Chapter 565 – Ruthless Slaughter in Northern Border (2)
“Look, it seems that the ironclad Beijiang Ju Bao Zhai has had a hole smashed into it, uncovering vital news for its survival?”
The Beijiang Ju Bao Zhai Steward’s face turned ashen as the Merchant Guild Leader patted his shoulder, saying, “Don’t be disheartened; good days are ahead! According to our previous discussion, you’ll sneak out those ‘Celestial Palace Glazes’ and sell them to me at a 30% discount. All of this money will be yours…”
The Beijiang Ju Bao Zhai Steward hesitated, “If I betray the Shopkeeper this time, he probably won’t let me off easily… just 30%…”
The Merchant Guild Leader replied, “Gu Xin has nearly two thousand pieces of ‘Celestial Palace Glazes’. Do you know how enormous the total of 30% sold out would be? Who else can handle such a massive quantity besides our Merchant Guild Alliance? The money you’ll get will far exceed what Gu Xin earns. This money will all be yours in the future! It’s like a pie falling from the sky, you’ll be rolling in riches!”
The Beijiang Ju Bao Zhai Steward was tempted, his face flickering with hesitation and intense greed, which left the Merchant Guild Leader quite pleased.
After a moment, the Beijiang Ju Bao Zhai Steward gritted his teeth and said, “Alright, I agree. But I reckon with all this money, I might not live to enjoy it…”
The Merchant Guild Leader chuckled, “I can lend you some people to escort you safely out of Northern Border. But as for buying slaves and horses, that’s a no-go. Recently, the higher-ups have been cracking down hard on those trades. They can only be sold to Northern Border folks; outsiders are not allowed.”
The Beijiang Ju Bao Zhai Steward asked, “How about purchasing sheepskins?”
The Merchant Guild Leader had heard that Gu Xin frequently bought sheepskins from various households. He didn’t buy a lot each time, but it added up to a substantial amount.
Feigning ignorance, he inquired, “Sheepskin has such a strong odor and can’t be made into clothes; what business can be done with it?”
The Beijiang Ju Bao Zhai Steward sneered, “Gu Xin sells those sheepskins at high prices to people from Nansheng Kingdom and the Southern Barbarians. Thanks to those sheepskins, he made a hefty profit last winter… A beast like that, profiting from national misfortune, is not worth collaborating with.”
The Merchant Guild Leader raised an eyebrow, sneering, “In business, as long as there’s money to be made, who cares if it’s profiting from national misfortune…?”
The Beijiang Ju Bao Zhai Steward was convinced by the Merchant Guild Leader’s words, nodding his gray face.
The Merchant Guild Leader said, “Don’t worry about the sheepskin; I’ll arrange everything for you. As for sheepskin, which family doesn’t have a hundred or eighty pieces stockpiled? Just a quick search can yield tens of thousands. Set a time, and at that point, you’ll have as much as you want.”
In the Northern Border, everyone raised cows, sheep, and horses.
Those sheep’s wool went wild in winter, and the sheared wool was useless; it was even considered too stinky for burning.
Now that there’s someone buying, even at a low price, it still created a bit of extra income for the people of Northern Border.
The Northern Border Royal Court formed various merchant guilds based on the “Wisdomer’s” advice to fight against external commerce. Each guild formed alliances with one another. To swallow Gu Xin’s stock of ‘Celestial Palace Glazes’ all at once was impossible for just one guild; they didn’t have that much money.
So, they had to unite the guilds to consume this batch of goods together.
The land in Northern Border wasn’t suitable for farming but was rich in minerals, producing various gems, gold, silver, jade, and spices.
The value of these items was less than half of what was found in Dongqing, while copper and iron were even more precious than gold and silver.
If they exchanged gold and silver for ‘Celestial Palace Glazes’, the Northern Border merchant guilds would make an incredible profit, eventually reaching over nine times!
Faced with such a massive temptation, it was better to act sooner than later.
Taking advantage of Gu Xin’s absence while he was doing business in another country, the Beijiang Ju Bao Zhai Steward gradually stole the ‘Celestial Palace Glazes’, selling them at the low price of 30% to the Northern Border merchant guilds, exchanging them for copious quantities of gold, silver, and sheepskin wool.
The Beijiang Ju Bao Zhai Steward was a shrewd person, working meticulously, making the Merchant Guild Leader marvel, “No wonder Gu Xin trained such a steward; his methods are just like him… it’s a pity; I wonder if Gu Xin will choke on blood seeing an empty Beijiang Ju Bao Zhai.”
Thinking of that delightful scene, the Merchant Guild Leader couldn’t help but squint his eyes with joy.
In the end, the Beijiang Ju Bao Zhai Steward forged Gu Xin’s documentation, disbanded the Beijiang Ju Bao Zhai and its branches in Northern Border, and departed for the direction of Nansheng Kingdom with the elders of Beijiang Ju Bao Zhai, the exchanged gold and silver, and hundreds of thousands of sheepskin and wool.
Before leaving, the Beijiang Ju Bao Zhai Steward secretly asked the Merchant Guild Leader if he could quietly sell him some horses.
The Merchant Guild Leader replied, “Didn’t I say before? The upper management is very strict on such trades; horses can’t be sold.”
The Beijiang Ju Bao Zhai Steward pressed, “You just said, in business, as long as there’s money to be made, why not do it?”
The Merchant Guild Leader merely smiled without answering.
The Beijiang Ju Bao Zhai Steward persisted in asking about the reputed fine horses of Northern Border, and the Merchant Guild Leader grew weary of the inquiries.
He said, “If you want to buy horses, you can ask the horse merchants from Shalan Kingdom. They just presented over a dozen steed blood horses to the Royal Court. They say those horses are incredibly precious, better than the best horses in Northern Border. But unfortunately, on the way here, four of the blood horses died from sickness… Their horses are indeed pricey but are truly one-of-a-kind…”
The Beijiang Ju Bao Zhai Steward asked in surprise, “Where is Shalan Kingdom?”
The Merchant Guild Leader answered, “I don’t know, but it’s very far away. They say it only has spring and summer all year round, and it’s terribly hot. The people there are all tanned like charcoal; if night falls, you can’t even see someone. They’re dimwitted, but their limbs are strong.”
The Beijiang Ju Bao Zhai Steward responded with an “oh,” looking somewhat intrigued.
The Merchant Guild Leader didn’t mind playing matchmaker for both sides.
Seizing the opportunity, the Beijiang Ju Bao Zhai Steward went to see the blood horses from Shalan Kingdom, and indeed, they were extraordinary.
But…
“Why do they look a bit unenergetic…”
The Merchant Guild Leader shrugged indifferently, “I heard they’ve traveled for half a year; humans can’t take it, let alone horses. They’ll be fine after a bit of rest. If you want to buy horses, you can talk to the merchant leader from Shalan Kingdom. If the price is right, they might sell you one.”
Humans can suffer from not acclimating to new environments, and horses can too; they just need a little rest to be fine.
It used to be like this, so the Merchant Guild Leader didn’t pay it much mind.
The Beijiang Ju Bao Zhai Steward inquired about the price, only to be scared off.
These were good horses, with a premium blood horse costing over fifty or sixty thousand coins! Who could afford that?
Every year, Northern Border bought horses from Shalan Kingdom, not to ride but to breed better quality war horses by mixing Shalan’s blood horses with local fine horses. Considering this, the price wasn’t actually high.
Seeing the Beijiang Ju Bao Zhai Steward get scared off, the Merchant Guild Leader chuckled inwardly.
“Still a bit short on money? Premium blood horses aren’t easy to come by; you won’t find this chance again.”
