Chapter 479: Death-free Gold Medal
"Your Excellency, there is no need to ask the Duke to do anything. Just bring him up and let them know that there is a big man like the Duke of Jingguo behind you. If the Duke of Jingguo can protect you, then you are still the master of Luo City. Do they dare to offend you?"
Wei Zhongming felt that what Zhou Xiangrong said made sense. He had never thought of it before. As for how to make those merchants believe that he had a backer like Duke Jingguo, that was his business.
"I'm sorry to trouble Miss Zhou."
Zhou Xiangrong said softly: "Don't worry, my lord. Neither the Emperor nor the Empress will take your life."
Wei Zhongming's face changed again and he looked at Zhou Xiangrong again. How could a young woman understand these secrets?
"Miss Zhou, please tell me what your purpose is."
"I don't ask for anything. I just heard that Luocheng is rich in cotton. I am not favored by my elders at home, so I want to recruit some students to leave a way out for myself. However, the cotton business in Luocheng is now controlled by the He family. If you can give this business to me, I can ensure your life is safe."
Wei Zhongming never imagined that Zhou Xiangrong was targeting cotton.
Luocheng is indeed rich in cotton. It can be said that at least one-third of the cotton in the entire Chu State is produced in Luocheng. Moreover, the cotton here is of high quality and is basically supplied to various aristocratic families and wealthy merchants across the country. If you can control this industry, there will be a steady stream of silver flowing into your pocket in the future.
Zhou Xiangrong has a big appetite to make such a request.
"Think about it, sir. If this can be accomplished, we will be on the same boat from now on. Even if you are dismissed from office, my daughter can still guarantee your wealth and prosperity for the rest of your life. Looking at the entire city of Luo, who else can you trust except my daughter? While you are still in office, hurry up and get things done. Otherwise, by the time the queen and the others come to their senses and notice the cotton incident, it will be too late."
After Zhou Xiangrong left, Wei Zhongming sat on the armchair for a long time without saying a word.
He was thinking about her words. The court was now focusing on the drought and had not yet thought about cotton, which was a major source of income for Los Angeles.
Because of the drought this year, the cotton production and harvest are much lower than in previous years, which has further raised the price of cotton. He originally planned to deliver this batch of cotton to those people like in previous years, but now he has to reconsider where to go with the cotton.
"housekeeper."
The butler who was guarding the door heard the noise and pushed the door open and came in. "What do you want, sir?"
"Go and deliver a letter to the He family, and tell them that Duke Jingguo has sent a message to me to protect me, and ask him to prepare 5,000 bags of food tonight and deliver them to my private residence on East Street early tomorrow morning."
The housekeeper hummed his lips, wanting to say something but stopping himself. Last time, the He family only sent two hundred bags of grain. Although it was the most among all the merchants, there was a huge difference between these two hundred bags and five thousand bags. How could the He family be willing to pay so much silver at this time?
"Sir, this..."
“You don’t have to say anything, just do it.”
"Yes, I will go there myself right away."
"kindness."
The next day, Wei Zhongming waited until noon but the He family still didn't send a single bag of food.
Wei Zhongming clenched his fists and asked someone to call Zhou Xiangrong over as if he had made up his mind.
As soon as Zhou Xiangrong entered the room, Wei Zhongming immediately closed the study door.
"If I agree to your request, how can you guarantee that I won't die?" Although Xiao Jin said that he would plead with the queen on his behalf after getting the food, he didn't dare to completely believe anyone until there was a definite result.
Zhou Xiangrong took out a purse from her body and opened it, revealing a golden medal inside.
"This is the golden medal of immunity from death bestowed by the late emperor on our ancestors. There is only one such medal in the world. If the emperor really wants to sentence Lord Wei to death, I will take out the golden medal of immunity from death and plead for him."
Wei Zhongming didn't expect that Zhou Xiangrong actually had this thing. He took the gold medal and looked at it in his hand. The gold medal was heavy and it was obviously not fake.
He tightly grasped the gold medal and made the final decision, "Okay, I promise you that I will sell you the cotton."
Zhou Xiangrong raised the corners of her lips and revealed an elegant smile, "Don't worry, sir. I won't let you down."
The cotton collected by the government is sold uniformly by the government, but it is up to the government to decide to whom it is sold.
Wei Zhongming sold the cotton to Zhou Xiangrong. As long as she could afford the money, there would be nothing wrong with it.
The two were worried that things might get more complicated, so Zhou Xiangrong immediately asked Wei Zhongming to sign a sales contract with her. However, when the goods were delivered, the person who received and paid for them was another person, but as long as the money was in hand, it was not a problem.
After resolving the cotton issue, Wei Zhongming called those merchants here again. He first threatened them with the handle they had previously left in his hands, and then brought up the Duke of Jingguo to defend himself. For a moment, those merchants could not tell the truth from falsehood in his words, but the handle Wei Zhongming had on them was indeed true.
Their ambiguous attitude before was because they wanted to see whether Wei Zhongming would fight to the death with them. After all, Wei Zhongming had the leverage in his hands and he was also involved in the matter.
It was not until a merchant was arrested by officials that night that they became really scared. On the morning of the third day, they all obediently delivered the food to the place designated by Wei Zhongming.
After gathering enough food, Wei Zhongming ran to Xiao Jin with a flattering face, "Sir, I have asked everyone I can for help and finally gathered all the food. Can you please go to the queen and ask for a definite answer from me?"
Xiao Jin raised his eyelids coldly and looked at him, "Sir Wei is indeed a capable man. The grain that only one person in the imperial court could collect was collected in less than three days. I also keep my word. I will save your life."
After getting Xiao Jin's assurance, Wei Zhongming secretly breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you, sir."
Xiao Jin took people and transported all the food to the spare granary.
In other words, the food in Luocheng is enough to sustain for several months. If the drainage channel on the Nanjiang River can be completed, it should be possible to start construction before the New Year. By then, a group of disaster victims can be put to work, and the money they earn can be used to buy food in the city, and the city's trade can then be restored.
People from the Ministry of Industry also arrived at full speed a few days later.
When those people were brought to Su Ying, they were so shocked that they were speechless.
They had seen Su Ying before, and they absolutely believed that the person before them was the queen herself.
What a miracle, the Queen is still alive!
"Your Majesty is in good health. It is truly God's blessing. It is a blessing for our Chu State!"
(End of this chapter)
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