Chapter 8: Split

  Dai Zhe has only done one useful thing in this collection over the years, which is to make friends. As long as it's worth interacting with, Dai Zhe won't miss out on anyone from all walks of life. Making friends means spending money, and the Dai family in Shanxi is also a top-ranked wealthy merchant. He can't hold power, but he'll never lack money to spend. Besides, the amount he spends is just a drop in the bucket compared to what his elder brother spends on the governor and commander-in-chief of Xuanfu.

  Di Zhe's friends, Di Tang wasn't familiar with all of them, but Gong Chen he still knew. Di Tang himself wouldn't associate with those border soldiers who were coarse and greedy, without real power, but that didn't mean he thought they were completely useless. Now he couldn't tell if Gong Chen was being partial or Ge Feng had really left Wang Shun Hall already, also it wasn't good to scold him too severely.

  Just as he was speaking, a commotion broke out again at the northeast corner of the assembly hall. Someone shouted: "Ge Feng has escaped!"

  Di Zhe's heart tightened.

  Gong Chen immediately turned over and mounted his horse, saying: "I have been ordered to pursue the suspect, I will take my leave first!" Then he fled with the cavalry to the northeast corner of Jizicun, he was eager to have an opportunity to escape. The pedestrians on the street were empty early, and the cavalry disappeared in a moment without a trace.

  Di Tang walked into the gate with his hands behind his back and invited Fan Yongdou and Di Zhe to enter his study. Before they had time to sit down, he asked: "Where is Ge Feng?"

  "It's gone!"

  "You let him go!" Ji Tang's voice was tinged with a hint of anger.

  Di Zhe nodded and said: "I heard that government soldiers were entering the village. I felt something was wrong, so I had Xiao Zhisheng send him out through the back door."

  Fan Yongdou frowned and then relaxed, saying: "It's good that he left. Even if Huang Huo takes him away, I have a way to make him release the person!" Huang Huo was the guardian of Zhangjiakou.

  Di Zhe asked: "What's the outcome of the discussion between the Chamber of Commerce and the trade association?"

  Di Tang's eyebrows arched slightly between them, these things are not suitable for Di Zhe to ask.

  Fan Yongdou answered with a relaxed expression: "Seven business houses have stood on our side, and others respect the meaning of Lu Dongjia."

  The Hang Association has split! Di Zhe was not surprised, the two factions that split were not sworn enemies, but the most direct reason was that they preferred Mongolia or Liaodong's Jin.

  "Most people think that no matter which side wins the war on the grasslands, whether it's the Tumet tribe or the Chahar tribe, the road out of Zhangjiakou will still be controlled by the Mongols." Fan Yongdou's tone was tinged with a hint of self-satisfaction as he continued, "But Zhai Dongjia and I both think that this war has already changed the situation in Zhangjiakou, and our hopes lie to the east."

  The merchant's vision is indeed sharp and terrifying. Even without the memory of later generations, Chai Zhe would have agreed with Fan Yongdou's views. The Chahar tribe, the master of all Mongolia, was also the most powerful tribe in all of Mongolia. Although the Tumet people were wealthy, having money and being able to fight are two different things, just like the Ming dynasty's repeated defeats against the Jurchen in Liaodong. Regardless of Lin Danhan's purpose in leading his troops westward, the direct result of Chahar's westward migration was that the space on the Duo Yuan grasslands outside of Ming's Ji and Liao was opened up, and the Jurchen people would not miss this opportunity. For so many years, this war machine had been seeking to expand in Mongolia.

  Ge Feng fled, and for the time being, this matter will be put on hold. Fan Yongdou still had a lot of things to take care of, so he bid farewell with a bow, saying: "I'll take my leave first, I'm really sorry to have brought trouble to Wang Shun Ge, but Di Dongjia won't regret cooperating with me." His words were full of confidence and infectious.

  Two people saw him off, and Di Zhe watched Fan Yongdou's back disappear. Such a person will not be buried anywhere, and when he is low-key, people can't think of him. When the opportunity arises, he acts without hesitation.

  The officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty were still busy in the northeast direction of Jizhen for several hours, but they gained nothing and returned to their fortress on their own. By the time the sky turned dark, Di Zhe had not waited for Xiao Zhishen to return.

  Ge Feng has connections with many horse thieves, and Xiao Zhiyan had also roamed the grasslands before. Di Zhe is still worried about their safety.

  Three or four days passed, and on the surface, the village gradually returned to calm. The protagonist of the whole incident, Ge Feng, seemed to have been forgotten by everyone. He was just a fuse that ignited the conflict between the two sides. However, within the Great Ming territory, the originally deserted commercial road suddenly became bustling again. Various materials were being transported continuously to Xuan Town, which is adjacent to Jizhen. The two opposing sides were both preparing to form trade caravans. Every day, messengers would rush out of the market and head towards the grasslands, contacting reliable tribes and friends.

  The inner house of Dashiwei, with strict guard outside, eight people sat in a circle inside the house, making the whole house look crowded. A burning stove in the corner made the whole room very warm. Fan Yongdou sat in the middle, and Di Tang sat on his right side.

  "They only want food, unlike Mongolians, they don't need tea, just food." Fan Yongdou said while waving his arm.

  "I heard that there was a famine in Liaodong this year!" A short and stout man interrupted, who was Liang Wendao, the master of Xingshun Quan, these eight people were the masters of the eight major business firms on one side of Fan Yongdou.

  Fan Yongdou said calmly: "That's right, now the Eastern Barbarians are willing to pay three times the price of the Great Ming to buy grain from us! The only problem is that the road on the Duo Yan grassland is very unsafe!"

  "This summer, General Yuan of Jilin Province once opened a market to sell grain to the Chahar people on the Duo Yan grassland, but two months later it was closed again, and the grain price in Shengjing did not fall at all."

  There are masters from Liaodong who worry and ask: "Won't the Eastern Barbarians and the Great Ming be enemies, won't they engage in forced buying and selling?"

  Fan Yongdou smiled and said: "The Eastern Barbarians are not as barbaric as the Chahar people, drying up the marshes to catch fish. Everyone can choose a capable person from their family to follow the merchant team, listening is empty, seeing is real!" These days, Yue Tobei has been active in Zhangjiakou, and the content of the secret meeting made him confident.

  Someone chimed in: "I heard that Lu Dong's family has already made contact with the Chahar people!"

  Fan Yongdou shook his head and said, "This year Chahar defeated the Tumote people on the Zhangba grassland and gained a lot. Now selling goods to them will not bring much profit. Moreover, the war has not ended yet, and the Chahar people will not casually sell their war horses."

  Di Tang remained silent and listened quietly, rarely speaking up.

  .....

  The discussion in the house was heated, Zhai Zhe was bored outside, he didn't know why his brother came to Da Sheng Kui to discuss things and brought him along, previously such roles were played by Hao Yangyou.

  Out of curiosity about Fan Yongdou, Zhai Zhe carefully examined the layout of Dashenggui. The Dashenggui headquarters was located at a street corner in the south of Zhangjiakou Town, which wasn't a very good location, but several shops around it were all part of Dashenggui's business, including storage warehouses that were connected together, making management very convenient.

  Di Zhe was strolling around when a scholar-like man came out of the house and beckoned him, saying: "Second Master, come this way!"

  Di Zhe had never been involved in business before and was not familiar with the people of various companies.

  Zhai Zhe looked puzzled, and Wen Shi explained: "I am the shopkeeper of Da Sheng Kui, surname Ke!"

  "Boss Ke!" Di Zhe hastily paid his respects.

  Di Zhe followed Ke Zhanggui into the main hall of Dashengkui, and Ke Zhanggui introduced him to everyone they met. When they reached the counter, Di Zhe saw a woman wearing a yellow Mongolian long gown rapidly clicking away on an abacus.

  "This is Di Dongjia's sister, Fan Yi! She is skilled in calculation!"

  As they spoke, the woman raised her head, with a delicate nose and slender eyebrows. What caught people's attention most was a pair of lively eyes, which made the whole person look extremely comfortable, like the finishing touch on a painting.

  The woman saw Di Zhe staring at him straightly, her face first showed a thin layer of anger, and then blushed and lowered her head.

  Di Zhe was just curious, how could the Fan family let a woman intervene in business. Shanxi merchants are strict with family management, generally designated by their elders to operate a business, other children have the right to share profits, but not the right to operate, Di Zhe is one of them.

  "This is Wang Shun Ge's second master!" Ke Zhuang secretly smiled and introduced Zhai Zhe to Fan Yi.

  "Long time no see, Second Master!" Fan Yifu bowed slightly, and Zhai Zhe hastily returned the courtesy.

  As Dai Zhe turned around, he heard a muttering voice behind him, "So young and already so arrogant!"

  Dai Zhe heard it clearly, this time he was the one who made a fool of himself. Only in the Fan family did everyone respectfully address him as "Second Master". He turned his head to explain, but didn't know where to start, and saw that across from him, Fan Yi was covering her mouth and giggling.

  "I've made a fool of myself in front of the young lady!" Di Zhe bowed deeply, and afterwards he couldn't help but feel amused, shaking his head repeatedly.

  Ke Zhanggui gave Fan Yi a look and said, "Second Master, please go inside and have some tea!"

  Di Zhe bid farewell and left with Ke Zhanggui, thinking that Miss Fan was quite interesting.

  It wasn't until nightfall that the meeting at Da Sheng Qu's place finally came to an end, and Di Zhe led his guards in escorting his brother back home. Since the Zhangjiakou Jinshang Bank split up, each merchant house had strengthened their security, and everyone was familiar with each other's secrets - there were no hidden dangers here.

  Dai Yan returned home and saw Xiao Zhiyan's figure in the corner of the courtyard, his heart was overjoyed, a stone had finally fallen to the ground.