Chapter 362 Lu Heng's Way Out

The war on the western front was progressing very smoothly. The cheap labor brought by a large number of captives, along with a massive paper order from the imperial court, allowed the factory owners of Great Qian to get a taste of the benefits, and the Powerful Families behind them gradually stopped their opposition.

Especially after the Industrial Research Institute developed and promoted the water-powered spinning machine on a large scale, textile factories began to spring up everywhere like bamboo shoots after rain.

During the farming off-season, farm women would enter these factories to work, earning some extra income for their families, allowing them to make a couple of new clothes for their children and add a meat dish or two to the family dinner table.

With noble women like Zhao Xiyao, Zheng Wan, and Wu Xu setting the example, the entire Great Qian did not seem so resistant to women working outside, which could be considered a liberation of labor.

Now, with the stable supply of money from Yingzhou and unable to launch large-scale offensives, Gao Yuan simply focused his mind on development.

Since entering the twenty-second year of Great Qian, he had begun to immerse himself in the Industrial Research Institute, studying how to boil water with Princess Consort Huang Yueying. With materials and blueprints brought from later generations, Gao Yuan wanted to enter the industrial age.

Even with the system's support, the net population growth of Great Qian in these two years only maintained a rate of about three percent, which fell far short of the development of industrial productivity.

Many products had already begun to show a tendency toward oversupply.

As for the countries surrounding Great Qian, except for the small countries in Southeast Asia that were still willing to trade with Great Qian, Northern Liang and Northern Yan in the north had basically severed all trade relations with Great Qian.

Now, doing business with the north, reselling goods like white sugar, refined salt, furs, and timber, had to be done with fear and trepidation; once caught, it was a crime punishable by beheading.

On this point, Lu Kuan and Gao Wu were surprisingly consistent and stubborn. Cai Jing and Qin Hui had also tried to advise them, but the result was naturally being scolded back.

For this reason, the two were very self-reproachful and sent letters of apology back through the Secret Guards. Gao Yuan also replied through the Secret Guards:

"If things cannot be done, there is no need to force them. Personal safety comes first."

Seeing Gao Yuan's reply, the two were moved to tears, secretly swearing in their hearts that they must repay the Prince of Tang well and completely throw Northern Yan and Northern Liang into chaos.

Lu Kuan did not want to have any trade relations with Gao Yuan and did not want to let Great Qian make money, but he could not stop those who were willing.

Even if suspected by his Imperial Father, and even if forced to live in a corner, a fierce tiger is still a fierce tiger and cannot be easily trapped by a wooden cage.

Lu Heng, who was stationed in Liaodong, quickly discovered the merchant ships that appeared secretly. He took his soldiers and detained one of the merchant ships.

The merchant was not a tough nut to crack. Threatened slightly by Lu Heng, he immediately spilled everything about his situation like beans coming out of a bamboo tube.

"This humble one is merely reselling some goods from the south to Liaodong, earning a little bit of errand money. I absolutely have no malicious intent, and I would never spy for intelligence. I beg Your Highness the Crown Prince to see clearly!"

"The south? Is it Southern Qian?"

"Yes, yes, yes, it is Great... Southern Qian."

Lu Heng frowned calmly and asked,

"Do they allow you to resell goods to the north like this over there?"

"It is allowed. As long as you do not resell controlled materials such as armor, ironware, grain, and people, you can go to sea after paying sufficient customs duties. If you encounter pirates on the way, they will even be responsible for clearing them out."

Lu Heng seemed to have grasped a key point.

"Customs duties?"

"Yes, it is to levy taxes on goods imported and exported by sea to Southern Qian."

"Is the rate high?"

"It is not high, just one out of twenty. There is also a need to pay some port berthing fees. Compared to the profits, it is not high at all."

Hearing this ratio, Lu Heng could hardly believe it.

"Just this little bit, how much can you collect?"

A merchant's basic skill was observing facial expressions. Seeing the change in Lu Heng's face, he leaned over to Lu Heng and whispered mysteriously,

"Once, I was drinking with a tax supervisor from the Maritime Trade Office. He got drunk and told me that the customs duties collected by Southern Qian last year alone exceeded ten million guan. I heard that forty percent of Southern Qian's tax revenue comes from customs duties."

In fact, these people were still small-minded. In the twenty-first year of Great Qian, the total customs revenue of Great Qian had already exceeded twenty million guan. For this reason, Gao Yuan was already considering abolishing the agricultural tax.

However, even if it was heavily discounted, this number made Lu Heng's heart skip a beat.

Ten million guan a year—even if it were only one or two million guan, he could establish a power that belonged entirely to himself in this place of Liaodong.

But he soon sobered up, turned around, and looked at the merchant again.

"Besides transporting goods from the south to Liaodong, do you also transport things back from Liaodong?"

The merchant naturally knew what Lu Heng wanted to ask, and quickly bowed and scraped, saying,

"Of course, of course. Otherwise, running an empty ship would be a pure loss. The ginseng, deer antler, pine nuts, and... in Liaodong..."

Lu Heng frowned calmly.

"And what else?"

"Hehe, I beg Your Highness the Crown Prince to forgive me. The most popular thing in the south is the Silla maidservant. The cheap status and slave status have been abolished there, and the trafficking of people is strictly prohibited, but this is limited to Han people; foreigners are not included. As the saying goes, things are valued for their rarity. Now, a gentle and pleasant Silla maidservant can sell for two or three hundred guan there, which is a profit of ten or twenty times over."

Speaking of this, the merchant thought of the Luzon maidservant he had just bought some time ago. This was a local specialty brought back by the merchant fleets going to the South Seas. A dark-skinned one cost him one hundred guan.

Now, if he could move this Crown Prince of Northern Yan, he might be able to obtain a stable channel to acquire those most popular Silla women.

Lu Heng was truly tempted. He knew how rampant these things were in Liaodong. Even those foreign women were worthless here; one could be bought for just a few guan, and those who looked decent only cost a dozen or so guan.

After thinking for a while, Lu Heng finally spoke.

"If I can open a port here to allow you to trade legally..."

The merchant knew exactly what Lu Heng wanted to say and quickly knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly.

"As long as Your Highness the Crown Prince is willing, we are willing to pay ten percent of the profits..."

Lu Heng nodded with satisfaction. Just as he was about to wave his hand to send this person away, he suddenly paused.

"What is your name?"

"This humble one is Qian Jinlai."

"Hahaha, your name is quite fitting for your profession."

With a way to make money, Lu Heng was obviously in a good mood. He laughed and asked,

"I wonder if you are interested in serving as that Maritime Trade Commissioner here for me? Rest assured, as long as you do a good job, I will definitely not be stingy with rewards, and I will exempt your merchant ships from taxes."

Qian Jinlai's original purpose was just to fight for a port for legal trade. He did not expect such an unexpected surprise, so he immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly with gratitude.

"This humble one, oh no, your subordinate Qian Jinlai pays respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"Hahaha, good, good. Then I will entrust this matter entirely to you."

As he spoke, he beckoned a confidant over, pointed at Qian Jinlai, and instructed,

"I will give you five hundred soldiers and horses. You assist Commissioner Qian in getting this matter done. As for the tax rate... let it be the same as in the south, one out of twenty."

Lu Heng naturally knew the principle of long-term development. He understood that if the tax was too high, the merchants would certainly not trade from his port. In the vast ocean, he did not have the money to build a navy, so where would he find them then?

After ordering this matter, Lu Heng left. It was not that he did not value the affairs of the Maritime Trade Office, but he had another important matter to discuss.

Human trafficking was simply a profitable business with huge returns, but his power was not enough, and he had to find an ally.