The Prodigal Son

Shitang Town belongs to Dazhao County, which is under the jurisdiction of Qingshan County.

Located in a mountainous area, this place has relatively poor transportation.

The entire town of Shitang had been secretly sealed off three months ago.

People outside can't get in, and people inside can't get out.

The town's supplies are all delivered by specialized merchants.

The so-called merchants were actually people in disguise from the Xuanzhu Division, which was directly controlled by Yun Ying.

The Xuanzhu Division is different from the Baojing Division.

Its most important responsibility is to spy on other countries.

Qin Yu only learned of the existence of the Xuanzhu Division after he climbed into the emperor's bed.

The members of the Xuanzhu Division are not particularly strong individually, but many of them have a special skill.

They disguised themselves as various types of people and hid right under the enemy's nose.

"Currently, the price of ordinary pepper has risen to nine to ten taels of silver per catty, and the price of high-quality pepper is approaching the twenty taels of silver mark."

"According to our statistics, the amount of pepper entering the Yan Kingdom from our dynasty is currently around 30,000 shi, of which 5,000 shi are stockpiled in the hands of our people."

"In addition, there are more than 20,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) of pepper stockpiled in Shitang..."

In Shitang Town, Jiang Bai of the Xuanzhu Division was reporting the situation to Qin Yu.

Listening to Jiang Bai's report, Qin Yu frowned slightly, then turned to look at Luo Qingyi beside him, "What do you think of this price?"

After arriving in Shitang Town, Qin Yu told Luo Qingyi everything.

Now, Luo Qingyi has also temporarily become his advisor.

Luo Qingyi thought for a moment, then shook her head and said, "I don't think that's enough! The price needs to be increased by at least 50%!"

Qin Yu thought for a moment and replied, "I think 50% isn't enough; it needs to be doubled!"

Hearing their words, Jiang Bai's face twitched slightly.

These two are truly ruthless!

When Luo Qingyi suggested raising the price by another 50%, he found it unbelievable. Then Qin Yu chimed in, saying he wanted to double the price.

It's just that kind of thing, how much higher can it go?

"Yes, doubling it would be even better!"

Luo Qingyi nodded slightly, "Have our people create the illusion of a warehouse fire, burn some of the pepper, and then use that as an opportunity to drastically increase the price of pepper!"

"That's a good idea!"

Qin Yu nodded approvingly and immediately instructed Jiang Bai, "Of the five thousand shi of pepper our men possess, at least three thousand shi should be burned!"

"It's...it's really burning?"

Jiang Bai looked at Qin Yu with a pained expression.

That's several thousand bushels of pepper!

Based on the price that was raised later, that's several million taels of silver!

They just burned it like that?

"Burn it! It must be burned!"

Qin Yu looked at Jiang Bai with unwavering determination, "Just do as I say! If you burn it, I'll reward you! If you don't, I'll punish you severely!"

"yes!"

Jiang Bai dared not say anything more and immediately accepted the order.

"Once that place is burned down, spread the news as quickly as possible!"

"Upon receiving the news, our people immediately transported pepper into the Yan Kingdom!"

"You need to actively drive up the price of pepper, the more aggressively you raise it, the better!"

"Ideally, the price should be raised several times within a single day!"

"You've driven up the prices, and that's when the people of Yan will go crazy for profit!"

"We must convince the people of Yan that once they have pepper in their hands, they will surely make a fortune!"

"To avoid unnecessary suspicion, it would be best to go to the extra trouble and transport it by water..."

Luo Qingyi then added.

Such a large quantity of goods should be transported by water.

When the news reached Ningguo, merchants who had stockpiled pepper there immediately transported it by waterway to Qingshan County, which makes sense.

"Um!"

Qin Yu nodded, "Then let's do it your way!"

After discussing for a while, the two gave Jiang Bai a few more instructions before letting him leave.

After seeing Jiang Bai off, Luo Qingyi lowered her head and began to ponder.

If we can raise the price even higher, that would be ideal.

Moreover, they also face the problem of how to make these peppers "run" further!

After all, the farther the pepper "runs," the more people it can affect.

But cargo transportation takes time!

They couldn't make pepper sprout wings and fly all over the states of Yan!

Luo Qingyi thought and thought, but still didn't know how to solve the problem. She could only tell Qin Yu about her problem, hoping that Qin Yu could think of a solution.

Upon hearing Luo Qingyi's question, Qin Yu burst into laughter, "So, you're just a natural-born businessman!"

Ignoring Qin Yu's praise, Luo Qingyi said with a worried expression, "This matter was a bit rushed. If only we had a few more months to prepare!"

"No! That's enough!"

Qin Yu shook his head and smiled, "Have you forgotten about our navy?"

"Navy?"

Luo Qingyi was suddenly taken aback. After a moment's thought, she suddenly realized, "Our naval forces also have pepper on board. Are we going to dock at various locations in Yan and distribute the pepper?"

"right!"

Qin Yu nodded slightly, "The navy will sail along the coastline of Yan, exchanging pepper for grain and silver..."

They had planned all of this long ago.

When they set off, the navy stationed in Min should have already leisurely set off.

The reason he discussed the second condition with Yan Li was to take this step!

The pepper from Shitang Town only needs to be distributed to the four states of Wang, Lu, Pang, and Hu in the Yan Kingdom.

The pepper transported from the eastern states of Yan was handed over to the navy!

After hearing Qin Yu's words, Luo Qingyi looked at him in shock.

They even calculated this step!

"Okay, okay, stop being so shocked."

Qin Yu pinched Luo Qingyi's nose. "Do you think those ministers in the court are just sitting around doing nothing?"

Actually, this wasn't something he had thought of.

Instead, it was something that Su Yu, Du Zhiwen, and others had already discussed with Zhao Luan.

After conquering Min, the plan was already in place.

Not to mention Luo Qingyi, even he only found out the night he slept with Zhao Luan!

That night, Zhao Luan did more than just ask him to sleep with her.

Luo Qingyi thought for a moment, then smiled knowingly, "That's true! You decided on the plan to destroy Yan so early on, you must have thought of things I could think of beforehand."

"Let's go, let's call Big Hammer and Sparrow to go for a walk."

Qin Yu stood up and led Luo Qingyi outside.

As soon as they entered the front yard, they saw Qi Dachui practicing martial arts in the yard.

Qi Dachui turned his pain into strength, wielding his golden mace with great power, but the flowers and plants in the yard suffered the consequences.

Nan Que'er sat in the shade, watching Qi Dachui squander his energy.

Seeing Qin Yu and Luo Qingyi approaching, Nan Que'er couldn't help but give them a helpless smile.

"Big Hammer, stop practicing martial arts and go for a walk!"

Qin Yu opened his mouth and shouted at Qi Dachui.

Qi Dachui stopped, hastily wiped the sweat from his forehead, and looked at Qin Yu expectantly. "Thirteenth Young Master, I don't want to go out. I... I just want to practice martial arts."

"You've been practicing for over an hour now, aren't you tired?" Qin Yu wondered to himself.

Big Hammer hasn't shown any real affection all these years.

He finally fell in love, only to encounter Liang Hongqiao, who had sealed his heart and locked away his love.

Qi Dachui was not a talkative person to begin with, and he was really worried that Qi Dachui would become withdrawn after being beaten.

"Not tired."

Qi Dachui shook his head and swung his golden mace left and right in front of Qin Yu to prove that he still had strength.

"Alright! You can start practicing then!"

Qin Yu sighed helplessly, "When I get back, I'll take you to bathe in the Shitang River!"

"Um!"

Qi Dachui nodded slightly and began practicing again.

Seeing Qi Dachui's appearance, the three of them looked helpless.

He really wanted to send Qi Dachui to Liang Hongqiao's side!

But there are many people and many eyes in the army, and Qi Dachui is his personal guard. Wherever he goes, Qi Dachui should go too!

Once Qi Dachui goes to the Panyang East Camp, some people will definitely suspect that he hasn't left!

He didn't want any complications at this critical juncture...