Tianliangyuan

Chapter 204 I didn't think that much about it.

Not long after Prince Qi entered the palace, Emperor Yong'an summoned Gu Dongyang to the palace again.

With the central theme of using medicinal herbs to destroy a country, the group began to brainstorm ideas.

However, Gu Dongyang was ultimately more rational.

"Your Majesty, this plan is good, but it is difficult to put into practice."

Emperor Yong'an frowned: "What do you mean?"

“Your Majesty, the King of Nanzhao is not a fool. Moreover, when the former King of Nanzhao was in power, he ordered that mountainous areas be cultivated and that grain be grown in all plains. Furthermore, the King of Nanzhao also ordered the cultivation of medicinal herbs in designated fields.”

King Qi was aware of this, but he felt that although this plan could not truly destroy Nanzhao, it could at least greatly weaken Nanzhao's national strength.

"Your Majesty, I believe this plan is feasible, but we cannot rush it. Moreover, I have heard from Xu Zhaozhao that he does not act recklessly like Guan Zhong, but rather we should proceed gradually, allowing Nanzhao to become accustomed to purchasing grain from our Daxing, starting with small quantities and gradually increasing them. Over time, Nanzhao will form an absolute dependency on our Daxing."

It is common knowledge that Nanzhao was rich in medicinal herbs and tea.

However, because the Nanzhao Kingdom is mostly mountainous and forested, many people do not need to cultivate medicinal herbs; they can simply pick them in their spare time.

Therefore, Nanzhao was not actually short of food.

Even if there is a shortage, the quantity is not large, and the King of Nanzhao doesn't even need to worry about it; the merchants under him can make up for it.

"Guards, summon Marquis Anxin and Princess Anle to the palace."

"Yes."

Xu Zhaozhao certainly couldn't possibly speak so eloquently in front of the emperor; that would be courting death!

Even if women held a high status in the Daxing Dynasty, they were not allowed to openly participate in politics.

It doesn't matter what you say in private, but if you actually stand in the court to discuss politics, that's just plain suicide!

Xu Zhaozhao acted completely bewildered until Gu Dongyang recounted the strategies Guan Zhong had once used, at which point Xu Zhaozhao pretended to just realize what was happening.

"Lord Gu, you flatter me too much. I just feel that since it is a product of Nanzhao and something that our Daxing needs, it is natural to purchase it in large quantities. As for whether there is still land in Nanzhao to grow grain, how could I, a mere woman, know?"

However, my idea at the time was that we could buy up large quantities of medicinal herbs, which would curb their sale in their home country. Besides, we could process the herbs and then resell them back home.

Xu Zhaozhao's reaction is normal.

Emperor Yong'an's heart calmed down considerably without him even realizing it, and he even seemed to feel a little more gratified.

Since Xu Zhaozhao couldn't offer any good strategies for governing the country, she was naturally sent back.

Xu Han remained in the Taiji Hall to present his memorial.

Gu Dongyang's mind worked faster: "Your Majesty, although Princess Anle does not have the grand ambition of destroying a country with medicinal herbs, it is not impossible if the court makes some adjustments."

King Qi's eyes lit up, and Emperor Yong'an also looked over: "Tell me about it."

"Your Majesty, we purchase medicinal herbs and tea from Nanzhao at a low price. Then, as Princess Anle suggested, we process the herbs and sell them back at a higher price. There must be a price difference in between. Moreover, and most importantly, Nanzhao is only a vassal state of Daxing, and customs duties can be collected here."

Emperor Yong'an immediately understood that if the medicinal herbs were transported into Daxing, they could pay one-tenth of the tax. However, if they were sold back to Nanzhao at the price of pills, the tax revenue would be different.

If the goods are transported by merchants from Daxing to Nanzhao, they can be taxed at 20% of the price. If Nanzhao wants to transport the goods back to its own country for sale, they can be taxed at 30% of the price, or even higher.

These are all feasible.

The same applies to tea.

Nanzhao is famous for its tea, but they only know how to fry tea. They have many skilled craftsmen who can process the tea slightly and then sell it back to Nanzhao at a high price, claiming that it is a favorite of the nobles. That's real skill!

Moreover, Nanzhao was a vassal state of Daxing, and it greatly admired Daxing culture and liked to imitate the lifestyle of Daxing nobles. Wasn't this an opportunity?

Although Xu Zhaozhao did not say it outright, Gu Dongyang was the Minister of Revenue, and he was launching a trade war. In this way, he could empty the Nanzhao Kingdom's coffers in just a few years.

The Nanzhao Kingdom was a vassal state of Daxing and was located right next to Daxing. Therefore, in addition to its own currency, Nanzhao mainly circulated Daxing copper coins.

“Besides medicinal herbs and tea, Nanzhao also has silver mines. When we trade, we will use silver ingots as the currency. The reason is readily available: we are worried that Daxing's copper coins will not be easy to use in Nanzhao. If we use Nanzhao copper coins for transactions, they will be unusable after returning home. Therefore, we will use silver ingots as the currency, which is equivalent to bringing back a large number of silver ingots for Daxing.”

Although Gu Dongyang's explanation was not thorough, everyone present understood it.

Originally belonging to the Nanzhao Kingdom, Daxing earned several customs duties in the short time it was handled, and at the same time, a large amount of silver ingots flowed into Daxing.

Silver ingots can be directly exchanged for copper coins at the government office. As for the exact exchange rate, that's up to the imperial court to decide.

Ordinary people were not allowed to use gold and silver for transactions, so after returning to the border, merchants had to exchange these silver ingots for copper coins, and then these silver ingots could flow into the national treasury.

Tsk tsk, what a clever scheme.

King Qi then realized what was happening and exclaimed in amazement, "Lord Gu is truly brilliant! Moreover, with the large amount of silver ingots we've obtained, we don't have to sit idle. We can take them to the Western Regions to trade for some of the things we need. In this way, we've managed to gain all the benefits."

Although copper coins were the most widely circulated currency among the people, they were not recognized by some countries in the Western Regions.

They prefer gold and silver.

For example, in Daxing, one tael of silver could be exchanged for one thousand coins; in Nanzhao, one tael of silver could be exchanged for nine hundred and fifty coins; and in some small kingdoms in the Western Regions, one tael of silver could be exchanged for horses, cattle, sheep, etc. If it were exchanged for copper coins, one tael of silver would most likely be equivalent to one thousand one hundred coins.

After considering all the factors, it turns out that Daxing really did get all the benefits.

Upon hearing what the King of Qi said, Emperor Yong'an's eyes revealed a hint of excitement.

In just a few years, they can hollow out Nanzhao. At that point, they can manipulate Nanzhao, which has lost its source of wealth, however they want.

What a brilliant plan!

Xu Zhaozhao knew that she only needed to provoke a conversation, and given Gu Dongyang's money-obsessed nature, he would surely come up with a way to enrich the country.

In this way, the caravan he had prepared earlier could finally be set off.

This idea was Xu Zhaozhao's from the very beginning, so it was naturally her turn to dig up the first pot of gold.

Before Emperor Yong'an could issue his decree, Zhu Zi, who had received Xu Zhaozhao's instructions, had already led a caravan into the Nanzhao Kingdom.

At the reminder of the Prince of Qi, Princess Leyang followed closely behind. After Zhu Zi led the caravan into the border of Daxing, the people she sent out finally entered the territory of Nanzhao.