usatvline Chapter 42 Profit
Chapter 42 Profit
"Second daughter, after saying so much, how much tax revenue and profit do you think we could generate if we followed your method?" Old Zhu pondered for a moment and then suddenly asked.
"Your Majesty, according to my predictions, in the initial stage, the annual tax revenue and profit should not be less than two million taels of silver! After three to five years, it could reach a staggering five million taels per year!"
Li Jinglong estimated and gave a conservative figure: compared to the Southern Song Dynasty, customs revenue alone could reach two million strings of cash. This did not include commodity taxes, while the Southern Song Dynasty collected twenty to thirty million strings of cash in import and export taxes annually.
"How much?" Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up; clearly, the old Zhu was also attracted by this number.
Nowadays, all the taxes collected in a year only amount to a little over ten million taels of silver. Imagine how much more can be accomplished with an extra 20% or even 50%!
Putting everything else aside, how could those remnants of the Northern Yuan possibly survive?
We spent two or three years preparing to conquer Nahachu in Liaodong. Why? Because we were poor.
"Your Majesty, I dare not speak lightly!"
"Two million! Five million!" Old Zhu's mouth was already wide open, and he kept muttering to himself.
Seeing this, Li Jinglong could only wait quietly with a smile on his face.
"Second Girl, since you brought this up, do you dare to take on this task?" Suddenly, her eyes gleamed as she stared intently at Li Jinglong.
"This..." Li Jinglong was reluctant to accept. Everyone knew this was a lucrative job, but the key was that too many people were eyeing it, and wouldn't he become a thorn in their side?
"Hmm?" Old Zhu frowned slightly.
Helpless, Li Jinglong could only express his concerns: "Your Majesty, the matter of maritime trade is of paramount importance, and I dare not act on my own initiative!"
"What are you afraid of? We'll stand up for you. Anyone who dares to lay a finger on us, we'll chop them up!" Old Zhu shouted sternly.
For Lao Zhu, with such huge profits, there's no way he'd give anyone else a chance to get involved. But if he were to do it himself, is it possible that Lao Zhu would end up raising pigs?
Thinking of this, Li Jinglong suddenly broke out in a cold sweat!
In the later years of the Hongwu reign, there was a reign of terror and bloodshed. The greater one's merits, the more likely one was to get into trouble!
"Your Majesty, controlling maritime trade is a matter of national security. I am capable of doing it, but Your Majesty cannot allow me to do it yourself!" Li Jinglong said solemnly. "This is a matter of paramount importance concerning the foundation of the nation; I urge Your Majesty to consider it carefully!"
"Hehe!" Old Zhu suddenly laughed. "You don't trust us?"
Oops!
Li Jinglong inwardly realized he was in trouble and quickly explained, "Your Majesty, it is my lack of talent and knowledge. I can offer suggestions from the sidelines, but when it comes to actually carrying them out, I am not capable!"
"In my opinion, you should be in charge of this matter. We'll discuss it with the Crown Prince later and see how to implement it. But you also need to be prepared!" Old Zhu said seriously.
Oh no! We're sinking deeper and deeper!
Li Jinglong inwardly groaned, "What happened to my promised life of lying down and doing nothing?"
It's all their own fault for being so foul-mouthed! Why did they give Zhu Biao all this advice for no reason?!
After leaving the Jinshen Hall, Li Jinglong was somewhat absent-minded. Given Zhu's personality, once he had this on his mind, he probably wouldn't be able to shake off the thought for a while!
How will I deal with it then?
Could it be that he really has to take charge of maritime trade? Li Jinglong's face immediately fell with worry!
"Jiujiang! Jiujiang!"
They had just arrived at the palace gate and hadn't even left when Deng Zhen stopped them.
"What's wrong?" Li Jinglong asked, looking at Deng Zhen, who was running over, panting.
Deng Zhen leaned close to Li Jinglong and whispered, "Jiujiang, have you heard? His Majesty has issued an edict to begin mobilizing military provisions from the areas surrounding the capital and transporting them to Beiping!"
"When did this happen?" Li Jinglong asked in surprise.
"Just yesterday!"
Li Jinglong cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Brother Deng, I just returned from Zhongdu today. I heard about this from you!"
Li Jinglong knew what Deng Zhen meant by the transport of military supplies from the surrounding areas of Beijing to Beiping.
Before an army can move, supplies must be prepared. Next year's campaign to conquer Liaodong will begin in Beiping!
"Jiujiang, are you free later?" Deng Zhen looked around and asked in a low voice.
Li Jinglong nodded. "Yes!"
Hearing Li Jinglong's affirmative answer, Deng Zhen continued, "Alright, then I'll come to your club at Shenshi (3-5 PM). We've both only recently inherited our titles; we can't afford to fall behind in this great battle!"
Li Jinglong naturally understood Deng Zhen's thoughts. As the eldest son of the late Prince Ninghe, Deng Yu, Deng Zhen, like Li Jinglong, was a duke who had never been on the battlefield. The two of them had to make good preparations for this great battle.
Without military merit, a nobleman is like a naked girl; even with the title of Duke, he is still looked down upon by the marquises.
"Okay! I'll go and wait for you!" Li Jinglong agreed.
"Okay!" Deng Zhen nodded, then watched Li Jinglong leave.
On the carriage, Li Jinglong was also pondering what choice he should make in this Liaodong war.
Li Jinglong was not worried about winning the battle, since historical records showed that Nahachu of Liaodong surrendered and was even granted the title of Marquis of Haixi by Zhu Yuanzhang.
It's already mid-July, and there are less than six months left until the day we set out to deploy our troops!
As for himself, first he had to get married, then he had to go to Shandong to train troops, and then he would lead the garrison soldiers north.
Based on this, Li Jinglong estimated that he would have to set off in mid-October or late October, leaving him with only about three months at most.
As soon as Li Jinglong arrived at the club entrance, he was drawn to the commotion at the entrance. He saw a young man dressed in brocade robes, leading several servants, speaking with a regional accent and clearly somewhat drunk, rudely addressing the doorman.
"What a joke! I've never heard of needing a pass to enter a brothel. What, are you afraid I can't afford it?" the young man in brocade robes said disdainfully, while his servants chimed in.
"Let me tell you, our young master comes from a first-rate family in Songjiang Prefecture. Would we be short of your little bit of money?"
The servant at the door said politely but firmly, "Young master, you need a pass to enter. It's our rule; we don't serve outsiders!"
"Bullshit!" the young man in brocade robes cursed. "I'm going in today, what can you do about it?"
Li Jinglong took in the scene at the entrance and snorted coldly: Where did this idiot come from? A rich merchant's son dares to cause trouble in the capital?
"Li Er, go over and take a look, teach them a lesson!" Li Jinglong frowned as he saw the crowd gradually gathering around him.
"My lord, I'll go right away!"
Li Er pushed through the crowd and stood before the young man in brocade robes, smiling contemptuously: "Young master, Nanjing is not your Songjiang. It's one thing to court death, but be careful not to implicate your entire family; that would be a greater loss than gain!"
"Heh! He actually said I'm courting death?" The young man in the brocade robe turned left and then right, laughing disdainfully with the person beside him. "A mere brothel, yet he dares to spout such nonsense. Does he even know who I am?"
"I don't care who you are, but this isn't a place for you to run wild!" Li Er was fearless and shouted, "Guards!"
Suddenly, six guards wielding sticks emerged from the hall.
"Young Master, I refuse to believe it!" The young man in the brocade robe dismissed his servants and stepped forward. "My sister is..."