Emperor Jing's expression relaxed and he said, "Tell me, what is the solution?"
"I want to do business with Your Majesty."
"Business?" Emperor Jing glanced at him and said lightly, "In this world, it is the first time that someone wants to do business with me."
Li Yi thought that the old emperor was boasting. First time doing business with someone?
Then who tempted him with the lovely Yong Ning to compete with the people of the Qi Kingdom?
If it wasn't for the fact that he was afraid of exposing him and causing him to lose face, which might cause the guards under the pavilion to do something unpredictable, he wouldn't have given him face today.
"You stink of money, and you still want to pull me in …" Emperor Jing picked up the teacup again and said, "Tell me first, and I will think about it."
"I suddenly remembered that Your Majesty is the ruler of a country, and you should not be involved in these things. I am still in a hurry to send gifts to the Princess. I will leave …"
Li Yi retreated to the pavilion, and Emperor Jing's angry voice came.
"Come back!"
"What else does Your Majesty want me to do?"
"Tell me, what is the business?" Emperor Jing patted the table.
"What business?" Li Yi looked puzzled.
…
…
Li Yi sat opposite Emperor Jing, put the brocade box on the table, and took a sip of tea unhurriedly.
He wanted to play this game with him. He was the one who needed money, not him. Let's see who was anxious first …
"Where did you get so many glazes?" Emperor Jing looked at him and asked.
"I accidentally dug a colored glass mine in my backyard. There are countless colored glass wares in it, and they are inexhaustible. I just want to take them out to make some contributions to the country. However, if I directly donate them to the national treasury, people will inevitably say that Your Majesty is taking advantage of me by force. I naturally can't let Your Majesty's reputation be tarnished, so I plan to do business with Your Majesty."
"Are you sure?" Emperor Jing glanced at him and said, "In the whole world, all the land belongs to the king, and all the land belongs to the king … Since it was dug out from your backyard, then give it all to the country."
"Of course … I'm not sure."
The old Emperor must have been hanging out with some shady people these days. His words were getting more and more shameless. Li Yi hurriedly said, "Actually, these glasswares were made with materials from the backyard of my house. It took me a lot of effort to make them. Although nature is the work of the gods, how could it produce such a lifelike statue of a princess? This subject invited skilled craftsmen from the capital and spent half a year to carve them out bit by bit. The cost of materials, labor, equipment maintenance, mental distress … were all paid by this subject myself."
"You can make colored glaze?" Jing Di looked at him with a slightly shocked expression.
"If Your Majesty wants to learn, I can teach you …" Li Yi cupped his hands and said, "In a year or two, Your Majesty can even use glass to make the roof tiles …"
"We are not that extravagant to make tiles out of glaze …" Emperor Jing glanced at him and said, "If we really did that, I would be the first fatuous ruler recorded in the history books …"
Jing Di waved his hand and said, "Since this is business, what do you need me to do?"
"I need Your Majesty to hold a glass appreciation meeting in the palace and invite the officials and nobles of Jingdou into the palace to view it. Of course, it doesn't matter if the nobles come or not. The main thing is that their wives must come. Try not to miss a single one …"
Jing Di glanced at him with a faint smile and said, "You want to drag the empress into this?"
Then, as if he had figured something out, he looked at Li Yi and said in astonishment, "You mean to say that in a year or two, stained glass will be sold as cheaply as tiles? Before the price of stained glass drops, you want to sell it to the nobles in the capital?"
"Your Majesty is wise!"
Jing Di waved his hand and said, "In this way, at that time, how will you face the nobles of Jingdou and establish yourself in Jingdou? Aren't you worried about these things? "
"Why should I worry?" Li Yi asked in confusion, "I don't plan on selling glass to take advantage of the nobles. Why should I face them?"
Jing Di froze for a moment and looked at him to ask, "Who did you drag into this?"
"The Wang family."
"…"
"It is not easy for the Wang family to refuse such a thing. However, in this way, you want me to plot against my officials?" Jing Di narrowed his eyes and looked at Li Yi. He said, "Li Yi, Li Yi, you are using this matter to frame me for injustice. What are your intentions?"
Li Yi was startled and a guilty expression appeared on his face. He bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. I was blinded by greed and inadvertently caused Your Majesty to fall into an unjust situation. I know I was wrong. I will go home and reflect on myself. I will not sell the glass ware. I will go home and melt it to make tiles … I will leave now!"
…
A moment later, Jing Di pointed to the brocade box on the table and looked straight at Li Yi. He asked, "How much do you plan to sell something like this for?"
Li Yi thought for a moment and said, "This kind of work is meticulously carved. It is the best work. I will not sell it for less than twenty thousand taels."
Jing Di shook his head and said, "Who would spend twenty thousand taels to buy a piece of glass ware?"
"Two days ago, I sold a piece of Guanyin statue that was half the size of this for eight thousand taels." Li Yi looked at him and said.
"Did you pay taxes to the imperial court?" Jing Di asked.
"…"
"This is not important." Li Yi pointed to the brocade box on the table and said, "Your Majesty, do you think the Cui family will buy it if the glass ware in this box is priced at twenty thousand taels? The craftsmen in my family are very skilled. I plan to make a few more … "
"This is not good, is it?" Jing Di hesitated after a moment of shock.
"Forget it. Anyway, there are too many pieces of glass. It takes up space at home. I plan to sell them for five copper coins per catty."
"How much do you plan to donate to the national treasury?"
When Li Yi was about to speak, Jing Di waved his hand and said, "Thirty percent, at least thirty percent. You know better than me how big the impact of this matter will be. I am afraid the Wang family can't bear it."
Li Yi was stunned and showed a painful expression on his face. He gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, thirty percent … thirty percent."
Seeing that he agreed so readily, Jing Di was stunned. He rubbed his eyebrows and said, "Even if you are pretending to be distressed, can you be more serious?"
"I changed my mind. I want fifty percent!"
Li Yi decided to go back and read all the books in the performance department in the library. But this time, there was no need to pretend. The Li family could not afford fifty percent. It was not a good thing to be greedy. The Wang family took twenty percent because they had to bear the anger of the nobles. The old emperor took forty percent because he wanted to borrow the tiger skin … dragon skin. Plus the royal publicity and operating expenses, it was not much.
His family took forty percent. It seemed to be a loss, but in fact, it was a big profit.
As for thirty percent, it was really distressing. He immediately said, "Your Majesty, forty percent. Forty percent, no more …"
It took another quarter of an hour to finally reach an agreement with the old emperor on the distribution of the spoils. The royal family took forty percent, the Li family took forty percent, and the Wang family took twenty percent. Elder Cui's statues would be made first and sold everywhere. On the same day, the Wang family would hold a charity sale in the capital. This big bargain would be given to the Cui family. No need to thank me …
He had more and more common topics with the old emperor. The success of this deal was much easier than what Li Yi had expected.
"By the way, who did you sell the glazed statue of Guanyin to for eight thousand taels?" Jing Di seemed to think of something and asked with narrowed eyes.
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