The officials that were called over by Li Longji did not know that this was a scam specifically targeted at them. The purpose was to make them take the initiative to formulate more perfect laws. Of course, in the end, it was even more impossible to cheat them of their money.
Li Longji was originally on the list of scammers, but in the end, Zhang Zhong felt that it was not good to always bully the Emperor, so he leaked the news. Thus, the leader of the scam changed.
The officials signed a normal contract with the independent production and sales department under the Ministry of Works. There were only a few conditions. First, if there was a quality problem with the products, they would replace and repair them for free. Second, if they could not provide the products, they would directly return the deposit. Third, once the products were delivered, they would have to pay in full. Fourth, they would write that they had paid a deposit of 150 strings of coins.
The content of the contract was very simple, and there were a few key points missing. However, the officials did not think too much about it. They did not even read the contents of the contract before they agreed.
Two days passed by quickly.
As the leader, Li Longji once again gathered the officials in his free time and formed a team to go to the place where the fish tanks were sold.
When they arrived, they found that there were many people waiting in the reception room. The walls of the reception room were filled with large paintings.
When the officials saw the paintings, they were all confused. The people in the paintings were exactly them. There were sales staff explaining who the officials were, what kind of fish tank they liked, and why they liked it.
The Minister of Revenue, Wang Bei, had an ugly expression. He felt that the matter of him being pointed at on the wall was a kind of use to him.
He went to Zhang Zhong and asked: "Why is my painting on the wall?"
"My painting is also on the wall." Zhang Zhong replied.
Obviously, Zhang Zhong's answer did not satisfy Wang Bei. That was not what he was asking. Seeing that Zhang Zhong did not have the intention to continue speaking, he went to find Li Longji.
Li Longji was greeting the people in the reception room. The people who could come to buy fish tanks were all quite wealthy. When they saw the Emperor and the officials, they were very excited. However, they tried hard to restrain themselves and spoke to the Emperor cautiously. They did not dare to show too much enthusiasm, for fear of being misunderstood. Therefore, it was very difficult for Li Longji to shake hands with him, so he could only nod his head repeatedly.
"Your Majesty, Zhang Zhong hung this official's portrait on the wall and even used this official to promote his products. This official thinks that this shouldn't be the case." Wang Bei waited for Li Longji to finish speaking with a merchant before whispering into his ear.
Li Longji seemed to have just realized that there was a portrait on the wall. He looked around and nodded at Wang Bei. "I saw that Yuan Qing's portrait is also here. It's not bad. If you want to keep a real picture, you can take a picture. I reckon I can give you a discount."
Wang Bei was very distressed. "Your Majesty, I'm saying that they should take down my portrait and stop mentioning what kind of fish tank I bought. I'm not their salesperson."
"Whose family is it? The Bureau of Works belongs to the Bureau of Works, and the Bureau of Works belongs to Our Great Tang. Don't speak nonsense. "Li Longji was only targeting the latter part of Wang Bei's words.
"Yes, yes, it belongs to Our Great Tang. Then, this official earnestly requests for Your Majesty to step in and ask Zhang Zhong to take down the portrait. Is that possible?" Wang Bei stopped complaining and directly made his request.
"I'll ask for you. Don't be anxious." Li Longji smiled at the few people who bought the fish tanks and waved at Zhang Zhong.
The other officials who didn't like to be surrounded by others also gathered around and waited for Zhang Zhong to give an explanation.
Zhang Zhong jogged over to Li Longji and asked, "Your Majesty, does this official have any instructions?"
Li Longji pointed at the portrait on the wall. "What's the matter?"
"Oh, Your Majesty is asking about this? As for sales, with the fact that all the officials have bought them, the fish tanks can be sold for a high price and the sales will increase at the same time.
Your Majesty, I just went to ask. Yesterday and today, there were 425 people who directly paid for the portrait that was hung up the night before. Moreover, the same item is not sold at the previous price of 150 strings of coins, but the actual selling price is 200 strings of coins. "
Zhang Zhong excitedly reported to Li Longji.
"Not bad, not bad. The performance is gratifying. We need to increase the publicity and sell more good items to satisfy the daily needs of our Great Tang's citizens. Of course, don't forget to pay taxes. Fish tanks are considered luxury goods and the tax rate is very high. You must not evade taxes."
Li Longji praised while at the same time emphasizing the issue of taxes.
He turned his head and said to Wang Bei, "Wang Qing, I want to congratulate you. The revenue has increased again."
Wang Bei had the urge to bang his head against the wall. He pointed at the wall and said to Li Longji, "Your Majesty, they're using this official to earn money for the portrait."
"I know, but the Ministry of Works earned money and paid taxes. Didn't they put you in the Ministry of Revenue? The money is in your hands, so what are you unhappy about?" Li Longji said to Wang Bei.
"That money belongs to the Ministry of Revenue, not this official. They're using this official's identity to earn their money. Your Majesty, this official is a person, a living person, not the Ministry of Revenue." Wang Bei began to explain this matter. He felt that something was wrong. Logically speaking, it was impossible for His Majesty to not know what he was trying to say.
"You want to resign? Resign? "Li Longji asked with widened eyes.
Wang Bei hurriedly shook his head. He couldn't resign. The Minister of Revenue was a very high position, and he hadn't had enough of it yet. Gritting his teeth, he admitted, "This official won't say that I'll take it. This official wishes to receive some additional compensation. After all, I'm using this official's identity."
"What's your identity? Your identity is an official of Great Tang. You're a person, a living person. You're not the Ministry of Revenue. You're using the identity of the Ministry of Revenue when introducing and promoting products. What does that have to do with you? "Li Longji argued with Wang Bei.
Wang Bei lowered his head and thought about it. That's right. They're recommending that the Minister of Revenue wants a fish tank. If I don't allow it, I'll have to resign from my position as the Minister of Revenue. That's because the Minister of Revenue doesn't belong to me, but to Great Tang.
But why does it feel like there's a problem? Is it me? Isn't it me? Can I represent myself? Can't I represent myself?
If I don't allow my portrait to be hung and I only mention the Minister of Revenue, will His Majesty not allow me to be a minister? If I'm still a minister, shouldn't I continue to hang my portrait?
Wang Bei once again had the thought of banging his head against the wall.
Yu Wenrong smiled. He patted Wang Bei's shoulder and gestured for him to move back. He walked over to Li Longji and said, "Your Majesty, this subject thinks that it's fine to hang my portrait as a promotion. But when this subject is on duty, I'm an official. After work, it's my own time. Can this subject remove my portrait during this period of time?"
"In other words, Yu Wenrong, you're no longer an official of the Secretariat after work?" Li Longji asked.
Yu Wenrong also shook his head. After pondering for a moment, he said, "It's not easy for this subject to take care of my face. Should this subject be given some material compensation when using this subject's face for promotion?"
"This …" Li Longji put on a contemplative expression and looked at Gao Lishi.
Gao Lishi very cooperatively interjected, "Is it written in the contract? Is there such a law in our dynasty? Isn't that right, everyone? "
In the end, he asked the people who came to buy the item. They were all watching and listening, finding it very interesting. The officials of the imperial court were actually arguing, and even the emperor was joining in the fun. This was a feeling he had never felt before.
Yes, he had never felt like this before. It was very warm and made him feel like he was very close to the officials of the imperial court and the emperor. His Majesty was really open-minded. When the officials were questioning him, he could still patiently explain.
It was worth it. He didn't come here for nothing. Even if the fish tank was more expensive, it wouldn't be a problem.
"General Gao is right. Is it written in the contract? Our dynasty doesn't have such a law, so we won't pay. "Someone gathered his courage and spoke up.
The others also said, "We won't pay, we won't pay."
Wang Bei glared at them. "What are you guys talking about? Are you bullying me? I'll go to your houses to eat later and eat until you're poor. "
There was a burst of laughter around them. Some people had already begun to invite Wang Bei to their houses, saying that they would prepare something to eat that would definitely satisfy the Minister of Revenue.
Wang Bei wasn't angry. He laughed and said to the people around him, "You've all been deceived. Didn't you hear what the Minister of Works, Zhang Zhong, said just now? The price used to be 150 strings of coins, but now it's 200 strings of coins. You guys spent an extra 25% of the money, and you're still laughing."
If it was in the past, the scene in front of them would have been unimaginable. Now, it was revered to be close to the people. Lowering one's status to speak did not mean that one had lost one's power. On the contrary, one could gain the approval of others.
"It's not expensive, it's not expensive. We actually didn't spend an extra 25% of the money. It's 33.33%. With His Majesty and the officials promoting it, we'll buy it even if it's more expensive."
The person who was the most courageous spoke up again.
Thus, there was another sound of agreement from the crowd.
Li Longji was in a good mood. He liked to see the current situation. According to Xiao Bao, it could increase one's charisma. Occasionally interacting with the people could make one's image bigger.
At the same time, he really made money. Although it was used to deceive people, he could still gain additional benefits when he deceived the officials. He believed that from today onwards, the Ministry of Works' luxury goods would sell even better.
Otherwise, it wouldn't be worth it for him, the Emperor, to run out and waste time with a group of officials. Xiao Bao was thoughtful. He used everything he could to gain other benefits. His strategy was indeed unusual.
At this moment, Yu Wenrong didn't think about any compensation. He also didn't think about taking down his portrait. If he brought it up again, it would make the people around him feel bored. There was no need to be so calculative.
Thus, Yu Wenrong gave up on his previous thoughts. He said to Zhang Zhong, "Brother Yongcheng, it's fine if you die. Can you hand over the fish tanks to us?"
Zhang Zhong nodded and signaled to the salesperson. Immediately, someone brought out the fish tanks from the warehouse. They brought one out and directly sold it in the reception room.
The first one was Yu Wenrong's. The empty fish tank was placed there. There were also a few glass jars filled with fish. They were a type of mutated goldfish with slightly darker bodies. Yu Wenrong chose them himself. He liked this color.
Seeing that the things were brought out, Yu Wenrong walked closer to take a closer look. He said, "We need to cultivate more ornamental fish species to meet the increasing demand of the people. Can I find someone to bring them home? What about the other things? "
"Brother Yu Wenrong, did you bring the money? Just make up the balance. "Zhang Zhong asked Yu Wenrong.
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