knife

Chapter 611 The Source of Wealth

Fang Xiaomao scratched her head, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "Young master, I only know the general outline, and I've never been involved in these kinds of things before!"

"A rough estimate is fine, it's not like we're checking your accounts!" Li Dachui laughed.

"In Wuwei, I set up a horse farm with about two thousand horses, several thousand sheep, and also cattle, mules, donkeys, and the like. Every year, I sell warhorses to the army and process fresh meat into jerky to sell. After deducting expenses and costs, I have a net income of about fifty thousand taels a year," Fang Xiaomao said. "In Xuan'en, I have a farm that employs about a hundred people to farm. The net income is not much, only about ten thousand taels of silver a year."

The people present all had strange expressions on their faces. This amount of silver was really a drop in the ocean for them, how could it possibly support a person?

"You remember even this small amount of money clearly, yet you say you only know a rough estimate?" Li Dachui rolled his eyes.

Fang Xiaomao chuckled: "Many years ago, didn't you encourage me to buy a whole street of shops in Tai'an City? They had just been built then, and they were so cheap. I once thought you were just trying to fool me because you couldn't sell them. But I didn't care. Didn't we just rob Linghu Ye back then?"

Do you still think I'm trying to scam you out of your money?

"Of course not. The rent on that street is a full 100,000 taels a year now!" Fang Xiaomao laughed. "But compared to the caravans that the three of us siblings run together, that's just small change. The land caravans make about 500,000 taels a year, but the maritime trade is the real money. Last year, I got 2 million taels!"

Upon hearing this, the people inside the room were somewhat petrified.

Li Dachui patted Fang Xiaomao on the shoulder and looked at everyone with a smile: "Gentlemen, General Fang is still single to this day, without even a wife. If you want to get married, you'd better hurry up. He's a real golden bachelor!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the eyes of the people in the room lit up.

Taking advantage of his age and not caring much about his reputation, Wang Zhenxi immediately seized the opportunity to climb the social ladder: "My family has a granddaughter who is of marriageable age, and she is both talented and beautiful, gentle and virtuous!"

Fang Xiaomao immediately blushed and shrank behind Li Dachui.

Li Dachui chuckled and said, "Xiao Mao isn't good at business and usually just sits back and does nothing, but when it comes to wealth, he's not necessarily worse off than any of you."

Everyone nodded silently.

What Fang Xiaomao just mentioned was net income.

That's close to three million every year.
These people may have large and wealthy families, but after deducting expenses, how much of their savings do they actually have?

“Many people believe that the wealth in this world is fixed. If you eat more, he will eat less. If others take more, you will take less. But that’s a big mistake. We in Beiting believe in growing bigger and stronger. If there isn’t enough pie to go around, it’s because the pie is too small. We’ll find a way to make the pie bigger, and then there will be enough to go around. Moreover, we believe that this pie can be made infinitely bigger!” Li Dachui made a gesture.

Zhang Qingyun said, "When Linghu Ye was in charge outside the pass, the area still relied on support from within the pass. Together, the annual income was only five million taels, which was far from enough for the ambitious Linghu Ye. Therefore, he could only acquire wealth by exploiting the people. After the Protector-General took charge, the Beiting Protectorate's annual income was ten million taels last year. This year, after completely conquering the Northern Yuan, and with maritime trade increasing several times over, the annual income is expected to exceed thirty million taels! After deducting expenses, our Beiting finances will have a slight surplus this year!"

In people's minds, the area outside the Great Wall has always been a harsh and cold place with a sparse population. People inside the Great Wall, especially those in Jiangnan, regard it as a dangerous place and have never thought that it contains countless treasures.

Hearing Zhang Qingyun's account, everyone was shocked. It's important to know that the Chu Kingdom has always been wealthy, but last year its annual revenue was only 80 million taels.

But how could the territory and population of the Chu state be compared to what is now outside the Great Wall?

If we consider the number of people, the State of Chu would likely be left eating dust in the distance.

The State of Chu had a population of over fifty million.

Outside the Great Wall, there were only over three million people. Now, including the Northern Yuan, the population is only seven or eight million. The reason why the final number cannot be determined is that the population census of the Northern Yuan has not yet been completed.

Li Dachui's ability to make money is truly unmatched.

"As for cutting costs and increasing revenue, I prefer increasing revenue!" Li Dachui said, "What do you all want from following me? Naturally, it's wealth and honor, there's no need to hide that. But I despise those who exploit the people and plunder their wealth. I certainly look down on those so-called wealthy families who can't create their own wealth and rely on taking it from others, and of course I want to crack down on them."

Yue Qi said in a low voice, "Protector, Jiangnan is quite different from the area outside the pass. For example, there is plenty of cheap land outside the pass, but here, there is a large population and little land!"

"Then why not go and explore beyond the Great Wall?" Li Dachui spread his hands: "A family like yours has connections, money, skills, and knowledge. If you were willing to go beyond the Great Wall, the officials there would definitely welcome you with open arms. Going there now, you can really seize land at will. As long as you can afford it, they will dare to give it to you!"

"Is this really true?" Sheng Ju's eyes lit up.

"Of course, but there's a rule: this land is yours, but if you haven't cultivated it within three years, it will be taken back!" Fang Xiaomao chimed in. "So how much land you want depends on your capabilities. The land price is indeed cheap, practically free, but cultivating it requires money!"

"What about taxes?" Sheng Ju then asked.

"The first year, it's completely tax-free; the second year, 70% is tax-free; the third year, 50% is tax-free!" Zhang Qingyun said. "Taxes will only be collected from the fourth year onwards."

"How does Dean Zhang know so much about these things?"

Zhang Qingyun smiled and said, "Because the Supervisory Council conducts audits every year, and my father happens to be in charge of the Supervisory Council in Beiting."

Sheng Ju was greatly tempted: "I have quite a few nephews and nieces in my family who are usually idle, fond of fighting and causing trouble. I can send them over there to train them. Whether they succeed or not, it's all good training!"

“In the area outside the Great Wall, land is not a problem now, but that’s all for now. It may become valuable in the future. But as everyone has heard, what really makes money is not land, but commerce!” Li Dachui pointed at Fang Xiaomao and said, “Those farms can barely break even with a slight surplus, and the horse farms can only make a small profit. What really fills Xiaomao’s pockets is maritime trade, commerce!”

"Making money by annexing land and exploiting the people is actually the least efficient way to get rich!" Li Dachui said disdainfully. "That's precisely why I look down on these people. Because they're not getting rich; they're digging their own graves. Maybe it'll be fine for one or two generations, but in the long run, those who can't survive will eventually rise up in rebellion. He Zudao commanded a huge following in He Dong and He Xi, slaughtering countless wealthy and powerful families. Doesn't that warrant your attention?"

“Only by ensuring that those below you can get by, or even thrive, can people like you reap more wealth and even gain everyone’s admiration and respect. If you don’t understand this principle, then it can only mean that you are still at a very low level.” Li Dachui criticized bluntly. “Why enjoy happiness alone when you can share it with others? There are several layers of meaning to this saying.”

(End of this chapter)