After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 598 - 592: Sharp (Happy Birthday, Zhu Moyan)
"That was two months ago, the calculated accounts are no longer reliable, but let me be blunt, there isn’t much money left in your public accounts."
The gold, silver, jewels, and unique scrolls and paintings Fu Tinghan brought back have entered Zhao Hanzhang’s storeroom, but they cannot be used yet.
Zhao Hanzhang ground her teeth and went with Fu Tinghan to see the items he brought back. She grasped a handful of pearls and sighed, "These things would be worth a lot in peaceful times."
But now, in these turbulent times, these precious pearls aren’t worth much in the Northern Land. However, in the still relatively stable Liangjiang and Jiangnan, these things are quite valuable.
Zhao Hanzhang put down the pearls, "Send them to Jiangnan, and exchange them all for grain and cloth."
That’s what she needs the most right now.
Fu Tinghan asked, "Aren’t you going to keep some? I noticed some of the jewelry inside is quite beautiful."
Zhao Hanzhang reluctantly averted her gaze and shook her head, "I don’t like these luxurious things."
Fu Tinghan just looked at her and smiled slightly. How could she not like them?
No girl would dislike these shiny and pretty jewelry; it’s just that her current position doesn’t allow for extravagance.
Her hair ornaments are few, most of the time only a jade crown and jade hairpin, sometimes not even a jade hairpin, just a single hairband tying up her hair.
The gold and silver Gao Hui brought back were minimal, even gold and silver jewelry were scarce. People generally don’t want to use them, saving them for when other resources have nearly run out or when someone demands payment in gold and silver.
Because there was so little, Zhao Hanzhang didn’t dare use it to buy things from Gao Hui. If the items go through his hands and end up back in hers, anyone with any sense would know this was given to her by Fu Tinghan.
Because she really lacked money, Zhao Hanzhang had no choice but to gather all the gold and silver ornaments, and after putting them together with those few pieces of gold and silver, she said, "Melt them down."
Fu Tinghan said, "The craftsmanship of these gold and silver ornaments is also very valuable. If sold, the gold and silver obtained would be much more than this."
"But the process takes too long," Zhao Hanzhang said, "How many people in Luoyang City are willing to buy these ornaments now? Sending them elsewhere would also take time, which we cannot afford."
She waved her hand decisively, "Melt them down."
Only then did Fu Tinghan nod, "Then I’ll go to the blacksmith shop tomorrow."
The workshop’s blacksmith shop can melt gold and silver, and there are molds to cast them into bars. This was prepared by the craftsmen upon Fu Tinghan’s request after Gao Hui returned last time.
Early the next morning, Zhao Hanzhang asked Ting He to go to the market to buy sheep. Since there was no money, Ting He had to take a bolt of cloth intended for making clothes for Zhao Erlang and Fu Tinghan and carry it out.
The cloth was of good quality. After some haggling, Ting He fiercely used a roll of cloth to buy eight sheep, selected the two fattest ones to slaughter, and kept the rest in the backyard.
Watching Ting He leave, the clerk responsible for selling goods patted his chest nervously, "Miss Ting He is so fierce. Isn’t she from the Inspector Mansion? How can she be so..." Stingy.
The guard, who had been silently standing aside, said nothing. If Mr. Gao hadn’t said it was for safety in the Northern Land that they couldn’t openly contact the young lady, those sheep should have been delivered free to the young lady’s residence.
Alas, he couldn’t understand why; even though it was their own goods, they had to go through trade, unnecessarily paying so much tax to the county government.
Just then, a Government Official walked by with a gong, rummaged through the animal pelts on their table, and asked, "Have you paid your stall fees?"
The clerk responsible for selling immediately nodded and bowed, saying, "Paid, paid, here, this is the receipt."
The Government Official looked at it, returned it, but didn’t leave, "Your employer has a lot of nerve. These pelts are all sourced from the Northern Land, aren’t they? Is it chaotic over there now?"
The clerk was someone who Gao Hui had found and considered one of his trusted aides, so he knew about the commerce routes. He immediately nodded, "Chaotic indeed. When we entered Shangdang, the Xiongnu and Jiehu were fierce, often fighting on the streets and robbing people. Fortunately, our guards were competent, and our Mr. Gao also had some tactics, so we weren’t robbed. But a lot of money was spent on bribes, and on the way back, we encountered bandits. Alas, this journey, let alone making a profit, it would be good not to lose money."
The Government Official didn’t believe it. If they were losing money, could they be smiling so happily?
Zhao Kuan also noticed this merchant group, and after the Government Official left, he returned to the county government to report.
Zhao Kuan looked at Gao Hui’s travel permit again and frowned, "People from Shu?"
"The land of Shu is much more peaceful than our Luoyang. Why doesn’t he go directly back to Shu and instead sell his goods in Luoyang?" Zhao Kuan frowned, "It was the same last time, and what goods did he bring from Luoyang last time?"
That required some searching. Wang Si Niang glanced at him and silently started looking through the records. She first checked the records of travel permit approvals, found his departure time, and then checked the tax records from that period.
There was only a simple introduction, "Cloth."
Zhao Kuan: "Only cloth?"
"Yes, and only two carts," Wang Si Niang showed him, "It was silk from the land of Shu. Right now in Luoyang, every household is in mourning. Meat and hemp cloth still sell well, but brocade and silk are hard to sell, and the price isn’t high."
Wang Si Niang also frowned, "Judging by the things they brought back this time, exchanging those two carts of silk for these sheep, pelts, and medicinal materials is indeed about equal in value. He would make some profit in his transactions, but according to the records, he brought so many people into the city yesterday, with casualties as well. How can a trip to trade only two carts of silk be enough to cover the travel expenses?"
Zhao Kuan lightly tapped the table and said, "That’s why I say there’s something fishy about them."
Wang Si Niang asked, "What problem?"
Zhao Kuan widened his eyes. How would he know what the problem was?
Fan Ying came over with two official documents to convey Zhao Hanzhang’s message, and after listening for a while, interjected, "What else could be the problem? He has other dealings outside the city. Every time he leaves, he must have taken on another batch of goods heading north, and when he returns, won’t the city gate fail to inspect the goods?"
To encourage trade into Luoyang, Zhao Hanzhang had waived the city gate tax policy, collecting taxes only in the market.
Thus, merchants coming into Luoyang don’t have to pay taxes if they can’t sell their goods.
This policy made merchants who were originally afraid of the city tax rush to enter Luoyang, no longer fearing a huge loss before selling their goods.
At the same time, Guy City, Xin’an, and other counties strictly implemented Zhao Hanzhang’s orders. As for other counties, Zhao Hanzhang had issued orders, but some adhered to them, while others didn’t.
Due to the absence of a city gate tax, there were no records of the goods entering the city or their quantities, which is why Zhao Kuan sent people to inquire at the horse market.
For a moment, Zhao Kuan pondered a lot, "Are you saying there’s smuggling in Luoyang?"
Fan Ying, not particularly concerned, said, "So what if there is? Currently, Luoyang is rebuilding, so there’s no need to be strict about these things. Oh, except for salt and iron."
Zhao Kuan and Wang Si Niang: ...
