novelraw Chapter 196
Chapter 196
Chapter 196 Merchants' Alliance Amassing Wealth
Wei Yu didn’t care what others thought. To see Deng Zhengde at this moment, he was simply overjoyed.
Deng Zhengde, ah, a talent in commerce. His Merchants' Alliance was all about money!!
After all, it was at his own residence, and it was his own birthday banquet. As a prince, Wei Yu could do whatever he wanted.
He directly went up, patted Deng Zhengde on the shoulder, and grabbed the arm that was going to pay respects.
“Brother Deng, it’s really been so long since we last met. Look at your face, you’ve lost weight from exhaustion! Come on, come on, hurry inside and get some rest and nourishment…”
His attitude was so sincere, and in such an occasion filled with powerful and noble guests, no matter how calm Deng Zhengde normally was, at this moment he couldn’t help but feel a warm sense of emotion.
His left arm was pulled forward by His Highness, this casual gesture made the smile on Deng Zhengde’s face much more genuine. He said, “Thank you for your concern, His Highness. I am not actually tired.”
“Not tired? Look at what you just said! I don’t like hearing only good news without the bad. You will have to tell me properly about what’s happened these past few months…”
Passing through a crowd of eager gazes, Wei Yu led Deng Zhengde into a side hall. Nobody was in the side hall. Sitting down, Wei Yu stared closely at him. “Why have you come all the way from Ziyang? Did something happen?”
Afraid His Highness would misunderstand, Deng Zhengde hurriedly explained, “No, this humble servant came over originally to report the situation to His Highness. I just happened to hear from people in the capital that today is your birthday, so I took the liberty of coming over to offer my congratulations.”
Knowing there was no problem, Wei Yu breathed a sigh of relief and then asked about matters in Ziyang County.
Since he came to report, Deng Zhengde told Wei Yu all about the arrangements in Ziyang County over the past months, showing him the ledgers.
Upon learning that everything in Ziyang County was going smoothly, with the factories and Merchants' Alliance progressing as planned, Wei Yu’s hands trembled after looking at the accounts.
No other reason – he was so excited to see all that money.
Good heavens, it’s only been a few months?
A commercial prodigy’s projects really are the beginning of a fortune!
The total income in the ledger had already exceeded one million taels!!
Furthermore, this money didn’t even include gold and silverware, jade and precious stones, ancient paintings, and classic books that hadn’t yet been converted into cash. When these were turned into silver, they represented a massive fortune!!
Wei Yu looked up, clutching the ledger tightly, his gaze filled with deep emotion as he looked at Deng Zhengde.
“Brother Deng, I truly did not mistake you!”
Wei Yu looked at Deng Zhengde with genuine heartfelt sincerity. “When I first saw the Merchant Guild in Pingnan Prefecture but did not meet you in person, I already knew you must be the unparalleled commercial genius I was looking for! Look at how, in less than half a year, you have laid the foundation for such a great commercial empire for the Imperial Court!”
“You are a meritorious contributor to the wellbeing of the people in Ji Commandery, and a great contributor to making Great Wei wealthy and strengthening its national power! I will definitely petition Father Emperor to reward you generously!”
Deng Zhengde quickly stood up. “Thank you, His Highness. I am an unworthy and unsophisticated humble servant. Were it not for His Highness’s wise leadership, I would not have achieved anything today. Your great kindness I will remember forever.”
Who would refuse a reward? Few people would turn down meat when it was served to them.
Deng Zhengde had been working hard all this time for this very day.
But now that the moment had come, he still needed to state his position clearly and show his loyalty.
Although Deng Zhengde was unsure whether His Highness could one day ascend the throne, a soldier dies for the one who knows him well. His Highness had truly trusted him sincerely. With such a lord, why should he switch allegiance and become a disloyal man?
Besides, the Deng family was already deeply tied to the Wise King. For the sake of His Highness’s grand plans, Deng Zhengde was willing to do anything!
Wei Yu rubbed the ledger in his hands, feeling truly gratified.
With this commercial genius on board, the boasts he had made before the officials were finally confirmed, and the plan to rebuild the military supplies could once again be put on the agenda…
Wei Yu stroked his chin. Now that there was money, Lord Qi probably wouldn’t keep complaining about the National Treasury’s lack of funds, right?
It was meant to be a simple birthday banquet, but because of Deng Zhengde’s sudden arrival, Wei Yu’s expression remained happily smiling the whole time afterward.
That smile was different from the earlier polite courtesy — anyone could tell it came from the heart.
The guests were curious about who Deng Zhengde was, after all, everyone knew it was after Wise King met that person that he underwent such a change.
Unfortunately, no one recognized Deng Zhengde. Even if some wanted to get to know him to gather information, they couldn’t find him at the banquet and could only continue to wonder.
After all, because of the exhaustion from traveling, Deng Zhengde went straight to rest in his guest room after meeting Wei Yu.
He stirred a pool of ripples, yet to outsiders he appeared calm and indifferent, causing others to feel restless and uneasy.
Only the Second Prince and Eighth Prince, who had seen Deng Zhengde in Ziyang, knew him.
After hearing Wei Yu’s explanation, the two princes roughly understood why Wei Yu was so delighted.
The Second Prince chuckled, “Ninth Brother is so joyous. It seems that Deng Zhengde’s visit brought quite a surprise to Ninth Brother.”
The Eldest Prince looked sideways. “Who is this Deng Zhengde?”
The tall and sturdy Eldest Prince truly looked huge sitting in his chair. He had been silently sitting all along, only speaking a few words when the Second Prince spoke.
“He is the person our younger brother arranged to make money in Jiaozhou. Do you brothers still remember Father Emperor’s plan about rebuilding military supplies?”
Wei Yu blinked, his expression both innocent and sly. “I boasted before the court officials that I would open new revenue sources for the National Treasury so that the Great Wei soldiers could use the best military supplies. You brothers know all about that. Deng Zhengde is the one who came this time to bring me the accounts.”
The Eldest Prince raised an eyebrow, his gaze sharp. “So it seems you earned quite a sum of silver in Jiaozhou?”
“Yes, one million taels.”
One million taels!
All the princes were shocked.
Wei Yu shrugged casually and spread his hands helplessly. “But this money is only a drop in the bucket compared to military supplies. Our Great Wei soldiers number over 600,000.”
Saying this, the princes recalled when Qi Tishou once calculated military expenses in the court and calmed down.
Indeed, the Imperial Guards numbered 30,000 but required 740,000 taels. One million taels was just a splash…
But!
Ninth Brother’s ability to make money was extraordinary!
The Eldest Prince looked deeply into Wei Yu. “Is this one million taels earned from the Merchants' Alliance you mentioned earlier?”
The Merchants' Alliance matter had been mentioned in court. Wei Yu had even given a written plan to Emperor Wei. However, after reading it, Emperor Wei had not brought it up in court.
Since the old man didn’t mention it, Wei Yu naturally wouldn’t make trouble for himself.
Even though Qi Tishou often confronted him about the Merchants' Alliance, Wei Yu had always preferred to avoid confrontation.
So now in the entire capital, besides Wei Yu, only Emperor Wei knew the details of the Merchants' Alliance.
Facing all scheming brothers, Wei Yu had only one attitude —
“More or less, anyway the Merchants' Alliance is handled by Father Emperor, and the money goes straight into the National Treasury.”
The technique was simple — blame it on his dad!