Everyone could see that although Li Shimin waved his hand and took out the crown prince's golden hair crown and bright yellow clothing, there was no smile on Li Shimin's face.
"Have someone take the things back first. I plan to have the Imperial Astronomical Observatory choose an auspicious day and then announce it to the world."
Li Shimin did not feel happy when he said this. Although he tried hard to smile, to be honest, this smile was uglier than crying.
Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling also understood that the emperor attached great importance to power. He really did not want to hand over the power in his hands unless it was absolutely necessary. How did he get the throne back then? It was because he had so much power in his hands that the retired emperor Li Yuan had no choice but to give it to him. He did not want to follow in his father's footsteps.
"Thank you, Grandfather Emperor."
Li Xiang finally collected his Nine Dragon Jade Pendant. Although the date had not been set yet, Li Xiang knew that he could not go too far. Li Shimin still controlled the entire Tang Empire, and the Five Surnames and Seven Clans were especially eyeing him covetously. Under such circumstances, Li Xiang could never have a large-scale conflict with Li Shimin.
Besides, the ministers in the court were all Li Shimin's old men. Even if he had made some achievements, once he had a conflict with Li Shimin, these people would never stand on his side. Even if he won the struggle with Li Shimin, what he got was a broken Tang Dynasty.
According to Li Shimin's original idea, Li Xiang should have thanked and left after getting the Nine Dragon Jade Pendant, but this guy knelt in the hall and forced Li Shimin to abdicate, which made Li Shimin very unhappy. Although he had long thought of giving Li Xiang this position, this method made him unhappy.
Fang Xuanling saw it clearly. Li Xiang was not a piece of cake. Li Shimin had been causing trouble one after another. Li Xiang had to teach Li Shimin a lesson now. If he did not fight back, Li Shimin would continue. Of course, Fang Xuanling would not say anything. This was a matter between you two father and son. Now you were fighting to the death, but the next moment you might be grandfather and grandson. No outsider was suitable to speak in the middle of this.
"My grandson has also brought the first year's tribute from Tuyuhun, totaling 400,000 strings of cash. I will deliver it to the Ministry of Revenue tomorrow."
When Li Xiang said this, the faces of the three men present changed slightly. Li Xiang did not say this at the beginning, and when Li Xiang came back, he took the twenty people with him, and did not see any silver car. How did you bring the money back?
Li Shimin had some questions in his mind, but he could not ask them himself, so he signaled Fang Xuanling next to him to speak. He felt even more uncomfortable at this moment. If you were not given the position of Crown Prince, would you have taken the 400,000 strings of cash for yourself?
"Your Highness..."
Fang Xuanling hesitated for a long time, and finally said this title.
"Prime Minister Fang, please speak."
Li Xiang was very satisfied with this new title. Although there was only one word difference, in the entire royal system of the Tang Dynasty, Li Xiang had now become the third person, second only to Li Shimin and Li Chengqian. To be more precise, Li Xiang was now almost the second person, as Li Chengqian's presence in the court was too low.
"Your Highness didn't bring a large amount of silver with him. Where did this money come from?"
When Fang Xuanling said this, he felt a little embarrassed. This was clearly sending someone to follow Li Xiang.
"This is a new business of our Zhidaobao. We have also opened a branch in Liangzhou City. The Tuyuhun people only need to transport the money there and then issue a receipt. I can take this receipt to Zhidaobao in the capital and withdraw the 400,000 strings of cash."
This is the off-site storage business, which is so common in the 21st century that anyone who has attended elementary school can basically understand it. But in today's era, these people are dumbfounded. This is 400,000 strings of cash. Can you acknowledge it with a piece of paper?
"This is a new thing. I wonder if Your Highness could let me see this piece of paper. If someone is pretending to be me, can't they use this piece of paper to exchange for money?"
Neither Changsun Wuji nor Li Shimin spoke, but when Fang Xuanling asked this question, they both wanted to know the answer, and they looked like they were asking a hundred thousand questions.
"Please look, Your Excellency. These two bills of exchange were originally one, but they have been cut at different angles. The original owner of the money holds half. We, the ones who have seized the treasure, will send confidential personnel to deliver the other half and the letter to the capital in two separate routes. As long as the owner of the money presents his half in the capital and compares it with the intact half in my hand, he can then withdraw the money in the capital."
After Li Xiang explained it clearly, the three people present sighed, it was indeed very precise. There were all kinds of lines on this silver note, especially the words written on it. You didn't know where he cut the bill of exchange, so if you wanted to forge it, it would be basically impossible.
"Then how much is the handling fee for depositing money in Liangzhou and withdrawing it in the capital?"
Changsun Wuji thought this was a big business.
"Not much, not much, about five cents."
If they had heard of a 5% handling fee in the 21st century, they would have smashed the bank long ago, saying, "You are really too ruthless." But now in the Tang Dynasty, the handling fee is only 5%, and these three people all looked incredulous.
“Is there enough money to operate?”
Fang Xuanling was a wise man of this era, but he still felt that a 5% handling fee was too little. The distance from the capital to Liangzhou City was more than a thousand miles. If he had to transport the money himself, the money for hiring an escort would not be enough.
"A little bit of money will add up to a lot. If you trade more in the future, you will be able to make back your money. Now you are definitely losing money."
In fact, these people still have a fixed mindset. They think that when you deposit money in Liangzhou City and come to Chang'an to withdraw the money, the money is transported from Liangzhou City. In fact, this is not the case at all.
Liangzhou has its own business, and Chang'an has its own business. As long as the cash in each region is not lower than the warning line, the money can be kept in the warehouse. When it is lower than the warning line, the headquarters will also send letters to branches in various places, asking them to adjust funds appropriately, and there is no need to transfer funds thousands of miles away.
Of course, this kind of thing happens sometimes, but when it happens, it can be said to be rare. If we only deliver the money once every hundred transactions, will we lose money?