amaotonovel Chapter 1208 Where can water sellers make as much money as water plant operators?
Chapter 1208 Where can water sellers make as much money as water plant operators?
Yang Shaofeng has a clear understanding of himself.
He was destined to be a duke for life. If he wanted to rise any higher, he would either receive posthumous honors or live a life of fleeting glory before dying.
The only prerequisite for living and experiencing the feeling of being a lonely and powerful person is to outlive Old Deng, then send off Little Deng, wait for Black Sesame Dumpling's son to grow up, and when he himself is old and frail and doesn't have many days left to live, Black Sesame Dumpling's son might bestow upon him a title of nobility.
So, when these two barbarians asked their pope to crown me, weren't they just after my life?
Yang Shaofeng's expression was gloomy. He ordered Xia Zhong, "Tell these two barbarians that if they dare to spout any more nonsense about coronation, I will have them chopped up and fed to the dogs."
Xia Zhong quickly translated, while Yang Shaofeng turned to Chang Xiaojiu and instructed, "Have someone send this indulgence to the printing workshop, improve upon the original format, and print a few copies with colored ink. I need them urgently."
After Chang Xiaojiu left with the indenture, Yang Shaofeng turned to Xia Zhong and said, "Ask these two barbarians for me again, and ask them if they are willing to communicate with their gods."
After another round of chatter, Xia Zhong bowed to Yang Shaofeng and said, "Your Highness, these two barbarians say that if Your Highness can allow them to communicate with their gods, they are willing to pay any price."
"In addition, these two barbarians also said that their families have some status in Europe and are quite wealthy, and can pay a large ransom for them."
Yang Shaofeng reprimanded with a dark face, "What ransom? I am not the Duke of E, why would I ask for any ransom?"
Besides, ransom is just a one-off deal; even if you collect a lot, it's only for once and then it's over.
But indulgences are different. They're not exactly free, but they're practically free.
How much does paper cost to mass-produce indulgences under semi-industrial conditions? How much does ink cost?
Labor costs are the most expensive, but the key issue is that Li Qi, that idiot, just recruited a large number of laborers in Yizhou Prefecture, didn't he?
Hu Weiyong, that old scoundrel, owes me hundreds of thousands of laborers and hasn't paid them back. What can I do if I withhold a few laborers?
Moreover, indulgences are not the only profitable business.
For example, let them communicate with their gods.
Yang Shaofeng smiled, then said to Mosiha, who was standing next to him, not daring to breathe loudly, "These two barbarians you sent are quite good. Give Timur Khanate an extra 10% of the trade volume at the border market later."
Mossha was overjoyed.
The fact that Babuer had become a Ming citizen and that he was standing like a lackey in the Court of State Ceremonial was all forgotten by Mo Siha at this moment.
The trade volume at the border market will increase by another 10%!
Even a ten percent increase could mean thousands or tens of thousands of fine swords!
An extra ten percent could mean hundreds or thousands of kilograms of tea or hundreds or thousands of bolts of silk!
The former would make it easier for the Khanate to attack the Ottomans.
The latter would allow the Khanate to earn large amounts of gold and silver from the Ottoman Empire, neighboring small countries, and even Europe!
Mosha hurriedly bowed to Yang Shaofeng and said, "On behalf of my country's King Timur Khan, I thank you, Your Highness!"
Yang Shaofeng smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Alright, that's enough for today."
……
When Yang Shaofeng returned to the Prince Consort's residence, Heizhi Tangyuan was already reclining on the recliner in the residence with great familiarity, holding a cup of Xiaolongtuan in his hand.
Upon seeing Yang Shaofeng return, Heizhi Tangyuan put down her teacup, stood up, and said, "Brother-in-law is back?"
Yang Shaofeng grunted in agreement, then first had Limpy Five arrange for someone to find Zhu Laowu, before plopping down in a recliner and saying, "This time we've really struck it rich—if nothing unexpected happens, this is a great business that can suck blood from Europe for over a hundred years."
Just as Heizhi Tangyuan was about to sit down, she suddenly stood up upon hearing this, staring at Yang Shaofeng with a look of astonishment and uncertainty, and asked, "How much? Lying on Europa's body, sucking blood for over a hundred years?"
Yang Shaofeng nodded, and only after the black sesame dumpling slowly sat down did he speak: "Strictly speaking, it's not a business deal, but two deals that can leech off Europe."
"One of the transactions makes a small amount of money; a single trade may not be very profitable, but it is a safe and steady way to make money over time."
"The other kind of business can make a lot of money; a single trade can be extremely profitable, but it's risky. If it goes wrong, the consequences can be severe..."
"Even our Great Ming Dynasty cannot withstand this backlash."
Yang Shaofeng carefully considered his words and said, "Especially before those hidden powerful families and maritime merchants are completely eradicated, this deal could easily backfire."
"The only good thing is that if this deal is done well, it will last for a hundred years, or even two hundred years."
"It can ruin the entire Europa before it backfires, and it will completely ruin it from the root."
Hearing Yang Shaofeng's words, Heizhi Tangyuan became very curious and asked, "What's the deal with these two transactions?"
Yang Shaofeng said, "Let's start with the first safe deal."
"This goes back to a few years ago—although there were many small countries in Europe, they all worshipped the same god. This gave rise to something called the Papacy, which was above the rulers of the various small countries. If the rulers of the various small countries wanted to ascend to the throne, they had to be appointed by the Pope."
Black Sesame Dumpling interrupted Yang Shaofeng and asked, "According to what you're saying, in our Ming Dynasty, the investiture of various vassal kings would still have to go through those bigwigs from Longhu Mountain?"
Yang Shaofeng chuckled and said, "No, the accurate way to put it is to compare it to the Zhou Dynasty—the Pope is roughly equivalent to the Zhou emperor who lost power in his later years, and the rulers of those small European countries are equivalent to feudal lords."
"The difference is that even the Zhou emperor, who had lost power, still had more power than their so-called pope, while their so-called ruler of a small country was probably just a county magistrate or a prefectural governor."
"If we have to convert it to the Ming Dynasty, it would be equivalent to having no emperor, and whether the various vassal kings could ascend the throne and become kings would have to be approved by the head of the Longhu Mountain sect."
As soon as Yang Shaofeng finished speaking, Heizhi Tangyuan's face darkened.
What kind of nonsense is that in Europe?
It's one thing that there isn't a single ruler who aspires to unify the world, but the real problem is that a so-called pope of a religion is allowed to trample on the heads of the monarchs of various small countries. That's just too ridiculous!
While Black Sesame Dumpling was internally ranting, Yang Shaofeng continued, "A long time ago, a certain pope tricked those European countries into launching an eastern expedition—I don't know the specifics, but in order to persuade the European soldiers to go to the front lines, the pope at the time claimed that all men are born sinful, and that the indulgences of the Papacy could cleanse men of their sins and allow the soldiers to go to heaven after death."
"Later, indulgences became a tool for the Papacy to make money, and they began to be sold to all the people of Europe."
"Just a few decades ago, a great plague swept through Europe, killing countless people, and the people there became even more devoted to indulgences."
"I just got one from those two barbarians and had Xiao Jiu send it to someone to have it meticulously edited and reproduced."
"As long as the printed indulgences are exquisite enough, the Ming Dynasty can control the printing and distribution of indulgences."
Yang Shaofeng chuckled and said, "To put it bluntly, as long as we succeed, that so-called believer is just a water seller, while our Great Ming is the waterworks."
"How can selling water make as much money as operating a water plant?"
"As the saying goes, many small things add up to a great deal, and many grains of sand make a tower. This deal is actually more than the military reparations paid by the short and ugly guy."