For now, it doesnât show, but in the long run, what gets damaged will surely be the interests of innocent civilians.
"As long as Lord Chu is well, my father will always leave a place for him."
"Fortunately, we acted quickly and placed our own people in the Department of Commerce and Construction. Now that Lord Chu isnât around, commercial laws wonât be altered arbitrarily and need to be discussed by cabinet officials."
"As long as itâs in the Emperorâs hands, itâs better than being controlled by Minister Qi; however..." Su Yun thought of Minister Qiâs numerous disciples and frowned, "We cannot relax our vigilance, it would be good if Lord Chu wakes up; at least with him awake, the Qi family and Zheng Family wonât gain any advantage."
"Alright, pay extra attention to the Chu family." Li Chongjin nodded.
"Prince, I have a suggestion regarding the cooperation with Beirong."
"What is it?" Li Chongjin asked.
Su Yun hesitated for a moment before speaking out, "I suggest keeping the technology in Great Chu and focusing on selling various finished products to Beirong. Although the advantage is small, as long as we provide enough quantity, the Second Prince of Beirong will surely be tempted. The grasslandâs drawback is its small population, whereas we have many civilians in Great Chu."
"Wasnât it said that a method for incense wasnât a big deal?" Li Chongjin could agree to some irrelevant daily product instructions, but wouldnât hand over technology like shipbuilding techniques which involve combat power.
"Moreover, didnât you say that with so many workshops in Great Chu, combined with difficult transportation, people would surely prefer buying local products? Even if we tell Beirong, the impact wouldnât be significant, just that we might lose some profit." Li Chongjin considered the interests involved and after weighing them for a while, finally spoke.
Su Yun: "Initially, I thought the same, but... after talking to Madam last time, I felt that doing business might not be a simple matter."
"Prince, do you think selling out more goods is better or buying in more goods is better?"
"Naturally, selling out more goods is better." Li Chongjin, even without doing business, understood this point.
Su Yun nodded: "Precisely, thatâs what I mean. Last time, the Emperor taught Beirongâs people to use mutton fat to make soap, which influenced my thoughts. But later at the palace banquet, the words of Beirongâs people made me think for quite some time."
"Beirong has developed things that are more advanced than ours in Great Chu. Not to mention the high costs, but overall, isnât it really tempting? From what I know, quite a few ladies in the capital have sent people to buy Spirit Soap and fabrics from Beirong people."
Su Yun couldnât help but coldly laugh at this point: "Just as expected, rich menâs meat and wine go rancid, while there are bones freezing by the roadside. These people never consider Great Chu, only indulging in luxurious lifestyles."
"Since itâs all about profit, we should profit from these peopleâs silver; I think women and childrenâs money is the easiest to earn."
Unconsciously, Su Yun had hit the truth.
"So, you want us to also establish workshops to manufacture goods, sell them to other countries, preferably products that everyone desires?"
"This idea is correct, but there are two difficulties. First, we donât have such good technology. Second, if we cooperate with the Second Prince of Beirong, we must not reveal that we have better technology, otherwise, once the other party learns, they might turn against us at any time and even collaborate with the Qi family."