Chapter 176: The Commercial Kingdom

For people who speak without thinking, Li Xian usually can’t be bothered to respond—well, without realizing it, Li Xian had also gotten rid of low-level interests.

But at this moment, Li Xian wore a “smile” and said, “Yes, it was indeed reckless at the time; the proper approach should have been to hand it over to the Three Ministries for trial, I’m sure…”

“Ahem…” Wang Chuan hurriedly interrupted Li Xian. If that Wang Ming had really handed it over to the Three Ministries for trial, who knows how big a mess it would have caused.

Wang Chuan paused for a moment, “I’ve received your intention, nephew. By the way, I’ve heard that a thing called ‘fire cannons’ has appeared in Anyang, do you know…?”

Li Xian immediately responded without hesitation, “Uncle, because of various changes, we are preparing to hold the Industrial Expo in a month, just outside the former Zhongshan County office in Ding Mountain City. There will be not just fire cannons, but also locomotives, spirit stones, war instruments, steel, sea soul silk, industrial oils, formed hubs, weapons, armor, and so on.

The prices are very affordable, and when I return to Anyang, I’ll send an invitation to you.”

“Can you tell me the approximate prices?”

“Spirit stones are 500,000 taels of gold, fire cannons are 200 taels of gold, locomotives are 100 taels of gold, each shell is 3 taels of gold, and the war instruments are captured from the State of Cai—if you can take them away, they’re free. Sea soul silk, weapons, armor, and steel are at cost price.

The high-precision formed hubs, steel rings, bearings, etc., start from one tael of silver.”

Wang Chuan listened quietly, and after Li Xian finished speaking, he suddenly asked, “Can I place an order?”

Li Xian was taken aback, “Uncle, you’ve really presented me with a difficult problem. But since you’ve asked, I can’t refuse. What would you like to order?”

“Fire cannons, 100 units, 150 mm caliber. And the related shells, locomotives, and so on.”

Li Xian narrowed his eyes. It seemed the fire cannons were indeed attracting widespread attention. He replied, “Uncle, I don’t want to beat around the bush. The fire cannons we’re selling this time only come in 47 mm, 57 mm, and 105 mm calibers.

If they’re such good things, they should be kept for ourselves.”

Wang Chuan wouldn’t give up, “Nephew, I swear, these 150 mm caliber ones will definitely not be used to fire on domestic land, only for defending against foreign threats. I will join forces to protect the Great Xia Kingdom, how about that?”

Since you’re talking about defending the Great Xia Kingdom, what else can I do? I can’t keep rejecting, can I? Li Xian rolled his eyes, realizing that he still wasn’t a match for these old foxes. So, he had to relent, but insisted that all 150 mm fire cannons could only be used for external defense, not internal purposes, and this had to be sworn to.

After much discussion, Wang Chuan personally saw Li Xian to the gate, warmly and enthusiastically, to the point that Li Xian was slightly unnerved by it.

Leaving Wang’s house, Li Xian made his way to the Minister of Revenue, Zhang Guang. From a distance, Zhang Quan joyfully called out, “Brother Xian, you’ve finally come, I’ve been waiting for you for half the day! This morning, my father told me to wait for you here.”

Waiting since early morning? All these old foxes, Li Xian thought to himself, feeling rather disturbed. “Long time no see, oh, Brother Zhang has reached the Foundation Establishment stage? Truly something to congratulate! Let’s have a drink tonight, I’ll treat you.”

“Of course, but it’s not as impressive as you, Brother Xian. Let’s go, my father has been waiting for a long time.”

After entering, Zhang Yuan greeted Li Xian warmly, and after seeing the gift, his hospitality grew even more. But Zhang Yuan was a little better than Wang Chuan—while Wang Chuan had to personally negotiate with Li Xian, Zhang Yuan passed this task to his son, Zhang Quan.

Zhang Quan immediately began asking for large quantities of bearings, steel, sea soul silk, and even fire cannons, among others.

Li Xian understood that Zhang Quan was now serving the First Prince. But Anyang County was no longer the old Anyang “County,” it was now qualified to engage in arms trading. Li Xian immediately expressed his willingness to provide supplies within certain limits, and suggested discussing it in more detail the next day.

After some delay, Li Xian finally arrived at the General’s residence, only to find that Shangguan Yong was already waiting at the gate.

Li Xian couldn’t help but sigh: The wisdom of these high-ranking individuals is no less than that of ordinary strategists. In fact, these high officials are really the emperor’s and the country’s strategists; without the ability, they certainly wouldn’t sit in these positions.

Like Zhang Yuan, Shangguan Guang warmly welcomed Li Xian and then sent Shangguan Yong to talk to him. The Shangguan family had allied with the Wang family, or rather, with the Third Prince’s faction.

Because of their similar ages, Shangguan Yong, after a few casual words, finally got to the point: “Brother Xian, now there are three princes. The First Prince, needless to say, for his own power and desires, led the Imperial Guard to a disastrous defeat, ultimately ruining the hope for the revival of the Great Xia Kingdom. So, the First Prince is unreliable.

As for the Second Prince, now the Crown Prince, I heard you’ve outsmarted him several times? How does it feel to play tricks on a Crown Prince?”

Li Xian glanced sideways at Shangguan Yong and said, “I’m just following the rules and maintaining His Majesty’s dignity.”

“Alright, alright, what kind of expression is that, Xian? Look, the first prince is incompetent, the second prince is unworthy. In fact, the only one with the qualifications to inherit the throne is the third prince. What do you think?”

“I think your mind is muddled. Is the matter of the princes something we should be discussing?” Li Xian directly rejected Shangguan Yong’s attempt to recruit him.

Failed to win over! Xian’s mind works fast! Shangguan Yong sighed inwardly. Normally, people would think Li Xian would say something like, “The third prince is still young.” For that, Shangguan Yong had prepared countless methods. But to his surprise, Li Xian decisively cut it off—this is not something we can discuss.

A slight pause followed, and Shangguan Yong looked up at the sun. “Ah, it’s already noon. Xian, stay for lunch before you leave.”

The lunch was simple, an ordinary family meal with a warm atmosphere. As it was about to end, Shangguan Guang casually asked, “I heard that Xian nephew wants to build a commercial empire? What kind of empire is that?”

Li Xian understood that this wasn’t a casual question. He carefully responded, “Uncle, you’re joking. It’s just a reckless idea. What I want to build is not an empire; the commercial empire is just a slogan. It’s a non-existent structure, one that only exists in consciousness.”

“The core of this structure is industry and commerce.”

“Regardless of how things turn out, no one can live without industry and commerce. My idea is that if I can unite the merchants of the world and create a flourishing age of industry and commerce, it might be a great way forward. This business empire should be more accurately described as the United Conference of all merchants in the world.”

Though Li Xian said this on the surface, in his heart, two words echoed: “Not really.” My commercial empire is actually dictatorship and commercial monopoly. That said, “United Conference” is a good slogan!

Clearly, Li Xian’s statement was somewhat arrogant, and Shangguan Guang didn’t believe it entirely, but he did believe part of it, because the concept was indeed quite feasible. “I wonder if we could become a member of the United Conference?”

“Uncle, you’re joking. The dazzling Starry Sky Trading Company in the southeast of the Great Xia Kingdom, trading with the Qi Kingdom, isn’t that something Shangguan Yong is in charge of?”

“Haha, come Xian nephew, let’s make a deal.”

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