Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 1006: Chapter 89: Impact of the Trade Conference (Part 2)

The military parade stirred their passions, and in that moment, they felt proud to be citizens of the Great Zhou. However, even more, they were proud to be the subjects of Prince Han.

After watching the military parade, the citizens of Swamp Prefecture felt not only proud but also reassured. Seeing Prince Han’s Personal Guard demonstrate such prowess, they believed those foreigners would no longer dare to bully them or engage in war with them. They no longer needed to worry about dying in battle.

In previous years, Annan was restless and invaded the Southern Border. At that time, Lingnan was also affected. Many citizens and their families died at the hands of the Annanese.

Back when the previous dynasty experienced chaos, Lingnan, being remote, was not much affected. Although life for the people of Lingnan was tough, it was relatively stable. They never expected Annan to attack the Southern Border, shattering their longstanding peace and causing them to lose their homes and families, leaving families torn apart.

Mentioning the war of those years, the people of Lingnan still have lingering fears; they do not wish to endure the suffering of war again. Now, seeing Prince Han’s Personal Guard’s formidable strength with their own eyes and witnessing the fearful expressions on the foreigners attending the trade fair, they feel both elated and incredibly safe. At that moment, they know that as long as Prince Han is around, they will never be bullied by foreigners.

The biggest impact of the trade fair was on the people of Swamp Prefecture, followed by the foreign merchants. During the trade fair, foreign merchants made immense profits.

In fact, for foreign merchants, earning money was secondary; the main goal was to conduct long-term business with the foreigners. Their primary purpose in attending the trade fair was to expand their business into foreign lands and earn money from foreigners. Of course, they also aimed to bring back valuable goods from foreign lands to sell in the Great Zhou.

During these days, foreign merchants signed many business deals with foreign merchants, many of which were long-term contracts, which delighted both parties immensely.

In Swamp Prefecture, foreign merchants discovered not only countless business opportunities but also great convenience. They decided to invest more effort into doing business in Swamp Prefecture after they returned. Before attending the trade fair, they had little hope, but unexpectedly, Prince Han gave them a big surprise.

Foreign merchants collectively felt that the future development potential of Swamp Prefecture was immense. If they did not seize the opportunity to do business in Swamp Prefecture now, it would become difficult for them to secure a share of the market in the future. They realized that they needed to act swiftly during this nascent period to secure their positions. They believed that it wouldn’t take many years, just two years, for their business in Swamp Prefecture to surpass that in other places.

Visionary merchants all agreed that the business potential in Swamp Prefecture was vast, and they intended to shift their business focus there from other regions.

Foreign merchants had similar ideas. They too decided to invest more energy and capital in Swamp Prefecture, seizing the current opportunity.

The military parade’s deterrent effect on foreign merchants did not deter their determination to do business in Swamp Prefecture. As long as they conducted business honestly in Swamp Prefecture, Prince Han’s Personal Guard would not trouble them. Of course, they hoped their emperor would not foolishly wage war against the Great Zhou; otherwise, they would also be implicated.

Not all foreign merchants returned to their countries; some stayed behind in Swamp Prefecture to run shops and conduct business. Before the trade fair ended, many foreign merchants had already rented shops and opened stores.

Zhao Yao had previously built numerous houses along the main roads to serve as shops. When the trade fair began, many shops were vacant. However, within days, all the vacant shops were snagged up, leaving many foreign and foreign merchants empty-handed and anxious. They approached Zhao Yao, who informed them that more houses would be built, and they could reserve them in advance. When the shops were ready, they could rent them directly. Consequently, even before the new shops were built, they were reserved by numerous local and foreign merchants.

Besides shops, foreign and foreign merchants naturally needed to live in Swamp Prefecture. However, the residential areas in Swamp Prefecture have not yet been completed, so foreign and foreign merchants can make advance arrangements or purchase land plots to freely construct their own houses.

Seeing that many were reserving houses and land, Zhao Yao immediately had an idea. In the world Zhao Yao dreamt of, there was real estate specifically for selling houses. He thought of establishing a new department under the Ministry of Industry, specifically to handle the sale of houses and land.

The Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Industry was summoned and, upon hearing Zhao Yao’s plan to establish a new department, fully agreed. Since the end of the trade fair, their Ministry of Industry had become extremely busy. Before the trade fair started, their Ministry of Industry had to busy themselves building many houses. After the trade fair ended, the number of houses to be built increased several-fold.

"Your Highness, there are too many people reserving shops and houses, and we are short-handed." The Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Industry expressed his mixed feelings of joy and despair over the sheer number of people reserving shops and houses. "Your Highness, to be honest, with the current situation, we probably won’t be able to finish building the reserved shops and houses until next year. We are truly short of people, please find a way to get us more hands to help build houses."

"I’ve already told the foreign guests to send us some manpower and craftsmen to help us build houses and pave roads." Besides constructing the shops and houses guests have pre-ordered, there are also schools and factories to build. "In a few days, a batch of manpower should arrive in Swamp Prefecture, after which I’ll assign them to you for proper arrangements."

Hearing that manpower would soon be available, the Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Industry immediately broke into a smile.

"Your Highness, that’s really wonderful."

"You should prioritize building the schools; they are more urgent." After the trade fair concluded, foreign merchants, foreign guests and merchants kindly donated a considerable amount of money for building roads and schools in Swamp Prefecture.

"Your Highness, I have already arranged for the construction of the school. The day after tomorrow is an auspicious day, and we will commence work then." The Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Industry reported respectfully, "According to your plan, the school should be completed in two months."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yao nodded slightly: "Good." Just after he said that, he remembered that Swamp Prefecture currently only had one main road, and he continued, "The second main road should be built quickly; a marketplace cannot have just one main road—there should be at least three."

The Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Industry felt bitter at heart. It seemed that for the next five years—no, perhaps even ten years—their ministry would be busy building houses and roads.

"Your Highness, we can only take things slowly for now." He wished they all had three heads and six arms so they could quickly finish building the houses.

Zhao Yao was also aware of the Ministry of Industry’s predicament and nodded gently, saying, "Then prioritize completing the schools and pre-ordered houses, and we’ll consider the rest later."

Sigh, before the trade fair began, he was busy running around in circles every day. After the trade fair ended, he thought he could take a break, but he ended up busier than before, with even more tasks to handle than prior.

Headache!

Besides managing affairs in Swamp Prefecture, he also had to worry about matters in the capital city.

During the trade fair, many events occurred in the capital.