Ten years of dormancy: Starting as a martial arts master at the pinnacle

"One hundred million taels?"

Murong Yao had never calculated it carefully, and upon hearing this number, she was immediately speechless.

She had no idea what an astronomical figure that was.

"The Great Zhou's annual revenue is only around 150 million taels. A third of that, or 50 million taels, is spent on the army. This 50 million taels includes the soldiers' salaries, equipment, armor, clothing, and logistical supplies. It even covers weapons research and development. In other words, this 50 million taels supports the Great Zhou's million-strong army. Besides the border troops, there are the Imperial Guards, the navy responsible for suppressing bandits, and local armies. This 100 million taels is enough to support two Great Zhou armies. If all of it were invested in military equipment, it could expand the army by 2 million..."

The Great Zhou Dynasty was the most powerful dynasty in the surrounding world.

What if the army suddenly expands by two million?

It's estimated that the surrounding dynasties and kingdoms would have to keep one eye open even in their wildest dreams.

Murong Yao subconsciously swallowed. "Our Golden Guard's annual budget is only 200 million taels..."

"You're overthinking it. The Golden Guards earn far more than that each year. Leaving aside your salaries, the cost of supporting the top fighters within the Golden Guards alone is astronomical. You're not involved, so you don't know. The Golden Guards must have their own sources of income. What exactly? I don't know. But I can guarantee that they definitely do."

The Grand Canal Gang kept those martial arts masters as retainers, and they had to pay them 10,000 taels of silver every year.

The imperial court would give grandmasters a considerable amount of money, if not a huge sum.

The saying "Martial arts are supreme" is no joke.

Leaving aside other aspects of treatment, the difference is evident even in terms of money.

Even the highest-ranking official in the Great Zhou Dynasty, the prime minister, only received a salary of 12,000 taels of silver per year.

A master at the Grandmaster level receives a subsidy of at least several thousand taels of silver.

A master at the Grandmaster level receives a salary comparable to that of a prime minister.

Not to mention those who are carefree, the truly carefree.

Of course, having a lot of money doesn't necessarily mean having high status.

Lu Chuan, the deputy commander of the Golden Guard, earns at least 30,000 taels of silver, and possibly even more.

This is a special benefit granted by the imperial court to experts at the Great Freedom Realm.

Even Lu Chuan had to be very polite to the prime minister and dared not offend him in the slightest.

The prime minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty was someone that even a master of the Great Free and Unfettered Realm like him could not afford to offend.

As for the stipends given by the imperial court to martial arts masters, they did not actually come from the annual revenue.

Royal family, supreme residence, noble family.

These forces all own their own private property, and their industries are the main source of their income.

As for the imperial court, it relied on salt and iron.

The imperial court tightly controlled these two purses, using them specifically to pay for the expenses of martial arts masters, and they were not included in the national treasury's annual revenue.

Therefore, in any era or by any power, it is absolutely impossible to succeed without money.

As the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Sanyang, Murong Yao naturally understood this principle deeply.

The newspaper, which earned 100 million taels of silver a year, had become a money bag comparable to salt and iron in her eyes.

"This is just the beginning. Will we be able to earn more in the future?"

She looked like a model student, gazing at Li Changqing with starry eyes.

Murong Yao had never thought Li Changqing was so handsome before, even though Li Changqing's features were flawless and the kind of person who grew on you the more you looked at him.

But Murong Yao still felt that Li Changqing looked more pleasing to the eye now; he seemed to be shining brightly.

"Of course. In addition to the imperial newspapers, local areas can also have their own newspapers. However, we don't have enough manpower at the moment to strictly control the content. So local newspapers cannot be launched in the short term. Besides newspapers, there are also martial arts magazines that specialize in reporting on martial arts figures, which can list some rankings. For example, the top ten masters of the Supreme Realm, the top ten masters of the Half-Step Supreme Realm, and so on."

Murong Yao swallowed subconsciously.

"This world will descend into chaos!"

Wen has no first, Wu has no second.

Once such a ranking list is released, Murong Yao can imagine what the entire martial arts world will become.

Most people live simply to pursue fame and fortune.

For most martial artists, having a place on such a list is something they can't refuse.

People will fight tooth and nail for rankings.

"This is merely one of my ideas. As the editor-in-chief, you must understand that you control the public opinion of the entire Great Zhou. As long as it's within a safe range, you can make the world whatever you want it to be. After all, the vast majority of people know absolutely nothing about the outside world except for the newspapers you write."

Murong Yao was deeply shocked.

A thin newspaper felt incredibly heavy to her.

"So newspapers are not just for making money, but also a sharp weapon."

"It should be called a national treasure! After all, with me here, no one can stop it."

As the sole supreme ruler of the Great Zhou royal family, even if Li Changqing were not the emperor, his influence in the Great Zhou would be no less than that of the emperor.

"To be honest, I'm very apprehensive."

Murong Yao smiled bitterly.

She used to think she was quite career-minded, but now she's not so sure.

Is she really capable of shouldering such a heavy responsibility?

"This responsibility is indeed immense, and it requires a certain status to match it. Otherwise, those who hold power and powerful figures would have utterly destroyed the editor-in-chief. They would not allow anything that could threaten them to exist, given even the slightest chance. Fortunately, you have me behind you, plus your status as a concubine. As a result, apart from the Duke of Qi's mansion and the Marquis of Xiaoyao's mansion, no one would dare to lay a hand on you."

"What if those two families make a move?"

"So I'm going to give those two companies a fortune no less than that of the Kyoto Weekly. That way, we'll be in a cooperative relationship. Nobody turns down money, especially when we're involved in each other's interests. As long as Lord Xie doesn't do something foolish, he won't do it."

As for the Duke of Qi...

Li Changqing had already met the other party, and he was certain that Qi Yufan was not that kind of person.

"You mean there are two other businesses that are no less successful than the Kyoto newspaper? Does that mean those two businesses can also generate over 100 million taels of silver annually?"

The annual revenue of the Zhou Dynasty was only 150 million taels.

Li Changqing said that his three businesses combined could bring in 300 million taels of silver.

Double the annual income of the previous year!

At this moment, Li Changqing had practically become the God of Wealth in Murong Yao's eyes.

Such enormous wealth and power, multiplied by three.

No wonder the Duke of Qi's mansion and the Marquis of Xiaoyao's mansion were so proactive.

They may not know the whole picture, but they must have seen the beginnings.

The beginnings of a monopoly!

Once a monopoly is involved in any industry, it signifies immense wealth and power.

Murong Yao couldn't help but think of her good younger sister, that sophisticated green tea who seemed to be better than her in every way.

I wonder if she was spying on these things?

……