Chapter 2193: War Profiteering

"Wow, what a price that must be!"

"Just watch," He Lingchuan sighed. "This war won't end easily."

Du Shan was ecstatic when he received these two messages, not just because he had seen through You Huan's calculations.

"Your Majesty, what an opportunity! Since the war won't end anytime soon, Mou State's military budget must be astounding. I suggest we put other matters in the Blazing Gold Plains aside for now and prioritize overtime, increased output, and additional manpower for mining special minerals. We can also ramp up production of spirit herbs, elixirs, chewing tobacco, armor, and lamp oil. With such a hungry neighbor eager to buy, why would we fear our goods going unsold?"

They had raw materials, manpower, and most importantly, orders! And clients who hardly dared to bargain. If they didn't make money from this, who would?

Grain and food, however, were out of the question; their large volume, low unit price, and high transportation losses meant low profits. Besides, Mou State was a major grain producer itself.

With Mei Wuniang's inside information, Cang Yan would prioritize the production of military supplies. While those two nations fought tooth and nail, Cang Yan would gracefully stand by, supplying weapons.

"By the way, we're overwhelmed with public and private orders from Mou State. There are still many idle people in the western towns and cities of Blazing Gold; it would be best to put them all to work! Land reclamation in those areas can be temporarily halted; let's send the manpower to the public fields first. With abundant spiritual energy, the medicinal herbs for wound dressings and the cotton and linen for armor now mature two months early, but we are most short on manpower."

"Two," He Lingchuan said, holding up two fingers. "We have two hungry neighbors clamoring for goods. How can we forget about Ya State?"

If a great nation like Mou State was running short on weapons due to the war, what about Ya State? Ya State's reserves were nowhere near as plentiful as Mou State's.

Du Shan slapped his forehead. "Yes, how could I forget them! Ya State's Geya tribe came to us to buy chest plates, shields, and tourniquets, but they couldn't produce money or furs. So they brought out all the treasures accumulated over the years from their own treasury as collateral. I saw seven or eight pieces among them were weapons of ancient renowned generals."

Ah, making a fortune from war was truly the most satisfying.

Over the past year or two, Cang Yan had vigorously developed the people's livelihood, and the treasury had finally accumulated some funds, only for them to be immediately subsidized again. The "national treasury bonds"—essentially IOUs—issued to the wealthy were accumulating, truly making it difficult to make ends meet. As far as he knew, merchants from Mou State and Beijia were also buying Cang Yan's IOUs. Mou State and Ya State were truly good neighbors; they came to their aid with money whenever they knew Cang Yan was short on funds.

"You know what to do," He Lingchuan said, casually pulling out a sheet of letter paper, preparing to write. "Go."

He was writing this letter to Mei Wuniang in Mudu, so he used code. This time, Mei Wuniang had acquired crucial classified information, which would be very helpful for Cang Yan's subsequent policy and plan adjustments. However, He Lingchuan cautioned her in the letter never to discuss political matters with You Huan again, even if You Huan initiated it. Once You Huan became suspicious, Mei Wuniang would not only lose his trust but also be in danger herself. Going forward, she would have only two main tasks: first, to observe You Huan's daily life, habits, and trivial matters, paying attention to this new Grand Overseer's characteristics and who he associated with; and second, to collect overt and covert information about other officials and nobles in Mudu, as well as gossip from the marketplace. Once the intelligence arrived, someone would naturally analyze and organize it. This letter was tucked among a pile of reports and sent to Mei Wuniang via the Yangshan Archipelago with the goods.

After Mei Wuniang received it, she read it carefully twice, pondered it thoroughly, and then burned the letter. Thereafter, whenever You Huan casually brought up political matters to her, she would feign ignorance or intentionally give incorrect answers. Mei Wuniang was so adept that she could easily feign ignorance and charm her way through anything. After three or four such instances, You Huan indeed stopped bringing up politics and instead became even more intimate with her.

The sky was clear blue.

Xin Yi walked through the streets and alleys. Before reaching He Lingchuan's residence, he first heard the melodious sound of a flute. Outside General Huye's gate stood a wutong tree, now the height of three or four stories. Xin Yi looked up slightly, seeing the sunlight kiss the golden leaves, casting myriad needle-like rays of light through them. Though the flute's melody was light and ethereal, it carried a grand, majestic air. Just then, a gust of wind swept through, rustling the wutong leaves. Listening to the flute, Xin Yi felt as though a phoenix on the wutong tree was riding the wind, ready to soar ninety thousand miles high. Standing tall and proud, unhurried.

Xin Yi unconsciously stopped, listening for nearly half a cup of tea's time. When the tune ended, two small silver sparrows flew away from the tree, and He Lingchuan's voice came from inside the gate:

"Mr. Xin, please come in."

Xin Yi happily pushed the door open, glanced around first, and then looked at the flute in He Lingchuan's hand. "Oh, General Huye actually possesses such a skill."

The flute itself was rather unique; it looked like a bone flute.

"Just some basic music theory."

"Who was your master?" Carefully listening to the flute music, it embodied soaring ambition and the bold spirit of a tiger emerging from the mountains, truly fitting for General Huye.

He Lingchuan pointed next door.

"Of course, it's Tutor Sun," Xin Yi smiled. "Is she not home?"

"Some peculiar plants have appeared on the Chipa Plateau, and she's taken people to 'capture' samples." The reason he said 'capture' instead of 'collect' was because—"According to eyewitnesses, they might be Lingzhi horses."

"Oh, that's excellent news!" Xin Yi clapped his hands. "When Lingzhi horses and ginseng dolls run around, rare flowers and exotic herbs are sure to follow. The appearance of Lingzhi horses is a good omen, indicating abundant spiritual energy and excellent soil, which means other rare and exotic plants will emerge afterward." That's why Shuming Academy takes it very seriously, with Sun Fuling personally leading a team to investigate. The appearance of Lingzhi horses is a landmark event. If they truly appear in that area, it means the spiritual energy concentration on the Chipa Plateau has reached a new level, and we can begin attempting to cultivate more spirit herbs.

In the courtyard, there was a square table, several jars on the ground, and several earthenware pots on the table. He Lingchuan had a rare three-day holiday, and Tutor Sun was away on official business, so he arranged a drinking session with Xin Yi at home.

Xin Yi casually placed an oil paper package on the table. Before he even untied the straw rope, He Lingchuan caught a strong whiff of ginger.

"What a wonderful aroma! Is this from the new shop on South Street?" He broke the clay seal of the wine jar, but even the fine wine paled in comparison to this fragrance.

"You have a keen nose," Xin Yi said with a smile, opening the oil paper package. Indeed, wrapped inside was a whole fat duck, caramelized, fragrant with fat, and glistening. "Tao Gan's Ginger Mother Duck is the most famous now. This shop makes and sells it on the spot, with a whole row of twelve shallow earthenware pots operating simultaneously at the entrance. Even then, I had to wait in line for half an hour to buy it!" He drew a small silver knife and quickly chopped the duck into pieces. "Tutor Sun wanted to taste this long ago, but unfortunately, she doesn't have the good fortune." The aroma of this Ginger Mother Duck was incredibly potent, truly fragrant enough to spread for ten li, a delicacy no one could secretly eat. Almost no other duck preparation could rival the powerful aroma of this dish.

He Lingchuan picked up a piece to taste. The rich, fatty aroma, the caramelized scent, and the spicy ginger fragrance exploded in his mouth.