I have heard that Hou Junji and Zatlk are colluding, but there has been no evidence. If I can use this opportunity to bring down Hou Junji, it will be a good thing for Li Xiang.
"Then hurry up and tell me. You still have a life left after you finish. While I'm interested now, tell me everything you know. If I lose interest later, even if you say the last word, you'll still die today."
As Li Xiang spoke, he wiped the dagger across Zatlk's face. Although it did not cause any substantial damage, when the icy and piercing feeling came over him, Zatlk was extremely frightened.
Although this guy was born into a nation of warriors, as a prince, he has lived a life of luxury since childhood. The more such a person is, the more afraid of death he is. Although he appeared very strong before, it was because he had not faced death. Now, when facing death, this kind of person is the first to betray.
"I own many farms and shops throughout the Tang Dynasty, all of which I bought to collect rent. All my property deeds are in the farms outside the city. Ever since I came to Chang'an ten years ago, I have been constantly extorting money from these merchants. If they don't give me benefits, I will send people to scare them..."
This guy began to explain tremblingly. It turned out that the money here was only a small part. In the past ten years, in order to accumulate enough wealth, he had done everything he could. Among the merchants he extorted, some were merchants from Tuyuhun, some were merchants from the Tang Dynasty going to Tuyuhun, and some were Tubo merchants...
This guy instructed Li Xiang while asking his men to collect the money. I really didn't realize that this guy was actually a wealthy man.
Li Xiang originally thought that he was also a landlord, owning 40,000 to 50,000 acres of land, but this kid was more powerful than him. He found many people to help him put their names on the land. According to the regulations of the Tang Dynasty, Hu people were not allowed to buy land in the Tang Dynasty, so he began to find ordinary people of the Tang Dynasty to put their names on the land. This kid bought tens of thousands of acres of land around Chang'an City alone. If you count the hundreds of thousands of acres of land in the entire Tang Dynasty, he is definitely a big landlord.
In addition, he also bought many shops to collect rent, which can be said to be the most reliable way to make money in this era. As long as this guy has money, he invests it all in land and shops.
It took this guy more than ten minutes to clearly explain his assets. Li Xiang, who was standing beside him, was also sighing. Ten years ago, this guy was still a child, and he had already started thinking about making money at that time. He was really thoughtful, but now all of it is his.
"Your Highness, I have made a rough estimate. All the assets added up to at least 1.5 million strings of cash."
According to what this guy said, Qian Ping started to calculate. He was really capable. He had accumulated this money in ten years, which was about right.
"Please spare my life. I have a worthless life. I've given you everything I have. If it's not enough, I can write back and ask for money."
This guy is like a dog at this moment, and he has completely lost his previous ability. Li Xiang understands this change. As long as he lets go of that mentality, it will not be easy to pick it up again.
"Tell me about you and Hou Junji."
The blackmail came to an end for the time being. Li Xiang knew that this kid definitely didn't confess everything, but Li Xiang was now more curious about Hou Junji.
Because Crown Princess Li Xiang has absolutely no way to reconcile with Hou Junji, and the emperor also wants to deal with Hou Junji, but he has never had the opportunity. Now, if he can get some information from him, it would be a disguised form of help.
"Back then, Hou Junji was stationed at the southwestern border and had all sorts of trade with us. As long as we paid enough, he would sell us anything, including salt and iron..."
After hearing this, Li Xiang was very angry. According to the rules of the Tang Dynasty, salt and iron were important things and must not be leaked outside, especially to the surrounding nomadic peoples.
Tuyuhun's smelting technology was relatively backward, and salt and iron were scarce in the territory. The Tang Dynasty court only gave them a certain share every year to control the amount they owned. This was also a means for the Tang Dynasty to maintain peace on the border. If Hou Junji sold to them privately and allowed them to have sufficient reserves, then they would dare to say no to the Tang Dynasty, which would be a capital crime.
"After returning to the capital, Hou Junji still had his minions within the army. I spent 150,000 strings of cash to buy a garrison map of the southwestern border..."
After hearing this, Li Xiang kicked this guy in anger. Hou Junji was really too much. If he was greedy for money when buying and selling things before, now he directly told others about the military deployment of the southwest border. Fortunately, Tuyuhun was not strong. If Tuyuhun was strong enough, our southwest border might be breached at any time.
It was sold for 150,000 strings of cash...
Hou Junji is really capable...
Of course, Li Xiang looked down upon this money, but for Hou Junji, it might be a huge sum of money. In fact, it was a huge sum of money for all the major families.
"General Hou has to have a hand in all our goods shipped to the Tang Dynasty. He takes a cut every time. This is also General Hou's requirement. If you don't agree, then you won't be able to get the defense map..."
Li Xiang knew that things were not that simple. In addition to the one-time payment, Hou Junji also wanted a commission from the future, which was a major source of income. The annual transaction between the two countries was at least in the millions, so even if it was a small part of the commission, the amount of money would still be a lot.
"Your Highness, the Marquis's Mansion's annual expenses are not that high. This money..."
Qian Ping interjected. As the chief eunuch of the Eastern Palace, he had frequent dealings with Hou Junji's family in the past, so he naturally knew some of the expenses of Hou Junji's family. If this matter were reported, it might implicate the prince. After all, Hou Junji had helped the prince to rebel in the past, so this money would be involved, right?
Thinking of his cheap father Li Xiang, he didn't dare to guarantee it. After all, in history, when Li Chengqian rebelled, Hou Junji was the main figure. If such a thing really happened, he might be implicated.
Thinking of this, Li Xiang ordered someone to take Zat'erk away. As for the remaining dilapidated building, they could just burn it down. The officials would be arriving soon, so he would go back and ask his father first...