Water Margin people

Chapter 1695 Business War (Part )

"We are all friends. Don't worry, I will deliver it to you in a few days!"

The bearded foreign merchants patted their chests and made the promise, but Cao Zheng saw their tearful eyes.

"These guys definitely have bad intentions."

Cao Zheng thought to himself that although these foreign merchants sold a large amount of goods this time, they also suffered heavy losses. The goods would not be turned into money in a short time, so they would definitely make up for it from other places, and now they were targeting this group of merchants from the Central Plains.

Cao Zheng didn't care about these. He was only a general and was responsible for military affairs. As for the struggles between merchants, he didn't want to get involved.

In the following period of time, the Mesopotamian region became lively, especially Baghdad. The high-quality goods of Qi State attracted many wealthy people, and the market was very hot.

However, foreign merchants did not only sell in the city. In the eyes of the merchants, the purchasing power of the city was limited. The former nobles and wealthy people had long since died or fled in the war, and only a few people were left, and they could not consume many goods.

Merchants from other ethnic groups formed caravans and headed to the mountains in the north.

"Follow!"

The Qi scouts hiding in the dark looked at the foreign merchant caravans with a smile. Trade is not just trade. Qi is on an expedition thousands of miles away. Even with the help of the navy to transport supplies, there is no way to send too many troops overseas.

This means that as long as the foreign tribes hide far enough, the Qi garrison will be out of reach. Now those foreign tribes hide in the mountains and refuse to come out. The mountains stretch for thousands of miles, and the army doesn't know where to find them.

But now it’s different. These foreign merchants are actually leading the way, and they are definitely going to tribes with a certain population and strength.

"Governor Lin's idea is still the best. Let these people lead the way!"

Several scouts laughed and said that this was like tying a rope around a mouse to make it reveal the location of its nest.

"Don't talk, just follow me separately."

The team leader immediately whispered to everyone.

……

The foreign merchants were also not idle. They moved out all their goods, hoping to sell them to the merchants from Qi and make another profit.

"Brother, your price is too high, I don't want it!"

"My friend, these are all very good things. Take a look. They are not expensive."

"It's still too expensive! I don't want it!"

"How can that be possible? You have already decided!"

The two sides started arguing, and the price of the foreign merchants' goods increased threefold, which caused dissatisfaction among the Qi merchants, and they directly refused to purchase.

Of course the foreign merchants were unwilling to do so. How could they let go of such a big client? They would stay even if forced to.

"We don't want to buy it, do you still dare to force us to sell it?"

The merchants of Qi looked at those foreign merchants coldly. They were no longer alone overseas to be slaughtered. There was Qi's army here, and it was Qi's territory. They were the masters, and these foreigners were inferior to them.

"you……"

When the foreign tribes saw that the merchants from Qi were so fearless, they also remembered that the two river basins were no longer theirs.

"Go to the Chamber of Commerce for justice!"

The foreign merchants were still unwilling to give up, they still wanted to give it a try, after all, this was about a huge sum of money, and if they gave in this time, they would always be in a passive position in future trades, and the money they earned would become less and less, which could cost them their lives.

The crowd came to the Lianghe Chamber of Commerce in the city. Cao Zheng was sitting inside drinking tea. There was nothing going on in the Chamber of Commerce. It was just a place for merchants from the Central Plains to come and deliver goods. "What are you arguing about!"

Cao Zheng listened to the noise outside and yelled, and the soldiers immediately drove all the merchants in.

"General Cao, you have to make the decision for us. These bearded foreigners don't follow the rules and force us to buy and sell!"

As soon as the merchants from Qi State saw Cao Zheng, they immediately started to complain. He was one of their own. At this moment, they felt that giving up 70% of their profits was not a bad idea. Not only would someone protect their shipping, but there would also be someone to back them up if anything went wrong.

"Under my command, who dares to break the rules and force buying and selling?"

Cao Zheng slammed the table and shouted angrily. He had known this would happen a few days ago and had already thought of a countermeasure.

"General, that's not the case. You were there that day, too. They were the ones who wanted the goods. We brought them but they didn't want them. So what should we do with the goods we purchased?"

Those foreign merchants were also unwilling to give up. They were gambling that the Qi army was unwilling to offend them. Without them, Qi's goods would be difficult to sell quickly.

"That seems to be the case, but I remember they only said which goods they wanted, but not how much. Since they have all been purchased, you can just buy a symbolic amount."

Cao Zheng looked at the merchants and spoke.

It seems that no one can do anything about this, and it is just about upholding justice, but in the eyes of foreign merchants, it becomes biased, and to the extreme.

"General Cao, your judgment is unfair!"

The foreign merchants started to clamor. How could they make money if they only bought a symbolic amount?
"This is the Chamber of Commerce. I'm talking about the contract! Do you have a contract?"

Cao Zheng looked at those foreign merchants coldly and took out the contract signed by both parties to purchase goods from Qi.

The foreign merchants immediately lost their temper. Merchants knew best what a contract was. What was written in black and white was an agreement and was binding. However, they had never signed a contract with merchants from Qi, so they were not in the right.

It’s not that the foreign merchants are unwilling to sign the contract, but once they sign the contract they can’t raise the price arbitrarily. The merchants from Qi will run away as soon as they see the price, so how can they sign the contract?

A group of foreign merchants had sad faces. They had not gained anything more than they gained this time. There was no market for these local goods, and they could not go to Qi State. If they were left there for too long, the spices would surely go bad.

"Don't think that this general doesn't know what you're up to. This general doesn't know the price of those things. I've shown mercy by not punishing you for raising the price and disrupting the market. Believe it or not, I'll chop you all off!"

Cao Zheng slammed the table and yelled at the foreign merchants.

"We know our guilt!"

Those foreign merchants no longer had any hope of luck and they all knelt down and begged for mercy.

"Things either rot in your hands, or you buy them at a fair price and sell them at a fair price! Don't feel like you're being cheated. The reason you buy things at a high price is because it's not easy to transport them here. You don't have to transport these goods away for sale. You can make money just by reselling them. Aren't you satisfied?"

After the intimidation, Cao Zheng began to bribe them. It was not that these foreign merchants did not have money to make, but they felt that the profits were too little and not as huge as those of the Qi merchants, so they began to compare with them.

"We are willing to sell at a fair price!"

Those foreign merchants no longer dared to have any other thoughts and kowtowed one by one.

"what about you?"

Cao Zheng looked at the merchants from Qi State.

"General Cao is a wise judge. Since the price is right, we will accept all of them. We will definitely give General Cao face!"

The merchants from Qi were all smiling happily. They were naturally willing to take advantage of such a good thing. They made a lot of money this time.