freenovelworld Chapter 517 Tangled
Chapter 517 Tangled
"Of course we have to pay!"
The Green King bluntly stated, "Since you are unwilling to serve me, then you are not my person. In that case, we can only talk about money."
The reason why the Green King went to great lengths to trade with the barbarians was not simply to recruit warriors!
In addition to recruiting martial artists, he also planned to exchange python blood grass and python bone grass for a large amount of gold and silver, and then use this money to strengthen the Qingzhou army!
As a prince of the Xia Kingdom, the Qing King knew very well that if he wanted to sit on the supreme throne, the 100,000 Qingzhou soldiers were far from enough!
These 100,000 Qingzhou troops couldn't even wipe out the White Lotus Sect, let alone storm the capital and seize the emperor's throne.
Don't be fooled by the current commotion in the other eight states; it's limited to those eight states!
The powerful and established families in the capital, whose lineages have lasted for hundreds or even thousands of years, are simply beyond the reach of those rebellious peasants.
In other words, the areas where those peasants rebelled were all beyond the reach of the other eight prefectures, the imperial court, and the powerful families of the capital, and their fundamental interests were not threatened; otherwise…
They couldn't possibly make a sound.
It's a very simple principle. Even the Wang family, which was once wiped out by Chen Dao and Zheng Qing, had hundreds of troops, and each of these troops was incredibly powerful, far surpassing the regular army of the imperial court.
The families in the capital that have been passed down for hundreds or even thousands of years have far more retainers than the Wang family.
It's because these powerful families each have their own agendas and are only thinking about their own interests; otherwise... it's really hard to say whether the Nine Provinces would belong to the Xia or something else.
Of course, although the Nine Provinces are still under the Xia dynasty's name, in reality...
The Nine Provinces have never been a one-man show for the Xia family, or the royal family!
When the Xia Kingdom was first established, the founding emperor was still able to keep these powerful families in check. However, as the Xia Kingdom has been established for a longer period of time, these powerful families have become like bloodsuckers parasitizing the Xia Kingdom, drawing on its resources to grow stronger. Now, these powerful families have become too big to handle.
In the imperial court, the words spoken by representatives of powerful families are far more effective than those of the current emperor!
The thought of his useless emperor brother flashed with contempt in Xia Yuanying's eyes. His brother was nominally the emperor, but in reality, he was not even as good as a puppet.
All major decisions in the country were made by the prime minister and officials of the six ministries with a single word, while the emperor, who should truly have the final say...
Yet he spends his days indulging in debauchery within the palace; such an emperor is utterly despicable.
If even such an incompetent person can sit on the throne, why can't Xia Yuanying?
This was Xia Yuanying's truest thought. In his view, his incompetent brother was not worthy of sitting in that position at all, and only he, Xia Yuanying, was the best candidate for the throne!
The Azure King looked at Zhu the Butcher and the others present and said, "You should all be aware of the preciousness of Python Blood Grass and Python Bone Grass."
Zhu Tu Fu and the others nodded subconsciously. The python blood grass that they, as peak fourth-rank martial artists, longed for and even sought but could not obtain, was naturally precious. Before coming to Qingzhou Prefecture, they were already mentally prepared to suffer a huge loss.
"Your Highness may speak frankly."
Li Qingsong asked, "How much does Your Highness intend to price these Python Blood Grass and Python Bone Grass?"
"The price of a single python blood grass is 5 taels of silver, and the price of a python bone grass is the same."
Xia Yuanying calmly announced an astonishing number, which shocked Zhu Tu Fu and the others!
What does 50,000 taels of silver mean?
Within the Nine Provinces, 5 taels of silver is enough for a family of five to eat and drink for a year, and 50,000 taels of silver can support 10,000 families for a year.
This is such an astonishing number that even those present, all of whom are wealthy martial artists, were horrified by it.
"Your Highness, isn't this price too exorbitant?"
Butcher Zhu couldn't help but say, "Fifty thousand taels of silver! Even if I, Old Zhu, slaughter pigs day and night, I couldn't earn that much in my entire life!"
Zhu the butcher earns between 500 cash and 1 tael of silver for each pig he slaughters. At the highest price of 1 tael of silver, he would need to slaughter 50,000 pigs to earn 50,000 taels of silver.
Because he was a martial artist and had a strong physique, Zhu the butcher was not slow in killing pigs. He could kill ten or eight pigs a day without any problem. But where did he get so many pigs to kill?
Even with so many pigs, if he slaughters ten a day, it would take Butcher Zhu a thousand days, or three years, to earn fifty thousand taels of silver!
Of course, Zhu the butcher's main source of income was not slaughtering pigs. As a martial artist at the peak of the fourth rank, he had many ways to make money, so his family was quite well-off.
Even the wealthiest family couldn't afford a medicinal herb costing 50,000 taels of silver per plant...
While Python Blood Grass and Python Bone Grass can help one break through to the third rank, they don't guarantee a 100% success rate. In other words...
Fifty thousand taels of silver for just one chance to break through to the third rank was simply unacceptable to Butcher Zhu.
"Your Highness, is there any room for negotiation on this price?"
"5 taels per plant is far too expensive! We simply cannot afford it!"
"Your Highness, could the price be lowered by one or two more?"
"..."
Not only Zhu the Butcher, but also Li Qingsong, Qianlier, Jiang Canghai and others spoke out, hoping that Qingwang could lower the price.
There was no way around it; the price of 50,000 taels of silver was truly an astronomical figure. Even for these high-ranking fourth-grade martial artists, who were quite wealthy, it was impossible to easily come up with such a large sum of money.
Faced with the crowd's voices, the Azure King said without room for doubt: "The Python Blood Grass and Python Bone Grass are rare medicinal materials that I have painstakingly obtained. The price of 50,000 taels of silver per plant will not be reduced by a single cent."
"..."
Zhu the butcher and the others remained silent, a conflicted look flashing across their faces.
They could probably come up with 50,000 taels of silver if they gritted their teeth, but no one could guarantee that spending 50,000 taels of silver to buy a single Python Blood Grass would allow them to successfully break through to the third rank...
Therefore, they were very conflicted, weighing in their minds whether or not to pay such a huge price for a chance to break through to a higher realm.
After a long silence, Jiang Canghai of the White Lotus Sect broke the silence first: "Fifty thousand taels per plant, I agree! Give me two Python Blood Grass plants first."
After saying this, Jiang Canghai gave a wink to his attendant, who immediately took out ten silver notes from a hidden compartment in his clothes.
The White Lotus Sect now occupies Yuezhou and takes whatever it wants from the entire region. Despite its rampant plundering and wealth accumulation, the higher-ups of the White Lotus Sect are still quite wealthy. For a respected elder like Jiang Canghai, coming up with 100,000 taels of silver is no problem at all.
Therefore, after careful consideration, Jiang Canghai decided to spend 100,000 taels of silver to buy two Python Blood Grass plants for his breakthrough.