Gu Yanxi liked to see Ah Zhi like this the most. She was so confident that her whole body seemed to be glowing, making him feel that things were not so difficult, even though he knew they were really difficult.
"Why the second one?"
"Of course the country has to contribute the lion's share." Hua Zhi said as she thought, "There are seven necessities of life: firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and tea. The most important of these are rice, salt, and tea. Let's talk about tea first. The price of tea has always been high, and there are nomadic peoples who cannot live without tea. In Yinshan Pass, the price of black market tea bricks is higher than gold. You should know how many tea bricks are shipped to the grassland every year. If we can block this hole and we can control this line ourselves, the money we can get in return will not be a small amount. This is a sales channel. Besides, you have tasted my tea, so you know there will be a market for it. Moreover, this is a business that only serves the rich, and the money in and out will not be small."
After taking a sip of tea, Hua Zhi continued, "Then let's talk about salt. Salt is actually a business with low costs, but the official salt sells for 80 wen per catty, and the highest price was 120 wen. Private salt sells for around 50 wen, so people will naturally buy the relatively cheap private salt. I have never inquired about how much salt tax the court can collect in a year, but I know it won't be too much. If you check any official in charge of salt administration, you will find that they are all very rich, because the private salt belongs to them, and it is normal for public salt to be sold privately."
Gu Yanxi nodded silently. The Qisusi had personally tried to control it, but it was impossible to stop it. At most, the situation was better during the time they caught him. But the Qisusi couldn't always keep an eye on this matter, so in the end it was left unresolved.
"Azhi, do you have a solution?"
"I have a method of making salt, which is far more efficient than the current method of boiling salt. If the output is high, half of the problem will be solved, and the price will come down. As for the other half..." Hua Zhi tapped the table with her fingers, "Of course, it is to ban private salt."
"How to ban it?"
"If the imperial court opens a new salt field, the output is greater than all the private salt combined, and the price is low, let's temporarily set it at ten cents, what room will private salt have to survive?"
Gu Yanxi frowned, "Isn't ten cents too low?"
"It's not low. Common people can only earn about ten coins for a day's work. One pound of salt is their daily income. What else can we expect? Salt is a consumable product that must be consumed every day. If all this income can be used by the court, it will be a terrifying figure."
"What if someone learns your method of making salt and sells it at a low price?"
Hua Zhi smiled, "Killing a chicken to scare the monkeys! They have just learned this method. In order to grab the market, they will not communicate with each other. As long as they are in the first and last place, it will be fine. Let them see the determination of the court and they will naturally know whether brains are more important or money is more important."
Gu Yanxi had completely followed Ah Zhi's train of thought. She thought about the matter from beginning to end in her mind and nodded slowly, "It's feasible."
"The people who run the salt works have to be chosen carefully."
"Nanasuji takes over."
Hua Zhi raised her eyebrows, "Can Qisusi take over this matter?"
"I think the Emperor will agree."
That's right, as long as he could save enough money to build the canal, he would certainly open the door to convenience. Hua Zhi sneered and said, "An old man who refuses to die is a thief," and he was referring to people like the emperor.
"Then there is food. Whether it is Daqing, the Chaoli tribe, or other small countries, they are all short of food. Only Yan Country can exchange food for something useful to them, because they have the advantage of the land and can grow crops three times a year."
"Yes, only they can. The late emperor once tried to learn it, and tried it in the manor in the capital, but he failed in two seasons, not to mention three seasons."
"It's not the right place. It shouldn't be in the capital. We should go to the south, Jiaozhou and Jingzhou are good choices. Yangzhou can also be tried. It gets cold later there, the land is not frozen so severely, and it thaws earlier in spring." Hua Zhi tapped the table with her fingers. "Find a way to coax some people from Yan Country to go there. They are experienced and know what to do."
"Good." Gu Yanxi's expression was finally not as tense as before. "As long as we have enough food, there are many things we can do."
"Yes, it can ensure that the soldiers at the border have enough food to train and fight the enemy with swords, and it can also ensure that the people who are building the canal do not go hungry." Hua Zhi looked outside the house, "Unfortunately, it's too late this year."
"Just right." Gu Yanxi said in a deep voice: "I think it's just right."
Hua Zhi thought about it and realized that it was just right. They also needed time to get some help and they could use it after the New Year.
"Then there are water and land transportation. A while ago, I transported a shipload of seafood from Zhenyang to the capital. It cost nearly eighty taels of silver to go through all the checkpoints. Normally, it would not cost more than ten taels of silver for a trip, which means that seventy taels of silver will not be handed in. As for the ten taels of silver, Yan Xi might as well go to the Ministry of Revenue to ask how much of it is actually handed in. Not to mention land transportation, there will be more checkpoints, so everyone will pinch their noses and go by water. Although they still have to pay, it is more cost-effective to transport more goods at a time."
Gu Yanxi had heard of this matter but didn't know it was so serious. He immediately frowned, "If a shipload of goods is only worth a hundred taels of silver, do we have to hand over seventy taels?"
"Not really. They charge based on the value of the goods. The higher the value, the higher the price. For example, a shipload of oranges would only cost about ten taels from Yangzhou to the capital." Hua Zhi thought of the highway tolls in later generations, which could collect hundreds of billions a year. Wouldn't it be the same in ancient times? It's just that it's easier to cheat here. If there was an effective way to restrain them, the money would go into the pockets of the Ministry of Revenue, and the national treasury would be enriched, wouldn't it
Hua Zhi felt a slight headache, so she stopped talking and lowered her head to drink tea. It's not that there are no other ways to make money. There are many. It would be more convenient if she did it in an official capacity, such as logistics. But she had to eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time. She couldn't hand over her cards all at once and let the emperor think that this was an easy thing, and not only would he not remember her contribution, but he would also cause trouble for her.
Gu Yanxi had already figured out where to start, but they still had a more important problem. "Financial resources are hopefully solved, but what about manpower? Money can be earned, but there are only so many people, and we can't create more."
"For now, I can only think of using money to recruit them to work." This problem is also the most difficult for Hua Zhi at the moment. She can conjure up money, but she can't really conjure people. "How about asking the government offices in various places to drive all the prisoners there?"
"It's feasible, but it's still far from enough." Gu Yanxi pushed his tea in front of Azhi, picked up the empty cup and handed it to Shaoyao, who obediently stood up and asked Liu Xiang to make tea.
"If we use black powder, we can make up for the lack of manpower."
Hua Zhi was stunned and subconsciously wanted to reject it, but this seemed to be the only way at the moment.
Gu Yanxi held her hand and said, "I know you don't want to use this thing, but Ah Zhi, you know it's impossible not to use it. Now Yinshan Pass has already used it, and we need to use it to protect ourselves."
"I'm afraid that one day our descendants will be beaten to a pulp by this thing we created ourselves."
But, she still has to use it. Hua Zhi was helpless. She had to save her own life first before she could consider her future generations.