vrcanaries Chapter 101 The Friendship of Allies
Chapter 101 The Friendship of Allies
In the tenement building area, Qin Xuan, as the lord of Beining City, led Yelü Dongze and others on a tour.
Along the way, whenever he appeared, people would spontaneously greet him.
Qin Xuan was very approachable and responded to each person with a friendly nod. Occasionally, when a craftsman's family member brought over some flatbread or rice porridge, Qin Xuan would pick one up without hesitation, praising it as he slowly enjoyed it.
Even Zhao Luoying, who is a princess, is the same. This is completely different from the image of royalty or nobles in Yelü Dongze's mind.
"This King of Chu is so popular with the people that even without these rare treasures, Beining City is already as solid as a rock."
This is Yelü Dongze's biggest reflection on his journey.
He had traveled extensively, but he had never seen the people of a city and their city lord get along so well, or even be considered equals.
"Huanxi, you probably can't fool this man back to Goryeo."
Yelü Dongze looked at Yelü Huanxi with a pang of heartache; the little girl's adoring gaze had already betrayed her true feelings.
But men as outstanding as Qin Xuan are rare in this world, so how could he be content to be just a prince consort?
Look at this Beining City. Given time, it will surely dominate the region and may even unify the world.
The moment this thought crossed his mind, even Yelü Dongze felt a chill run down his spine.
"Your Highness, what is the production volume of this cement? And what is the selling price?"
After browsing for about half an hour, Yelü Dongze had a basic understanding of the applications and functions of cement, and then he began to get down to business.
"Mr. Fuyuzawa, you don't need to worry about production volume. You can have as much as you want."
"As for the price, it's one qian of silver per bag, and each bag weighs fifty jin."
Qin Xuan followed the method from his previous life and made appropriate reductions, changing the cement from a 100-jin bag to 50 jin, while also doubling the price.
In this way, each bag of cement could generate a net profit of sixty coins, which seemed like a small amount, but the amount used was enormous.
For example, the Jurchen Kingdom purchased nearly 50,000 taels of cement for the first time, but had already restocked twice, each time for 100,000 taels, and delivery was not included.
You either haven't used this stuff before, or once you have, you'll never want to use any other masonry materials again.
Cement is not only easy to use, but it also greatly reduces labor costs and technical barriers.
"Would you mind bartering?"
Yelü Dongze was already tempted, but Goryeo could not afford such a large sum of money.
"Only warhorses and copper will be exchanged; the rest must be paid in silver."
Qin Xuan smiled and said, "The Jurchen Kingdom established trade relations with my Beining City half a month ago. If your Goryeo Kingdom can join us now, I will reserve a place for you in the trading city fifty miles outside the city."
"At that time, I will allocate a separate market for Goryeo. You can send your own envoys or caravans to stay here for a long time. In this way, you can sell Goryeo's special products to Daqi and even other countries."
"All you have to do is pay me a certain percentage of commission and rent."
This was something Qin Xuan had planned long ago. Once the trading city was established, caravans from various countries would have their own exclusive market locations.
At that time, they will no longer need to travel long distances back and forth. They can complete the transaction of bulk commodities simply by transmitting commodity information and purchasing requirements through carrier pigeons or post stations.
This actually saves a lot of effort and money for chambers of commerce in various countries.
By doing so, Beining City not only receives substantial rent and commissions on every transaction, but also gains complete control over the entire market.
In this era, people have not yet realized the importance of product information and the speed of circulation.
But Qin Xuan knew that once he mastered these two things, he would have control over the entire market.
At that time, any country that wants to increase trade prices or sales volume will have to consider the attitude of Beining City.
"Is this so-called trading city also built with this cement?"
Yelü Dongze was somewhat tempted and longing, but at the same time, he was slightly dissatisfied that he would still be charged a commission after paying rent.
However, now is not the time to discuss these details; he needs to see the complete trading city and its actual size.
"This is natural."
Qin Xuan nodded and said, "Not only is it entirely made of cement, but it will also be warm in winter and cool in summer."
"Is it like the Honglu Hall? It's so warm there!"
Yelü Huanxi asked excitedly.
"Yes, it should be better than the Honglu Hall. After all, the Honglu Hall was one of the first buildings constructed with cement. However, with the advancement of technology and the improvement of cement quality, later buildings will be more suitable for people to live in and will be more functional."
Qin Xuan smiled and glanced at Yelü Huanxi, then affirmed.
The Honglu Hall may look magnificent on the outside, but many of its facilities are actually based on ancient architecture.
Qin Xuan envisioned creating a truly modern trading city, complete with private restrooms, flush toilets, comfortable sofas in the reception area, and all windows replaced with glass.
With the development of Tiangong Workshop, these things are actually not difficult to achieve.
"Will this trade city really be built? I can't wait!"
Yelü Huanxi looked at Qin Xuan with a hint of admiration. She couldn't imagine such a wonderful trading city, but Qin Xuan described it so vividly that it made her fall into a fantasy.
"Hmph, this woman is seducing the prince again, she deserves to die."
Zhao Luoying glanced at Yelü Huanxi's appearance and couldn't help but feel resentful.
That foreign woman is truly shameless, always flirting and posing. If Hua Mingyue were here, she could definitely help me get rid of this woman. After all, both of them are experts in business, but Hua Mingyue is the head of the association, so she is naturally more capable than Yelü Huanxi.
Zhao Luoying suddenly thought of this and then considered that it was time to recall Hua Mingyue.
News came from the other side the day before yesterday that the Fourth Prince Qin Yu had paid 100,000 taels of silver, and the relevant personnel of the Lieyang Chamber of Commerce had gradually withdrawn.
Right now, all we can do is hope that the Third Prince Qin Zhen's fake honeycomb briquettes continue to be produced at a frenzied pace, and that the trickery won't be discovered prematurely.
As for Qin Yu, he has also begun to secretly mass-produce honeycomb briquettes.
In this way, Qin Xuan effectively manipulated the two princes of Daqi across thousands of miles.
"The construction plan for the Trade City has just been finalized, and road construction is currently underway. If any of you are interested, you might want to come with me to take a look."
Since Qin Xuan had already taken on the role of guide, he decided to continue doing so.
Goryeo and Liaodong have a good relationship. As long as Beining City can establish formal trade relations with Goryeo, Liaodong will inevitably follow suit.
So, the group of people quickly followed Qin Xuan to the outer city.
From afar, Yelü Dongze sensed that something was amiss in his surroundings.
First, there was an avenue that was astonishingly wide; second, there was the sheer number of laborers and artisans, a staggering fifty to sixty thousand.
Such a scene is absolutely chilling.
"No wonder there are only tens of thousands of people working in the Northern Wilderness; it turns out they were transferred here by the Prince."
Zhao Luoying, who had been wondering about this, suddenly understood.
"Your Highness, Goryeo wishes to establish a friendly alliance with Bukning City!"
At this moment, Yelü Dongze could no longer wait to sign the letter of state with Qin Xuan.