Royal Palace, Wanbao Tower.
The name is a building, but it is actually a continuous courtyard, which contains various royal collections from past dynasties, as well as objects collected by Emperor Chongning to demonstrate his martial arts and prosperity. Among them, the one in the middle is A seven-story building is the core, housing the most precious treasures, so it is called Wanbao Tower.
Emperor Chongning stood in the open square in front of the building, listening to the report of the young supervisor who was responsible for supervising the construction of Wanbao Tower. He frowned and said displeased: "Why do you still need 800,000 taels? Last year you said you wanted Two million taels, I have fully allocated you two million taels!"
The official opposite shivered and knelt on his knees. He said in fear, "Your Majesty, we must not dare to line our own pockets. Last year, we estimated that it would cost two million taels. We estimated it on a five-story building. . But now it has been adjusted to seven floors, which involves stabilizing the building and raising the surrounding buildings to match the height, so the budget will be greatly increased."
Emperor Chongning waved his hand impatiently, and the petty official opposite quickly got up and left as if he had been granted amnesty.
He turned to look beside him, "Gao Yi, how much quota will the Ministry of Revenue give to the palace for next year?"
The eunuch next to him said calmly: "As far as your Majesty is concerned, the household quota is a total of 1.6 million taels, of which 900,000 taels are used to rebuild the Winter Palace."
"That's only 700,000 taels."
Emperor Chongning sighed, "The annual income of the imperial village is nearly 200,000 taels, and the inner treasury can bring in 200,000 to 300,000 taels. There are a total of 120,000 to 300,000 taels, but the expenses in the palace and the rewards from the courtiers , the repair of the palace usually requires about 600,000 taels a year. There is still a gap of more than 200,000 taels in the Wanbao Tower. When will my Wanbao Tower be repaired and be admired and worshiped by future generations!"
The eunuch Gao Yi lowered his eyebrows and said nothing.
"Concubine De returned to Sishui Prefecture last year and helped me get back one hundred thousand taels of income. Do you think I should send two more concubines back to my hometown for a visit?"
Gao Yi's complexion changed and he stopped talking.
Emperor Chongning waved his hand, "Okay, I'll just tease you casually. The matter of Concubine De was forced, how can we follow her example again?"
Gao Yi quickly handed over his hand and said, "Your Majesty is wise."
"What about the extra gifts?"
Gao Yi shrank his neck and became silent again.
"Okay, I know that the Central Committee will not agree. If I add more gifts, the Yanguan will scold me to death."
Emperor Chongning sighed, "What's the use of a sage! Even though I, a great person in the Ninth Five-Year Plan, have to be trapped by money!"
Gao Yi looked indignant, "Your Majesty, for the sake of state affairs, has tolerated so much that his own expenses are scarce. There are still many incomprehensions between the government and the public. He is really too ignorant."
"Forget it, don't blame them"
Emperor Chongning felt much relieved after hearing this, "Their position is too low and they know too little information. Naturally, they don't know what I have done for this world. As the saying goes, those who don't know are not guilty, I don't blame them. "
He walked forward, "But I must repair this Wanbao Tower. I will summon Wei Yuanzhi, the Minister of Household Affairs, into the palace."
Gao Yi hesitated for a moment and whispered: "Your Majesty, it is the New Year now."
"I almost forgot about this." Emperor Chongning waved his hand, "In that case, let's talk about it during the first day of the new year. Remember to remind me to keep it."
"yes!"
"Let's go!" Emperor Chongning turned around and walked out.
"Your Majesty, where are we going?"
Emperor Chongning paused and said, "I have been in Changle Palace these days. Let's go to Zhaoyang Palace today."
Gao Yi smiled and said: "Concubine Shu must be very happy."
Emperor Chongning smiled nonchalantly, and just as he was about to take a step forward, a small yellow gate came hurriedly, "Your Majesty, Concubine De sent someone to report that Xia Jieyuan of Sishui Prefecture has something important to see your Majesty."
Xia Jingyun?
Emperor Chongning frowned, thinking of the handsome young man who knew his thoughts very well, and hesitated for a moment, "Take him to the imperial study room."
"Xia Jingyun, a grassroots citizen, pays homage to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty!"
"There is no need to be polite. Besides, you are already a minister, so you don't need to call yourself a commoner. You can just call yourself a minister."
"I have a treasure mirror that can be used to make a precious mirror that can illuminate people's eyes with full clarity and transparency. Now I would like to offer this to Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty will accept it."
As he spoke, Xia Jingyun took out a small box from his arms and held it high.
The great eunuch Gao Yi reached out to take it and handed it to Emperor Chongning.
Emperor Chongning did not open it, but stretched out his hand to hold the box, and said calmly: "You are not a lucky person, why did you do this lucky thing?"
Xia Jingyun said frankly: "I am indeed not a lucky person. I have some considerations in offering this recipe. Your Majesty will tolerate it."
"Well, tell me."
Xia Jingyun straightened up, not daring to look directly at Emperor Chongning, and lowered his head slightly, "Your Majesty's construction of the Wanbao Tower cost a lot of money. Although Your Majesty has vast territory and hundreds of millions of people, the government and taxes cannot be fully utilized by Your Majesty. , and the people are fragile, if they increase taxes without authorization, they may be blocked by the central government, admonished by the officials, and harshly criticized by future generations."
"However, the powerful and powerful people in the world use imperial power to act, show off their power, occupy fields, seal off mountains and forests, take advantage of others, and are greedy. However, these people act extravagantly and do not have the virtue of Your Majesty to treat the people as their own. They do not understand that Your Majesty regards the world as the most important thing. It is really hateful to act recklessly and cause chaos in the world."
"I have a way to amass the wealth of the world's powerful and powerful people. Your Majesty can take it without worrying about the words of the foreign court and the pen of the historian. It will be a good name for future generations and even for eternity!"
Emperor Chongning stretched out his finger and pointed at the small box, "You speak so loudly, can you do it just by relying on this mirror?"
Xia Jingyun nodded, "We have a plan in mind, but we still need Your Majesty's cooperation. If this happens, Your Majesty's worries will be easily solved, and at the same time, you won't have to worry about it for the next few years!"
"tell me the story."
Xia Jingyun paused and was silent for a moment.
Emperor Chongning understood and waved away everyone outside, leaving only Gao Yi standing aside.
Xia Jingyun opened his mouth and began to draw a pie, "This treasured mirror can be made by only one person in the world, and it can illuminate people with every detail. Weichen plans to divide the marketing of the entire treasured mirror into four steps."
"The first step is to strictly control the output, make it a rare treasure in the world, and sell it at an extremely high price. Only the top dignitaries can afford this price. It creates a trend in Beijing. Buying this mirror is a top-notch mirror. The symbol of power, coupled with its appeal to women, will surely attract the powerful to buy it. In this way, these powerful people will be willing to turn their assets into His Majesty's private property without being criticized by outsiders."
"At the same time, we can also order businessmen to market Daliang and follow the same method. We will also gather the wealth of Daliang's powerful people for our government to use their wealth to counterattack that place. This matter will be recorded in the history books in the future and will surely become a good story for His Majesty through the ages."
"Weichen has calculated that based on five hundred gold per side, we can earn an income of twenty thousand gold in the first year."
Twenty thousand gold and two hundred thousand taels of silver.
Emperor Chongning's breathing quickened quietly.
"After a year, when this thing has become the most top-notch rare thing, the minister can expand the production and lower the price so that the next-level rich and powerful can also afford it. Repeat the same process and do it again."
"This year, we will strive to achieve an income of three hundred thousand taels of silver."
"In another year, when the preciousness of this thing has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and everyone wants to own it, the minister can announce that the key technology has been broken through and the output has increased greatly. At this time, the people who originally bought it at a high price have had enough of showing off. , won’t be too angry, and we can sell it to more gentry homes.”
"In the fourth year, when all preparations are completed, we can start production, fully supply, and market mirrors to the entire world at a civilian price."
"In the last two years, the annual income should be no less than 500,000 taels. In this way, just through this lens, in four years, we can earn nearly 1.5 million taels of silver. This is still the most conservative estimate, but it is actually possible I want more. Moreover, this thing is fragile, and if people replace it in the future, they will still have long-term income."
Emperor Chongning was a little stunned when he heard that. When the entire empire was at its peak, the annual income was only more than 20 million taels of silver. Now that the country is in decline, the annual income has dropped to only more than 10 million. He is the emperor, and the household department can only be squeezed every year. Give him up to two million taels.
Xia Jingyun can earn hundreds of thousands taels a year just by relying on this thing?
He was moved.
However, he will naturally not let outsiders see it.
"What you mentioned is a complete plan, so why do you need my support?"
"Your Majesty, you have a clear warning!" Xia Jingyun bowed respectfully, "The most important thing about this method is that the output must be strictly controlled and the secret recipe must be strictly adhered to."
"Just imagine, when we sell this thing for a high price of hundreds of gold, there are imitations worth dozens of taels of silver in the world. Your Majesty, who do you think will pay such a high price to buy ours?"
"When we gradually release the supply and slowly control the price, hoping to catch all the dignitaries, gentry, and common people at all levels in the world, if some people who don't understand the industry rush to expand production, so that supply exceeds demand, can our idea still be realized?"
"The most important thing is that any secret will no longer be a secret after more than two people know it. The secret recipe must be kept strictly confidential, but Wei Chen has no secrets from His Majesty. Wei Chen can't trust anyone else in the world, only Your Majesty. I present this recipe to Your Majesty, not only to show that I have no selfish intentions, but also to hope that Your Majesty can strictly keep this secret so that our plan can be implemented smoothly."
He quietly changed his words and used us one by one to shake Emperor Chongning's defenses.
Emperor Chongning nodded happily, "I understand your concerns, and I also understand your loyalty. But is there anything left unfinished?"
Xia Jingyun said: "Wei Chen went to the general eunuch Cao's house last night. He wanted to discuss the matter with him and give His Majesty a surprise, but unexpectedly, Master Cao had to ask Wei Chen to hand over the secret recipe. Wei Chen was willing to hand it over, but I just want to hand it over to His Majesty."
"I understand." Emperor Chongning hummed noncommittally, then smiled and said: "It's a rare trip to the palace for you, so go see your sister."
Xia Jingyun did not ask further questions, bowed and left, "I would like to thank Your Majesty for your kindness."
After Xia Jingyun walked away under the guidance of a small yellow door, Emperor Chongning took the box and looked at it for a long time, but did not open it. He directly put it solemnly into the secret compartment of the imperial study and locked it, then sat back in his seat. "Gao Yi, announce Cao Deli's entry into the palace."
——
In the Zhaoyang Palace, Concubine Shu pointed to the maids with a cheerful face, "Put it here, put a bouquet of plum blossoms over there. Change the incense, this one is too light, that bitch De Concubine likes it, and I am the only one who likes it." No. Let me change this curtain to pink."
"My queen is so happy!"
Concubine Shu snorted, "Your Majesty has been occupied by that bitch, Concubine De, for so long. Today, he finally remembered that I must seize this opportunity!"
After a long day of work, Concubine Shu sat on the stool, stretched her neck, and looked puzzled. Someone had just come to deliver the order. Why hasn't His Majesty come yet?
Two chapters are more than 6,000 words. It is not too much for others to publish three chapters.
have a good weekend!
or2
(End of chapter)
