Mythical Three Kingdoms

Before Fa Zheng could react to what Mi Fang had said, he had to remember that Mi Fang was rather unnoticeable, as most people would think of Mi Zhu when referring to the Mi Family. "Alas, you have no idea about the place we went to last year," Taishi Ci also put his wine goblet on the stand and sighed deeply, the epitome of amazement, "Truly, one doesn't know how vast the world is until one ventures out." "Don't just talk halfway, go on, what exactly did you guys see?" Fa Zheng curiously asked, using his spiritual power to suppress the drunkenness as he spoke, and only then did he realize what Mi Fang meant by a thousandfold increase in family wealth—actual cash. How could that be possible? Gan Ning set down his cup and began to recount the events of the previous year. Last year, Gan Ning's main task was to transport prisoners to Yiizhou. After delivering the prisoners, he took up a mission from Chen Xi to investigate the south. In reality, it was almost winter by then, and the northern seas had started to freeze, so Gan Ning was happy to head south in search of autumn breezes. With the transfer order in hand, Gan Ning and Taishi Ci outfitted all the ships, took ample logistical vessels, and, bearing Chen Xi's uncertain map, set sail with some Feng Shui Masters. It could be said that Gan Ning and Taishi Ci were fortunate. Mi Fang, a typical example of fearing death, upon realizing that the marine chart Gan Ning held was uncertain, decisively prepared an excess of logistical ships. Since Gan Ning's large ships had towing capabilities and were not meant for combat, Mi Fang towed along many small boats. After setting sail, navigating through Yiizhou and Qiongzhou was feasible, but once out at sea, Gan Ning realized how insignificant the Yangtze River was compared to the ocean. Not using Cloud Qi against a storm would mean certain death, and even with it, survival wasn't guaranteed. Under the assault of furious storms and thunderous lightning, Inner Qi Manifestation was of no use. After being ravaged by several major storms, Gan Ning noted that all five thousand of his soldiers had developed Inner Qi—even the miscellaneous soldiers who rowed the boats—and his own strength had also improved considerably in the battles against the severe storms. Of course, Mi Fang, who had grown complacent in his responsibilities over logistics, also experienced a breakthrough to Qi Refining to Gang after being baptized by the tempest several times. After all, who wouldn't fight for their life when they saw the storm snap the mast tethering them? If blown away, unless one mastered Inner Qi Separation, the only other outcome was to drown. It turned out that Chen Xi had a moment of confusion with his map; there were some problems with it. They should have headed south from Yiizhou, but Gan Ning, following the map, proceeded south from Qiong Cliff, which led them on quite a detour. However, fortunately, they found the theoretical Luzon that Chen Xi had mentioned. As for why the map did not match, Gan Ning, Taishi Ci, and the others still believed that what Chen Xi was looking for was precisely this Great Island. The reason was quite simple; after all the Feng Shui Masters surveyed the island, they shared one impression: the island was essentially made of metal, laden with veins of ore everywhere. The rich copper mines, iron mines—even Gan Ning could see them with his own eyes—this island was essentially a massive mining field. Money dazzles the eyes, and with such an ore deposit before Gan Ning and the others, some ship captains even suggested not returning to the Central Plains, proposing to guard this golden mountain for life, and crowning themselves kings here, with Gan Ning as their leader. Regrettably, Gan Ning was only tempted momentarily before quashing the idea. Without the Central Plains, possessing these riches was pointless. Moreover, Chen Xi had his intentions for pinpointing this island, and at the very least, Gan Ning did not believe he could defend the island if he claimed it for himself. Taishi Ci considered filial piety paramount and was not swayed. A man of great filial dedication, with his mother still alive, naturally he had no desire to stay in such a place. As for wealth, Taishi Ci found no meaning in spending money he couldn't possibly exhaust. As for Mi Fang, he was the most composed. Although amazed at how the copper mine could produce a thousand times more wealth than his family's fortune, he was not at all tempted. In this life, he had never suffered from the lack of money. The wealth of the Mi Family was sufficient for Mi Fang; even subsidizing the army out of his own pocket went unsupervised. Therefore, despite the fact that many in the Navy were enticed by money, the strong control exerted by the three men ultimately left no significant impact. Naturally, those captains and crew members who loved money more than their lives, upon Gan Lan's suggestion, were all left on the island, and they were provided with ample weapons and equipment to station there. As for the ships, those were all taken away. Of course, the crew members who stayed behind, along with the Feng Shui Masters, were all pleased with their own choices; everyone was content. When Gan Ning returned, he created new marine charts, and after that, future journeys to that area became much simpler. Passing through the region of Jiaozhou and Nanyue, he engaged in a hugely satisfying trade with the local indigenous tribal chiefs, who warmly welcomed Gan Ning and Mi Fang once again. Trading glassware, porcelain, silk, and tea for a vast quantity of goods such as jewelry, coral, ivory, rhinoceros horn, and spices, the local specialties, they shamelessly loaded their ships with a massive amount of timber. It was only after that Gan Ning and Taishi Ci and the others set off with difficulty. Indeed, porcelain, silk, tea, and glassware were extremely popular in the Nanyue region. Mi Fang, who collected everything, even if it wasn't jewelry or coral, spices were good enough. If there were no spices, chopping a tree with strong limbs would do. After all, Nanyue treasured its wood quite a bit, and Mi Fang declared a tenfold profit on anything he could get his hands on. Upon reaching Qingzhou's port, Mi Fang calculated the actual value of the goods, and the Mi Family converted the merchandise into cash. Those who wished to be paid on the spot got their payment immediately, and those who wanted to send money to their families had it delivered by the Mi Family. This purely beneficial business was something only the Mi Family did throughout Qing and Xu at Mount Tai. Besides these soldiers, there were also merchants who paid their money to the Mi Family for safekeeping, entrusted the Mi Family to manage it, and received a promissory note. Upon reaching their destination, they would retrieve their funds, and the Mi Family charged no fees. To be honest, this was originally a service the Mi Family provided to some well-acquainted merchants, but after Mi Zhu became the chairman of the Mount Tai Chamber of Commerce, it became a benefit for all members. With Mi Zhu's financial backing, no one doubted the Mi Family would swindle them, and naturally, they all were happy to enjoy the benefits. Transporting a cart of money was nerve-wracking, but carrying a note hidden anywhere was much more manageable. Of course, once the Mi Family started showing signs of handling money transactions like this, Chen Xi decisively stepped in to take over, fearing that the situation would quickly lead to the establishment of a Money Exchange, which was not yet the time for such an institution to emerge. Therefore, the operation was already taken over by the Government of Mount Tai, still ostensibly under the name of the Mi Family, but the core had changed. With this change, merchants grew even more confident. The Government of Mount Tai was considered even more reliable than the Mi Family, eliminating further worries. Thus, even more people engaged in this practice, and the same amount of money was intercepted over an equal period. Over time, even if Lub Su was originally clueless, he now understood why Chen Xi decided to remove Mi Zhu from his position. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to support it by voting at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. 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