Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 1170 - 1167_1

Chapter 1170: Chapter 1167_1

After hearing this, Xiao’er laughed and said, "The princess will be the owner of a grocery store in the future!"

"A grocery store? Alright, then. I’m going to be the owner of a grocery store in the future! You can call me the owner of the grocery store." The Fifth Princess heard this and thought it was quite good.

"The owner of the grocery store!" The three of them exclaimed in unison.

Then everyone laughed!

After the laughter, Xiao’er spoke again, "However, these shops are just small businesses, the ones that make a lot of silver are the large workshops."

Hearing this, the three of them straightened their backs and asked with anticipation:

Zhu Yan: "Xiao’er, do you have any good ideas?"

Fifth Princess: "What kind of workshop are you planning to open, sister-in-law?"

Du Yijin: "Xiao’er, no matter what workshop you open, count me in!"

Xiao’er had already cooperated with Jinghao on a cosmetic workshop.

Jinghao alone could handle a paper-making workshop, which was not very challenging. He had many bookstores and planned to expand these bookshops across the country in the future. There would be many uses for paper, so it was the most suitable for him to open it.

While suggesting Jinghao to establish a paper-making workshop, Xiao’er also suggested setting up a printing workshop. Although the current printing technology wasn’t as advanced as modern printers and copiers, it was still much faster than hand-copying.

Aside from cosmetics and paper-making, there was also ceramics.

"Jinghao plans to build a Ceramic City in a certain area of Nangong Country, which needs investors. Why don’t we cooperate and invite Jingya to join us? After all, Marquis Zhongyong’s Mansion has its own ceramic workshop, and they are quite familiar with this field. So, what do you think about the five of us partnering to open a ceramic workshop?"

"As long as you think it’s a good idea, I trust you!" The Fifth Princess quickly expressed her support.

"Yes, I trust you too!" Ceramics, that’s a very profitable business, there’s no reason why Zhu Yan would disagree.

"I trust you, and I have no objections!" Du Yijin had the most experience in doing business with Xiao’er. If Xiao’er said they could make money, then they surely could!

Hearing their responses, Xiao’er was at a loss for words: "Alright then, I’ve been devising a specific plan, and we need to consult with Marquis Zhongyong’s Mansion on many issues. Once the plan is complete, we can discuss how to proceed."

"Alright." Everyone nodded in agreement.

They discussed how to operate the Ceramic City and didn’t leave until after lunch.

In the Imperial Palace,

When Shangguan Xuanyi had an audience with the emperor, the emperor happened to have kept several chancellors in the imperial study to discuss state affairs.

After Shangguan Xuanyi relayed the contents of the letter, the emperor pondered for a moment before asking: "What do the chancellors think?"

The Minister of the Left immediately became furious: "These merchants in Zezhou are simply outrageous! Clearly, there are troublemakers behind this. Do these motley crowds really think we fear them?"

"This must be the work of the court of Nangong Country. We have already conquered Zezhou and pacified the people there. We absolutely cannot let these profit-driven merchants stir up trouble and cause chaos again. In my opinion, we should set a strong example by executing one of them!" said the chancellor of the Ministry of War.

"Indeed, if people have nowhere to sell their grains or get medical treatment for a long period of time, there will undoubtedly be unrest. The power of the people should not be underestimated. If the people rise up in rebellion and collude with the court and military of Nangong Country, our soldiers would be besieged!" said the chancellor of the Ministry of Revenue.

...

Each of the high-ranking court officials expressed their opinions in turn.

"You have all made excellent points. What solutions do you propose?" The emperor asked another question after everyone had had their say.

"Aren’t they just a few shops? There are plenty of merchants in Minze Country who can open grain stores, grocery stores, cloth shops, and clinics. We could immediately dispatch someone to open a few of these shops."

"Setting up shops also takes time. General Di has already sent a letter, which means that the situation is somewhat urgent. In order to pacify the people as quickly as possible, I suggest we first distribute some of the soldiers’ military ration to the people for their subsistence. Then we can have military doctors treat the people. As for medicinal materials, we have no choice but to use the ones prepared for the soldiers," said the chancellor of the Ministry of Personnel.

"I disagree! Our soldiers are fighting bravely on the front line. If they don’t have enough food and medicine, do you think they will still have the strength to fight? Without the strength, how can they win? After all is said and done, we would lose more than we gain. What will we do if we lose the cities we’ve captured?" The chancellor of the Ministry of War protested immediately after hearing this.

Distributing military food and medicine for the army would invite trouble. If soldiers didn’t have enough food, they wouldn’t have the strength to fight, which would lead to potential defeat. If soldiers were injured or got sick and there were no medicinal materials available, the outcome of the war would be affected. The one that would suffer in this case would be him, the chancellor of the Ministry of War! If the attack on Nangong Country failed because of inadequate supply of food and medicine, he would be the first one to be held accountable.

In short, there was no way he would ever agree to use military food and medicine to help pacify the people of Nangong Country!

After a city has been conquered, the people should have been slaughtered! That would be the end of it!

"Emperor, I also firmly disapprove of this. There is a chance that this situation is a ruse plotted by the emperor of Nangong Country and wealthier merchants. Their goal is to force us to distribute our military food and medicine. If we use our military food to aid the people of Nangong Country, they might turn around and offer this food to the troops of Nangong Court," said the chancellor of the Ministry of Revenue, also objecting.

The food and medicine come from the Ministry of Revenue! The chancellor of the Ministry of Revenue would certainly not agree!

"Now we have already taken over Zezhou. The people of Zezhou, having declared loyalty to us, are no longer people of Nangong Kingdom but are now ours. If we don’t distribute the military food and the people of Zezhou, pushed by hunger, revolt, there will be a riot in Zezhou, which we just recently conquered. Wouldn’t that be a major problem?" Shen Chengyao asked.

The emperor looked at Shen Chengyao after hearing this. He was right; the people of Zezhou were now subjects of his reign - finally, someone sensible!

Therefore, he had always believed that a bureaucrat who truly cared for the people was the most capable one. He always considered the perspective of the people first before making decisions for the court!

"Measures can be taken to pacify the people first! Within a month, we can transport grains from other places to Zezhou!" said the chancellor of Ministry of War.

Although they are now considered our people, who knows if that loyalty is genuine or not! Of course, the emperor wouldn’t like to hear this, so the chancellor of Ministry of War would naturally keep this to himself!

"Oh? Then what good methods does the chancellor of Ministry of War have?" The emperor asked at the right time.