The medicine sent to the battlefield was either life-saving or for staunching blood and dispelling bruises.
The Jiang family had no shortage of medicinal herbs, but when it came to classification and preparation, the four great medical halls were the experts.
Jiang Guangcheng's intention was also very clear: the Jiang family would provide the bulk medicinal herbs, and the remaining tasks of preparation and classification would be entirely handled by the four great medical halls. Any medicinal herbs lacking during preparation would also be supplied by the four great medical halls. This was also a collaboration between the four great medical halls and the imperial court, whose reputation and credibility the Emperor trusted.
Frankly speaking, the four great medical halls did not play a significant role. The Emperor's move was perhaps to have the four great medical halls and the Jiang family supervise each other.
After all, the medicinal herbs sent to the battlefield were no trifling matter.
The way Jiang Guangcheng allocated the tasks now showed that he had indeed considered it carefully beforehand.
Ji Zizhao had no objections, "Bulk medicinal herbs are inconvenient to transport back and forth. Tomorrow, I will send someone to the Jiang family. I hope the second young master of the Jiang family will instruct his people to be ready for the handover in advance."
The mention of "second young master of the Jiang family" sent Jiang Guangcheng into a daze for a while.
He distinctly remembered the year the sun was shining brightly, the first time he saw Ji Zizhao, she had addressed him in the same way.
At this moment, she was still as breathtakingly beautiful as he remembered, but the beauty of their past could no longer be found between them.
For a moment, he didn't know how they had reached such a point.
"Does the second young master of the Jiang family have the contract with him?" Ji Zizhao frowned slightly. Regardless of why Jiang Guangcheng was spacing out, she didn't have the luxury of wasting time with him.
When Jiang Guangcheng snapped back to reality, he quickly produced the contract his mother had given him before he left.
Ji Zizhao did not take the contract. Instead, she spread it out on the round table in front of them. The room was brightly lit, and the terms and conditions on the contract were soon clearly visible to both of them.
It was precisely because of this that when Jiang Guangcheng clearly saw the contents of the contract, he was more surprised than embarrassed.
Although the Jiang family had indeed taken all the medicinal herbs for this collaboration ordered by the court, the medicinal herbs added during preparation also came from the four great medical halls. To put it plainly, the four great medical halls were also contributing manpower and resources. Yet, this contract only gave the four great medical halls ten percent?
The Jiang family, on the other hand, occupied a whopping ninety percent of this collaboration!
Such an unequal distribution was clearly too much of a欺人太甚!
Jiang Guangcheng had not expected the four great medical halls to take the lion's share, but he had never imagined that they would only allocate them ten percent of the profits. To put it bluntly, ten percent of the profit might not even cover the cost.
This was hardly a collaboration!
It could even be described as exploitation!
Jiang Guangcheng knew that his mother harbored a desire for revenge against the four great medical halls, but her alone could not achieve this. He suspected that other shopkeepers of the Jiang family had also been involved.
"It's acceptable," Ji Zizhao suddenly said.
Jiang Guangcheng: "..."
She agreed to this?
"I had not seen this contract before. If I had known it was allocated so unevenly, I certainly would not have agreed. Please give me some time, Fourth Prince Consort Ji, and I will discuss and revise it thoroughly." Jiang Guangcheng thought Ji Zizhao hadn't understood and quickly explained.
Ji Zizhao calmly retorted, "Since the second young master of the Jiang family speaks of discussion and revision, can you give me a definite timeframe?"
Jiang Guangcheng was stunned and momentarily speechless.
It wasn't that he was unwilling to answer, but the Jiang family's business dealings involved over a dozen people from top to bottom, so he himself was unsure of how long it would take to persuade them.
Ji Zizhao looked at Jiang Guangcheng again and said, "Since the second young master of the Jiang family cannot give me a definite timeframe, isn't it laughable to ask me to wait so confidently?"
"I only want the four great medical halls to receive what they deserve."
"I can wait, but the soldiers of Tonglin may not be able to."
There was no shortage of medicinal herbs on the battlefield now, but that did not mean there would always be.
Ji Zizhao could tolerate the four great medical halls seeking personal vengeance against the Jiang family because she was confident in calculating the duration of the medicinal herbs she had previously sent and those her master would bring to Tonglin. However, if it exceeded expectations, even she could not guarantee that the soldiers would definitely wait for the arrival of new medicinal herbs.
"The rise and fall of a nation is the responsibility of every citizen. Although I am only a woman, I wish to do what I can for the country. The men of the Ji family are no more, but the Ji family's teachings are remembered in the hearts of every Ji family member. Before the country, there is no profit; in the face of war, there is no selfishness!"
Jiang Guangcheng looked at the woman sitting before him, filled with an indescribable shock.
He had always thought that Ji Zizhao marrying the Fourth Prince was for the sake of supposed wealth and status. But now he realized, perhaps he was wrong. As the saying goes, no one is perfect, yet Ji Zizhao not only possessed a dazzling face but also an intelligent mind.
What was most rare was her broad-mindedness.
Such a woman, with great ambition and a heart that embraced the world, was too grand for mere title of Prince Consort!
Every word Ji Zizhao spoke was light, and every sentence was uttered softly, yet each word and sentence stabbed fiercely into Jiang Guangcheng's heart like needles.
On one side was Ji Zizhao's great benevolence and righteousness, and on the other were the Jiang family's shopkeepers who profited from blood and tears...
The difference was stark.
If Jiang Guangcheng had felt embarrassed earlier, his complexion now was truly unsightly!
He had never felt so guilty and ashamed, not even when his mother had caused trouble at the Ji family and was kicked out.
Because at this moment, Jiang Guangcheng clearly understood that not only the Jiang family members were wrong, but he himself was also at fault. From the beginning, when Ji Zizhao rejected him, he had become a petty person who judged others by his own standards.
Ji Zizhao could see something flickering in Jiang Guangcheng's eyes, but she didn't bother to guess what it was. Without any hesitation, she signed the contract on the table in the name of Chen Gang.
Jiang Guangcheng silently took his leave. Upon returning to the Jiang family, he summoned all the shopkeepers of the alliance to renegotiate the pricing for the four great medical halls. However, the people in the alliance were all money-grubbing. Seeing that the contract had already been signed, how could they possibly relent?
Moreover, there was already a grievance between the Jiang family and the four great medical halls. The Jiang family was naturally happy to watch the four great medical halls lose money, regarding it as a joke.
After parting ways with Jiang Guangcheng, Ji Zizhao personally went to the four great medical halls and explained the details of the contract to Chen Gang, Wang Can, and Xin Bi.
These shopkeepers were not to be trifled with. How could they not imagine the Jiang family's intention to watch them suffer?
But did they really think the four great medical halls would definitely lose money?
That would be underestimating their leader too much!