Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 931: Draining the Family
The fifteen-day deadline given by Liu He finally arrived.

Early in the morning, Wang Yun led many ministers and hurried into the palace to meet the emperor.

"Oh? My dear ministers, have you gathered the money?" There was some surprise in Liu He's tone.

Wang Yun stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, we have worked hard day and night and tried our best. Finally, we have lived up to your expectations and collected a total of 28.7 billion coins. Today, I have come to report to your Majesty."

"Well, my dear minister, you are indeed the white jade pillar that supports the sky and the purple gold beam that spans the sea of ​​the Han Dynasty. With such a huge amount of money, I no longer have to worry about Cao Cao, Liu Yan, or Goguryeo."

Liu He was so happy that he dropped the book he was reading.

Wang Yun also suppressed his excitement and said, "Your Majesty, is there anyone else who wants to take those 50,000 books?"

Liu He waved his hand and said, "Hey, who else in the world can be as loyal as the father-in-law? A few days ago, Zhen Yi went to the Queen, hoping to buy five of the 100 books at a lower price. The Zhang and Su families also came to Luoyang in person, hoping to get a share of the pie. However, they were too stingy. The price I offered was already low enough, but they were still not satisfied and tried to get a discount. I was unhappy and scolded them."

Wang Yun was overjoyed. He also heard from Eunuch Hong that the heads of the three families had entered the palace one after another and then returned disappointed. Now that he heard Liu He say so himself, he could naturally conclude that the matter was true.

He pretended to be angry and said, "These three people have been blessed by the emperor for a long time. Now that the court is in danger, they have no intention of serving the country, but instead are taking advantage of the situation to rob. This is really despicable."

Liu He sighed heavily, "Alas, fortunately, I have the father-in-law to share my worries. Send an order to promote Minister Wang Yun to the title of Marquis of Lian County as a reward."

Wang Yun was overjoyed and said, "I thank your Majesty for your kindness. I will serve you till my death!"

"My dear, please get up quickly." Liu He helped him up with his own hands.

"Someone, bring the books over here."

Soon, a group of imperial guards brought over wooden boxes again. Wang Yun and other ministers once again smelled the faint scent of ink emanating from them. At this moment, in their minds, this was the most moving fragrance in the world.

"Fifty thousand books are all here. I wonder how much it costs..."

When Liu He said this, his eyes lit up. He no longer looked like an emperor, but rather like a businessman bargaining.

Wang Yun turned aside and said, "Two hundred and eighty-seven billion coins, of which eighty-seven billion are five-zhu coins, and twenty billion is equivalent to two million gold coins, all of which are now outside the palace gate."

"Okay, okay, you can take me there."

Liu He looked impatient and ran out in a hurry.

Outside the palace, there were indeed rows of convoys lined up in neat rows. On each car, there were two or three wooden boxes. Liu He casually opened a few of them and found either heavy five-zhu coins or bright yellow gold ingots. Even though Liu He was an emperor, it was the first time he saw so much money at the same time.

Qian Li's reaction, on the other hand, was a little more indifferent than his. After all, he had to count the annual revenue of the national treasury, and he was already accustomed to the tens of billions of dollars.

"Well, I'm sure you all have spent a lot of effort to raise so much money. You all have helped the court in its urgent need, and I will remember it in my heart."

"Your Majesty, such a kind compliment is very respectful to us." The ministers replied in unison. Wang Yun's eyes turned and he stepped forward and asked, "Your Majesty, as the saying goes, you must strike while the iron is hot. I think that once these 50,000 books are published and flow into the business, they will cause a great sensation. Although it will take several months to sell them all, a large amount of money can be recovered in one or two months. The court has many expenses this year. In my opinion, the profit from selling books is huge. If it can be continued without interruption, the income from this item alone can more than double the annual income of the national treasury."

Liu He looked at him and said, "My dear minister, do you want me to start printing the second batch of books right away?"

"Yes, that is exactly what I meant. Although I am not very familiar with your majesty's papermaking and printing techniques, after reading this book, I know that it is not easy to make such a book. I am afraid it will take a lot of time."

"Well, my dear minister, your guess is right." Liu He affirmed, "Just talking about these 50,000 books, it took more than a month to print them, and we worked overnight to finish printing them. I was just thinking about adding more people and printing more."

"That's it." Wang Yun said, "Your Majesty, please print the second batch of books now. After a month or so, when the printing is completed, we will sell some of the 50,000 books and earn a lot of money. Then we will come to Your Majesty to get books. Then the business will continue, and Your Majesty will no longer have to worry about the expenditure of money and grain."

"Excellent, excellent."

Liu He clapped his hands and cheered: "My dear minister, you always think about the court. With your grandfather's sincere teachings, I think Tai'er will definitely become a pillar of the country in the future. I am waiting to see it."

Just this one sentence made Wang Yun's heart beat faster.

"I, your humble servant, will never betray your Majesty's grace!"

"Okay, okay. Today is the happiest day since I ascended the throne. You all should go back and prepare for the book sale. I will also make good arrangements for the war in Yuzhou. You should kneel down and greet me."

"I'm waiting to retire."

Wang Yun, filled with great excitement, personally escorted the convoy transporting the books all the way back to Situ's Mansion.

After watching him leave, Liu He's face, which had been smiling all the time, suddenly turned cold.

"You old thing, you still want to take full control of the voice of book sales and snatch this monopoly from me. You are really dreaming."

He waved to Qian Li, and Qian Li hurried forward.

"Daozhun, take this money with you and keep an eye on the business activities at all times. If anyone wants to sell land, buy it immediately."

Qian Li was a little puzzled and asked, "Your Majesty, now that Situ and the others have gathered enough money to buy books, I'm afraid they won't sell the land in the short term, right?"

Liu He smiled and said, "Don't worry. I just deliberately said that the time for printing books is one month, which is to make sure that they will not be able to sell the second 28.7 billion coins within one month. And I deliberately added a sentence, saying that I will increase the number of craftsmen and print more books. After one month, I am afraid that there will be 80,000 or even 100,000 books. They are bent on monopolizing the book sales business, how can they sit back and watch these books be taken away by others?"

Qian Li now understood: "I see. If Wang Situ and his men want to continue to seize the second batch of books, they must continue to sell land and other items."

"Haha, I want to see how much land they can still sell. I want to squeeze out those noble families who dare to secretly oppose the court and only care about their own interests without public spirit. Moreover, I want them to be willing to come forward and beg me to squeeze them..."

Liu He said with confidence.

(End of this chapter)