My hotel is full of emperors throughout history.

Chen Mo's gaze swept over the crowd.

"Why can a watch we own now sell for millions? And why are there still so many people buying them?"

"Both a Patek Philippe worth millions and a digital watch costing tens of dollars can tell time, and a Patek Philippe is not as durable and accurate as a digital watch."

Ultimately, it's about the values ​​it represents.

"Even if I don't say anything, people can tell my status just by wearing this watch."

Chen Mo's gaze returned to the bag of salt.

"Similarly, the same applies to this..."

"Most luxury goods don't actually have much intrinsic value; people buy them because they value their scarcity."

"In addition, this salt cannot be sold freely; it must be limited to a few portions each month or even every few months."

"Selling for such a high price? And in limited quantities?"

Li Shimin frowned.

"Isn't this blatantly using extravagance to fuel a culture of comparison and sow discord between the ruler and his ministers? If ministers all consider it an honor to possess this salt and forget the fundamental duty of serving the king, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse? Furthermore, with such intense demand, can the mere word of 'limited quantity' truly curb people's greed? It might even give rise to a larger black market and corruption."

Chen Mo nodded and sighed.

"The harder something is to obtain, the more precious talent becomes, and the more people will fight tooth and nail to acquire it."

"Human nature is like this; it's better to guide than to block. Rather than letting those wealthy and noble families bury their money underground, it's better to extract it to subsidize the people and allow it to circulate."

"Only money in circulation has value... otherwise it will just be stagnant water."

Upon hearing this, everyone seemed to be deep in thought.

Li Shimin pondered for a moment, then asked again.

"But if that's the case, what about ordinary civilians? What will happen to them?"

Chen Mo chuckled and picked up the conversation.

"It's not like there's no food available for ordinary people."

"We can divide salt into three grades. The lowest grade is the kind that is slightly purified to remove the sand and bitterness. It is priced very low to ensure that ordinary people can afford it."

He paused, and seeing Zhu Yuanzhang nod slightly, he continued.

"Middle grade, which is more refined and whiter than this inferior goods. It is exclusively for wealthy households, government officials, and ordinary gentry in the city. The price is reasonable, the profit is considerable, and it is also one of the main sources of income for the national treasury."

Chen Mo's fingers finally landed on the bag of snow-white refined salt, his voice lowered.

"And this finest quality is the divine delicacy right before our eyes."

"It is not just salt, but also a symbol of qi cultivation, health preservation, and intelligence. Long-term consumption can strengthen the body's foundation, enhance intelligence, and is especially beneficial to children. It was originally used by the royal family."

"Brilliant!"

Liu Che clapped his hands and laughed.

"With such high-quality salt, wealth will naturally flow into the national treasury! This is an excellent strategy!"

Zhu Di also stroked his beard and laughed heartily.

"When the court has money, the emperor will be able to approve the funds, and I will have military funds to fight against Japan."

"After defeating Japan and reaping the silver, we can issue paper money, then we'll have money again, and then we can go and fight the Northern Yuan. After defeating the Northern Yuan, we'll have prestige, and then it'll be a back-and-forth..."

Zhu Di's eyes grew brighter and brighter as he spoke.

"I will conquer the world and go down in history!"

Li Shimin was not as happy as they were; instead, he shook his head again.

"This strategy is ingeniously calculated, almost in line with the waxing and waning of the heavens."

"But what if someone spends their entire fortune to obtain this so-called royal salt, only to find it's nothing special in the end?"

"Then just ignore him!"

Chen Mo sneered.

"If someone is willing to gamble away their entire fortune for a hollow reputation or a bit of competitive spirit, it only proves two things: First, their wealth came too easily, or they are greedy and foolish, and are not worthy of having it for long; second..."

He looked around at the emperors present.

"This shows that our story was told successfully enough, and everyone believes in the quality of this royal salt brand."

"These fat sheep that willingly jump in, we won't slaughter them..."

"No, wouldn't it be a waste not to let him make some contribution to the people?"

"We have this kind of 'meat' now too. We've just made a little money and taken out a loan to buy a luxury car, only to find out after a while that it's not all that great and start to regret it..."

"We're all adults; we need to be responsible for our actions."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded in agreement.

"Exactly! Those fools walked right into the line of fire; who can they blame? Their fortunes going to the imperial court is just what they deserve!"

Li Shimin pondered for a moment, then turned to Chen Mo and said solemnly.

"This is not the way of business, but the way of tyranny. By using tricks to lure people into greed and watching their families fall into ruin, one may gain temporary benefits, but what is lost is the awe that people have for the title of 'Royal Service'."

"Today they laugh at that person's foolishness, but tomorrow they will fear the ruthlessness of the court."

"If this continues, credibility will collapse, and who will trust the imperial court then?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Mo pondered for a moment.

"Old Li has a point. We can't just keep doing the pig slaughtering business."

"We need to make most people who spent the money feel it was worth it—not that they felt the salt was worth it, but that the unique experience was worth it."

"for example,"

Chen Mo thought for a moment and then spoke.

"Each serving of Jade Liquid Salt sold is packaged in glass, which is the glass we use here. The whole set costs no more than ten yuan, at most a little over a hundred."

"In addition, the palace can hold a salt ceremony once a year, randomly inviting ten salt buyers to attend a real imperial banquet. During the banquet, they may be able to catch a glimpse of His Majesty from afar, or be bestowed with a cup of imperial wine..."

"What we're selling is this golden dream that we're always just one step away from reaching."

"They want them to feel that they've bought a ladder to the clouds, and although they can never reach the top, when they look down, they see that they're already stepping on countless people."

Chen Mo concluded, his tone calm yet chilling.

"Those who fell did so because they didn't hold on properly; they can't blame the ladder."

After hearing this, Li Shimin pondered for a moment and asked the last question.

"I'll ask you one last question—how can the accounts for the money used to subsidize the common people be kept transparent and free from being embezzled at every level?"

"How can we ensure that the restrictions on purchasing salt will not become a basis for power-money transactions, discouraging truly loyal and diligent individuals and allowing opportunists to seize high positions?"

"If this strategy is implemented, it may create an even more rigid social hierarchy beyond salt."

Chen Mo fell silent.

After a long silence, he gave a bitter laugh.

"Well... let's not even talk about back then, we still can't solve this now."

"Every human being has selfish desires!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's excitement subsided slightly.

Li Shimin's words were like a needle, piercing his good mood.

He snorted coldly.

"No business is perfect in every way. Water that's too clear has no fish!"

"As long as the majority of the money goes into the national treasury, salt prices remain stable, the people don't rebel, and meritorious officials rush to give us money to show their loyalty, then we've achieved a great success! As for a few corrupt officials, we'll just chop them off when we find them!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di had an expression that seemed to say, "Is this really my old man?"

His old man could say something like, "If the water is too clear, there will be no fish."

"Old Zhu is right."

Chen Mo sighed.

"Actually, many times your ideas, including those at the top, are very good, but the problem is that the execution at the bottom is always a bit crooked."

"After all... people always have selfish motives."

"We can only use laws and regulations to constrain and supervise, but..."

Chen Mo shook his head and said no more.

Old Zhu's eyes flickered.

"In that case, give us the salt-making method, and order another batch of glass products. Besides that, the items we ordered last time should have arrived by now, right?"

"It's almost done. I'll urge them again. Also... I'm running out of money."

Chen Mo checked his account.

"The gold and stuff you gave us before are almost gone after renting office space and ordering goods..."

"OK……"

Old Zhu exchanged glances with the others.

"I'll ship it over to you when we get back. Is there anything else you need? I'll give it to you along with your payment."

Old Zhu rubbed his hands together and chuckled.

"After all, we can't just keep troubling you, can we?"

Zhu Di: ? ? ?

He was even more dumbfounded when he saw Old Zhu offering to pay him.

The old man really didn't undergo gender reassignment surgery?

Why are you being so generous today?

Zhu Di pondered for a moment, then stepped forward.

"Um... Father, I'm almost out of money for the Northern Expedition!"

"Go to hell! If you don't have money, go ask your son! Tell me what the hell you want!"

The smile on Zhu Di's face vanished instantly, and he kicked Zhu Di while cursing angrily.

Zhu Di: Confirmed, it's still his old man.