"Although the national treasury is better now than it was during the natural disaster, the economic situation of the imperial court is really not optimistic. Now the imperial court has to do a big thing, and this big thing cannot be done without money."
"The cost to all parties is at least around 50 million taels."
Li Chen's words made Liu Sichun scream in fright.
"Fifty million taels!?"
What is the concept of fifty million taels?
During the more than 360 years of the Qin Empire, at its peak, the annual treasury revenue did not exceed 12 million taels.
The currently reigning Emperor Daxing has had an annual revenue of less than 8 million taels for the treasury for more than ten years.
And Li Chen's request was fifty million taels, which was an astronomical figure that Liu Sichun could not even imagine.
"Your Highness, it is difficult to raise these 50 million taels, but even if they are raised, can the court really pay them when they are due?" Liu Sichun asked cautiously.
She didn't dare to ask Li Chen what he planned to do with so much money, but she had to know whether Li Chen planned to pay back the money.
Based on her understanding of Li Chen, she knew that Li Chen would most likely not actually kill the goose to obtain the eggs, but 50 million taels was simply too much.
Li Chen said: "Since you need to handle this matter, I naturally want you to know...the imperial court is about to start a war with the Liao Kingdom."
As a businessman, Liu Sichun does not care about politics, but she is extremely sensitive to war.
Because once a war breaks out, all prices will experience huge fluctuations. Depending on the size of the war, even the entire country's resources will have to be adjusted and tilted.
A war with the Liao Kingdom would definitely not be a small friction or local battle, but a large-scale war.
This kind of war will affect the entire country and all aspects of society.
As a businessman, Liu Sichun was keenly aware that knowing the news in advance meant huge business opportunities.
At the same time, Liu Sichun also understood why Li Chen suddenly paid attention to a small rice store today and was concerned about commodity prices and food prices in the Gyeonggi region.
Once the country goes to war, its dependence on grain and grass will be even higher, and the court will inevitably purchase grain on the market. At this time, it is most likely to cause grain prices to skyrocket.
Once it is not properly controlled, people will not be able to make a living.
The natural disaster has just passed, and the entire society has not yet recovered its breath. At this time, Daqin will definitely not be able to withstand a skyrocketing price, and the people will really rebel.
"This battle is not fought by the imperial court, but because the 600,000 troops of the Liao Kingdom are already pressed outside the Crescent Pass. The imperial court has no choice but to fight. If we fail to capture them, we will hand over thousands of miles of land to the Liao people."
Li Chen said indifferently: "So even if we sell everything and empty out our family's wealth, this battle is inevitable."
Liu Sichun pursed his lips, took his mind away from those national affairs, and said: "But in this case, we still cannot solve the problem. How can we ensure the payment of the national debt mentioned by His Highness?"
"War is the most expensive thing to do. When a gun goes off, you get thousands of taels of gold, but it is also the fastest way to get rich. As long as you can win, you can easily get 100 million taels of silver, not to mention 50 million taels."
Li Chen said in a deep voice: "But we must take into account the stalemate in the war situation, so this batch of national bonds will be divided into three dates: short, medium and long. The short is half a year, the medium is one year, and the long is three years. The interest will be based on the maturity date."
The time is different and increases in sequence, with the short term being the least and the long term being the longest. This can alleviate the court's payment pressure to the greatest extent."
