The imperial court is ceding territory from our northern border? Then we'll rebel!

Night falls at Zuixianlou.

Qian Wansan and a group of wealthy merchants gathered here again, drinking and proudly discussing the day's "victories".

"Hahaha, see that? That Sun Xiang is a complete incompetent fool! What can he do besides stay indoors all the time?"

"I think in two days at most, he'll have to come begging us to open the door!"

Qian Wansan raised his wine glass, his face flushed: "Gentlemen, once we get through this, our business community in the capital will be united as one! Then, we'll be in charge of the economy of the Great Yan! Come, bottoms up!"

"Bang!"

With a loud bang, the door to the private room was kicked open.

Sun Xiang, dressed in a black brocade robe with a long sword at his waist, walked in expressionlessly, accompanied by a squad of soldiers wielding unsheathed steel knives.

Behind him stood Zhao Kuo, the Imperial Guard General, whose face was ashen.

The entire private room fell into a deathly silence.

The smiles on the faces of all the merchants froze. Their smugness from a moment ago turned to terror when they saw the gleaming blade.

"What...what are you trying to do?" Qian Wansan mustered his courage and stood up. "Director Sun, we are all law-abiding businessmen. You...you are trespassing and abusing your power!"

"Upholding the law?" Sun Xiang sneered, pulling a file from his pocket and tossing it on the table. "Qian Wansan, a descendant of generations of salt smugglers, has evaded taxes totaling three million taels. Last year, in an attempt to seize the docks, he ordered his men to kill thirteen porters. Am I right?"

Qian Wansan's face turned deathly pale instantly. He had indeed done all of this, but it was all done in secret, and he was confident that he had done it flawlessly. How could Sun Xiang know everything?

Sun Xiang ignored him and turned his gaze to the ironware shop owner.

"Zhang Deli colluded with officials from the Ministry of Revenue, falsely reported losses, embezzled 50,000 jin of official iron, used it to forge weapons, and secretly sold them to nomadic tribes on the grasslands. Am I right?"

Zhang Deli's legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground. Colluding with foreign enemies—this was a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family!

Sun Xiang's gaze, sharp as a knife, swept across the faces of each merchant. Each time he called out a name, he would recount a crime they believed no one knew about.

Some of these crimes were secretly discovered by Xiao Jingchen's Imperial City Guard long ago, while others were account books and letters found in the mansions of officials whose homes had been raided a few days ago.

Without exception, none of the dozens of businessmen present had any clean reputation.

Their faces were ashen, and they trembled like leaves.

"You...you're making baseless accusations! Do you have any evidence?!" Qian Wansan was still making a last-ditch effort.

"Evidence?" Sun Xiang laughed and clapped his hands.

Immediately, soldiers carried in more than a dozen large boxes. When the boxes were opened, they were filled with various account books, letters, and land deeds.

"Is this enough?" Sun Xiang looked at Qian Wansan and said, word by word, "Boss Qian, do you really think that no one knows what you've been doing?"

"In my eyes, you are no different from the dead."

"I'm here today to send you on your way."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Qian Wansan suddenly sprang to his feet, grabbed a wine jug from the table, and hurled it at Sun Xiang, roaring, "Fight him! He wouldn't dare kill us all!"

However, he overestimated himself and underestimated Sun Xiang.

Sun Xiang didn't even move, but one of the soldiers beside him stepped forward and swung his sword.

A flash of blood appeared.

Qian Wansan's body froze on the spot. A thin line of blood appeared on his neck. Then, a perfectly healthy head rolled to the ground, its eyes still wide open.

"what!"

A series of piercing screams echoed from inside the private room.

"Now, who else wants to take a chance?" Sun Xiang's icy voice echoed in the blood-soaked room.

No one dared to touch it anymore.

"General Zhao," Sun Xiang turned to Zhao Kuo, "take down every single person on the list, without exception, and imprison them all. Seize all their property, shops, and farmland, and transfer them to the Ministry of Commerce!"

"Yes!" Zhao Kuo waved his hand.

The fierce Imperial Guard soldiers immediately rushed forward and dragged the merchants, who were limp as mud, out one by one.

That night, the capital city was destined to be sleepless.

More than thirty mansions belonging to wealthy merchants were simultaneously raided by the Imperial Guards and the Ministry of Commerce. Cries and pleas for mercy echoed throughout half of the capital.

When the sun rose the next day, the people were shocked to find that all the salt shops and ironware stores that had been closed the day before had reopened.

However, signs reading "Directly Operated by the Business Department" were hung at the entrance.

The price of salt has returned to its original level of thirty wen per jin.

Iron prices are even 10% cheaper than before.

A huge notice was posted in front of the Ministry of Commerce's office, detailing the crimes of Qian Wansan and others, as well as news of their execution and the confiscation of their property.

The notice also announced that the Commerce Department would establish a "Price Stabilization Warehouse" to regulate the prices of essential commodities such as rice, flour, oil, and salt with official power, and to severely crack down on hoarding and price gouging. Anyone who reports such activities will be rewarded with 100 taels of silver upon verification.

The people were initially shocked, but then erupted in thunderous cheers.

"Good riddance! These unscrupulous merchants should have been killed long ago!"

"The Regent is wise! Long live the Department of Commerce!"

"We'll never have to worry about not being able to afford salt or blacksmithing again!"

Zhou Wenyuan stood at the gate of his mansion, listening to the cheers of the people outside and looking at the orderly queue at the entrance of the Commerce Department. After a long while, he finally let out a long breath.

He knew that Xiao Jingchen had succeeded once again.

Use the bloodiest, most direct, and most effective methods.

He suddenly realized that he might really be getting old. What this era needs is an iron-fisted figure like Xiao Jingchen, who dares to break all conventions and rules.

Meanwhile, in the study of the Prince Sheryu's residence.

Sun Xiang was reporting the battle results to Xiao Jingchen.

"Your Highness, preliminary calculations show that the seized silver and gold alone amount to over eight million taels of silver. In addition, there are 300,000 mu of farmland and over five hundred shops in various locations..."

Even Xiao Jingchen's heart skipped a beat when he heard this number.

He knew these corrupt officials were wealthy, but he never imagined they were this rich. Eight million taels of silver was almost equivalent to the annual revenue of the Great Yan Dynasty at its peak.

"Good, very good." Excitement gleamed in Xiao Jingchen's eyes. "Sun Xiang, you did a good job."

"It was all thanks to Your Highness's strategic planning," Sun Xiang said, bowing.

"Keep three million taels of this money as start-up capital and operating expenses for the Ministry of Commerce. Send the remaining five million taels to the national treasury immediately," Xiao Jingchen ordered. "Old Prime Minister, it's time to worry about money."

"Furthermore, you must immediately send men with a large sum of money to the south to purchase grain and to the west to collect tea, so that the salt, iron, tea, and horse trade can be expanded throughout the country as quickly as possible. I want the money from the Ministry of Commerce to flow in continuously."

"Yes, sir!"

Sun Xiang accepted the order and left.

Xiao Jingchen walked to the huge map and looked at the areas that had just been lit up. These were the economic territories that the Commerce Department was about to control.

With money, his grand plan finally had a foundation to be realized.

His gaze slowly shifted northward.

"Ashina Sun, your death is not far off."