The Qianda Reservoir and the surrounding land were finally contracted to Li Jingye at an annual price of 800,000 guan, with a lease term of twelve years, with rent-free for the first two years and tax-free for the first ten years.

After this price was announced, many investors were disappointed. The notes, which had appreciated by 30%, immediately depreciated to their original price.

This rate of return is actually not low, but the people’s expectations of Wang Zheng are too high, which has created such a strong psychological contrast.

Even Li Zhi looked at Wang Zheng with a resentful look on his face, "Did Li Jingye give you any benefits? You gave him such a low rent? And you even exempted it for two years?"

Wang Zheng squinted at Li Zhi and asked, "How about I take back the reservoir and rent it to Your Majesty at this price?"

Li Zhi nodded and smiled, "When Li Jingye's contract expires, I will take over immediately."

"Li Jingye's lease is due, and the minimum rent is 1.2 million guan per year."

"It's okay. Let the counties and cities mortgage the management rights of the large reservoirs and surrounding land to the money houses. After borrowing money from the money houses, we can start building bridges and roads right away.

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Li Xian was stunned for a moment and asked doubtfully, "Will you not tell anyone about this, sir?"

Wang Zheng sighed and continued, "Even if others don't spread what Your Majesty did, those who should know will definitely know. Even if such things cannot be included in official history, there will be some mentions in unofficial history and family trees."

Wang Zheng nodded and said with a smile: "Before you go to see His Majesty, you can discuss it with the Queen first. This is just a rough idea, and the specific matters still need to be carefully considered.

"This method can earn you a lot of fame."

"How should I know what to do? Who can have a good solution for this kind of thing?"

Wang Zheng sighed and nodded, "I know, but Your Majesty is not very proficient in this kind of thing. You should have communicated with me in advance. Now you haven't eaten the meat and you are getting into trouble. Why bother?"

Wu Zetian smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you look like you've suffered a loss. Do you want me to help your Majesty get back the advantage?"

Wang Zheng shook his head and explained: "Human energy is limited. Learning requires not only a combination of work and rest, but also a step-by-step approach. As the saying goes, God is jealous of talented people, but more often than not, they are just exhausted.

Wang Zheng asked angrily, "The Xuanwu Guards secretly spread unfavorable news to suppress the price of bills, and the Ye Ting Bureau is buying up bills on a large scale. Is this their own behavior?"

"At the same price, Li Jingye has priority. Your Majesty doesn't think that others are fools, does he? The initial investment in roads, land reclamation, houses, and workshops is so huge. How could he sublease it to others after everything is completed?"

Li Xian was a little dumbfounded. He looked at Li Xian who was also stunned and asked Wang Zheng, "What should we do now?"

Wang Zheng pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty wants to build a large reservoir in the Jianghuai area, right? Let Your Majesty pay for it and recruit corvée laborers to build it. The annual rent can be given to the prefectures and counties, and they can use it to build roads and bridges."

After listening to Wang Zheng's explanation, Li Xian bowed and said, "Thank you very much, sir. I will go to discuss with my father now. I'll take my leave now."

If the roads are unblocked, the people's products will be more valuable, so we won't lose anything, but Your Majesty will suffer a little."

"Hehe, I didn't expect this." Li Zhi smiled awkwardly.

Wang Zheng insisted, "Those are the hard-earned money of ordinary people. Only ignorant people will follow the crowd. Your Majesty saw that aristocratic family and big businessman hand out the bills."

As long as the roads in the counties are unobstructed and the trade is prosperous, there will naturally be more tax revenue, and the interest earned by the money houses will be recovered.

Li Xian was stunned again. Many of Wang Zheng's views were always contrary to what he had learned before. Li Xian was also puzzled and asked Wang Zheng: "Isn't it said that the more you see, the more knowledgeable you are? It's also said that having many skills is always better than having too much."

"The disciple has learned his lesson."

"If I don't tell others, won't they know?"

Wang Zheng smiled bitterly and said, "If you don't want others to know, then don't do it yourself. If ordinary people don't know, how can the noble families not know? How will the noble families, dignitaries, and officials view Your Majesty after this incident?"

There is nothing wrong with being well-informed, but having many skills is not necessarily a burden. You can be well-informed now, but it is best not to get involved in specific things. "

Where can you make money everywhere?

Yesterday, Wang Zheng learned that someone was spreading false information, so he immediately asked someone to explain the situation to the people, mainly to explain why the rent would be lower in the initial stage, otherwise the bill price would continue to decline.

After all, this is a big deal. The Grand Canal in the Sui Dynasty is a lesson for us. Many good things have ended up in chaos due to improper operation. You are still young and it is not appropriate for you to get involved in such things, so as not to overwork and affect your learning progress."

Li Zhi pondered for a moment and said with a smile, "No problem."

Wang Zheng doesn't care about that little bit of money at all, nor does he care if Li Zhi makes a little more money, but when you make money you have to consider the circumstances, right?

After Wang Zheng asked someone to investigate, he got the news early this morning that it was Li Zhi who was behind the incident. Just when he was about to go find him, Li Zhi turned the tables on him.

Li Xian nodded, then frowned and said, "But according to your rules, there will be no rent for the first two years. Isn't it a bit slow to see the effect?"

After Li Zhi walked out of the fifth courtyard quickly, he saw Wu Zetian looking at him with a smile in the fourth courtyard. Li Zhi looked back and was relieved to find that Wang Zheng did not follow him.

"Forget it. I was wrong this time. I'll just take the loss."

Li Xian tugged at Wang Zheng's sleeve and whispered, "Sir, Father didn't intend to deceive the people and make money from them."

Seeing Li Zhi's increasingly quick pace, Wang Zheng could not help but shout, "Your Majesty, how can you be so cruel?"

After Li Xian and Li Xian paid their respects, they left with Li Dan.

Li Zhi was a little frustrated, and then he smacked his lips and said, "I didn't notice it before, but when that guy gets angry, he has quite a temper. He even dared to yell at me and questioned me. How could I bear to do that? It's just a few copper coins. The people didn't lose anything either. Is it really that serious?"

Wu Zetian asked with some amusement: "Your Majesty, do you think Wang Zheng would care about that little bit of copper?"

"That's why I'm so angry. He used to send me boatloads of copper coins, and I never saw him feel bad about it. Now he's doing it for just a few copper coins. It doesn't make sense."

"Your Majesty still doesn't understand."

Wu Zetian sighed and explained, "Your Majesty, what you did this time cannot be concealed. Although Chang'an is very large, there are not many people who are capable of doing such things. Wang Zheng can find out immediately, and those aristocratic families will also find out."