"As expected, the postmaster never lied to me." Ruan Shihao sighed, then pretended to be curious and said, "Speaking of the Earl of Qinghe, there's one thing I don't understand, and I'd like to ask Brother Defa."
"I have only been with the Earl of Qinghe for a short time, but I know quite a bit. Brother Defa, please feel free to ask me anything I can. I will tell you everything I know."
"I heard that the border garrison commander assigned by the Liang Kingdom court is Lord Lu You. But Qitian Village and Mengyang City were ultimately conquered by the Earl of Qinghe. This place is not very close to Qinghe County. I wonder if the Mengyang prefectural government will obey Lord Lu or the Earl of Qinghe in the future?"
Ruan Shihao watched Wang Wu's face as he spoke. Seeing that Wang Wu's face grew darker as he listened, he felt that his emotions had almost cooled, so he quickly added, "Brother Defa, please forgive me. I have no intention of prying into secrets. It's just that as a businessman, as you know, I always prefer to work with the party that is ultimately in charge. I'm not a wealthy businessman, so I'm worried that I might find the wrong person and end up losing everything."
After saying this, Ruan Shihao stood up and bowed. "It's not easy to do business in this chaotic time. I sold all my property and took a risk to come here. If I lose everything, I'll be doomed... We're just friends, but we're so close. I hope Brother Defa will teach me."
Wang Wu sat there with a gloomy face, silent and tapping the table with two fingers, as if thinking about something. Ruan Shihao saw this and turned to the servant and said, "Go outside, I'll call you later."
Seeing that the servant had gone far away and there was no one else in the teahouse, Wang Wu whispered, "It's hard to say. Just remember one thing: for the Earl of Qinghe, Qinghe County is too far away from here. The territory is imaginary, but the money is real. For Lord Lu, money grows from the territory. Without territory, there is no money."
After that, no matter how much Ruan Shihao asked and begged, he was unwilling to mention this topic again.
It was not until Ruan Shihao gritted his teeth and asked the boss to replace the pot with an aged Pu'er tea that Wang Wu was willing to discuss other issues.
Ruan Shihao came out of the teahouse in a heavy mood. Although it was time for dinner, he was unwilling to go back to the inn. Instead, he continued to wander the street like a tourist, picking up goods from street shops from time to time and asking about the prices. He even pretended to be a rich housekeeper and asked when the large quantity of goods could be delivered and whether they could be cheaper.
Then he followed the Qinghe soldiers on security patrol, walked half the distance of the city, and followed the soldiers until they left the city and returned to the camp. He stayed outside the camp for a long time until the city gate was about to close, then he hurried back to the post station, shouted to the postmaster to heat up dinner and serve it, and then hid in the study and refused to come out again.
That night, Nguyen Thi Hao, the newly appointed Minister of Revenue and Imperial Commissioner for Negotiations, wrote his first memorial since taking office: Although there may be internal power struggles in Qinghe, it is still under the control of the Earl of Qinghe. All behavior is determined by profit. If the kingdom's conditions are not met by Qinghe, war will inevitably break out...
Qinghe's supplies are plentiful, and prices in Mengyang City are stable, with ample reserves. Large purchases are guaranteed timely delivery and negotiable prices. This demonstrates that the destruction of Qitian Village hasn't shaken Qinghe's stockpiles...
Qinghe recruited civilians to rebuild the city, but instead of reinforcing the walls, they repaired the streets. This demonstrates their determination to maintain a long-term presence in Mengyang and their confidence in its military strength... Judging by the repairs to Mengyang's streets, Qinghe has established complete control of the city, and is offering relief through labor, paying the people to demolish their own buildings...
The Qinghe soldiers are well-equipped and well-trained. They patrol in neat formations and take turns in place. I followed them throughout the city and did not observe any cases of slacking off or robbing the people's property...
The camp was huge, and it seemed to contain a large army, but it was heavily fortified, and I was unable to approach...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com