Chu Fan responded concisely and clearly, "That's no problem. I can have the Censorate set up a special area in the Royal Yuya Villa to sell refined salt. You can buy it with your Supreme Card and enjoy a 50% discount. Besides refined salt, does the Canglan Empire have any other needs?"
Given that Wei's refined salt sales already covered every corner of the country, Chu Fan had not considered adding a refined salt sales business to the Royal Yuya Villa. However, he had never expected Liu Ruyan to make such a request.
Chu Fan's quick and generous agreement to Liu Ruyan's request only made her even more wary. While these demands were not difficult for the Wei Kingdom to fulfill, the fact that Chu Fan, as the ruler of an empire, agreed to these conditions without a second thought was clearly unusual to Liu Ruyan.
Liu Ruyan frowned, her tone tinged with worry as she spoke, "Your Majesty, have you truly considered the consequences of this decision? If you offer a 50% discount on Wei's current refined salt price, the state will undoubtedly suffer enormous economic losses."
After all, the Canglan Empire is a huge country, and the demand for refined salt is extremely huge. This is not just a small amount of thousands or tens of thousands of kilograms, but a huge demand of millions.
If Wei continues to supply the Canglan Empire at this price for a long time, the Wei economy will face unbearable pressure. Your Majesty, can you really make such a major decision alone?
Liu Ruyan's worry was not entirely due to her concern for Wei's financial situation. She was more worried about whether Chu Fan was being too rash to agree to this condition so easily.
She knew very well that if the Wei court ministers did not agree to this condition later, then all the matters discussed today would come to nothing, and it might even lead to the breakdown of the only remaining trust between the two countries.
Chu Fan smiled and revealed a hint of confidence in his tone. He replied, "Since you have come all the way to Wei State for negotiations, didn't you conduct a thorough investigation beforehand? You should be aware that the control of refined salt in Wei State is completely in my hands.
The Censorate's production and sale of refined salt is merely a job for me. Do I need anyone else's approval for my decisions? As for potential losses, I naturally have my own strategies. I will never allow the interests of Wei to be harmed. Your Majesty, you can rest assured."
In fact, even if the refined salt business is not directly controlled by Chu Fan, as long as Empress Canglan and others are willing to purchase refined salt at 50% off the market price, the Censorate will definitely agree.
This is because since the end of the Northern War, so many prisoners of war have been captured. With the participation of the prisoners in the production of refined salt, and the use of cheap coal as fuel, the cost of refined salt production has been greatly reduced. The cost price of each kilogram of refined salt has been reduced to five copper coins.
The market price remained at 100 copper coins per jin (approximately 100 wen/jin) because if the price continued to drop, sales of refined salt in remote areas would become unsustainable. Once sales became difficult, the ministers responsible for distribution to remote cities would undoubtedly cease to operate without even earning back the transportation costs.
Now that the Canglan Empire was willing to purchase in bulk at a 50% discount, that is, 50 copper coins per pound, the State of Wei could still profit. This transaction was undoubtedly a win-win situation for the State of Wei. The State of Wei won twice, not only making money but also gaining the friendship and trust of the Canglan Empire.
Chu Fan's words shocked Liu Ruyan, Liu Mengli, and Xu Long, and they exchanged meaningful glances. They hadn't imagined Chu Fan's control over the Wei Kingdom had reached such a level, which made them even more curious about how Chu Fan had gone from being a useless prince to completely controlling the entire Wei Kingdom.
Liu Ruyan then spoke softly, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I failed to consider your absolute control over the State of Wei. I should not have questioned your decision."
Chu Fan also sat up straight at this time. He said seriously, "If you have other conditions, you can continue to put them forward now. As long as it is within the capabilities of the Wei Kingdom, we will do our best to meet your requirements.
But there is one thing I must explain in advance. When I propose our terms later, I hope you will agree to them just as readily."
Liu Mengli felt a little nervous at this time, because she was worried that Chu Fan might put forward some conditions that were difficult to accept. After all, in essence, what was going on between the Canglan Empire and the Wei Kingdom was just a transaction, a transaction based on the consideration of their respective interests.
The Emperor of Wei was so ready to agree to all the conditions proposed by his side that Liu Mengli began to worry.
What she was worried about was that if Wei State made too harsh demands in the future, the Canglan Empire would face a very difficult choice. If the other party agreed to all the conditions so readily, but she rejected the other party's demands, it would seem that the Canglan Empire not only lacked sincerity, but also put herself at a disadvantage in the negotiations.
Liu Ruyan took a deep breath, realizing that now was not the time to discuss trivial matters. She knew that if she continued to engage in a battle of wits and courage with the Emperor of Wei, and continued to dwell on these insignificant details, the outcome of this negotiation would be extremely disadvantageous to her.
Liu Ruyan also said to Chu Fan solemnly: "I hope that Wei can provide us with the necessary assistance in the military field. We need a large number of weapons and protective gear to strengthen the strength of our forces."
Of course, Liu Ruyan also understood that she could not easily ask Chu Fan to send troops for support, because once the Wei army intervened in the struggle for power in the Canglan Empire, she herself would be seen as inviting a wolf into the house, which would undoubtedly make the situation more complicated and difficult to control.
Chu Fan's brows were furrowed. It was obvious that he was not hesitating about whether to sell weapons to Liu Ruyan and others, but was thinking about which of the existing weapons and armor stocks in Wei State were suitable for the current needs of Canglan Empire.
Currently, the Ministry of Industry is working hard to use new steel furnaces to produce alloys, which are used to create new weapons. At the same time, the old weapons have been eliminated, and except for a small amount of inventory in the warehouse, the inventory is now full of new alloy weapons.
Now in the Wei State, only the soldiers still have the previous standard equipment. After all, Chu Fan has not yet ordered the troops to replace their weapons.
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