"Do you have anything to say about this election?" A reporter from the Qin State immediately interviewed in Handan.

"Say what?" A Handan Zhao said.

"It's the election of the prime minister of your country. You must know that the prime minister is the largest among civil officials, and he can best care about the vital interests of the people of Zhao State. The reporter said.

"Well, I can't say it. Still, I know, it's none of our business. After speaking, the Zhao man hurriedly walked away. Zhao himself did not pay much attention to this election. Elections have become a matter of concern in officialdom. And things about people who are on the verge of polarization. And the people of Handan Zhao are not very concerned about this, because they only think about their own livelihood. In Handan, good jobs could be found, a large number of commercial organizations were stationed, and the Qin-Zhao trade was launched. Promote Handan to slowly develop as a large city like Xianyang in the Qin State. Ancient cities began to transition rapidly like modern metropolis life, and this transition caused the people of Handan and Zhao to not be very concerned.

They care about their salary, and where they can find a job with a comfortable and stable income. For example, those who know words, especially those who know Qin Guozi, will be hired as company employees, and those who know a little calculation will enter the accounting industry. There are also a large number of people in business management who are rapidly expanding.

This atmosphere of commercial activity was eroding the Zhao people's attention to politics, and on the contrary, the two groups of people at the two poles of society became the main political forces, the wealthy end of the spectrum, which owned most of the means of production of the Zhao state. In other words, they controlled most of the capital, land, and various resources of the Zhao State. On top of that, those who hold wealth and those who hold power begin to form a completely new political force to emerge.

And the other end. It is the Zhao State that lives at the bottom, and there is marginalization, or the most miserable end of life, this end is the most exploited people in the Zhao State, their lives are not guaranteed, so to speak, their lives are also the wealth of the other end. It is at this end that there is an urgent need for change. In particular, to change their current situation. This change is hoped to be accomplished through democratic politics. This is the current situation of Zhao State.

As a special political group in Zhao State, the military is not willing to participate too much in such political activities. Because they are a hybrid of both ends. On the one hand, their source of soldiers is from the bottom. They are the most lacking in the necessities of life. Joining the army is the only best way out, followed by selling out labor. Even their lives. And the other end. On the other hand, a large amount of military supplies were provided, and their guns were obtained by these people by paying taxes. They fed the army, so to speak. Therefore, although the military is important, it is obviously a little inappropriate for them to enter the Zhao State, where commercial activities are becoming more and more intense.

However, the people of Qin have their own opinions. The people of Qin generally believed that although the soldiers had a high reputation, especially Li Mu, a prosperous street in the Qin State was named after Li Mu. But Li Mu is really not suitable to be a politician. Especially when formulating trade issues between Qin and Zhao. The state of Qin hoped that a pro-Qin figure who especially listened to the state of Qin would serve as the prime minister of the state of Zhao.

And those routines that Guo Kai openly shouted for. In fact, they were all designed by the bankers of the Qin State. Moreover, Guo Kai also thinks that making peace with the Qin State is the best way at present. Therefore, he is more pro-Qin in terms of future ideas. That is, to carry out extreme cooperation with the Qin State. This kind of cooperation is to allow a large amount of Qin capital to be imported into Zhao and invest in a series of projects in Zhao. Naturally, these projects also have some benefits for the nobles and mine owners who support Guo Kai.

What the Qin State needs is such a person. They believed that they cooperated with the nobles of Zhao to carry out economic and trade activities. It is a promising market. This market allowed the Qin merchants to obtain sufficient wealth. And the nobles of the Zhao State also believed that only by cooperating with the merchants of the Qin State could they get what they wanted. It can be said that both sides have ideas.

And the first thing that the Qin State unfolded was their huge advantage in the financial field. The banking sector had already penetrated into all aspects of the Zhao state, and the next step was for the Qin state to carry out further trade based on the banking industry.

Just when the merchants of the Qin State were concerned about the election of the Zhao State. The people of Chu did something beyond Shang Wen's imagination. The merchants of the state of Chu began to organize their own armed forces. These armed forces began to become their new source of economic growth and treasure of wealth.

In the Jiujiang region of southern Chu and the Wuyue region, some Chu people began to organize some private armed forces to go south to the Yue area to capture the Yue people as slaves. But that's because it's the beginning. It's not a lot to arm the merchants.

There are two types of private commercial armies. One is the mixed commercial armament of the Jiujiang region. This part of the armed forces took the two rivers of today's Xiangjiang and Ganjiang rivers as an extension of transportation and supply routes, and began to carry out land military operations on both sides of the rivers.

Their armed forces were small at first. The largest is only about fifty people, and the usual dispatch is only about twenty people, but they are equipped with more advanced weapons. These were water pirates, vagrants, and local combatants armed with Qin-made revolvers or magazine-type pistols. It is the deformation gun of Qin's Type 17 pistol. This is their melee weapon, but they also carry more advanced trap rifles, and note that the bullets they use are black powder bullets. It was not a smokeless gunpowder gun cartridge used by the Qin State. The most backward is also the shotgun filled with iron balls. The flintlock ignition method adopted. Although these weapons were not advanced in the eyes of the Qin State. There isn't even a single thing to look at. But these weapons were advanced enough against the Vietnamese in the south.

"Bang." A loud gunshot provoked panic among the surrounding birds and beasts. And the Yue people gathered in the tribe felt very panicked. They thought it was the gods who were angry with themselves in the form of thunder and lightning. Everyone who was scared didn't dare to move. And the Chu people took the opportunity to launch a swift attack against a tribe.

"Bang bang. Bang. "Continuous gunshots. First of all, strike out those who still have some resistance. And the Yue people were shot one after another and fell to the ground. They didn't know that there were such weapons in the world that could emit fire and loud noises, and they thought that the Chu people were gods. This is a punishment from heaven. They lay on the ground and did not dare to move.

And after the Chu people kill a few people, they will not kill too many people. Because what they need most is slaves. Then all members of the tribe would become prisoners of war slaves. They were then tied up and escorted to the river stop. Loaded on a ship there and shipped away.

The Chu people attacked the southern Yue natives. These natives are also some primitive tribes. A country of unity of consciousness has not yet emerged. Some of them have been in matrilineal societies for a long time. Their weapons are also in very poor condition. Bamboo bow and arrow, bamboo javelin. Or a bamboo blowpipe. This is a Southern weapon. This weapon comes with a pinch of feathered blow arrows. The arrows were made of bone or bamboo, coated with certain highly toxic substances. It is usually capable of killing people easily. The Chu people were extremely disgusted with this weapon. However, they have more advanced weapons. Gunpowder weapons.

This was the first commercial slave passage in the Chu State. The other is full of unknowns, adventures and challenges. However, the first thing they brought was huge windfall profits.

The state of Chu had many natural ports in the Wuyue region. These ports are close to the ocean. For example, the current Shanghai is in the Wuyue area. The merchants of the state of Chu organized armed forces here. These armed forces board flat-bottomed wooden boats suitable for offshore navigation. Then along the coastline. Remember it's the coastline. They had no intention of going to sea at all. And their geographical knowledge is not enough for them to have plans to travel to the sea. And their ships could not withstand the huge waves.

Moreover, there are a lot of unknowns at sea. weather, storms, and other bad weather occurrences. Since it is inshore, there are invisible reefs in some places. These are dangerous places at sea. But the sea is not so dangerous. He also has the most convenient place. That's traffic. The sea route allows them to drift with the boat to where they want.

The armed forces of these Chu merchants are about the same number as those in the Jiujiang region. The largest of them was only fifty people. However, it is common for more than 35 people to travel. They went to sea in the way of sea ships. Follow the coastline. Then they randomly landed on land and launched a surprise attack from the sea to attack those coastal Yue tribes. And the local Yue people did not expect that the enemy would attack them from the sea. And as soon as it came up, it was a fierce fire. They could not defend themselves with any weapons.

The earliest fishing nets, harpoons, were simply the opponents of these commercial armed forces of the Chu people with muskets. After a brief head-to-head encounter. Those alive and intact Yue natives became the first prisoners of war of the Chu people's maritime merchant forces. It is also the first pot of gold in their hands. and slave goods. They were tied up and escorted to a small boat. Then it was sent to the Chu people by small boat, or directly to the sea ship of the Chu people. Then they would capture a boatload of people before returning to their base.

In this way, the state of Chu had two major commercial armed forces dedicated to capturing the indigenous people of the Yue. This kind of commercial armed force mainly relied on the well-developed shipping of the Chu State as the main mode of mobility. They start by rivers or coasts. Then use the advanced weapons of the Qin State to launch a surprise attack and attack those primitive tribes. Mainly local indigenous people are captured. Then return to the dock where it was transported to the Qin people. Exchange with the Qin people for industrial products. These industrial products, in turn, were sold to the Chu people. Then go straight south to continue capturing slaves. And so on, a new slave trade was formed. There is still a lot of opportunity and room for this trade to expand.