“Here.” Zhao Changqing stretched out his slender fingers and drew several circles on the map. “Here, and here.”
He Youyou compared the options and pointed to the area to the north: "This is the best place, it's closest to the border. If the management is good, we can loosen the restrictions a bit and let the border people of the Wuhuan Kingdom come and trade. If you're not comfortable with that, you can send troops to increase the checks."
Zhao Changqing seemed to be deep in thought.
All the troops stationed on the northern border were under his command.
In all dynasties, the establishment of military markets was directly managed by the garrison commander, who had the authority to make the decisions.
However, since the founding of this dynasty, there has been no large-scale military market, and he himself has no experience in opening military markets.
We still need to consult with our generals and clerks.
Thinking of this, Zhao Changqing said to He Youyou, "Go behind the screen and leave for a moment."
"Huh? Why?" He Youyou asked in surprise.
We were having a nice conversation, and suddenly they wanted to kick her out?
She can leave, but she needs an acceptable reason.
This is precisely what Zhao Changqing finds difficult to adapt to.
He was taught from a young age that women should be submissive.
He wouldn't mistreat women, but men have a lot of say, and women usually don't disobey, argue, or debate.
As long as you obediently stand under someone else's wing, you can live a peaceful and uneventful life.
I've never met anyone like He Youyou. When I told her to go east, she insisted on asking, "Why can't we go west?" "I think the west is not bad either, we can give it a try."
He Youyou has too many ideas.
This resulted in her reactions always deviating from his expectations.
It wasn't that Zhao Changqing found her annoying.
The feeling was strange, and he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.
Maybe it's just that I haven't seen it before, so I'm not used to it.
He had no choice but to turn to face her and patiently explain, "This matter involves many things, and I need to gather a group of capable men in my tent to discuss it. You are a woman, so it is inconvenient for you to show yourself. I don't want many people to know that there are women in my tent."
“Oh, the presence of women in the army might dampen morale, I understand,” He Youyou said, expressing her understanding.
"Or... if you don't want to avoid it, that's fine too. Then let's not talk about it tonight, and I'll discuss it with them after you return to Jizhou?"
He Youyou would never agree to that.
This duck that's almost in our mouths, we can't let it fly away.
He quickly replied, "Talk! Talk! Let's talk tonight! I'll leave right now, immediately!"
With that, she ran off in a flash.
Zhao Changqing couldn't help but chuckle as he watched the figure disappear behind the screen.
He Youyou hid behind the screen and lay on Zhao Changqing's bed, listening to this impromptu meeting.
The meeting was conducted in a warm and productive manner.
The attendees strongly supported Zhao Changqing's idea of opening a military market.
After all, who wouldn't want to earn some extra money and improve their living conditions?
Even putting aside the issue of making money, in this godforsaken border region, people rarely even see strangers. If a military market were opened, the soldiers could go and stroll around during their monthly leave.
Seeing strangers can be a source of fun.
"Hehe, maybe there are women too..."
Some lewd fellow uttered those words, which reached He Youyou's ears through the screen.
He Youyou immediately felt that Zhao Changqing's idea of having her hide was absolutely correct.
No wonder people say that only men truly understand men.
The crowd came in a noisy commotion and left in a noisy commotion.
The left guard called in a few more people to clean up the teacups and other items that had been used, and tidied up the tent.
Zhao Changqing turned and went behind the screen.
He Youyou was lying on the foot of the bed, her eyes closed, sleeping soundly.
He walked to the bedside and sat down, seeing the lamplight flickering on her face.
It added a touch of liveliness to her cool and aloof face.
He Youyou lay face down, with her hands supporting her head on either side.
Zhao Changqing's gaze unconsciously lingered on her sleeve.
He couldn't help it.
So he reached out his hand.
Zhao Changqing lay on the foot of the bed, his hand gently slipping inside her sleeve to explore.
The left side is empty.
The right side was completely empty.
There's nothing there?
Where's that bottle of chili sauce she had just used?
He clearly saw her put it into her sleeve.
He Youyou opened her eyes, and right in front of her was Zhao Changqing's enlarged face.
She rubbed her eyes: "You're done with your meeting?"
"Yes, it's finished."
He Youyou covered her mouth and yawned: "What did they talk about afterwards?"
Zhao Changqing didn't know when she started to fall asleep, so he briefly recounted the contents of the meeting.
"Open the military market as soon as possible, and send a small team there every day to maintain order and inspect people and goods passing through. We also agreed on how to collect taxes and how to handle disputes."
He Youyou was overjoyed.
Zhao Changqing's meeting was very efficient.
They've even finalized the detailed management rules for the military city—excellent!
She jumped up, sat cross-legged on the bed, and gave him a thumbs up.
"Why didn't I meet you sooner?"
He Youyou meant that if she had met Zhao Changqing in the past, she would have tried every means to poach him and have him work under her.
But Zhao Changqing's thoughts seemed to wander off somewhere else.
He gave a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, lowered his eyelids, and concealed the light in his eyes.
Within a few days, the military city began a vigorous construction project.
Markets in this era were generally rudimentary and open-air.
You can simply park your horse-drawn carriage anywhere by the roadside and start trading.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
