Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 131 Giving is not as good as lending

In fact, the only person who truly knew how much Li Longji loved Wang Xi was Consort Wu. Even Empress Wang probably didn't know that it was Consort Wu who often slept next to Li Longji, and that they even shared a common hobby, which was precisely the main reason why Li Longji loved Wang Xi.

If he were merely a young man, no matter how much the emperor favored him, Wu Jieyu, being a woman, would not have felt threatened.

Most of the time, a beloved concubine and a favored minister are close allies, because their fundamental interests do not conflict and are even complementary.

Logically speaking, Consort Wu should have been trying her best to win over Wang Xi.

However, Wang Xi happened to be Empress Wang's nephew, which was a fatal flaw, as it meant they were natural enemies and the only option was to find a way to eliminate him.

Consort Wu's advantage was that she was in the inner palace and could have close contact with the emperor, while Wang Xi's advantage was opera. In comparison, Consort Wu actually had the advantage.

Because Wang Xi is replaceable; there is no shortage of geniuses in this world, and it is very difficult to replace her.

The shrewd Wu Jieyu quickly grasped the current situation and promptly sent someone to inform Wu Xin that she needed talent in this area.

If she had a large number of talented people skilled in opera around her, it would be tantamount to weakening Wang Xi's advantage.

After all, she was a woman born during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian, and in terms of court intrigue, Consort Wu was quite shrewd.

This is exactly what Li Linfu wanted to see, because it is also his advantage. If this task is given to him, he will surely gain Wu Jieyu's trust, and at the same time, he can use Wang Xi to gain the emperor's trust.

That's some serious business acumen!
Of course, at present, no one in the government or the public, or even the whole country, is paying attention to the Wang-Wu rivalry. Even in the singing competition, Zhang Shuo only mentioned it briefly. Everyone's attention is still focused on land reform.

Li Longji's determination was beyond doubt.

Starting next year, we will definitely be taking bold and decisive actions.

This is a major event for everyone in the world!
Yuwen Mansion.

"We two have come uninvited; have we disturbed the Envoy of Land Expansion?"

Wang Shouyi smiled.

Today, he and Huangfu Shangde came to congratulate Yuwen Rong. After all, Yuwen Rong had previously visited Anye Bureau to offer his congratulations, and it would be impolite not to reciprocate.

"No! No!"

Yuwen Rong hurriedly replied, "Although many people have sent invitations to visit me recently, I have not met with them, but only received the two of you."

Huangfu Shangde was flattered and said, "This, this is too much trouble."

Yuwen Rong waved his hand and said, "I know very well why they are so eager to see me. Meeting them would only make things more difficult in the future, so it's best not to meet them."

There's an exaggeration to that. He's not the kind of person with strong principles who can remain untainted by the mud and not see anyone. He'll meet with some people who can help him, but he simply won't meet with those who want to boss him around and tell him what to do.

Huangfu Shangde cupped his hands and said, "We admire the Envoy of Expansion who is wholeheartedly dedicated to sharing the Emperor's burdens."

"Where! Where!"

Yuwen Rong said modestly, "There's no way around it. Everyone wants to consider social relationships, but you can't have your cake and eat it too!"

"That's it! That's it!"

Huangfu Shangde nodded, then exchanged a glance with Wang Shouyi.

Yuwen Rong hurriedly said, "If you two have something to say, please speak freely."

Wang Shouyi laughed and said, "Then I'll be frank."

Yuwen Rong said, "Please speak, Duke of Qi."

Wang Shouyi said: "One of the important reasons why the Anye Bureau was able to succeed and make many hidden households in Guanzhong willing to return to their hometowns was that it was the students of the nameless academy who came into contact with the people, rather than the officials."

Yuwen Rong nodded. "That move was indeed brilliant."

Wang Shouyi said, "Therefore, we hope that other prefectures and counties will follow suit."

Yuwen Rong said, "I originally wanted to talk to you about this matter as well. Wuming Academy has very limited manpower and financial resources, and at most we can only do good deeds in Chang'an County."

Wang Shouyi said, "We also consulted with Mr. Wuming about this matter. Initially, Mr. Wuming was really unwilling, but at our request, he gave us a solution."

Yuwen Rong said with delight, "Sir, your plan is certainly brilliant."

He was genuinely happy because this was a very difficult matter, and he was naturally happy to have someone help him.

Moreover, this was exactly what Li Longji wanted to see; he wanted to use Wang Shouyi and his unnamed wisdom.

Huangfu Shangde said, "The reason you agreed is because you are not after fame or fortune. However, Wuming Academy has contracts with various restaurants, and they will continue to perform, which will generate continuous profits. These profits will inevitably be donated to the poor people."

However, as the number of performances increased, the profits became substantial, requiring dedicated management. Since the professor also hoped his students would learn financial management skills, he planned to establish a charitable institution within the academy, assigning students to manage the funds while hiring external staff to run the business.

Yuwen Rong listened, somewhat puzzled. "What does this have to do with this matter?"

Huangfu Shangde explained, "Of course the two are related. The expansion of the territory can be regarded as a business, except that this business is not for making money, but for doing good."

Yuwen Rong nodded slightly.

Wang Shouyi smiled and said, "Since it's a business, we can expand our operations. We can find people skilled in financial management from the common people, which will make it easier to do good deeds in other prefectures and counties."

Yuwen Rong asked uncertainly, "So, the Anye Bureau will remain in place, while the Nameless Academy will go to various places to establish businesses?" Wang Shouyi nodded and said, "That's exactly right."

Yuwen Rong was extremely astute, and he immediately understood.

They wanted to bypass the deeply entrenched relationships within officialdom and start doing this from scratch.

Yuwen Rong wholeheartedly agreed, nodding repeatedly and saying, "This plan is brilliant!"

After saying that, he asked with doubt, "But what Wuming Academy has gained is just a drop in the ocean if applied to the whole country!"

Wang Shouyi smiled and said, "This is also a key reason why we persuaded you to help. Wuming Academy certainly cannot afford it, so only the imperial court can step in."

If the Nameless Academy were to establish a charitable institution, then the imperial court could certainly donate money to it to support the academy's philanthropic endeavors.

Yuwen Rong hesitated and said, "This."

He came here to make money, but he failed and then asked the court to pay for it. Would Li Longji agree to that?

Wang Shouyi said: "Actually, it doesn't cost much. As for the losses during the journey back to our hometown, our An Ye Department can find a way to solve them. The key is farm tools and rice seeds."

Many of these reclusive households have become tenant farmers, and the farm tools and rice seeds they use are provided by the landlords. If they were only given land but not farm tools and rice seeds, it probably wouldn't be enough.

Yuwen Rong pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "How will you manage the expenses incurred during this journey?"

Wang Shouyi said, "We can use merchants to solve this problem. As long as we coordinate it well, we can get the relocated households to help the merchants deliver goods. This will not only reduce the losses during the journey, but we can also make a profit."

"This plan is not bad, but it is very complicated."

“We can do that,” Wang Shouyi said confidently.

When it comes to businessmen, he is indeed confident, because the Wang family is not only the leading landowner in Chang'an, but also one of the top ten wealthiest merchants in Chang'an.

“Since we can do this, why don’t we do it this way?” Yuwen Rong said, “The money for the farm tools may not seem like much on its own, but if there are too many hidden households, it can amount to a lot of money.”

Moreover, many of the hidden households were not actually in trouble; they simply became hidden households because the court had been negligent in its management and they wanted to evade taxes. However, this is not easy to determine.

Instead of donating, it's better to lend to the people.

"borrow?"

Wang Shouyi was slightly taken aback.

Yuwen Rong nodded and said, "It's just an interest-free loan to the people. In this way, not only farming tools, but also money for livestock can be lent to the people. Moreover, this will make it easier to persuade the court to agree."

Wang Shouyi and Huangfu Shangde exchanged a glance.

Huangfu Shangde said, "This matter is related to Wuming Academy, and we still need to discuss it with you, sir."

Yuwen Rong nodded repeatedly and said, "Of course, of course, I was just making a suggestion."

He wanted help from the Nameless Academy, but he didn't want to control it. He hoped the Nameless Academy would take responsibility itself, so that everyone would be in the same boat.

Upon returning, Huangfu Shangde informed Huangfu Sengnian of the matter. In such cases, Wang Shouyi trusted Huangfu Sengnian more than Wang Xi, because even a single oversight could lead to disaster.

Of course, they also wanted to contact Mr. Wuming directly, but Mr. Wuming repeatedly stated that he did not like to get involved in politics, so they could only deal with Mr. Wuming through Huangfu Sengnian.

An unnamed academy.

"borrow?"

Wang Xi frowned and said, "This has really given us a difficult problem!"

Wang Shuang said, "I think this is pretty good, after all, it's interest-free."

Huangfu Sengnian said, "No interest doesn't mean it can definitely be repaid. Who will come to collect the debt then?"

Wang Xi nodded and said, "Seng Nian is right. Interest-free loans are certainly a good thing, but with so many people, if a natural disaster or man-made calamity occurs, the money may not be able to be repaid. What will we do then? Moreover, it is very complicated to operate and may require more manpower, so it is not worth the loss."

Huangfu Sengnian said, "However, Yuwen Rong's concerns should not be ignored. Although he only made a suggestion, the current financial situation is difficult, and it would be very difficult to get the court to spend this amount of money."

Wang Xi pondered for a while and said, "Whether this money is a lot or not depends on how you calculate it. If we can successfully expand the number of households, it's nothing compared to the annual income tax."

At present, the court values ​​taxes the most, as this is a perpetual source of income. In that case, why not suggest that the court lend money to the people in the name of a loan to purchase agricultural tools, but only pay 70%, with the people paying the remaining 30% themselves? If the people pay their taxes as agreed every year for the first three years, then the money will not need to be repaid.

This also incentivizes people to pay taxes, thus stabilizing new tax sources.

Huangfu Sengnian's eyes lit up. "This method is feasible, but it may not be able to convince His Majesty."

Wang Xi said, "If we can't persuade him, then we'll skip this step. Simply borrowing money is absolutely not going to work. With our father's methods, he simply can't grasp the stakes involved."

Just then, Tao Mo suddenly entered the room, saying, "Four young men, the Minister of Rites, Li, has arrived."

"Li Linfu?"

"Yes."

"What is he here for?"

(End of this chapter)