Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 179 Bring Me Something
The reason why Wang Lang and Xu Gong were unwilling to conduct large-scale arms transactions with Yan Yi was very simple.

First of all, Yan Yi’s requirements for the quality of military equipment were too high. Most of the military equipment they had were of poor quality and could not meet Yan Yi’s needs.

Secondly, the open and covert struggles among the various forces in Jiangdong have become increasingly fierce. They have already developed a sense of crisis of nurturing a tiger to harm themselves, and have begun to carry out targeted suppression of Yan Yi in non-battlefield areas.

Yan Yi was immediately displeased. "I have plenty of money, so why should I worry about not being able to buy anything?" He waved his hand and had the news of the massive arms purchase spread.

After the news spread, there was a sudden uproar, and arms dealers from all over the country flocked to Qiantang Port, making it packed.

Even Zhou Shu and Zu Lang, who were far away from Qiantang and had no waterway connection, sent people over to try to get a piece of the pie.

After weighing the pros and cons, Yan Yi chose the Tao Company, which was affiliated with Liu Biao, and the Guo Company, which was affiliated with Yuan Shao, among many arms dealers.

Liu Biao controlled Jingzhou, while Yuan Shao dominated Hebei. Both of them were top-tier powers far superior to Xu Gong and Wang Lang. They possessed not only large numbers of soldiers and ample food, but also superior military equipment, fully capable of meeting his needs.

What's more, not only did Liu Biao and Yuan Shao have no conflict of interest with him, they also had a common enemy, Yuan Shu.

Liu Biao now had a heavy garrison of troops in Xiangyang, Fancheng, and Dengcheng, precisely to defend against Yuan Shu. Yuan Shao, on the other hand, had long harbored a deep hatred for Yuan Shu since the Battle of Yangcheng. Both of them were eager for Yan Yi to kill Yuan Shu.

In fact, Liu Biao and Yuan Shao had long been looking for a force in Jiangdong that dared to maintain an offensive confrontation with Yuan Shu to cooperate with, but they had never found a suitable target. The sudden rise of Yan Yi was a big surprise for them.

Such unique conditions made the three parties feel that they had met too late as soon as they came into contact, and they quickly reached a cooperation.

The cooperation between the three is more like the behavior of the eldest and second brothers supporting the youngest brother, and Yan Yi has received a lot of support from his two "brothers".

In the arms transaction alone, the weapons would be sold to him at cost price, on the condition that he would make every effort to contain and curb Yuan Shu's development.

Yan Yi had no objection to this, as he had originally planned to attack Wu Jing. This move was enough to give Liu and Yuan a satisfactory explanation.

Tao Yan only had some knowledge of this kind of cooperative relationship, but Yi Ji knew it more clearly, so his attitude towards Yan Yi was very different. He was polite and respectful, but also a little close.

Tao Yan was clear about his identity and role. He was just an introducer for the first meeting between the two parties. After Yan Yi and Yi Ji started talking, he tactfully took his leave.

After Tao Yan left, Yi Ji said with a smile, "Young Lord's capture of Qiantang is truly a cause for celebration. I have come here at your request to bring you a gift."

Yan Yi said politely, "Your Excellency is too polite. Next time Ji Bo comes, please don't bring any gifts."

Yi Ji showed a mysterious smile on his face and took out a scroll of congratulatory letter from his sleeve and presented it: "This gift was personally selected by the Lord. I'm sure you will like it after seeing it."

Upon hearing this, Yan Yi couldn't help but feel a little curious. He took the letter of congratulation and started to read it.

After just a few glances, his pupils shrank slightly, and a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.

The gift Liu Biao sent turned out to be two hundred warships, including fifty fighting ships, fifty Maotu ships, and one hundred warships.

Yan Yi was overjoyed, secretly thinking that his second brother was truly generous. With just one casual move, he had given him half of the Qiantang Navy. Currently, he only had a little over 300 warships under his command. Liu Biao's gift was a great relief to his urgent needs.

With these 500 warships, he no longer has to hide in Qiantang Bay and can go out to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the East China Sea.

Although the Kuaiji Navy had 800 warships and was still stronger than him, the Kuaiji coastline stretched for hundreds of miles, which meant that the Kuaiji Navy had to divide its forces and garrison in various ports, making it difficult to concentrate and no longer posing a fatal threat to him.

Yan Yi closed the congratulatory letter happily, thinking secretly that there is no free lunch in the world, and Liu Biao must have some ulterior motive for being so generous.

As expected, Yi Ji saw the satisfaction on his face and immediately took the opportunity to ask, "I heard that the young master has purchased two Pinghai ships. I wonder where the young master plans to use these ships to expand into maritime trade?"

Yan Yi knew very well that the reason why Liu Biao looked at him differently was, firstly, the army he had and a series of brilliant battle records, and secondly, Qiantang Port. He was also happy to show more value to the other party in order to gain more benefits.

"To be honest with you, Master Ji, I plan to expand maritime trade with the countries of Southeast Asia, and I've made considerable progress."

Yi Ji was delighted and thought to himself, as expected, this guy has a sharp eye. As soon as he captured Qiantang, he set his sights on Nanyang.

Just as Yan Yi guessed, Liu Biao had long coveted Qiantang Port, but the distance was too far to take advantage of it.

Liu Biao dreamed of opening up trade with the Southeast Asian nations. However, once their merchant ships reached Qiantang Bay, they refused to proceed further north. Major ports like Qiantang, Hepu, and Xuwen were already able to meet their trade needs, and every mile northward added to their costs and risks. This was a mistake, and they continued northward.

In addition, some waters along the Yangtze River are not suitable for navigation of large ships, which means that Liu Biao's yearning for maritime trade can only remain in his imagination forever.

Now that he had a third brother, his heart, which had been silent for a long time, naturally began to stir.

Yi Ji smiled nervously and asked, "To be honest, my lord is quite interested in some of the specialties of the Southeast Asian countries. If you can establish trade channels in Southeast Asia, I wonder if you could ship some goods there and bring some back for me?"

Yan Yi sneered in his heart, I am afraid that what your lord wants to take with him is not just a few things, but a huge amount of goods measured in ships.

Seeing his hesitation, Yi Ji quickly said, "Of course, if this can be accomplished, it will be entirely thanks to Young Master's contribution. I am willing to split the profits with you 60:40."

Yan Yi couldn't help but ask, "I get six and he gets four?"

Yi Ji thought to himself, "You're kidding, young master. It's me who holds 60%."

Yan Yi looked embarrassed and sighed deeply, saying, "Since it is your Majesty's wish, I will do my utmost to fulfill it. However, Uncle Ji, you don't know that the cost of ocean voyages alone, including the research and development, manufacturing, and maintenance of the ships, as well as the risks of navigation, manpower, storage and transportation, fleet escort, taxes in the Southeast Asian region, and various other arrangements, is astronomical. A mere 40% profit is not even enough to cover the losses."

He looked at Yi Ji's confused face and knew that even if the other party knew something about ocean affairs, it was definitely not much. He immediately wanted to make a fortune from him, so he took out a scroll from the desk and handed it to Yi Ji.

"Look, Ji Bo, last July, the Zhao family sent three ships to Funan. One ran aground and sank, and one was looted by Linyi pirates. Only one returned with cargo. A 40% profit... hehe."

(End of this chapter)