Inside the council hall, seats and tables were neatly arranged. Yiming, accompanied by several servants, moved among them, serving each person a cup of tea.
Without City Lord Zhao Tingduo present, Song Liyun sat at the head of the table in the hall.
She wore a short jacket embroidered with butterflies and floral patterns in a honey-colored brocade pattern, and an eight-panel silk skirt.
She wore her hair in a single bun, adorned with a pure silver willow-twig hair ornament, and a pair of pearl earrings.
A heavy string of lustrous, translucent red agate and turquoise, each the size of a pigeon's egg, hung on her chest, giving her a beautiful yet dignified and extraordinary presence.
The city lord's wife was a beautiful woman who rarely showed herself, and was considered very mysterious by the people of Mida City.
What people talked about most was the lady's governance methods, which combined firmness and gentleness, and her ever-changing ways of making money.
At this moment, Song Liyun was right in front of them, but the men present all wisely avoided looking at her and stared intently at the two people sitting to the left and right.
Those were Lin Qingyuan and Wan Liangjin, two families that merchants envied and resented.
The most profitable businesses on the grasslands are all in the hands of these two, how could they not be envious!
Song Liyun looked around at everyone present and said in a clear voice, "Mida City has become increasingly prosperous, which is inseparable from the kindness of all of you colleagues who have come from afar. On behalf of Mida City, I would like to express my gratitude to all our owners!"
As she finished speaking, she stood up and bowed to the crowd below.
The city lord's wife was like a god of wealth, so no one dared to accept such a gesture of respect.
"You're too polite, Madam!"
"No, no!"
"Alas! This is going to shorten my lifespan!"
With a whoosh, everyone stood up and politely offered to each other, and the hall immediately descended into chaos.
Song Liyun didn't bother them. She gave a slight bow and sat down on her own. The merchants then smiled and sat down as well.
Everyone here isn't here to hear empty words. Song Liyun spoke again: "I have something to discuss with you all. In the future, there will be more and more Di people in Mida City. We, the people of the Wu Dynasty, should manage the market properly and have a set of rules!"
Upon hearing this, everyone looked bewildered and turned to Manager Wan.
The city's regulations had long been established by the city lord's mansion.
For example, there are maximum prices for goods sold in shops in the city, and minimum protected prices for the trade of live animals by the Di people. This is to prevent price wars between the Di people and the Wu Dynasty from ultimately harming everyone.
This commercial law is supported by both sides. It is impossible for the Wu Dynasty and the Di people to do business without any reservations. This gives everyone peace of mind. But now what kind of regulations are going to be introduced?
At Song Liyun's prompting, Steward Wan spoke up: "Fellow colleagues, we've all traveled a long way to earn a few more taels of silver. Madam and I have discussed borrowing your guards for city defense..."
Before he could finish speaking, the hall fell silent!
Caravans traveling from various places to Mida City always needed guards, with each team consisting of anywhere from a dozen to several dozen people.
The Lin family had the most guards, numbering fifty. In total, they had over two hundred guards in the city, more than the caravan's crew.
These people are only useful on the road and are currently idle in the city, but the merchants are still somewhat worried if Lord Mida borrows them.
Even if it's called a loan, if it's not repaid, the family will still have to pay money to support it for nothing.
You can't fight city hall; you're just trying to make money in Mida City.
Fortunately, these merchants who dared to venture to the grasslands were not incompetent; they remained calm despite their doubts.
Steward Wan continued, "The city defense team will be selected from your guards, and any additional expenses will be borne by the city lord's mansion!"
The merchants were relieved. Only a few people were transferred, not all of them were taken away, and they didn't have to pay for the city defense themselves, so they didn't suffer any losses.
To be honest, Song Liyun initially thought of using bandits like Jian Fangtong to manage the city, but she found it ineffective once she actually used them.
Just like the day before, when those people from the southern tribes were causing trouble in the city, the bandits in charge of managing the area couldn't stand the boredom and had already disappeared.
The caravan guards were dutifully guarding the market and willing to lend a hand, but without anyone to lead the charge, a chaotic brawl nearly resulted in disaster.
The same thing will happen again when new tribes come.
The bandits were nothing but a motley crew.
Using a group of lawless scoundrels to teach people to follow the rules and even give them certain rights is almost like letting a pack of hungry wolves herd sheep.
Moreover, the city guards were idle.
Even though Song Liyun harbored the idea that she could use the guards to defend the city in the future, she felt that it was a waste of resources to do so now.
Mida City is a toddler learning to walk; every bit of strength it gains is hard-won and should not be wasted.
The merchants were relieved: "In that case, Madam, please make the arrangements as you see fit!"
"Yes, this is our duty!"
"Yes, madam, just leave the city patrol to us!"
The guard leader below then understood why they had come to the city lord's mansion, and quickly responded.
It turns out they were going to patrol the city themselves... They were mostly bodyguards from various places, and their job was to protect and escort.
The caravan's earnings are calculated per escort trip, so it's good to have extra income since they have nothing else to do at other times!
The Urban Management Bureau was established very quickly!
The director is, of course, Song Liyun.
Old Qian and Steward Wan, who were by Lin Qingyuan's side, had a total of fifty men under their command, but no list of guards from each family was sent.
It turned out that every guard wanted to join the city management team, but there were only 50 spots for 200 people. There were too many applicants and not enough spots, so they had to compete to determine who would join.
The news spread, and people from surrounding tribes came to see what was going on.
The city was suddenly overflowing with people, and the taverns and restaurants were packed to capacity.
The Di people saw the guards wielding all sorts of weapons, swords, spears, and halberds, fighting back and forth in a lively display. Three days later, when the city management bureau had gathered enough manpower, they couldn't resist joining in the activity themselves.
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