Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 998: Chapter 85: Prince Han with Nine Orifices (Part 2)

Zhao Yao laughed slyly and said, "I’m smart." As he spoke, he lacked some confidence because this idea wasn’t his own; it was borrowed from the world of the Zhao Yao in his dreams.

Uncle Gao gave Zhao Yao a thumbs-up: "Your Highness, if you can’t make money, then no one in this world can."

He asked again, "Do you have any other clever ways to make money?"

Zhao Yao playfully winked at Uncle Gao: "Not telling you."

Upon hearing this, Uncle Gao was not angry. If he doesn’t want to tell him, then so be it.

"Your Highness, are you just going to share this runway idea with Boss Li like that?" Uncle Gao asked puzzledly, "Isn’t this a business secret?"

"There’s nothing bad about it. After all, he spent two hundred taels of gold on advertising space, so he should get a proper chance to promote his stuff and earn back those two hundred taels." Zhao Yao said with a smile, "Besides, I haven’t tried this runway idea myself, so I don’t know how well it works. It’s a good chance for him to test it out. If it works well, I can use the runway idea to sell Lingnan’s fabrics and embroidery."

After listening, Uncle Gao was tongue-tied. He didn’t expect His Highness to use Boss Li as an experiment; His Highness really is crafty.

"The runway idea will be very useful." Zhao Yao thought about the various runway shows in the world of his dreams and felt very confident about this method. "By telling Boss Li about the runway idea, Boss Li will owe me a favor. After the polo match is over, Boss Li will give me a substantial gift."

Uncle Gao exclaimed, "Your Highness, ordinary people have seven senses, you must have nine."

"I’ll take that as a compliment." Zhao Yao continued, "Doing business can’t be one-sided; if the other side isn’t making money, how can the business continue? When both sides make money, the business can last long. Moreover, Boss Li’s business is spread across Jiangnan, and I can work with him to sell Lingnan’s fabrics and embroidery there."

"So that’s your plan, Your Highness."

"What did you think I was doing favors for Boss Li for?" Zhao Yao never engages in deals where he loses.

"I never thought doing business had so many intricacies; this time I’ve really learned a lot." In the past, he looked down on merchants, thinking they were sly and treacherous. But this time at the trade fair, he discovered many things from His Highness and realized that merchants are not all deceitful; many do business honestly. Most importantly, he understood that engaging in commerce is not a bad thing. As His Highness said, without merchants, only scholars, farmers, and craftsmen wouldn’t create prosperity.

"Try it when you return to Japan."

"Rest assured, Your Highness, I will definitely try."

"Tomorrow is the polo match, Uncle Gao and Second Uncle, get to bed early." Zhao Yao stood up, stretched lazily, and said, "The next three days of polo matches will be very intense, so don’t miss out."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Early the next morning, the site of the polo match, which was also the site of the recent football match, was crowded with local people and merchants watching the competition.

The local people of Swamp Prefecture had never seen a polo match before; it was their first time, and they were very excited and eager. They had heard that polo was played by the nobility, and ordinary folks like them couldn’t play. Also, they heard that noblemen’s polo matches didn’t allow commoners to watch. But now, not only could they watch, but they could watch up-close, which was a stroke of luck.

The foreign merchants had played polo, but their status was low, like the commoners, they couldn’t participate in the matches of officials nor had the right to watch. Although no Great Zhou aristocrats participated in this match, there were foreign nobles, which was an honor for them.

There were ten teams participating in the polo match, and the winner would be decided within three days. Before the match, Zhao Yao gave a speech. After he finished speaking, he first introduced the sponsors and supporters of the polo match, Li’s Cloth Shop and Jin’s Jewelry, then introduced the ten participating teams.

The first match was Zhao Yao’s Personal Guard against the Royal Family of Siam.

In recent years, Siam and Johor have been vigorously developing polo, but their strength was still inferior to Great Zhou’s.

In the first half of the match, Prince Han’s Personal Guard won. There was a fifteen-minute break.

During the halftime break, the spectators noticed some men and women in beautiful clothes appearing on the field. They curiously and puzzledly stared at them, not understanding what they were about to do. Were they going to perform? During the football match, there was no halftime show.