hand of the General of the North.
There was only one word on the token.
cloud.
"Thank her for me," Tang Pu said, his voice hoarse.
...
The news reached the capital even faster than the military reports of the snow disaster.
It was not done through official post stations.
It was through the caravans traveling north and south, through the mouths of storytellers, and through every guest of "Yun Jian Ge".
Inside the imperial council chamber, officials from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War were still arguing heatedly over the budget for the first batch of disaster relief supplies.
The news that the joint convoy of the Cui family and the Prince of An's mansion had delivered enough supplies for the entire northern army to get through the winter to the foot of the Great Wall had already spread throughout the streets and alleys of the capital.
The entire capital city fell silent.
Everyone gained a completely new, almost fearful, understanding of the Cui family's wealth and their incredible ability to mobilize resources.
That was no longer a merchant family.
It was a hidden kingdom, incredibly wealthy, with its own independent operating system... a shadow kingdom.
In Qing Shu's courtyard.
Cui Yunshu looked at the mountain of letters from the north piled up on the table.
The managers submitted detailed accounts. After deducting all costs and receiving the procurement funds from the imperial court, the net profit from this operation exceeded three million taels of silver.
There was a "training report" written by Tang Pu, full of enthusiasm and admiration for the "mastermind".
There's another one.
A blood oath, written in blood and jointly signed by dozens of high-ranking generals in the North, pledging their utmost loyalty...
Cui Yunshu picked up the letter written in blood.
At my fingertips, I could feel the rough texture of the dried blood.
Her face remained expressionless.
However, for the first time, a complex and indescribable ripple appeared in her usually calm eyes.
The God of Wealth has shown his divine powers.
But it's easy to invite this "god" onto the altar.
If you think about it any further, it will probably be difficult.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
