The strongest devouring system in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 197 The Real Information

The next day at dawn, Chen Er got up early. As usual, after getting up, Chen Er practiced a set of boxing moves in the courtyard and washed up before following a maid arranged by Man Chong to the dining room for a meal.

While eating a breakfast with southern characteristics, Chen Er secretly mocked himself for becoming more and more like a feudal ruler with an air of superiority. However, having already gotten used to this, Chen Er knew very well that it was easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality!

Once he gets used to such a luxurious life, it will be hard for him to go back to the simple life he used to live, unless he goes to the battlefield where there is a slight possibility. But once he sits in his current position, how simple can he be even on the battlefield?

"Zilong, come on, have something to eat. Southern breakfasts are not as simple as ours are usually."

Of course, Chen Er treated his own people equally as always. As soon as Zhao Yun came out, Chen Er quickly invited him to eat something. Zhao Yun and the others were already used to Chen Er's behavior. Zhao Yun did not stand on ceremony at all and casually sat down opposite Chen Er. While eating, he said to Chen Er, "My lord, the breakfast in the south is much more refined than that in the north."

"Hmm." Chen Er nodded and then said to Zhao Yun, "After breakfast, let's go for a walk in Shouchun City. This is the capital established by Yuan Shu. Now that we have the opportunity, we should take a good look at it."

“Yuan Shu is a complete incompetent fool; the capital he governs can hardly be any better,” Zhao Yun said.

“That’s not necessarily true. After all, this is where a country’s capital was built. Yuan Shu must have had his reasons for choosing this place. At least from my brief observations after entering the city yesterday, Shouchun City seems to be quite prosperous,” Chen Er said to Zhao Yun.

In fact, Chen Er was right. Even if Yuan Shu was an incompetent fool, there must have been a reason why he chose Shouchun as his capital. Otherwise, with so many cities in Yangzhou and Yuzhou, why didn't Yuan Shu and his civil and military officials choose other cities but instead chose Shouchun? It must be because Shouchun had good development potential.

Choosing Shouchun as the capital was actually a very good choice. It was located by the river, making water transport convenient. Moreover, Shouchun was located on the south bank, which was very advantageous for defending against attacks from the north. Yuan Shu's choice of such a place was not bad. However, Yuan Shu probably never imagined that after being tricked, he would be conscripted into a personal expedition and become a lifeless victim on the battlefield.

"By the way, I forgot to ask Man Chong how that guy named Jin Shang is doing yesterday. He made a significant contribution to our successful capture of Yangzhou and Yuzhou. We should reward such a person adequately and not appear stingy."

Chen Er suddenly remembered someone Gao Shun mentioned in the battle report, a guy who used to work for Yuan Shu, but now this guy was a loyal supporter of the district he was governing.

How could he not support him? If Jin Shang knew what Chen Er was thinking at this moment, he would definitely cry out in his heart that he was wronged. To be honest, if he had no other choice, he would not have made such a choice. Being a strategist under Yuan Shu would be much more comfortable than working in Chen Er's own territory. Moreover, the development of his family would not be restricted as it is now, and he would not be a surrendered official who would be unwelcome.

"This subordinate doesn't know either. I suppose Lord Manchong must have made some good arrangements for that guy." How could Zhao Yun know about this? If Chen Er hadn't mentioned it, he wouldn't have known anything about it. He could only casually reply that Manchong had made arrangements.

For Chen Er, this was no big deal. After hearing Zhao Yun's words, he immediately put the matter out of his mind. After quickly eating breakfast, he led Zhao Yun and Wang Hui out of Man Chong's government office and headed towards the streets of Shouchun.

"Zilong, look, the streets of Shouchun are quite prosperous, with many shops and plenty of customers. Everything seems to be going well," Chen Er said to Zhao Yun as they walked down a street.

Just like in Pengcheng, Chen Er disguised himself as a merchant from the north, a cloth merchant. Southern silk was a very sought-after commodity, and no one would doubt that Chen Er was from the north coming to the south to buy silk and cloth. This greatly facilitated Chen Er in obtaining the most authentic information.

"Shopkeeper, how much is your silk?" Chen Er asked the workshop owner as he walked into a textile factory. Due to the influx of Western ideas and technologies, there are now more and more handicraft workshops in all directions. Chen Er could see dozens of workers working in any textile factory, spinning silk and other fabrics.

"This gentleman doesn't sound like he's from Yangzhou." Hearing Chen Er's call, a lean man stepped forward. If it weren't for the occasional glint of shrewdness in the man's eyes, Chen Er would have thought this guy was the easiest to bully.

"We came from Yuyang. We heard that Yangzhou was also under the rule of the King of Wei, so we hurried south to buy high-quality silk in Yangzhou to resell and make a profit," Chen Er said, revealing the reason he had prepared beforehand.

The shopkeeper here had no doubts. Nowadays, there are many merchants from the north and south like Chen Er, so there's no need to doubt anything. The shopkeeper said, "Then you've come to the right place, sir. We can't say for sure where the best silk in Yangzhou is, but if you ask about the best silk shop in Shouchun City, it must be Hengyuanfang's silk."

The man in front of him spoke with great confidence, and upon hearing this, Chen Er subconsciously began to believe the seemingly honest shopkeeper. However, Chen Er remembered his purpose and asked the shopkeeper, "And the price?"

"A bolt of top-grade silk costs twenty-five taels of silver, medium-grade fifteen taels, and low-grade eight taels," said the owner of Hengyuanfang. Although Chen Er was disguised as a silk merchant, he had no real knowledge of the silk market. However, this did not stump him. Chen Er nodded and said to the owner, "This price is not too expensive. In Yuyang, a bolt of top-grade silk can be bought for fifty taels of silver."

Upon hearing Chen Er's words, Hu Ming, the owner of Hengyuanfang, thought that the deal was about to be made. Little did he know that he had lied and quoted a price that was one-third higher than the actual selling price.

Hu Ming knew that Chen Er and his group were not very familiar with the silk market in Shouchun. He was determined to take advantage of this opportunity to rip off these merchants from the north. Judging from their expressions, Hu Ming knew that Chen Er and his group were not very familiar with the silk market in Shouchun. He was determined to make a killing from them.