"Hey, this is quite lively... Your prefect is quite capable."
Second Master Shen leaned against the bow of the boat, looked at the port of Liuzhou, and whistled.
Although the second master of the Shen Family had a somewhat gloomy appearance, his actions were like those of a carefree young man, causing Yuchi Feihong to frown deeply.
However, he did somewhat agree with what the other person said.
He had heard about the situation in Liuzhou before he came. The incident in Liuzhou was more serious than any demon incident in the north, but he did not expect it to gain popularity so quickly. The new prefect must have some skills.
" Rongsheng, Hundred Trades, Donghua... tsk tsk, five of the top ten merchants in Jiangnan have arrived, and it's only been a few days!" Second Master laughed, "It seems the door gods of Liuzhou are quite attractive."
"Door gods?" Yuchi Feihong was taken aback. "What are those?"
"The general doesn't know?"
Yuchi Feihong shook his head hesitantly. When he received the transfer order, all he knew was that his younger brother, the head of the family, had messed things up. A number of officials in Liuzhou had died, Yuchi Peng had been transferred back to the capital to be punished, and he himself had been transferred from the north to Liuzhou to serve as the commander-in-chief.
The strategy outlined in his father's letter was to maintain his domineering personality, especially by keeping a hostile attitude towards local officials.
Before they even reached Liuzhou, they saw a monstrous tide of snakes carrying the Shen Family family patriarch's ship toward the West Sea. They immediately reported this to the emperor, who then ordered them to track the ship all the way to the West Sea, which led to the devastating loss.
As for the intelligence regarding Liuzhou, he was still stuck a month ago.
"Then the general will have to see for himself!" Second Master Shen didn't say much more, just chuckled and continued watching the crowd.
He had excellent eyesight and soon spotted the heads of several merchant houses on the dock.
This scene is interesting.
Although Liuzhou has recovered somewhat thanks to the door gods, it's normal that many merchants are choosing to source their goods here again. But this kind of thing could be done by sending any manager; why have several of the heads of the business come here? Chengdu been attracted by the Mountain God's elixir?
Second Master Shen felt that this was not the case, so he closed his eyes, secretly activated his Dharma Wheel, and listened to his surroundings.
" Proprietor Ye is here too?"
On the dock, chatting with a group of business owners was Shen Yiyan of Rongsheng. Rongsheng was a trading company directly operated by the Shen Family, and it was considered the largest local power. Shen Yiyan's status was naturally extraordinary, and he was the one who was flattered by the business owners.
The woman called Proprietor Ye was a woman who looked to be in her early twenties. She was the head of Tianhua Trading Company, the newest and most prominent trading company in Jiangnan.
This trading company has a mysterious origin, but it has a lot of resources behind it. After entering Jiangnan, the government has been very accommodating, and its funds are also quite strong. In just two years, it has established itself firmly. The Lady Ye in front of us is the most talked-about iron lady in Jiangnan's business circles recently.
"So, all of you seniors are here too?" The woman smiled gracefully and gave a dignified bow. Her movements and manners were impeccable, and many women from prominent families in Jiangnan did not possess such elegance. However, her face shape was somewhat distracting.
Because the woman's face shape was not that of a woman from the Central Plains, but rather resembled that of a woman from a Western country, with prominent features, fair skin, and a pair of blue eyes rarely seen in women from the Central Plains.
It always feels a bit odd to see a Western woman wearing silk from Jiangnan.
"With such a big move by the new prefect, how could I not be there?" One of the short, stout merchants with a mustache chuckled, but his gaze toward the other man was somewhat unrestrained.
The woman didn't mind, after all, it was rare to see a female head of household in public these days, and she had seen far too many strange looks.
Shen Yiyan frowned, clearly disapproving of the short, stout merchant's character, and said directly, "I initially thought it was some far-sighted tycoon who had bought up all the shops and real estate in Liuzhou ahead of time, but I never expected it was this prefect himself who did it..."
The other business owners nodded in agreement. Their reaction was no slower than Rongsheng's; they only took a day or two to catch up. After hearing about the door gods, they immediately turned their attention to the shops on South Street in Liuzhou.
Unexpectedly, when they went to the market, not a single shop had any wool left. After inquiring among themselves, no one admitted to being the one who sold it.
However, each family had its own background and enormous influence. With a little effort and some connections, it was discovered that the prefect of Liuzhou had bought it himself.
This was the first time they'd ever seen anything like it in all their years of business. These officials were truly something else...
"What do you all think, seniors?" Proprietor Ye asked softly.
"This prefect is very confident!" one of the tall men said in a deep voice. Shen Yiyan looked over. This man was the head of Donghua. Those who knew his background knew that Donghua was a military force with several dukes in the capital backing it.
The apparent leader is surnamed Jiang, and it is said that he was a military officer who was discharged from the northern battlefield due to injuries.
Although the man was rugged in appearance, he was quite shrewd. He said calmly, "Before the door god became famous, he had already used all the funds allocated to him by the provincial governor to buy land in Liuzhou. He was fearless and it seems that not only does he have considerable power behind him and will not be investigated by the court, but he is also very confident that land prices will rebound."
"It seems that both the door god and the Mountain God that was rumored a few days ago were prepared in advance."
The other leaders nodded in agreement.
"If we want a share of the profits from the return of Liuzhou, we're afraid the prefect will extort a hefty sum from us," the short, stout merchant with the mustache chuckled.
"That depends on whether he has the ability to handle it!" The head of the Jiang family sneered. "I've been observing these door gods for several days, and they shouldn't be fakes. The Mountain God is under construction now. Without some power, a mere prefect can't just defend these things."
"By the way..." the burly man said, looking at Shen Yiyan, "I heard that the prefect detained people from your Shen Family?"
Shen Yiyan immediately gave an awkward smile.
He never expected that the prefect would actually dare to arrest members of his Shen Family, and even dare to spread the news so openly. Now, those with good connections all know that his Shen Family have been detained, which is a real slap in the face.
"I've heard about it too." Proprietor Ye looked at Shen Yiyan: "Does that new official show no respect for the Shen Family?"
"They really aren't selling..." Shen Yiyan smiled bitterly, "I've been there before, but I didn't even get to see the prefect. As soon as Lord Zhou, who was in charge of the documents, heard that I wasn't going to pay, he just kicked me out."
"Ha..." The group couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this, "Master Shen can actually be so humiliated? This is really interesting. Is this prefect some kind of hothead?"
Shen Yiyan smiled but didn't say much. He didn't know the background of the new prefect, but he was definitely not a greenhorn.
He was there the day the three members of the eldest branch of the family were detained; he witnessed it firsthand. His three nephews were instantly suppressed without even a spark of resistance.
Although he was not a qualified sorcerer, he was once the eldest son of the Shen Family and had some knowledge. The abilities that the young prefect displayed that day were probably comparable to those of the Jiangnan Education Commissioner!
The intelligence report says she's only twenty-one; nobody would believe it if I told them!
"Senior Shen didn't contribute this money?" Proprietor Ye asked with a smile.
Shen Yiyan smiled but did not reply.
The amount of money wasn't much; 10,000 taels per person was nothing to the Shen Family. Any manager in Rongsheng had the authority to use more than 500,000 taels.
But he couldn't lose face. If he gave away those ten thousand taels, he'd probably be drowned in the scorn of his clan when he got back.
"Understood..." Proprietor Ye nodded slightly when Shen Yiyan didn't turn around. "Our new prefect wants to use the Shen Family authority!"
Upon hearing this, everyone's expression turned strange.
To be honest, the current situation isn't hard to guess, but it still feels unbelievable.
In Jiangnan... should we use the Shen Family to establish our authority?
Are you out of your mind?
The major merchant guilds all have impressive backgrounds. After all, Jiangnan, besides Heavenly Capital and Yunzhou, is the most lucrative region in the entire Great Jin in terms of tax revenue. Which powerful entity wouldn't want to get involved?
But no matter how strong the outside forces were, they treated the Shen Family with utmost respect. After all, everyone knew that the Shen Family... had been the local tyrant of this land for thousands of years!
"So... are we still going to buy the land?" the short, stout businessman with a mustache asked, frowning.
"Buy? Why wouldn't I buy?" The man chuckled. "I haven't seen such a bold civil official in a long time. If he can get the ransom from the Shen Family, I'll be impressed. I'll buy it no matter the price, hahaha!"
The other leaders laughed upon hearing this, and even Shen Yiyan couldn't help but find it amusing.
The young prefect's use of his own family as a warning to others is quite a joke...
Just then, a commotion broke out on the dock. Everyone frowned and looked over. Several large trading companies' cargo ships were at the dock; who would dare to cause trouble there?
I was taken aback when I looked at it.
"The warship... Yuchi Feihong has arrived," the burly man said in a deep voice.
Judging from his tone, he clearly didn't think much of this general who had made great contributions in the north.
"This is going to be interesting..." The man with the mustache stroked his beard, laughing gleefully.
Yuchi Feihong's reputation was known even in the south. Since the newly appointed prefect had set up door gods, he was naturally going to seize control of the city gates. He had offended the Shen Family and was now going up against the madman Yuchi Household. Today's commotion was truly extraordinary.
It was worth the long journey they took by boat!
"Huh? That woman is...?" Proprietor Ye's pupils constricted when he saw a woman walking ahead of Yuchi Feihong: "Oh, this is going to be interesting."
"Why is she here?" Shen Yiyan felt a chill run down his spine when he saw the person.
He had expected his family to send someone to get revenge, but he never imagined they would send this crazy woman!
This is really troublesome!!
Ugh, it updated too fast! It's already reached 200,000 words and dropped off the new book charts! sobs
Of all the new books released at the same time, not one is as honest as Mofang, and yet readers say it's short! Where is the justice? Where is the justice?
Dear readers, please comfort Mofang and keep reading! Even without the new book rankings, the increase in collections is already maxed out. Mofang is truly a generous person!