Chapter 795: Helping the Wicked
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
However, Princess Shao Yi had clearly said that with her and the Xie family’s connections in the southeast coast, as well as Princess Shaoyi’s reputation, who would offend them?
As long as Princess Shaoyi gave the word, no merchant would dare to accept the silk from the four families.
What could the four families do?
How could King Yue Fei not accept Princess Shaoyi’s silk?
Even if King Yue Fei did not accept it, Princess Shaoyi had a ship and channels. She could still sell the silk of the retail investors. The four families could not do anything to her.
Could it be that the four families would throw away the silk that they had painstakingly nurtured?
If they wanted to sell it, they had to rely on Princess Shaoyi.
At that time, Princess Shaoyi would have the final say in the price. If she wanted them to earn, they would earn. If she made them lose money, they would have to swallow it all.
That wasn’t what was scary.
Instead!
Princess Shaoyi’s actions were on the side of benevolence. Not only did she give the refugees a way to live, but she also saved the four families from losses. What was there for the four families to be dissatisfied with?
If the four families dared to obstruct them, the spit of the commoners could drown them. If the scholars criticized them, they could be killed with a brush.
Princess Shaoyi had taken drastic measures to deal with the four families.
Lord Li understood. Lord Li also understood that Princess Shaoyi was forcing him to express his stance. Under King Yue Fei’s dark gaze, what else could Lord Li do?
Lord Li could only say, “Princess, you’re dedicated to the people. I’ll definitely support you fully.”
Yu Youyao smiled. “With Lord Li’s words, I’m relieved.”
The four families might not take Lord Li seriously, and she did not plan for him to be of any use.
If they joined forces with the retail investors to resist the deeply rooted n.o.bles, it would definitely cause a certain impact on the local trade and economy. The four families had a deep foundation in Liancheng, and their connections could not be underestimated.
With the support of the government, her actions would be legitimate and logical.
Back then, many n.o.bles in the North had joined forces with the local officials and jointly sued King Li of Zhou.
She was a dignified first-rate Saint Venerable Princess.
Even if the four families had any response to her, they had to go through the government first.
Lord Li bade farewell to Princess Shaoyi and left the courier station.
As soon as he left, Xia Tao came over. “The guard outside said that after Lord Li entered the courier station, there were a few groups of people investigating outside.”
Yu Youyao said calmly, “There’s no need to care.”
She did not have to be pedantic and lower her status to get involved with the four families.
After Xia Tao left, only Yu Youyao and Yin Huaixi were left in the living room.
Yu Youyao looked at Yin Huaixi. “The drought affected most of the northwest region. Shaanxi and Shanxi are especially serious. These two places are vast and densely populated. They can be considered the areas that are most prosperous in terms of agriculture and industry in Youzhou.” Her expression was a little hesitant. “You’re taking in so many refugees. Regarding the issue of food…”
The drought was more serious in the three provinces of the capital. The three northwestern provinces, and the three northeastern provinces had also been affected, but the situation was not too serious.
However, most of the supplies in the North came from Shaanxi and Shanxi.
Currently, Shaanxi and Shanxi did not produce food. As the three northeastern provinces were vast and spa.r.s.ely populated, and agriculture was not developed, they were short of supplies. Yin Huaixi had taken in so many refugees, so food was a problem.
The sweet potatoes from a county could only resolve an urgent matter.
It was impossible for Yin Huaixi to use the military rations he had acc.u.mulated to help the refugees. It wasn’t that he couldn’t bear to part with them, but that there was a war in the North, so he had to maintain the You army first.
Arranging the refugees to raise silkworms seemed to be a way out, but where would the food come from?
The disasters in Shaanxi and Shanxi were too serious. Even the land was desolate. It was definitely not viable to grow sweet potatoes. Thus, they could only be planted in the three northeastern provinces, but there was very little farmland in the three northeastern provinces.
The North seemed stable.
However, after walking around Liancheng, Yu Youyao already understood the hidden danger behind stability.
Unless Yin Huaixi wanted to…
Yu Youyao suddenly thought of King Liang, who had attacked the Xie family. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her thick and long eyelashes lowered to hide the storm.
Yin Huaixi played with the yellow jade coiling dragon ring in his hand and said casually, “The largest Baotong Bank in the Great Zhou Dynasty is managed by the n.o.bles of the North led by Shanshaan. They built a huge merchant guild in the North with Shanshaan as the center, and dominated the North. Even the Imperial Court finds it troublesome.”
The merchant guild was a huge network alliance that was centered on a region. It was formed with blood ties and village ties. A large-scale merchant guild covered a region. Almost all the businessmen with prestige were involved.
There was a river between Shanxi and Shaanxi. Since ancient times, there had been a saying that described the marriage alliance between two families.
In the early days of the Great Zhou Dynasty, in order to consolidate the border defense and resist foreign countries, the Imperial Court implemented a series of national policies such as the salt-grain exchange, the trade of tea and horses, cotton levies, and the trade of cloth and horses in Shanshaan.
The merchants in the Shanxi and the Shaanxi areas seized this opportunity. They used the two main trade routes in the northwest region, as well as the Silk Road and the Ancient Tea Horse Road, to transport tea, sell salt, and destroy opium. They formed the Shanshaan Alliance.
As the businesses of the merchants in the North spanned many regions, the giant merchants of the two places jointly opened the Baotong Bank to facilitate trade between many regions.
This was a huge power that dominated the Great Zhou Dynasty. The Imperial Court dared to attack the Xie Residence, which occupied the southeast coast and controlled maritime trade, but they did not dare to provoke the merchant guild in the North.
This was one of the reasons for the tragic disaster of King Li of Zhou’s family.
The emperor used the King Li of Zhou’s case to slaughter the n.o.bles of the North wantonly. He also had a reason to weaken the power of the n.o.bles of the North.
Yu Youyao recalled the scene of the Xie Residence escaping Quanzhou in a sorry state like a stray dog, and the nightmare where the Xie Residence was forced to a dead end by King Liang and Song Mingzhao!
“Are you going to attack the n.o.bles?” Yu Youyao was a little frustrated, but she couldn’t criticize anything, because what she was doing now was helping the wicked.
Perhaps she knew Yin Huaixi better than she had imagined.
After entering Liancheng, she had vaguely guessed what was going on when she heard that King Yue Fei was teaching the refugees how to raise silkworms. Later, she went to Liancheng Street to take a look and already had a plan.
Without even discussing it with Yin Huaixi, she sent a business card to Lord Li and invited him over to greet him.
Without needing Yin Huaixi to say anything, she had already started doing what he wanted to do.
This was a long-standing tacit understanding.
Yin Huaixi neither denied nor admitted it. “I set up a refugee camp in the North to prevent the refugees from causing trouble and to maintain the stability of the North. After all, the North is often disturbed by external enemies. Only by dealing with the internal problems can it be stable outside. The North is vast and spa.r.s.ely populated, with poor supplies and low productivity. Food is scarce. I’m teaching the refugees the technique of raising silkworms because I hope that they can take root in the North in the future and have another way to live.”
Yu Youyao pursed her lips slightly. “You want the n.o.bles to accept the refugees and help them settle down in the North.”