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Gongcheng... really has changed a lot...

What was Gongcheng like before?

Weichi Peng’s eyes were filled with complexity as he pondered...

The Wei Gongcheng in his memory was composed, humble, but distinctly lacked... the vigor that a youth should possess...

The first impression he gave was like a middle-aged steward trapped in the skin of a twenty-year-old.

Even though he possessed great ability, he handled affairs with restraint and was even less conspicuous than the other deputies around himself. Only the old soldiers who had followed him for a long time knew that Wei Gongcheng was actually the most trusted and capable one.

He had asked him before, and he remembered his answer was, "My role is to assist the general in his duties, and as an assistant, there is no need for me to stand out."

His father’s comment was that this child knew his place very well...

But now... it seemed different.

From the outside, this fellow clearly reached the age of a steady middle-aged man, but in his eyes... there emerged a kind of recklessness that he himself had only in his youth...

"Then what are you in charge of?" The question came not from Weichi Peng but from Luo Yi, who stood by.

He was very curious. He had heard that Wei Gongcheng was a man of noble descent, but the Wei Gongcheng of today felt more like a magician—a noble descendant who came to Jiangnan and, within a year, became a magician so profound that even he couldn’t see through him.

He really wanted to know what the other party had experienced.

He also wanted to know what exactly he was doing within Chen Qing’s forces now.

"Well... The tasks I do are quite special..." Wei Gongcheng said with a smile: "It’s not easy to explain in a moment. If the Minister does not mind, why don’t you come back to Lyuzhou with me tomorrow, and I’ll show you around?"

"Sure!"

Wei Gongcheng then looked toward Weichi Peng: "General, would you like to take a look as well?"

Weichi Peng was taken aback, his gaze exceedingly complex, but he eventually nodded.

He indeed wanted to know what Chen Qing had done to Jiangnan’s Lyuzhou, why the place where he had once stayed and felt disgusted could produce so many valiant soldiers, and why someone who was once a mere mortal could possess the strength to defeat him.

He also wanted to know what Wei Gongcheng had experienced here, why... he could become so confident?

--------------------------------

Compared to the military camps outside the city, the interior of Nanming Prefecture was now bustling with activity as well.

Since Chen Qing took over Nanming Prefecture, the curfew was lifted.

The citizens who had been oppressed under the Princess Royale’s terrifying rule for a year were now given a reprieve.

Chen Qing deliberately eased the atmosphere here, even organizing lantern festivals by the internal administration.

Within just a few days, the citizens who had been suppressed for a year were like floodgates opening.

After a few days of testing the waters, Nanming Prefecture began to buzz with more life day by day.

Tea houses, restaurants, and opera houses saw increasing business, especially the tea houses, many of which even stayed open until late at night.

This was not only because there were no more terrifying undead guards patrolling the streets but also because the various lantern activities brought liveliness to the area and many merchants from Lyuzhou and Yangzhou brought in fresh goods and stories.

"Brother Feng, are you serious? Did the Imperial Court’s army really get captured?"

In a seat at a tea house, a few traveling merchants looked incredulous as they eyed the slightly chubby middle-aged man across from them.

"Is there any doubt?" The man surnamed Feng gloated over his drink: "The captured soldiers are just outside the city; you can see them as soon as you leave the city."

"This..." The merchants looked at each other, their eyes filled with disbelief, while at a nearby table, a young man dressed as a scholar frowned in a ludicrous expression, but still listened calmly to the news brought by these out-of-town merchants.

"Brother Feng, this wine is really good stuff." A merchant next to him finished the wine in his glass and eyed Feng’s flask eagerly.

The merchant smiled, picked up the flask, and poured them another cup: "This wine is nothing special; this fruit wine is the most common red fruit wine from Daqing Mountain. Compared to the current hot commodities like Xuelixiang, Hongshen Wine, Yubing Burn, and Taohua Bai, it’s far inferior.

It’s just that those wines are now hotly contested, and I mainly deal in fabrics, so I really can’t get my hands on them.

Otherwise, I would definitely get some for the brothers to try. "

"This is just an ordinary wine?"

The rich merchants gasped. They were well-traveled and had tasted many of the finest wines Jiangnan had to offer, and they knew this red fruit wine was worlds apart from those they had tried. Yet to their astonishment, it was deemed a low-grade wine by the merchant.

"Speaking of fabrics..." One of the wealthy merchants looked at Feng’s clothing: "Brother Feng, where did the fabric for your clothes come from? How does it look... even better than Yun Brocade?"

Yun Brocade, a specialty fabric from Yundu, was a luxury reserved for nobles. These Jiangnan merchants, even if they wanted to get their hands on a piece of it, would have to pull all sorts of strings. It was something you couldn’t buy with money through regular channels.

Today, everyone had taken out their most splendid outfits for the meeting, all adorned with Yunjin brocade. Their departure caused quite a stir, but upon comparing their finery with that of the individual before them, their so-called Yunjin suddenly seemed as shabby as countryside rags.

The clothing of the other party was of an entirely different aesthetic. Seated there, they looked conspicuously vibrant, and it was immediately clear that there was a stark difference in class between them.

"This piece of mine..." the merchant by the name of Brother Feng chuckled, "is made of Fire Silkworm Silk, which comes from the silkworms native to the Daqing Mountain in Lyuzhou. It’s processed using the unique weaving machines and dyes of Lyuzhou. Don’t you think that despite the color appearing subdued, it makes the person wearing it look much brighter? "

"Exactly, exactly!" A group of merchants nodded in agreement enthusiastically.

"Because this Fire Silkworm Silk, you see, is naturally luminescent..." said the Brother Feng, tenderly stroking the fabric as if touching a woman’s delicate skin, being extremely careful as he spoke, "Its divine light is subtle, and no matter what dye you apply, it can make the color stand out as unique. Moreover, it’s very warm; despite looking thin, this clothing keeps me warmer than the usual cotton attire in winter, and in summer, rather than being hot, it’s breathable and cool. "

"Is it that miraculous?" The group was instantly astonished, as if they were hearing about a treasure.

"Isn’t it?" The merchant surnamed Feng boasted, "This is a new product from Daqing Mountain. The young scholar who researched the Fire Silkworm is a child from a friend’s family. If it weren’t for the popularity of this item, you’d have to wait at least half a year to get your hands on it.

The reason I’ve come to you gentlemen is to leverage your channels in the Capital City.

You should be able to see that this clothing, if brought to the Capital City, would surely be a hot seller, right? "

"It would definitely be a big hit!" Several people’s eyes lit up. If it really was as incredible as the other party claimed, the noblewomen in the Capital City would likely go frantic over it!

"That... Brother Feng..." one of the younger merchants, a twinkle in his eye, asked with a smile, "Who was the scholar you mentioned who developed this product?"

"Oh, that..." the merchant surnamed Feng responded with a smile, "It’s a bit complicated to explain all at once. How about this—come to Lyuzhou with me tomorrow. We’ll take a good look at my raw materials and dye workshop. Right now, I’m not quite sure what patterns are trending in the Capital City, and I need experts like you to give some input.

After all, I’ve gone through a lot of trouble to procure my stock, and it would be troublesome if it doesn’t sell due to outdated designs. "

"We can go to Lyuzhou now?" Several people exclaimed, excited.

They had been wanting to go for a while. Over the past ten or so days, merchants from Lyuzhou had made a great impression in Nanming, introducing a succession of exotic goods that caused a public frenzy. Such a business opportunity was not something they were willing to just watch pass by.

They were eager to see Lyuzhou for themselves, to discover what it had become and how much merchandise they could handle.

"Sure!" the merchant surnamed Feng declared, "Anyone with a ship can cut through the mist. I and a few other bosses dealing in tea leaves and grain have jointly rented a ship. If you brothers join me tomorrow, that’ll be great!"

"Excellent, excellent!" The group nodded repeatedly, their eyes shining with anticipation.

"Oh right, Brother Feng, I have a few friends—could I bring them along too? They have considerable family assets and have quite a few channels in the Capital City and Donghua," one said.

"Of course!" the merchant surnamed Feng said, smacking his chest, "Our ship has unloaded cargo and can fit plenty of people. Brother Zhang, feel free to invite your friends; we can take them all. Come on, let’s drink!"

"Good, good, let’s drink!"

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"How did it go?"

After the banquet, some of the merchants who had been chatting with Brother Feng earlier made their way to an upstairs chamber, where a group of waiting merchants had assembled.

"Got it checked out— we can go to Lyuzhou!"

"Good..." one of the waiting merchants said with a grim expression, "The Imperial Court has actually suffered at the hands of a rebel who rose from the peasantry. Those noble families who lorded over us, when did they become so useless?"

"Brother Liu, speak cautiously," frowned a middle-aged man next to him, "The Court must have been careless. Regardless, we need to go to Lyuzhou first to find Brother Gu and figure out what exactly is happening."

"Hmm..." The others nodded.

"And about those goods from Jiangnan..." another one of the merchants said, his face grim, "Gu Beiquan and the merchants from the other prefectures seem to have kept us in the dark about something. With so many unheard-of goods surfacing in Nanming Prefecture, Jiangnan’s changes have far exceeded our expectations. Chen Qing is likely not a simple character. On this trip to Jiangnan, let’s not be too hasty to contact Gu Beiquan. That bunch seems to have deep calculations. If the Imperial Court’s campaign is successful, we would have missed out on many great business opportunities, not knowing how many deals they have cornered without our knowledge! "

"You’re right..."

"So everyone, don’t bring too much tomorrow. Take plenty of gold and valuables instead, we should be able to put them to good use there."

"Right, right..."

"Er..."

At this point, a few merchants who had come to pass on the information hesitated to speak further.

"What is it?" The leading merchant frowned at them.

"Well... Brother Feng just said, the current state of Jiangnan... with gold and silver... might not be of much use."

"What?"