What Kangxi said was actually quite difficult for Anle, but Anle did not give up.
Over the years, Youqing gave her several shops to practice in, and she seemed to have a great talent for it. The shops were quite profitable, but they were not enough to support her own military camp.
Anle went back and made a budget, only to find that it was still a long way from the amount of silver he needed. This wouldn't do.
“Princess, we have already searched all the account books you asked me to look for, and there are none left.”
Anle nodded absentmindedly: "Okay, you can go now! I need to think about it."
Based on Anle's understanding of her imperial father, there shouldn't be any military campaigns in the next two years. However, after two years, once things have stabilized somewhat, it's inevitable that military action will be launched against foreign powers. In other words, she only has one or two years left.
Thinking of this, Anle began to review the actions of her father and mother over the past few years. Suddenly, something occurred to her, so she began to write.
She didn't even notice when the sky had turned completely black and the maid quietly lit the lamp.
After some time, a nanny came in and interrupted her: "Princess, the small kitchen has prepared some food. Please eat some first, and we can take care of the rest tomorrow."
In the nanny's eyes, the princess was of noble birth, the only princess in the Kangxi era to be born as a Gulun princess. In addition, the empress had favored her for many years, so it was fine for the princess to be a little spoiled and enjoy herself. However, the princess arranged herself very carefully and was busy all day long. The nanny did not understand what she was busy with, but as the princess's wet nurse, she had to keep the princess's health in mind.
Anle snapped out of her daze after hearing what the nanny said. Looking at the light in the room, she realized it was already evening. She then realized she was indeed a little hungry. Fortunately, she had already written down a rough outline of the plan. She could think about the rest before going to bed tonight and add it tomorrow.
She put down her pen and said, "Listen to the nanny, serve the food!"
Upon hearing this, the nanny smiled and said "Yes," then went out and ordered someone to bring in the food.
For the next few days, Anle was busy trying to find ways to make money.
Anle's idea for making money was not anything else, but rather to make money through trade.
In recent years, neighboring countries have taken the initiative to pay tribute to the Qing Dynasty in order to seek protection and also in the hope that the Qing Dynasty would not attack them.
Emperor Kangxi wanted to wage war, but he also intended to maintain good relations with the surrounding small countries, so he opened up trade routes. The surrounding countries also had some special products, which were useful to the Qing Dynasty. Qing porcelain, tea and silk were very popular in the surrounding countries.
Anle was aware of all this, and she planned to put some effort into it.
As a princess, she enjoyed quite a few privileges.
She planned to make a fortune in neighboring countries first, and then use the steamship that Emperor Kangxi had given her two years earlier to conduct maritime trade.
Anle had heard a lot from missionaries around Emperor Kangxi in the West. It was said that tea, porcelain and embroidery were very popular among nobles there, and even ordinary items could be exchanged for a thousand gold pieces.
Anle naturally wanted to see for himself.
The plan was completed, and Anle's execution ability was also extremely strong.
She started working on it with great enthusiasm.
Emperor Kangxi and Youqing were extremely busy. When Anle was still young, Youqing had to spend time with her for her daughter's physical and mental well-being. Now that her daughter is growing up, Youqing has begun to continue her own business ventures.
So the two of them only heard that Anle had made quite a move, but they didn't know the specifics of what she had done.
When Emperor Kangxi found out, it was already the end of the year.
The ships that Anle sent out returned. Because the ships were large enough and carried a lot of cargo, even though they weren't merchant ships, they brought back a lot of things and gold and silver jewelry.
She quickly sold everything except the gold and silver, and after calculating all the expenses along the way, she earned nearly two million taels of silver from this trip.
That's a lot. Even though the Qing Dynasty has developed rapidly in recent years and there are more and more wealthy people, it's still rare to earn so much money all at once.
Anle reflected on it afterward and realized that although the business was extremely profitable, it also carried risks. If the ship encountered storms and couldn't return, the ship, people, and cargo would all be lost.
Earning so much money is mostly due to luck.
However, with these two million taels, Anle has more options. She doesn't intend to give up on maritime trade, as it's a great way to make money. She now has a lot of capital and can build a larger fleet.
She set aside one million taels for future maritime trade and kept one million taels for recruiting soldiers and buying horses.
Just after the New Year, in the 46th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, the emperor asked Anle what New Year's gift he wanted. Anle didn't stand on ceremony and directly asked for a batch of firearms. Of course, Anle would spend money to buy them.
Emperor Kangxi was completely dumbfounded.
Do you know how expensive this musket is?
Anle naturally knows.
But she'll definitely buy it.
"Your daughter knows. Your daughter plans to buy a hundred first. Father Emperor, please grant your daughter's request!"
Matchlock guns are military supplies, and of course, there will be some on the black market, but not many. A single matchlock gun can fetch up to 10,000 taels of silver on the black market, and even then, they are priceless.
The cost of a musket naturally couldn't be that high, but what could they do when there was market demand but no stock?
If Emperor Kangxi had agreed to sell muskets to Emperor Anle, he would not have paid 10,000 taels per musket, but he would have paid at least 1,000 taels per musket.
One hundred pieces would cost 100,000 taels of silver. As far as Kangxi knew, if Anle wanted to buy them, her shop would basically be finished.
"Do you know how much silver a hundred muskets cost? You just ask to buy a hundred. Wouldn't it be better to keep your own money for jewelry and clothes?"
Anle shook her head: "The jewelry and clothing are all provided by the Imperial Household Department, so there's no need to spend money. Besides, my daughter has recently done some small business and made a small profit. Buying a hundred muskets is no problem."
Kangxi had no suspicion of Anle, so he didn't have anyone watch over her. If his son had such a large thing, Kangxi would have known about it from the very beginning.
"How much can you make from a small business? Listen to your father, if you like muskets, your father will give you two. But you can't buy a hundred."
Emperor Kangxi thought she was being ridiculous.
Anle was unhappy.
"Father, my small business has earned several million taels of silver. Although the business isn't large, it's enough to buy muskets. Father, please grant my request!"
Emperor Kangxi was stunned. Several million taels of silver? My goodness! What kind of "small" business is this?
Even when Youqing first started her business, she didn't manage to make such a "small" business.
What kind of business did you do?
Anle said, "My daughter used the steamship given to her by Father Emperor to conduct maritime trade. At first, she just wanted to try it out, but the results were very good."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Kangxi understood why even small businesses could generate such high profits; no wonder.
Maritime trade was a matter of great importance, and Kangxi did not completely open up the industry, but he and Youqing secretly had fleets engaged in this activity.
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