Isolated town in northern border region

Qian Wanli obediently relayed the message.

But to Xiao Lie's surprise, only a small number of the people understood his intentions; the vast majority of them still used their meager wealth to demonstrate their purest simplicity.

Left with no other option, Xiao Lie had Qian Wanli persuade the people while simultaneously hanging up signs in front of the shops indicating a shortage of goods, limiting business to half a day each day, and forcing the people to buy goods from these shops.

On the seventh day of the price war, Xiao Lie lowered the price again.

Cloth prices dropped to five coins per foot, and grain prices dropped to four coins per bushel.

This price is already below the family's cost floor.

With Qian Wanli's continuous promotion, more and more people joined the ranks of those taking advantage of the deals, and it was practically a form of revenge spending!

Wang Shouchang's hands trembled as he looked at the loss figures sent by the accounting department.

"Is he insane? He's risking his life!"

"How much money could he possibly lose in northern Xinjiang?"

Someone whispered.

"Grandpa, then we..."

"drop!"

Wang Shoucheng gritted his teeth.

"Whatever price he lowers, we'll lower ours by the same amount!"

"I'd like to see how long he can hold out!"

Destroying the Northern Frontier Merchants was not only for the sake of the Yongzhou aristocratic families' reputation, but also to serve as a pledge of allegiance to the Chu Emperor!

Wang Shoucheng was already in a difficult situation, but even if he suffered losses, he could not give up halfway!

Prices in Yongzhou City dropped again and again within half a month, and the people had never been so happy.

The people eat fine grains and wear new clothes. Those with fewer family members can even have a couple of ounces of meat from time to time!

These days are like celebrating the New Year every day!

But everyone knows that all of this is because Xiao Lie is dragging the aristocratic families into a war of attrition that will never end.

Just then, one of the Wang family's managers came up with a "brilliant plan"!

They sent people to pose as ordinary citizens and make large purchases from Qian Wanli's businesses, directly using the wealth of the aristocratic family to cut off the Northern Frontier businesses' stock!

Then, in order to survive, the common people had no choice but to go to the aristocratic shops to buy necessities, even if they were unwilling.

In this way, although it will cost a considerable amount in the short term, it will eventually be recouped.

Wang Shouchang was initially hesitant, but seeing the losses in the accounts growing day by day felt like being cut by a dull knife!

Thinking that a short, sharp pain is worse than a long, drawn-out one, he finally nodded in agreement.

"Make sure it's done cleanly, so Xiao Lie doesn't find any fault with it."

The first group of "fake civilians" mingled into the queue, each buying several bolts of cloth and leaving with a large bag of goods.

Leaving the alley entrance, we turned directly into the back door of the Wang family's house.

The second batch, the third batch, the fourth batch... In just five days, Qian Wanli's business sold three times more goods than usual.

Qian Wanli looked at the account book and, after a moment's thought, understood the methods of the aristocratic families.

"Your Highness! Can our northern frontier hold out?"

Xiao Lie closed the account book.

"The God of Wealth has brought you money, and you're still not happy?"

"Let them buy! I'll have as much as they can eat!"

"Your Highness?"

Qian Wanli was stunned.

"If they buy our goods and then resell them at a higher price..."

"That would be even better!"

"Let them sell it."

Xiao Lie smiled.

"The more enthusiastically they sell, the smoother our future business will be!"

"Once everyone in Yongzhou is wearing our cloth and eating our grain, who will they sell to then?"

Qian Wanli thought for a while, then his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Your Highness, you mean..."

"Let them do it."

Xiao Lie patted the ledger.

"Once this batch is sold out, tell the family to bring out all the really good stuff!"

Sure enough, half a month later, the family's warehouse was filled with goods from the northern frontier.

The cloth is from the Northern Frontier, the grain is from the Northern Frontier, and even the salt bears the small Northern Frontier King's Seal on its packaging!

The powerful family went to great lengths to finally hand over half of their wealth to Xiao Lie.

On the thirty-fifth day of the price war, the aristocratic families' accounts began to run out of funds.

Wang Shouchang's hands began to tremble as he looked at the long string of deficits in the ledger.

"Where did he get so much stuff?"

"Doesn't he only produce from the northern border regions?"

"He can't even raise silkworms in the northern frontier, how did he manage to bring so much cloth?"

"Also, the northern border is bitterly cold; where can we find enough grain to buy?"

Wang Shoucheng immediately sent people to investigate.

Jiang Min's men discovered Wang Shoucheng's spy and wanted to help Xiao Lie deal with it cleanly, but Xiao Lie not only stopped the spy from the Caifeng Division, but also openly revealed the details.

A few days later, the results of the investigation left Wang Shoucheng slumped in his chair!

Every day, new carriages stop in front of Xiao Lie's shop.

The fabric unloaded from the truck was piled up like a small mountain.

The fabrics were of uniform color and fine texture, and felt soft and thick to the touch, far superior to the local handmade fabrics of Yongzhou.

What made Wang Shoucheng feel desperate was...

All of this stems from the fact that there is something called a "loom" in the northern frontier. Powered by an iron lump called a steam engine, it can produce in a day and night what a weaving workshop in Yongzhou could do in half a year.

The worst part is that these threads are not silk or hemp, but wool!

On the grasslands of northern Xinjiang, wool is practically free!

Even if Xiao Lie lowers the price to five coins per foot, he will still make a profit, and a considerable one at that!

This still includes the shipping cost from northern Xinjiang to Yongzhou!

The established families are losing real money by lowering their prices!

Xiao Lie's price reduction is simply a matter of low profit margins and high sales volume, meaning he earns less!

Wang Shoucheng was so angry that he smashed the cup.

"Xiao Lie! You...you'll die a horrible death!"

The butler, holding the account book, asked tremblingly.

"Sir, if Xiao Lie continues to sell like this, should we still buy?"

Wang Shouchang's face was ashen, and he remained silent.

The family's warehouse was piled high with goods from the northern frontier that they had bought from Xiao Lie. These goods took up space, tied up capital, and still couldn't be sold.

The common people trusted Qian Wanli's business and ignored the shops owned by aristocratic families.

The most fatal flaw is that, in order to wage this price war, the powerful families have already emptied their coffers, and what they hold in their hands are all Xiao Lie's goods, not real gold and silver.

Wang Shoucheng finally gave the order.

Stop purchasing goods from northern Xinjiang and sell off all inventory of goods from northern Xinjiang at a price 30% lower than the purchase price to recover funds.

But at this time, the entire Yongzhou market was already saturated. Apart from daily necessities like grain, there was nowhere to sell things like cloth and leather goods!

There was no other way. After discussing it, the powerful families decided to open up all the trade routes controlled by each family in Yongzhou and sell their goods to other places.

When the news spread, Qian Wanli was extremely anxious.

"Your Highness! They're trying to dump their stock! If they manage to recoup their funds, all our previous efforts will have been for nothing!"

Xiao Lie remained seated, drinking tea.

"Old Qian, don't worry. Don't you know the quality of the goods from our Northern Xinjiang?"

"If any powerful families dare to betray their masters, their days are numbered!"