Chapter 6

Lee Yesong, the chief manager of Anhweichulbang, was lost in reflection, recalling his first meeting with Jo Hui.

Jo Hui, who had boldly offered a high monthly salary to recruit him at a young age.

His demeanor was both resolute and, in a way, endearing, leading Lee Yesong to try to dissuade him, saying that people's hearts are not moved solely by money.

However, Jo Hui's subsequent response was a masterpiece.

"Of course, a monthly salary cannot buy all of your worth. But the value of Lee Yesong of Fengling Merchant Guild and Lee Yesong of Jojacheolbang is certainly different. I will make your heart beat again."

"What do you mean by that?"

"How far can the growth of the Fengling Merchant Guild go? Can it break through the wall of the Five Great Merchant Guilds, which are firmly established in Anhui with their powerful officials? I think it's impossible."

"Hmm..."

"First, there is a problem with the management skills of the head of the Fengling Merchant Guild, Xue Bai. His authoritarian personality leads him to keep only those who listen well, not those who are capable. In fact, apart from you, there is no one useful in the Fengling Merchant Guild."

"Second, the connection with Mr. Yan is too precarious. Those who have risen through bribery are always like this. Such people generally share the same fate as the superiors who backed them. Mr. Yan was nominated by a high official who is currently under scrutiny by Judge Xia Houcheng for privately operating the relay station. If he is taken to the Hefei Treasury, Mr. Yan will also fall, which means the end for the Fengling Merchant Guild, which relies on him."

"Third, this issue is even more critical and serious than the previous two. It is the range of goods handled by the Fengling Merchant Guild. There are only two: rice and spices. If a poor harvest hits Anhui in the near future, can the Fengling Merchant Guild survive? So far, it has managed to survive by selling the relief rice that Mr. Yan embezzled, but will luck continue in the long term?"

"Huh!"

It was certainly beyond the insight of a young man.

He was criticizing the guild's problems more coldly than Lee Yesong, who had lived his life as a financial manager of the Fengling Merchant Guild.

But his next words were even more surprising.

"I am different. Our Jojacheolbang is already... ."

Jo Hui's plans, strategies, and preparations, which lasted for a full hour, were meticulously arranged and planned. The thoroughness of it made Lee Yesong shudder.

It was a vast and comprehensive plan that seemed impossible to have come from the mind of a young man, let alone a human being.

That day would likely be the most memorable of his life.

At that moment, the door to the office opened.

"Chief Manager, how are you?"

As the saying goes, "If you talk about a tiger, it will appear," and Jo Hui had returned to the iron foundry.

"Master."

Lee Yesong stood up and bowed respectfully.

To this chief manager, the formality of seniority no longer mattered. He was deeply impressed by his master.

Jo Hui, now with a faint smile, waved the sword-shaped token in his hand.

The token had the words "Cangtian" (Heavenly Blue) engraved in relief at its center.

"Amazing! The Cangtian Sword Token!"

The chief manager was covered in goosebumps.

The significance of the Cangtian Sword Token in his master's plan was extraordinary. It was the turning point for all the plans.

"We need to establish a new iron ingot foundry!"

With the existence of the Cangtian Sword Token, there was no longer a need to purchase iron ingots.

Fang Bulin, the governor of Xuzhou, who owned the Guo Gou iron mine, was the most favorable to the Nangong family.

Now the path to purchase iron ore was open!

The Anhui Iron Foundry, which used steel ingots as raw materials and earned 60 gold taels a month, would now use iron ore as raw materials.

The chief manager could not even estimate how much the net profit would increase.

"That's not all."

Jo Hui, with a meaningful smile.

The chief manager's expression brightened as if he had just thought of something.

"Ah! The Armament Token! Finally, armaments!"

The issuance of the Armament Token is the authority of the governor of Xuzhou.

There was no way he would not issue it with the Cangtian Sword Token in front of him.

Finally, the long-held wish of the iron foundry to produce armaments would come true.

Armaments are a product with enormous added value.

Compared to the current sales, it would feel like child's play.

Jo Hui, smiling, took something out of his sleeve. It was the Armament Token.

"I have just met Governor Fang."

Jo Hui handed the Armament Token to the chief manager.

"Put it up."

The Armament Token hanging below the signboard is a symbol of a thriving iron foundry.

As the chief manager received the Armament Token with a reflective expression, Jo Hui's voice came again.

"Several carts loaded with iron ore will arrive over the next month. Governor Fang personally provided the carts."

The chief manager was momentarily surprised but had to wonder.

"Surely the travel expenses were not enough to buy iron ore?"

When Jo Hui set out for Hefei, he only took about 30 silver taels as travel expenses. Yet several carts of iron ore were on their way?

Jo Hui smiled.

"Governor Fang said we can settle the accounts later."

"Huh!"

Credit on the first transaction!

The chief manager felt anew how great the name Nangong was.

- "Anhui's First Iron Foundry! I will establish a kingdom of iron in Anhui."

Jo Hui's declaration, which he had previously thought was just a boast.

"…You really did it."

His seemingly unrealistic plans were actually becoming a reality.

Jo Hui, on the other hand, responded.

"What did I achieve? We are just starting. The establishment of the new iron ingot foundry can be left to my father, who will work with a few like-minded iron foundry masters. For the production of armaments, let's call it the Provisional Armament Hall (Bingshan Pavilion) for now. The Armament Hall should be established with iron foundry masters who have experience in producing armaments, and the personnel allocation can be handled by you, Chief Manager. They have always wished to produce armaments, so it will likely be the most vibrant place."

The chief manager, who had been smiling without responding, raised another question.

"…With our foundry's production capacity, producing hundreds of swords in a month would be no problem, but do we have the customers to absorb them?"

Jo Hui took something out of his sleeve again. It looked like a letter.

"This is a personal letter from Governor Fang to the Grand General's Office. I plan to provide armaments to arm one regiment for free."

"Regiment? Free?"

A regiment is at least 500 people.

To arm that many troops with swords and spears for free?

It would certainly be a massive loss.

"To move Grand General Xia Houming's heart, we need to provide samples. The armaments must be of a quality that all the iron foundry masters can agree on. Do not deliver them until then."

Starting a transaction with the Grand General's Office...

It is a massive military group of 30,000.

The scale of providing armaments to arm one regiment for free was truly astonishing.

However, the interests involved were undoubtedly as complex as a web.

To carry out such a massive project and still talk about it so casually...

Even with the Cangtian Sword Token, numerous obstacles awaited.

The Cangtian Sword Token was not exclusively owned by the Anhui Iron Foundry.

But the next words from Jo Hui were even more astonishing.

"We need an independent merchant guild to exclusively supply the products produced by our foundry."

The chief manager raised a question.

"Isn't Merchant Guild Hualong's Third Young Master Shangguan Bi already handling that?"

"An independent merchant guild."

"Excuse me?"

"Our own merchant guild."

The chief manager's eyes widened as if he had just realized something.

"Do you mean to establish a merchant guild?"

"Of course. With the Cangtian Sword Token, there is no reason to hesitate."

"…."

The chief manager knew that the current prosperity of the Anhui Iron Foundry was possible only through Shangguan Bi's favor.

Jo Hui's words now meant that he intended to cut ties with him.

"Master, that's…"

Jo Hui interrupted the chief manager.

"How much profit do you think Hualong Merchant Guild has made from its exclusive transactions with our foundry so far?"

"Perhaps… about the same as our foundry…"

"About twice as much as ours."

"Twice as much?"

Twice the profit of the Anhui Iron Foundry would be 120 gold taels a month.

A truly enormous amount!

"Hualong Merchant Guild has earned about 1,000 gold taels in about eight months with an investment of 60 gold taels. It's an excessive profit. I have done my part. I have done enough."

"But Third Young Master is now sworn brothers with you…"

Jo Hui chuckled.

"Trade between merchants is based on equivalent exchange. A one-sided loss cannot be sustained in the long term. Brother, who knows this better than anyone, has been warned by me. However, there were no attractive offers. So the deal is over. Moreover…"

Jo Hui's eyes turned cold.

"So far, we have tolerated a one-sided loss due to the iron ingots. But with the acquisition of iron ore, there is no need to bear such a loss."

A stable supply of iron ingots was directly related to the survival of the foundry.

From Jo Hui's perspective, a powerful merchant guild that could protect him from government harassment was necessary, and Hualong Merchant Guild had that capability.

However, with the acquisition of iron ore, the advantage of Hualong Merchant Guild was gone.

There was no reason to surrender the middleman profit to Hualong Merchant Guild.

"Chief Manager, please take on the role of the head of the merchant guild."

"Huh!"

Using iron ore as raw material would significantly reduce costs.

Moreover, high-value-added products like armaments and carriages would soon flood the market.

To be the head of a merchant guild handling such vast sums of money!

How much must he trust him to entrust him with the role of head of the merchant guild?

"Chief Manager, how much profit do you think we can make if you operate a merchant guild that exclusively distributes our foundry's products?"

The chief manager swallowed hard at Jo Hui's question.

His master was testing him. He could not give a careless answer.

The chief manager, with decades of experience as a financial manager of a merchant guild, began to think deeply.

After about an hour, the chief manager answered.

"1,000 gold taels."

It was a confident answer, but surprisingly, Jo Hui did not seem disappointed.

"What is your basis?"

"I calculated the profit of the current products to be five times the original. This is because we are using iron ore as raw material, and I added the profit from directly operating the merchant guild, which is 300 gold taels. I also estimated the expected sales of the new products being developed at Qishan Pavilion to be 700 gold taels."

"You forgot Bingshan Pavilion."

"Master ordered a high level of completion for the armaments. If the armaments are of a quality that all the proud iron