The land of Wu Yue in Chu State.

"I'm sorry. We can't satisfy the two of you." A tea merchant said apologetically.

"This. Why is this?" Xiang Bo asked angrily. After they arrived in the land of Wuyue, they thought they could complete the purchase quickly, but what they didn't expect was that they ran to many houses and did not purchase the goods. The merchants were very ambiguous, but they were reluctant to say more. what.

"Here." The tea merchant carefully looked outside at this time, and then carefully waved his hand for Bo Xiang to approach.

"This is not a place to talk. This guest official is also a businessman. There are some things that I really can't talk about here." The tea merchant whispered.

"If you two really want it, follow me." The tea merchant said with a smile. Then he took Xiang Bo and Xiang Liang into his back house.

"Oh, it's true that we can't help it." The tea merchant cried out.

"Why is this?" Xiang Bo asked first.

"It's all done by the nobles of the Chu Kingdom, because things like tea, silk, and sugar are smuggled too much. In order to curb the source, they thought of the tea articles, that is, tea tickets, sugar tickets. What else is there for silk tickets? Wait." The tea merchant shook his head and said.

"The two don't have such a thing in their hands, so naturally they don't want to give it to you." The tea merchant shook his head and said.

"This. It is too unacceptable." Xiang Bo said.

"There is no way. People have the right to make money as they want. Businessmen like us are suffering." The tea merchant said embarrassingly.

"So, how do you make money in business?" Xiang Bo asked.

"Smuggling." The tea merchant said.

"The only way is to smuggle. Don't let us sell, we can sell it secretly. There are many smugglers. Everyone does this. It's just that everyone has their own interests. Don't care about it." The tea merchant said To.

"Oh. So you meant to say that you didn't sell it to us, but in fact you still want to do this kind of business? Right?" Xiang Bo asked.

"That's right. Whoever has money doesn't make it," said the tea merchant.

"Actually, it is not easy for us. If we sell tea tickets at the price of tea tickets, you will not make much money. I will sell them at a loss. All the money made becomes the benefit of the nobles. They think very much. Vicious," said the tea merchant.

"Okay, we will accept your conditions." At this time, Bo Xiang reluctantly agreed, but he knew that if smuggling, the price might benefit him a lot. He also knew along the way that the nobles had set up a large number of Fortress, such a fortress is a checkpoint, tax card, the reason why merchant ships stopped because of these checkpoints. It was because of such a checkpoint that Chu State was unable to communicate with each other.

Smuggling has always been the business method chosen by the merchants of Chu. They have no choice because the country’s business tax is too high. Such high taxes directly lead to smuggling on their own land. It is also a last resort.

Subsequently, Xiang Bo negotiated with the merchants and obtained a batch of tea through smuggling, but the quantity of these tea leaves was far from enough. In addition, they also want more commodities, such as sugar, copper ore, and silk tung oil. After some negotiations, the tea merchant agreed to introduce Bo Xiang to other smugglers. After all, such big buyers had much fewer opportunities.

Inside a hotel run by a family of Chu people in Xinzheng, South Korea.

"From the information we got. The Koreans did fight the Chu army stationed in Qi again, probably in the Langya area." An obese Chu businessman introduced.

"Yeah. I think so too." Young Master Nodded and said.

"My son, you said, you can contact General Xiang Yan. I don’t know if you can persuade General Xiang Yan’s navy to go north to attack the Chu army. In this way, we can import the sugar, tea, silk and other materials from the sea. It’s not by land. The risks are too great. And it’s easy to be seized. Many of our brothers’ goods have been seized many times. We can’t afford such a loss.” The obese businessman said anxiously To.

"It's true that we can't afford to lose if we walk by land, but I don't think it is possible to let General Xiang Yan directly attack the Chu army." Ning Chu said at this time, shaking his head.

"After all, General Xiang is also the Chu army, and the Chu army attacked the Chu army. How can such a thing explain the problem?" Said Fu.

"If you give it to me, I'm afraid, I will be embarrassed." Said negative.

"But if you go by sea, you will save a lot of time, money, and energy. This is of great benefit to us businessmen. If we don't do this, it will be really bad for us." The fat businessman said unwillingly. To. Many people have already seen the convenience of sea routes, as long as they dock the ship in the coastal area of ​​Chu State, they can easily get a lot of benefits. The premise is that they must travel by sea.

"Is Hailu really so good?" Suzu asked at this time.

"Really, son." A businessman on the side quickly explained.

"If we go by sea, we can avoid those checkpoints and patrols. They are too threatening to us on land. By sea, noble ships rarely go by sea, because there are pirates there, but we only have to Give the pirate a sum of money to solve this problem.” The businessman explained.

"At the same time, ships can carry more cargo and are fast. Although there are certain risks in sailing, such risks are very cost-effective compared with our overall cargo inspection." The businessman introduced.

"Yeah. In this case, it seems that I don't know much." Said Ning Chu.

"Okay. That's it. I'll find a way to convince them." Ning Chu was a little embarrassed. Although he was unwilling to let the Chu State Water Army take a seat to beat his own people, there was only one way available at present. The merchants demanded a reduction in tariffs, and the nobility taxed too much. There is no way. They can only rely on the son to persuade them.

The coastal area of ​​Qi State. This is the busiest place in Qi country. A large number of Korean merchant ships will gather here. Among them, all Chu country smugglers come here to unload the goods, and then they wait for all kinds of goods from Qin country to be loaded from here and shipped to Nanyang. , The colonies there will have a lot of demand. Some cheap goods imported from Wei State can meet the needs of those places.

"Damn it." A Dang, the king of the 5th Infantry Regiment of the South Korean Marine Corps, who was dressed in casual clothes, cursed angrily.

"Sir, calm down your anger. Such anxiousness will not solve the problem." The Chief of Staff on the side whispered. The two of them came to look for the South Korean navy, but on the dock in the coastal area, they only saw a South Korean merchant ship, but they could not find a South Korean navy warship. The South Korean official in charge of the contact told them embarrassedly that no South Korean warship had come to the coastal area recently. This made Wang Adam very annoyed.

"We are the Marine Corps. We want to attack from the sea. There is no ship. How can we attack? Shall we go on a merchant ship?" Wang Adam shouted on the way back.

"Sir. Be quiet. Be quiet," his chief of staff persuaded hard.

"We are watched by the Qi people just like the prisoners. You can bear it. Our department is elite, but it is used to do this. Can you bear it?" Wang Adam asked.

"This is naturally unbearable," the chief of staff said. According to the order of the superior of the South Korean Marine Corps. The two regiments participating in this military operation acted separately. They attacked all the way by land and all the way by sea. Wang Adam’s fifth regiment was assigned to attack by sea. They secretly entered the Qi State and were under the close supervision of the Qi army. When I arrived in the coastal area, I thought that I would be free when I arrived in the coastal area. But when he went to the Binhai Wharf, he didn't find the warships of the Korean Navy. They were all Korean merchant ships. These merchant ships can also carry his soldiers to Jimo, there is no warship to escort, and no warship to provide firepower, which makes it very worrying. So he decided to wait patiently for a few days to see if the South Korean navy arrived. But he was disappointed that no warship arrived. This made him gradually lose patience. So the temper is very annoyed.

"Perhaps the South Korean Navy really has no way, or it hasn't arrived for other reasons. In short, we should wait patiently, or we can launch an offensive from land, anyway, we can fight all the way." The Chief of Staff suggested.

"It sounds good. How to solve the logistics supplies. Don't forget. Our path is very important. We must guarantee our material supply from the sea." Wang Adam said.

"This, sir. I think, let's go as a merchant ship. A merchant ship is also a ship. It's better than nothing." The Chief of Staff persuaded.

"It's just. Merchant. Forget it. I'll think about it again." Wang Adam said irritably. In fact, he is still very inclined towards the proposal of the Chief of Staff. After all, he knew that the main logistics and transportation of the army were all merchant ships, and this was also arranged in the plan.

However, the situation changed is that South Korea's newly established navy did not even come to participate in the battle. He did not know what happened to cause such a thing to happen. But he knew that such a thing broke the original plan, which made him very uncomfortable with the current arrangement.

In order to cope with this situation, he thought of relying solely on merchant ships to complete the task. After all, merchant ships also have a certain amount of armed forces. South Korea has a certain number of armed merchant ships, and merchant ships carry weapons of varying degrees. These weapons are mainly used Defensive against pirates. But such weapons were not enough for offensive purposes, but he felt that the first regiment of the Marine Corps should be able to complete the mission in time. After they occupy Jimo City, they can be transported by armed merchant ships. The above weapons can also provide a certain amount of fire support. But he felt that there was a big risk in doing so, and the risk came from his ignorance of whether Jimo City was taken.

Xinzheng, South Korea.

"Qin has already started their Xinzheng summit." Han Shu said to Zhang Liang.

"Are you ready for the relevant security issues?" Han Shu asked.

"I'm ready to go back to the king. There will never be something like the last time." Zhang Liang said to Han Shu.

"Yeah." Han Shu nodded.

"This meeting is estimated to be very tense, because there are many contents, but roughly only one." Han Shu said to Zhang Liang.

"It's the investment of Qin people. This time, Qin encouraged a large number of banks to convert into investment banks, but the external environment has not been improved. Therefore, it is very likely that this is the main content of this summit." Han Shu speculated.

"The minister thinks so too, but this time the participating countries are more extensive." Zhang Liang said.

"Yes, both Yan and Qi were involved. In addition, Wei also received the invitation, leaving Chu country behind. In this case, the effect of the formed meeting will be very large." Han Shu said.

"The main purpose of Qin State is to invest, and the situation in various countries is hard to say, especially Yan State. The situation in Yan State is very bad. They urgently need Qin State's support. Therefore, they hope to develop their own market and allow Qin State people to enter. Yes." Zhang Liang said.

"Are we not?" Han Shu said.

"The situation in South Korea is also very bad. South Korean commercial banks still lack funds. Only by introducing Qin's capital can we effectively expand." Han Shu said.

"I don't want to. These matters will not be discussed until after the summit." Han Shu suddenly ended such a topic, because Han Shu thought that such a discussion was meaningless, especially since Qin Guo did not express his own thoughts. This is right. For Han Shu, it was a kind of anxiety. She didn't want such anxiety. She wanted to know exactly what Qin people think.

Yan Guo was on the train to Handan of Zhao State.

"The people of Qin State may be thinking of directly giving us the funds in their hands, giving them the shares in our hands, and direct management. This is a good idea. If this is the case, the affairs of our Yan State are likely to be solved." Prince Dan Speaking very optimistically. Regarding Qin State’s announcement on investment, he believed that this was a signal from Qin State. They could invest in Yan State. As long as there is investment, they may become an important investment place of Qin State. Yan State does not lack development. Conditions, all that is lacking is funds.

"Prince." The finance minister opposite was a little worried. He felt that his prince was too optimistic. He felt that he had an obligation to keep the prince in a fresh state.

"What's the matter?" the prince asked.

"The minister believes that the country of Yan does have investment potential. However, the current situation of the country of Yan may not be able to attract funds from the people of the Qin country." The Minister of Finance poured cold water.

"Why?" Prince Dan was a little unhappy.

"Prince, the various policies of the State of Yan are not as good as those of the State of Zhao, South Korea, even the State of Qi, and the State of Wei. For example, taxes are controlled within 5% of the above countries. However, our State of Yan is 10%. Within 25%." The Minister of Finance said.

"Our taxation is still high compared to that. With such a high tax cost, I am afraid that we cannot allow them to come to our country. Moreover, the infrastructure of our country is very poor. There is only one railway, and the north-south traffic is extremely disadvantageous. Although the business and workshops are relatively unfavorable. Developed, but compared to other countries, there is no obvious advantage.” The Minister of Finance gave Prince Dan an analysis. Hearing this analysis, Prince Dan's originally optimistic psychology suddenly became pessimistic.

"This. How is this good?" Prince Dan is like that, he loves fantasy, and he will try as long as he thinks a feasible method.

"The minister believes that Yan country still has to do its own thing to avoid the dissatisfaction of Qin's major banks. Only in this way can Yan country get Qin's bank investment. In addition, we need to solve border defense issues as soon as possible, security, This is the problem that needs to be solved most. At present, the people of Goguryeo have always been a great threat to our borders. If we can't solve these problems well, there is basically no hope for investment." The Minister of Finance continued.

"Yeah." Prince Dan nodded. He began to sink his heart. Think carefully about what Yan Guo should do next.

"I don't know if the Minister has any good ideas?" Prince Dan then asked.

"Back to the prince, yes," the finance minister replied.

"What way?" Prince Dan asked.

"One word, learn." The Finance Minister replied.

"Study? What to learn?" Prince Dan asked.

"Learn how other countries learn from Qin." The Minister of Finance suggested.

"Didn't the prince notice? All the countries that have come close to Qin are rising rapidly, and the countries that later learned are also slowly recovering." The Minister of Finance said.

"For example, the earliest South Korea and the current state of Zhao. Both received strong support from the State of Qin. As soon as Qin’s policies were released, the benefits to these two countries would increase significantly. On the contrary, I learned from the State of Qin. There are very few things in the country, so the disconnection between our country and the country is very serious.” The Minister of Finance said.

Prince Dan nodded slightly at this time. Show that what the other party said makes sense. He also felt that what the other party said was reasonable, especially when it came to studying Qin State, Yan State did very badly. Many things are sometimes compelling. For example, the infrastructure construction of Yan State is because a large amount of fiscal funds have been transferred into military expenditures. As a result, once the Korean War failed, the entire fiscal funds were invested in vain.

"Yes, we, Yan, are indeed inferior to Zhao and South Korea in learning about Qin. Zhao is also actively learning from Qin. But can we get investment by learning from Qin?" Prince Dan Feeling that I still have a question, I asked my finance minister.

"Of course it's not enough. What does Qin State do? How can we know." said the Minister of Finance.

"However, if we learn from the State of Qin, at least we are very close to the State of Qin. The capital of the people of Qin is naturally willing to come to our State of Yan. With capital development, we can naturally solve many things." The Minister of Finance said .

"Yeah." Prince Dan nodded.

"Attention, sum up the dynamics of the State of Qin, maybe, we will also learn from the State of Yan." Prince Dan made up his mind at this time, and he decided to give it a try. After trying to learn Qin State, see if Qin State's investment is coming back. If the investment does not come, then Yan State will be completely hopeless. This was something he didn't want to see. For Qin's capital, Prince Dan could only take such measures.

Qin State Xianyang.

"You can attend this meeting. I don't need to go. After all, one person needs to stay on duty." Meng Yi said to Shangwen very easily.

"No." Shang Wen said, shaking his head.

"This time, both of us are going." Shang Wen said to Meng Yi solemnly.

"Both of them are going. Why?" Meng Yi was a little surprised.

"Because there are so many things, I can’t be busy alone. Think about it. I’m alone. I have to deal with the envoys of Zhao, South Korea, Yan, Qi, and Wei. We have to consider their thoughts and situations. Arrived. Without a very capable helper, I think I'm prone to making mistakes. So, I decided to go both of us." Shang Wen said.

"Just. Here." Meng Yi saw Shang Wen worried.

"Don't worry, we have the Minister of Finance to manage." Shang Wen said.

"He is very familiar with money and won't care about it." Shang Wen explained.

"The problem is that after we go, if things are not resolved well, it will be difficult for us to proceed." Shangwen said.

"In addition, I decided that after going to South Korea, we must solve judicial matters. After all, if judicial issues are not resolved, our investment will not be guaranteed by law. Most of the local legal provisions are inclined to nobles. Yes, there is no preferential treatment for us. If we want such a preferential treatment, we can only amend the law or put forward corresponding conditions." Shangwen said.

"In other words, this time we go to the meeting is not just a question of investment." Meng Yi said.

"It can be said that in order to invest, we need them to make changes to the law, at least in line with the standards of protecting commercial interests." Shang Wen said.

"Well. I think it's okay. Our Qin State's laws are relatively complete, but the legal provisions of various countries are not very complete. They are very biased." Meng Yi said.

"The amendment to the provisions of the law is of great significance to Qin's investment." Shang Wen said.

"But I think the meaning of investment is too great. They will certainly agree, but there are still some things we need to do, such as the liquidity of stocks. This is difficult to solve. And it is not the bank can solve it. Question." Shang Wen said.

"So, I think that after the legal issues are resolved, the corresponding financial issues must be resolved. With finance as a guarantee, many issues can be easily solved." Shang Wen said.

"I agree with this point. After all, our goal is to sell the shares in our hands. Don’t forget that our committee still has a large number of shares. If these shares are not disposed of in time, it will become a big bomb. We will definitely The injured, put it in our own hands." Meng Yi said worriedly.

"So, throw this bomb out as soon as possible, and whoever finds it will be unlucky." Shang Wen said with a smile. Although he said that, he still knew that this analogy was very appropriate. Sometimes finance is a big bomb. If you don't get it right, you can really hurt yourself.