Chapter 1622: Chapter Seventy-Three: Good Business_2

“Yes indeed, my lord President, please reconsider!”

Wails were ubiquitous in the council chamber, but Gong Liang merely sneered, “All you lords are wealthy gentry with achievements from the dragon’s court, having abundant family properties. Yet, why don’t you think about the common people on the streets outside, with no work to start and no rice to cook? They are on the brink of starvation, and yet you speak of morality!”

“You immature youngster!”

“Shallow and despicable!”

The eminent scholars were utterly shamed and enraged, glaring fiercely at Gong Liang.

The young man was naturally frightened, but at this moment, he held his neck taut, refusing to budge an inch.

As the increasingly agitated parties seemed about to engage in physical combat in the council chamber, Tang Luo finally spoke out to stop it: “Enough, everyone sit down.”

In his calm tone devoid of any emotion, yet filled with an irresistible will, the scholars disheartenedly sat down like defeated roosters, some looking down and others still glaring at Gong Liang, but none dared to look towards Tang Luo.

Gong Liang, like a general assured of his victory, saluted with folded hands towards the President at the chief seat, proudly taking his seat again.

“The Flower Boat Casino, indeed a good idea to generate wealth. Do any of you have better ideas than selling your estates?”

Tang Luo, with his fingers interlaced and placed in front of him, surveyed the crowd and asked.

The scholars lowered their heads in silence; Tang Luo then turned to the proud Gong Liang, looking him in the eyes and asked, “Today I see you speaking fluently and clearly, seemly well-thought-out in advance; how long have you been planning this idea?”

“Replying to President!”

Gong Liang smiled and said, “This idea indeed has lingered in my mind for quite some time, all for revitalizing the Lord’s domain, without any selfish intentions.”

With a noncommittal nod, Tang Luo asked further, “Then how have you considered organizing manpower for this?”

“These aspects have naturally been thought through by me; with Elder from the Du Family supervising the planning, and a little support from all of you respected lords, there will be no issue with the manpower!”

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Gong Liang seriously replied, though a slight tremble in his voice betrayed his thoughts.

“I thought so, such a good idea wouldn’t just wait to be discussed only in the presence of The Academy.”

Tang Luo smiled and asked: “What did your wife say when she rejected it?”

“My wife said…”

Unintentionally His response had just begun when Gong Liang suddenly shivered, feeling a chill running from his spine to the top of his head.

After a brief silence, his teeth chattered and his legs softened, slumping onto the table.

The scholars, who had just been like defeated roosters, suddenly brimmed with energy upon hearing this, leaping up and verbally attacking Gong Liang.

“What a despicable youngster, bringing up an idea rejected by your wife, what kind of intentions do you have!?”

“Lowly creature, if the President had approved it momentarily, wouldn’t it create a rift when the lord’s merchant group returns? As a follower, yet inciting discord within the Master’s household, you deserve death!”

“Considering his eloquence and closely-knit reasoning, how could such a young lad possess such intelligence. I shall write a letter myself to inquire Gong Zheng, is it him instructing behind the scenes?”

The situation turned in an instant, and just when Gong Liang felt he held the winning ticket, he felt like falling into an icy pit, particularly as he heard the scholars vehemently linking this matter with Gong Zheng, his whole body turned cold.

I must not implicate my foster father!

With courage from nowhere, Gong Liang knelt up and loudly said, “This idea was entirely conceived by me alone, solely to revitalize Unparalleled City. If there’s even a hint of causing discord between the President and his wife in my heart, Gong Liang is willing to suffer the punishment of skinning and spinal dislocation, needle insertion, and eye gouging!”

“Humph, if not for Gong Zheng’s instructions, how would you dare to speak so boldly in the council?”

Elder Nian coldly snorted, condemning in his mind.

“Father placed Gong Liang in Unparalleled City, hoping only for me to loyally serve the Lord. I would never dare harbor any disloyal thoughts, if the President does not believe me, Gong Liang is willing to prove it with my death!”

Kneeling on the ground, Gong Liang felt darkness before his eyes, crying out in defense.

But apart from contemptuous laughter, he heard no response, and even the President, who had somewhat appreciated him earlier, remained silent.

Thinking about how the literati would definitely blow this matter up and implicate his adoptive father Gong Zheng, the young man grew more and more afraid. Clenching his teeth and steeling his heart, he thought of atoning with his death and was about to stab his own eyes with his fingers.

But as he mustered halfway, his wrist was inexplicably immobilized, and a strong force dissipated his body’s strength.

The young man was forcefully lifted by the overpowering force, and he saw the Dean across from him with an expression that was both serious and slightly amused.

“I asked you to speak, not to atone with death.”

Tang Luo said indifferently, “I said that the flower boats and gambling houses are good ideas, but why did the lady reject them?”

“The.. the.. the lady only said that the business is not good… and nothing else,” he stammered.

“The lady is right, this business is indeed not good enough.”

Tang Luo smiled and said, “Seeing everyone’s expressions, it seems you don’t believe me. Let the Academy explain then, why these two businesses Gong Liang mentioned are still not good enough.”

“Indeed, according to Gong Liang’s design of the flower boats and gambling houses, it could indeed revitalize Unparalleled City’s docks and taverns, but at most, that’s all.”

“Not to mention thousands of flower boats; even ten thousand boats wouldn’t attract enough distinguished guests– it’s merely earning the hard-earned money of merchants and sailors.”

“Wealth and money are different. The money that can be earned from flower boats and gambling dens is merely the currency that circulates among the lower classes, and currency that cannot be converted into resources is just a pile of scrap iron.”

“Xiehe holds ninety percent of the wealth, concentrated in the hands of noble families and sacred sects; even if all the gold and silver of the lower Lingjiang were gathered in Unparalleled City, it would still be poor.”

“Unparalleled City needs grain, and Longxi’s good fields are all under Chaochang; if Chaochang refuses to sell grain, what should Unparalleled City do?”

“In winter, there is a need for more cotton and less coal; the coal mines are far in Chengzhou, and the cotton fields are all in Yancang; if the Nong Clan raises their prices, what should Unparalleled City do?”

“What Unparalleled City lacks are resources, and these resources are precisely controlled by noble families and aristocrats. By focusing on earning money from the lower class, shuffling back and forth, it still won’t make Unparalleled City prosperous. The more it earns, the more it depends on the resource supply of these noble families, and thus it gets exploited even more deeply.”

“Therefore, what Unparalleled City needs is a business that makes the upper and middle class noble families hand over their resources, not a business that gathers the money of the lower class into its own hands.”

After finishing his speech, everyone in the council hall seemed devastated, with Gong Liang listening in stunned silence.

In their eyes, the flower boats and gambling houses were already the best businesses they could think of at the moment, yet these businesses were deemed worthless by the Dean in just a few sentences.

And upon reflection, they truly felt the truth in those words.

Does Unparalleled City lack money? Actually, it does not; whether it’s real gold and silver or rare minerals, the storerooms are piled like mountains.

But after being dominated by the Ho and Nong families in Lingjiang, why is life in Unparalleled City so difficult? It’s because the others have cut off their procurement channels.

Bypassing local purchases, not to mention the time-consuming and difficult process, just the cost of procurement alone would increase tremendously.

The decrease in merchant ships is also largely due to the policies of the two major clans causing a chain reaction.

Though the principle is easy to explain, how to solve it still baffles everyone.

So, after listening to Tang Luo’s explanation, everyone still looked eagerly at him, mouths closed and silent.

“Now let’s hear the solution the Academy has come up with.”

Tang Luo smiled, saying: “Effective immediately, contact Wind Media Department everywhere to spread the business operations of Unparalleled Academy.”

“First, undertake various types of soul-casting tasks, including True Mirroring, Mirroring Spirits, Visualizing. As long as the customer’s Spiritual Power foundation is solid, guarantee the soul-cast, or return the materials if ineffective.”

“Second, undertake tasks for improvement of various types of arts, whether body art, Spirit Art, curse spells, divine abilities. Promise an upgrade of three levels for Fan Rank, two levels for Yellow Rank, and one level for Xuan Rank, with a tenfold compensation for failure.”

“Third, undertake design projects for various martial arts styles, with one-to-one guidance by Titled-class Experts, clarifying the martial arts style, setting development direction, emphasizing strengths and avoiding weaknesses. Complete courses can double combat power, strictly executing unmatched status within the same level.”

“Targeted training for warriors during their bottleneck period, removing inner demons, extracting Evil Qi, treating hidden injuries and ailments, restoring peak conditions!”

Stopping there, Tang Luo lowered his head in thought for a moment, then raised his head to the people: “First, arrange these three main projects. I believe that once the news is released, many noble families will come to probe. Have all the taverns and teahouses in the city opened up, and raise the prices by three, no, fivefold. Since they are all coming to gather information, we might as well earn as much as we can.”