Honestly, money wasn’t easy to earn in Jiangnan, but the grain and money earned from Jiangnan was currently the most abundant.

Nearly half of the northern aristocratic families had migrated south, and those who remained were trapped in the chaos of war and mostly not wealthy. Added to the confusion in the northern situation, with Gou Xi still around previously, plus several large merchant houses competing for business, the money Zhao Hu earned through strenuous operations across several northern provinces barely matched what came from Jiangnan.

Yet Jiangnan was just that small a piece of territory, so in terms of efficiency, Jiangnan was still more profitable.

Naturally he was unwilling to give up the Jiangnan market.

Moreover, this time Zhao Hanzhang had explicitly stated she would be his backing, which was completely different from how he had previously used Zhao Hanzhang’s name secretly and kept a low profile.

Since she had said this much, if he didn’t take the opportunity to expand his commercial influence in Jiangnan, his brain would have grown in vain.

At this, when he looked at Zhao Hanzhang again, he found her extremely pleasing to the eye. His heart no longer ached, and he leaned forward, smiling as he said: “What about the Prince of Langya? He’s just a vassal prince. His fief is in Xu Province, not Yang Province. Getting him to leave Jiangnan is just a matter of one decree from you, isn’t it? Your current tolerance is magnanimity. If those Jiangnan people dare to oppose you, you can march your army south. You’ve already destroyed the Xiongnu—how could you fear those soft-legged shrimps?”

Zhao Hanzhang asked: “Will you pay the military expenses?”

Zhao Hu changed the subject. “How do you plan to fight them? Just tell me, I’ll definitely help you. As for sending troops, forget it. We should still value peace, especially now when various regions have just emerged from war and the common people haven’t yet recovered.”

Zhao Hanzhang looked completely agreeable and gratified. “Seventh Great Uncle speaks correctly.” Don’t say it again next time.

After pondering for a moment, she said: “To make them submit, we need to continuously suppress them, make them taste defeat. Then when they encounter Seventh Great Uncle’s merchant caravans in the future, they’ll know to yield. At that point, Seventh Great Uncle can conduct whatever business you want, and they won’t be able to monopolize it.”

Zhao Hu’s spirits lifted, and he asked excitedly: “How do we suppress them?”

This was Zhao Hanzhang—getting her personal advice would be far better than those half-baked advisors under his command, wouldn’t it?

Zhao Hanzhang then lowered her voice and said: “The more they prevent us from buying certain things, the more we must buy them. If we can acquire the very things they guard most strictly, doesn’t that constitute their failure?”

Zhao Hu nodded thoughtfully. What did they guard most strictly?

Silk and satin?

Porcelain?

Surely not tea?

Zhao Hu was weighing these options in his mind when he saw Zhao Hanzhang shake her head, looking at him with an expression of frustration at his inability to meet expectations.

Zhao Hu paused, then anger flared up in his heart, and he said furiously: “What’s with that expression? Jiangnan has plenty of good things, but do you think they’re easy to buy? Those aristocratic families are extremely shrewd—they keep the best for themselves. What they’re willing to sell me are all medium quality goods, at most upper-medium.”

Zhao Hanzhang said: “By selling these things, they can earn large amounts of money from us and purchase the glass, iron implements, and books they want. What would they be reluctant to part with?”

“Then what do you say they’re reluctant to part with?”

“Grain!” Zhao Hanzhang’s lips curved slightly. “Right now, what they’re most reluctant to part with is grain, and what they least want to sell us is also grain.”

Zhao Hu thought about it and realized it was true, but…

He looked at Zhao Hanzhang suspiciously: “You came specifically to find me just to have me go to Jiangnan to purchase grain?”

Zhao Hanzhang nodded with a smile.

Zhao Hu frowned. “This is because you urgently need grain. How do I know you’re not trapping me?”

Zhao Hanzhang said calmly: “Seventh Great Uncle, do you know why you currently need to fly my banner to do business? It’s because you don’t understand win-win.”

“Whether in business or in life, I like win-win situations. In this matter, I win and you win too—this is mutually beneficial. Why do you think this business deal must have one person suffer a loss?” She continued: “If successful, you not only earn money but can also suppress the Jiangnan aristocracy and establish a firm foothold in Jiangnan yourself.”

“In the future, even if you don’t fly my banner, the Jiangnan people won’t dare look down on you.” Zhao Hanzhang said: “The same principle applies to other matters. The merchants of this world throng about, all coming for profit. If you can give them sufficient benefits, in the future, even if I don’t serve as your backing, they’ll still choose you. This is win-win!”

Zhao Hu lowered his head in contemplation.

After letting him think for a while, Zhao Hanzhang urged: “What has Seventh Great Uncle decided?”

Zhao Hu gritted his teeth and said: “You said it—win-win! If I purchase large quantities of grain from Jiangnan, you won’t suppress the grain price and refuse to pay me, will you?”

Zhao Hanzhang assured him: “Seventh Great Uncle, I like win-win. If I win, I’ll also let you win.”

Zhao Hu slapped his thigh and said: “Let’s do it!”

Zhao Hanzhang’s lips curved in a smile.

Zhao Hu immediately summoned his stewards and had them gather money to send to Jiangnan. At the same time, he wrote several letters to be rushed to Jiangnan by fast horses, instructing the merchant caravans still in Jiangnan to first make contact regarding purchasing grain.

As for the money needed to purchase large quantities of grain, aside from what the merchant caravans currently had on hand, the rest naturally needed to be transported from Yu Province.

However, Zhao Hu had no ready cash in Chen County anymore. Xiping still had quite a bit, so he sent stewards back to retrieve it.

Zhao Hanzhang couldn’t possibly provide the money. He had to transport the grain to Yu Province before she would buy it.

No—she hadn’t even planned to spend her own money. With so many grain merchants in Yu Province, he could sell to any of them and make a profit when the time came. As for her money, that would naturally be given to Wang Siniang and Yuan Li to purchase grain.

Zhao Hanzhang was counting on the grain Zhao Hu brought back to revitalize the northern grain market. Besides Zhao Hu, today she also specifically arranged meetings with several large grain merchants or gentry whose families operated grain shops.

Her purpose was to entice them to go to Jiangnan to buy grain.

Many hands make light work—their main objective was to scoop up all the surplus grain from Jiangnan and bring it north, using Jiangnan’s grain to help northern disaster victims survive this winter.

The court’s official documents and Ji Yuan’s letters soon reached Wang Siniang and Yuan Li.

When Wang Siniang opened and read the grain quantity required in the official document, her vision darkened momentarily. Only after seeing that the court would provide funds, and that the money was already en route, did she breathe a sigh of relief. After closing the document, she summoned the Chief Clerk and said: “Make arrangements for a banquet at the Governor’s residence two days from now. Invite the major merchants and gentry to attend.”

The Chief Clerk acknowledged the order. Just as he was about to withdraw, he stopped and said in a low voice: “Your Excellency, General Wang has now gone to Yuzhang. Should we recall him? If he clashes with Wang Dun…”

Wang Siniang thought for a moment, then sighed: “Let him go. He has his own sense of propriety. This is a time for harmony, not conflict. He won’t act rashly.”

The Chief Clerk acknowledged the order.

When Wang Cheng died, Zhao Hanzhang was embroiled in warfare and couldn’t uphold justice for them. The Prince of Langya just perfunctorily demoted Wang Dun from his official position, but in reality he still commanded the Yang Province army—though without the general’s title, he wielded the general’s authority.