Although the idea seems good, it is actually difficult to implement.
Although the laws of the Qin Dynasty were strict and comprehensive.
However, at this time, the implementation of the law was still determined by the officials.
This also resulted in officials having substantial subjective power.
Furthermore, the Qin Dynasty has been implementing a policy of keeping the people ignorant since Shang Yang's time, and this policy has been in place for over a hundred years. With the people still unenlightened, they are easily misled by those with ulterior motives.
What should we do then?
If we want the public to supervise officials, we must broaden their horizons and enlighten them; otherwise, the results will be minimal.
"Haha, I was being a bit delusional!"
After hearing Li Lin's thoughts, the First Emperor was deeply moved and decided not to continue the discussion.
He then led his men into the second room.
Seeing the papers on the table slightly reflecting the sunlight, he became interested again and went to take a look.
Wow!
It was blank paper.
Of course, the paper isn't extremely white, but it's free of impurities; the color is basically in the transition from yellow to white.
"Your Majesty, this is the second batch of high-grade paper produced by our construction company, totaling one thousand sheets!"
"Excellent, excellent, this paper is excellent. My dear Minister Li, what is the selling price, and what is the cost?"
"Your Majesty, I have set the price of this piece of paper at one thousand coins, while the cost is only ten coins!"
"Huh? The cost is only ten coins?"
The First Emperor looked rather surprised. "Then how much should you have sold the paper from before?"
"Your Majesty, the paper is of low quality. I want all the poor people in the Great Qin to be able to afford to read their own books. Therefore, I will only make enough to cover the cost, two coins per sheet!"
"What? You sell low-grade paper for two coins a sheet and high-grade paper for a thousand coins a sheet? ...Does anyone even buy this high-grade paper?"
"Haha, Your Majesty, you are being old-fashioned. High-grade paper not only has buyers, but it will sell out as soon as it is released. Of course, I humbly request Your Majesty to grant me the title of royal special supplier for this high-grade paper. As for the reward, how about I deliver fifty sheets of high-grade paper to the palace for free every month?"
"You little rascal, you're actually using me as your brand! Fine, fine, I'll grant your request, but you have to share some of the money you earn with me."
"Your Majesty, I invited you here from the palace today specifically for this matter."
"oh?"
"Your Majesty, I intend to open a state-owned bank in the Great Qin..."
Li Lin told the First Emperor everything he had been thinking and how he had spent the last few days looking for investors and had already raised more than 80 million coins as start-up capital.
"I don't understand what you're saying, but I think it's very impressive. Can you guarantee that I won't lose money if I invest in your Qin State-owned Bank?"
"I guarantee you won't lose money. You'll break even in as little as three years, and Your Majesty can take 10% of the interest every year. What do you say?"
"Very well, then I'll invest. I'll have Gao Shu send ten million coins to your Prime Minister's residence shortly. This is money from my personal treasury. If you mess this up, you know what the consequences will be!"
"Your Majesty, you should be secretly delighted. You'll be making so much money you'll get cramps from counting it!"
Li Lin couldn't help but burst into laughter. He found the First Emperor's overly cautious manner amusing: "Your Majesty is being far too cautious. This isn't some monstrous threat. If the Qin Bank is managed well, then the Qin Dynasty's financial problems will no longer be an issue. Of course, as long as Your Majesty doesn't mess things up, you can basically solve 90% of the problems. The remaining 10% cannot be solved and will have to be addressed by restarting the dynasty."
That brat is criticizing me in his heart again.
But is the money shop in the Great Qin really as good as he just touted in front of me?
I don't think so.
The First Emperor nodded, and then led his ministers to continue their tour of the fourth-generation woodblock printing plates and the printing process.
As for the second and third generations, they were phased out due to instability.
Before discarding them, Li Lin sold them all to cloth merchants and made a lot of money.
They also provide after-sales repair services, but each repair costs a considerable amount of money.
This is the power of technology.
Technology is always the primary productive force. Whoever masters core technologies can hold others hostage at any time.
"Eunuch Gao, why is His Majesty referring to himself as 'I, the lonely one' all day long?"
"Alas, Lord Li, you are unaware of this, but last night General Wang Jian passed away, so..." Gao Shu couldn't help but feel sad.
"So it was General Wang who passed away. His Majesty is reminiscing about the past. Alas!"
Li Lin nodded and immediately instructed Zhang Han to take ten sheets of high-quality paper and a dozen people to the Prince's residence to offer condolences.
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