In the political struggle that just passed, Li Xiang also witnessed the strength of various forces. Compared with them, even though he was a reborn person, facing their huge power in the court, Li Xiang was a little at a loss. It was really too difficult to shake them.
However, Fang Xuanling's words also pointed out the goal for Li Xiang. Although the forces of all parties are powerful now, Li Shimin is still the biggest. As long as he completes Li Shimin's task, no matter how many enemies he has, he can at least be invincible.
When Li Xiang raised his head again, there was a gleam in his eyes, and he knew what to do next so as not to lose his way in such chaos.
After the court was dismissed, Li Xiang returned to the Eastern Palace.
The two girls, Mengling and Mengqin, were already waiting for Li Xiang. Li Xiang had previously given these two girls a task, which was to receive guests from various families and see how many people wanted to buy knives.
"Are there so many rich people in Chang'an City?"
Looking at the list in his hand, Li Xiang said in disbelief, "You know, this is 3,500 strings of cash for one knife. If this amount of money is placed in a small place, it is very likely that he would have become the richest man there."
Even in Chang'an City, it was not easy to come up with such a sum of money. Yuchi Baolin's savings over the years were less than 4,000 strings of cash.
"Your Highness, some things cannot be judged by appearances. If we look at the surface income, I guess the major families can't afford it. But if we look at their hidden income, we have to calculate it carefully."
Miss Meng Ling was trained by Empress Changsun, so she naturally knew a lot about the major families in Chang'an City. On the surface, their income didn't seem much, but in fact, each family lived a luxurious life. After all, each family had its own way of making money.
Although the officialdom during the Zhenguan period was relatively clean, the situation outside the officialdom was difficult to say. Every family had merchants who depended on them, and these merchants would pay large sums of money every year. If you did not depend on one or two dignitaries in the court, you would not be able to do business at all.
There used to be such businessmen in the Eastern Palace, but Li Chengqian exploited them too much, and now they are all bankrupt. Not to mention paying money to the Eastern Palace, it is even a problem whether they can have food to eat.
"Did you give them the receipt as I requested?"
Li Xiang also knew that each family had its own way of making money, but he didn't want to know. You guys find ways to make money, and I find ways to make your money. This is the relationship between us.
"In reply to Your Highness, all those who registered paid a deposit of 500 guan coins, and the remaining balance will be paid in full upon handing over the sword."
Miss Mengling had a pile of receipts in her hand, which meant that these people had paid 500 strings of cash.
"From this moment on, no one else should take this call."
Li Xiang calculated that quite a few people had sold their items. It seemed that he had misunderstood the wealth of Chang'an City. If that was the case, he would have to start cutting leeks again. Three thousand five hundred strings of cash was not an option.
"Then we won't make any money?"
Miss Meng Ling said with some concern, "These two were granted the throne from the palace, which meant they would follow Li Xiang for life. A single knife could fetch so much money, which was unprecedented. If His Highness quits, wouldn't that mean a whole source of income would be cut off?" They had received over sixty deposits throughout the day.
"You're just too honest. How can His Highness not make this money? If I'm not mistaken, His Highness will probably have to change the sales method, just like the liquor, and set a quota."
Miss Mengqin said with a smile, and Li Xiang also saw that Miss Mengling was more down-to-earth, while Miss Mengqin was quirky, but her loyalty to him was unquestionable.
When these two girls first arrived, Li Xiang had already sent people to keep an eye on them. After a few days of surveillance, he found that the two girls had not committed any form of infidelity. Thinking about the situation in that era, it is clear that once a woman follows a man, she will be with him for her whole life, and a man is her heaven.
"You clever little bastard, you saw through everything. Let's keep quiet for a while. We'll announce later that we've run out of raw materials, so we'll have to limit the supply to ten per month. Anyone who wants to buy one will have to pay more."
Li Xiang knew that many people still wanted knives, but they couldn't raise the money for the time being. It wasn't that these people had no money, but that their money was tied up somewhere else. In that case, I'll give you some time to raise the money.
"Is there anything else? Let's take care of everything while we have time today."
Li Xiang asked Mengqin to put away all the documents on the table.
"In reply to Your Highness, all the village heads from our village have arrived and are waiting to meet you. There are seventeen of them in total."
After hearing this number, Li Xiang was still shocked. In addition to a batch of farms he obtained later, the Eastern Palace itself also had some, and those farms were not allowed to be bought and sold, so even if Li Chengqian acted recklessly, those fields were still his.
"Go and call them all to the yard."
Today's Tang Dynasty is an agricultural country, and food production can be said to be of vital importance. Li Xiang had previously calculated the land he had, and together with the land he had purchased in recent times, he had tens of thousands of acres of land in his hands. Moreover, new seeds had been harvested, and the farming season was approaching, so Li Xiang had to make arrangements first.
"Greetings to His Highness."
After a cup of tea, Li Xiang came to the courtyard of the front hall accompanied by two girls. More than a dozen village heads kowtowed to Li Xiang, and he looked in good spirits.
These people are all old people who take care of the crops, otherwise they would not be qualified to manage the farm for the Eastern Palace. Many of them are sons who follow in their father's footsteps. Some of them have come to the Eastern Palace many times to report on their harvest, while some are here for the first time. These people are the heads of the newly purchased farms by Li Xiang.
Among these people, there are two leaders. One is Tian Kui, the manager of the Eastern Palace Imperial Farm, who controls some farms granted by the emperor.
The other one is Zhang Xifa, who owns the largest farmland, which Li Xiang got from Han King Li Yuanchang. To put it bluntly, this guy was originally Li Yuanchang's subordinate.
"I won't say anything more. I called you here to take the seeds home. After this season's harvest, plant my new crops. I'll have people tell you how and when to plant them. Your job is to obey them."
After Li Xiang finished speaking, everyone present could hardly believe their ears. Can His Highness farm?