Chapter 70 Without monopoly, there is no way to accumulate wealth!In the Dali Palace. Emperor Baoding drafted an imperial edict and conferred titles on three people in succession. They are Wang Yuyan, Azhu and Abie. "Duan Yuyan, daughter of the Prince of Zhennan, is gentle, upright, respectful and kind, and is given the title of Princess Jianchuan." "Appoint the daughter of the Prince of Zhennan, Duan Zhu, as Princess Yunlong, and the daughter of the Prince of Zhennan, Duan Bi, as Princess Yongping." Emperor Baoding was very sincere and directly named Wang Yuyan as Princess Jianchuan. Jianchuan is the place where the Duan family of Dali started out, so this title is undoubtedly honorable. Azhu and Abie were also promoted to princesses. Conferring the title of princess was an exception, and conferring the title of county lady was more appropriate for the status. When Duan Zhengchun ascended the throne in the future, he would naturally be able to confer the title of princess on the two women. As for Mu Wanqing's daughters, Emperor Baoding could not see any relationship between them and Murong Fu, so he did not confer titles on them, and they were not even recorded in the family tree.
The three women were able to receive titles entirely because of Murong Fu's face. You know, in the original story, Wang Yuyan didn't even get a princess, let alone a county lady. After breaking up with Duan Yu, she came to Dali with her crazy cousin Murong Fu to avoid disaster, and Duan Yu only secretly gave her five thousand taels of silver. Having an illegitimate daughter was a scandal of the Duan family in Dali, how could it be easily acknowledged? The reason why he is recognized now is that Murong Fu has made great contributions to the Duan family of Dali, especially his contribution in rescuing the emperor and preserving Duan Zhengming's throne. Moreover, Murong Fu was very powerful, and Emperor Baoding was determined to win him over, which was why he was enthroned. The three girls bowed and thanked the emperor according to the custom. A-Bi didn't want to be a princess, but when she heard that she could get a considerable dowry and help the young master, she endured the discomfort and accepted the empty title of princess. Emperor Baoding did not regard himself as an emperor, but only as an elder, and asked in a friendly manner: "Master Murong, when will you and Yuyan get married?" Murong Fu said, "It will be soon. When the search for relatives is over, we will return to Mantuo Villa and get married." Emperor Baoding asked: "Has the search for relatives not yet ended?" "No." Murong Fu smiled and said, "Uncle-in-law, do you know who Yuyan's grandmother is?" "who?" "It is the mother of the current Xixia emperor, Xixia Concubine Li Qiushui." Emperor Baoding was shocked. Dali was not a small country. Its territory included Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and parts of later Myanmar and Vietnam, with a population of over three million. However, Western Xia was still a country that could not be underestimated. After all, Western Xia was founded by stepping on the face of the Song Dynasty. The population of Western Xia was only over two million, but every citizen was a soldier, with 500,000 soldiers, and they were in constant confrontation with the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty had no good way to deal with Western Xia. The previous emperor Shenzong launched five attacks on Xia with great momentum. Even Tubo went to help the Song Dynasty, but they still returned in failure. As a regional military power, Western Xia also had the support of the Liao Kingdom. Wang Yuyan was actually the granddaughter of the Western Xia queen mother. This relationship was very mysterious. She was not only a princess of the Dali Duan family, but also the granddaughter of the Western Xia concubine and the niece of the Western Xia emperor. If there is no one to act as a matchmaker and demonstrate strength, this relationship is actually meaningless.
But with Murong Fu's help, this relationship became very useful. "I didn't know about this." Emperor Baoding said, "I am a friendly person in Dali and Xixia. When Mr. Murong is looking for his relatives, please send my regards to the Xixia Concubine and the Emperor." "Of course, we are all relatives!" Murong Fu said. "By the way, Mr. Murong, to celebrate your marriage to Yuyan, I have prepared some dowries for Yuyan and the others." Emperor Baoding did not say it out loud, but he could see that Azhu and Abi also had an unusual relationship with Murong Fu. I think Murong Fu is at least a triple-virtuous son-in-law of the Duan family of Dali. He had not yet anticipated that Murong Fu might be the only designated son-in-law of the Dali Duan family. When Murong Fu becomes emperor in the future, half of the concubines in his harem will probably be daughters of the Duan family. There is no other way, products produced by Zhengchun must be of high quality. At this time, a eunuch immediately announced: "Give Princess Jianchuan, Princess Yunlong, and Princess Yongping three thousand taels of gold, ten thousand taels of silver, three hundred thousand strings of cash, ten thousand bolts of silk, fifty thousand stones of tea, and one thousand fine horses." The Dian horses of Dali Kingdom were relatively short, but Dali Kingdom was not without good horses. The Western Frontier horses exported by Dali to the Song Dynasty were good horses. This time, Emperor Baoding really spent a lot of money. In addition to giving these things, he also gave a large amount of jewels. This includes a silver-gilt and pearl-inlaid Garuda made by skilled craftsmen from Dali State. It is so magnificent that it can be called a national treasure. This time even Murong Fu hurried to thank him, after all, Emperor Baoding gave him too much, so he had to be polite. Wang Yuyan's family is already very wealthy, and Li Qingluo is likely to be even richer than the Duan family of Dali. Now that the Duan family of Dali has given a large dowry, Li Qiushui might also need Wang Yuyan to add some to her dowry. After all, when Li Qiushui was dying, she still thought of her daughter Li Qingluo in Suzhou, so she must have had feelings for Wang Yuyan as well. Murong Fu could get a lot of dowry just by taking Wang Yuyan out. Whoever gets Wang Yuyan can get the world! Murong Fu is so happy living off his wife that he doesn't even want to return to Gusu. "This time, Tianlong Temple encountered a powerful enemy, thanks to the help of Young Master Murong. Young Master Murong has done a great favor to our Dali Duan family, but he has a request. If I can satisfy it, I will definitely not refuse." Emperor Baoding was very generous. Giving benefits to Murong Fu for the marriage alliance was one thing, but rewarding Murong Fu for his help was another. Murong Fu was very moved and said bluntly: "Father-in-law, I only have two small requests. One is that I want Wuliang Mountain. Can you give it to me?" Emperor Baoding was surprised and said: "Wuliang Mountain? I heard that there is a Wuliang Sword Sect on that mountain. This is probably..." Murong Fu said: "The martial arts sects that occupy the mountains are kings, but they don't even have land deeds, so they are not counted. The main thing is that Wuliang Mountain is the place where my elders live in seclusion, and it is inconvenient to be disturbed by outsiders." Wuliang Mountain is not a famous mountain or a big river, and there are no rich resources. Naturally, Emperor Baoding did not refuse and agreed readily. He did not even take the Wuliang Sword Sect seriously, let alone Murong Fu, who was the most skilled martial artist in the world. I think Murong Fu asked the Wuliang Sword Sect to move without even paying the demolition compensation. Then, Murong Fu expressed his real desire and said, "I also want to do tea-horse business, especially business with the Song Dynasty." Emperor Baoding smiled and said, "This is a simple matter. I will introduce you to some local businessmen." Murong Fu said: "No, I want to monopolize the tea-horse trade between Dali and the Song Dynasty."
Emperor Baoding looked at Murong Fu in shock. Murong Fu's appetite is really too big. Monopolizing the trade between countries is something Murong Fu dared not even think of. Murong Fu looked at Emperor Baoding, waiting for his reply. He came from the capital era of later generations, so he naturally knew that the most profitable business in the world was the monopoly business. If it was just for ordinary business purposes, Murong Fu would definitely not have put so much effort into the Duan family of Dali. However, if they wanted to monopolize Dali's trade with the Song Dynasty and obtain a lucrative source of income, they would need the approval of Emperor Baoding. Murong Fu had already ordered Deng Baichuan to investigate the trade on the Tea-Horse Trade Route. As long as he had the righteous reputation of Emperor Baoding and used the Shennong Gang as a starting point to annex local merchants one by one, he could form a large chamber of commerce and monopolize trade with the Song Dynasty. That would be a huge source of wealth. If it is a monopoly, the scale will be large. If you are big, you can expand. After establishing a good relationship with Western Xia and conquering Jiumozhi, we can also use Western Xia and Tubo to smuggle war horses and arms through Dali, using the guise of tea-horse trade as a transit point. If you want to rebel, you must train troops! To train soldiers, you need equipment and money! It is imperative for Murong Fu to monopolize the tea-horse trade! "This is not easy to deal with!" Emperor Baoding frowned. "Don't worry, father-in-law. I will give the Dali Duan family the same share, and I will give more." Murong Fu said with a smile, "If we can unify the tea-horse trade and control both the public and private sectors, then the scale can be expanded and we can make more money. I am the son-in-law of the Dali Duan family. If I control the tea-horse trade, it will not be a bad thing for the Dali Duan family." Murong Fu's words "I am the son-in-law of the Duan family of Dali" touched Emperor Baoding. The Duan family of Dali is too weak and urgently needs any external assistance. If Murong Fu could really unify the tea-horse trade, it would be equivalent to giving the Duan family in Dali an extra arm between Dali and the Song Dynasty, and they could attack Zhangye at any time. "Mr. Murong, you have made great contributions to my Duan family. Although this is not easy, I can promise you. Merchants affiliated with the Duan family will also cooperate with you." Emperor Baoding smiled bitterly, "But Dali is different from the Song Dynasty. Although I am the emperor and can issue imperial decrees, I cannot make my words final. It is useless if I stamp my seal alone. You have to let the Marquis of Shanchan stamp his seal." Others thought that the emperor was arbitrary and arbitrary, but Emperor Baoding knew that he was like a beggar on his knees and had to look at Gao Shengtai's face. That’s how it is. Duan Yanqing wants to be the emperor, but there is no way for him to do so! In the Dali Kingdom, such a major event cannot be carried out without the approval of the Gao family. The reason why Emperor Baoding emphasized this point was to deliberately lead Murong Fu and Gao Shengtai to become enemies. It would not be a bad thing if we could use Murong Fu, this top master, to suppress Gao Shengtai's arrogance. Ever since seeing Murong Fu's change of heart, Gao Shengtai has become much more obedient in the past two days! "My uncle-in-law, just write the imperial edict. I believe that the Marquis of Shanchan is a man who can distinguish right from wrong." Murong Fu smiled and said, "I will visit the Marquis of Shanchan later. I believe he will not disappoint me." Emperor Baoding reminded: "The Marquis of Shanchan is in a high position and has great power. The Gao family is spread throughout the court and the army. You must not offend the Marquis of Shanchan." Murong Fu said: "Don't worry, father-in-law. I have always convinced people with my virtue." Emperor Baoding then wrote an imperial edict granting Murong Fu the monopoly of the tea-horse trade with Song and stamped it with his own imperial seal. After sending Murong Fu away, Emperor Baoding thought more and more that Murong Fu was not a simple person, and it seemed that he was not just doing this for the sake of making money. However, he could not figure out what Murong Fu was trying to do no matter how hard he tried.
"Let's take it one step at a time!" Emperor Baoding thought, "Murong Fu is someone who can be used. When Emperor Shangde was murdered, Prince Yanqing fell into this state. It was because the Duan family was too weak. If I can make decisions during my lifetime, I will be a great contributor to the Duan family's ancestral temple!" After Murong Fu returned, he asked Ah Zhu to write a letter to Deng Baichuan through the Shennong Gang's intelligence network to explain the situation. Then, without further ado, Murong Fu prepared a generous gift and went to the Shanchan Marquis's Mansion to pay a visit to Gao Shengtai. As soon as he arrived at the gate of the mansion, Murong Fu saw Duan Yu walking out with a girl in red, talking and laughing. Although the girl in red was not stunningly beautiful, she was quite pretty, and had the competence and wildness of a Bai girl. The look she gave Duan Yu was full of admiration. "Mr. Murong, why are you here?" Duan Yu asked with a complicated expression after seeing Murong Fu. "Master Duan, no, I should call you brother-in-law!" Murong Fu said with a smile, "Now that Yuyan has been named Princess Jianchuan and has an engagement with me, you will be my brother-in-law from now on!" Duan Yu shuddered and stammered without saying a word. Murong Fu looked at the girl in red and asked, "Who is this girl?" Duan Yu didn't answer, the girl introduced herself: "My name is Gao Mei, are you Murong Fu who defeated the Tubo national teacher in Tianlong Temple? People in Jianghu call you Murong in the South and Qiao Feng in the North? You are indeed very charming!" Murong Fu said with a smile: "Are you the daughter of Marquis Shanchan? I think you have a good face, and you look like a good match for my brother-in-law Duan Yu!" "Ah, is that true?" Gao Mei was overjoyed and said to Duan Yu, "Brother Yu, Master Murong said that we look like a couple!" Duan Yu hesitated and could only say yes. Murong Fu said: "I am here to visit the Marquis of Shanchan, please inform me." Gao Mei said: "Okay, Master Murong, I'll inform you, my father is at home." (End of this chapter)