With Cao Cao by my side, what do I have to fear from the world?

Chapter 62, Cao Hong Opens a Money Exchange (Please continue reading)
Palace maids and eunuchs would pass by Wang Yue from time to time at night, some of them using excuses to get closer and try to find out something.

Wang Yue appears to maintain a lazy demeanor, and sometimes he even snores a few times, but he won't allow anyone to get too close!
The next day, he would report truthfully to Liu Xie.

Wang Yue made no secrets about who had approached the palace, how many times they had visited, how long they had stayed, or what they had done.

As for Zhao Yun, he can go back to rest in the latter half of the night, since he mainly stays by Liu Xie's side during the day.

He and Wang Yue work in shifts: Zhao Yun works the day shift, and Wang Yue works the night shift!
Candlelight flickered on the bed in the room. Fu Shou's long hair was spread out on the quilt, her face was exquisitely beautiful, and a gentle smile played on her lips. Her skin was as white as snow, making one want to get closer.

On such a beautiful day, with a lovely companion by their side, the two of them were busy keeping accounts.

"On February 8th, the house at No. 2 Jiazi on Donglin Street was sold, and 18,000 coins were received."

"House for sale at No. 3, Bingzi Lane, 8,600 cash received."

The two stood side by side, with Fu Shou reading aloud and Liu Xie writing.

Fu Shou's voice was soft and gentle, like a nightingale's song, which was a great pleasure for Liu Xie.

Liu Xie used a quill pen and silk cloth. Although using silk cloth was a bit extravagant, it was something the emperor could afford.

Although Cai Hou paper has been improved and someone has invented Zuo Bo paper, it is still of poor quality and not convenient for writing and preservation.

"Your Majesty, why are you helping Cao Hong with the accounts?"

After a while, having finished reading through the thick ledger, Fu Shou blinked and asked curiously.

Liu Xie said, "Do you think I'm going to help him? Cao Hong's weakness is his stinginess and greed. The more money he has, the worse his situation will be. With so much money, there's a lot of room for manipulation in the accounts. I'm ostensibly here to help him check the accounts and prevent others from tampering with them, but Cao Hong doesn't expect that I'll be the one to tamper with them!"

Ancient people kept accounts in a rather tedious way, but Liu Xie was proficient in mathematics and charts, and he could quickly organize the accounts clearly. He could also quickly find out who had tampered with them, where there were omissions, and which numbers did not match.

Then, Liu Xie would make a false account and casually embezzle some of Cao Hong's mountain of wealth.

Fu Shou quickly showed great interest in the Arabic numerals written by Liu Xie.

Moreover, she discovered that Liu Xie could always calculate the results in a very short time, even with a huge amount of accounts.

After finishing the accounts, Liu Xie didn't hide anything and taught Fu Shou the numbers along with the multiplication tables.

Fu Shou was exceptionally intelligent and quick to learn. She even said with a smile, "Once I've learned it, Your Majesty won't have to work so hard anymore."

Liu Xie smiled and gently tapped her forehead. "If everyone cared for me as much as you do, the world would be at peace!"

Fu Shou said softly, "Your Majesty has something on your mind, and there are some things that I cannot ask too much about. But I want Your Majesty to know that although I am a woman, I have always wanted to share Your Majesty's burdens."

"I understand. Alright, as a reward, I will sleep here tonight."

The moon was already high in the sky, and Liu Xie could no longer run back to his palace.

Even lying side by side, Fu Shou's face was flushed, and her eyes were filled with tenderness.

"Your Majesty, I have another question?"

Liu Xie covered her with a blanket and asked softly, "Are you wondering how I can take Cao Hong's money away?"

"Your Majesty is indeed wise. Yes, we can manipulate the accounts, but the money is in Cao Hong's house. How can we make it yours?" Liu Xie nodded. "That's a good question. Since the money is in Cao Hong's house, I can't take it away. Next, I will make Cao Hong obediently put the money elsewhere."

"Put it somewhere else?"

Liu Xie said confidently, "That's right. As long as there's enough money and the amount is large enough, Cao Hong won't be able to move it all to his own home."

Fu Shou was skeptical. Although she didn't know exactly how Liu Xie would do it, she nodded and said, "Since Your Majesty says so, I believe Your Majesty will be able to do it."

The next day, after the court assembly, Cao Hong took the initiative to inspect the palace and took the opportunity to meet Liu Xie.

Liu Xie got straight to the point, "I inspected the place last night, and there were several places where someone had clearly tampered with things. These people are probably the ones who are involved."

Liu Xie took out a slip of paper with several names written on it.

If the accounts are not correct, then the person who made the accounts is at fault. Cao Hong never dreamed that Liu Xie was helping him check the accounts while secretly making false accounts himself.

"These few lackeys, I will definitely not let them off easily later." Cao Hong cursed angrily after reading the note.

"Zilian, these are minor matters. I will oversee things for you from now on, and no one can tamper with them."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Cao Hong treated Liu Xie like a god of wealth, without a shred of suspicion.

Because Liu Xie was usually quite friendly to everyone, no one would think much of their private conversations.

"Zilian, there's another business deal I just thought of. I wonder if you'd be interested?"

Cao Hong's eyes lit up immediately. "Your Majesty, you said that as long as it can make money, I'm interested."

Cao Hong's appetite is growing bigger and bigger, and he doesn't know how to restrain himself at all.

Liu Xie slowly uttered two words, "Money shop!"

"What is a money exchange? Is it very profitable?"

Cao Hong looked at Liu Xie with suspicion. He was interested in making money, but he had no talent for what kind of business to do to make money.

Liu Xie smiled and said, "That's not just making money in the ordinary way, it's about putting other people's money into your pocket. Let me put it this way: everyone's money is currently kept at home. If there were a money exchange, with a little operation and promotion, people would be willing to take their money out of their homes and put it in the money exchange. Whoever runs the money exchange, wouldn't that mean the money is in their pocket?"

Cao Hong rolled his eyes a few times, still not quite understanding, and asked, "Your Majesty, even if I establish a money exchange, how can I get everyone to willingly put their money in there? For example, I wouldn't just casually take money out of my house."

Liu Xie squinted and gave him a disdainful look. Cao Hong was notoriously stingy; he was the Grandet of the Three Kingdoms period.

"I have a way to get people to willingly hand over their money and deposit it in a money exchange."

Money shops first appeared in the Tang Dynasty, but they truly became widespread and expanded in the Song Dynasty.

Liu Xie laughed and said, "To give you a simple example, some people have too much money at home and worry about being robbed or stolen from. What should they do? If they have a money exchange, they can put their money in there with peace of mind."

“Some people need to go out on business, such as to Runan. If there are money shops in Xudu and Runan, they only need to deposit their money in the money shop in Xudu, and then withdraw it in Runan with a receipt. This way, they don’t have to worry about encountering robbers or thieves on the road. Moreover, carrying a large amount of money is quite troublesome. With money shops, the burden of people’s travel can be greatly reduced.”

(End of this chapter)