NABC Chapter 1847 A plan to make money
Chapter 1847 A plan to make money
Li Shen has watched too many TV dramas about embezzlement of disaster relief supplies.
This has always been the case in every dynasty. The most classic one is what Mr. He said: To save the people, you must first save the officials. If the officials can't even survive, how can you save the people?
This is also an excuse created by adults for themselves in order to feel greedy and at ease.
Even during the Zhenguan Dynasty, which was known to have a relatively clean officialdom, there was no guarantee that relief grain would not be embezzled.
But Li Shen also knew that he couldn't control this kind of thing, and there was no good way to deal with it.
Only when we pay for disaster relief ourselves can we try to avoid corruption.
Every time he donated money and grain to disaster relief, he would say in the court: Whoever embezzles my money and grain, I will kill him.
And let the Prince Ji's Mansion conduct undercover visits to newspaper offices and shops in various places to have a certain deterrent effect.
It is well known in the officialdom that Prince Ji is the most difficult person to deal with. No matter how powerful your backing is, you will not end well if you offend Prince Ji.
Xi Bian, the then governor of Cangzhou and a third-rank official, was beheaded at the order of Prince Ji.
As a third-rank governor, how could he not have close friends and relatives in Kyoto? Prince Ji was so merciless that he didn't even get a chance to beg for mercy.
Therefore, every time the higher-ups notified them that it was the Ji Wang Mansion's disaster relief money and grain, the people below would be extremely cautious.
Apart from this, Li Shen didn't dare to guarantee anything.
This was the case even in the Tang Dynasty, let alone Silla.
After hearing this, Wang Xuance also agreed with Prince Ji's statement:
"Your Highness is right. I also think so. Even if the officials below do not embezzle food, three million dan of grain is still difficult to feed more than one million people for a year.
Especially under the strong attack of Baekje, Silla had to fight back with all its strength, and the domestic labor force was scarce.
The remaining women and children could not cultivate much land even if they wanted to.
If they don't have our food, it won't take more than two years for them to be destroyed."
“Well, you are right, but we cannot let Silla be destroyed. How can they consume Baekje if they are destroyed?
Later, you can go to the Ministry of Industry and ask if there are any old weapons that have been replaced. If not, you can go to the Ministry of War and ask them to replace them with some.
The equipment of the border troops and the palace soldiers will be enough, there is no need for that of the imperial guards.
You mark the prices on the list, and then ask Wang Hongfu to report ten times the price to Jin Chunqiu.
Tell him that I can only get 10,000 sets at most, but I can give them more arrows.
With these 10,000 sets of equipment, we should have no problem fighting against Baekje."
Li Shen nodded and ordered.
Due to the limitations of smelting technology, the equipment of these small countries is very simple. Apart from weapons, they are considered good if they can have a piece of leather armor.
Those who wore armor were all elite or general level, and were not much better than the Tiele in the north who fought shirtless.
With these 10,000 sets of equipment, Silla could completely resist Baekje.
"Your Highness, is ten times the price too high? I don't think they would be able to accept five times the price."
Wang Xuance reminded that he felt that Prince Ji wanted to become a big fat man in one bite.
He would do anything for those four million strings of cash.
Li Shen stretched out his index finger and shook it:
"No, no, no, Xuan Ce, you don't understand. Weapons and armor are different from food.
Even though it may not be worth much money in the Tang Dynasty, it would be considered important war materials if sold to other countries.
When the military drums sound, there will be a fortune in gold. This king is making money from the war of other countries.
And you have to remember that weapons are always highly profitable commodities because they control the direction of victory.
If you were the King of Silla, which one do you think is more important, money or the country?"
"Of course the country is more important." Wang Xuance replied without hesitation. Everyone would make this choice. If the country is gone, the money will also be gone.
"That's right, the King of Silla will naturally make this choice. Don't worry, they understand what these ten thousand sets of weapons and armor represent.
Also, tell the Ministry of Works to prepare 100,000 arrows. Used ones will do. This will be a good opportunity to replace some with new ones for my Tang army."
In previous lives, the arms business was the most violent business, and they would not hesitate to start a war for it.
When Li Shen heard that he was short of 4 million strings of cash, he suddenly made a decision to make a fortune from the war.
Let them fight, and sell food and weapons to them.
This is all because of lack of money.
"Yes, I'll do it right away." Wang Xuance stood up and accepted the order.
“Well, then go ahead, but remember to be quick, the first batch of food must arrive in Silla within March, and you can’t go back on your word.
As for the weapons, you can go and negotiate with them. The price remains unchanged. You can take it or not. I will not force you.
Tell them not to bother me anymore. I need to start thinking about how to make money."
"Yes, I'll take my leave." Wang Xuance stood up and bowed to take his leave.
After Wang Xuance left, Li Shen sat there and fell into deep thought, wondering how he could make money.
Serious business is definitely not going to work, the money comes too slowly, and the right path in life is full of vicissitudes.
It would have to be windfall that comes faster, especially if it is ill-gotten.
But what kind of windfall could there be? Li Shen pondered over it, and suddenly his eyes lit up.
"Come here, accompany someone to notify the Prince Consort Fang Yiai, Tang Shanshi, Li Daxiang, Cheng Chusi, Yuchi Baoqi and others,
Ask them to come to the palace to discuss important matters after they finish their shifts."
Li Shen gave an order to his servants, and suddenly he thought of football and betting on it.
This is a highly profitable industry, and the money earned is all from rich people.
Li Shen had no intention of buying a lottery ticket that cost only a few cents.
Because nationwide distribution is simply unrealistic. Communication is a problem. After playing a game of football here, it may take a month to reach the southernmost point.
Li Shen planned to carry out the project in Chang'an City and surrounding metropolises including Luoyang.
The two major cities of Chang'an and Luoyang, as well as the two capital corridors between them, were all filled with wealthy people.
Especially in Chang'an City, with a population of nearly one million, there were a lot of merchants and nobles as numerous as dogs.
If hundreds of thousands of merchants each gamble one string of coins, that would be hundreds of thousands of strings of coins.
This is much faster than earning a few cents by ordinary people.
After Li Shen gave the order, he immediately took his servants into the study and began to plan how to bet on football.
Write and draw on the table, make corrections.
In the evening, a group of playboys came to Prince Ji's Mansion, and Li Shen enthusiastically took them to the meeting room that had been prepared in advance.
He also ordered his servants to serve wine and food, and everyone ate and chatted.
"Your Highness Prince Ji, do you have any good things in mind for us?" Cheng Chuliang asked first.
"Haha, of course. I'm looking for you for good things." Li Shen laughed and raised his glass to say to several people.
"Then I wonder what His Royal Highness Prince Ji has to say. As long as His Royal Highness Prince Ji says the word, we will go through fire and water without hesitation."
Fang Yiai also raised his glass and expressed his own views.
"That's right, Your Highness. Just tell me what you want me to do." Yuchi Baolin also picked up the wine glass.
This is the power of money. These playboys are really fearless.
“Well, I am very pleased that you all have such confidence.
There is nothing to order today, but it's about football.
This king has decided to start implementing this money-making plan."
(Don’t forget to poke.)