Chapter 1035 God of Gamblers

Chapter 1035 God of Gamblers

Chapter 1035 God of Gamblers (Part )

Yuan Dan and Huan Wen went home first and called seven or eight servants, each equipped with a stick or weapon.

There were also a few old men driving ox carts, heading to the market in a mighty procession.

The new market town was built in the south of the city, surrounded by a thick wall with several gates.

It has not yet been officially launched.

After it was opened, each gate was guarded by soldiers and everyone entering and leaving had to register.

Huan Wen saw this kind of fortified market for the first time and found it very novel. He asked, "Is the court doing this because they are afraid that the merchants will escape?"

"I'm just worried that they won't pay and do business privately." Yuan Dan said, looking around.

As far as the eye can see, the houses are connected to each other and divided into several parts by low wooden fences, which are called West Wing, East Wing, South Hall, North Hall and so on.

There are many shops and warehouses in each district, and people have already moved in.

Yuan and Huan walked for a long time before they arrived in front of a shop.

When the shop owner saw Yuan Dan, his face turned ashen.

Several of his servants also looked unhappy, and their movements of packing the goods slowed down. They even glanced under the carriage parked in the yard - generally speaking, various weapons were hidden there.

"Liu Sanlang, I'm here to get the money." Yuan Dan said with a smile.

Huan Wen was wearing a coat of armor, with a strung bow slung around his waist, and a sheathed, ring-handled sword in his hand.

Those who have fought on the battlefield in Liangzhou have a different demeanor. It can be said that their spirit has been tempered.

He is now a seventh-rank Huangsha Dianshi - the full name is "Huangsha Prison Assistant Censor Dianshi".

This position was established by Emperor Wu of Jin and later abolished.

The imperial court re-established the Huangsha Prison, with the Huangsha Censor as the chief officer, to try cases in the imperial prison and also review cases tried by the Supreme Court.

Huangsha Prison was established for the purpose of land measurement, and two governors were already imprisoned there, namely the governor of Donglai and Leling counties.

Especially the prefect of Leling, who was said to be a relative of the Inspector of the Imperial Capital Shao Xu, pretended to obey the order but secretly covered up the escape of the local tyrant who attacked and killed the land measurement officials, so he was arrested and thrown into the Huangsha Prison.

Huan Wen is the warden of Huangsha Prison, in charge of general affairs, and has been in office for more than a month.

Others did not know his identity, but they more or less knew Yuan Dan because he was a royal relative - his second brother Yuan Neng married Princess Chengyang.

Therefore, after seeing Yuan Dan, no matter how reluctant he was, he had to reluctantly order the goods to be moved.

Yuan Dan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

So what if they are royal relatives? If you really meet someone who only cares about money and not life, they may turn against you, kill you and run away, and move their whole family to Jiangdong, and you won't be able to react.

The servants quickly stepped forward and took away the valuables one by one, mostly medicinal herbs such as raw dendrobium, coptis root, and yam. This man must be a merchant from Huaibei. He might often cross the river to Huainan to buy goods. It was normal for him to kill someone and escape to Jin.

The merchant also brought some money and silk to make sure that all the goods would not be taken away by others. He kept mumbling, "There is no money and silk in the market, so I didn't bring that much. If you are willing to wait for more than a month, I will go to someone I know to borrow some money and silk to pay you back. How about that?"

Yuan Dan laughed and said, "No need to trouble you, I can just take the goods. Guanqiu's business collects medicinal materials and can sell them."

The merchant's expression changed.

Guanqiu Trading Company was opened by Guanqiu Shuyuan's family, and Guanqiu Shuyuan was Empress Yu's concubine when she got married, and Yuan Dan was the Left Eunuch of the Prince of Qin's Palace. They are all one family!
Seeing the expression on his face, Yuan Dan teased, "You like gambling, but you can't bear to lose. Why bother?"

"I have nothing to do, so I play a few rounds when my hands are itching." The merchant said awkwardly, "I used to be able to win a little, but I didn't expect you to be so skilled. I won't dare to do it next time."

"You only lost a little over a million dollars." Yuan Dan shook his head and laughed: "Since you like gambling so much, do you dare to bet big?"

The merchant looked at him in confusion.

Yuan Dan asked, "Do you know the palace soldiers?"

The merchant nodded.

"The local government soldiers have been around for at least 20 years, and there are many nephews and nieces who are skilled in archery and horse riding. Not all of them live well, especially those who are looked down upon by their brothers and sisters-in-law after their parents passed away." Yuan Dan said, "Some of them have waited for land to be granted, some have been allocated land that their fathers exchanged for honors, and some have waited for nothing. You can go to Luonan, where there are many soldiers and limited land, and you will find many such people, not only the sons of the government soldiers, but also the sons of their subordinates who can fight a little. Jin Gong, the general who protects the Xiongnu, just recruited a group of them a while ago. If you are willing to pay a high price, you should be able to recruit a few."

There are many children of government soldiers, and even more children of government soldiers. As long as you are willing to pay, it is still possible to recruit dozens of people, especially those children of government soldiers, who are more miserable and have a harder life.

"Why recruit these people? I'm not a bandit." The merchant asked curiously.

"Your Majesty may march south at any time." Yuan Dan said, "Although there are many inconveniences in Jiangnan, there are riches everywhere. If you can organize people to march south, just like the refugee leader, capture cities and support the royal army, you will definitely get a position in the future."

"Even if you are timid, you can still cut down trees and take soil in the mountains and fields, build forts, cultivate wasteland, and store up food. When the king's army crosses the river, the most worrying thing is that the retreat will be cut off and food and grass will be insufficient. If you can provide food and help the king's army gain a foothold, why worry about not having an official position?"

"The money you lost today can already recruit 50 to 60 people. With them as the backbone, and with the help of the young and strong farmers, you can accomplish great things."

"If it really doesn't work, you can recruit some people with money, or donate some food and send them to the accounts of Lord Zhang of Shouchun and Lord Le of Nanyang. In the future, they will reward you according to your merits and make you a high-ranking official. Go to Jiangnan to occupy land. Isn't that wonderful?"

"If you want to gamble, gamble big. A million dollars is nothing compared to lifetime wealth." Huan Wen couldn't help but glance at Yuan Dan.

This is really incredible!
If these people are mobilized, their power cannot be underestimated.

The merchant stood there in a daze for a moment, not knowing what to say.

Yuan Dan didn't take it seriously and turned to Huan Wen and said, "Your Majesty will go south to Guangchengze at the beginning of winter. Will you go?"

"Of course I have to go." Huan Wen said.

Yuan Dan smiled but said nothing at first, then said: "If you become rich, you must take care of me in the future."

"I am just a small official in Huangsha, busy with chores all day long." Huan Wen sighed and said, "According to my heart, I would rather stay in Liangzhou, where I still have the opportunity to make achievements. If it doesn't work out, I can go to Nan'an."

"There will be a chance." Yuan Dan said casually.

This year, Yao Yizhong, the prefect of Nannan, attacked Yang Nandi again and mobilized tens of thousands of Di and Qiang people from the three counties of Nannan, Lueyang and Yinping to launch a large-scale siege.

In the middle of the year, they won three battles in a row, and the enemy fled in a panic, and Yao Yi Zhong chased them all the way.

After fighting for several months, there was no significant success because the mountain roads were difficult to travel and food and fodder supply was difficult, while the city fortress defended by Yang Nandi was extremely strong and solid, so they had to retreat.

However, after several years of continuous fighting, the imperial court provided food, silk, and equipment, and the miscellaneous Hu people from several counties such as Nangan sent troops, which had exhausted Yang Nandi.

The greatest devastation has been economic.

If you run away as soon as the enemy comes, they will return empty-handed, but it will cause great damage to agricultural production.

It’s okay if it happens once or twice, but if it happens too many times, life will become unbearable.

Therefore, there are undercurrents within Yang Nandi, and the voices calling for surrender are getting louder and louder.

Unfortunately, the imperial court refused to accept him on the grounds that he surrendered and then rebelled again - not only did he surrender to Daliang and then rebelled again, he was also beaten badly by Liu Han and surrendered once, but then rebelled again.

Yao Yi Zhong even sent people to spread the news that Yang Nandi had surrendered and rebelled repeatedly, and the Emperor of Daliang was furious and wanted to get his head.

Yang Nandi's crime is limited to himself and has no involvement in other crimes. If there are any loyal and brave men who can capture the heads of Yang Nandi and his clansmen and surrender them with their land, they will be granted an official rank of the fifth grade.

The conditions are very generous and the opportunity is rare.

In the past, there might not be many people willing to kill Yang Nandi and surrender, but after several years of continuous attacks, even if there were many loyal people, they would have been almost worn out.

Who can guarantee that the Liang army will not attack us next year? If they do, how will we live?
Yang Nandi's death is not far away.

"Sir, please keep it." After a moment, an old man came forward and bowed.

"Take it away." Yuan Dan ordered.

After that, he looked at the merchant and asked, "You just said that you don't have much money and silk, so how do you do business? Barter?"

"It's hard to trade." Speaking of his old business, the merchant sighed and said, "I can only sell these medicinal materials to pharmacies and doctors. They don't necessarily do business. They only have silk and grain, and not many copper coins. If I take these, I have to find a way to exchange them for other things, and I often can't exchange them, so I can only take the money and silk back home. The silk in Pei County is good, and it's a problem how much the miscellaneous silk I brought back from other places is worth. The grain can only be sold at a discount, and there are many miscellaneous coins mixed in with the copper coins. If you are not careful, you will be cheated."

"Hasn't this been the way business has been done since the Han Dynasty?" Yuan Dan asked.

"That's what you say..." The merchant said, "But if there is enough copper money, it would be normal for the number of people doing business to double. The number of goods traded would probably increase tenfold. Even if the imperial court imposed a tax of 15% on goods, we would be willing to do so."

"I see." Yuan Dan nodded.

The Yuan family of Yangxia also did business, mainly the generation of his deceased father.

However, Yuan only sells and rarely buys.

What they sell are the unused grains, silks, fruits and vegetables produced by their own estates. Most of them are sold in nearby markets and don’t go far.

By their generation, most of them are busy with their official careers and don't care much about this matter.

Moreover, Dutianzhong also lost a lot of farmland and farmhands. Only their Yuan family had a long history and had been a wealthy family in Chen County before the Yongjia period. Most of the land deeds they produced were from the period of Emperor Hui of Jin, Emperor Wu of Jin, and even many from the Cao Wei period, so they could still maintain their family.

"What are the reasons for you coming to the market this time?" Yuan Dan asked again.

"Register your family tree." The merchant said, "Once you have registered, you will have a shop. From now on, any business worth more than 100,000 yuan in Luoyang County can only be done in the market. If you go outside to do business privately, you may be arrested. Henan County also has a market in the west of the city, and it is the same as before."

"Will it be convenient to pay taxes to the court if we do business in the market?" Yuan Dan said subconsciously.

"I'm afraid so, but I heard there are other benefits, but I don't know." The merchant said: "In fact, if the court imposes commercial taxes to collect money, it's nothing. The most urgent thing is to mint more copper coins. Without money, it's really hard to do business."

Yuan Dan nodded and asked before leaving: "Are you going to Guangchengze next month?"

"Go." The merchant was stunned for a moment and nodded hesitantly.

"Don't be afraid. I wouldn't dare to gamble even if I went to Guangchengze." Yuan Dan laughed and turned away.

(End of this chapter)