No matter what Fragrance Pavilion was used for in the past, now that Chen Xi is preparing for a transaction there, everyone must go, whether they like it or not!
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, this craftsmanship is really not bad," Chen Xi said as he placed a bundle of invitations on the table, then drew one out.
Mi Zhu chuckled twice, his sister truly had a gift for calligraphy and painting. At least the invitation looked quite beautiful.
"Zizhong, I’ll leave these to you. Distribute them as you see fit, and just make sure that the stack of land deeds is dealt with by the end," Chen Xi said while yawning. Recently, no one had come to bother Chen Xi, and because of this, he had become even more lax and free.
Mi Zhu was very aware that Chen Xi couldn’t distinguish which merchants belonged to which side, let alone know who should receive an invitation. Delegating tasks to professionals had always been Chen Xi’s forte.
Mi Zhu was quick to act. By noon, all the invitations had been delivered to every qualified person without exception. All that was left was to wait at Fragrance Pavilion for that group of people to come. If anyone failed to acknowledge the invitation, treating it as an invitation to come within one to three days, then that was their loss – Chen Xi certainly wouldn’t offer a second chance. Ignoring the invitation was tantamount to looking down on them.
However, in Chen Xi’s view, there wouldn’t be many merchants who would forget to look at the invitation. Even if it was a habit, any merchant who didn’t instruct their subordinates to bring them the invitation upon receipt probably wasn’t worth paying much attention to.
Having prepared all the land deeds, Chen Xi planned to sell the afternoon’s offerings and hoped that arranging the order early might earn him a little extra cash.
Just as Chen Xi was making arrangements, a guard burst in, "Strategist, Master Jia asks that you come to the Political Office to discuss matters?"
Chen Xi, who had been sorting through the land deeds, paused and looked up at the guard – it was Guo Jia’s Chief Personal Guard, Ruan Yuliang.
"What happened?" Chen Xi asked calmly as he put down the stack of land deeds. The fact that Jia Wenhe had commanded Ruan Yuliang to notify him was enough to indicate that the new intelligence signified trouble.
[Can’t things be quiet for a bit? This year hasn’t seen a moment’s rest, from the beginning till now. In three more months, it’ll be the New Year again. Can’t one get a break!] Chen Xi frowned with this thought. Yet no matter what he thought, since Jia Xu had sent someone to summon him, he would need to set aside his current tasks. After all, at this stage, Mi Zhu could handle the land sale matters just fine.
"Zizhong, it seems I can’t stay here to oversee this personally. The rest I leave to you. Remember one thing, Lord Xuande’s properties can only be leased, not sold. The properties granted to you all can be bought only by those with sufficient status!" Chen Xi stuffed a stack of land deeds into Mi Zhu’s hands, casually reminded him of a few points to watch out for, and prepared to leave. After all, he had already set the general direction, and the only concerns for Mi Zhu would be how much money and grain were involved.
After speaking, Chen Xi was ready to leave, but just a few steps away with Ruan Yuliang, he remembered there were some things he had not instructed yet.
"Zizhong, just remember cash transactions must be kept at a hundred percent of the cost, while payment in grain, horses, cattle, and sheep can be made at ninety percent of the original price, medicinal herbs at ninety-five percent, and raw materials like fabric, raw silk, and hemp likewise," Chen Xi rattled off hurriedly, instructing Mi Zhu. "After all, we can afford to offer a discount on tangible goods. Just handle it as you see fit, but don’t reveal our bottom line! When the time comes, categorize and store the goods in the western district warehouses. As for the finances, just send them back to their respective owners." These matters were crucial to Chen Xi’s plans for the next year.
"Understood!" While Mi Zhu didn’t quite grasp why Chen Xi would offer a higher price for raw materials instead of simply discounting on the spot, he didn’t question it.
Seeing the perplexed expression on Mi Zhu’s face, Chen Xi could guess the reason but didn’t offer any explanation. After all, Mi Zhu hadn’t considered the problem of reserving capital yet. If barter were possible, many merchants would have the leverage to act more liberally in their dealings. Not every family was like the Zhen Family, foolishly maintaining a strategic reserve of two billion copper coins.
More importantly, Chen Xi believed that solid copper coins were less significant than materials. Rather than trading them later, it was better to prepare the reserves now, taking advantage of the time when merchants were most abundant to set up the strategic reserves in one go.
"All right, the rest is up to you. If you mess this up and fail to secure the funds, I believe Zijing and the others won’t mind having a word with you," Chen Xi said, waving his hand dismissively at an embarrassed Mi Zhu. "I’ll be on my way now. You’ll handle the rest, including coordinating merchant regulations and the commerce assembly with them."
The news of Chen Xi leaving Fragrance Pavilion for the Political Office reached the desks of all major merchants, who by now were all fixated on him. Unfortunately, even when the time on the invitation was up, Chen Xi had still not been seen leaving the Political Office, signaling that this matter wasn’t being handled by Chen Xi!
"That’s the situation," Jia Xu finished reading the latest reports from Youzhou and Jizhou, which left Chen Xi with no mood for jesting even with Lub Su and the others.
"Even though we knew for a long time that Gongsun Bogui was going to lose, did it have to be so complete?!" Chen Xi said, covering his eyes with his hands, a bitter smile on his face. The defeat was so absolute that it eliminated the need for any rescue effort.
"Yuan Benchu won too cleanly. As of now, unless Gongsun Bogui retreats to Youzhou to regroup and fight again, there’s not a chance of bouncing back. The entire White Horse Righteous Followers are wiped out—it’s such a waste! The most important question is whether he can even make it back!" Liu Ye said with a wry smile.
Even though it was common knowledge in Qingzhou that Gongsun Zan would lose, did he really have to fall so swiftly? Ten thousand White Horse Righteous Followers were first blocked by the Great Halberdiers and then cut through by the Heavy Cavalry led by Yann Liang and Wen Chou, with Gongsun Zan’s mistakenly commanded infantry blocking the rear. Eventually, they were decisively defeated by Juo Yi leading the Vanguard Death Squad.
Chen Xi was lost for words upon reviewing the battle report of Jieqiao, where Gongsun Bogui’s infantry suffered minor losses. However, the elite White Horse Righteous Followers were reduced to less than ten percent of their numbers. Additionally, on that very night, as Juo Yi fought with severe injuries leading the Vanguard Death Squad in a direct assault against Gongsun Bogui’s camp, braving the rain of arrows and scattering Gongsun Bogui’s infantry and the remaining White Horse Righteous Followers. Holding back his breath, he pursued for nearly a hundred miles, giving Gongsun Bogui no chance to regroup and ultimately causing a rout.
Upon seeing this, Chen Xi wanted to exclaim, "Juo Yi, are you aiming for Super Deity status?" Three thousand Vanguard Death Soldiers threw themselves into the fray, and despite losing half their number, they annihilated the White Horse Righteous Followers and crippled Gongsun Zan. Such ferocity—what kind of madness is this?!
In fact, it wasn’t just Chen Xi who felt it was excessive; even Yuan Shao himself found it all surreal. Renowned generals under Yuan Shao, such as Ma Yan, Jiao Chu, Zhou Ang, and Zhu Ling, were thoroughly shocked. The one they had mocked not so long ago turned out to be this formidable. They’d better start preparing apology gifts!
Gongsun Zan had been defeated before he even reached the area Xun Shen had calculated, leading Tian Feng and Xun Shen to deviate from their previous estimates. Instead, they launched a force directly from the Loufan region of Bingzhou, striking a fierce blow toward the heartland of Youzhou. At the same time, Ju Shou from Bohai was also pressing his forces toward Youzhou from Zhuo County and Guangyang! (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian ). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read on m.qidian.com.)