novelraw Chapter 155
Chapter 155
For any ambitious emperor, unifying the world is their lifelong dream.
Just like how Great Wei is to Great Liang, and Great Liang is to Great Wei—they are thorns in each other’s sides.
But unlike the previous gentle and benevolent Emperor Wei, the current Emperor of Great Liang is in his prime, values military prowess, and is a man full of ambition. Spies once reported that the Emperor of Great Liang often personally rode out of the capital to train troops. Two years ago, he even raised taxes on the common people and began repairing roads…
Military training, higher taxes, road construction—it was obvious he was preparing for war!
Had it not been known in advance what kind of person the Emperor of Great Liang was, the Emperor Wei wouldn’t have been so determined to rebuild the military. He was clearly worried that Great Liang might suddenly launch an attack on Great Wei.
Wei Yu didn’t know much about what was happening in Great Liang, but based on his father’s resolve to reforge the military, he could vaguely guess something was going on.
Unless an emperor is utterly incompetent or obsessed with luxury and debauchery, he usually wouldn’t do anything pointless. Besides, back when the Minister of Revenue was still saying there was no money, his father still insisted on going through with it. There had to be a reason.
In any case—be it the Northern Hu, the Southern Miao, the Wokou pirates, or Great Liang—Wei Yu disliked war.
War didn’t just mean death and hardship. To Wei Yu, it also meant no fun.
Damn it, once war breaks out, there’ll be chaos and flames everywhere, refugees fleeing for their lives—where the hell would he go to sightsee and enjoy himself then? Stop it!
He had to eliminate hidden dangers from within before they escalated!
——
Wei Yu suddenly brought up Great Liang, and the Second Prince finally couldn’t help glancing at him.
This kid really knows how to make a move—saying something that big without giving him a heads-up first?
The Second Prince’s gaze shifted slightly. Without showing any emotion, he glanced at the two men below. After a brief pause, he ultimately chose to remain silent.
Better to wait and see what exactly Wei Yu wanted to do.
As for the sudden mention of Great Liang by the Wise King, Xie Liang had some guesses in just a moment.
He looked at Wei Yu, and while asking him, kept a close watch on the Second Prince’s expression from the corner of his eye. “Your Highness means to say… we should sell sugar in Great Liang?”
The court hadn’t explicitly forbidden border trade, but for various reasons, no one had publicly gone to Great Liang for business. So even saying this out loud, Xie Liang wasn’t worried that either of the princes would do anything to him.
“Yes and no.”
Wei Yu smiled. Meeting Xie Liang’s questioning gaze, he pulled out a “tiger skin” (an authority bluff). “I won’t hide it from you—this trip of mine is different from my Second Brother’s.”
Different from Prince Chen? So the sugar business in Jiaozhou now was only Prince Chen’s doing and had nothing to do with the Wise King?
Xie Liang’s gaze flickered.
“I don’t have many hobbies. In my spare time, I just like earning a little money. I found someone with potential and had him start something in Ziyang County. He’s done quite well. In another two or three months, a business alliance might emerge in Ziyang. Any merchant can join.”
A business alliance?
What kind of thing was that?
Xie Liang and Sun Xizhao both frowned.
Wei Yu smiled brightly at the two thoughtful men. “This business alliance is my own initiative and has nothing to do with the court. If you want to know what it does, you can go to Ziyang and find out later. For now, just understand this—my business alliance will be going to Great Liang for trade in the future.”
Oh, going to Great Liang for trade!
After all that talking, Xie Liang and Sun Xizhao finally understood what the Wise King was getting at.
He was planning to go make money in Great Liang, and for some reason, he wanted to bring them along!
By now, both Xie Liang and Sun Xizhao had plenty of questions in their minds.
Sun Xizhao glanced up at the two princes, a bit tangled in thought.
A prince wanting to make money through trade wasn’t anything shocking. In this day and age, how could one achieve anything without money? He just thought this Wise King was being a little too informal!
If he remembered correctly, the Wise King and Prince Chen weren’t born of the same mother, right? And yet they were this close? The Wise King even talked openly about setting up a private business alliance? Or maybe the alliance wasn’t a secret at all to the court?
Sun Xizhao was thinking about the tangled relationships between princes, while Xie Liang was wondering if the Wise King wanted to rope them into the alliance, or perhaps collaborate in going to Great Liang. What choice should he make? Would there be a trap hidden in it?
Whether it was a trap or not—they’d find out later.
In life, who doesn’t step into a few traps?
Even if it wasn’t dug by someone else, sometimes you just stumble into one by bad luck. Wei Yu wasn’t planning to dig traps for anyone—he genuinely believed he was honest and kind.
If you want to make money, what’s the point of obsessing over your own tiny patch of land? You need to lift your eyelids and look farther ahead!
Great Wei was only so big, the market only so large. Even if it wasn’t saturated yet, with a bunch of people crowded together fighting for a slice, how much profit could there be?
Wouldn’t expanding outward be better?
Turn domestic sales into exports!
A seller’s market with more demand than supply—that’s where the real money is!
Wei Yu looked at the two thoughtful men and genuinely believed he was so kind—making money for himself and still thinking to lend a hand to his once-downfallen enemies.
Ah, he was just that good.
“What are you two family heads thinking? Wondering if I’m forcing you to join the alliance?”
Wei Yu toyed with the warm jade in his hand and smiled. “Joining or not each has its pros and cons. If you join, you’ll have to follow the rules. If you don’t, we just talk business—profit-sharing will do.”
Sun Xizhao asked, “If we join, what rules must we follow?”
Rules, huh? Well, they hadn’t been written yet.
But no problem—he could just make them up on the spot. Wei Yu pulled out a tablet and began searching.
“This alliance—first off, those who join are called members. There’ll be a president, vice president, secretary-general, president’s assistant… Members must follow the alliance’s rules and national laws and regulations…”
Rules and whatnot—Wei Yu himself got dizzy just reading them, and the others felt the same listening.
Still, Sun Xizhao and Xie Liang listened carefully.
When it came to the business model and the profit-sharing structure for members, their eyes sparkled—they were clearly weighing things in their minds.
The Second Prince saw all of this.
He sat at the head of the room the whole time, sometimes glancing at Wei Yu, sometimes at the two merchants—his expression hard to read.
“…That’s about it for now. Just rough rules. The formal version still has to be written down later.”
Wei Yu put away the tablet and looked at the two men. “Joining the alliance means more rules, but it also means more profits. You two think it over. If you don’t want to join, we can just talk directly about cooperating in going to Great Liang.”
Sun Xizhao and Xie Liang exchanged a glance.
After a moment’s thought, Xie Liang cupped his hands and asked what method of cooperation Wei Yu had in mind.