“Sir, do these two conditions not show my brother’s sincerity?”
Qing Muluan was no fool and guessed Jin Feng’s intentions. “You know how many people would fight tooth and nail for the identity of a salt merchant alone? And for mineral deposits, as long as they are within Xichuan borders, sir can mine them. I dare say few people in all Da Kang have such qualifications!”
“That is because others do not care,” Jin Feng said. “And it sounds as if I do not have to pay to contract them.”
Qing Muluan did not pick up Jin Feng’s words but turned to little E, who was buried in her meal. “Little E, is it not almost time for school? Why have you not left yet?”
“Huh??”
Little E looked up blankly, not knowing how the topic had turned to her.
But Guan Xiaorou understood. What Qing Muluan was about to say to Jin Feng next was not suitable for them to hear. She reached out and pulled little E up.
“Sister, do not tug me. Let me take the meat soup up first!”
Little E struggled to carry the ceramic bowl of meat away.
Tang Xiaobei and Tang Dongdong also tactfully left one after another.
Qing Muluan went to close the door, then winked at Jin Feng and said, “Contracting mountains for mining certainly costs money, but how much can be negotiated.”
Jin Feng’s eyes lit up at once.
Such operations were common in his previous life. Some capitalists discovered mineral deposits in Africa and could contract them at extremely low prices by bribing local officials.
Qing Muluan’s method was feasible.
Da Kang did not value industry and had no dedicated prospecting department. Apart from common minerals like gold, silver, copper, and iron, they knew little about others, rarely managed them, and few competed for them.
In short, for most people, those deposits were no different from ordinary stones, but for Jin Feng, they were very important.
The reason the Xichuan governor offered this condition in negotiations was because Qing Muluan had written to him saying Jin Feng needed minerals.
Jin Feng guessed this but did not point it out or feel Qing Muluan had betrayed him.
After all, the Xichuan governor was her own brother, while he was just someone she had known for a few months. Even thinking with his toes, he knew whose side Qing Muluan would take.
Jin Feng felt the current outcome was already very satisfactory.
“As long as it can be negotiated.”
Jin Feng nodded, agreeing to the proposal.
“By the way, sir, there is one thing I must say in advance. If sir discovers gold, silver, or copper mines, there is no way to contract them to you.”
Qing Muluan reminded. “Also, iron and tin mines cannot be too cheap.”
“I understand.”
Jin Feng nodded slightly.
Gold, silver, and copper were hard currency in Da Kang. Only the court had the right to mine them. Even the Xichuan governor dared not dispose of them casually.
Iron and tin were already widely used, so there was no loophole to exploit.
“Then does sir have anything else to ask?” Qing Muluan asked.
“What conditions does your brother have?” Jin Feng asked.
He believed there was no free lunch. Besides wanting to use the Zhenyuan Escort Agency’s name, the Xichuan governor surely had other plans.
“For the profits from salt production and sales, my brother wants fifty percent.
As for those mineral deposits, never mind, but in the future if my brother needs to lead troops in combat, sir must provide him with sufficient heavy crossbows and trebuchets.”
Qing Muluan said, “Of course, my brother will not take them for free. He can buy them from sir with silver.”
Thanks to Tang Dongdong’s secrecy, even now, the method for mass-producing heavy crossbows had not leaked.
If the Xichuan governor wanted them, he had to buy from Jin Feng.
“Buy heavy crossbows and trebuchets?” Jin Feng’s heart tightened slightly. “Does your brother know something, or… does he have some idea?”
“What are you thinking, sir?” Qing Muluan rolled her eyes at Jin Feng. “My brother has only noticed some unusual movements from Tubo recently and is making preparations in advance.”
The prefectural city of Xichuan Route was Chengdu from Jin Feng’s previous life. In Da Kang’s territory, it was a border city. Less than two hundred li to the west were the Tubo tribes.
When Da Kang’s founding emperor set the prefectural city of Xichuan Route here, it was to defend against Tubo.
Most provincial governors in other provinces were civil officials, but successive Xichuan governors were basically from martial families.
Qing Muluan’s explanation made sense.
Actually, Jin Feng knew Qing Muluan was probably not telling the full truth, or she did not know her brother’s real intentions.
But did it matter whether she knew or not? As long as the Xichuan governor was buying heavy crossbows and trebuchets not to attack him, it was fine.
Even if to attack him, Jin Feng was not afraid.
No arms dealer sold their latest weapons externally. Jin Feng was the same.
Whether heavy crossbows or trebuchets, what Jin Feng currently used were the first generation. If needed, he could produce upgraded versions with greater power and range at any time.
Moreover, when designing the heavy crossbows, Jin Feng had considered this situation. The heavy crossbows made in West River Bay had three key components that needed replacement after about two hundred uses.
And the steel for these components could currently only be produced in his iron smelting workshop.
If the Xichuan governor came to attack him, as long as he cut off the supply of these components, the heavy crossbows would be scrap iron.
So Jin Feng thought for a moment, then nodded and said, “Agreed!”
When other nobles sought salt merchants, they took at least seventy percent profit or more. Some ruthless ones took eighty or ninety percent.
Even so, salt merchants were still filthy rich.
The Xichuan governor wanting only fifty percent was already quite conscientious.
Moreover, this fifty percent was not going into the Xichuan governor’s pocket alone. He also had to share some with the Guangyuan prefect. This was an unspoken rule in officialdom.
“Then it is settled?”
Qing Muluan tentatively extended her palm.
“Settled!”
Jin Feng extended his right hand and high-fived Qing Muluan. “I hope you and your brother are not tricking me.”
“Sir, my brother really has no malice towards you and is not scheming anything.”
Qing Muluan said, “Since we have spoken to this point, I will not hide it from sir. When I came to West River Bay, my brother said the realm will soon be in chaos. With sir’s talent and character, you are destined to become a heroic figure stirring the winds and clouds. He told me to befriend sir well and said that if the Qing family ever falls on hard times, we may need to rely on sir for rescue.”
“Your brother really thinks highly of me,” Jin Feng said self-mockingly. “I am just a lazy person, and a hero…”
“Sir is too modest. My brother is very accurate in judging people.”
Qing Muluan said, “He says sir is a hero, so sir certainly is. Just like he long ago said the realm would be in chaos. I did not believe it then, but now someone has rebelled, right?”
“Your brother is indeed impressive.”
Jin Feng sighed along.
So he was not the only one who thought Da Kang was finished. Others had noticed too.
That made sense. With so many people in Da Kang, none of the high officials in court were fools.
They were not blind to the situation. They just refused to sacrifice their interests and harboured illusions.
Perhaps only when the flames of war reached them would they feel the pain.
The matters to discuss were finished. Seeing Jin Feng lost in thought, Qing Muluan quietly got up to leave.
But Jin Feng called her back. “Muluan, wait a moment.”
