hsntnovel Chapter 2692 Li Chengqian's Eyes Opened
Chapter 2692 Li Chengqian's Eyes Opened
Li Shen is not a financial expert, but he knows what a monopoly is; he used to live in a world of monopolies.
If all the gold is in his hands, then he is the biggest capitalist, and the value of the gold is entirely up to him.
But that won't happen. He estimates that, as he predicted, most people will remain on the sidelines and wait and see.
Even in the middle of the term, some people will join him in buying gold, waiting for the price of gold to rise before selling it.
Human nature is inherently greedy; how many people can resist temptation?
"Tenth Brother, your method is indeed good, but if they know that you are the one pulling the strings behind the scenes, I'm afraid those aristocratic families and nobles will not fall for it."
Even if your gold price is high, it won't matter if no one buys it, and they won't want your gold to pay off their debts.
"What should we do?" Li Chengqian considered another possibility and realized that it was Li Shen who was doing this, and it was very likely that no one else would follow suit.
Li Shen smiled after hearing this:
"Don't worry, there are always excuses. For example, we are currently building the Great Ci'en Temple. I can claim that we will use gold to sculpt the Buddha's body."
Or, to put it another way, I want to build a palace made of pure gold, which requires a large amount of gold.
Whether they believe it or not, as long as someone makes money, others will be unable to resist joining in.
As long as someone enters the market, we will have an opportunity. At that time, as long as we keep gold prices high for a period of time, we can sell the gold to pay off our debts.
After a while, we can let the price of gold drop and then buy it back at ten strings of cash, right?
In this way, we've paid off our debts and haven't lost any gold. Isn't that wonderful?
After Li Shen finished speaking, he slowly sipped his tea. He didn't know how many people had used this method in his previous life, only the mediums used were different.
Even foreign countries have done this.
In the gold-standard financial system of later generations, this kind of operation was no secret at all.
Li Chengqian was completely dumbfounded. Could it really be done like this? This was the first time he had ever heard of merchants using such methods.
This is similar to military strategy: to win a victory from a thousand miles away without losing a single soldier.
The Tang Dynasty had a strong and well-equipped army, and produced many talented individuals. It was common for them to win with fewer troops, and there were even instances where they subdued the enemy without a fight.
For example, during the Tuyuhun civil war, the prime minister rebelled and led a large army to kidnap Princess Honghua. When Xi Junmai learned of this, he only led 120 men to attack the enemy army, severely damaging the enemy and killing the prime minister's three brothers.
These are all things that have happened, just like in myths and legends.
However, Li Shen's actions opened Li Chengqian's eyes.
"Tenth brother, you are indeed full of cunning schemes," Li Chengqian exclaimed.
"What did you say?" Li Shen's eyes widened.
Li Chengqian quickly spoke up:
"Oh, you are resourceful, haha, tenth brother, you have truly broadened my horizons today."
However, I have a question that I would like to ask my tenth brother.
"Hmm, tell me about it." Li Shen sat up straight like an old scholar, but unfortunately he couldn't cross his legs and he was missing a pair of sunglasses.
"Tenth Brother, your plan is good, but what if someone imitates it in the future to make money?"
Wouldn't the people be thrown into chaos then? Li Chengqian's considerations were naturally more comprehensive than Li Shen's, and he had thought of other consequences.
"Haha, don't worry, brother. This may sound simple, but it's not something an ordinary person can do."
Firstly, this person must have substantial wealth to afford such gold.
Secondly, he needs a powerful force to create momentum; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to succeed if he remained unknown.
Thirdly, this person must have a lot of gold, otherwise how would he make money?
And the person with the most gold in the world is right in front of us.
Li Shen glanced at his father; the imperial treasury's 30 million taels of gold were in his father's hands.
Although his father had exchanged gold for money, others were also buying gold, and many tributes were also made of gold, so overall the amount was not less at all.
Li Chengqian followed Li Shen's gaze to his father, who was leaning there looking completely at ease.
However, after sensing Li Chengqian's gaze, Li Shimin spoke:
"Why are you looking at me like that? If we're talking about who has the most gold, this man in front of you has plenty too. Haven't you noticed that he's been buying gold all these years?"
"Uh..." Li Chengqian was speechless. The two richest people in the Tang Dynasty were pretending to be poor in front of the poorest prince in the world. Do you think this is appropriate?
Now he understood why Li Shen dared to do this; it turned out that the two people in front of him were the people with the most gold in the world.
"Brother, that's why I said you don't need to worry about this at all. No one would dare to do that. If someone were to buy it at a high price, Father would only need to throw down a tiny fraction of his gold."
That could bankrupt the person who acquired the company.
It could even drive the price of gold back to where it was six strings of cash per tael.
Seeing Li Chengqian's bewildered expression, Li Shen smiled and said...
"Alas, my tenth brother is so wise and resourceful; I am far inferior to him," Li Chengqian sighed with emotion.
“Brilliant! Only he can use this method. You don’t need to belittle yourself. Just remember this and make things better.”
If you ever encounter this situation, you'll know how to deal with it.
This matter may seem like a contest between merchants, but if it is exploited by villains, it will surely cause chaos among the people.
This method is not limited to gold; it also includes many other materials, such as linen and silk, wasn't that the case?
Li Shimin promptly instructed Li Chengqian, fearing he might be discouraged. He taught him in an entertaining way, letting him learn the principles through stories, but urging him not to become despondent.
Li Shen quickly added:
"Yes, brother. Everyone has their own expertise. I only know a little about business, which is a minor skill. Your way of governing the country is the true path."
"Father, rest assured, I am only surprised by my tenth brother's scheme. It is truly a blessing for the Li family to have a tenth brother."
Li Chengqian smiled.
"Oh dear, brother, please don't say that. This is all thanks to Father's careful guidance over the years."
Li Shen immediately offered his flattery, and Li Shimin beamed with delight upon hearing it; even an emperor enjoys hearing pleasant words.
Li Shen was often able to provide him with emotional support.
Li Shimin adopted a fatherly demeanor and instructed:
"Tenth Brother, while your method is not bad, it's a bit too insidious. Have you considered that among those who buy your bonds are ordinary businessmen?"
Your gold-backed debt-reduction plan also includes many ordinary businessmen.
Moreover, there should be quite a few merchants, given your high reputation and influence among them.
It's likely that merchants were the first to buy bonds, while aristocratic families and nobles would observe for a while later.
Is this how you treat the businessmen who trust you?
Although they made a lot of money, it was clean money earned through their own efforts and cannot be categorized as belonging to aristocratic families.
Don't do anything that harms ordinary people, understand?