Star Trace Gate

Chapter 712: Make money!

Ren also spent two full days carefully inspecting his own "territory" and finally returned to Qingliang Prefecture.

His main inspection locations were the government offices in Jiudi, Shangyu, military camps and garrisons, as well as the construction sites of the two wonders.

After this round, King Huai was still very satisfied. Although "Qingliang County" has not yet implemented the imperial examination system and mainly relies on the recommendation system to recruit talents, relying on the foundation left by the Daqian court and Huang Ge's painstaking selection, the officials in various places can be regarded as diligent, and the implementation of government orders is also very smooth, and there are not too many people who are hypocritical.

This situation is mainly due to two reasons. First, the battle of Shangyu Jiudi ended not long ago, and many graves in the war-torn areas have not yet grown grass. The scene of corpses everywhere is still vivid in people's minds, so everyone is quite afraid and no one dares to cause trouble at this time to avoid being beheaded.

Secondly, Qingliang County has a very special geographical location and is protected by a fog barrier. If no one takes the initiative to open the door, no one can get out. In this way, if anyone wants to collude with the enemy to cause trouble, once something happens, it will be basically difficult to escape, and they will definitely receive the Nine Clans Elimination Game package.

In such a special environment, coupled with the dedicated management of Mr. Huang, the nine areas of Shangyu were governed in an orderly manner, with clear political orders and great stability.

In terms of weapons and armor, the Earth Dragon Army has now expanded to 2,000 soldiers, with the minimum requirement of being a first-class supernatural power soldier, and has already started training in Shangyu County. It is led by the Golden Wolf General Bau. If the old general had not been rescued by the Little Bad King, he would definitely not have been able to escape the disaster of the border war. Therefore, he is grateful to King Huai and is convinced that the future of the empire is limitless, so he has become industrious to the point of abnormality.

His group of beautiful concubines always complained: "Master, we only eat dry rice every day and do not work... This makes us very anxious."

Every time he heard this, Lord Bau would wave his hand and say calmly, "Marriage is about long-term relationships, not just one meal a day. Don't be afraid, you can keep eating these dry meals."

"Master, you are so funny!"

"Stay away, quit for now."

"...!"

Lord Bau is nearly sixty years old, but he still works until midnight every day. How dare others be lazy?

You know, this Golden Wolf General is not someone you can easily mess with. When he was angry, he was a fierce man who dared to overthrow the border. He was decisive and ruthless. In addition, Ren Ye completely delegated all important matters in the army to him. If anyone offended him, he would kill them first and report later.

Military and political affairs were steadily improving, which made the Little Bad King very pleased.

However, while Qingliang County was developing rapidly, its shortcoming of lacking gold and silver was magnified countless times. Everything had to be put into operation, and everything lacked star source support.

……

Qingliang Mountain, the blessed land of Sifang Chengyuntai, is currently under construction in full swing. A total of more than 3,000 farmers and more than 300 craftsmen are mobilized. The daily expenses just for firing and paying wages amount to more than 100,000 star sources.

Thousands of people were working on the mountain, the sounds of chiseling and hammering never stopped from sunrise to sunset; cartloads of rare stones and precious materials were transported to the foot of the mountain in an endless stream, and then carried up the mountain bit by bit by naked laborers...

If one does not want to cruelly exploit and ruthlessly squeeze people for such a massive project, it can only be supported by money.

The most important thing is, even if those in power here are all beasts, who only feed the farmers rice soup and bran and vegetables, and shout for war and killing if they don't work, it can at most save the money of two people who oppress the people, but it can't solve the cost of consumables and construction at all.

On the mountain, Ren Ye stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the peak that had been gradually worn down by human power, and asked softly: "These ten million star sources... can't solve anything."

Mr. Huang squatted on the ground, narrowed his eyes and said, "Who told you that it can be solved?! This master asked you for 10 million just to cover the expenses of the next few days. The star source later... I don’t even know who to fool?"

"Where did the money from selling the houses go?!" Ren Ye asked with a squinting look, "More than 200 houses have been sold out. You can't just show me three big pits, right?"

"Are you talking human language?! Have you calculated how many officials there are in Shangyu Jiudi and Qingliangfu? Have you calculated the monthly military expenses? Do you really want to build a brilliant empire with your more than 200 houses? Do you think you are the boss of a song and dance troupe? You can have 2 trillion after a few drinks?" Mr. Huang curled his lips and said, "I told you before that the Earth Dragon Army can be postponed because the expenses of 2,000 first-class supernatural powers are too high! But you want it all, and you want to grab a handful of everything... Then what else can I look at if I don't show you a big pit?! Look at the cup size?"

"You're just looking at the cup size. If I go to lead people to make money now, I still have to have time to lie down and get up, right?!"

Every word Mr. Huang said was full of wisdom, but the little bad boy Wang was speechless.

“Where are the taxes?!”

Ren also pondered for a while: "Shangyu Jiudi plus Qingliangfu... Can we repair the blessed land while standing?!"

At this moment, an official from the Ministry of Revenue of Qingliang Prefecture who had been following Prince Huai on his inspection tour came forward with a fist clasped and said, "Your Highness, Mr. Huang has already collected the tax for thirty years...!"

"?!"

After Ren Ye was stunned for a while, he pointed at Brother Huang with shaking hands and yelled, "You are such a yellow-skinned fellow with thick eyebrows and big eyes! How dare you collect taxes for thirty years?! Aren't you forcing the people to revolt?!"

Mr. Huang glanced at the official from the Ministry of Revenue and said with a squinting look: "Damn it, you are trying to put eye drops on me, right?"

"Sir, I am just telling the truth. I still feel that... the taxation after 30 years is a bit too harsh." The official from the Ministry of Revenue argued.

"Bullshit, you know nothing." Huang Ge cursed, "I'm issuing government bonds, not taxes! Government bonds can be used in the future, and there are interest... Forget it, you are an uneducated person, I can't explain it to you even if I explain it to you."

"You issued national debt?" Ren was also surprised.

"What if we don't sell it?!" Mr. Huang said helplessly, "You sell pre-sale properties first, and brag about how awesome your property is. If the house can't be completed and it's left unfinished... Minister Wen will be the first to rush in and strangle you to death! You have to know that he is the most ruthless one. The Ministry of Rites... bought more than 30 units in total. If he doesn't strangle you to death, someone else will."

"It's not the 30-year taxation, but the 30-year validity of the national debt." Huang Ge added dejectedly, "However... this place is too feudal, and the people are not enlightened, so this kind of policy is not easy to implement. In addition to the people's voluntary purchase, I just put a knife on the necks of those dog rich people... and asked them to buy one million each."

"You are the one who takes advantage of others."

"You bastard, if you curse me again, I'm going to run away with brother Bau's beautiful concubine, do you believe it?" Mr. Huang revealed a shocking secret.

Ren Ye looked at the mountain peaks that had been flattened by human power and sighed, "Damn it, how come the construction of these three blessed places cost so much more than the budget?"

"Because the list of construction needs that Minister Lin asked the Shousui Artificial Department to draw up is simply too damn extravagant. Most of the things cannot be bought in Southern Xinjiang, and have to be bought secretly in Daqian. For example, a hundred-year-old imperial beam wood costs more than 800,000 star sources, which is more expensive than his fucking gold." Brother Huang stood up and frowned, saying, "If it was before, it would be fine. We can find a few escort agencies and let them enter Daqian to secretly purchase, but now... you have conquered the nine lands of Shangyu, and the Emperor Jing was furious. He directly surrounded the Styx Realm and has already fought several wars with Southern Xinjiang. With the chaos on the border, these precious materials are difficult to flow, and naturally the price has skyrocketed... The price of the imperial beam wood has now risen to 1.5 million per piece. Do you want to buy it or not?"

Ren also fell silent: "If the precious materials are inferior, will it work?"

"No." Mr. Huang refused without hesitation: "I would rather not build the Earth Dragon Army and lay off some officials than cut corners on the blessed land. I asked the craftsman who kept the year-old man, and he said that only after the three blessed lands are built, they can gather luck for you and Qingliang County. It's no problem for outstanding people and beautiful scenery. Brother, this is an investment in the future, we can't deceive ourselves...!"

"Then there's no way. We can't cut corners, and we can't borrow 2 trillion... What's the point of doing this?"

The Little Bad King was also a little bit defeated, and gritted his teeth and said, "Just tell me...how many star sources are needed for the three blessed places, and how to complete them within two years."

"It will take at least 100 million star sources." Mr. Huang sighed, "After I finished the calculation yesterday, I was almost dumbfounded."

"Nearly 100 million? Brother, you just say that?" Ren Ye was confused and said, "Even if you squeezed Lao Liu dry, he might not have nearly 100 million."

"The nearly 100 million I mentioned is the cost required to complete the project, but taxes will be collected at the end of the year, and we can slowly replenish Star Source. However, if we want to fully operate it now, we will not be short of money for the time being, and we can allow you to continue to be a hands-off boss... then we will need at least 40 million in turnover, and it has to be fast." Brother Huang added.

Ren also rubbed his palms, racked his brains to think about it, and found that there was no one around him who could be cheated. If he cut another round of leeks, he would be no different from an animal.

Ask Master for money?!

He will definitely borrow it, because the construction of the three blessed places is related to whether Ren Ye can enter the fourth rank, and it also involves the double-act battle two years later.

But Ren also thought about it carefully and felt that he had been a little too dependent on the old man during this period. He had already asked the master several times. It was okay once or twice, but if it was always like this... then he would appear to be a waste and might cause dissatisfaction among others.

He stood on the top of the mountain, thinking carefully for a long time, but suddenly an idea came to him and he said, "Wait a minute! What did you just say?!"

"What did you say?" Brother Huang was a little confused.

"hiss……!"

Ren also took a breath and blinked, "You said, most of the consumables we purchased from Fudi were shipped from Daqian?"

"Yes!"

Huang nodded: "What's wrong?"

"That's not right. Isn't there a war going on in the Styx Realm?"

Ren Ye asked in confusion: "How can so many precious materials flow into Southern Xinjiang when the two countries are so hostile to each other?"

"Fuck, you have no level at all."

Huang Ge said disdainfully: "No matter what time it is, no matter what kind of fighting it is, it will not hinder profiteers from doing business. Especially in times of war, when prices skyrocket, there will always be a large group of people who make money from national disasters."

"No, no, you didn't understand what I meant." Ren Ye waved his hand with a very focused look, "What I meant is, with two countries at war, who has the ability to do business with the wealthy merchants of the enemy country so brazenly?! This is not something that ordinary people can do, otherwise they will definitely die if caught."

"What you said is quite interesting...!"

Mr. Huang smiled and said, "The ones who transported the goods for us were not the brothers from Qianli Green Camp, because I asked them. The Styx Realm is not their territory. If they want to buy some supplies on a small scale, that's no problem, but they can't do such a large-scale transportation."

"So what?" Ren Ye asked immediately.

"So, I found a escort agency in the capital of Southern Xinjiang, called Weiyuan." Mr. Huang said with a sly smile, "This escort agency has all the means and connections. All the precious materials we need, including the red water cold iron that only ancient sects have, the nine-year-old copper lamp, etc., are all obtained by them in Daqian."

Ren also blinked a clever little eye: "How long have you been working with them?"

"We started cooperating after you left."