Take banks in modern society for example. Originally, a service fee was charged for withdrawing money across regions, and only local withdrawals were free of charge. However, this was later cancelled. This was basically the bank's 100% profitable business, and this is what Li Xiang is taking advantage of now.
"In fact, we can use our Zhidaobao to transport the official silver from various places in the court. For example, transporting tax silver from Yangzhou to Chang'an would take at least two months according to the original time. But if we use our Zhidaobao route, it will only take fifteen days, which is four times faster than before."
Li Xiang saw that the three old men had fallen into the trap, so he had to start fooling them. If they did not do business for the government, such a company would never grow big. Only when the government's business was given to you, you could become an official businessman, and your bank could exchange money for the whole world.
After Li Xiang finished speaking, none of the three said anything. After all, these three people were old foxes. Li Xiang was not in a hurry. These three people were not so easy to fool. If the three of them expressed their opinions on the spot, Li Xiang would feel that there was a trap.
"We can discuss this, but it's best to try it out first."
Fang Xuanling expressed a more moderate idea.
"The Prime Minister is right. All aspects need to be gradually adjusted. We are still in the process of groping for the truth. However, I am also doing this for the good of the court. If we can use the accounts of the treasures we have obtained, it will not only save time, but most importantly, it will not require the court to send a large number of guards. As far as I know, all taxes from all over the country are transported to the capital, and the total number of guards is nearly 20,000. The annual expenses of these people on the road are not a small amount, and there is also the problem of lost tax silver..."
Li Xiang's words really hit the mark. Every year when transporting taxes to Chang'an City, there were always some people who took risks. Although robbing the court's taxes was a capital crime, some people were willing to do it.
"Now is the time for the autumn tax to arrive in Beijing. You can discuss with him and find out which places have not yet shipped their tax silver, so that they can take the route of seizing the treasure."
Li Shimin was still hesitant just now, but after hearing Li Xiang talk about this benefit, Li Shimin could not hold back. According to the rule of law in the Tang Dynasty, the goods had to be stored in the warehouse twice a year, and the transportation time and cost on the road each time were not a small amount.
Although the 5% handling fee is a bit expensive, compared with the court's losses and expenses, this figure is at least reduced by more than half than before, and the court still makes a profit overall.
"Your humble servant obeys your order."
Fang Xuanling also calculated in his mind that if this were the case, the court could save 500,000 strings of cash every year. The total annual tax revenue of the Tang Dynasty court was about 12 million strings of cash, so 500,000 strings of cash was already a considerable amount.
"My grandson would like to ask the Emperor to issue an edict. If the Emperor agrees, then I will transfer the imperial silver and charge a small fee of one cent for the treasure."
After hearing what Li Xiang said, Li Shimin was ready to agree. Although it was only one percent, if it was spread across the whole country, it would be 120,000 strings of cash every year. Is this a small number?
"What are you up to again?"
Of course, Li Shimin also knew that Li Xiang would not do anything without profit, so how could he push away the money that should have belonged to him? There must be other reasons.
"Grandfather, please issue an order. If anyone dares to seize the silver carriage that holds the treasure, it will be the same as robbing the silver carriage of the Ministry of Revenue, and all nine generations of the family will be executed."
Li Xiang had a reason for wanting this imperial edict. Although there were still some desperate people in the world, the circulation of silver and money in Zhidaobao was different from that in the imperial court, at least more than 90% less than that in the imperial court. After all, there was money in the Zhidaobao warehouses in various places, and it could be directly withdrawn locally.
But with this imperial edict, the loss of seizing the treasure will be greatly reduced. When these bandits hear that their entire clan will be executed, they will have to think carefully.
"This can be agreed. After all, you are helping the court transport silver, which can be considered as working for the court."
Li Shimin agreed to this little thing very readily. In his opinion, once the experiment was successful, the court would be able to mobilize money and grain from various parts of the country much faster. Whether it was from other places to the capital or from the capital to various places, it was actually a very simple matter.
Although Li Xiang still wanted to help pay all the officials' salaries, he also knew that he couldn't rush into things and had to take things one step at a time. In the future, the ultimate goal of this bank's development would be to become the Federal Reserve of the United States...
Li Xiang finally left. The three old men didn't know why they felt relieved at this moment. What would have happened to Li Xiang if they had not given him the position of Crown Prince?
"Assist, do you have anything to say?"
Li Shimin saw that Changsun Wuji hadn't spoken. There had been rumors circulating for a while that Changsun Wuji had already joined Li Xiang's chariot. Could this be the reason why he was no longer assisting him? If that was the case, then Changsun Wuji couldn't stay in this position. Li Shimin had always trusted Changsun Wuji immensely. That was because although Changsun Wuji took sides among all his sons, he never forgot his brother-in-law.
But what does it mean to say nothing now? Are you starting to assist your nephew?
"Your Majesty, I have another concern. If all of the Tang Dynasty's money goes through Zhidaobao, it would mean they have control over the official money transfers of the Tang Dynasty. So it's best to take a long-term approach."
After Changsun Wuji said this, Li Shimin finally breathed a sigh of relief. He originally thought that Changsun Wuji and he were no longer on the same page, so he had to be replaced. No matter how great your past contributions were, as long as you are not beneficial to our rule now, you cannot stay in this position. But Changsun Wuji said these words, which showed that he was still on his side.
"I don't think there's any such concern. We are still responsible for collecting taxes and disbursing money. They are just the middleman for transportation. So as long as we can pay it out within a short period of time, the money will still be in our hands. They have no control over anything."
Fang Xuanling figured out all the links in the middle. Although what Changsun Wuji said made sense, as long as we withdraw money from another place as quickly as possible, then this money will have little to do with getting the treasure. At most, it will only be a matter of a few days and will have little impact on the entire Tang Dynasty.
Li Shimin also nodded with a smile. Today he had named a crown prince, but it also saved the Tang Dynasty hundreds of thousands of strings of cash every year...
