Chapter 203 - 149: All the World’s Wealth Enters the Urn
Chapter 203: Chapter 149: All the World’s Wealth Enters the Urn
She immediately said, "Prime Minister, that’s not appropriate. Let’s drop the matter. Since Yuan needs the land in South City, just give it to him."
Xiao Hua also raised an eyebrow. "Exactly. Prime Minister Li, what you’re doing is completely dishonorable."
As the Grand Minister of Rites, Xiao Gu’s expression darkened as well. He was far less polite than Empress Xiao, and he bellowed, "Li Qing, what’s the meaning of this? You’re usually so stingy, never allocating resources to the imperial clan. Now that you see Lu Yuan making money...
...you maliciously hike the price? Do you really think our imperial clan has no one to stand up for it?"
Xiao Lie, the Vice Commander of the Imperial Guard, also shot him an unfriendly glare.
Li Qing’s words had offended most of the people in the room.
He could only give a wry smile. "Your Majesty, this price hike isn’t aimed at Prince Qin. It’s to increase the land’s value, making the court’s holdings more valuable. That way, large amounts of silver will flow into our Northern Barbarians."
"Besides, Prince Qin won’t be the one paying this increased price. The wealthiest people in the world will be footing the bill. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Prince Qin."
Li Qing knew that most of the people present were only concerned with cultivation and didn’t really understand such matters.
Even he himself had only just figured it out.
’Perhaps only Lu Yuan truly understands these things. He might even be hoping for the price to increase.’
Sure enough, Lu Yuan said with a faint smile, "I appreciate Your Majesty’s and everyone’s good intentions, but the Prime Minister does have a point. If the price of the land appreciates, the price of the houses will naturally follow. We’ll end up earning even more."
"Then how much are you planning to increase it by?" Realizing she had misjudged Li Qing, Empress Xiao chose to ignore him and looked to Lu Yuan for the answer.
"Let’s raise it tenfold as well. Anything less wouldn’t befit the status of the wealthy magnates from around the world. I was too soft before; I sold them for too little," Lu Yuan said quietly.
Everyone drew in a cold breath.
They knew the prices of the houses Lu Yuan had built in South City. A tenfold increase... how much would he earn? More importantly, would anyone actually buy them?
They were simply too expensive.
They just didn’t understand a fundamental aspect of human nature: when it comes to real estate, people buy when prices are rising, not when they are falling.
The higher the price, the more eager people were to buy.
Judging from the current situation, Lu Yuan had indeed underestimated the world’s magnates.
Those who had arrived so far were nowhere near the wealthiest of the bunch.
Once the classes began tomorrow, Lu Yuan’s Academy Palace would experience its true peak.
For these magnates, the opportunity to systematically learn high-quality Cultivation Techniques made silver a trivial concern.
Besides, as long as the Academy Palace remained, the value of the houses would only increase. It wasn’t a losing proposition; they might even turn a profit.
Every one of those magnates had spent the better part of their lives in the world of commerce. They understood the intricacies of this game.
If the people who arrived before today were thinking about letting their clan’s disciples learn the Cultivation Techniques...
...then after tomorrow, they would be thinking about how to purchase more houses and drive the value of this land ever higher.
In the future, Lu Yuan wouldn’t even need to send out announcements. These people would naturally spread word of the Academy Palace to every corner of the world.
Moreover, Lu Yuan’s goal was to forge the Academy Palace into a Holy Land for the world’s aspiring cultivators. This amount of silver was nothing in comparison.
As time went on, this place would only become more valuable.
Empress Xiao mused for a moment. "Isn’t that too much? Are you confident?"
"Of course," Lu Yuan replied, full of confidence.
Only then did Empress Xiao look at Li Qing. "Proceed as you suggested."
"As you command!" Li Qing replied, his face breaking into a joyful expression.
If this plan truly succeeded, it would be an incredible boon for the imperial court.
A gathering place for the world’s wealthiest people—their spending would be astronomical.
The implications were self-evident.
South City alone would likely generate more tax revenue than the entire Northern Barbarian territory.
’In the future, we probably won’t have to worry about a shortage of silver.’
With the matter settled, a bit of color finally returned to Empress Xiao’s face. She looked at everyone in the study and said, "Now that this is resolved, you should all go and rest. You’ve all worked hard these past few days."
"Yes, Your Majesty." The officials replied in unison and withdrew.
Lu Yuan, however, did not leave. Empress Xiao had called for him to stay.
Soon, only he, Empress Xiao, and her daughter, Xiao Hua, remained in the study.
Empress Xiao spoke earnestly. "Yuan, this is an enormous undertaking. Tell me honestly, are you truly confident? Don’t let this turn into a disaster."
Clearly, she was still uneasy.
"You can rest easy, Auntie," Lu Yuan said quietly. "When have I ever done anything I wasn’t certain of? Besides, this time isn’t just about solving our silver problem. This winter, we need to take care of another major affair."
Both Empress Xiao and Xiao Hua looked at him, not understanding what he meant.
"From what I know, it’s not just our Northern Barbarians who have suffered from the harsh weather. The Shengman and the Ancient Barbarians are in a similar situation. The Shengman, in particular, are worse off than we imagined."
"They haven’t had any internal turmoil, which is why their situation appears better than ours, but the number of people who’ve frozen or starved to death is certainly not small."
"My plan is this: come spring, when the ice and snow have melted and their food supplies are at their lowest, we launch an attack. We’ll catch them completely by surprise."
"In the best-case scenario, we’ll conquer both the Shengman and the Ancient Barbarians."
"Then these Vassal Towns will know how to act."
Lu Yuan’s words sent Empress Xiao into deep thought. After a moment, she looked up. "But what if the Vassal Towns cause trouble while we’re at war?"
"That’s our task for this winter. We win over one faction and suppress another, ensuring they can’t unite against us. With the Prime Minister and the Grand Minister of Rites holding down the fort in the Imperial City, I doubt they’ll dare make a move."