Chapter 1020: Chapter 102: Fuqing Chamber of Commerce Chapter 1020: Chapter 102: Fuqing Chamber of Commerce An elderly man with graying hair suddenly fell to his knees on the grassland with a “thump”.

His frail figure trembled slightly, and tears streamed down his deeply-lined face. The vast prairie that stretched before him stirred indescribable feelings of bitterness, sweetness, sourness, and spiciness in his heart.

This land wasn’t the home he and generations before him had always lived in, but it was a new home filled with hope.

In fact, as a part of the refugees, this old man was rather fortunate because he followed his family and traveled thousands of miles to the south, encountering extortion from officials and attacks from bandits along the way, suffering from illness and hunger but still alive to reach his destination.

On this journey, he had seen too much death and ugliness!

Around the old man, a temporary camp was beginning to take shape.

“Minister Wang, let me introduce you.”

Inside a tent, Qin Qingxuan introduced Wang Chen with a smile to a middle-aged man who had an honest-looking face: “This is Yu Zhirong, the second Shopkeeper of the Fuqing Chamber of Commerce.”

The middle-aged man immediately bowed respectfully to Wang Chen: “Your humble servant, Yu Zhirong, greets Minister Wang.”

“No need for formalities.”

Wang Chen extended his hand to help him up, saying, “Shopkeeper Yu, you’ve had a hard journey. You’ve done a great service by coordinating and providing relief to the refugees. I will report to Princess Qingyun and ensure that the Fuqing Chamber of Commerce is credited for its efforts.”

“Thank you, Sir!”

Yu Zhirong showed a pleased expression: “It is a fortune for Fuqing to serve Minister Wang and Her Highness!”

Looking at the young Minister Wang before him, Yu Zhirong’s emotions were exceedingly complex.

To this day, the outcome of the battle between the Yan Army and the Great Liang Hanhai Army had already caused a sensation throughout the world, triggering immense shockwaves.

Tens of thousands of the Yan Army vanished like smoke in front of Hanhai Pass, with the commander Yan Xiaoyun and the current State Preceptor among the three Martial Venerables meeting their deaths, causing Great Yan to lose its towering pillar overnight.

Their strength was severely damaged!

There were many rumors about this battle, some of them quite bizarre.

Some say the victory of the Hanhai Army was thanks to Shangguan Wuji, the commander of the Hanhai Army, who, as a god of war from Great Liang, could resist the three Martial Venerables of the Yan State and thus held Great Liang’s most important border.

Others say it wasn’t Shangguan Wuji who killed the three Martial Venerables, but rather it was Wang Chen, the Minister bestowed by Princess Qingyun.

There are even whispers of the strongest Imperial Palace master hiding by Princess Qingyun’s side…

As the second Shopkeeper of the Fuqing Chamber of Commerce, Yu Zhirong certainly had access to much more information than ordinary people.

He knew that Wang Chen was the true hero, as all three Martial Venerables fell at the hands of this teenager.

Yet now, seeing Wang Chen in the flesh, Yu Zhirong found it truly unfathomable to imagine how a youth could possess such incredible strength that it seemed to trample the face of every warrior underfoot.

What a demonic talent!

“Let’s spare the courtesies.”

Wang Chen waved his hand and said, “Let’s talk about serious matters.”

The Fuqing Chamber of Commerce is one of the famous large merchant associations of Great Liang, and its involvement was entirely thanks to Qin Qingxuan’s connections.

Last month, Qin Qingxuan came to the West Sea Prefecture to find Wang Chen, hoping Princess Qingyun would take in the refugees from the three northern prefectures and expressed willingness to mobilize the entire strength of the Rain Flower Sword Sect.

After meeting with Princess Qingyun, this current heir to the Rain Flower Sword Sect immediately traveled north to Jichuan to receive the refugees.

Throughout that period, he kept in contact with Wang Chen via eagle messages.

The Fuqing Chamber of Commerce played a significant role in the movement of refugees from the three prefectures to the south toward West Sea Prefecture, with their organization and relief efforts ensuring the refugees no longer wandered aimlessly searching for a place to settle, and they had some food each day to sustain themselves.

The protectors from the Fuqing Chamber of Commerce also repelled bandits who looted the refugees and negotiated with local Government Offices along the way, allowing so many refugees to safely reach the West Sea Great Prairie.

Wang Chen pulled out a thick stack of bills from his bosom and handed them to Yu Zhirong, “Count these.”

Yu Zhirong hurriedly accepted the stack with both hands, and found that Wang Chen had given him several dozen gold and silver notes.

He counted them as quickly as he could and calculated the total face value to be as high as three million taels of silver!

Although as the second shopkeeper of the Fuqing Chamber of Commerce, Yu Zhirong had handled countless amounts of money, such a large sum of wealth was still burning a hole in his hands.

Yu Zhirong asked cautiously, “Minister Wang, what is this for?”

“I need food.”

Wang Chen answered without hesitation, “I need cotton, tung oil, brass, pig bristles…”

He listed more than a dozen materials in one breath before concluding, “Buy as much as you can, money isn’t a problem. I want to entrust this business to you, but does the Fuqing Chamber of Commerce dare to take it on?”

Yu Zhirong couldn’t help but gasp.

The things Wang Chen wanted were not trivial in quantity, and most were in high demand at the moment.

Wang Chen asked for a lot and was very generous, offering three million taels of solid gold and silver for the first transaction.

It was a gesture brimming with sincerity.

However, Yu Zhirong did not lose his head and said with a wry smile, “Minister Wang, it’s not that I don’t want to do business with you, but given the current situation, we truly are willing but powerless.”

Now, within the Great Liang territory, war fires were ablaze everywhere, and most prefectures had raised their banners in rebellion, essentially entering a period of warlord strife.

Moreover, rebel factions were rampant, bandits were everywhere, demons caused havoc, and heretical sects had revived, making business much more difficult than before, at least tenfold.

Although the Fuqing Chamber of Commerce was large and powerful, gathering these supplies and then transporting them to West Sea Prefecture, over such a distance, would result in unpredictable losses of personnel and property.

They simply couldn’t afford such losses!

“Is the main problem the transportation?”

After listening to Yu Zhirong’s litany of difficulties, Wang Chen asked, “If these materials don’t need to be transported here, can you just stockpile and deliver them locally?”

Deliver locally?

Yu Zhirong was stunned for a moment and subconsciously nodded, “That would be possible.”

If they were just buying the supplies without needing long-distance transport, then the Fuqing Chamber of Commerce really wouldn’t have any problems, and the costs would drop to an enthralling level.

“That settles it then.”

Wang Chen clapped his hands and laughed, “Once you’ve made the purchase, let me know, and I’ll send someone to pick it up.”

Of course, that person would be Wang Chen himself.

His storage space could hold everything. When the time came, he would just need to visit the place designated by the Fuqing Chamber of Commerce; no matter how much there was, he could bring it back.

Furthermore, Wang Chen could use this opportunity to understand the situations in the various prefectures of Great Liang, which would facilitate future military campaigns.

And since the Fuqing Chamber of Commerce didn’t need to handle the transportation, the procurement costs would naturally be significantly reduced, gaining even more materials.

It was indeed killing three birds with one stone!

At first, Yu Zhirong couldn’t believe it, and only after repeatedly confirming did he realize Wang Chen wasn’t joking.

Thus, he resolutely represented the Fuqing Chamber of Commerce and signed a cooperation agreement with Wang Chen!

Following that, with a continuous stream of refugees arriving, construction and farming boomed in both West Sea Prefecture and Hanhai Prefecture.

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The second update is posted.