It was merely a matter of relocating the official road for repairs, so how could Prefect Qi possibly refuse? He immediately patted his chest and assured him, "Your Highness, rest assured, the official road in Xinliang will definitely connect Changzhou and Quanzhou next year."
With his assurance, Chief Secretary Xie finally agreed to the matter. After Prefect Qi left with a slight sigh of relief, Chief Secretary Xie said, "Your Highness, I would like to select more people to join the escort agency. As long as they are young and strong, and our screening process is qualified, they are all welcome."
Gu Yuzhi was truly bewildered now, scratching his head in confusion and asking, "Chief Secretary Xie, why is that?"
Didn't you just feel very embarrassed?
I feel like adults are really hard to understand.
Chief Secretary Xie laughed and said, "According to the regulations for princes, Your Highness should have three thousand personal guards and three guard battalions. However, Your Highness currently has no guard battalion and only a few dozen personal guards who came from the capital. Not to mention that these people have all been assigned to escort agencies."
Gu Yuzhi opened his mouth slightly, silently calculating the number of people Xie Changshi mentioned, and then said with a bitter face, "Xie Changshi, the escort agency hasn't even broken even yet, and you're recruiting so many people? I... I can't afford to support them."
He didn't know how many personal guards his other brothers had, but he felt that his own manpower was enough; any more and he really couldn't afford to support them!
Manager Wen promised to teach him how to do business, but the restaurant didn't open and the clinic didn't have a doctor. Gu Yuzhi really felt sorry for himself!
Chief Secretary Xie smiled and said, "Your Highness, don't panic. When Guard Qi returns this time, he should bring back Your Highness's salary for the year. And it's not necessary for Your Highness to recruit so many people all at once. I think we can train the bodyguards, and then Guard Qi and the others can return to their residence."
Gu Yuzhi's eyes lit up, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up. He really didn't know he also had a salary!
but……
He suppressed his smile: "But I'm only six years old this year. Aren't princes only entitled to a stipend at the age of ten?"
He still has several years left.
"Your Highness is not yet old enough, but Your Highness is no longer a prince, but a prince. As is customary, a prince receives an annual stipend."
Gu Yuzhi could no longer hide his joy. He covered his mouth and chuckled, his eyes crinkling into crescents, looking incredibly cute.
"How much is my salary? Is it enough to support so many people?"
“According to custom, a prince’s annual salary is 10,000 shi (a unit of dry measure). Your Highness is absolutely able to support these people in the short term. That’s why I said we can recruit more people and keep going until next year when the land is being cultivated. Once Your Highness’s fiefdom has yielded some produce, the escort agency and the pharmacy can also get on track. Your Highness need not worry too much.”
Gu Yuzhi muttered to himself, "One shi is ten dou, so can't we do as Prefect Qi said and recruit ten times more people?"
He puffed out his cheeks, looking quite like a little adult: "I wonder if there are so many refugees outside the city?"
Chief Secretary Xie...
"Your Highness, have you forgotten that the people in the manor also need to make a living..."
Manager Wen also poured cold water on the situation at this moment: "It's understandable that His Highness is naive, but how come Chief Secretary Xie is just as naive!"
He thought about it and realized that he was just a scholar; when had he ever really understood these things?
Not only did Manager Wen think it was naive, but even Shu Xiaohan felt that Chief Secretary Xie was being too idealistic: "The young prince's salary will most likely be in silver, but with the grain prices in Changzhou, that silver can't buy 10,000 shi of grain. And given the nature of the people at Li's Trading Company, once they know that the young prince has taken in so many refugees, they'll probably raise the grain prices even higher. How will His Highness deal with that then?"
How to deal with it?
Gu Yuzhi never even considered that his salary would be paid in silver!
He pouted, indicating that he was very unhappy.
Manager Wen glanced at Shu Xiaohan and thought to himself that this woman had taken the wrong medicine today, actually speaking up for him.
However, the most important thing now is to interrupt Chief Secretary Xie's dangerous idea: "Your Highness's only business right now is the escort agency. It's uncertain whether the pharmacy can even be opened! And once Your Highness takes in refugees, Li's Trading Company will definitely hold you accountable. Your Highness will not only lose the pharmacy, but it's also a question of whether the escort agency can be saved!"
Gu Yuzhi's face turned pale at Manager Wen's words, and she muttered, "I don't think so, do I?"
"You wouldn't? Your Highness, think about how the Longchang Escort Agency was destroyed? Think about how the people from Li's Pharmacy acted during the disaster relief efforts outside the city? Your Highness shouldn't have agreed to Prefect Qi's request!"
Shopkeeper Wen grew angrier as he spoke, secretly resenting that he was merely a consciousness while his host was still a child of a few years old. He had a hundred tricks up his sleeve, but nowhere to use them!
Only then did Manager Wen begin to doubt his initial choice. Would His Highness Prince Wen really ensure the success of his mission?
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and his voice carried a hint of complaint: "Let's not even talk about how long it will take for those children we've taken in to be able to go on missions, but those young and strong men, in order to become guards, they have to train diligently every day, how can their appetites be compared to ordinary people? Ten thousand shi of grain seems like a lot, but it really goes through very quickly!"
Otherwise, those princes could just live off these stipends, why would they bother to work hard to make money through business?
Three thousand guards! Can you feed them with ten thousand bushels of grain a year?
"Furthermore, the guards' monthly stipends, armor, weapons, and so on all require silver to purchase. His Highness's entire salary has been converted into grain, so what will be used to exchange for these things?"
Gu Yuzhi had no idea that Wen Xiuzhu's words had completely chilled him to the bone.
He said with a bitter face, "I really shouldn't have chosen Xinliang as the location!"
Wen Xiuzhu tried to widen his squinty eyes. Was this the fault of the place name Xinliang?
Seeing that Gu Yuzhi remained silent for a long time, Xie Changshi thought he had spoken too harshly and coughed lightly, "Your Highness..."
Gu Yuzhi looked up at him: "Chief Secretary Xie, you said that Guard Qi will bring back my salary this time. How will he bring it? It's 10,000 shi of grain!"
Xie Changshi's expression suddenly changed. Oh no! He had actually made a mistake at such a crucial moment!
But it's okay, he can find a way to fix it.
"If I'm not mistaken, it should be silver notes. I will immediately send someone to welcome Guard Qi and have them exchange the silver notes for grain in Jinzhou. At the same time, let the people of Li's Trading Company see the strength of our Wen's Escort Agency."
"Jinzhou?" Manager Wen thought for a moment. "That's a good option. Jinzhou is a grain-producing area, so the price of grain there will definitely be cheaper than in the capital or the northern desert. Now that things have come to this, Your Highness should have Chief Secretary Xie find a way to exchange for more coarse grains. Also, don't be too high-profile when you enter the city. Otherwise, if the people from Li's Trading Company know that Your Highness has also purchased grain, they might try to incite the emotions of the people outside the city."
"Let Li's Trading Company see the strength of Wen's Escort Agency! Don't you understand the principle of not flaunting wealth? Your Highness, quickly advise Chief Secretary Xie to be extremely careful!"
Manager Wen shook his head as he spoke, saying, "It's true that every profession is like a mountain to climb. This Chief Clerk Xie is really too naive when it comes to money!"
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