Chapter 40 The young emperor of Northern Qi mortgaged the palace, and Emperor Qing was stunned!

The eldest princess is very courageous.

Emperor Qing is very clear about this.

Li Chengde's actions in Shangjing City of Northern Qi directly determined how much territory Qing Kingdom could seize.

Therefore, he must ensure that nothing goes wrong!
For this action, Emperor Qing did not even let the inner treasury intervene, but instead asked Fan Jian and the Ministry of Works to work together to meet Li Chengde's requirements as quickly as possible.

In fact, before Li Chengde arrived in Shangjing City, a batch of fake silver was already on the way.

So those who went to the capital seemed to be able to earn a lot of interest by depositing money in the banks, but what they took away was actually counterfeit money minted by the Qing court!

This kind of thing would destroy the currency market of Northern Qi, so Li Chengde would avoid exposure before leaving Shangjing City.

Most of the time, he would pay the interest in silver bills rather than real money.

Although silver notes can be exchanged for equivalent silver in money shops, they are essentially just a piece of paper.

After Li Chengde fled from Northern Qi, all these banknotes will become waste paper and other money houses will not recognize them!

Especially at that time, Li Chengde would detonate the currency market of Northern Qi and let everyone know that the money in their hands was actually worthless counterfeit currency!

One can imagine how chaotic the Northern Qi Dynasty was.

For this reason, Li Yunrui must not participate!
Don’t let the inner treasury earn a lot of fake silver from Northern Qi, which would then just go around and return to Qing State.
Emperor Qing must not allow such a situation!

Fortunately, there are secret agents planted by the Supervisory Council in the inner treasury. Even if Li Yunrui’s desire to make money cannot be completely eliminated, the losses can be minimized as much as possible!
As for giving Li Chengde a heads-up and asking him to look after the merchants in the inner treasury in Northern Qi...

This is totally unnecessary!
As soon as Li Chengde's money shop started exchanging silver and copper coins, it must have been counterfeit money.

In principle, you can get back as much as you can!
But if we put out real money just to take care of Li Yunrui's business, it would not be cost-effective at all!

In order to achieve the next great victory, Neiku has to suffer some losses. Li Yunrui has been rebellious for more than a day or two.

Just keep an eye on it and don't let anything go wrong.

"Have you had any news about Li Chengde in the past few days?" Emperor Qing called Chen Pingping over again.

He was very concerned about the developments in the Northern Qi capital, Shangjing.

In a sense, Li Chengde is now fighting on the front line.

He must personally grasp the battle situation on the front line.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty. According to the news from the secret agents in Shangjing City, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei has signed an agreement with the Emperor of Northern Qi to mortgage the imperial palace to the God of Wealth Bank!"

Chen Pingping had a very bright smile on her face.

The moment he heard the news, Emperor Qing was stunned. He felt it was not real.

When Li Chengde told him that he could take the Northern Qi Palace from the young emperor of Northern Qi, Emperor Qing thought it was just a little joke from Li Chengde.

But now, Li Chengde actually did it!

This is simply unbelievable!

Emperor Qing's eyes flashed with joy, and he couldn't suppress the smile on his lips. He asked, "I'm very curious, how did Li Chengde do it?"

Chen Pingping did not hesitate and reported with a smile.

"Your Majesty, do you still remember the deal between His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei and the Northern Qi court? They planned to expand the Shangjing City so that the Northern Qi court could get more money."

Emperor Qing's eyes were slightly dissatisfied, "Too long-winded, get to the point."

Chen Pingping sorted out the information. "The Northern Qi emperor asked the court to sell land and also to build some workshops, but soon found that the money was not enough."

"The money from selling the land is far from enough to build infrastructure, so the court can only borrow money from others."

"But ordinary banks can't afford so much money, so we had to find His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei."

"And His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei certainly would not let himself suffer any loss, and he immediately proposed that the Emperor of Northern Qi mortgage the palace."

"Originally, the Northern Qi Emperor was unwilling to do so. However, after His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei helped him analyze the pros and cons, the Northern Qi Emperor really mortgaged the palace to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei."

“Hahaha!” Emperor Qing laughed immediately after hearing this. “The little emperor of Northern Qi has been tricked.”

Without Li Chengde's instigation, it would be difficult for the Northern Qi court to personally participate in the construction of the workshop. Even if it did so, it would probably take a long time.

Under the instigation of Li Chengde, the young emperor of Northern Qi was blinded by money and chose his fate directly.

The ending is also very obvious. The young emperor of Northern Qi can only borrow money by mortgage to make ends meet.

Of course, the young emperor of Northern Qi could also transfer money from the Ministry of Revenue and the Internal Treasury, but it would probably not be enough.

Otherwise, the current situation would not have happened.

Emperor Qing was increasingly thankful that Li Chengde was his son, otherwise, he didn’t know to what extent Qing Kingdom would have been deceived!
"The Queen Mother of Northern Qi just sat there and watched the little emperor mortgage the palace?" Emperor Qing suddenly thought of another question.

Chen Pingping explained, "According to the informant, the Queen Mother of Northern Qi was furious and called the Emperor of Northern Qi over to reprimand him. Now the situation is very tense."

"Not only did the Northern Qi emperor mortgage the palace, but he also sold it at a very low price. No wonder the Northern Qi queen mother was so angry."

Emperor Qing looked thoughtful, "It seems that the treasury of Northern Qi is not very full?"

Chen Pingping smiled when he mentioned this. "After all, they have been defeated in battles for many years, and have ceded a lot of land to our Qing Kingdom, and have also paid a large amount of silver as compensation."

“It is normal for the treasury to be tight.”

Emperor Qing had no doubt about this.

The success of Li Chengde's strategy actually had a lot to do with the tight treasury of Northern Qi.

If the other party is not short of money, they will not expand Shangjing City for short-term benefits.

After all, it’s all about money!

Fortunately, the three major workshops of the Qing domestic treasury possessed a large number of advanced technologies and were able to make money continuously, which allowed institutions such as the Supervisory Office and the East Factory to operate effectively.

Otherwise, let alone launching a war against Northern Qi, it is hard to say whether the court has enough money to cover normal expenses!
Of course, in the past these fortunes were created by the inner treasury, but now the situation is completely different.

"Has the workshop in the imperial farm outside the city built a steam engine?" Emperor Qing was very concerned about this issue.

According to Li Chengde, the uses of steam engines are not just as simple as textile production.

It can even replace horse-drawn carriages and greatly increase the carrying capacity and speed of existing cargo ships!

Emperor Qing knew very well what this meant.

Although he was confident that he could annex Northern Qi, Western Hu, Eastern Yi, Northern Man, and Southern Yue... this did not mean that he would be able to completely conquer these places soon.

Even if there were troops stationed locally, it would often take a long time for the court to deliver supplies, so in most cases they were supported by the locals.

But if the steam locomotive envisioned by Li Chengde appeared, the situation would be completely different!

Li Chengde once mentioned a theory to him, "Forty-five days is the limit of the empire."

As long as the existing means of transportation cannot reach a certain area within forty-five days, the empire's control over this area is almost zero!
Think about it, it's true.

If a rebellion breaks out in a place that cannot be reached within forty-five days, Kyoto will not be able to react in time.

With the steam locomotive, the territory of Qing Kingdom could easily become very small.

According to Li Chengde, it would take only three days to reach Shangjing City of Northern Qi from Kyoto!

Even Emperor Qing couldn't imagine this speed!

But he had no doubt that what Li Chengde created could do this.

"The first steam engine has been built, but we don't know whether it meets the requirements of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei. Fan Sizhe is still asking people to verify it." Chen Pingping replied with a smile.

Emperor Qing's eyes were a little excited. "Okay, okay, tell Fan Sizhe not to worry. Do everything according to Li Chengde's requirements. Don't break this thing."

Chen Pingping nodded, "Fan Jian's son is still very reliable."

Emperor Qing did not comment on this, but asked another person, "What has Li Yunrui done recently?"

Chen Pingping immediately reported, "It is said that she went to the Second Prince's residence today."

"Oh?" Emperor Qing narrowed his eyes slightly, revealing a hint of danger, "Li Yunrui and the second brother... don't let me down!"

(End of this chapter)