(In the code words, typos and the like will be corrected later.)
On the first day of the glass auction, the turnover reached 150,000 yuan, and everyone who heard the news was shocked.
Everyone first wondered if these people were crazy. It is not a natural gem. Is it worth spending so much money on something that can be artificially refined?
Then I sighed, there were so many rich people in the Tang Dynasty.
The courtiers' view on this was completely opposite. The dignitaries who were qualified to drink the soup were very excited. The higher the selling price now, the more they would earn in the future.
Those who were not qualified to drink the soup had their eyes turned red with envy, but there was nothing they could do about it.
The most embarrassing thing is the people who oppose this matter out of public conscience. They are not jealous of the profits of glass, but simply feel that the production method of glass should not be protected by national laws.
The reason is simple. Glass is a luxury product and does not benefit the country. The introduction of legal protection will bring shame to national law.
But when the transaction volume of 150,000 yuan was revealed on the first day, they became numb.
The national treasury and the internal treasury are divided into 82 accounts, and 120,000 of the 150,000 yuan will go into the national treasury.
Although the remaining 30,000 yuan went into the emperor's inner treasury, when the court really needed money, would the emperor dare not provide the money?
So all this money actually went into the pockets of the imperial court. It was a total of 150,000 yuan. The annual income of the imperial court was only more than 3 million yuan. Who dares to say that this is small money?
Glass tells everyone with a huge number that it can really affect national security.
This also means that the reasons previously used by those who opposed legislation to protect glass can no longer be used.
In fact, after the turnover came out, anyone with a bit of public-mindedness knew that they could no longer oppose it.
Even people with selfish intentions know that it is no longer appropriate to oppose this matter at this time.
The reason is very simple. With such huge profits, you still oppose the court's legislative protection. What do you think?
But they are not in a hurry. There are still five days left for the auction, just in case it collapses later.
However, the reality soon told them that they were simply overthinking.
On the second day of the auction, the transaction volume was 147,000 taels. The highest price was the set of four treasures of the glass study room, which was purchased by an anonymous customer for 3,110 taels of gold.
But this anonymity only prevents people in the glass museum from announcing it to the outside world. It has no effect on people at the auction venue. Specific news soon came out.
Boling Cui's action.
Moreover, the other noble families who failed to bid did not return empty-handed and took away all the remaining fine products. Today, one hundred thousand of the 147,000 coins came from their hands.
Now everyone is even more confused. Don’t you nobles look down on the royal family? Why do you jump out to join in the fun at this time?
But obviously no one would answer their questions, and the nobles' intervention also aroused more people's interest in glass.
The nobles regarded themselves as noble and noble, thinking that they were the real nobles in the world, and the emperor was regarded by them as a nouveau riche.
After hundreds of years of propaganda, it has indeed had an effect. Everyone believes that the gentry is indeed noble. Whatever they think is good must be of good taste.
Nowadays, nobles are trying to grab glass, which shows that it is a good thing and a tasteful thing.
Then on the third day, the transaction volume hit a new high of 183,000 yuan.
However, the reason why it was sold at such a high price was mainly due to the competition from Hu merchants, in addition to the advertising effect of the gentry.
In order to compete for the burgundy vase, two big Hu businessmen were at loggerheads, with each bidding higher than the other.
Finally, it was bought by a Hu businessman named Seymour for 4,900 taels of gold.
However, this was also the item with the highest unit price in this auction. In the next three days, the price dropped to less than 150,000 yuan.
But the total transaction volume in six days was as high as 928,400 yuan. As soon as this data came out, Chang'an was boiling again.
Everyone knows that the imperial court is rich.
The court instantly became quiet. Faced with the huge amount of a quarter of the annual income, no one dared to oppose the legislative protection.
Li Shimin and a group of important ministers quickly settled the matter. The law was very simple. Anyone who stole the formula to refine glass would be punished for treason.
With the money, Li Shimin immediately launched a series of actions. First, he ordered the Ministry of Industry to conduct an on-site inspection of the Yellow River and formulate a plan to repair the river.
Then the Ministry of War began to stock up on necessary supplies...
At the same time, the Daming Palace, which had previously been suspended due to Li Yuan's death, has resumed work on a small scale.
In fact, it was Chen Jingke's suggestion to build the Daming Palace. His reason was: "Money is money only when it flows. If it is kept in a warehouse, it is just a pile of scrap copper and iron."
"Since the world is short of money, the court should circulate this money to relieve the pressure of money panic."
These two reasons only made Li Shimin feel reasonable, but he was used to being poor and was still not used to spending money so lavishly, so he hesitated.
Then Chen Jingke came up with the decisive reason: "Whether it is high blood pressure or asthma, the patient needs to be in a good mood."
"Daxing Palace is hot in summer and cold in winter. Now that there is heating, you don't have to worry about it in winter. What about summer? Can you be happy living in a steamer?"
Li Shimin immediately issued an order to restart the Daming Palace plan.
Although the courtiers were quite critical, they suddenly stopped talking when they thought of the 920,000 yuan and the glass auction that would take place every month.
Anyway, the court is rich, and the emperor has indeed been diligent and frugal since he ascended the throne, so let him repair it once.
So the Daming Palace project was restarted.
Why did Chen Jingke encourage Li Shimin to build the Daming Palace? In fact, the first reason he told Li Shimin was the real reason.
The ability of glass to attract money is obvious to all, and most of the money earned is cash. With so much money piled up in the treasury, the consequences of deflation will be too serious.
Moreover, the Tang Dynasty itself was facing a shortage of currency, so that the court had to order that grain and silk could also be used as money.
Nowadays, it is normal to go to the market with half a bag of grain on your shoulders and a few feet of cloth wrapped around your waist.
Even though the Tang Dynasty was a purely agricultural society, this situation brought great harm to the national economy, and the already fragile business was even more desperate.
Moreover, this kind of large-scale construction has a very obvious promotion effect on business. When business flourishes, the country can levy commercial taxes.
In short, the money in the treasury must be spent.
While the monarchs and ministers of the Tang Dynasty were busy building the country, in a corner of Chang'an City, there was a barbarian who was drinking to drown his sorrows.
Smelling the pungent smell of alcohol throughout the room and looking at his drunken companions, a trace of helplessness flashed in Arab's eyes.
Ever since the red vase he cherished was snatched away at the auction that day, he has become like this.
"Maqsud, stop drinking. You are the leader of our caravan. What will everyone do if you are like this?"
"And I've heard that glass is auctioned every month. If it fails this time, just wait a month and you can always buy it."