806 A Favorable Turn of Events (1/2)
Lü Qiying returned to Jade City once again and found that everything had changed. All of a sudden, he had become a big shot, 'bigger' than he had ever been as a tavernkeeper. It was like a dream came true. He was so excited that he could even feel his lost finger trembling.
The Dragon King had asked him to stockpile grain and grass at all costs. Lü Qiying had cut off all paths of retreat when he accepted this task because no matter how he looked at it, the Dragon King didn't have enough financial resources to support the plan. However, the task took a favorable turn because of a rumor.
Meng Yuzun had died of illness, and there were many speculations about the true cause of death. But after a few days, a piece of even more sensational news started spreading in Jade City at an incredible speed. It said that the Meng family had been robbed and the savings they accumulated through several generations were all gone.
Yet, the Meng family did not fall into extreme poverty because of this. Meng Mingshu still owned the largest number of real estate and shops in Jade City. But all of a sudden, the richest man in the whole Western Regions became a common rich man.
The whole Jade City fell into a frenzy. The citizens who had no clue about the matter clung to every street talk, searched for that so-called inside information, and analyzed everything they saw from morning to evening, and even their dreams, to find an answer. How did the money disappear? Who had taken it?
Mentions of the Dragon King gradually increased among the bubble of rumors. If everyone was only suspicious during the first few days, the subsequent facts that appeared were almost like irrefutable evidence. The Meng family's shops and money houses throughout the Western Regions were ransacked one after another, and the robbers were always unnaturally proficient in their movements. The key aspect was that they knew the their target intimately, always choosing to act on the day of reconciliation. They didn't kill or damage goods, only stealing money.
The Meng family's business network was on the verge of breaking down by now. Those who held the banknotes of the Meng family were all madly demanding to cash it out as silver, but they only received a helpless answer. ”Wait a bit longer.”
The news of robberies poured in one after another, and everyone was convinced that the Meng family's money had been robbed by the Dragon King.
To do such a thing would require the cooperation of a mole, and Duan Zihua naturally took on that role. The evidence, therefore, had become even more solid; he had been driven into a corner by Meng Yuzun due to his losing of the goods before. Besides that, he had worked for the Meng family for many years and knew every aspect of their business network like the back of his hand. And finally, his wife and children were all missing and no one in the neighborhood knew when they had moved out.
Lü Qiying, therefore, finally got the chance to experience the people of Jade City's ability to shift with the wind.
Those businessmen, who had plenty of goods and who used to consider themselves superior to him, had treated him more like a businessman than a friend. They had not only raised the price for the Dragon Army, but had also refused to deliver any goods before receiving payment. They had all bluntly said, ”Where's the Dragon King's money? Did he find a gold ore mine or some treasure?”
But now, they were lining up to visit Lü Qiying, fully exercising their relations of old friends, and taking the Dragon King's tavernkeeper out for a night of wine and pleasure in the Retention Alley as if they were kidnapping him.
Sometimes, Lü Qiying would even be 'taken away' by another businessman while he was relieving himself.
”Does the Dragon Army still want to buy grain and fodder? No problem, I have it all here. And the price is quite fair too, as long as it's a bit higher than the market price. Someone offered a cheaper price? Well, we are old friends, so I'll give you a 10% discount. Heh heh, I've prepared a little gift for Tavernkeeper Lü; please kindly accept it.”
These were the words that Lü Qiying heard the most often. It even felt a bit strange that these people were all saying the same words, almost as if they had discussed and agreed on it beforehand.
Lü Qiying showed off his skill as a merchant now. Although the Dragon King had said that he did not care about the cost, Lü Qiying still demanded a lower price from everyone and had almost brought the price down to its original level. But there was still one last serious problem in front of him. Everyone was saying that the Meng family's money had been taken away by the Dragon King, but he hadn't seen a penny of it so far.
Xiao Fengchai, who was at Heaven's Pass, was taking care of the Dragon King's financial matters now. She had secretly hinted that the Dragon King was not fit to reveal his wealth at the moment, and that he had to wait until everyone had calmed down.
The merchants that Lü Qiying dealt with, however, had no signs of calming down. So Lü Qiying had no choice but to reveal the truth to some of his best friends. ”The situation is quite peculiar at the moment and I can't get any money out for a while. I can only put it on the Dragon King's tab. Of course, I'll close them eventually. It may take a few days or even a year or two.”
The merchants' answers were surprisingly consistent. ”No hurry, I understand. The situation is peculiar, and the Dragon Army should not spend extravagantly. You can take the goods away first and pay for it later. Even if I don't believe the Dragon King, don't I believe in you, my old friend?”
Lü Qiying knew that what the merchants believed in was actually money. Since the Dragon King had all the silver in his hands and had the ability to pay for the credit, then what was the hurry?
The more easy-going those merchant were, the more nervous Lü Qiying became. He had asked several people the same question. ”Don't you worry about…. losing all the money?”
Those who heard this always revealed a serious look and took Tavernkeeper Lü's remark as a test. ”Are you asking me if I believe that the Dragon King can win the war? I believe it, a hundred percent.”
And behind the rhetoric lay evidence of the change in public opinions. The Dragon King had an army, a vast land in the form of Xiaoyao Lake, and the Land of Fragrance. All this time, he had only been lacking one thing — money. Now that his final weakness was fixed, the Dragon King was already a true king, a king who was capable of paying all debts. At least, this was the image in the merchants' mind.
A long-time friend told Lü Qiying the truth. ”The army, the land, and the money. The Dragon King has it all. How bad can it be? Even if he loses the battle and retreats to the Land of Fragrance, he has to admit to his debt, doesn't he? Otherwise, he'd be eating bark and herbs for the rest of his life.”
Lü Qiying finally accepted the fact that he was absolutely right to accept the Dragon King's wooing on the spur of the moment several years ago.
Throughout the whole process, the only thing that Lü Qiying hadn't worried about was Golden Roc Castle. The fact that the Dragon King had refused to take out the silver at once had become his shield: it was pointless to kill a tavernkeeper who bought grain and grass if they couldn't get any actual money from him. Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.
He also inquired about Golden Roc Castle's movements through various sources and passed all information, through a steady exchange of caravans, to Xu Xiaoyi. Xu Xiaoyi would then classify the information and wait for the Dragon King's inspection.
After a dozen or so days, Lü Qiying heard that the Dragon King was planning on going to Heaven's Pass in person, so he galloped there hurriedly to meet him.
The Restoration Army of the Shule Kingdom had changed its name and become a part of the Dragon Army. All of the soldiers then followed the Dragon King to Heaven's Pass and were stationed outside of the city, facing the 70,000 horsemen of the Norland Army.