Chapter 83: Entirely Voluntary

Chapter 83: Entirely Voluntary

As soon as Xiao Ce said this.

The entire hall erupted in an uproar, everyone looked at each other!

“Prince, what are War Bonds?” Kan Zongye asked what everyone was wondering.

Xiao Ce looked at the crowd and said, “War Bonds, as the name suggests, are bonds issued for war. Because war requires a huge amount of Silver for support.”

“I roughly had someone estimate that fighting against the people of the Turkic Kingdom would cost about sixty million taels of Silver! I will take thirty million taels of that Silver and issue it in the form of bonds, giving you all a benefit. Each bond is three hundred taels of Silver, with a total of one hundred thousand shares available for everyone to subscribe to!”

“Simply put, if you spend three hundred taels of Silver to buy one War Bond, after This Prince conquers the Turkic, the money, food, horses, soldiers, and all other things obtained will be converted into Silver.”

“Let me give an example. After the conquest, if a total of one hundred million taels of Silver is confiscated from the Turkic Kingdom, half belongs to This Prince. The other fifty million taels of Silver is to be distributed among everyone. If you bought one bond, you could redeem it for five hundred taels of Silver, meaning a net profit of two hundred taels. The more you buy, the more you earn.”

“Moreover, you know better than This Prince how much these people from the Turkic Kingdom have plundered from you. One hundred million taels of Silver is a low estimate by This Prince! What if two hundred million is confiscated? This Prince promises you that except for their land, everything else will be converted into Silver and distributed among everyone!”

“This Prince knows that if I just gave it to you for free, you wouldn’t dare to take it! This Prince is not running a charity either! So, this method is the most reliable! The more you buy, the more you will earn later!”

As soon as Xiao Ce said this, the shrewd people present immediately understood.

Put nicely, he was asking them for money.

Seeing everyone hesitate and mumble.

Xiao Ce said, “If you have any questions, feel free to ask This Prince.”

These prominent families and Noble Clans all looked at each other.

No one dared to step forward.

After all, Xiao Ce was a smiling tiger; he might smile on his face, but no one could be sure which word might upset him and lead to being beheaded.

However, the merchants were very interested.

“Prince, I have a question. How long will this War Bond last?”

Xiao Ce said, “Generally speaking, it lasts until This Prince conquers the entire Turkic Kingdom!”

“Prince, there’s something… please forgive this offense first…”

Xiao Ce waved his hand and said, “Ask whatever you want. This Prince forgives you.”

“Prince, if it takes you eight or ten years to conquer the Turkic, does that mean we can’t get any dividends for eight or ten years?”

After this merchant asked, Zhang Yunqing nearby immediately shouted, “How dare you!”

That merchant was so scared he knelt on the ground.

Xiao Ce smiled, looking unconcerned: “Get up. You asked a very good question. Leaving aside that this situation won’t happen—This Prince estimates it will take at most a year to conquer the Turkic. But even if, worst-case scenario, This Prince really fails to conquer them, you can still redeem your War Bonds after a one-year freezing period!”

“And when redeeming, I will return your principal plus interest based on the bank’s interest rate!”

“You probably also want to ask: what if, by that time, This Prince is defeated, or This Prince dies, and there’s no one to make the payment? Right?” Xiao Ce asked the merchant.

The merchant turned pale with fright and knelt on the ground with a thud: “This commoner… this commoner wouldn’t dare…”

Xiao Ce said with a smile, “This is everyone’s question too. After all, thirty million taels of Silver is no small amount. It’s equivalent to three years of financial revenue for the entire Xiao Kingdom…”

“This Prince can only promise and assure you, it won’t happen! But empty words, you surely won’t believe! This involves the risk of investment! And your trust in This Prince!”

Saying this, Xiao Ce said to Qian Lai, “Qian Lai, keep good records! The subscription starts now. This Prince also wants to see if your trust in This Prince is just lip service or real trust.”

With that, Xiao Ce waved his hand grandly, and another squad of armored soldiers came to block the entrance of Yanzheng Hall.

“Don’t be nervous. This subscription is based entirely on the principles of equality, voluntariness, and fairness. If you don’t trust This Prince, you don’t have to bid at all!”

Although Xiao Ce said this with a smile! However, after he finished speaking, the soldiers beside him all picked up their weapons one by one.

The threat was clear.

Actually, Xiao Ce wasn’t short of money, because he had confiscated nearly twenty million taels of Silver from Bao An. Next, after confiscating the Cai Family’s property, there would be at least another twenty million taels of Silver.

He issued these War Bonds because he wanted them all to contribute money and then get on his boat.

He calculated that spreading thirty million among them, with each contributing a portion, would make them feel the pinch but wouldn’t harm their foundations. It was just enough, not enough to make them desperate.

“Prince, I subscribe to five thousand shares!”

“Prince, I subscribe to three thousand shares!”

These merchants were very enthusiastic, and the amounts they invested were significant for them.

In no time, these merchants had subscribed to over fifty thousand shares, worth fifteen million taels of Silver.

This somewhat exceeded Xiao Ce’s expectations. If those Four Great Clans contributed too little, he wouldn’t feel at ease.

“You merchants really have sharp vision. There are only fifty thousand shares left, how will so many Noble Clans, prominent families, and famous houses divide them?”

“Clan Leader Kan, Family Pillar Liu, Clan Leader Lin, am I right?”

The three men listened to Xiao Ce’s words and smiled awkwardly: “Prince, we can all… have less, it’s fine to have less!”

Xiao Ce said, “How can that be? Although I want to vigorously develop trade, you are the foundation of the Northern Desert, I can’t let you suffer a loss! Qian Lai, I’ll take a bit of a loss myself. From my share, I’ll take out another forty thousand shares. Adding to the remaining, that’s a total of ninety thousand shares. Each of their clans gets thirty thousand shares, fair and square for all. Let them distribute them among the families under them. What do you say?”

Lin Shou hurriedly waved his hands: “No… no… no.. no need…”

Xiao Ce said with a dark face, “Are you saying it’s too little? This Prince is giving you even my own portion? One must not be too greedy… Are you saying you want me to give you the remaining ten thousand shares as well?”

Liu Xuan shook his head: “No, no, no… enough! Enough! Prince, let’s do as you said, ninety thousand shares, each of our families gets thirty thousand shares.”

Kan Zongye nodded with a grim expression: “Yes, enough, thank you, Prince!”

Ninety thousand shares amounted to twenty-seven million taels in total, which was nothing for so many families of theirs.

“Good! In ten days, This Prince will hold a grand ceremony for This Prince’s assumption of the state! All those who subscribed to War Bonds, This Prince will host a banquet for your entire families! Invite your Madams and all your children! And of course, bring the money for your subscribed War Bonds along too!”

Hearing Xiao Ce’s words, Kan Zongye looked awkward: “Prince, then can we personally return home?”

Xiao Ce said expressionlessly, “What’s wrong? Does This Prince host poorly? I was thinking of spending time and talking with you all. Don’t you want to be with This Prince?”

Kan Zongye waved his hands and said, “No… no… Prince, that’s not what I meant!”

Xiao Ce looked at Kan Zongye and said with a smile, “I know what you’re thinking! Relax, This Prince means no harm. You will all be This Prince’s reliance in the future. This Prince hosting a banquet for your entire families is entirely because I think we will all be on the same side from now on, so we must get to know each other! Right?”

With that, Xiao Ce waved his hand grandly: “Alright, after you finish writing your letters, go find Fei Du to send them for you. Remember, in seven days, This Prince will personally host the banquet. If you don’t come, or some of you don’t come, bear the consequences yourself! We exchange sincerity with sincerity!”

Then Xiao Ce stood up and said, “Alright, everyone is dismissed.”

Only after Xiao Ce stood up did the armored guards at the hall entrance step aside.

Watching the crowd disperse, whispering among themselves, Xiao Ce asked further, “Also, do you know why This Prince is holding This Prince’s ‘assumption of state’ ceremony in ten days?”

People who had stopped in their tracks listened.

Xiao Ce said, “This Prince’s army of one hundred thousand soldiers will all arrive in the Northern Desert in ten days! At that time, there will first be a military parade, then the ‘assumption of state’ ceremony! This Prince knows you are all cursing me in your hearts for swindling your money now. After This Prince’s army arrives, you will know! This Prince is really letting you make money!”

After saying that, Xiao Ce left with a smile.

“Pan’er, with this money, don’t you feel more confident too!”

Yin Pan’er said with great admiration, “Prince, how did you come up with War Bonds! It’s amazing! With this sum of money, we can solve many urgent problems.”

Nie Bing said sarcastically from the side, “Pan’er, you must remember. The Prince’s money is bonds! To put it plainly, it’s borrowing. It has to be repaid when the time comes!”

Xiao Ce looked at Nie Bing and said, “How to repay, to whom to repay! How much to repay? That’s all up to This Prince!”

Nie Bing said to Xiao Ce, “You want to go back on your word? Then, won’t your reputation be ruined by then?”

Xiao Ce said with a smile, “During this period, if they all obediently help me, then This Prince can distribute according to what was promised. However, if any of them commit traitorous acts betraying the Northern Desert, This Prince will have reason to cancel them… This is written in the War Bond terms.”

“In short, if they obediently act as This Prince’s loyal dogs, This Prince won’t mistreat them… But if they dare to play tricks, This Prince can justifiably crush them!”

Nie Bing listened and nodded, saying nothing more.

Yin Pan’er said to Xiao Ce with some worry, “Prince, what about Cai Tianming’s territory?”

Xiao Ce said, “I have already had the people from those prominent families under Cai Tianming’s command send letters, telling them not to support the Cai Family. Also, This Prince has already sent people to Chanda County. They took the news of Cai Tianming and Cai Wu’s treason and collusion with the enemy there, telling the Cai Family to hand over all their money, and they could avoid death! If they stubbornly resist, their entire family will be executed!”

“If they are smart, they will give up wealth to save their lives! If they stubbornly resist, then let the Kan Family, the Liu Family, and the Lin Family use their Manor Guards for some training! Let them handle it, let them fight like dogs biting each other for a while.”

Nie Bing asked doubtfully, “Prince, aren’t you afraid those people will turn against you once they leave here?”

Xiao Ce said with a smile, “Why do you think I invited their entire families here? At that time, This Prince will naturally keep some of the people they care about as hostages by This Prince’s side!”