The Gongcheng has really changed a lot!
What was the Gongcheng like in the past?
Yuchi Peng thought with a complicated expression.
The Wei Gongcheng I remember was calm and humble, but he lacked the youthful drive that one should have.
My first impression of him was that he was a middle-aged butler disguised as a twenty-year-old.
Despite possessing exceptional abilities, he maintained a low profile, even less conspicuous than his other deputies. Only long-time veterans knew that Wei Gongcheng was actually the most trusted and most capable among them.
I asked him that question before, and I remember his answer was, "My job is to assist the general. Since I'm just assisting the general, I don't need to stand out."
The father commented that the child clearly understood his place.
But now, things seem different.
Judging from his appearance, this guy is clearly at the age of a mature middle-aged man, but in his eyes, there is still the unbridled spirit he had in his youth.
"Then what are you responsible for?" The question wasn't asked by Yuchi Peng, but by Luo Yi was standing to the side.
He was very curious. He had heard that Wei Gongcheng was a descendant of a bloodline, but the current Wei Gongcheng gave him the feeling of a sorcerer. A descendant of a bloodline had come to Jiangnan for a year and become a sorcerer whose depths he could not even see through. He really wanted to know what the other party had gone through.
I'm also curious to know what he's doing within Chen Qing's faction now.
"Well, what I did was rather unusual," Wei Gongcheng said with a smile. "It's not easy to explain in a short time. If you don't mind, Vice Minister, come back to Liuzhou with me tomorrow, and I'll take you to see it."
"Good!"
Wei Gongcheng looked at Yuchi Peng: "General, shall we go and take a look?"
Yuchi Peng was taken aback, his eyes filled with complex emotions, but he finally nodded.
He really wanted to know what Chen Qing had done to Liuzhou in Jiangnan, why so many valiant soldiers had appeared in the place where he had once lived, a place so desolate it was infested with maggots, and why a mere mortal could possess the power to defeat him.
He was also curious about what Wei Gongcheng had experienced here, and why he had become so confident.
Compared to the military camps outside the city, the interior of Nanming Prefecture is now bustling with activity.
Since Chen Qing took over Nanming Prefecture, the curfew has been lifted. The people, who had been under the tyrannical rule of Nanming Princess for a year, were able to relax. Chen Qing intended to ease the atmosphere here and even had the internal affairs staff organize a lantern festival. In just over ten days, the people, who had been suppressed for a year, were now like a floodgate opened. After a few days of testing, Nanming Prefecture began to become more and more lively every day.
Teahouses, restaurants, and opera houses are doing better and better, especially teahouses, many of which are open until late at night.
This was not only because there were no more terrifying zombie guards patrolling the streets, and the various lantern festivals brought people to the area, but also because many merchants from Liuzhou and Yangzhou had come to Nanming Prefecture, bringing with them a lot of new goods and interesting stories.
" Brother Feng, are you serious? The imperial army has really been captured?"
Inside a teahouse, several merchants stared incredulously at the slightly overweight middle-aged man directly opposite them.
"Is that even a lie?" The middle-aged man surnamed Feng said with a hint of smugness as he drank his wine. "The captured soldiers are right outside the city; you can see them as soon as you leave."
The group of merchants looked at each other with suspicion and uncertainty in their eyes, while a group of scholars at a table not far away frowned and had an absurd expression on their faces, but they still kept their composure and continued to listen to the news brought by the merchants from outside the city.
" Brother Feng, this wine is truly excellent." A merchant next to him finished his wine and stared longingly at the wine pot.
The merchant smiled, picked up the wine pot, and poured them another cup. "This wine is nothing special. It's just the most common red fruit wine from Great Azure Mountain. It's far inferior to the currently popular Fragrance in the Snow, Red Ginseng Wine, Yu Bing Shao, and Tao Hua Bai. It's just that those wines are in high demand right now. I mainly deal in cloth, so I really can't get any. Otherwise, I would have gotten some for you guys to try."
"Is this still considered ordinary wine?"
Several wealthy merchants gasped. They were well-versed in fine wines from Jiangnan, having tasted countless top-quality wines. Compared to this red fruit wine, it was worlds apart. They never expected that this wine would be considered inferior by the other party.
"Speaking of fabrics," one of the wealthy merchants said, glancing at the man's clothes, "Brother Feng, what kind of fabric is that? It looks even better than Yun brocade!"
Yun brocade is a specialty fabric of Cloud Capital, a luxury item exclusively for the nobility. Even wealthy merchants from Jiangnan had to pull strings to acquire a bolt; money alone couldn't buy it through ordinary channels.
Today, when we met guests, everyone brought out their best outfits, all made of Yun brocade. As we went out, we attracted a lot of attention. But when we compared them to the people in front of us, our so-called Yun brocade suddenly seemed like rags from the countryside.
The other person's clothes were completely different in style, and the person sitting there seemed brighter and more vibrant. You could almost tell the difference in their social class at a glance!
"This is Fire Silkworm Silk," the merchant surnamed Feng chuckled, "From the Fire Silkworm that are a specialty of Great Azure Mountain in Liuzhou. It's made using special looms and dyes from Liuzhou. Don't you think that even though the color looks light, my whole appearance is much brighter?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" A group of merchants nodded repeatedly.
"Because this Fire Silkworm Silk silk naturally carries a light," the merchant surnamed Feng said carefully, as if touching a woman's soft skin. "Its divine light is contained within, and no matter what dye is applied, it can make that color unique. Moreover, it is very warm. Don't be fooled by my thin clothes; even in winter, this garment is warmer than a regular cotton coat, and in summer, it's not hot at all, but rather breathable and cool."
"So miraculous?" The group was immediately shocked, as if they were hearing about a treasure.
"Of course!" The merchant surnamed Feng said smugly, "This is Great Azure Mountain. The young scholar who invented the Fire Silkworm is my friend's son. Otherwise, given how popular this product is, you'd have to wait in line for half a year to get your hands on it. The reason I came to see you gentlemen this time is to use your connections in the capital. You can all tell that if this outfit of mine were taken to the capital, it would definitely be a hot seller, right?"
"This is bound to be a huge hit!" The eyes of the group lit up. If it was really as amazing as the other party said, the noble ladies of the capital would probably be scrambling to buy it!
"Um, Brother Feng," one of the younger wealthy men said with a glint in his eyes, "You just said you researched this thing, what little gentleman?"
"Oh, that?" the merchant surnamed Feng chuckled. "It's hard to explain right now. How about this, you come back to Liuzhou with me tomorrow, and we can go check out my original stock and dyeing workshop. I'm not sure about the current popular patterns in the capital, so I need to ask the experts to come and study them. After all, I put Laoda effort into getting those goods, and it would be troublesome if they didn't sell well because the patterns are outdated."
"Can we go to Liuzhou now?" the group exclaimed excitedly.
They had wanted to go for a long time. In the past ten days or so, merchants from Liuzhou had been making waves in Nanming, and all sorts of new and exciting goods were causing a frenzy among the public. They certainly didn't want to just sit idly by and watch such a business opportunity pass them by.
I was just thinking of going to Liuzhou to see what it's become and what kind of things I can handle.
"Sure!" Human Dao surnamed Feng. "Anyone with a boat can get through the fog. I've rented a boat with a few other tea and grain merchants. Gentlemen, just follow me tomorrow!"
"Good, good, good!" The group nodded repeatedly, their eyes shining.
"Oh, by the way, Brother Feng, I have a few friends I could take with me. They're all quite wealthy and have many connections in Beijing and Donghua."
"Alright!" the merchant surnamed Feng patted his chest and said, "Our ship has unloaded its cargo now, and we have plenty of people to carry. Brother Zhang, just call your men, we can take them all. Come, let's drink!"
"Alright, let's drink! Let's drink!"
--
"How about it?"
After the banquet ended, some of the people who had been chatting with the businessman surnamed Feng went upstairs after leaving the table. In the upstairs room, a group of wealthy men were already waiting.
"I've inquired, it's possible to go to Liuzhou!"
"Good!" one of the wealthy men said with a gloomy face. "The imperial court actually suffered a loss at the hands of a traitor who rose to power from humble peasant soldiers. When did those aristocratic families, who used to be so domineering, become so useless?"
" Brother Liu, be careful what you say." A middle-aged man beside him frowned. "It must be the court's carelessness. In any case, we must go to Liuzhou first to find Brother Gu and find out what exactly happened."
"Hmm," the others nodded.
"And then there are the goods from Jiangnan," one of the wealthy landowners said with a grim expression. "It seems Gu Beiquan and the other landowners from other prefectures are hiding something from us. There are so many unheard-of goods in Nanming Prefecture now. The changes in Jiangnan far exceed our expectations. That Chen Qing is probably not simple. This time when we go to Jiangnan, we shouldn't rush to contact Gu Beiquan. Those guys seem to have a deep plan. If the imperial court succeeds in its campaign, without our knowledge, who knows how many good deals they'll snatch up!"
"That's true."
"Well then, everyone, don't bring too much stuff tomorrow, just bring some gold, silver, and valuables; you'll need them over there."
"Uh-huh."
"Forehead"
At this moment, the merchants who had tipped them off hesitated to speak.
"What's wrong?" The head of the wealthy families frowned and looked at them.
"Um, that guy surnamed Feng just said that in Jiangnan these days, gold and silver probably aren't very effective."
"Ah?"