"Why, do you feel it's not enough?"
"This month, we shipped 50,000 kilograms of fine salt, but only 10,000 kilograms of coal!"
"The city construction and the dividends to Yanzhou and Lord Pei took up a large part of the money. The income in the past two months is not much!"
"Also, the salt smuggled from the Northern Di people was exchanged for mutton and sheepskin, but there wasn't much money coming in."
Seeing Zhao Muyun so surprised, Bai Ruolan hurried to explain.
"No, no, no, it's not too little, it's too much!"
Zhao Muyun rubbed his hands happily and asked curiously, "Since our income is not much and our expenses are huge, how do we still have so much money? Did you conjure it up?"
He remembered that the only capital he had was the two thousand taels of ransom he got from exchanging hostages with Huyan Gu, and he also handed over one thousand to Pei Lun.
In addition, the silver taken away from the Yanqingdun Beacon Tower and the money Zhang Biao kept privately amounted to only a few hundred taels of silver.
How come there is a surplus of more than one hundred thousand taels in just one or two months?
You have to know that the monthly tax revenue of the entire Hedong Province is only this much!
Hearing that Zhao Muyun didn't mean the money was small, but was surprised by the large amount of money, Bai Ruolan burst out laughing and explained:
"Most of the silver on the account is from the sale of the gold and silver jewelry you brought back from the Tartars."
"We've collected tens of thousands of sheepskins from the Tartars in the past two months. I've had people contact the merchants my father used to do business with, and they've sold them off!"
"Plus, the soldiers and civilians under your command don't need wages for the time being, so we have such a large surplus."
I see!
To the south of Yinzhou New City, there are tens of thousands of acres of dry fields in the Zishui River Valley.
Zhao Muyun asked Zhao Wen to make a list and then distributed it to the soldiers and civilians under his command.
This not only offset their wages and military pay, but also strengthened their awareness of defending their land and loving their homes.
In addition, Zhao Muyun greatly improved the food for the military and civilians by exchanging mutton from the Tatars through Mahmud.
Having meat to eat every day, the soldiers and civilians were very grateful to Zhao Muyun.
With this analysis, it is not surprising that there is so much silver in the treasury accounts of Yinzhou Prefecture.
"Ms. Ruolan, you are really good at managing the household!" Zhao Muyun gave high praise.
When Bai Ruolan heard the praise for her good housekeeping, her face turned slightly red, but then it became a matter of course.
Zhao Muyun's face straightened, and he sat up straight without crossing his legs. He tapped the table lightly with his hand and said slowly:
"But, there's no point in leaving all this money lying around in the warehouse. You need to find a way to spend it! You should know how to spend money, right?"
"The Tartars will never give up after being forced to retreat in Shuozhou last time! They will come again!"
"I don't think these people from Guannei Dao can necessarily extinguish the Xiazhou rebels. If anything, they might even intensify the situation."
"I need a large amount of iron, grain, medicinal herbs, horses, and other strategic materials. There is no use keeping silver in my hands. I must spend it."
Bai Ruolan didn't understand at first, but after thinking about it carefully, she agreed with it.
Only when money flows can it bring real effects.
"Brother Yun, don't worry. I will contact those people from our family and help you fill the warehouse with supplies such as iron and food."
"Miss Ruolan, I will personally take care of that kid Bai Sheng and send him back to reunite with his father," Zhao Muyun said coldly. "I will help you get back everything that belongs to you."
"Brother Yun..." Bai Ruolan's eyes were already filled with tears when she heard Zhao Muyun's promise.
Zhao Muyun suddenly felt pity for her and held her in his arms.
Compared to the time in Yanzhou Valley when Bai Ruolan threw herself into Zhao Muyun's arms and cried on his shoulders, this time the two of them were much more natural.
“Okay, okay!”
Zhao Muyun patted Bai Ruolan's back and said, "I won't talk to you for now. Lord Pei has brought a captain of the Resolute and Resolute Army to take up his post. He will be here this afternoon. He has no good intentions, so I have to stay alert to deal with him!"
"I heard some news. This person is a royal relative. Lord Pei can't stop him!"
Bai Ruolan said with concern, "Brother Yun, you have worked hard to achieve your current territory and achievements. You should be more careful when dealing with this person."
"Every penny here was earned by my brothers and I through hard work. Even if the emperor comes, don't even think about getting your hands on it." Zhao Muyun said coldly, indifferent.
"Brother Yun, don't say that. Be careful, there are ears on the other side of the wall." Bai Ruolan quickly reached out and covered Zhao Muyun's mouth.
The little hand smelled so sweet and refreshing that Zhao Muyun's heart was moved and he grabbed it and kissed it.
"You are so frivolous. I am talking to you about serious matters!" Bai Ruolan was so embarrassed that she quickly pulled her hand away.
"Don't worry, I got it!"
Zhao Muyun chuckled, then his expression turned serious, "I think this person is probably here for our fine salt."
"After all, Dayin's salt is controlled by some big salt merchants, and behind them stand the royal family."
"It's a pity that they have always monopolized the coarse salt business. Now that so much fine salt has appeared from Hedong Road, it has damaged the interests of some people."
Bai Ruolan said, "Salt and iron have always been run by the imperial court. Private smuggling is prohibited. Brother Yun and Lord Pei are so brazen, so of course they've attracted the attention of the imperial court!"
"Your Bai family also smuggled salt and iron before, and it didn't seem to be a problem. Every place in Dayin is making money on its own, and the salt business will be divided up by the locals sooner or later."
Zhao Muyun smiled faintly, "If we don't allow the local areas to make money on their own, then they will ask the court for money. If they don't give it to them, they won't fight. The court can only turn a blind eye!"
"The emperor and the court knew Pei Lun was smuggling salt to pay the soldiers, but they couldn't do anything about it!"
"Therefore, this person came here not to blame us, but to get a piece of the pie."
Bai Ruolan's eyes lit up: "Brother Yun came to me and asked about these accounts. Could it be that he had planned this in advance?"
"Do you remember that I asked you to keep two sets of accounts?" Zhao Muyun nodded.
"I remember, I remember! I thought it was unnecessary at that time, but I didn't expect it to come in handy now." Bai Ruolan nodded in surprise.
"Please work hard to make this account better and make the deficit bigger! Since he wants a piece of the pie, I will not only make sure he doesn't get a penny, but he will also have to pay into it!"
Zhao Muyun looked indifferent.
"Brother Yun, I understand. I'll do it right away."
"And he may not even be able to understand our accounts!" Bai Ruolan covered her mouth and laughed.
......
After Zhao Muyun stayed with Bai Ruolan for a while, he took Li Si away and returned to his own government office.
The newly built government office lobby is simple and elegant, with only office desks and chairs, no other decorations, and is quite spacious.
The air is still filled with the fragrance of soil and the moisture of wood.
Soon after Zhao Muyun sat down, he heard Li Si running over to report:
"Sir, Lord Pei and his party have arrived outside the city. Would you like to go out of the city to greet them?"
"Welcome? Can't you see I'm busy? Just inform Han Zhong and Lin Feng to welcome Lord Pei and his party in."
Zhao Muyun took a sip of tea leisurely, not caring at all.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
