Jinling is the largest commercial city in the Tang Kingdom, bar none; it is the commercial capital of the Tang Kingdom.
In Jinling, merchants wield the greatest power and influence.
Anything you can buy elsewhere, you can buy here; and even things you can't buy elsewhere, you can buy.
Here, if you find the right method, you can buy anything.
This section is hidden; you have already replied. The following is the hidden content. Jinling is a city that evokes both love and hate. If you have money, power, and influence, you can enjoy everything you can.
If you have no money, no power, and no influence, then you can only be the lowest of the low, a slave, at the mercy of others.
The wealth of Jinling is renowned throughout the Tang Kingdom and even the entire continent.
Eight of the ten richest merchants in the country are from Jinling.
Nearly 30% of the trade in the Tang Kingdom is secretly controlled by merchants from Jinling.
Two of the three major merchant alliances in the Tang Kingdom were founded by merchants from Jinling.
The annual tax revenue that Jinling pays to the Tang Dynasty is equivalent to the combined tax revenue of two medium-sized provinces.
Such a city is coveted by both the imperial court and powerful figures in the martial arts world.
However, to date, no single power has succeeded. Even now, the true masters of Jinling remain the merchants.
This is because whenever any major power attempts to control Jinling, the merchants set aside past grievances and unite to resist.
If any major power wanted to control Jinling, they would have to destroy it. What use is control over a destroyed city?
Therefore, Jinling remains the merchant's city, a paradise for merchants.
The role of the imperial prefect here is simply to collect a small portion of the annual tax. He only needs to keep a tiny fraction, enough for his family to squander for generations.
Therefore, although the prefect of Jinling has the least power, he is the wealthiest.
He doesn't need any special abilities; all he needs is basic arithmetic.
This made it the most coveted position among the纨绔子弟 (sons of wealthy and powerful families) of various noble clans; everyone wanted to serve as an official there for two years.
During those two years, you could eat the finest food, enjoy the most beautiful courtesans, and amass a fortune.
Each prefect in such a position served a maximum of two years. If you wanted to be reappointed, you would be immediately dismissed for "corruption."
The rotation of prefects among the various noble families in Jinling City had become an unwritten rule in the court.
Because of Jinling City, the major noble families of the court never experienced a "financial crisis," even those that had lost real power.
The court valued Jinling City, and so did the martial arts world. Major powers all had branches in Jinling City.
Even Buddhist and martial arts sects like Wudang and Shaolin sent lay disciples to establish martial arts schools and escort agencies there.
The only major martial arts power without influence in Jinling City was probably the newly established Longyun Family! Although there were many powerful figures in the martial arts world of Jinling City, no one dared to bully merchants by force. This was because four peak-stage Innate Realm experts resided in Jinling City, belonging to the city's two major merchant alliances and serving as their supreme elders.
The leaders of the various escort agencies and guard teams affiliated with these alliances were all disciples of these experts.
These four elders were originally unaffiliated, unaffiliated peak-stage Innate Realm experts.
One of them, two hundred years ago, fought a demonic master and required a rare flower from the South China Sea to heal his injuries. The merchant alliance dispatched five fleets, spending nearly ten years to find the flower, which cured him. After his recovery, he became a supreme elder of the merchant alliance.
The other two displayed astonishing martial arts talent in their youth. Discovered by the merchant alliance, they amassed countless rare treasures and martial arts manuals, ultimately enabling them to reach the peak of the Innate Realm.
Grateful for the Merchant Alliance's nurturing, the two became its Supreme Elders, and are now only a little over two hundred years old.
There is also a female Innate Realm expert; little is known about her, only that she joined the Merchant Alliance out of gratitude.
With four peak Innate Realm experts, even the Eight Great Families have few rivals, so no martial arts force can threaten the Merchant Alliance.
For the Merchant Alliance, bandits and outlaws pose a far greater threat to small caravans than major martial arts powers.
This is what I heard from Aunt Fang about Jinling City.
We have now arrived in Jinling City and are eating at a large restaurant not far from the west gate.
With our strength, we could have skipped eating, but out of habit, we chose this restaurant under the Merchant Alliance's umbrella.
Last night, having been separated from my wife for several days, I desperately wanted to contact her and tell her I was alright.
Finally, my master in the soul space relayed a message for me, which put my mind at ease.
When we first arrived in Jinling, we thought our attire would still attract attention.
However, we clearly underestimated the openness of the people of Jinling. When people saw us, they were surprised by our beauty, not our clothes.
"Ladies, would you like to keep us company today? You can pay the price," a handsome young man asked us on behalf of a group of friends.
After we sat down on the second floor, within half an hour, the fifth group of people had asked us the same question.
The first group, the Yang brothers, were furious, but before they could react, their stepmother stopped them.
Aunt Fang stepped in and refused them, and the group left with regret.
Afterwards, Aunt Fang told us that such things were common in Jinling.
In this commercial city, any beautiful woman without a man by her side would encounter this.
If you didn't, it only meant you weren't charming enough.
Their actions weren't meant to humiliate women; in Jinling, asking a single woman this was considered the greatest respect.
Because, in the eyes of Jinling merchants, relinquishing the pricing power was the greatest concession.
Of course, almost all those who did this were local merchants.
Women in Jinling who knew this would almost never be angry when asked, not even Fan Jiaxuan, known as the Holy Maiden of Cihang.
Instead, they would smile and reply, "Sorry, I don't sell myself."
In Jinling, anything of value could be sold, and a woman's body was a common commodity.
A woman's body could be exchanged for many things, the most common being money, and on a higher level, favors and information.
In the homes of wealthy merchants in Jinling, there were always beautiful women kept as commodities.
Some merchants even used their wives and daughters as commodities to exchange for the information they needed.
Such merchants weren't looked down upon. If you obtained the information you needed and made a fortune, others would only envy you, not despise you for being cuckolded.
Hearing the young man's question, Second Aunt smiled apologetically and said, "I'm sorry, we've already made arrangements with others. After dinner, we'll belong to them."
The man's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Who are they? Let's go talk to them!"
Second Aunt pointed to a table by the window where several elegantly dressed middle-aged men were eating. They immediately went to them and began talking.