We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

He Conglong felt helpless when he heard Emperor Qing's words.

The situation he least wanted to see happened. The emperor and the court still noticed the glass and knew that it was a hen that could lay golden eggs.

But he couldn't lie, because that would not only be the crime of deceiving the emperor, but would also make the emperor lose trust in him.

By then, not only will the glass be lost, but the entire Feng State will lose the trust of Daqing, and will lose the big picture for the small.

"So, you've made a lot of money these past few days, haven't you?" Emperor Qing continued. "Each glassware costs several hundred gold. You've sold at least five or six hundred of them. How much does that add up to?"

"At least over 100,000 gold?!"

He Conglong looked embarrassed and said with a bow, "Your Majesty... is wise."

In ancient China, the measurement system for gold prices changed constantly with the change of dynasties and economic development.

Gold is generally used for bulk transactions and is not circulated on the market. The price of gold also varies in different regions.

However, throughout many dynasties, one gold was approximately equal to sixteen taels, and this conversion relationship remained relatively stable.

The same is true in Daqing, where one gold is equal to sixteen taels.

More than 100,000 gold converted into silver taels would be more than 2 million taels!

Emperor Qing had to admit that he was shocked by this number.

The tax revenue collected by the whole Daqing was only 20 million taels a year, but the glass made by Lao Liu could earn one-tenth of Daqing's tax revenue!

"You guys..." Emperor Qing shook his head helplessly and asked curiously, "What does Che'er need so much money for?"

He Conglong quickly replied, "Your Majesty, you may not know that in order to completely control the land outside the Great Wall, His Highness has built cities at four strategic locations."

"Relocating the people, building cities, and constructing roads all require a huge amount of money. Feng State's finances have long been in deficit."

Emperor Qing nodded slightly: "This is serious business..."

"But you are so high-profile. Everyone in the court knows that glass is expensive and can fetch exorbitant prices. Even if I wanted to cover up for Sixth Brother, I can't stop the gossip."

He Conglong immediately said: "Your Majesty, but you want Fengguo to give you the glass formula..."

Emperor Qing waved his hand to interrupt, "There's no need to say that. The court is indeed facing difficulties this year, but I won't use my son's business to fill my own holes."

This is Emperor Qing’s biggest shortcoming.

To put it nicely, it means that they value family ties; to put it bluntly, it means that they only have the concept of family rule in their hearts.

In Emperor Qing's view, all of Daqing belongs to the Li family, and all the people on the land belong to the Li family.

Emperor Qing is indeed good to the people, but that is because he regards the people as his private property.

The reason why he suppressed the aristocratic families was because he knew that he could not completely control the aristocratic families and it was impossible for him to make them his own.

The aristocratic families are encroaching on the interests of the people, which means they are encroaching on their own interests, so they must be suppressed.

The same goes for the glass items. After all, the wealth was harvested from the aristocratic families and went into the pockets of the Li family. There was no difference between harvesting it yourself and harvesting it by your son.

Emperor Qing looked at He Conglong, paused for a moment, and then said, "Glass is very profitable, but I also know that it is not easy for Che'er to guard the border. Let's put it this way."

"I will give you three years. During these three years, only Fengguo can sell the glass, and all profits will belong to Fengguo."

"Three years later, Fengguo will still be able to sell glass, but will have to submit a formula to the court. I will have the Ministry of Industry cooperate and establish a Glass Department to specifically manage glass matters."

"Look, is this how I handle it?"

He Conglong was overjoyed upon hearing this and quickly bowed and thanked him, "That couldn't be better. I thank you on behalf of Your Highness."

When leaving Fengguo, Li Che instructed He Conglong about the glass matter.

If the imperial court wants to force its way in, then let them come. After all, there are plenty of ways to make money, not least of which is glass.

But at least we have to ensure that Fengguo can still sell glass, so that we can still make a small profit by relying on Fengguo's advanced industrial system.

Now, Emperor Qing not only allows Fengguo to continue selling glass, but also gives it exclusive sales rights for three years. Naturally, such a good thing must be agreed to.

After all, glass is not a commodity in high demand. Let alone three years, just two years would be enough for Fengguo to occupy almost all of Daqing's glass market share.

As for three years later...

Although the imperial court was also able to produce glass, the glass industry in Feng State had already evolved by then, and it was probably able to produce frosted glass, color-changing glass, and ultra-white glass.

"Don't be so quick to thank me. Let me ask you..." Emperor Qing waved his hand, "Fengguo has received such a huge sum of money this time. What are you going to do with it?"

"Your Highness has ordered that half of the profits be converted into copper coins, and the other half be used to purchase supplies."

"Oh?" Emperor Qing took a sip of tea. "What supplies are you guys lacking? Tell me."

"It's mainly some materials that are in short supply outside the Great Wall, such as salt, copper, tea, ceramics, etc."

"Besides that, there are winter clothing, especially various types of cloth. Feng State is in great need of them."

Emperor Qing nodded and said, "I don't have many of these things. How about this? You go to the imperial capital's market to buy them. I will send officials from the Ministry of Revenue to help you and try my best to meet your needs first."

"However, from now on, every time your Fengguo merchant caravan enters the country, you must go to the imperial capital to purchase supplies before returning. This will be considered as your reward to me. How do you think?"

He Conglong suddenly woke up.

Emperor Qing's move seemed to give Feng State a three-year monopoly and give up most of its interests.

But in reality, the caravan used the money it earned from the aristocratic families to purchase various supplies in the imperial capital, directly enriching the pockets of the merchants and people in the imperial capital.

In this way, the money actually remained inside the pass, or in other words, remained in the hands of Emperor Qing.

Fengguo made money by selling glass, and the people and merchants made money by selling goods to caravans. Emperor Qing also promoted the economy of the imperial capital through this move.

Who loses out? No one loses out. It's a win-win for all!

Since it would benefit everyone, He Conglong naturally accepted it with pleasure: "I obey your command."

Emperor Qing nodded slightly, feeling even more satisfied with the general before him. "You are quite good. You understand etiquette, know when to advance and when to retreat, and you are both brave and resourceful. No wonder Che'er thinks so highly of you."

He Conglong quickly said modestly, "I don't deserve such praise from Your Majesty. Fengguo has many generals, and I am only responsible for training new soldiers and guarding the city. I really can't be ranked."

"Can't get a number?" Emperor Qing smiled faintly, "You still don't understand Che'er's feelings."

"Take training soldiers and defending cities, for example. How can ordinary generals do this? Recruits are the foundation of an army, and cities are the heart of a nation."

"These two things are so important. If Che'er didn't have complete trust in you, how could he have handed them all over to you?"

He Conglong was slightly startled, his eyes were as sharp as torches.

As one of the earliest generals to follow Li Che, he was always in charge of the rear area and had no chance to lead the army alone after leaving the country.

Although he knew that this was because His Highness trusted him, he still felt somewhat disappointed.

But from what the emperor said, it seemed that His Highness trusted him more than he thought, even more than other generals.

Seeing He Conglong lost in thought, Emperor Qing decided to help his son comfort himself.

So he continued, "Do you know Xue Xianjue, the Duke of Zhenguo?"

"Of course I know. He was one of the six founding dukes and a great contributor to your majesty's unification of the country."

"Hmm." Emperor Qing nodded slightly. "Did you also know that after I launched my army, the person responsible for training the new recruits and maintaining a stable position in the rear was none other than Xue Xianjue?"

"This..." He Conglong widened his eyes.

After all, he was just a salt merchant. He knew a little about these founding heroes, but he didn't know what specific contributions they had made.

"You must know Xue Zhen, who is in charge of guarding Shanhaiguan. He is the son of Xue Xianjue and is only in his twenties this year."

Seeing Emperor Qing's smiling eyes, He Conglong suddenly understood.

Yes, Xue Zhen was only in his twenties, but he was responsible for guarding Shanhaiguan, the number one pass in the world. This shows the emperor's trust in his Xue family.

Emperor Qing patted He Conglong on the shoulder and said, "Work hard, and you will become the Xue Xianjue of Feng State in the future!"

"I will definitely live up to His Royal Highness the King and the expectations of Your Majesty." He Conglong said with emotion.

Emperor Qing asked about the current situation of Feng State, and He Conglong answered one by one.

It was not until Emperor Qing's talk of sex gradually faded away that he ordered Huang Jin to take He Conglong out of the palace.

Huang Jin led He Conglong out of the palace with a smile on his face. It was already late outside, so he led the way calmly without talking to He Conglong.

Huang Jin didn't stop until they were at the gate of the Imperial City. "The Xuanwu Gate is just ahead. General, you can go there by yourself."

He Conglong was about to raise his hand to express his gratitude, but he heard Huang Jin say in a voice that only the two of them could hear clearly:

"Duke Zheng has been waiting outside the Imperial City. General, please be careful."

He Conglong was stunned. Huang Jin in front of him had already regained his normal voice:

"General He, please give a greeting to His Royal Highness the Prince of Feng."

"Yes, thank you, eunuch." He Conglong reacted and bowed.

Huang Jin smiled, turned around and slowly disappeared into the night.

He Conglong walked out of Xuanwu Gate under the escort of two Jinyiwei.

I was still wondering in my heart, what was Duke Zheng waiting for me to do?

I am just a salt merchant and a criminal before I met Your Highness. How could I be related to the Duke?

Before he could think clearly, he had already walked out of the city gate.

Outside the door, a burly man was riding on a horse, followed by more than a dozen strong servants.

Two Jinyiwei immediately stepped forward and shouted, "Who are you? This is a restricted area of ​​the Imperial City. You are not allowed to linger!"

The burly man said slowly, "I am Tokiwa!"

The Jinyiwei's expression suddenly changed, and he bowed and said, "It turns out to be Duke Zheng. I wonder what you want?"

Chang Pan glanced at the two of them and pointed at He Conglong behind him: "It has nothing to do with you. I'm here to see him."

Upon hearing this, the Jinyiwei looked embarrassed: "Duke Zheng, please allow me to report. We are under the emperor's order to escort General He..."

Before the Jinyiwei finished speaking, He Conglong took the initiative to step forward and said softly, "You two can just take me here. There is no need to see me off again."

"General He, are you sure?" a Jinyiwei frowned.

"That's all right." He Conglong nodded and looked at Chang Pan on his horse. "Duke Zheng, do you think you want to discuss something with me?"

"That's right." Chang Pan glanced at him and nodded slightly: "The general of Fengguo is quite courageous."

"I would like to invite you to my house as a guest. Do you dare to come?"

He Conglong chuckled and said, "Why not? Duke Zheng, please come in."

"Hmph!" Chang Pan snorted coldly and turned his horse's head. "Give him a horse."

A servant nearby brought a horse, and He Conglong nodded to express his gratitude.

Then he turned over and rode his horse behind Tokiwa.