Chapter 73
The Royal family typically drew 50%, which sounded like a lot, but cultivating the imperial manor didn’t involve harsh taxes or burdensome levies, and there was no official oppression. The lives of the people were not difficult.
Even into the Ming Dynasty, due to deteriorating governance, many peasants voluntarily merged their fields into the imperial estates…
Princess Changle explained each point. As a princess, she was well-informed about these matters. After Princess Changle set up her own residence, the properties of the princess’s residence were included within the imperial estates, personally granted by Li Er. Otherwise, maintaining such a large residence, with all its needs, would undoubtedly strain resources.
“This racecourse is the property of the Princess Mansion…”
“There’s also a forest area in the Western Garden…”
“Thousands of restaurants…”
“There are also more than three hundred hectares of good fields…”
“There is also a weaving workshop…” Princess Changle explained one by one.
Su Li carefully calculated more than three hundred hectares of land. Wasn’t that equivalent to eighteen square kilometers? It was almost the size of a county seat…
This implied that tens of thousands of people relied on Princess Changle’s generosity for their livelihoods.
It was more than just being wealthy, wasn’t it?
Looking at it from a modern perspective, so much land… my goodness, it was hard to imagine. Into modern times, having so much land… it was truly astonishing.
However, Princess Changle didn’t have to worry about these matters as a princess. Because Empress Zhangsun had already selected female officers for each princess, they were responsible for the property of the princess’s mansion.
The princess only needed to reach out for money and occasionally check if there was any money in the accounts. A luxurious princess could spend extravagantly without considering the consequences.
For such a simple life as Princess Changle’s, with such a huge industry, he was afraid she didn’t even know how much wealth she had accumulated.
“Then you must have saved a lot of money?” Su Li estimated that with the industry of Princess Changle’s mansion, her simplicity, and the fact that the female officer was not like a corrupt person, the wealth accumulated by the Princess Mansion was enough to easily raise thousands of soldiers and horses…
“Um… about that… my father borrowed it a year ago…” Princess Changle said embarrassedly.
Princess Changle didn’t originally have so many industries. The current extensive industry was the result of Li Er’s continuous rewards.
“My father attacked Eastern Turkistan a year ago, and the treasury was empty, and I had no place to use money…” Changle said.
Su Li’s mouth dropped open…
Li Er even took money from his daughter. Well, it could be seen that the Alliance at the Wei River indeed severely depleted the Tang Dynasty’s treasury.
Given Li Er’s pride and arrogance, he endured it for four years, and in the end, he had the nerve to borrow money from his daughter just to gather the wealth needed to conquer the East Turks.
But luckily, the attack on the Eastern Turks yielded a lot of loot, which somewhat offset the financial strain. The people’s livelihoods wouldn’t be devastated due to a single war of annihilation.
Technically, this time Li Jing’s attack on East Turkistan is a surprise attack with minimal expenses. He should have made a fortune. Has Li Er decided not to repay the money? Su Li pondered Li Er’s audacity and considered that, given how he tricked money from his daughter, he might not intend to repay it.
“Do you want to spend money anywhere?” Princess Changle asked.
“Not for the time being…” Su Li shook his head.
He still knew salt-making and steel-making techniques. Now that Changle was awake, Su Li naturally wanted to put these skills, which combined added up to half a million points, to use.
Su Li’s original intention in obtaining these skills was to accumulate wealth and drive the modernization of the Tang Dynasty’s industry.
But now, Su Li suddenly realized… he was incredibly wealthy. Three hundred hectares of good land, the racecourse… and forest estates…
Tens of thousands of people depended on the Princess Mansion for their survival, making the industry incredibly vast. Princess Changle’s treasury was even larger, so even Li Er couldn’t resist swiping some wealth from her.
Su Li found that he had become wealthy beyond his imagination. It was like playing a game with a cheat code that gave you infinite money – it was just not as exciting.
“Even I have money! I have money too!”
Upon hearing Changle and Su Li discuss the estate, the playful young girl, holding a lollipop, bounced around excitedly, trying to count on her fingers.
“I also have a lot of farms. He gave me thirteen hectares last time… and thirty-seven hectares the time before…”
The young girl counted on her fingers… but eventually seemed to realize she couldn’t understand it and turned to her maidservant for help.
“Princess… currently, the imperial estates add up to 186 acres. There are also three forest areas, six profit-making workshops, and five hundred food stalls.”
“Wow! Another little rich lady!” Su Li shook his head with emotion…
In ancient society, the polarization between the rich and the poor was severe. Su Li found himself becoming more and more wealthy…
Having such assets, he would be worth billions or even tens of billions in modern times.
“Alright… let’s not talk about it…” Su Li silently turned away.
He had thought that Li Er’s dowry to him was substantial, but it was a small fraction compared to Changle’s wealth. It was quite shivering, even more so compared to Changle. However, after thinking about it, Princess Changle’s wealth was also his. This made Su Li feel much more comfortable.
Su Li and Princess Changle held hands, while the little princess held Princess Changle’s hand. The three of them walked towards the depths of the Southern Garden, chatting and laughing along the way.
Within the Forest Garden, there were people responsible for guiding the way. Princess Changle, in high spirits, passed by pavilions and towers and led Su Li directly to where the exotic animals were kept.
A separate hill near the Imperial Stables in the Forest Garden was where Li Er housed the exotic animals and rare beasts presented as tributes from various countries. Some were kept in captivity, while others had been tamed. Some remained wild. Guards ensured safety.
The young girl was also quite excited. She always enjoyed coming here to see the animals, but her parents had never allowed her to come alone. Besides, they were very busy, and the maidservants were cautious about taking her there.
After passing a pavilion while chatting and laughing, someone approached to guide Su Li and the others. They found a large shed on a vast open ground as they entered. The roars of various wild beasts could be heard.
In the distance, peacocks with trimmed feathers were walking on the grass. Golden monkeys were lazily stretching their bodies on the trees. An elephant was drinking water, raising its head to trumpet and spewing out a long stream of water.
Sᴇarch the ɴøᴠel Fɪre.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.
If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report
