Supreme Emperor of Mist

Chapter 232: Attempt to Monopoly

"Do you have any suggestion on what we should do right now?" Qin Lan asked. From the tone he was implying, this was not something that can be done in a matter of a day or two.

Furthermore, he can't stay here for long. Three days was the most he could spare here before passing the remaining two villages to reach the City of Ye.

"This subordinate has nothing much to say except preparing ourselves for what comes next. Based on Da Kui's reaction and the elder that openly confronted us, I'm sure that the Hall Master will not mildly take this."

"Unfortunately, we have no idea about this Hall Master. I just hope that they won't try to threaten the county magistrate's power." said the officer as he shrugged his shoulder. It was evident that he's lack of confidence in his reply.

Such a thing was as clear as day.

No matter how strong a dragon is, it would have to control itself while confronting the local snake.

"Milord, a report from the town's entrance came. Looks like the convoy carrying the Hall of Treasure's management staff has returned from their visit to the Country of Shu." one soldier came into Qin Lan's room to report.

"Good. Make sure everyone is paying attention to the premises and prepare for the unexpected. Except for the squad guarding the town's entrance, get everyone back to the magistrate building." the officer ordered.

"Yes, Sir!" the soldier nodded and left Qin Lan's room.

"Milord, please excuse this subordinate." the officer cupped his fists together and asked for Qin Lan's understanding as he left to get ready.

About an hour later, the expected visit finally came. Since the Hall of Treasures was located just across the street from the Magistrate Building, all it takes were less than twenty steps to arrive at the entrance.

"This is Hall Master Da Yuan, requesting for a meeting with the Chi-Lan Marquis. Can fellow soldiers please relay this request to your commanding officer, please?" the Hall Master asked while accompanied by five middle-attainment Bone experts.

"Please wait. This servant of the Marquis will..." the soldier replied him with a respectful gesture. But before he finished with his words, it seems the officer has noticed their arrival and came to receive them.

"Hall Master Da Yuan?" he asked. The officer has changed into a set of clothing that was slightly different from the soldier's unitedly equipment.

"Yes." the Hall Master maintained his demeanor as he replied to the officer's question.

"Please follow me. Milord has been expecting you." the officer moves aside for the Hall Master to come.

They soon arrived at the hall where secretary Qian usually attends to his guest. It was just a humble meeting hall, and because they're currently not on a friendly term, all Qin Lan prepare was regular tea leaves instead of wine.

"Greeting to the Chi-Lan Marquis. This lowly one is called Da Yuan. I am the current Hall Master of the Hall of Treasures in this Heishi Town." he introduced himself again after making his way into the middle of the room.

"Hall of Treasure's fifth-floor elder, Tong Jian, greets the Marquis." 

"Fourth-floor elder, Tian Yong, greets the Marquis."

"Third-floor elder, Da Xun, greets the Marquis."

"Second-floor elder, Tian Peng, greets the Marquis."

"First-floor elder, Lu Song, greets the Marquis."

The other elders all introduced themselves. Based on their surname, it seems that the Hall Master and the Third-Floor Elder had some blood relationship between them. The elder named Da Xun was also the one Da Kui addressed him as "fifth uncle."

From the look of it, his right inside this Hall of Treasures was not low, but not too high either.

"Greetings to fellow experts here. I'm Qin Lan, the subject of the current King of Wu, who was bestowed with the title of Chi-Lan Marquis. Please, have a seat before we start speaking, shall we?" Qin Lan invited them to take a seat.

"Thank you, Marquis." the six of them cupped their fists and moved to their respective seat.

As for the officer and secretary Qian, both of them were standing by Qin Lan's left and right.

Food and drinks were soon delivered to each of their tables as Qin Lan entertained the Hall Master with a sword dance from one of his best elites. From what he was told by the secretary, this was a custom practice by the people of Shu.

"Good sword skill." the Hall Master praised the soldier that was performing in the hall. As someone experienced with these kinds of customary gesture, it was casual for him to know what kind of words should be used at what time.

"This subordinate of the Marquis appreciates the guest's praise. Milord, please excuse your subordinate as he goes to repair his appearance." the soldier excused himself after the performance.

"Hall Master Da Yuan. Looks like this is the correct time for us to have a proper conversation. May I ask if the Hall master is here for Da Kui's case?" Qin Lan brought up the matter about Da Kui as they were seated in the hall.

The moment Da Kui's name was brought into the discussion, the five elders all had a different expression hanged on their faces.

It seems that except for the Da Xun, the other four elders were quite delighted that Da Kui was taken by Qin Lan's men to teach him a lesson.

"This Hall Master is indeed here due to that useless son of mine. But there's something else I am here for." Da Yuan admitted that he was here on behalf of Da Kui, but from how he twisted his words, it seems he had another motive today.

'What an old fox. There's nothing better than saving a lion's cub by telling the vulture to throw it down the ledge.' Qin Lan was impressed by Da Yuan's reply. Not even Sun Wu Jian, Sun Ding Tian, or Sun Chen Long have reached this level in negotiation.

"Enlighten this Marquis, please." Qin Lan smiled as he had some interest in what Da Yuan was going to propose.

"It was regarding the order that we've received from the Royal Army under his majesty, the King of Shu. Because the news was delayed due to the changes in sovereignty, the hall was put in a difficult position."

"I'm afraid I will need to ask for the Marquis hasty approval to allocate all the available ore to the Hall of Treasures for the next three months." Qin Lan was impressed by how Da Yuan brought this matter up in their meeting.

To think that he would use the option of sacrificing his child for the sake of exchanging the right to monopoly the resources of the Heishi Town.

The word from the Hall Master took secretary Qian by surprise because he knew that Da Yuan was capable of the scheme, but not to this extent. Such a big favor in exchange for a nod from Da Yuan to close his eyes as they punish Da Kui for the problem he caused was insignificant if it was to be compared.

'To punish Da Kui, or to reject his request to monopolized the resources for temporary?' a bead of sweat rolled from secretary Qian's temple as he considered it in his mind.

He's also curious about what Qin Lan would do.

"Allocate all the ores mined from the town to the Hall of Treasures... This request is a little too difficult for this Marquis to agree with. Secretary Qian, is there no other place that had access to the ores required by the hall?" Qin Lan asked.

"Milord, the nearest place with access to some ores that they need would either be the town after the City of Ye or the mountain near our Shuiyue County's border." Secretary Qian immediately replied. But from his tone, some difficulties followed.

"Is the two places you've said were not accessible?" Qin Lan asked.

"The town after the City of Ye belonged to the Country of Shu. There will be a hefty tax and limitation if we try to import the ores into our county. As for the mountain near the border, a complete trip would take close to ten days."

"The supply from the mountain is also just half of what we get from this Obsidian Volcanic Vein. As for their quality, it was also lower." secretary Qian replied.

"I see..." Qin Lan nodded. No wonder Da Yuan seems to be quite confident when coming here to negotiate. As the expert that built his firm foundation in this place, it was no doubt that he knew at least as much as the secretary. Or perhaps, even more than what secretary Qian knew.

After all, he was an expert in this field.

"If answering this Marquis's question is not a forbidden matter, can this lord ask, how many sets of equipment the Royal Army ordered?" Qin Lan replied as he turned his attention back to Da Yuan. His question was followed with a smile.

"It was impossible for me to keep it secret anyway since the Marquis can just estimate from the number of ores we used. A hundred thousand sets of gear to replace their aging equipment." Da Yuan replied. He stands up with a scroll in his hand, which has a wax of the royal seal that cracked open.

"This is his majesty's mandate about the order. It was regretful that I am forced to went to the capital to retrieve it because the sovereignty of this county has changed." it seems he was well prepared. Even the king's mandate was brought here as he made his outrageous request.

"What does the Marquis have in his mind?" Da Yuan lowered his head as he asked Qin Lan again. From the corner of his lips, he was about to grin.