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Seeing Zhao Jun's expression, Ren Xing asked in confusion, "What on earth happened, my lord?"
Zhao Jun slumped in his chair, weakly raising his arm to hand the letter in his hand to Ren Xing. Ren Xing carefully took the letter, reading it while breaking out in a cold sweat.
This letter was sent to him by Cai Sidong. When the first Messenger was dispatched, Cai Sidong realized that he had not informed Zhao Jun about the importance of this equipment purchase, nor had he mentioned that this matter was a direct order from Severe Winter. If things went wrong, no one could guarantee how Severe Winter would punish them.
For this reason, Cai Sidong hurriedly wrote a letter to Zhao Jun, urging him to finalize the deal at all costs; otherwise, losing his official position would be the least of their worries.
Originally, this Messenger could have arrived on time, but the appearance of a Thunder Eagle disrupted Cai Sidong's plans. However, Cai Sidong did not expect that Zhao Jun had offended people so severely.
Both Zhao Jun and Ren Xing read the letter and sat there in silence. Losing his position was something Zhao Jun could afford; the kickbacks he had received over the years were enough for him to live on. However, he was reluctant to part with such a lucrative position. Losing his official status was a minor issue compared to the possibility of losing his life over this matter.
The purchasing proposal from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce was put forth by Severe Winter; who would dare to mess it up? Now Zhao Jun was thinking about how to salvage the situation or find another way to turn things around.
Ren Xing's eyes shifted as a plan surfaced in his mind: "My lord, I have a strategy that might work."
Upon hearing that Ren Xing had a plan, Zhao Jun immediately sat up: "Quickly tell me."
"My lord, since we have already fallen out with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, we cannot go back to them; otherwise, where would your face be? So why not approach the New Home Chamber of Commerce instead?"
"What are we going to discuss with the New Home Chamber of Commerce? Are you out of your mind? Didn't we say that His Majesty personally ordered us to procure equipment from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce?"
"My lord, every armor's shape and style are quite similar. The only difference is that the armor from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce has 'Chinese' written on its Heart Shield and on the hilt of the weapons. We can directly approach the New Home Chamber of Commerce and ask them to also inscribe 'Chinese' on their weapons and armor. That way, we can still meet our obligations while continuing to earn money with the New Home Chamber of Commerce. Would they treat you poorly?"
Hearing Ren Xing's plan, Zhao Jun's eyes lit up. He smiled at Ren Xing: "Not bad, kid. We'll go with your idea. Get a carriage ready; we’ll set off for Winter City tonight." To be safe, Zhao Jun decided to reply to Cai Sidong after meeting Guo Leigang, so he instructed Ren Xing to keep the Messenger safe and left the inn with his men that night.
The next morning, Liu Guanfeng received news that Zhao Jun had left the former fishing village overnight. Liu Guanfeng did not care about the formation and conspiracy of this little clown. After Zhao Jun left, Liu Guanfeng asked Huang Tie to take some money to the inn to settle all of Zhao Jun's expenses. This made the shopkeeper extremely grateful to Liu Guanfeng; he had thought he would incur a loss from this small business, but unexpectedly, he not only avoided a loss but even made a profit.
The matters in the former fishing village came to a close, while the Chinese Chamber of Commerce had already begun to eliminate all Third Class blacksmiths. With ample time, everyone had no complaints. Moreover, due to the reputation of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, many blacksmiths and apprentices came seeking work. The internal blacksmith forges of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce were clearly insufficient, but with the elimination of the Third Class, all blacksmiths could now work at the forges.
Zhao Jun traveled day and night towards Winter City. Upon arriving in Winter City, he returned to Ronghua Tower. It was still the same private room that Guo Leigang had always reserved for him. After settling in, Zhao Jun did not even call for his favorite courtesan; instead, he directly asked Ren Xing to summon Guo Leigang.
When Guo Leigang learned that Zhao Jun needed to see him, he hurriedly made his way to Ronghua Tower. By this time, a banquet had already been set up in Zhao Jun's room.
The two took their seats and began eating and chatting. After raising his glass in a toast, Guo Leigang asked, "Lord Zhao, how did your trip to the Chinese Chamber of Commerce go?"
Zhao Jun shook his head and sighed, "It was fruitless. I didn't expect Liu Xin to be so ungrateful. If I had known it would turn out like this, I would have brought an army with me from the start. I could have just taken down their Merchant Guild directly."
Guo Leigang smiled slightly and said, "Lord Zhao need not be angry over such a person. Come, let us drink."
"Yes, let's drink."
"My lord, what is it that you wanted to discuss with me today?"
"President Guo, I have thought of a way to make money; I wonder if you are willing to take it on?"
Upon hearing this, Guo Leigang's eyes lit up; Little Guy really thinks of everything! He had been worried recently about the Merchant Guild not being able to sell weapons and armor, and now someone was bringing money.
Guo Leigang quickly nodded and said, "I wonder what good advice my lord has?"
Zhao Jun shared Ren Xing's idea. As Zhao Jun spoke, Guo Leigang's eyes began to shine because he saw in this plan both the decline of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and the resurgence of his New Home Chamber of Commerce.
After Zhao Jun finished speaking, Guo Leigang nodded at him and said, "Rest assured, my lord; I will take care of this matter. You can wait here for my news. Within three days, I will bring you a sample. If there are no issues, we can complete three thousand sets of equipment within a month."
Zhao Jun nodded, "I still trust President Guo to handle things. As for the price, how do you think we should set it?"
"Our Merchant Guild is grateful for your support, Lord Zhao. I understand that the goods in the Chinese Chamber of Commerce are not cheap. How about we set the price at seventy gold coins per set? For you, my lord, we can do it for fifty gold coins."
Zhao Jun was quite pleased; he would make a profit of twenty gold coins per set. With three thousand sets, he could earn sixty thousand gold coins. Zhao Jun nodded, "Let's proceed as President Guo suggests. However, you must ensure that the quality is realistic."
"Rest assured, my lord. Let's toast to our cooperation."
With the weight lifted from his heart, after sending off Guo Leigang, he relaxed and even called four courtesans to his chamber for the night. The next day, he woke up well past lunchtime.
After washing up, Zhao Jun called for writing tools and replied to Cai Sidong with a letter. The content was similar to what Guo Leigang had said, informing Cai Sidong that he had negotiated with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce for seventy gold coins per set. In a month, they would be able to prepare three thousand sets of equipment, and he would personally transport them back to the capital.
After sending off the messenger, Zhao Jun returned to his previous happy life. Even the guards who accompanied him received their own rooms, with all their food and entertainment covered by New Home Chamber of Commerce.
The next morning, Guo Leigang sent someone disguised as a buyer to purchase a set of equipment from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. After bringing it back to his Merchant Guild, he gathered all the blacksmiths to learn how to carve the Chinese characters. They conducted trials, and by the third day, the first replica was completed; the Chinese characters were almost identical to those on the original equipment.
Guo Leigang happily presented this set along with the equipment from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce to Zhao Jun. After examining it for a long time without finding any differences, Zhao Jun instructed Guo Leigang to proceed with production based on this model. Since it only involved carving letters, the work became much simpler. Moreover, due to poor business recently, New Home Chamber of Commerce had accumulated a large stock of weapons and equipment; now they could finally sell them in bulk.
Guo Leigang returned to his Merchant Guild excitedly and urged the blacksmiths to hurry up with the carvings.
In Spring City, Cai Sidong also received Zhao Jun's messenger. After reading its contents, he praised Zhao Jun internally; despite his indulgent lifestyle that seemed to drain him physically, he proved reliable in business matters.
After reading the letter, Cai Sidong's first action was to report to Severe Winter. Upon hearing everything, Severe Winter was very pleased and immediately stated that when Zhao Jun returned, he would be rewarded. Hearing that the equipment deal was finalized, Zhu Xiao came over that day to drink with Cai Sidong.
None of them realized that what Zhao Jun brought back was actually a batch of genuine fakes.
A month passed quickly. According to their agreement, Guo Leigang had prepared three thousand sets of equipment and loaded them onto fifteen carts. Aside from Zhao Jun's people, all other guards were from New Home Chamber of Commerce. Furthermore, Zhao Jun mentioned that during their journey to the capital, he would not be involved in any matters; everything would be overseen by an instructor from New Home Chamber of Commerce.
If he arrives later than the convoy, he will let them wait a little longer in the capital and inform Guo Leigang to continue crafting similar equipment, as there are still many days ahead. If they can get through this time, then in the future, everyone's money will flow into their pockets like a rushing river.
After bidding farewell to the New Home Chamber of Commerce, Zhao Jun left the convoy because it was moving too slowly. Every time Zhao Jun reached a village, he would stay overnight at a brothel in that village. Two months later, the convoy slowly entered the capital of Luo Heng Island, Spring City.
On the third day after the convoy entered the city, Zhao Jun returned with his guards, looking exhausted. After reuniting with the New Home Chamber of Commerce's convoy, he instructed their guards and drivers that if anyone asked when they arrived at the Military Supply Office, they should say they were from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. Do you understand?
Everyone nodded in agreement. Zhao Jun led the convoy slowly toward the Military Supply Office. It was only when they reached the door of the Military Supply Office that Zhao Jun felt a bit anxious, fearing they might be discovered.
At that moment, Cai Sidong was resting in his office. Upon hearing that Zhao Jun had returned with equipment, Cai Sidong immediately rushed out because this was his first transaction since taking charge of the Military Supply Office.
When Cai Sidong arrived outside, Zhao Jun was unloading goods with the guards from the New Home Chamber of Commerce. Cai Sidong quickly approached Zhao Jun and patted him on the shoulder: "You must have had a tough journey. Come inside and have a drink."
Zhao Jun was pulled back inside by Cai Sidong, who personally poured him a cup of tea. Surprised by this attention, Zhao Jun picked up the cup and took a sip: "Lord Zhao, your negotiations went smoothly this time, right? Did you encounter any difficulties?"
Zhao Jun placed the teacup on the table and stood up to address Cai Sidong: "Reporting to you, my lord."
Seeing Zhao Jun stand up, Cai Sidong immediately rose as well and pressed him back into his seat: "Lord Zhao, just sit down and talk."
"Thank you, Cai Daren. My trip to Winter City wasn't very smooth at first. The President of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Liu Xin, quoted a price of one hundred twenty gold for a set of equipment and refused to negotiate. I spent two weeks at the Chinese Chamber of Commerce before getting the price down to seventy gold. Then Liu Xin said that the quantity of armor didn't meet their standards and insisted we prepare twenty thousand sets. I continued to negotiate with him to increase the quantity, but they wouldn't budge and only said that twenty thousand sets was their minimum requirement; they couldn't guarantee anything beyond that. I could only tell them to produce all their goods for this year since we at the Military Supply Office have already placed our orders."
Cai Sidong frowned upon hearing Zhao Jun's account and felt an instinctive dislike for this unseen Liu Xin. He thought to himself that Liu Xin was just a small Merchant Guild President; why act so arrogant? However, after hearing what Zhao Jun said next, he dismissed those thoughts since business had been secured. At least he could report back to Zhu Xiao and consider it a completed task assigned by Severe Winter.
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