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Chapter 106 Advanced Debt Collection Methods

Snow in June is not a good sign.

Zhou Chang sent Yuan Qi away and hurriedly looked for Zhong Yu to discuss the matter.

When Zhong Yuyi heard the news, he almost fainted again, and his account books fell to the ground.

Zhou Chang, on the other hand, was also worried about Zhong Yu's health: "Don't worry, sir, we will take a long-term view."

"It's not right, it's not right, it's really not right..." Zhong Yu stroked his beard and took a breath, but his face was still pale.

Zhou Chang had not yet grown a beard, so he could only start with his hair. After scratching for a long time, he finally thought of the key question: "Sir, what do you think is the key to Xue Tian's victory?"

Originally, the plan was to build victory on the enemy's own defeat. Now, several months have passed, and it is unknown whether the ruler of the Mirage Kingdom is dead or alive, but it is certain that the celestial phenomena are not favorable to the neighboring country.

Zhong Yu thought without hesitation: "There are many factors, such as the commander, the strength of the troops, the weather, the location, the people, the food, the supplies, the enemy's situation, etc."

"The commander-in-chief has no control over it. The enemy has more troops. As for the weather..." Zhou Chang continued his analysis, "The weather is that it suddenly snows."

Zhong Yumeng pulled his beard, sat up straight again, and switched to rationality and clarity: "It snowed in the north several months in advance, but our soldiers have no experience fighting in the cold north. Compared with the soldiers of the Mirage Kingdom who are good at fighting in winter, we have no advantage at all. If we want to win, I'm afraid we have to ensure the military supplies for winter combat, so we should start from this aspect."

Zhou Chang nodded. He had already tried to make Emperor Lin give up the idea of ​​peace talks. Now he had to find a way to make up for his own shortcomings, even if it was just to delay time.

Zhong Yu's brain was so fast that he thought of everything in a second, but he still said one sentence at a time: "Food, charcoal, medicine, cotton clothes and other cold-weather items. The battle reports sent back some time ago have already shown a series of defeats, and the morale of the army is unstable. Now with the heavy snow and severe cold, the people are panicking, and stabilizing the morale of the army is also the key."

"Then what can we do to reverse the current situation?" Zhou Chang asked while also pondering, "What can we do with our own abilities?"

"We haven't reached that point yet," Zhong Yu began to scratch his beard again. "Generally, if a war has not been resolved by winter, the troops will stop fighting and withdraw. They will not start again until the next spring when the weather warms up and the opportunity is favorable."

"Withdraw? That won't work." Zhou Chang could not let this happen. "Wouldn't withdrawing be the same as admitting defeat?"

Zhong Yu still had many concerns: "But if the court wants to continue fighting, it must supply more food and grass, cotton clothes and charcoal, and most importantly, medicinal materials, ointments for treating typhoid and frostbite. In the past, in winter, soldiers' hands and feet were frozen and they couldn't even lift their weapons, so there was no way to fight in winter. As for medicinal materials, although we have four medicine shops..."

Zhou Chang forced himself to follow the train of thought: "I don't know much about typhoid fever herbs, but I have improved a snake oil ointment for hand protection, which should be very good."

Zhong Yu not only managed Prince Yi's mansion, but also took care of Prince Yi's medicine business. He knew a little about this, but frowned even more deeply: "That snake oil cream seems to have pearl powder, ginseng powder, etc. added to it. It is sold specifically to noble ladies for beauty and skin care. And there are 100,000 soldiers on the battlefield in Yuebei. What a huge demand."

"Whether it exists or not, we will do this." Zhou Chang suddenly got an inspiration.

In the winter of his previous life, Zhou Chang was most impressed by Vaseline and snake oil ointment. Both were affordable, but there was naturally no Vaseline in this ancient society, so the only option left was snake oil ointment.

This is also what she thought of when she was researching new products for Siwei Pharmacy.

"Do this?" Zhong Yuyi frowned.

Zhou Chang didn't know how much he could help the war, but this was definitely a way to make money: "Sir, please inform Shopkeeper Fu to buy all the snake oil on the market from today, as well as related typhoid herbs. Um... and snakes. Refining snake oil will definitely require a lot of snakes. This winter will definitely be extra long."

"What is the prince going to do? Is he going to donate it to the front line in North Vietnam?" Zhong Yu was good at planning, but he was not really cut out for business. When it came to money, the only word he could think of was "donate".

Zhou Chang had the opposite idea. He slapped his palms on the table and said, "I want to monopolize the snake oil business in the market."

"Monopoly?" Zhong Yu had never heard of this word.

Zhou Chang explained: "Ah, monopoly means taking over all the snake oil, including the materials that can produce snake oil. In this way, no matter who needs snake oil, they can only buy it from us."

Zhong Yu pondered for a moment: "Your Majesty, did you say 'que'?"

This time it was Zhou Chang's turn to not understand what it meant, but he didn't care: "In short, we have to make sure that only we can sell snake oil, and others can't sell it either."

Zhong Yusi was still thousands of miles away: "Your Majesty, aren't you planning to donate it to the soldiers on the front line in North Vietnam? They may..."

"Sir, please don't keep thinking about the word 'donation'," Zhou Chang said patiently, "We need to produce a large amount of snake oil ointment. Of course, the first priority is to supply it to the front line in Vietnam to ensure that the soldiers don't have to suffer from frostbite. As for how to supply it, we can discuss it further."

Zhong Yu nodded blankly.

Zhou Chang's wishful thinking went into action: "On the other hand, it snowed in June in the north of Vietnam, and I guess the weather in Jindu won't be hot for long. The ladies in Jindu need our Four Flavors Herbal Medicine Shop's products the most. New products, main products, competitive products, and main products will definitely sell for a good price."

Zhong Yuting only half understood it, mainly because there were too many new terms. His brows were knitted into knots: "Although the prince has a good idea, I'm afraid he doesn't have that much money now."

Zhou Chang was immediately disappointed. He thought of the thick stack of banknotes in the bedroom and asked, "Sir, how much silver do we have in our house?"

Zhong Yudu didn't even need to think about it and could directly give the number: "One thousand eight hundred and thirty taels."

More than one thousand taels of silver?

Zhou Chang was so surprised that his expression was beyond words.

These are not trivial issues.

Zhong Yu was very proud: "Your Majesty, why should you be depressed about money? You can make the best use of people and things, be virtuous, make use of things, promote the well-being of the people, and live in harmony. You are not ashamed of the heavens when you look up, and you are not ashamed of people when you look down. This is the best blessing."

Zhou Chang didn't understand and guessed that it was just silly talk by a poor scholar to comfort himself.

But it was precisely because Mr. Zhong Yu always said so that Prince Yi Fengming had no choice.

When Zhong Yuyi mentioned the topic of money, he inevitably thought of something else: "Speaking of this, Your Majesty, the weather is getting warmer and colder now. Xinghuafang needs to continue to serve hot porridge for a while, and we need to start administering medicine. Some people may have the disease that has been kept for a whole winter and will manifest in the spring."

The medicine shop in Xinghuafang was originally used to provide porridge and medicine to the poor. If the poor had money, they would be given two bowls of porridge, and if the poor had money, they could be seen for free.

Most of the people living in Xicheng are poor people, and Prince Yi’s Mansion is also in Xicheng. How good can it be?

"Of course, of course." Zhou Chang said perfunctorily, his cheeks stiff.

What kind of advanced "debt collection" method is this? She really can't resist it. "When God closes a door for you, he must also lock it."