Chapter 1477: Gold plating

He Lingchuan stroked his chin: "Just three days ahead of us?" The opponent's tricks were also varied, not just blocking people with officialdom.

Foreman Guan pointed to the blueprint: "Unless we use small stones to stack, our craftsmanship can handle the gaps as much as possible, but it will definitely not be as grand as using giant stones."

Good things are good things, and cannot be perfunctory.

"No." He Lingchuan denied it in one bite. Facade, facade, the main gate is the face of the villa; who doesn't look at the face first when looking at people, and who doesn't look at the main gate first when looking at a house?

The project he presides over must be both beautiful and grand on the surface, so that he can take money out of other people's pockets... cough, so that others can rest assured to take money out for him.

Grandeur is ability, especially when facing Qingyang.

He Lingchuan confirmed with Foreman Guan: "Personnel, carriages, horses, and tools are all in place, only materials are missing, right?"

"Yes, everything is ready." A clever woman can't cook without rice.

He Lingchuan smiled: "Then you call people to enter the site to do leveling and raising first, and the materials will be delivered before tomorrow night at the latest."

"Ah... yes." Foreman Guan was really curious, how could this newcomer Island Master He get the materials he couldn't get?

At dawn the next day, He Lingchuan entered the palace first.

He didn't go to Yuquan Palace, and the Yao King didn't receive him.

Light rain washed the dust, and the rain hit the banana leaves in the imperial garden, dripping. He Lingchuan sat in the corridor pavilion for a while, and three people walked around the corner.

The old palace servant beside the Yao King, Qiu Long.

He was followed by two attendants.

"Lord Qiu." He Lingchuan stood up immediately.

Qiu Long smiled: "Young man has a good body, up early."

"There is a groundbreaking ceremony for Youhu Villa this morning, how can I not get up early?" He Lingchuan took out a brocade box from the storage ring and handed it over. "Please trouble the Lord to pass it on."

The attendant took the brocade box and opened it in front of Qiu Long; inside lay a stack of neat silver notes and a list.

He Lingchuan reported a number and then said: "This is the payment for the first phase, please check it."

Qiu Long wouldn't be polite to him, first looked at the list, clear and clear; he counted the silver notes twice himself, and finally nodded: "Not bad, not a single cent missing."

The smile he looked at He Lingchuan with also added two points of praise: "Island Master He is young and promising."

He Lingchuan thanked him and added: "There are a few more payments later, and I will send them to the palace as soon as they arrive."

"Great, Island Master He, go slowly."

He Lingchuan left with a smile.

The Soul-Capturing Mirror in his bosom hummed: "Still taking it, this shameless old thing!"

It wasn't scolding Qiu Long, but the Yao King.

The name of the money He Lingchuan handed over was "Gold Plating."

For every villa sold in Youhu Villa, after deducting land purchase costs, construction costs, and a ten percent tax, sixty percent of the net profit had to be separated as "Gold Plating" and handed over to the Yao King.

So-called "Gold Plating" is money voluntarily donated to the royal family.

The Soul-Capturing Mirror originally heard that the tax on selling houses was only ten percent, and praised it for "having a bit of conscience." After all, there were many types of taxes, such as house tax, labor money, fire armor money, etc., but adding them up to ten percent was already lighter than most countries in the Shanjin Plain.

But it didn't expect the big head to be behind!

And this "Gold Plating" was proposed by He Lingchuan to the Yao King himself.

He had been in Tianshui City for these days and often drank with official second generations, so he heard some of the ways. Since there was a name called "Gold Plating," it showed that the Yao King often collected it. The Yao King was also very surprised when he heard it that day. But it was rare for a young man to be so sensible and so on the road, so how could the Yao King not agree? The Soul-Capturing Mirror said indignantly: "This old thing didn't do anything, just sitting in the palace and taking away sixty percent of the income my master worked so hard to earn!"

This money looked like a lot, all exchanged by the master with his life, but he only got forty percent! Having walked out of the palace gate and boarded the carriage, He Lingchuan knocked on the mirror and said: "Stingy, isn't it not given in full yet?"

He and the Yao King agreed that although the "Gold Plating" accounted for sixty percent of the profit, he still had to settle materials and labor here, still had to handle things up and down, and even had to consider that buyers would not pay in full at the first time, only paying a deposit and then in installments... there were various details to consider in the project, and funds also needed turnover, so the "Gold Plating" He Lingchuan handed over was only two and a half percent paid first, and the remaining seven and a half percent would be paid four months later.

That is to say, for every villa he sold, he had to immediately hand over fifteen percent of the profit to the Yao King, and the remaining forty-five percent would be handed over four months later.

The Yao King had no opinion either. Business dealings with such installments and extensions were normal, not to mention that this money was handed over to the old man by He Lingchuan himself; if he had the heart to default, why bother? The mirror muttered: "Taxes have to be paid ten percent, and the Yao King takes away sixty percent of the profit, adding up to nearly seventy percent, and you, the person in charge, can't even get forty percent!"

"If the Yao King doesn't nod, I can't even get these." He Lingchuan set up a soundproof barrier. "Besides, who told you that taxes and 'Gold Plating' can be calculated together?"

The mirror was stunned: "Can't they?"

"Taxes are handed over to the national treasury, and 'Gold Plating' goes into the inner treasury. When the Yao King collects 'Gold Plating,' he won't count taxes as his own income. I handed over seventy percent, and he only felt he took sixty percent."

"Inner treasury?"

"That is the sovereign's private treasury." He Lingchuan laughed. "Otherwise, why was it a palace servant who came to collect it just now?"

"National treasury belongs to the national treasury, and the sovereign's private treasury belongs to the sovereign's private treasury, and they don't merge?"

"Of course they can't merge, let alone the Yao State, even the Beijia and Yuan State can't." He Lingchuan knew this was the mirror's blind spot. "If the two treasuries were merged, wouldn't the sovereign be able to take money from the national treasury to use at will?"

The mirror gave a dry laugh: "So that's it, the country's money is not the sovereign's money."

"The sovereign uses money, he has to raise it himself." He Lingchuan continued. "For example, the Yuan State, the royal family owns its own fields, mountains, forests, mines, and even lacquerware and woodenware workshops, the proceeds of which are used to maintain the daily expenses of the palace and the royal family. But even so, in the last few years of the Yuan King, the palace was in disrepair and there were moth holes on the brocade robes; that was living beyond one's means."

"The Yuan Court has only been established for sixty years, and it has already become so rotten. You say the Yao State has been established for two hundred years, the palace is several times larger than the Yuan State, and the slaves and attendants are several times more than the Yuan State? The various workshops are several times more than the Yuan State? The Yao King wants to maintain the magnificent palace, wants to support countless slaves, wants to maintain the Imperial Guard, and wants to buy new items, how much expenditure does he have on a daily basis? This money must come from his private treasury. Hehe, every time he opens his eyes, there are so many people waiting for him to pay."

The mirror asked weakly: "Can't he misappropriate the national treasury?"

"He must misappropriate it. But there are still people managing the national treasury, and he doesn't want to be too blatant if he wants to misappropriate it, at least he has to find some names." He Lingchuan looked at the street scene and the crowd outside the window. "If the national treasury's money is occupied too much by the sovereign and officials, there will be less for the people's livelihood. Qingyang has been opposing officials and merchants selling materials to the outside world for the past six months; now that I think about it, she wants to block the Yao King's financial path."

The mirror suddenly realized: "The income of officials and merchants..."

"Yes! The monopoly business of the Gu family, the Bu family, and the Yuwen family, including the tribute land management of Xue Zongwu and Qi Yunsheng, must also be gold-plated to the Yao King. The so-called 'official merchants' satisfy the Yao King's needs first." He Lingchuan said softly. "That is taking money from the national treasury to give to the Yao King in disguise, so Qingyang wants to supervise and oppose it."

The mirror suddenly realized: "No wonder the Yao King wants to protect them!"

"They are all the Yao King's white gloves. Qingyang cleaned them up, where would the Yao King get money?" He had a deeper understanding of the Yao State, and he saw the essence of the struggle between Qingyang and the Yao King more clearly.

The corruption dug out by Qingyang is also a fact, that is to say, the Yao King's "white gloves" are also collecting wealth for themselves. There is only so much money, they have to share it with the Yao King, and it is difficult for others to see whether they are taking the big head or the Yao King is taking the big head. He Lingchuan sighed. "Otherwise, Xue Zongwu wouldn't be so afraid of Shuangxi being re-accounted. He must not let the Yao King find out how much he took."

The mirror laughed: "Doesn't that mean both the sovereign and the ministers are trying their best to fill their own pockets?"

"That's the truth." Passing by a fried dough stall, He Lingchuan asked the coachman to buy a dozen lamp cakes for him.

"If the sovereign and ministers dig the national wall together, then is there any good for the Yao State?"

"At least it hasn't fallen yet, right? The Yao State is a big country in Shanjin, and it is in a good time of national prosperity, just like a big ship sailing on the sea. Even if they take advantage of it, rot a little, and be greedy a little, the ship won't sink." He Lingchuan took a bite of the cake. This thing was just fished out of the oil pan, crispy and fragrant, and he could taste that it was fried with palm oil.

"But such a country can't withstand changes. When big waves rise on the sea, once the original subtle balance is broken, no matter how you decorate the peace, it's useless. The filth and holes underneath are immediately turned over, and it may not have the ability to survive this disaster smoothly." He paused. "I think, even though the Pisha people begged desperately, and the gods also hoped that the Shanjin Plain would contribute more evil energy, the Yao State refused to send troops, perhaps there were considerations in this regard."

People know their own family affairs, and the Yao King has been in power for twenty years, so he should know his family background best.

He Lingchuan drank a sip of warm tea and continued: "The Yao King is also very short of money. He will definitely smile and accept the 'Gold Plating' I gave. This money is so easy to collect, and there is no deduction from officials at all levels. I give as much as he can receive. If you were him, would you want to collect more and collect it for a longer time?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1478 =====

"But this kind of country cannot withstand turmoil. Once the huge waves rise on the sea and the original delicate balance is broken, no matter how much one glosses over the peace, it is useless. The filth and holes underneath will be turned over immediately, and it may not necessarily have the ability to safely survive this tribulation." He paused for a moment. "I think, even though the Pixia people begged desperately and the Heavenly God also hoped that the Flash Gold Plain would contribute more Nightmare Qi, King Yao has consistently refused to send troops; perhaps he has this consideration."

One knows one's own family affairs best; King Yao has been in power for twenty years, so he should know his own financial foundation better than anyone.

He Lingchuan took a sip of warm tea before continuing: "King Yao is also very short of money. He will definitely accept the 'gilding' I provide with a smile. It is so easy to collect this money, and there are no deductions by bureaucrats at various levels in between. Whatever I give, he receives in full. If you were him, wouldn't you want to collect a little more, and for a little longer?"

(End of chapter)