Li Siye felt very strange. This was indeed what he said, but why did Meng Lingcha believe it so much? Don't you think it's a bit nonsense?
"I heard a long time ago that you are quite capable in amassing money. When you were the prince in the East Palace and led a thousand oxen, you used a polo match as a cover for the common man Li Ying to make millions of dollars at once. Later you served as the guard of Congling.
, planting cotton in Congling, filling cotton cores to provide cotton-padded jackets and quilts to the Anxi Army, and earning a lot of money. If someone said that he could make a living without rice, I would have kicked him out of the house long ago, but if it were you
I believe what Li Siye said."
Li Siye suddenly realized that his true identity was already known to others.
He straightened up, crossed his hands and said, "I still need to ask Protector Fumeng a few questions to determine whether I can help this man without rice."
"It's okay if you just ask."
"What is the purpose of the imperial court in building post stations in the four towns of Anxi and the Hexi Corridor?"
Fumeng Lingcha took a deep breath and said: "Of course it is to facilitate the exchange of official documents between the four towns of Anxi and with the imperial court. It is also to facilitate business travel."
"Is the inn more used by the imperial court or by business travelers?"
"It should be more used for business trips in the past."
"The post station needs to be equipped with post captains, horses, grooms and post soldiers. Where do the salaries of these people and the daily operating expenses of the post station come from?"
Fumeng Lingcha replied: "The post station will earn some money by entertaining business travelers. This money can be used to purchase replacement horses, pay the postmaster and other people's salaries, and perform daily maintenance and repairs of the post station."
"Let me ask one last question." Li Siye asked: "How many post stations and warehouses need to be added for this expansion."
"There are two lines in Anxi. One runs from Gaochang to Yanqi and then to Qiuci and Shule, extending north to Dunduo City. Twenty-three post stations need to be added to meet the requirement of one post for thirty miles. The second
The road connects Shazhounu Branch City outside, from Qiemo City to Lancheng Shouhuo, then to Kancheng Shouhuo, to Hotan, Yutian, and extends southward to Congling Shouhuo. Thirty-two post stations are needed. The two roads are at
Intersection of Shule Town. In order to facilitate passing caravans, we decided to set up a warehouse sixty miles away as an ancillary facility of the post station. Calculated based on construction and labor costs, it would cost 860,000 yuan to build a complete post station to operate.
The entire project will cost more than 47 million yuan to complete, and even if converted into gold, it will cost more than 20,000 taels. The annual commercial tax of the Anxi Protectorate is probably about this amount."
"Hiss," Li Siye took a breath after hearing this number. It is indeed a big project. This is just an expansion on the original scale of the Anxi Post Trading Road. It is said that the land-based post stations alone in the Tang Dynasty now have more than 1,200
The money required for this is more than 100 million.
Fumeng Lingcha looked at Li Siye's expression and couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He shook his head and said: "Let me just say, the cost of such a large project is not as simple as cooking without rice. How can it be built without spending any money? You
It’s a bit empty talk, so please measure your ability before speaking next time.”
Li Siye felt a little excited for a moment. This husband, Meng Lingcha, was really impatient. Before he even said he would quit, he was already trying to provoke the general.
He shook his head and said: "What you said is still not detailed enough. I need to personally inspect and verify it before I can determine whether people can be used to build the inn."
Fumeng Lingcha smacked his lips. His provocation method didn't seem to work. Li Siye didn't say it was possible or impossible. He said it still needed to be investigated and verified. Based on his prudentness and caution, he had a hunch that there seemed to be great hope.
If Li Siye had boasted to him as soon as he came in, saying that it would cost Anxi nothing to complete the cultivation in half a year, he would think that he was trying to please others by grandstanding.
"Okay, you can go and investigate, but you have to give me a time to reply. How long will it take to tell me whether it is feasible or not?"
"I will give you an answer within ten days."
"No, I only give you six days."
Li Siye thought for a moment, nodded and said, "Okay, just six days."
"Bingcao Zhang Yuanli, a member of the army, is responsible for managing all the post offices in Anxi. I will let him serve you these days. Just tell him what you need."
"Please just wait patiently, Protector, and resign from your humble position."
Li Siye stood up from the futon, crossed his hands towards his husband Meng Lingcha, slowly backed away, opened the next door and walked out.
…
Li Siye was accompanied by Cao, a soldier from the seventh rank of the Protectorate who joined the army. His name was Zhang Yuanli. He was a scholar with a book in his hand and a knife at his waist. He might have been a frontier poet, but after Li Siye read his two poems,
, we can conclude that he is a prodigy among poets.
Although he cannot write poetry, he still has a certain ability to appreciate poetry after being influenced by thousands of years of poetry culture.
Li Siye invited Zhang Canjun to have a detailed talk in the courtyard of his home, and invited him to drink two cups of tea that Li Meier used for practice. The reason why he invited Zhang Canjun to his home was because tea stalls at wine shops outside cost money.
"How many people does a post station receive every year, and how much profit does it make? After excluding the money spent on delivering official documents and receiving passing officers and soldiers, and excluding the damage to horses, how much money is left for the postmen and postmen?"
Zhang Yuanli's brain went numb after hearing this. For many years after he took over as Bing Cao and joined the army, he had never thought of calculating such accounts in detail. He shook his head and said, "How did I know that the money earned by the post station from hosting merchants every year is not turned over?
It is up to the postmaster to deploy them. No matter how much profit they make, as long as they can maintain the post, maintain the number of horses specified by the governor, receive official couriers and passing officers and soldiers, and do not ask the governor for money."
It is indeed an extensive management, and it is so extensive that Cao Shenjun, a dignified householder, does not even know the income of the inn under his jurisdiction.
"Bing Cao joins the army and has jurisdiction over all the post stations and post houses in Anxi. How can he not know how they operate and make profits?"
Zhang Yuanli quickly waved his hand and said: "General Li, you don't know something. Our Datang post station usually uses the method of catching posts. There is a post every thirty miles, and the head of a wealthy family in the state is the post leader. The imperial court
He was exempted from rent and given military status, and the exempted land tax served as the operating cost of the post. Although Anxi is different from the Central Plains, it is similar. Although the postmasters of each post have no land to make a living, they win.
This is an important route along the Silk Road. Just by traveling to and from business and accommodation along the way, you can make a profit and cover the maintenance and operation costs. So I have never thought about it or calculated how much income this station in Anxi can earn in a year."
Li Siye lowered his head and thought for a while, then raised his head and said, "If you want to know how much income you have, there is a way. You go down and prepare for me the robes of an ordinary soldier in Anxi, and you get yourself a scholar's outfit. When you are ready, send it to me. We will do it ourselves."
Go out and ask and you will know.”
Zhang Canjun picked up the tea bowl and drank the tea soup inside, then crossed his hands and said, "General Li is so lucky to have such a fragrant tea soup every day."
Li Meier poked her head out of the upper window, covering her mouth and giggling.
Li Siye looked up and said casually: "What's so lucky about this? When you and I figure out the matter at the inn, I'll invite you to my house for ten days of tea."
"In this way, I will thank General Li."
After Zhang Yuanli said goodbye and left, he moved very quickly and found the entire infantry outfit for him in less than half a day. The two of them got dressed respectively. Li Siye had a red bandage on his head and a wine gourd hanging on his left waist.
An old horizontal sword hangs from his waist, and he is dressed as an unruly veteran of the Tang Army. Zhang Yuanli wears a shabby robe and leads a thin horse. On the horse's back is a bamboo basket with pen, ink, paper and inkstones inside.
It looks very much like a frontier poet who went to the frontier to collect folk songs.
As soon as the two of them left the city gate, Li Siye proposed to leave separately. Zhang Yuanli was very surprised: "Why, isn't it better if we go together?"
"Okay, have you ever seen a scholar and a soldier walking together? When a scholar meets a soldier, he can't explain why. You go first and go to the third post station between Tuoji Pass and Kubera City. Let's
Meet me there, and then you will act according to my look."