Zhenguan Xiaoxian Wang Li Shen Li Shimin

Wang Xuance understood what Prince Ji meant.

In the past two years, the Ji Palace has been running into deficit, and Prince Ji has been looking for money everywhere, trying to earn as much as he can.

Who would have thought that the Ji Wang Mansion, which was considered by the world to be rich enough to rival a country, now still has a debt of more than one million strings of cash.

I'm afraid no one will believe this news if it is released.

The reason for this result was that King Ji had problems with his own decision-making.

King Ji did not require forced labor when building roads, but insisted on using laborers. What was more important was that the wages he paid the laborers were higher than those of a petty official.

This is the main reason for the current situation in Prince Ji’s Mansion. The labor costs are much more expensive than the construction materials.

The annual wages of more than 300,000 to nearly 400,000 laborers would be more than 4 million strings of cash.

After a year, Prince Ji's Mansion had nothing left, as it had simply been working for these hundreds of thousands of people.

Speaking of this, Wang Xuance had no choice but to speak up and advise:

"Your Highness Prince Ji, the wages of the laborers are indeed too high. Their wages are already higher than those of the petty officials in the court.

Even the county magistrates of some poor counties do not earn as much as they do in a year.

We in the Ji Wang Mansion really cannot afford such high wages."

“But the craftsmen in our workshop basically get 12 to 18 guan of wages every year.

The servants in the front yard of the palace earn one guan of money every month, not to mention the maids in the inner house, who earn even more. "

Li Shen frowned, somewhat unconvinced.

Wang Xuance quickly explained:

"Your Highness, this is because you are kind-hearted that you pay such a high salary. The monthly salary of the servants hired by my family is about 500 to 600 coins.

We also hired farmers to plant, weed and harvest, and it only cost three or four hundred coins each time.

This is because the price of grain has only increased to 20 wen per dou.

If it was five cents a dou of corn in the past, the price would be even lower.

Only the craftsmen in the workshop would earn higher wages because of their skills, around 700 to 800 wen per month, and the senior craftsmen would earn more than 1 yuan.

The wages paid by Prince Ji’s Mansion have always been the highest in the entire Tang Dynasty.

However, the laborers used for road construction did not need any skills, and their wages of five or six hundred coins were already very high.

Not requiring them to perform corvée labor and paying them wages is already a special favor from the prince."

"Really?" Li Shen frowned. He didn't expect that the wages during the Zhenguan period would be so low.

He calculated every penny as if it were a dollar, and he felt that a monthly salary of one thousand dollars was quite a good deal.

He didn't expect it to be different from what he imagined.

"Your Highness, I wonder if this year's wages can be..." Wang Xuance asked tentatively.

"No! How can you go back on your word when I have already promised? Do you still want to save my reputation?

Even if I have to borrow money, the wages for the Qinghai Road cannot be reduced by a penny.

Otherwise, how can I survive in the outside world?

By then, everyone in the world will say that I have no money and can’t even pay my employees.”

Li Shen refused outright. He was a man who cared about his reputation, and he was the one who put on a brave face.

You can't sit back on the shit you just pooped out, right?

Seeing Li Shen's determination, Wang Xuance could only shake his head helplessly:

"Your Majesty is right. In this case, in addition to the income from the palace, we must earn at least an additional 4 million guan this year to ensure that we don't have to borrow money this year."

"How did you know?" Li Shen was stunned. Four million strings of cash? Isn't this number a bit too high?

Besides, as a civil servant, how do you know the income and expenditure of Prince Ji’s Mansion?

This isn't something you, Wang Xuance, should be in charge of, right? Li Shen looked at Wang Xuance solemnly.

What Li Shen feared most was that his subordinates would be greedy for power, which would eventually lead to a situation of fighting for power and profit.

Seeing Li Shen's doubt, Wang Xuance bowed and said:

"Reporting to Your Majesty, it was actually Shopkeeper Wang who asked me to advise Your Majesty."

"Wang Hongfu asked you to say that?" Li Shen was a little surprised.

“Yes, Shopkeeper Wang was afraid that His Majesty would blame him, so he wanted me to help persuade His Majesty, hoping that His Majesty could reduce the wages of the workers.

Manager Wang told me that the annual cost of building the Qinghai Road is about 8.5 million strings of cash.

In fact, most of the cost is labor, and the material cost is not that much.

My Ji Wang Mansion also has to bear the cost of food and lodging for the laborers, which will cost over a million strings of cash a year.

In the past, when conscripted laborers were required to bring their own food, the imperial court hardly had to bear the cost of their food and lodging.

so...."

Wang Xuance hesitated at this point. He really wanted to say that even if one has good intentions, one must still act within one’s ability.

You can't empty yourself out to do good deeds.

After hearing this, Li Shen remained silent for a long time. Wang Xuance didn't know what Prince Ji was thinking and didn't dare to disturb him.

At this moment, Li Shen was not thinking about the workers' wages or their food and accommodation.

He was calculating in his mind how much money he had earned in a year, and why he was still short of four million strings of cash?

With the current scale of Prince Ji’s Mansion, its products are almost sold all over the world.

His products are not only sold in China, but also in almost all parts of Asia, whether it is Western merchants or his own caravans.

They have already brought the products of Prince Ji's Mansion to all parts of the world.

Otherwise, why would tens of thousands of people follow Li Shen for food, most of whom are laborers in the workshops?

In a year, you should earn at least 6-7 million guan, right? Why are you still short of so much?

Did he spend too much? But he felt that he didn't spend that much money in a year.

Four million strings of cash! Li Shen was about to cry. Where could he get so much money? Wasn't this an economic crisis?

Last time I cheated my dad out of four million strings of cash, but in the end I only got one and a half million strings of cash.

Is he going to cheat again this time? But when Li Shen thought of this, he felt a dull pain in his butt.

If you cheat again, you will be beaten to death, right?

"Four million strings of cash, where can I get these four million strings of cash?

Wang Hongfu wants to kill me."

After a long while, Li Shen sighed with a sad face. It is not that easy to make money.

"Your Majesty, there is no need to worry so much. Haven't we already earned a million strings of cash?

Moreover, Silla also needs to purchase weapons and armor, so we can still make some money.

This is one step closer to the four million guan."

Seeing Prince Ji’s sad face, Wang Xuance spoke to reassure Li Shen.

"Yes! You are absolutely right. There are also weapons and equipment.

Moreover, I estimate that their three million dan of grain may not be enough.

They have a population of over one million. How can a mere three million dan of grain feed these people for a whole year?

I guess they just want to feed the soldiers and nobles who are fighting in the war, and the common people below just want to be able to make a living and not starve to death.

But he did not understand human nature and overlooked a very important thing, that is, the greedy officials below.

Haha, when there is a famine, those lower-level officials would have to leave a way out for themselves, right?

It seems that Silla is bound to experience a scene of bloodshed. If King Jinluo had reacted quickly, perhaps fewer people would have died.

Poor Silla people~~~~"