"However, it’s best you don’t spread the word about this. Let only the few people here know about our cooperation."
Ye Qingcheng cautioned him earnestly, lest he make their cooperation public.
Currently, no grain merchants in Ningcheng were willing to work with her, fearing repercussions from the Japanese merchants and drawing trouble upon themselves.
She also did not wish for her needs to cause others to suffer undeserved calamity.
"Don't worry, I have enough discretion for that!"
Zhang Dieyi scoffed slightly, rather displeased by Ye Qingcheng's underestimation of her, and pouted.
The situation in the city was changing rapidly, and their guild was closely monitoring it. She wouldn't be foolish enough to deliberately court trouble.
Besides the two of them present, there was only the owner of the Haina Merchant Guild’s grain shop brought by Zhang Dieyi, and Can Jian, who accompanied Ye Qingcheng.
Can Jian’s loyalty to Ye Qingcheng was, of course, beyond question.
The shop owner was also someone Zhang Dieyi trusted implicitly, as she wouldn't have brought him along if she didn't trust him greatly!
Seeing her reaction, Ye Qingcheng chuckled, her eyes filled with goodwill.
After reaching an agreement, the two parted ways and returned to their respective residences.
Upon returning to the inn, Ye Qingcheng showed the contract she had signed to Xiao Wangye.
"See, I found a grain merchant."
Hearing this, Xiao Wangye was greatly surprised and took the contract to examine it closely.
Most of the grain merchants in the city had dealings with the Japanese merchant caravans and were unwilling to easily side with them.
However, the grain merchants of the Haina Merchant Guild were different. They had no actual dealings with the Japanese merchant caravans, and even if they lowered grain prices, they wouldn't be affected.
As a guild with deep roots in the current dynasty, they were by no means intimidated by a few Japanese merchant caravans and naturally wouldn't fear them.
It was purely Ye Qingcheng's exceptional luck to have met Zhang Dieyi. Otherwise, it was uncertain how long it would take to achieve this goal!
While happy, Ye Qingcheng recounted the entire incident to Xiao Wangye, expressing her emotions.
The current Zhang Dieyi was a far cry from the arrogant and overbearing young girl she had first met.
After all, she was Zhang Tianlong's daughter; like father, like daughter, she was fundamentally a good person at heart.
Xiao Wangye was not interested in these details. He was merely relieved that the grain issue was resolved, lifting a weight off his mind.
Judging by the attitude of the Japanese merchant caravans these past few days, a peaceful resolution seemed unlikely. Fortunately, Ye Qingcheng had opened this path, and they were now halfway to success.
After discussing the specifics for a while, Xiao Wangye hurried out, heading for Ningcheng's prefectural office.
Meanwhile, Zhu Chang was wrestling with his conscience, contemplating whether to implement his advisor's plan.
He lacked confidence, but since there were no other options, he had to think it over repeatedly.
When he heard the servant report that Xiao Wangye had come to see him again, his head began to ache even more.
However, Xiao Wangye’s status was higher than his, so Zhu Chang dared not neglect him and had to go out to meet him.
"Your Highness has come, do you have any instructions?"
Upon seeing Xiao Wangye, Zhu Chang forced a hypocritical smile, the warmth not reaching his eyes.
Seeing his expression, which looked more like crying than smiling, Xiao Wangye raised an eyebrow, leisurely sat down, and asked casually:
"Nothing much, just that the citizens of the city are quite displeased with the exorbitant grain prices set by the Japanese merchant caravans. Has this matter been handled, Minister Zhu?"
Hearing his words, the smile froze on Zhu Chang's face, slowly shattering.
The Japanese had inquired if he had resolved the issue with Xiao Wangye, and Xiao Wangye was now asking him if he had resolved the issue with the Japanese. These two questions were truly killing him.
Caught in the middle, Zhu Chang truly wished he could die at that moment.
But faced with Xiao Wangye's question, he still had to respond. He could only sigh and reply:
"Your Highness, it is not that your subordinate is not acting, but rather that the Japanese merchant caravans are unwilling to lower grain prices and only wish to sell at their prices."
Faced with such a problem, Zhu Chang could only shift the blame to both sides to temporarily alleviate the pressure on himself.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Wangye pursed his lips and looked at him coldly, his expression unreadable, showing no intention of holding him accountable.
Xiao Wangye tapped rhythmically on the table, the sound striking Zhu Chang’s heart.
After a moment, he slowly turned his head, looking at Zhu Chang with eyes devoid of emotion.
"If they are unwilling, so be it. Why not replace the grain merchants at all the grain shops in the city?"
"This, how is this possible? The main grain sellers in the city are these Japanese merchants. Where else can we find grain merchants to replace them?"
Hearing Xiao Wangye suggest replacing the grain merchants, Zhu Chang immediately panicked and countered with a dry laugh.
If the Japanese merchant caravans were to be replaced, where would he get such high kickbacks?
"A clean prefect for a year, ten thousand taels of silver like snowflakes!"
As the prefect of such an important town as Ningcheng, Zhu Chang had profited greatly from the Japanese merchant caravans over the years!
If the Japanese merchant caravans were truly forced to close shop, his source of income would be directly reduced by eighty to ninety percent. How could he agree to that?
However, Xiao Wangye would not let him have his way. He tilted his chin and sneered.
"Does it sound like, according to Minister Zhu, our dynasty’s important towns have to rely on the Japanese to survive?"
Suddenly burdened with such a serious accusation, Zhu Chang immediately knelt on the ground, his forehead covered in cold sweat. Only then did he realize he had spoken out of turn!
Regardless, Ningcheng was a city of their dynasty. His words had clearly shown too much inclination towards the Japanese!
In his panic, Zhu Chang quickly tried to make excuses for his mistake.
"Your Highness, you misunderstand. Your subordinate did not mean that. Your subordinate meant that the local grain merchants in the city either have higher prices than the Japanese merchant caravans, or their grain reserves are insufficient to supply the entire city!"
In his haste, he managed to salvage his previous statement, regretting and fearing his words.
This was almost akin to colluding with the enemy. If Xiao Wangye had truly pressed the issue, he would have faced significant punishment!
Fortunately, Xiao Wangye was not focused on this and lightly overlooked Zhu Chang’s minor slip-up.
The corner of his lips curved into a subtle, triumphant smile, but Zhu Chang, kneeling and regretting his words, did not notice.
In fact, Xiao Wangye wanted precisely this sentence. All the leading questions before were aimed at eliciting this response.
"This King disagrees with what Minister Zhu said. How can our country, with its strong national power, rely on a few Japanese merchants to sustain the livelihood of an entire city? Give this King the documents registering the grain merchants, and this King will surely find more suitable grain merchants."
Tapping the table lightly, Xiao Wangye spoke with a calm and confident demeanor.
Zhu Chang, however, dared not object at this point. Thinking it was good enough that the other party wasn't holding his previous words against him, he could only nod in agreement.
Thus, he instructed his servant to retrieve the documents and personally handed them to Xiao Wangye.