The ice used in the palace, and the ice given by officials, etc., were all caused by diverting water from the Luo River to the lake before the previous winter, and digging out and storing it after it froze in the beginning of winter.
The river water will have a somewhat muddy smell. There are grass, algae, fish, shrimp and toads in the lake. In addition, there is silt accumulated at the bottom of the lake that has been soaked for many years. The smell of this kind of ice is naturally not much better.
If someone wants to grab business and make smoothies, they can only use this kind of ice. And the flavor of milk and malt can only be attached to the surface of the ice. With Li Chengzhi’s ice made with purified water, milk, malt, etc.
Compared to smoothies frozen with raw materials, the texture and taste are more than twice as bad?
Gao Ying had a sudden thought: But why should we compete with Li Chengzhi? Wouldn't it be better to cooperate to benefit both parties?
Only the palace and Guanglu Temple have ice. Apart from Li Chengzhi, His Majesty is the only one who can make smoothies in large quantities. Li Chengzhi’s ice is better and can be sold at a higher price. The ice in the palace is worse, so
It's cheaper. The two parties can just rotate: Li Chengzhi's smoothie is sold to the officials, and the palace's smoothie is sold to the people.
As for whether the court officials will buy it?
How simple is it: just ask His Majesty to reduce the ice reward for hundreds of officials, or stop it directly? I have been used to it for so many years. As soon as this ice is missing, the courtiers may not be able to sleep at night.
……
Just when he thought of this, Gao Ying paused, and a flash of inspiration seemed to flash in his mind.
"You just said, Li Chengzhi asked you some strange words, which ones were they?"
Haven't you told it once?
Gao Zhan was suspicious and repeated: "He first asked: Is there a shortage of ice in the palace? Then asked: Is your Majesty short of money?"
The palace is short of ice... His Majesty is short of money...
No, it should be: if there is a shortage of ice in the palace, His Majesty will not be short of money, and Li Chengzhi will only earn more...
Gao Ying was shocked: How dare Li Chengzhi come up with such a sinister idea in order to keep his business? Isn't he afraid that hundreds of courtiers will fight against him?
Hmm... No, they just asked if the palace was short of ice and if His Majesty was short of money. Who dares to say that this idea was his?
Gao Ying gritted his teeth: You Li Chengzhi, you dare to plot against me... Well, that’s not right?
How could Li Chengzhi have expected that San'er would meet him as soon as he entered the palace? Moreover, he asked Gao Zhan not to even look for his uncle, but directly to look for His Majesty... This was clearly a reminder to His Majesty: The good time has come to strike...<
/p>
Your Majesty, because of his favor, not only will you not take away his livelihood, but you also have to cover it for him?
It even helped him expand his sales.
Because this is a conspiracy: If Your Majesty wants to make this money, he must reduce or stop the court's ice. Under the unbearable heat, not to mention Li Chengzhi's daily output of one or two hundred cubic meters, or double it, I'm afraid
It’s not even enough to sell.
It’s such a good plan, and you can achieve many things with one fell swoop?
"Hahaha...hehehe..."
Gao Ying laughed nervously, laughed for a while, and scolded Gao Zhan through gritted teeth: "You idiot..."
Poor Gao Zhan, he still wants to go back to ask Li Chengzhi to question him? He's so sophisticated, I'm afraid he'd have escaped long ago. If Gao Zhan can find Li Chengzhi today, I, Gao Ying, dare to follow the surname Li...
Gao Zhan was scolded for no apparent reason, but how could Gao Ying wake him up?
Li Chengzhi asked Gao Zhan to go directly to His Majesty, without even mentioning Gao Zhao's name, clearly implying to Gao Zhan: No one can take this responsibility, and His Majesty can only do it in person.
Therefore, it is better for Gao Zhan not to know than to know...
"Get out and see Your Majesty. You can do whatever Li Chengzhi tells you... Your Majesty won't ask, just don't mention that you have seen me... Get out..."
Gao Zhan was confused, but seeing Gao Ying gritting his teeth, how dare he ask. He bowed obediently and left the Liangfeng Palace...
After a long time, Gao Ying sighed quietly: "I really want to sell all the ice in the palace, not just tens of thousands of gold. This move not only solves your majesty's urgent need, but also avoids the hidden danger of my uncle. Even I have to think about it."
His goodness..."
Gao Wenjun worried: "It's a bit risky..."
"With Your Majesty helping him cover up, what dangers can there be? He is just lucky..." Gao Yingqi said, "It feels like a pillow fell from the sky as soon as he fell asleep?"
……
Brother-in-law and brother-in-law sat opposite each other, each holding an ice bowl, staring at each other with big eyes, neither of them speaking.
Gao Zhan hasn't figured out the joints so far, so he has to be more and more confused.
What's surprising to Yuan Ke is that Gao Zhao really hit the mark. Did Li Chengzhi really figure out how to make money?
He originally thought that Li Chengzhi could make ice and put it in an ice collector for heat dissipation, so he would not buy much of it.
Who knew it was edible and so delicious?
Yuan Ke was even a little lucky: Fortunately, Li Chengzhi knew how to measure and came up with a foolproof plan, otherwise he would never have broken his promise.
This is a business that can earn tens of thousands of gold in two or three months. If all the ice in the palace and Guanglu Temple can be sold, the money can completely alleviate the famine in Jin.
Of course, as an emperor, he would not forcefully seize his ministers. He would at least give Li Chengzhi one or two grades of nobility, or upgrade his title to one and a half grades to compensate...
After thinking for a while, Yuan Ke sighed with sadness: This time, thanks to Li Chengzhi, he could sell ice to save the day, but what should he sell next time?
In fact, what the court lacks is not the grain to relieve the Jin region, but the money needed to transport the grain to the Jin region!
Although there have been occasional natural disasters since the reign of Empress Dowager Feng, and there have been rebellions by border residents from time to time in the north, they are at best considered scabies. Most of the prefectures and counties are relatively stable, and they are said to have good weather and good weather.
Most of the warehouses in Changping in various places are full of food. In Taicang, the capital, the silks in the imperial palace's warehouses can no longer be piled up, and the prices have dropped six or seven times compared with those during the Taihe period.
And coincidentally, these two are among the few commodities in the Wei Dynasty that are recognized by the official and private sector as substitutes for currency.
The problem naturally arises: the more abundant the year, the lower the price of grain and silk, the weaker the purchasing power, the larger the volume of grain and silk required to purchase other commodities, and the higher the circulation cost.
Take the food shortage in Jin as an example: the emperor ordered Guanzhong to transport grain and adjust it, so Xi Kangsheng naturally had to do it. But the problem is that recruiting civilians can be regarded as corvee, and grain must be paid, at least in silk. Otherwise, it must be silk.
It is no different from forcing people to rebel.
The money will naturally have to be paid by the court. If you don’t pay for it, then you can find a way to transport the food from Luoyang directly to Jin. But a fool will also calculate the accounts: the consumption on the road alone is definitely several times more than the food transported... p>
There are more and more similar problems, so Yuan Ke will rack his brains to come up with crooked ideas and use various tricks to search for copper ingots and coins from officials and nobles.
But the more expensive it is, the more reluctant it is to sell it, and the more reluctant it is to sell it, the more expensive it is, and the money shortage is becoming increasingly serious...
As for suppressing the Buddha and melting the copper...that is simply impossible. Unless Yuan Ke is willing to see the rebel armies rising everywhere in the Wei Dynasty, and there are many clans, each claiming the king...