Judging from the appearance, the area of the Nanzhao Royal City's treasure-collecting area is not small, almost occupying half of the street. However, compared with the commercial complexes in the capital, it is still inferior. Of course, the capital has more merchants, and the economy here is still not developed enough.
Li Xiang looked at it from beginning to end. From selling various goods to eating, drinking and having fun, it was basically a one-stop service. However, he always felt that something was missing compared to the capital.
"Why does it always feel less lively than the capital?"
Li Xiang walked around from inside to outside and finally came to this conclusion.
"Your Highness, the main problem here is the lack of wealthy customers who can spend lavishly."
Li Xiang finally understood what Manager Zhao said.
Take the capital city for example, there are many wealthy people who spend money lavishly, whether they are princes and nobles or businessmen. They have plenty of money in their hands, and often they will throw the money everywhere for their momentary happiness.
But the situation is different in the Nanzhao Royal City. Compared with the Tang Dynasty, the Nanzhao Kingdom is too small. Although many people spend money for their own enjoyment, they can't spend too much. If some other things are added, then the spending will be even less.
Take the parking area at the door for example. If you are in Beijing, there is no such thing as a parking space. If you want to stop, you must stay here all the time and you can only enter when a carriage comes out.
However, there are many parking spaces in Nanzhao Royal City, but the problem is that there are not so many customers. Of course, it is daytime now. If it were at night, there might be more people coming.
"When we first established Zhidaobao here, we didn't consider the actual purchasing power here. It seems that many places have been abandoned."
What Li Xiang said was true. The scale of the buildings here was equal to that of Luoyang City, but judging from the current situation, the revenue here was not even one-fifth of that of Luoyang City, and as for the net profit, it was even lower.
Of course, Li Xiang also knew that this matter had nothing to do with Manager Zhao. It was Li Xiang himself who decided to build the Nanzhao Royal City. If there was any wrong prediction, it was Li Xiang's wrong prediction.
When Li Xiang first arrived in the Nanzhao capital, he saw that the people here lived a relatively affluent life, so he thought that establishing a treasure-hunting business here would be a lucrative one. Now it seems that he was wrong in his estimation.
"Your Highness, there's no need to say that. The recent period was mainly due to the war, but now Nanzhao's economy is slowly recovering. Take our sales, for example. This has been an increase for the fifth consecutive month. Although the increase isn't significant, the fact that it's been increasing for five consecutive months is enough to show that Nanzhao's economy is recovering."
Since Manager Zhao has chosen to be on duty here, he must study the surrounding situation thoroughly. Li Xiang does not just let you be responsible for finding the treasure. If you are capable, you can promote me to a higher position in the future. Opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared.
"You're right. There's another thing going on. The imperial court is about to launch a war against the south. This war might last a long time. When the time comes, you can see if Zhidaobao can provide any business you can connect with."
Getting the treasure is Li Xiang's own business. Since many nobles in the court are taking advantage of this, Li Xiang doesn't mind saying this. Of course, getting the treasure cannot hinder the interests of the country. Li Xiang still has a bottom line in his heart. Making money must be accompanied by the expansion of the entire Tang Dynasty.
"I understand."
There was also a golden light in the eyes of Shopkeeper Zhao. His place was not comparable to Chang'an and Luoyang, or even to the areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, so his position as shopkeeper had to be ranked after more than ten places. Although it was called the Nanzhao Royal City, it was actually not even as good as an ordinary city in the Tang Dynasty.
If there is no special change, I am afraid that his turnover will not change for several years. Although the change is steadily increasing, the increase every month is too small. To put it bluntly, there is a lack of big opportunities.
Now there is finally a great opportunity. If the Tang army continues to move south, then this place may become the rear. When the base attacked Nanzhao before, Sichuan was the rear of various armies. Now Sichuan has a trend of developing into a land of abundance, so Manager Zhao also saw that our opportunity is coming soon.
After the visit and the treasure, there was naturally a banquet given by the princes in the evening. According to the policy of the Tang Dynasty court, although we had taken over most of the power of the entire Nanzhao, Wang Gong still let the family stay.
One reason is that their royal family members have a good reputation among the people. If they are captured or killed directly, it will not be beneficial to our rule over the local area.
Secondly, it was naturally Princess Yongning. Li Xiang doted on her, and this was no secret within the Tang court. If the king and queen were killed, how could they continue to live together? Even if Princess Yongning was magnanimous, the people of the Tang Dynasty would never allow the two to be together. What if Princess Yongning had evil intentions? What would happen to Li Xiang's safety?
After communicating for more than an afternoon, Li Xiang could see Yongning's mood. He was very happy and had endless things to say to his parents when he saw them again. If it were not for court etiquette, Li Xiang would not have come to disturb this family.
It can be seen that this dinner was carefully prepared. The current Nanzhao royal family is no longer the same as before. Although they still have income from their own fiefdom, it is no longer as much as before. Therefore, it costs a lot to prepare such a banquet.
The Queen Mother just showed up and left. She must have known very well that if she stayed here for too long, it would make everyone uncomfortable.
Li Xiang definitely didn't talk to the Queen Mother, and the relationship between the two had reached a freezing point.
The king and queen were always worried. Now we were prisoners. Except that we were not in jail, we were almost the same as other prisoners.
If the Queen Mother angered Li Xiang, he would be furious and no one knows what the outcome would be. So the Queen Mother did not eat here, which made everyone satisfied and no one had to worry about the terrible changes that would follow.
