74: Chapter 74 Xiang Liang: Brother Fan, you are truly a brilliant man!

"Those nobles of the six states in Xianyang are under the surveillance of the Shadow Guards; they certainly wouldn't dare to buy bronze sickles."

Fan Zeng's eyes flickered with a sharp light as he said, "But those descendants of the six states' royalty who were exiled far from their homelands are different; the mountains are high and the Emperor is far away."

"Their nations were shattered, and they were exiled to foreign lands far from home, forbidden from returning. They must hate Great Qin to the core."

"We can buy up all the bronze sickles and sell them to the descendants of the six states."

"For example, King Qian of Zhao, who was exiled to our Chu Region by Ying Zheng."

"We can buy the bronze sickles at a low price and sell them to King Qian of Zhao at a high price."

A smile characteristic of a devious merchant appeared on Fan Zeng's face.

"Brother Fan, you really are a 'Great Genius'!"

Xiang Liang couldn't help but remark.

He had to admit, this Brother Fan of his really had a useful brain!

"Brother Xiang..."

Fan Zeng rolled his eyes and said, "Don't think this old man doesn't know that 'Great Genius' isn't exactly a compliment!"

He recalled that Xiang Liang had previously told Xiang Yu that Xiang Yu was a 'Great Genius.'

Given Xiang Yu's level of intelligence, if even he could be a 'Great Genius'...

Then 'Great Genius' certainly couldn't be a good term!

Xiang Liang chuckled and then changed the subject: "Then let us go and purchase bronze sickles in bulk."

"No need."

Fan Zeng smiled and said, "This old man has already entrusted others to buy up all the bronze sickles on the market."

Fan Zeng was still very cautious; he had not made an appearance himself.

"Good."

Xiang Liang said, "Then we shall transport the bronze sickles back to the Chu Region and sell them to King Qian of Zhao."

Chu Region

Residence of King Qian of Zhao

"Achoo!"

King Qian of Zhao suddenly sneezed for no apparent reason.

King Qian of Zhao couldn't help but find it strange.

Late June in the Chu Region was hotter than in the Zhao Territory; he didn't understand why he was sneezing.

King Qian of Zhao could only attribute it to his body growing increasingly frail.

Over these years, he had been depressed in the Chu Region, and his health had weakened steadily.

He felt that his time was drawing near.

King Qian of Zhao was born to a courtesan and was a complete muddle-headed ruler; he had executed the famous general Li Mu, destroying his own nation's defenses.

When the Qin general General Wang Jian attacked the Zhao State, the Zhao army suffered a crushing defeat; General Wang Jian captured Handan and took King Qian of Zhao prisoner.

When Qin conquered the six states, the kings of Qi and Chu were different—Lord Changping of Chu died in resistance, King Xi of Yan, King An of Han, and King Jia of Wei were captured and executed, and King Jian of Qi starved to death. Only the Zhao royal family, because they shared the same ancestry as the Qin royal family—both belonging to the Zhao clan of the Ying surname—received some preferential treatment. They were exiled and even permitted to bring a large number of family members and subordinates with them.

Over the years, their influence in the Chu Region had grown increasingly powerful.

King Qian of Zhao and his former ministers all desperately wished to restore their nation.

However, the Xiang family in the Chu Region was a great clan, and their influence in the region was far inferior to that of the Xiang family.

The Xiang family was also actively planning a rebellion in secret, and many war resources, especially bronze items, had been secretly seized by them.

To the point that they didn't even have bronze weapons to arm themselves.

If they used iron tools, they would be easily snapped by bronze weapons.

Thinking of this, King Qian of Zhao became even more depressed.

He felt that there was no hope of restoring his nation in this lifetime.

"Your Majesty."

A former minister of King Qian of Zhao found him with an excited expression and said to him, "Ying Zheng is dead!"

"Is that true or false?"

King Qian of Zhao didn't believe it.

Ying Zheng was younger than him; if his own old bones were still around, how could Ying Zheng die before him?

"It is true!"

The former minister said to King Qian of Zhao with great excitement.

"But..."

King Qian of Zhao sighed, "The remaining bronze swords in the Chu Region have all been privately seized by the Xiang family. Even if we want to restore our nation, we have no weapons!"

It wasn't hard to raise a rebel army with so many commoners who couldn't fill their bellies.

If they brought out more grain, a large number of commoners would be willing to rebel with them just to have something to eat.

But without weapons, not only would their attempt at restoration be easily suppressed, but Qin would no longer show mercy for the sake of their shared ancestry.

King Qian of Zhao shook his head helplessly.

The former minister's eyes also dimmed.

He was full of helplessness.

The First Emperor had confiscated all the bronze in the world and cast it into twelve giant bronze statues, which had a massive impact on their hopes of restoration.

"Drink, let's drink."

Ever since King Qian of Zhao came to the Chu Region, he could only drown his sorrows in wine.

The former minister was equally distressed and began drinking gloomily with King Qian of Zhao.

Fan Zeng, Xiang Liang, and Xiang Yu, leading their men and pulling several large carts of goods, began setting out toward the Chu Region.

Great Qin Empire Forging Workshop

Zhao Fusu, Li Si, and Feng Quji were conversing while drinking tea.

Li Si said, "I wonder how the progress of the Führer's Steam Engine development is going?"

This was the reason Li Si and Feng Quji had come to the Forging Workshop together.

The summer harvest was about to begin, and some farmers had even started harvesting millet.

Both Li Si and Feng Quji were curious whether Zhao Fusu could apply the Steam Engine to agricultural production.

The nobles were selling grain in large quantities and making a fortune; already, many people were trying everything to obtain Travel Permits to transport grain from other regions to sell Inside the Pass.

This Travel Permit was a type of transit credential, a proof of leaving one's hometown, primarily used as an official document carried by people in ancient times during long-distance travel to ensure smooth passage.

Specifically, the Travel Permit was an official document issued by local government departments, similar to a letter of introduction or a pass. Anyone traveling more than a hundred miles from their residence had to hold a Travel Permit, or they would be punished according to the law.

This was somewhat similar to modern times where one must apply for a visa to go abroad.

As long as it was for business, Zhao Fusu would have Li Si approve the permits.

Although the grain trade was profitable, in order to bring down grain prices as much as possible, Zhao Fusu had not yet collected a grain tax.

However, if merchants wanted to leave the pass to transport grain in from other regions, they had to pay customs duties.

Evading customs duties would result in severe punishment.

Most of these merchants went to Jiujiang Commandery to buy rice in bulk and earn the price difference Inside the Pass.

Inside the Pass, mainly millet and wheat were grown; the production of rice was very low.

Besides being boiled and eaten directly, rice could also be made into various exquisite pastries, which were very popular among the nobility.

It was nine hundred kilometers from Xianyang to Jiujiang Commandery. Relying on human labor to escort goods on dirt roads, a single round trip would take at least three months.

With such a long duration, in order to make more money, merchants would certainly need to transport large quantities of rice to be profitable.

This required a large amount of manpower.

Consequently, a large portion of the population Inside the Pass would be unable to engage in agricultural production.

The summer harvest of millet and wheat was imminent. If the Steam Engine Zhao Fusu had been promoting could not be put to use, then with the loss of so much manpower, the harvest Inside the Pass would surely suffer from a labor shortage.

In previous years, landowners who couldn't finish the harvest themselves would hire labor to harvest the millet and wheat.

If a landowner couldn't hire anyone and the grain wasn't harvested in time while the weather was good, once it rained, the unharvested grain would sprout, which would inevitably affect the yield!