Chapter 436 Firecrackers are expensive and hard to come by
In the Kingdom of Yue, the King of Yue stood in the main hall, looking at the extremely simple map on the wall.
It is said to be a main hall, but in fact it is not even as good as the attic of a slightly richer noble in the Central Plains. With the current conditions of the Yue Kingdom, it is impossible to build a real main hall, and it is not time to enjoy it.
"I want to completely conquer Baiyue before the end of this year. I will work hard to govern, accumulate strength, and wait for changes in the world. I will raise 30,000 troops to attack Jiangdong and restore our Yue Kingdom to Zuo." The King of Yue punched the map.
With the help of Zhao and Qin, the Yue State has recovered most of Baiyue in the past year. The remaining ones are either too difficult or too remote.
This area is full of endless mountains. It may take half a day to walk between the two places, not to mention the march of the army and the transportation of grain and grass.
If it weren't for the wheelbarrows passed down from Zhao, which were extremely useful in mountainous areas, and only one person and one cart could transport hundreds of kilograms of grain, the Yue king would have given up on the rest.
However, Baiyue has a sparse population, there are no roads connecting the regions, and communication is difficult. Even if they are integrated together, it is impossible to recapture Jiangdong from Chu.
The only chance is to backstab Chu when Chu is at war with other countries. This opportunity is not difficult to wait for. War is the norm in troubled times, and peace is a short-term accident.
"The last general invites you to fight." Chang Yang said loudly.
"Okay, I will take the general as the vanguard and send out troops next month." The King of Yue bowed to a man dressed as a civil servant and said, "I will leave the matter of food and grass to you, sir."
"As long as I am here, the supply of food will be guaranteed." Wen Zi said solemnly.
Wen Zi was secretly invited from the Wei State by someone sent by the King of Yue. It is said that he is a descendant of Wen Zhong, one of the three great counselors under the command of King Gou Jian of the Yue State. Although he is not at the top of the world, he is much better and more profound than the remnants of the Yue State.
Gain the trust of the King of Yue.
"I just bought a boatload of wine from the State of Zhao. I gave it all to the soldiers and told them that there will be more wine in the future." The King of Yue clenched his hands and said with confidence.
…
South Korea, Xinzheng.
The roar of firecrackers came from the palace, accompanied by thick smoke rising, and bursts of joyful laughter.
"The firecrackers created by Zhao Guo are really interesting. You can set them off once and then disappear with a bang, but they are a bit addictive." Han Wangran said with a smile, subconsciously lit another one with both hands, and threw it away.
"It's just that they are too expensive. A pack of matches only costs three yuan, but a firecracker costs fifty yuan," said a concubine.
Fifty dollars is nothing to the nobles, but there is no difference between buying a firecracker and robbing money. Many nobles are addicted to it and throw away hundreds or thousands of dollars in a day without even making a splash.
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Although some nobles discovered that this was a trap and strictly prohibited their tribesmen from buying firecrackers, not everyone could resist this temptation, especially after some genius thought of using firecrackers to give gifts, and the word "style" instantly appeared in everyone's mind.
When others are still bringing two pieces of bacon and two fish, if you bring two firecrackers, even the concierge will look at you twice.
So everyone sent firecrackers instead. For a few days, Xinzheng was filled with the sound of roaring firecrackers.
At this point, unless the King of Korea comes forward to ban the firecrackers from entering Korea, it will be completely unstoppable.
"Your Majesty, firecrackers are expensive and it is not easy for Guizhou leaders. Every time you set off a firecracker, you will increase the burden of a Guizhou leader. It is better to set off less." Queen Han advised.
"Don't you, the noble king of a country, even have the right to enjoy it?" Han Wangran's face darkened, and his left hand holding the firecracker stopped in mid-air.
"The king, as the king of a country, naturally has the right to enjoy it, but the consequence of enjoyment is that the king of a country becomes the king of subjugation. If you set off one more firecracker, South Korea will lose 50 yuan, and Zhao will lose 50 yuan.
Ten coins. If things go on like this, Korea will become weaker and Zhao will become stronger. When the day comes when the Zhao army approaches the city, what will the king do to resist the Zhao army?" Queen Han said angrily.
Han Wangran's face suddenly turned red, his eyes were full of anger, his chest was rising and falling, and he was extremely angry, but in the end he still did not scold the queen.
"I know, I will have fewer firecrackers from now on." King Han took a deep breath and handed the firecrackers to the eunuch next to him, "From now on, no one in the palace is allowed to buy firecrackers, including me."
…
Compared with other countries, Wei's situation is much worse. Last year, he was defeated in Hedong and lost his troops. Although he bought war horses from Zhao again, he lost the jurisdiction of Chaoguan.
Not only could they not get a penny of tax revenue from it, but the merchant ships coming and going from Wei State also had to pay taxes to Zhao State.
Everyone in the Wei Kingdom complained about this, and even Fan Zuo, who had made the decision on behalf of King Wei, was hated by many people.
Fortunately, the King of Wei did not kill Fan Zuo out of a sudden thought like before. Instead, he took advantage of the situation and removed some weak officials and replaced them with talented people selected from various places.
"Your Majesty, are you looking for me?" Shaofu Wei Yang came in and said with cupped hands.
"How much wealth does the young man have? I want to pave a few more roads." King Wei asked.
During this time, he realized the importance of roads. Since the roads running through Wei State's east, west, north and south were built, there has been an endless stream of vehicles. Wei Guo could make money within three years just by collecting tolls.
Come back, not to mention the ever-increasing business taxes.
The Wei State is located in the Central Plains, the center of the Seven Kingdoms. Merchants traveling from south to north have to pass through the Wei State. Business is extremely prosperous. Even without the tax revenue from the border, it can still support tens of thousands of troops, all relying on the ever-increasing commercial taxes.
Even if King Wei has lost his mind, he will not have trouble with his money, not to mention that he hasn't lost his mind yet.
In this case, it is natural to build more roads and collect more money.
"The internal history does not have enough money to cover military expenditures. This year's military expenditures have to be borne by the Shaofu. I'm afraid...it will be difficult to free up money to build roads." Wei Yang said.
Both the Neishi and the Shaofu are in charge of money. The difference is that the money of the Neishi is used for the country, such as paying salaries to officials. The money of the Shaofu is the king's small treasury and is mainly used for the monarch and the clan.
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However, the entire country belongs to the monarch. It is normal for the monarch to take some money from the internal history for his own use, or to take some money from the Shaofu to supplement the internal history.
In fact, the amount and frequency of the latter's replenishment of the former far exceeded the number of times the monarch took out money from his internal affairs.
"Can we make cement ourselves?" King Wei suddenly thought that if Wei could make cement, even if the cost was higher, it would definitely be more cost-effective than buying it from Zhao.
He knew how evil the Zhao State was. The war horses that used to cost three to four thousand were suddenly sold to twenty thousand by the Zhao State.
And the firecrackers disappeared with a bang, and each one cost fifty yuan.
There are also pens, inks, paper and inkstones. It is said to be a collector's edition. A set costs one hundred thousand yuan. There is still a set in the palace. Every time I see King Wei, I feel my heart bleed.
There are countless examples of this. Sometimes the King of Wei wanted to raise his troops to destroy the State of Zhao and get all the money back.