Seeing that Gu Jiu was playing dumb, Emperor Wende, who had a bad temper, kicked over the stool.
"Don't tell me you don't have an account book. You can accurately tell the gambling house's annual turnover. You must have secretly checked the gambling house's account book."
Gu Jiu felt aggrieved.
She checked the account book.
But can this matter be brought up?
No way!
She asked cautiously, "Didn't the Jinwu Guards find the account books of Youcai Casino after they were dispatched?"
Emperor Wende glared at him and said, "Nonsense! If the Jinwu Guards find the account books, I can ask you for them."
Gu Jiu said carefully: "My daughter-in-law heard that places like gambling houses all have secret rooms. The account books are usually kept in the secret room."
Emperor Wende chuckled coldly, "My dear wife, the Jinwu Guards haven't moved in two years. Do you really think they've rusted and their brains are no longer working?"
What this means is that not only the secret room, but all the dark rooms and basements were searched, but no real account books were found.
The Jinwu Guards also gained something. They arrested people and found a set of fake account books.
According to the data recorded in the fake account book, Youcai Casino's annual turnover was only a mere 200,000 taels. This was a full 90% less than the number Gu Jiu had revealed.
Ninety percent, where did the 1.8 million taels of cash flow go?
Emperor Wende was furious if this account was not investigated thoroughly.
What’s even more infuriating is that the casino’s accountant died.
Now no one knows where the real account books are kept.
They searched the gambling house inside and out, and the accountant's house inside and out, but found nothing.
Now only the Princess's Mansion remains.
However, according to the spy's report, the account book should not be in the Princess's Mansion.
Gu Jiu said "oh".
It turned out that the Jinwu Guards had encountered a veteran in the world. The veteran had already dealt with the real account books long before the Jinwu Guards set out, leaving no trace.
"I'd like to ask, have all the homes been searched?"
Emperor Wende glared and said, "Just say what you want to say."
Gu Jiu lowered her eyebrows and looked pleasing to the eye, looking particularly virtuous and well-behaved.
Those who know her well know that these are all illusions.
Being virtuous and well-behaved has never had anything to do with Gu Jiu.
She whispered, "According to what my daughter-in-law has heard, there's a Nanny Zhang in the Princess's residence. This Nanny Zhang has a nephew from the same family who she rarely interacts with, and he's studying at the Imperial College."
Emperor Wende understood the meaning of the song and asked, "Are you saying that the real account book is in the hands of this Imperial College student?"
"My daughter-in-law didn't say anything." Gu Jiu quickly distanced himself from the matter.
Emperor Wende was so angry that he laughed, "What are you afraid of? I won't eat anyone."
Gu Jiu: "..."
Oh, oh, oh!
She was not afraid that Emperor Wende would eat people, she was clearly afraid that she would be the first to be shot.
If people knew that she had filed a complaint against the students of the Imperial College, those scholars would probably curse her to the point of utter disgrace, making her completely discredited.
To be honest, if it wasn't necessary, Gu Jiu really didn't want to fight with that group of scholars.
After all, she also planned to use scholars to enhance her own reputation.
Of course, if those scholars were really rude, Gu Jiu would naturally not be polite either.
When it comes to scolding people, she has never been afraid of anyone.
However, Gu Jiu didn't want to confront that group of scholars so early.
So she pleaded pitifully, "If there is any gain, I beg you to keep it secret. Please do not say that I provided the information."
Emperor Wende was so angry at Gu Jiu's cowardice that he laughed, "This is the first time I know that you can be afraid sometimes. Don't worry, I promise not to betray you, is that okay?"
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I also thank you for your kindness on behalf of our unborn child."
Emperor Wende laughed and winked. Without saying a word, a eunuch quietly went out and notified the Jinwu Guards to go to the Imperial College to arrest the person.
"Sit down and talk!"
Emperor Wende finally showed mercy and gave Gu Jiu a seat.
Gu Jiu: “…” Are we going to continue this awkward conversation?
There was really nothing to talk about, so she just wanted to go back to the palace and lie down.
Gu Jiu sat down reluctantly, waiting for Emperor Wende's next words.
"The Minister of War came to see me yesterday and said that you were planning to create something similar to official mail, and the Ministry of War was willing to cooperate with you. Please tell me about this in detail."
Gu Jiu was obviously relieved.
Just don't chase her with questions about the casino.
The casino is a pit. Gu Jiu is only willing to stand by the pit and look at the scenery. She absolutely does not want to jump into the pit.
She sorted out her thoughts, put forward her express delivery idea, and sold it to Emperor Wende.
"...Each city has a station. The people at the station are only responsible for delivering goods and mail to the next station, not the destination. It's like a game of pass the parcel, delivering the most goods with the least manpower and the lowest cost."
“How do you ensure this is done in the most cost-effective way possible?”
Gu Jiu said confidently: "If you ask someone to deliver a letter thirty miles away, it can be returned on the same day, and there is almost no cost on the way. If someone thirty miles away picks up the letter and continues to deliver it to the next station, there will be no cost either. At most, they will drink some tea on the way if they are tired or thirsty.
The letter is delivered from one stop to another. When it finally reaches the recipient, it may have passed through the hands of ten people, but the total cost of these ten people on the journey is likely to be no more than one hundred coins.
On the other hand, sending a letter from the capital to a place 300 li away would take about three to four days. Including meals and lodging along the way, the cost would be at least 700 to 800 wen. If it rained, or someone had a headache or fever, the cost would be even higher.
Furthermore, the messenger travels for several days and needs at least two days to recover after reaching the destination. This delays the messenger by two days, and the messenger loses two days’ income.”
"Finally," Gu Jiu paused, "It's just delivering items and letters, not delivering messages. As long as you are careful, you don't have to worry about making mistakes."
Emperor Wende pondered Gu Jiu's words for a moment. "So, wouldn't your express delivery business require a lot of people? You'd have to pay them wages. With so many people, can you still save on wages?"
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "To be honest, Your Majesty, my daughter-in-law and her team have carefully calculated the costs. This express delivery method may require more people, but the cost will definitely not be higher than the previous delivery methods. Using our method, the same truckload of grain sent from Jiangnan to the capital can save about 30% of the shipping costs."
Emperor Wende glared fiercely, "Can you really save 30% on shipping costs?"
Gu Jiu didn't say anything final, "Why not let my daughter-in-law try it first and see the effect first."
Emperor Wende suppressed his excitement.
The imperial court suffered a huge loss every year in the transportation of grain.
If one hundred kilograms of rice is transported to the capital, forty percent, or forty kilograms, will be lost due to people eating and horses chewing it.
The remaining sixty kilograms will be transported to the northwestern border, and another forty kilograms will be lost.
In other words, out of a hundred kilograms of grain transported from the south of the Yangtze River to the northwestern border, only twenty kilograms were left.
Such huge losses are not unique to the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Throughout the dynasties, countless capable officials have tried to solve the problem of loss along the way, but with little success.
The food and fodder must be sent ahead before the army moves.
To supply food and drink to 50,000 generals, at least 100,000 civilians must be mobilized to transport food and fodder.
These 100,000 civilians also need to eat and drink!
Where do we eat and drink?
Of course, they cooked and ate the food from the transported military rations.
So losses occur.
The Ministry of Revenue said that it had allocated 100,000 dan of grain to the border.
However, when the grain arrived at the border, there might be only 50,000 dan.
It's not necessarily embezzlement, most of it may have been lost on the way.
In addition to the laborers who need food and drink, the mules, donkeys, and horses responsible for transporting food and fodder also need food and drink.
This is how the so-called losses along the way, the food eaten by people and horses, come about.
The Ministry of Revenue allocated grain every year, and a large portion of it was eaten along the way.
Transportation is a big problem in this era.
It is no wonder that Emperor Wende was so excited when he heard that he could save 30% on shipping costs.
One hundred thousand dan (100,000 dan) is tens of millions of jin (10 million catties) of grain. If we can save 30%, we can save millions of jin (100,000 catties) of grain.
Enough to feed 50,000 people for a month or two.
If you eat it sparingly, it can last for half a year.
Having half a year more food than the enemy is enough to decide the outcome of a war.
Emperor Wende was so excited that he paced back and forth in the hall, his expression changing unpredictably.
Gu Jiu felt uneasy.
Her original intention in developing the express delivery industry was to promote the circulation of goods and tap the economic potential of Da Zhou as much as possible.
As for military applications, she has always avoided developing towards the northwest and northeast, where troops are stationed, from the very beginning.
Thinking of developing the south first, those wealthy areas.
Who would have thought that before he even started and just proposed an idea, he was targeted by the Minister of War.
Now, Emperor Wende has also become interested.
Gu Jiu thought, if it really doesn't work out, the worst that can happen is that he will give up this business.
She has many projects to make money, so there is no need to fight to the death with Emperor Wende.
Bang!
Emperor Wende slammed the table and pointed at Gu Jiu, "I order you to cooperate with the Minister of War to develop the express delivery industry. Whether you need money or people, I will satisfy you.
My only request is to build at least 3,000 miles of express delivery routes within a year. Focus on developing the express delivery industry in the northwest and northeast, two key military bases."
Gu Jiu: "..."
Mrs. Rong Ben spat out a mouthful of blood.
Following Emperor Wende's design, she would make no money at all.
"My daughter-in-law, please resign! I am just a woman, and I am too weak to bear such a heavy burden."
Emperor Wende laughed heartily. "Too late! I have personally appointed you to be in charge of this business. The Ministry of the Imperial Household and the Ministry of War will fully cooperate with you. Not only will you be responsible for setting up the express delivery point, but you will also be responsible for making money."
Gu Jiu's mouth twitched, "My daughter-in-law is pregnant, please understand, Your Majesty."
"That's fine! I'll send you as many men as you want. At worst, I can ask Liu Zhao to resign and obey your orders."
Gu Jiu: "..."
Oh, oh, oh!
If she did this, the censor would impeach her to death. The couple would not be able to have a normal sexual life.
Emperor Wende is harming people!
Gu Jiu wants to cry!
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