Ouchi Taming the Cat, starting with the Ten Tiger Forms!

Chapter 483: Please come in, gentlemen

Li Xuan meowed and greeted Manager Shang, wondering why he appeared here at this time.

Logically speaking, Manager Shang should be very busy recently.

Now the court is punishing officials who participated in launching temporary war taxes.

"Could it be that the noise I made these past few days was too loud?"

Li Xuan's eyes rolled around and he seemed a little guilty.

But after thinking about it, he realized that all the banknotes were kept in the Emperor Hong Bone Ring, so even if Emperor Yongyuan was jealous, he couldn't snatch them away from him.

When Manager Shang saw Li Xuan greeted him, he looked guilty and couldn't help but smile.

"You little guy, you made quite a noise."

Manager Shang stretched out his fingers and stroked Li Xuan's head.

"Tell me, how much money did you make this time?"

"Meow~"

Li Xuan immediately made an expression of "No way", and then used his tail to explain that he just earned a little pocket money, and it was uncertain whether he could help Princess Ankang win the game.

If Manager Shang had not received Zhu Shimin's report before, he would probably have believed Li Xuan's nonsense.

"Ah Xuan has become successful now. Two million taels are only enough for your pocket money."

"If this money was kept in the national treasury, it would be enough to fight the desert twice."

Li Xuan knew that there was no good news when Manager Shang suddenly came to see him.

But I was a little surprised to hear this.

"It only takes one million taels of silver to conquer the desert?"

“It doesn’t seem very expensive.”

Li Xuan immediately asked the doubts in his mind.

Shang, the chief steward, sighed and replied, "In recent years, the tax revenue collected by the national treasury has been decreasing, and it has almost reached a dangerous level."

"One million taels, if used sparingly, would be enough to deal with this conflict."

"Of course, if it's a long-term war, one million taels is just a drop in the bucket."

Li Xuan couldn't help but think deeply after hearing this.

"Well, I didn't come to see you today because I wanted to get your pocket money, but because I have something specific to discuss with you."

As Manager Shang said this, he sat down next to Li Xuan.

"Xiao Minzi has already told me the story of your remaining half fish."

"But Ah Xuan, you are too rude. How can you bully the little people?"

"He helped you with all the troublesome things later on, so why is it still 70% for you and 30% for him?"

"You did something a little unkind."

Manager Shang said jokingly with a smile.

"Oh, this little bastard!"

Li Xuan slammed the table and glared outward. He never expected that this Manager Shang was hired by Zhu Shimin.

But Zhu Shimin, who was just outside directing people to work, has now disappeared without a trace.

"Hey, don't blame me for complaining to you. Blame it on you, little kitty, for having such a dark heart."

While Manager Shang was speaking, servants brought him tea and cakes, and Manager Shang moistened his throat without hesitation.

Although Li Xuan looked angry, he was secretly paying attention to Manager Shang's reaction.

Li Xuan knew very well how much Zhu Shimin respected him these days.

Otherwise, when he proposed the 70:30 split, Zhu Shimin would not have agreed.

Li Xuan was skeptical of what Shang Zongguan said from the bottom of his heart.

He believed that the two managers must have known about this business and thought Zhu Shimin was too shameless, so they intervened.

"Oh, I knew I couldn't get around them."

Now is the time when Emperor Yongyuan is short of money, and Shang Zongguan and Zhao Feng will definitely seize this great opportunity to make money.

This is because he knows that he can make a lot of money by shorting antiques, so he wants to renegotiate the profit sharing ratio.

However, Li Xuan and Zhu Shimin had already discussed the matter, and it would not sound good for Manager Shang to interfere and change the profit sharing ratio, so Zhu Shimin was mentioned as an excuse.

Li Xuan has dealt with the two general managers so many times that he now knows everything about them.

Although Li Xuan had wanted to get away with it and get the Ministry of Internal Affairs to work for him before, now that Chief Steward Shang has come to him, this good thing is probably going to fail.

"Then I wonder how Chief Steward Shang thinks we should change it?"

Seeing that Li Xuan had a good attitude, Manager Shang nodded with satisfaction, and then said shamelessly:

"This 30-70 split can be maintained, but..."

Before Manager Shang could finish his words, Li Xuan stared at him in shock.

"Good fellow, you just said that I was evil-hearted, what is this now?"

If the profit split is still maintained at 30:70, then doesn't this just mean that the ratio will be reversed?

Li Xuan's round little head shook left and right like a rattle, with unwillingness written all over his face.

"Look at you. You clearly set the profit-sharing ratio yourself, but you refused to do it when it was changed. Tell me, were you bullying the common people before?"

Manager Shang joked with a smile in his eyes.

"How can it be the same?"

"This idea was mine, otherwise there would be no such good thing!"

Li Xuan cried out that he was wronged, and after a friendly exchange, they finally reached a consensus on a 50-50 split.

Both Li Xuan and the monk chief were very satisfied with the result.

Although Li Xuan lost 20% of his profit just because of a few words, he was not too distressed.

As mentioned before, although he was the one who came up with the idea of ​​short selling, the specific implementation was done by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Short selling is rather special and requires the ability to ensure execution. Otherwise, large-scale bad debts will occur, which will be counterproductive.

In fact, Li Xuan was very satisfied as long as he could get the profit from short selling. It didn’t matter whether it was more or less.

After all, it would be impossible for him to do it alone.

"Ah Xuan, you have learned a lot of bad things in the past few days since you left the palace."

"This time, I don't know how many people will remember your story for the rest of their lives."

Manager Shang said with a smile.

Obviously, he had heard all the causes and consequences from Zhu Shimin.

When Manager Shang first heard about this method of manipulating the market, he was also shocked. He did not expect that Li Xuan had such a talent.

With such abilities, he can take whatever wealth he wants in the market.

Especially now that the national treasury is empty and everything needs this money to drive it, Li Xuan's ability is even more precious.

"Ah Xuan, this time I came to see you, in addition to the profit ratio, there is another thing I want to discuss with you."

After determining the profit sharing ratio, Manager Shang discussed the matter with Li Xuan in a friendly tone.

"What's the matter?" Li Xuan asked curiously.

"Can you tell me the ending of your story later?"

Hearing what Manager Shang said, Li Xuan turned his head and looked at him, and immediately understood what he meant.

Li Xuan immediately shook his head and refused.

"I just want Ankang to win the game this time. If other people also win money, it will be meaningless."

The result Li Xuan wanted was for Princess Ankang to win over the others by an overwhelming margin. Then, Li Xuan asked Shang Zongguan: "And who can guarantee that the others will hand over all their profits?"

You know, although there are rewards for winning the competition every month, in the face of tens of thousands of taels of silver, no one can guarantee how the other princes and princesses will choose.

What's more, they each have the influence of their mother's family behind them.

Those who are happy to see Emperor Yongyuan suffer a loss or those who are against going to war with the desert will naturally not hand over the silver.

"Manager Shang, you taught me before that I shouldn't shoot myself in the foot because of greed."

Li Xuan flexibly applied the teachings that General Shang had given him.

Manager Shang sighed and nodded: "Ah Xuan, you are not wrong."

"It's just that such an opportunity only comes once in a lifetime. If it ends so easily, it would be a bit regrettable."

"Besides, Your Majesty really needs more money right now."

"Ah Xuan, do you think there is any other way?"

Manager Shang asked Li Xuan sincerely.

Faced with the expression of Shang Zongguan, Li Xuan couldn't help but soften his heart.

Li Xuan never forgot the care that Manager Shang had given them in the past.

Moreover, Manager Shang was sincere and loyal to Emperor Yongyuan. Li Xuan also admired such a loyal person as Manager Shang.

Faced with the plea of ​​Chief Shang, Li Xuan had to think about it.

After pondering for a moment, Li Xuan did not give a direct reply to Manager Shang, but asked about other matters.

"Manager Shang, do you know about this loan sharking thing?"

Butler Shang nodded.

"Those wealthy families and high-ranking officials use lending as a method to exploit the wealth of the people, and they are protected by the law. Has this been the case in Daxing since ancient times?"

"If this continues, wealth will be concentrated in the hands of these few people. By then, the whole country will be in a state of extravagance, with the nobles living in disgrace and the common people living in poverty. There will be no need for King Zheng to rebel, for the gods will be angry and the people will revolt."

"The upper is perverse and the lower is crooked, the upper is chaotic and the lower is rebellious."

"Why don't you take care of this?"

Li Xuan asked from the bottom of his heart.

Manager Shang smiled bitterly and replied, "It's not that we don't want to manage it, but we can't."

"You are also aware of the situation His Majesty is in the court right now, Xuan."

"Let alone such a major issue concerning the country, even a small preparation for war like this is fraught with difficulties."

"Daxing has stood for nearly a thousand years, but the stubborn illnesses it left behind are deep-rooted and difficult to cure."

"In the past, the dynasty has undergone earth-shaking changes, but luck was on Daxing's side, so it has continued to this day."

As Shang Zongguan said this, he seemed to remember something and couldn't help but smile:
"When Your Majesty was young, he also said some discouraging words, thinking that he might be the last emperor of Daxing."

"The situation in Daxing at that time was much worse than it is now, with internal and external troubles."

"But as we solve difficult problems, new ones emerge one after another, and sometimes we really feel overwhelmed."

After sighing, Manager Shang returned to the main topic: "Usury is a problem left over from history, but it is getting worse over time."

"Nowadays, loan sharking is the main source of income for the nobles in Daxing. It is impossible to change it in a short time."

"It may even put Your Majesty on the opposite side of more people."

Finally, Manager Shang said to Li Xuan seriously, "Ah Xuan, this is not a problem we can solve now."

"Yeah……"

A hint of disappointment flashed across Li Xuan's eyes.

But when he heard from Zhu Shimin that the official interest rate was 30% per month, he had expected it.

Li Xuan asked Manager Shang this question not because he wanted to solve the usury problem immediately, but because he wanted to confirm how long the usury had lasted.

Since Chief Steward Shang said that this was a historical issue, Li Xuan felt relieved.

"So, these people who lend money at high interest rates are really rich?"

Manager Shang smiled and nodded.

"Ah Xuan, His Majesty feels that your movement is not big enough and has not attracted the truly wealthy people in the capital."

"After all, the black market is not open to the public."

Li Xuan nodded and understood what Emperor Yongyuan meant.

If Emperor Yongyuan also got involved in this situation, the scene would naturally be even more grand.

"And the tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind."

"It's best not to let anyone know that His Highness Ankang was behind this."

Manager Shang gave a word of advice.

Li Xuan thought about it and finally had to nod.

He really didn't think this matter through.

If Princess Ankang made huge profits while all other princes and princesses suffered losses, it would be easy for people to think that Princess Ankang was the one who set up the scheme.

Especially the final crash happened just when the game was about to end.

Unlike previous competitions, the abilities demonstrated by Princess Ankang are enough to change the court situation, and will especially make King Zheng alert.

On this point, Li Xuan had to admit that what Shang Zongguan said made sense.

"In this case, this final ending must be told with skill and patience."

Seeing Li Xuan write this with the tail, Shang Zongguan breathed a sigh of relief, which showed that Li Xuan was willing to cooperate.

"Then do you and Xiao Minzi need to change the plan we had before?" asked Manager Shang.

Li Xuan shook his head: "No, we will still follow the original plan and start to sell off the stocks three days before the end of the competition, but we won't sell off all the way to the bottom."

Li Xuan walked around the table twice and thought about the follow-up operations.

"The price was lowered to 1,314 taels per unit, and part of the truth was released as a rumor to shake market confidence."

"At this time, most people will flee the market in panic, unit prices will continue to fall, and most antiques will be sold out."

"Until the unit price reaches 688 taels, we will aggressively buy back antiques from the market and hold the price."

"When someone comes to redeem the mortgage, we will return the antiques to them and let them know that our mortgage is authentic."

As Li Xuan spoke, he couldn't help but grin, revealing one of his fangs.

"It is best to deceive people when nine lies are true and one is false."

"Three days is enough time for the market to be shaken severely."

"After that, we will ask Manager Shang to replicate our previous operations."

"After experiencing a sharp drop, it can still rise again. I believe those nobles are also very interested."

“And those who fled in a hurry that time would also feel extremely regretful, thinking that God had given them a second chance, and they would move forward even more resolutely.”

“Meowhahahahahaha——”

Seeing that Li Xuan was getting more and more excited, and even laughing wildly, Manager Shang at the side silently took out an exquisite handkerchief and wiped the sweat off his face.

Manager Shang looked at Li Xuan with strange eyes, wondering:

"Who did you learn this from, Xuan? Did you meet an expert who gave you advice after leaving the palace?"

Li Xuan was laughing when he suddenly started coughing violently. It turned out that he was choked by his own saliva and looked very miserable.

Seeing the embarrassed kitten that was about to vomit due to coughing, the sense of strangeness that had arisen in Manager Shang's mind immediately disappeared.

"Well, even if I'm instructed by an expert, I'm still just a kitten."

Manager Shang shook his head and patted Li Xuan on the back.

(End of this chapter)