Huo Guang calmed down for a moment. For the sake of his own health and safety, he did not open the document directly. He looked up at Liu Tan and asked, "What is this?"
Liu Tan raised his chin and asked, "Is everything written down?"
Huo Guang couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, do you know how valuable glass is?"
"This is glass! Look at my mouth shape, glass!"
Huo Guang was unmoved by his sophistry: "What's the difference?"
Liu Tan spread his hands and said, "The difference is that the cost is very small. Even if it is given a beautiful name, it cannot change the fact that it is actually made of sand."
Huo Guang asked in return, "What about the various materials needed to make colored glaze...? And what about the labor involved in expanding it?"
If Liu Tan exploited slaves or civilians like other people, the cost could indeed be minimized, but the problem was that he knew very well that Liu Tan was not that kind of person. He always wanted to make more people live better within his ability.
Liu Tan pointed to the document and said, "It's all written on it."
Huo Guang was a little skeptical, but he still opened it and took a closer look. As soon as he opened it, he saw that there were five types of glass. The lowest level and the second to last level could be sold at a loss in order to promote it as quickly as possible. From the third level onwards, the charges began to increase, and in the end they even began to increase exponentially.
For example, the third level only has ten more five-zhu coins than the second level, while the fourth level is twice as much as the third level, and the fifth level is ten times as much as the fourth level. Liu Tan even wrote out the top level beyond these five levels, but also wrote about restrictions on the sales targets, and only sold it to the level of Marquis.
Huo Guang didn't ask what the difference was between these glasses. He just looked up at Liu Tan and asked, "Why is fifth-grade glass so expensive?"
Liu Tan said, "Because Grade 5 glass is different from other glasses. Other glasses are fragile and not strong enough, like colored glaze. Grade 5 glass is much stronger than them. Other glasses are only produced in small pieces for safety reasons, but Grade 5 is much larger. As for the top-grade glasses, they are even larger still."
Huo Guang asked again, "Your Highness didn't specify the price. How do you want to determine the price?"
Liu Tan said, "Have you calculated the current income of the residents of Shuofang City? Just use the average, not including officials, and only look at the common people."
Huo Guang hesitated for a moment and asked, "Those Xiongnu people who have registered their place of residence..."
Liu Tan said, "Since they already have household registration, they should be treated equally. The common people can discriminate against them, but the government should ensure a certain degree of fairness. Otherwise, what's the point of giving them household registration? If the Xiongnu find that even obtaining household registration can't change their current situation, will they still actively work?"
The most important thing is that these people exist as role models. If even the role models are not doing well, how can they continue to lure those Huns who are not doing well?
Huo Guang gave him a deep look and replied, "Okay. I happen to be serving as Prime Minister recently. I should be able to deliver what Your Highness wants this afternoon."
Liu Tan asked, "You haven't said anything about this method yet."
Huo Guang gave him a deep look and said, "Since glass is fragile, then your Highness's promotion plan is doomed to fail from the beginning."
It will be abolished naturally when the time comes, so why is he still talking nonsense?
Liu Tan laughed and said, "In the early stages, it will definitely only be promoted in Shuofang City, and initially the glass will only be shipped to Chang'an for the Emperor, Empress, Crown Prince, and my sister to use. We won't sell it to anyone else who wants to buy it."
Huo Guang was filled with confusion: "Not selling? If not selling, why did you write so much?"
"It's not that we won't sell it now, but we won't sell it for the time being. There's no way around it. Glass is so fragile that it would probably break into pieces if we tried to transport it on the official roads now. Unless the roads are as smooth as cement, or they find someone to transport it themselves, they'll take their own risks. Otherwise, we won't transport it."
Huo Guang was stunned for a moment, then he realized that Liu Tan not only wanted to promote glass, but also wanted to promote cement roads.
He couldn't help but laugh: "Why would they build a road for a few pieces of glass?"
Especially for officials and wealthy people, getting them to pay money may be more difficult than killing them.
Liu Tan said: "Glass may look insignificant, but it has a huge impact."
This thing can really improve the quality of life. Once you use it once, you will definitely not want to stop using it. And it will spread from top to bottom. He can see it from the Shattered Evil Gold.
Now the Broken Evil Gold has spread from Chang'an to the surrounding areas. It is really hard to find one. The price has been driven up to a level that even Liu Tan is stunned. He secretly regrets why he didn't get exposed to economics back then, otherwise he might be able to take this opportunity to make a fortune.
Of course, he was just thinking about it. If he was a little more ruthless, he would tighten the production of Broken Evil Gold, so that his Broken Evil Gold Mine would be a real rare commodity.
But he didn't do so, and now it's very dangerous. This is just like him, he can enjoy the shade under the big tree. No one dares to destroy the evil gold mine. If it were someone else, his whole family would probably be in trouble.
Therefore, once he finds that the price of Broken Evil Gold exceeds a certain price in his mind, he will directly produce a batch to lower the price and maintain it within a certain range.
This is true for broken evil gold and glass. The difference is that glass can reflect one's status better than broken evil gold, and the high or low light transmittance can be seen at a glance.
There are actually many ways to operate this. Liu Tan has many of them in his mind, but he just hates that no one is willing to discuss them with him.
At this time, he felt that it was actually good to have someone who understood this aspect around him. He envied Liu Che for having Sang Hongyang as his helper, who came up with the "flat push method", which really alleviated the national treasury that was empty due to years of war.
Unfortunately, Sang Qian did not seem to have inherited his father's strengths, and Sang Hongyang did not teach his son well. Now Sang Qian is still worried about the empty treasury in Xi'an Yang County, and he can't be relied upon.
Huo Guang did not comment on Liu Tan's optimism, but simply said, "If this really happens, the people of the world will suffer."
Liu Tan looked up at Huo Guang, thought for a moment, and said, "Are you trying to say that officials and wealthy families will transfer financial pressure to the people?"
Huo Guang asked in return, "What do you think, Your Highness?"
Officials and wealthy families wanted glass, but they didn't want to pay for road construction. What could they do? They could only exploit the people and get more taxes or other money from them, which they themselves would not pay for anyway.
Although the laws of the Han Dynasty were strict, they were not harsh, so many cases of deceiving superiors and concealing the truth from subordinates arose.
Liu Tan wasn't surprised nor angry. He hadn't thought of this before, but after thinking about it carefully, it was indeed a possibility. He smiled and said, "In that case...it's okay. I can accept barter."
Huo Guang had originally thought that this would dissuade Liu Tan from pursuing him, but upon hearing him say this, he couldn't help but look up and ask, "Barter? How do you barter?"
"Land, houses, and all local government property can be used as collateral. They can then make annual installment payments. Once the payments are complete, the collateral will be returned in full. During this period, the collateral will belong to the Northern Territory, and the right to control and use it will remain with the Northern Territory. In the case of land, this includes the underlying minerals."
Huo Guang was just about to say that if someone just gave you a piece of land casually, how would you calculate it? Even if you estimated it according to the corresponding value, when they gave you a large piece of wasteland, this business would still lose money.
However, when he heard the word "minerals", his ears jumped. He looked at Liu Tan deeply and couldn't help but say, "I remember that Your Highness didn't choose the land himself very often before."
Liu Tan said sadly, "We don't have enough manpower right now. What's the point of finding everything? Just waiting for someone to steal it?"
If the mine cannot be mined after it is found, someone must be sent to guard it. Otherwise, once the news leaks out, it may be stolen.
Those who mine illegally and steal minerals will not regulate mining facilities like him and try to maintain sustainable development. Those people will do anything for money. If they don’t dig well and cause a collapse, he will be so angry that he will die!
Huo Guang choked, understanding Liu Tan's intention. He simply said, "They may not allow Your Highness to choose the location. Moreover, there are also huge problems. For example, if the King of Zhongshan wants glass, he builds a road, but there are no roads along the way. How can it be transported?"
Liu Tan said with emotion: "This shows the benefits of a large family."
Huo Guang suddenly had a bad feeling, and sure enough, he heard Liu Tan say, "To prevent everyone from building roads but still not getting glass, I plan to wait until spring to submit a petition to my father, inviting princes from all over to visit Shuofang City."
Huo Guang almost fainted from suffocation, while Zhu Shanfu, who had been pretending to be working, was dumbfounded. He looked up at Liu Tan in amazement, not knowing how to comment on such an idea for a moment.
Fortunately, Zhu Shanfu was there, so Huo Guang resisted the urge to beat the kid and said through gritted teeth, "Your Majesty will not agree!"
"It's okay. As many as there are, I'll contact the others. Anyway, these princes have tasted the sweetness of glass, but they can't get it. What do you think they will think?"
Huo Guang still emphasized: "Princes are not allowed to leave their fiefdoms without imperial decree!"
Liu Tan said, "If all else fails, we can always go on a private visit in disguise."
For a moment, Huo Guang also wanted to write a letter to Liu Che to teach him a lesson and not to run around for no reason. Look at where he had taken their prince.
When had Liu Tan ever thought of going on an incognito tour before? This was because his father hadn't set a good example!
Huo Guang wanted to raise his voice and hammer his words into Liu Tan's head, "If we are discovered, we will be charged with treason, and Your Highness will be blamed as well!"
Liu Tan touched his chin: "Yes, it's too dangerous, then..."
Huo Guang really didn't want to listen any more and prepared to get up and leave to calm down.
As soon as Liu Tan saw his movements, he knew what he was going to do and quickly said, "Princes have restrictions, but their children don't. You can invite them over and send them an invitation... No, that's not right. That would be too obvious, and they might get suspicious. Hmm, how about I hold an auction for the Broken Evil Gold? People are obsessed with this gem right now, so there will definitely be people willing to come."
Huo Guang suddenly felt his vision go dark, and he began to ponder a question: Could he write to His Majesty and have this evil creature confined to Chang'an? That way, he wouldn't be the only one to suffer. The entire city of Chang'an, from the emperor to the common people, would be left without a single person.
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