Tubo, which Zhang Xiaobao had set his eyes on, had already been destroyed by the locusts. They were no longer worshiped as they were in the beginning.
Poultry ate locusts. Hence, all the nobles and royals who raised poultry released them. Even if they would offend the gods, it was better than starving to death.
Apart from releasing poultry, the slaves also made bags with sticks attached to the back to catch locusts during the day. At night, they would light bonfires to lure the locusts in and burn them to death.
They were determined, but it was too late. Once the locusts formed a large scale, it would not be easy to deal with them. The food they planted would be eaten. The grass and trees would be eaten as well. Wherever they went, there would not be a single trace of green left.
Some of the locusts had even flown to Jin Chuan. The people who Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan arranged here were also busy. Fortunately, there were not many of them. The 7,000 slaves that Han Xuanfeng brought did not enter Tang directly. Instead, they stayed in this area. One reason was to let them get used to the environment.
The other reason was to train them to be loyal to the Zhang Family and the Wang Family. There were many young and strong slaves. When the time came, they could be used to farm or form an army. In Tang, it was impossible for the Zhang Family and the Wang Family to raise an army of 3,000 to 4,000 people.
Now, they had joined the ranks of killing locusts. Fortunately, there was water and ice here. Many of the locusts that tried to fly over were frozen to death.
Apart from these slaves, who would be formed into an army by Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan in the future, there were also the people who were farming here.
If the game could not continue, the strength of these people would not be underestimated. Apart from this area, there was also Feng Province. There were not many people there, but the customs were different. When the time came, they could form an army at any time. However, Sanshui County and Shuzhou were different. They could not be too obvious there.
Apart from these two places, there was Wing Province. The people there were all mountain villages. They did not have a good relationship with the local officials, but they were close to Zhang Zhong.
It was the same for Lu Zhou's army. Currently, Lu Zhou's army was made up of locals. If Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan needed them, he could summon them and show them what it meant to be a wolf army.
The large-scale battle to exterminate the locusts began. The various Tubo nobles looked at the endless locusts and couldn't think of a better solution other than worry.
They knew that this year was over again. Last year, they had been ruined by Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. They did not know what to do this year.
Until now, they still did not know that this matter was caused by Zhang Xiaobao. They still thought that it was a real natural disaster.
This time, there was no need for Zhang Xiaobao to send anyone over. Tubo was already thinking of borrowing more grain from the Great Tang. In the past, they would have just sent their soldiers, but this year, they did not dare to do so.
It wasn't that they didn't want to. If the bodies of the Tubo people were as good as they were during the war last year, there wouldn't be a problem. The main thing was that after the autumn harvest last year, until now, they hadn't eaten their fill. Many of them could be slaves to the warriors. Some of them could even eat a little bit of food a day, as long as they didn't starve to death.
Under such circumstances, how many soldiers could they gather? If there were tens of thousands of soldiers, it wouldn't be enough for Wang Juan to kill.
The Tubo emissary had already set off and was about to enter the Great Tang territory with a heavy responsibility. However, no one knew what would happen when they arrived.
*****
Zhang Xiaobao's side also started to make the final preparations. The ships were transferred to the capital. There were a total of 20 ships. Five of them were the biggest ships, while the rest were medium-sized ships.
Those who had the opportunity to join also joined in, including Old Man Pi and the other two. Old Man Chang had also been contacting Zhang Jiuling during this period of time. He talked about what happened in the past few years and also wanted to see his son.
"Li Yu should be over there, right? I wonder if I can see him and ask him how he is doing over there. " When they were ready to set off, Zhang Xiaobao suddenly thought of someone. It was Li Yu, the county magistrate of Changning County in Cizhou. They hadn't contacted each other for a long time. He still didn't know if Li Yu had fought with anyone over there.
Wang Juan also thought of this person and said, "I guess he's busy. We should be able to see him this time. Fenshui is not far from Changning County. It's just a little across the border. Li Longji has gone there. No matter what, he has to meet him, especially when he has governed over there well. How can he not show off?"
"Send him a letter. It's a good opportunity for him to earn more money." Zhang Xiaobao wrote a letter and asked someone to send it to Li Yu on a fast horse. It was a very useful way to make money. If it was done well, he could make a lot of money. As for whether Li Yu would do it himself or ask someone else to do it, it didn't matter.
As Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan said, Li Yu did want to meet his uncle. However, the things in the county were not done yet. He wanted to show the Emperor a very good county when he arrived. Even if it couldn't be as good as Sanshui County, it should be at least close.
The roads were being repaired, the river was being dug, and the business was being done. Changning County was neither big nor small. Li Yu planned to renovate all the houses in the county before the Emperor arrived. If the Emperor was happy and wanted to visit, it would be good for him.
In order to get more money to do things, Li Yu asked for investment in the surrounding areas. He gave a lot of benefits. If they rented land and did business here, they could be exempted from taxes for three years. If they were willing to invest money to help build the place, they could continue to be exempted from taxes.
Some businessmen were really tempted. They brought money to do business here. In fact, there weren't many good businesses here. One was transportation, and the other was ceramics.
The former was a supplement to the latter, and the latter was a blow to the Qianshi Chamber of Commerce. There were so many places, and the Qianshi Chamber of Commerce couldn't occupy all of them. They only occupied the resources of a small place, and other people might not sell all the resources to them.
With the addition of other businessmen, the people of the Qianshi Chamber of Commerce couldn't bear it anymore. When the time came, even if they made different pottery, they couldn't raise the price. Without a high price, although they wouldn't lose money doing business here, they wouldn't make much money.
So the six of them gathered together again to discuss.
"Should we take out 100,000 strings of cash and take more shares? Otherwise, if we continue like this, Li Yu will keep taking advantage of us. How much did we spend by renting his land and buying his mines? We can't do this anymore. "
President Tian said to the five people.
The five of them were silent. They also realized that something was wrong, but they couldn't come up with any solution. Previously, they had used the cooperation with businessmen to get tax exemption. Not only did they not make any money, but they also lost a lot. It was clearly written in the contract that if they couldn't get tax exemption after the cooperation, the Qianshi Chamber of Commerce would have to bear all the losses of the businessmen.
So many businessmen were pulled over, and they lost a lot of money, but they couldn't find a way to make up for it.
Now, many businessmen were attracted by Li Yu's tax exemption, and the competition was getting more and more intense. If they couldn't come up with a useful solution, they would only help Li Yu prosper the local economy. What was the use of ten years of tax exemption?
Seeing that the five of them were silent, President Tian could only say, "Good plan. If we didn't get tax exemption for ten years, we wouldn't even be able to keep our capital. We invested 50,000 strings of cash and spent a lot of money to buy a lot of resources. In the end, we can only make a little money. In the end, we pay taxes when we buy materials, and we get income when we rent the land.
When the time comes for us to sell our pottery, we'll probably have to spend a lot of money on transportation. It's the same whether we get others to transport it or we do it ourselves.
What I mean is, take out another 100,000 strings of cash. This time, we'll collect less iron ore and more clay. We'll sign a contract with the place that digs the clay. They have to supply us first before they can supply others. Or we can take 80%, and the others will take 20%.
Let the businessmen who come later have no materials to use, and we won't have to worry about them competing with us. With the 100,000 strings of cash and the remaining 60,000 strings of cash, we'll take out 150,000 strings of cash to buy the clay. We can buy all the clay in the county in an instant, and no one will be able to get their hands on this resource within a few years. "
Now, the five of them understood the president's plan. They felt that it was a good idea and nodded in agreement.
President Tian sent people to the Four Seas Academy to get the money while he personally went to find Li Yu.
When he saw President Tian's haggard appearance, Li Yu was happy. Who asked the people of the Thousand Circles Chamber of Commerce to not cooperate properly? Since they had done it, they had to bear the consequences.
Originally, he really wanted to support the Thousand Circles Chamber of Commerce during normal operations. However, since things had happened, they couldn't blame him for being ruthless. That was why he had taken the action of tax-free investment. In addition to this, there was also a follow-up plan. He had to force the Thousand Circles Chamber of Commerce to sell their shares to him at a lower price.
Li Yu thought about this and revealed a warm smile to President Tian. "President Tian, you're free today? How many kilns have you been burning? I'm waiting to make a lot of money. When the time comes, I definitely won't forget President Tian's help. Come, serve tea. "
President Tian looked at the tea and melon seeds that were served. He was indeed thirsty. He took a sip and said, "Lord Li, haven't we been recruiting too many people recently? Moreover, many of them are people who also burn pottery. It's not easy for us to do business. "
"How many? I think it's okay. Moreover, I haven't exempted them from taxes for ten years like your Thousand Circles Chamber of Commerce. I've only exempted them for three years. If they want to exempt more, they have to pay a bigger price. In fact, the yamen has no other choice. Even if they have to spend money now, they have to do it.
President Tian also knows that for a Chamber of Commerce, monopolization is the most profitable. However, for a county, competition between merchants is the most beneficial. I'm just waiting for three years to collect more taxes. "
Li Yu was lying through his teeth. President Tian naturally didn't believe him. Although it was tax-free for three years, renting land was money, right? Moreover, it was the kind of land that was rented. It was land that no one cultivated. The merchants who came first looked at the map and couldn't change what they chose. If there were other people on the land, they had to help them move and compensate them.
This part of the money was not small. There was also the coal and wood used to make the kiln. This was another sum of money. For large transactions, the county wouldn't be short of taxes. The same was true for selling land.
President Tian estimated that the tax revenue of Changning County this year would be 20 times more than the previous year. In the past, there weren't so many merchants. The road was not easy to travel. Now, if a merchant wanted to build a kiln, he had to build that road first.
As a result, many merchants came. Li Yu only needed to pay a little bit of money to connect all the roads. This was a good calculation. This was Zhang Xiaobao's real ability. He didn't need to set up such a big plan.
After thinking for a while, President Tian had to stop mentioning this matter. After all, the contract didn't stipulate that other merchants were not allowed to come. He couldn't keep the money that he was supposed to pay. Therefore, he said to Li Yu,
"Lord Li, the Thousand Circles Chamber of Commerce is going to continue to use money to increase shares. Does Lord Li agree?"
"Increase shares just like that? I agree. Wasn't it written in the contract? How much does President Tian want to increase? " Li Yu thought that it would take some time for the other party to increase shares. It was good to increase shares. He would have more money in the county. Since the money was coming, he couldn't just leave it. If that was the case, his financial staff would tell him.
"I want to increase 100,000 strings of coins." President Tian gritted his teeth and said the number. The main reason was that he didn't know if he could achieve his goal after investing this amount of money.
If Li Yu didn't have Zhang Xiaobao behind him, there shouldn't be a problem. However, with that person around, it seemed that anything could happen.
"In other words, my shares will become 25%, right? Okay, if I want to invest, I will tell you. "Li Yu didn't object. This was what was written in the contract. Zhang Xiaobao had already analyzed it.
"Yes. If Lord Li thinks it's too little, we can give you half." President Tian was afraid that Li Yu would be unhappy, so he was prepared to lose some to monopolize the resources in the future.
"No, don't give me that. A business is a business. Do you look down on me? Do you think I'm a lord who will use my status to bully others? "
Li Yu hurriedly refused. What was the use of half? It was better to follow Xiao Bao's plan. Sure enough, it would be a pity if he didn't make some money.
President Tian was relieved. He casually talked about the pottery that was made over there and didn't stay for long. He said goodbye and left.
Li Yu's advisor, Xiao Chong, came out from behind the screen. He was holding the plan that Zhang Xiaobao had written for him. His face was full of admiration.
"Lord, are you going to form your own caravan immediately and go to the surrounding counties to discuss business? The people from the Millennium Chamber of Commerce are about to take action. "
"Go, I'll leave this matter to you. Taxes, a lot of taxes. Now the county will have money. The money that my brother and Xiao Bao invested can be earned back little by little. It would be good if we could find someone else to lend money. Now, we need to use the county's money to pay for it.
This is misappropriation. Even if I borrow it myself and the people agree, I will have to find a way to compensate in the future. Fortunately, no one will blame me. Which place doesn't misappropriate? Even the imperial court is shifting. "
Li Yu handed the matter to Xiao Chong. He felt that it was awkward to misappropriate public funds. He didn't have this feeling when he used to misappropriate public funds.
Of course, this was not for free. He needed to use a few of his own businesses as collateral. Otherwise, with the current financial situation of the yamen, without collateral, it would be difficult to explain to the people.
When Li Longji in the capital got on the ship and set out, Zhang Xiaobao's letter to Li Yu had also arrived.
Li Yu opened the letter and read it. He smiled happily and said to himself, "Xiao Bao is indeed Xiao Bao. He lives up to his reputation. Good, plant willows, plant a lot of them. Plant as much bamboo as you can. Then buy hay and stalks from this county and the surrounding counties. Wait for the big money."
Thinking of this, he picked up the letter and read it again. The letter analyzed the future development of Changning County. It said that as long as the merchants who invested money could earn money, they would not withdraw. This year, there might be enough other things to use. After all, the newly opened kiln needed to be tested to see how it was burned.
Every kiln was different. Some were good, some were not. Naturally, the bad ones would need to be rebuilt. When all the kilns were tested and sold next year, that would be the real era of mass production.
Pottery was not something that could be stored one by one. There had to be protective measures. What was the best thing to protect? Of course, it was bamboo and wicker baskets. There was also hay. There might be enough this year, but there would definitely be a shortage next year.
In that case, it would be too late to prepare now. Whether it was to make money for oneself or to help the merchants transport the goods safely away as soon as possible, it had to be prepared in advance.
Willows were easy to grow. Just stick a willow branch on them and they grew quickly. Bamboo was even more so.
In addition to this suggestion, another one was for Changning to start making honeycomb briquettes and use them to burn. The remaining firewood could be made into thick paper. When the time came, the Zhang Family and Wang Family would provide a material for the paper pulp. After it was pressed, it could also be used in pottery.
Li Yu read it over and over again. Every time he read it, he felt comfortable. This was a really good way to make use of the resources. After the people of the Millennium Chamber of Commerce used up the increased capital, they could earn a lot of money again.
"No, I have to prepare early. I have to write these things down. When uncle arrives at Fenshui, I will have something to say to him."
Having made up his mind, Li Yu arranged for people to collect enough hay and plant a large number of willows and bamboos. At the same time, he began to write a report. He listed all kinds of data so that when the fleet arrived, he could speak smoothly.
*****
Zhang Xiaobao didn't know how far Li Yu could go. He didn't plan to make money in Changning. When the fleet set off, he was arranged to be on Li Longji's ship. Xiao Bei and the others followed him.
The ship went through the Cao Canal. When they reached a place where they could change channels, they would enter Fenshui.
It was not easy for Li Longji to come out. At first, there were many people who objected. Finally, after Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan agreed to pay, the people who objected agreed. Otherwise, it would have taken a lot of effort.
As soon as he arrived on the ship, Li Longji didn't want to be bored in the cabin. He took a set of things and sat on the deck at the bow. He held a telescope in his hand and looked around.
The current was following the current. When they entered Fenshui River, it would be against the current. Therefore, the ship moved very fast. In addition to the guards on the ship, there were also Jinwu Guards on the shore to follow them on horseback in case there was an ambush.
A day and a half later, at noon, Li Longji still went outside to sit and look at the scenery of his country. While looking, he found that there was a bridge over the river in front of him.
"Lishi, do you know when we got out of this bridge?" Li Longji asked Gao Lishi, who was standing next to him.
Gao Lishi didn't know either. He looked at it in confusion, shook his head, and replied, "I don't know. Who was so kind to build a bridge for us? There are quite a lot of people on the bridge. Why did we stop at the head of the bridge? "
Just like what Gao Lishi said, there were many people on this bridge that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. There were also people using small carts to push goods. It was more strenuous to ride a horse because the bridge would sway back and forth. It was an iron chain bridge.
Gao Lishi didn't know, so he asked Luo Bin to come over. Luo Bin had gone to other places to pass on an imperial decree. He was gone for more than ten days, so Gao Lishi thought that he would know.
The little eunuch Luo Bin hurried over and looked up at the bridge in front of them. He said in surprise, "Aiya, it's so fast. When I passed by last time, it wasn't fixed yet. The Zhang Family and the Wang Family are really fast."
Hearing him say this, Li Longji and Gao Lishi both knew what was going on. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan probably saw that it was inconvenient to travel here, so they had people build a bridge. It was indeed very fast. In just a month, a iron chain bridge had been built. It was so comfortable to do things with money.
"Xiao Bao and Cuckoo are really kind. This bridge must have cost a lot of money to build, right? What are the two sides of the bridge supported by? "Li Longji looked carefully at the bridge, praised it, and then asked.
"Replying to Your Majesty, the two sides are supported by cement, steel bars, and pebbles. This is the only way to stretch the iron chain. Even if a hundred people stand on it, it won't break. In addition, I heard that in the future, there will be more maintenance, but … but …"
As Luo Bin spoke, he didn't know whether he should continue or not. He looked at Gao Lishi.
"Why are you looking at me? If you have something to say, just say it to Your Majesty. " Gao Lishi glared at him. Aren't you framing me? You can't say what you have to say. Look at me, it's so infuriating.
Li Longji didn't care about this small matter. He laughed and waited for Luo Bin to continue.
It's just that it's not easy to travel across this bridge. It costs money. It costs one copper coin to cross it twice. You can buy it for a month or a year. The longer you buy it, the cheaper it is. If you don't have money, you can also use goods. For example, an egg can cross it three times. If you buy a goose egg, you can cross it at least five times. Also … "
"Why does it cost money? Where are Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan? Call them over for me. Do they lack money? I've already given them money. How can an egg count? "
When Li Longji heard that they had to pay to cross the bridge, he was in no mood to praise Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. When he asked someone to call them over, he raised his binoculars and looked carefully. Of course, there was a person sitting at each end of the bridge. They were waiting for someone to throw money into a box beside them. There were also several baskets.
At this time, two adults were bringing a child across the bridge. They didn't pay and took out an egg and put it in the baskets.
"Lishi, what do you think this is? The commoners are just passing by, but they are charged. Do the Zhang Family and Wang Family really lack money? If the commoners spread this, their family's reputation will be ruined. They can take out so much money to build the canal and the road in Jiannan Province. They even provided development funds for the villages that helped pave the road. Why do they have to charge people for the canal in the capital? "
Li Longji said angrily to Gao Lishi. No wonder Luo Bin was hesitant. So this was the reason.
Gao Lishi also frowned. He also didn't understand. There were many people passing by, but how long would it take to earn back the money for the bridge? He couldn't answer for a while.
After a while, he said, "Your Majesty, this subject thinks that the people guarding the bridge are charging Xiao Bao and Cuckoo behind their backs. When Xiao Bao and Cuckoo come over, we can ask them. "
"Yes, ask them. Have them tell the truth." Li Longji was still looking at the people passing by on the bridge. No matter how he thought about it, he felt uncomfortable.
Not long after, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan came over hand in hand.
"Your Majesty is enjoying the cool air here. Your Majesty, look at the bridge in front. Cuckoo and I built it when we came over. We will build more in the future, including the river that Your Majesty was going to pass by."
Zhang Xiaobao pointed at the bridge that Li Longji was looking at and said leisurely.
Gao Lishi looked at the two of them and asked, "Xiao Bao, tell me the truth. Is that bridge charging people money?"
"Yes, it's very cheap. It only charges one copper coin for two trips. If you only go once, you'll be given a certificate. You can use it whenever you want."
Zhang Xiaobao nodded and admitted. He even explained how the copper coin would be split in half.
Li Longji put down his binoculars and asked Zhang Xiaobao, "You're lacking in money? What will the commoners think? Do you still want your reputation? Immediately tell the other side that they're not allowed to take money. If they've already taken money, just forget about it. "
"That won't do. If we don't take money, won't we be wasting money? My family isn't lacking in money. Based on the current situation, we'll need two years to earn back the money we spent on the bridge. At that time, a portion of the money we earn will be used for maintenance, and a portion will be used to arrange houses at the bridgehead so that people can rest.
My family isn't counting on this to make a fortune, but we can't not take it. In the future, all bridges will be like this. If it works, then we'll be building roads. Caravans will also have to pay tolls. "
Zhang Xiaobao didn't care about Li Longji's glare. He had to take the money.
Li Longji thought that Zhang Xiaobao would immediately comply. He didn't expect him to refuse. He opened his mouth and was about to give another order when Gao Lishi said, "Xiao Bao, there has to be a reason, right? Since you're not lacking in money, why are you still taking it? "
"Of course there's a reason. My family isn't lacking in money, but that doesn't mean that everyone isn't lacking in money. Many merchants want to do good deeds, but once they invest the money, they'll have to pay maintenance fees every year to repair the bridge and roads. It's fine if the business is doing well, but if it suddenly goes bad, then the bridge and roads will gradually be abandoned.
If they're like me and let the passersby pay a bit of money, then even if the merchants don't have money in the future, they'll still have tolls to maintain the bridge and roads. Besides, this money should be collected. There's a boatman sitting on both sides of the bridgehead who ferries on the canal. He collects money when he ferries. Now that there's a bridge, he doesn't need to ferry anymore. He can just sit on the bridge and collect money. When the time comes, he'll have a share of the money. It's not much different from ferrying people.
Without this bridge, wouldn't it cost money to take a boat? It costs even more. That's why many people would rather take a detour than pay to cross the river. It's cheaper for us, especially for those who travel frequently. It's only 20 copper coins a month and 200 copper coins a year. It's so cheap. "
Zhang Xiaobao was planning to charge the toll to the end.
Wang Juan chimed in from the side. "Isn't that so? If we only think about doing good deeds, how can we let the merchants who suffer losses lose the ability to do it again? Xiao Bao and I are preparing to earn back the money we spent on the bridge. When we earn more money, we'll continue to use the money to repair bridges and roads. We'll gather the wealth of the world's travelers and build roads for them. "
This time, Li Longji didn't say anything. He didn't ask Zhang Xiaobao to cancel the toll. Instead, he thought about what the two of them said. At this time, the boat had already reached the bridge. The people on the bridge had already been cleared. What if someone spat on the bridge?
Li Longji raised his head and looked at the metal chains and ropes. He felt that what Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan said was right. If it were another merchant who said this, he would think that he was quibbling. Were there merchants who didn't care about money?
However, when Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan said it, no one would doubt it. They really didn't lack money. Every year, they took out a large sum of money to build the infrastructure. It was impossible for them to count on collecting bridge and road tolls to make a fortune.
Gao Lishi was also considering this problem. He was tempted by what Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan said. Yes, a merchant who didn't ask for anything in return wouldn't last long. Was there even one in a hundred merchants?
Thus, he said to Li Longji, "Your Majesty, if what Xiao Bao and Cuckoo said is true, there will be more people who are willing to build bridges and roads in the future. Then, there will be no need to worry about Great Tang's roads not being smooth. Countless merchants will take the initiative to build bridges and roads. In a few years, there will be roads and bridges everywhere in Great Tang. "
Li Longji nodded. If the imperial court really had to fork out money to build so many roads and bridges, the imperial court wouldn't be able to afford it. Even if they could, they wouldn't be able to maintain it.
Thinking that he had more or less figured it out, he was just about to agree when he suddenly thought of a crucial problem. He asked Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, "Then what if many merchants build roads and bridges just to make money? Won't the wealth of the commoners be earned by them?
Take this bridge of yours for example. You can recoup your capital in two years. I don't think anyone would build a bridge on the Yellow River, right? They won't be able to afford it, so they can only build it in a place like this. What if they deliberately raise the price? "
"In a moment, I'll pay the taxes and write a document. As long as the road and bridge fees are earned, they will be paid to the local authorities first. However, this money will be paid directly to the capital, and the local authorities won't be able to embezzle it. In this way, it will take a longer time to recoup the capital. With such a heavy tax, it will probably take four years to recoup the capital.
After recouping the capital, they will still have to continue paying taxes, and the transportation fees will be reduced. I'll write this clearly in the contract. When the time comes, His Majesty will be able to gather a large amount of money and use this money to do other things. "
Zhang Xiaobao didn't need to think too much to know how to deal with this problem.
Wang Juan added, "Indeed. The only problem is that no matter how good a policy is, it still needs people to carry it out. For example, concealing the truth of the matter. Once there is enough money, many officials are even willing to take the risk of being executed."
Hearing the two's words, Li Longji sighed. He agreed with Zhang Xiaobao's point, but he was also worried about Wang Juan's point. That was indeed the case. Who could guarantee that the officials wouldn't be greedy? They would always have a wishful thinking, even if they knew that they could be executed.
Unable to come up with a solution, Li Longji looked at Gao Lishi.
Gao Lishi had his own considerations. He said, "Your Majesty, you can let many officials who don't have positions walk around the place. One is to monitor whether the roads and bridges have been built, and whether they have received money. The other is to find a job for them.
If someone wants to bribe them, it's also fine. Your Majesty can let different people walk around the place every half a month to see if they can afford it. You can even use this to link it to an evaluation.
It's like the officials in the county supervising each other. As long as someone is found to be doing this, they can report it and get a chance to be promoted. Although it can't be completely stopped, it will definitely have a good effect. Occasionally, you can send people to check it out. When the time comes, you can kill a few to make the officials more obedient. "
In truth, Li Longji had already approved of this plan, but he still asked Zhang Xiaobao, "Is this plan feasible?"
Zhang Xiaobao nodded. "If we can harden our hearts and kill them, we won't have to fear that too many officials will make mistakes. What we fear is that we will corrupt them from the root. The Imperial Court will have to consider favors. For example, if a certain general or official who has made great contributions does something wrong, the Imperial Court won't be able to kill them directly. That would be the most dangerous."
"Kill, we have to kill them. No matter who pleads for leniency, we won't allow it. Let's try it out in the various rivers of Gyeonggi Province first and see how it goes. After that, we'll promote it to the entire Great Tang. Let's start with you all. Write a plan for collecting taxes on the Iron Chain Bridge."
Li Longji wasn't muddle-headed. He didn't plan to promote this plan to the entire Great Tang, but he wouldn't be satisfied if he didn't do it. How much money would that cost? If he could earn it, why wouldn't he? The national treasury was indeed much better than before, but it wasn't easy to start a war. Besides, there were many other things that needed to be done, such as the construction of the canal.
Zhang Xiaobao nodded in agreement. Collecting taxes was fine, but he didn't expect to make money on the bridge. Moving forward, the true source of income was the markets on both sides of the bridge. Those were tax-free, and the Imperial Court wouldn't care.
After resolving one of his worries, Li Longji turned to Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan and asked, "How many bridges can be built on the Yellow River? You all will fork out a portion, and the Imperial Court will fork out a portion. If it really isn't possible, the Imperial Court can also fork out the money. After all, your family has been spending a lot recently. "
"That depends on what kind of bridge it is. If it's like the one on the Yangtze, it won't be possible to build it. It just so happened that someone was causing trouble over there, so a bridge was built. If no one is causing trouble over here, do you want to change the course of the Yellow River? How many things would that delay? Even though there's a bridge on the Yangtze, compared to the losses back then, the current income is too little. "
Zhang Xiaobao was worried that Li Longji would want to build such a bridge. How much money did he spend back then? Who would change the course of the river for no reason?
Wang Juan also added, "If it's an iron suspension bridge, it's still possible. Just choose a narrow place and build it. However, compared to the canal, it will cost more money. If the Imperial Court isn't in a hurry, after the autumn harvest, Xiao Bao and I can raise the money to do this."
"How do you raise the money?" Li Longji was still worried about Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. He was afraid that they would make life difficult for their families because of the money they had to fork out.
"Tubo, Japan, and Xinyuan Island. Tubo is finished today. We can use food to exchange for a lot of resources. With resources, there's money. Japan is waiting for the silver ore to be shipped back this time. Xiao Bao is also going to make a move. There's silver and gold over there.
Including Xin Luo, the people from Xin Luo are now playing games with Li Yu in Changning County of Ci Zhou. Their purpose of investing here is not pure. They want to cheat. Xiao Bao and I have given Li Yu ideas. Next, it's time to counterattack. Don't think of taking advantage of us for no reason. "
Wang Juan pointed to the west, east, and south as she explained to Li Longji.
Li Longji suddenly understood. That's right, Xiao Bao is still scheming. He didn't scheme against the people of Great Tang, but it doesn't mean that he doesn't scheme against other countries. If one didn't know what Zhang Xiaobao did to the surrounding countries, it would be easy for people to think that Xiao Bao was only so-so in terms of economy and didn't have any good ideas.
It was because of this comparison that people understood that Xiao Bao or the experts of the Zhang family were thinking about Great Tang. There were many things that they couldn't do, but were unwilling to do.
Thinking of this, Li Longji suddenly felt a little embarrassed. "It's not good to always ask you to fork out money, right?"
"It's fine. As long as His Majesty agrees to let us work hard to open a bank, oh, a bank, it's fine. If His Majesty allows us to operate the bank as usual, we will take care of the bridge of the Yellow River."
Zhang Xiaobao was originally worried that someone would snatch the bridge from him. Now that he had found an opportunity, it was worth it even if he had to fork out a million strings of coins to repair the bridge. Besides, he didn't need to spend that much money.
"What bank?" Li Longji had a vague feeling that things weren't that simple. Now that he heard Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan casually mention something, he had to think deeper.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan could only selectively tell Li Longji and Gao Lishi about the bank. The purpose was to facilitate business transactions, promote economic prosperity, reduce transportation costs and risks, and at the same time, earn some money to support their families. Now that the price of cotton had risen, Xiaobei and the others hadn't made new clothes yet.
After hearing this, Li Longji eliminated the previous few tasks of serving others. The one that left the deepest impression on him was to earn some money.
He didn't believe that Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were willing to fork out so much money to repair the bridge just to earn some money. Their past was still vivid in his mind. How did they get the good farm in Fengzhou? How did Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan each have an official? How did the east of Jinchuan and the west of Great Tang, including the desert, become Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan's territory?
Thus, Li Longji didn't directly agree. Instead, he said, "Let me think about this. En, find Bi Gou and the others. I have something to ask."
"Then we'll go back. We still have to cook." Wang Juan dragged Zhang Xiaobao and left.
After the two left, Li Longji waited for Old Man Pi and the others to arrive. He was thinking hard about the relationship between the Yellow River Bridge and the bank. When he turned his head, he saw Gao Lishi looking at the scenery in boredom. He asked, "Lishi, do you know what's going on with the bank? Why do I feel that something is wrong? Listening to them, they don't earn much. Is that true? "
Gao Lishi thought about it and replied, "Your Majesty, I don't think it's that simple. Perhaps they can earn a lot of money, but I know that no matter how much money Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan earn, they don't spend much on themselves."
"En." Li Longji responded. At this time, Old Man Pi and Old Man Yao arrived.
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