The ministers responded, "Your Majesty! The western border of the Great Gan Kingdom has been steadily increasing its troops, and the Western Regions are protected by deserts and other natural barriers. With our Gui Shuang Dynasty alone, it may be difficult to launch an attack!"
The King of Gui Shuang sighed, "That eastern land is said to be a treasure trove of gold. Everyone wants to conquer it. I also wish to surpass my ancestors..."
"Your Majesty! An envoy from the eastern overseas country, Izumo, Ito Masamune, seeks an audience and bears tokens from the Peacock King and the Barbarian Chieftain!" an urgent report came from outside.
The King of Gui Shuang narrowed his eyes, lost in thought.
Three days later, Ito Masamune left the imperial palace of the Gui Shuang Dynasty, unable to contain his laughter as he headed towards the Barbarian Regions!
Duanmu family's candy workshop was in steady decline under the impact of Anguo Sugar Workshop's refined white sugar.
Now, only a small number of ardent fans of maltose still came to buy it.
Faced with cheaper, sweeter, and more easily preserved white sugar, the common people knew what to choose with their eyes closed!
Anguo Sugar Workshop claimed that white sugar could be stored for a year if preserved properly.
The common people, seeing that white sugar was not as sticky as maltose, believed it implicitly.
Liang Xiao's elder brother, Liang Feng, served as a General of Loyalty and Integrity, and as a miscellaneous general, he was still serving in the Imperial Guard.
However, Liang Feng, relying on the dividends from Liang Xiao's winery, accepted Liang Xiao's proposal to open various inns and taverns throughout the capital.
Yang Xuejing, along with some trusted subordinates from the Liang and Yang families, was responsible for managing these establishments for him.
Liang Xiao generously gave Liang Feng a stack of recipes. It was a perfect opportunity to promote white sugar in the capital, along with these sweet dishes and preserved fruits, to give customers a taste of something new.
The recipes were also sent to Xichuan, to his cousin Liang Yun, who managed businesses there.
As the Marquis of Anguo, the industries he established were primarily for the benefit of the nation and its people, for the sake of his Shuang'er. Business involving food, which anyone could do and profit from, was sufficient to entrust to relatives and friends.
After all, only three brothers remained in the Liang family, and they needed to expand their lineage.
Today, even the He family began to panic.
The He family held a significant portion of the catering industry in the northern regions...
"Are these restaurants under Liang Feng's name? Could it be that Liang Xiao is pulling the strings from behind the scenes again!"
He Wanli, the Minister of Personnel, paced back and forth with the elders of the He family, looking as if he had aged ten years overnight.
Just today, more than a dozen hotels and inns in the capital had suddenly opened for business, announcing Liang Feng as the owner!
But now, they had chosen to deal with Liang Xiao with hidden daggers, and absolutely dared not trouble the legally operating Liang Feng, lest the matter be brought before the Emperor again, which would be unsightly.
The simultaneous opening of more than a dozen establishments on the same day indicated that the other party was confident and had been planning for a long time!
After all, he was Liang Xiao's elder brother, Liang Feng. Customers might patronize them out of respect for Liang Xiao!
If the catering business was snatched away by the other party, the He family would suffer considerable losses.
What if their business flourished and they expanded their establishments to other parts of the north?
"No, we must make the Ouyang family urge Liang Xiao to increase book printing!" He Wanli couldn't sit still and jumped into a carriage to find Ouyang Ji.
The shopkeeper of the Ouyang family's bookstore came to Anguo Bookshop again to urge delivery, with a sympathetic look.
"The contract is clearly written on paper. How much you need to deliver each month. If any bookstore fails to deliver, they will cease their bookstore business in this region. Even the Marquis of Anguo cannot break the contract, right?"
The shopkeeper of Anguo Bookshop waved his hand impatiently, and called for a shop assistant to bring the newly printed books.
"Don't worry, starting today, our Anguo Bookshop will continue printing. If you have the guts, accept them all. Don't admit defeat!"
The Ouyang family's shopkeeper was startled, but still quickly counted the books, paid the silver, and took them back.
Liang Xiao's bookstores in various regions had basically completed the acquisition of paper mills, allowing for the self-production and self-sale of printing paper, finally eliminating the worry of being throttled in terms of materials.
Liang Xiao was fighting on multiple fronts, and his opponents were all in a frenzy.
In his office, Liang Xiao listened to the report and said with a smile, "There's still the Du Gu family, right? No rush. There's plenty of time. The Du Gu family is the big spender, donating a few million is just a drop in the bucket."
With Zhuo Wulüe, the Assistant Minister of War, returning to the capital to supervise the Minister of War, Du Gu Qun, Du Gu Qun dared not act arbitrarily in military matters and dared not inquire about the Ministry of Armaments, which was managed by Zhuo Wulüe and guarded by the Shadow Guards.
"How many people are in this Shadow Guard force!" Du Gu Qun sat at home, stamping his feet in anger.
Only the Emperor of the Great Gan Kingdom and the two commanders of the Shadow Guards knew the true number of Shadow Guards.
Every year, the royal family spent at least five million taels of silver on the Shadow Guards, but because this was an ironclad rule set by the late emperor, as long as they didn't take too much, the officials of the Ministry of Revenue dared not inquire about the whereabouts of this money, lest they be taken away by the Shadow Guard commander with a single stroke.
However, the Ministry of Revenue, monopolized by the Ouyang family, also had countermeasures. In conjunction with other families, they used various pretexts to consume national funds and grain, leaving the Emperor with no reason to object. If the national treasury ran out of money, disbanding the Shadow Guards would be only a matter of time.
For example, disaster relief, foreign grain purchases, improving civil official salaries, manufacturing farming tools, recruiting artisans...
The limit the Emperor could do was to send people to monitor, ensuring that these funds were properly allocated and not embezzled.
Even Xiao Qing did not object to these expenses, as they were indeed beneficial to the country. It was just that Ouyang Ji did not know that she now had a secret stash, and the revenue from salt administration had also greatly increased.
The contract tax, gradually promoted nationwide, also increased the national treasury revenue by over a million taels, due to the sheer number of private contracts in the Great Gan Kingdom.
Furthermore, there were the millions of taels donated by the Gongyang and Du Gu families, the treasures worth over a million taels from the foreign merchant ships gifted by He Liuzhu, the millions from confiscating Du Gu Ling's property, and the over two million taels donated by the aristocratic families and ministers, who were cajoled by Liang Xiao to donate as well.
On September 15th, at the West Palace Villa, Xiao Qing reluctantly leaned into Liang Xiao's embrace.
Her Brother Xiao was going to Yanzhou.
"See if you can have a fat little boy!" Liang Xiao pinched Xiao Qing's cheek.
Xiao Qing nodded, blushing.
Because he was going to Yanzhou, Liang Xiao had been spending time with her these past few days, and she was the most likely to conceive. She had already prepared several names for their child...
The family business in the capital was stable, and with Liang Qing and his advisors overseeing things, Luo Qingxue would also accompany Liang Xiao to Yanzhou this time to familiarize herself with Liang Xiao's industries there.
Zhen Mi and her sisters would also go to Yanzhou.
Upon learning that Liang Xiao was leaving, thousands of citizens from the capital gathered at the northern suburbs to see him off.
Zuo Jing, hiding among the crowd with the Cloud Sky Guard, watched Liang Xiao standing on the carriage waving goodbye to everyone, her gaze complex.
"Is the Marquis of Anguo going to the northern border to command the army to defeat the barbarians!" the common people asked one after another.
Liang Xiao smiled and nodded, "The soldiers and I will do our best. Of course, the barbarians may also retreat without a fight!"
Joyful smiles bloomed on the faces of the common people.
"Marquis of Anguo, can we not fight? Like before, sending money is not good, but can we send a beautiful woman and have a marriage alliance?" a scholar asked from the crowd.
The common people looked at Liang Xiao with confusion.
As ordinary folk, they did not understand politics and military affairs; they just wanted to live well.
Liang Xiao said sternly, "The barbarians have always been ambitious and insatiable! The Great Gan Kingdom must not continue to harbor a potential threat. One day, we will make them understand what profound pain is, and even drive them out of the desert! One day in the future, the soldiers of Great Gan will reclaim Mount Helan, drink horses in the vast sea, and from then on, there will be no king in the southern desert!"
The surrounding crowd nodded repeatedly.
Liang Xiao then continued to shout, "Besides! Should the men of Great Gan rely on women to achieve peace? Do you not feel ashamed? Why should innocent women be sacrificed? Have their feelings been considered? I, Liang Xiao, despise the act of sacrificing women the most, any act! I hope that in the future, none of you will mention this a second time!"
The common people bowed to Liang Xiao in gratitude, especially the women among them, who wept tears of joy.
Zuo Jing, in the crowd, stared blankly at the impassioned Liang Xiao, feeling as if something within her was erupting, making her chest unbearably tight, her vision blurring. Finally, tears streamed down her face like a broken dam, and she leaned into the arms of a female Cloud Sky Guard, weeping uncontrollably.