Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne Chapter 987 - 80: Official Assessment
Once the trade conference kicked off, Swamp Prefecture grew even busier and wealthier. Strolling down any road in Swamp Prefecture now reveals throngs of folks in every direction. The stores lining the streets stand wide open, and popping into just about any shop shows it crammed full of buyers.
Naturally, the hottest spots turn out to be the exhibition halls from different areas.
Right from the opening day of the trade conference, crowds have swarmed the exhibition halls across regions.
Over the last few days, traders from distant lands and abroad have felt pure delight inside, having offloaded heaps of products and sealed numerous partnerships. By joining the trade conference in Swamp Prefecture, they've raked in massive profits. It's no overstatement to claim that their gains in these brief days outstrip a full year's haul from before.
The traders at the trade conference aren't the only ones profiting; Swamp Prefecture's locals have pocketed a hefty sum too. The earnings here top what they've gathered over decades past. Lately, they've been grinning in their dreams at night.
As crowds swell, so do chances for trouble. To secure the trade conference's peace, Zhao Yao deployed his Personal Guard for patrols and even 'borrowed' troops from the Southern Garrison to watch over matters.
Zhao Yao's Personal Guard boasts tens of thousands strong, yet they stay hidden in plain sight. Posing as ordinary folk, they mix into the markets to monitor activities, stopping any chaos and spotting potential spies.
At present, soldiers patrol every avenue and nook in Swamp Prefecture. With blades hanging at their sides and stern looks on their faces, these troops scour thoroughly, inspecting every spot to safeguard Swamp Prefecture and its residents.
Since the trade conference started, Zhao Yao's schedule has tightened up, with a surge in folks chasing business ties, sparking a wider array of ventures.
Zhao Yao breathed a quiet sigh of gratitude inside, glad he'd rolled out printing tech ahead of time. Without it, the contracts inked over these days would've worn out wrists from all the handwriting.
For business folks from inland teaming up with Zhao Yao, dealings stay personal. But overseas traders mix personal and official reps. Official ones demand that foreign Imperial Merchants ink pacts with the Ministry of Revenue.
Zheng Qian along with his team have faced non-stop hustle lately, occupied with sealing agreements alongside envoys from foreign nations.
Even split between personal and official pacts, the items ordered remain largely identical. As it's the debut trade conference, Zhao Yao extended generous breaks to overseas traders, like a mere one-tenth duty for now. Come six months, duties snap back to standard.
No matter the personal or official nature of the deal, a single layer of duty applies across the board. Post six months, official duties drop one layer below personal ones.
Hearing duties would normalize after half a year, overseas traders resolved to stock up more within that window, thus locking in loads of advance partnership pacts and forking over down payments.
Zhao Yao's personal Xiao Jin Vault, plus the Ministry of Revenue's state coffers, have nearly overflowed with incoming foreign gold and silver over these days.
Overseas traders operating in Swamp Prefecture skip Great Zhou's Copper Coins, opting for gold and silver instead. Zhao Yao set the rule for gold and silver use in payments. That said, Copper Coins aren't outright banned; small deals can use Great Zhou's Copper Coins. Still, with the massive volumes and sums these foreign traders purchase and order, settlements demand gold and silver.
Luckily, these overseas realms boast plenty of gold and silver stocks, particularly Siam and Annan. Both nations hold several gold mines, leaving their royals decked in gold everywhere. They strut the streets in broad daylight, bodies shining with brilliant gold hues that draw crowds of stares.
Besides gold and silver payments, Zhao Yao permitted settling trades with grain stocks too. Swamp Prefecture holds enough food for the moment, but extra is always welcome. Yet, not all foreign lands boast extra grain. Places like Annan, Siam, and Johor brim with food. Sparse populations and yields from double or triple rice harvests mean they never lack meals.
Since these lands face no food scarcity, they skip double or triple cropping yearly. Despite the option for multiple harvests, they occasionally go with single-crop rice. Back when Zhao Yao learned this, a mix of fury and jealousy hit him hard.
That said, with their yielding to Great Zhou, these nations have ditched single-crop rice. They now deliver hefty grain tributes to Great Zhou and offload additional grain sales to the empire.