Chapter 120 - Promises won't fit reality

The arrival of a gathering from Taizhou suddenly turned Feng Long's ordinary morning into a nightmare. Complaints about lack of funding hit Feng Long in his heart, he promised no one would be left outside of his umbrella, but he failed in doing so due to the empire simply running out of money. Zhong Kunyi was hesitant about telling Feng Long about such a problem, but it escalated quickly and he lost control over the finances. 

The outcome was dramatic, but Yu Lexuan remedied the whole thing, and Feng Long regained his confidence. Zhong Kunyi has a plan, and Yu Lexuan is betting on it. Yu Lexuan fully trusts Zhong Kunyi and thinks that he may have a well-thought-out plan.  

They gather again in the same room. Feng Long and Zhong Kunyi sit facing each other, and Yu Lexuan is between them. He smiles:

-So, Zhong Kunyi has a plan. I'm curious about it, could you explain it?

-Well, please, let me clarify what happened. As I told you before, we ran out of resources. We could have asked for more taels, but the result of that is that our taels will, on average, be less valuable than our neighbour's. It is a bit complicated to explain, but it happens every time we try. Instead, we should improve our revenue, and the most likely source of income for us now is the raw materials we are shipping to Anhui. 

-We are already charging for them to be mined, isn't it enough? - Feng Long frowns.

-No, it is not enough. The cost of keeping all the miners and related activities is five times higher than the revenue from selling the raw materials. We must increase prices or ask Xia Chunyu to also help us in keeping the miners here.

-But... But I promised Xia Chunyu I'd never charge him a single tael! - Feng Long looks at Yu Lexuan.

-Well... As I told you before, keeping our promises is only an option until it fits reality.

-Yu Lexuan... 

-There's no need to charge a huge amount of money from Xia Chunyu, the one who needs more raw material is Bai Chongye so he's going to pay the most. I think Yu Xuan's vision of not charging anything works for him, a lone guy in a small village that makes the medicines himself for a very small number of people. But we are dealing with millions of people, all at once, and tons of raw material, hundreds of men to get it mined and shipped to large factories. It all has a cost, people must be fed, people must be paid to transport all these raw materials over large distances, and so on...

-Feng Long, I may help you write letters to all emperors willing to use our medicines. I think  Xia Chunyu will understand our situation and pay us without any problem. I understand that Jiangsu has limited resources, and keeping 400 men in the mines is going to be very taxing on him, but this is a responsibility everyone should bear. If he refuses to pay, we will not go utterly bankrupt overnight. Bai Chongye is likely to pay for it, and Meng Zhang and Ding Qi are as well. So, please, accept Zhong Kunyi's suggestion.

Feng Long keeps silent. His eyes water, he thinks all the arguments from Zhong Kunyi are perfectly reasonable and within the rules, but, at the same time, breaking a promise he made to other emperors, especially Xia Chunyu, would be too much of a hassle for him.

Zhong Kunyi and Yu Lexuan wait until Feng Long says something. They keep looking at him at all times, and he eventually gives up:

-I agree with you... Even though I want some special treatment for Xia Chunyu. 

Zhong Kunyi smiles, as well as Yu Lexuan:

-This is what I mean about you being capable of ruling this empire, Feng Long. Taking this decision definitely shook your heart, and there lies the strength of the real leader. - Yu Lexuan smiles, taking one of Feng Long's hands.

-Things work differently when dealing with such affairs... I need to detach my heart from such decision-making processes and flows... 

-Your heart is one of your strengths, Feng Long, don't think otherwise... But we must take a more pedestrian approach to some issues. Money is particularly vulnerable out of the bounds of logic and mathematics. - Zhong Kunyi smiles.

Feng Long gets up. His eyes are still a bit watery:

-Well, so how much should we ask for any individual empire?

-It will depend on how many doses they want to buy. We know how much of each material is used per dose, and from them, we can calculate the price. I think it would be better if Zhang Yi could also take part in this, he knows how rare some of these raw materials are, and how hard is it to mine each. 

-I'll look for him, just give me a minute.

Yu Lexuan leaves the room, walking towards Zhang Yi's lab. Meanwhile, Feng Long and Zhong Kunyi exchange a brief hug:

-Zhong Kunyi... I apologise for being rude to you... 

-No need for apology, Feng Long... I was so afraid of letting you down, it was my failure not to tell you about what was going wrong with the empire.

-Just assure me that this plan will work... I have some people waiting outside for an explanation. 

-It will definitely work, if everyone pays what they should, our finances will be brought back to normal. Just trust me.

Feng Long smiles. Yu Lexuan and Zhang Yi arrive next, and they sit facing each other. Zhang Yi starts the chat:

-May I ask you what is going on?

-Zhang Yi, we will ask for some money for our new medicines, how much do you think a single dose is worth?

-Charge for it? I thought it would be sent at no cost.

-Well, our finances are not very good at the moment... Some people are sitting in front of the palace asking for money. I have to increase our revenue, and keeping the miners working is a major expense of the empire now. - Feng Long looks at Zhang Yi.

-It depends... The whole amount of raw material required per unit is tiny, a fraction of a tael. That's why I thought it would come at no cost.

-Yes, as I explained to Feng Long, such a scenario would only work for people like Yu Xuan. Now we are dealing with millions of doses. 

-Maybe charging for half a tael, or maybe one full tael per unit would be sensible given the benefits. 

-One tael seems to be a sensible price for me. Of course, Anhui will owe us millions of taels. Or a chariot filled with sycees. 

Feng Long smiles:

-It seems that we all agree that one tael seems to be a fair price, right?

-I disagree! - Yu Lexuan raises his hands.

-Why? -Feng Long looks at him.

-The medicines made by you are worth ten times as much, hahaha! 

Yu Lexuan laughs, and Feng Long blushes lightly. Zhong Kunyi gets up:

-Perfect. Now we only need to send letters asking the emperors for a certain amount of money, proportional to how many doses they will need. I can do the math and also try to convince them to pay us.

-You may do it, Zhong Kunyi... Just be sensible. - Feng Long smiles.

-No problem. I'll get it done.

Zhong Kunyi leaves the room, as well as Yu Lexuan and Zhang Yi. Feng Long resumes his activities, walking back to the palace's front.

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