Chapter 558 -531 Advice (Third Update, Please Subscribe)
Lin Rui raised his head and watched the data pen fly into the gauze.
However, when he saw the figure on the Cloud Platform, he felt the danger that his eyes and every pore on his body might burst.
Lin Rui quickly lowered his head, wondering if Divine knew how to read the contents of the data pen?
But he was clearly overthinking it. Soon after, the data pen flew out again, and at the same time, a piece of Dragon Skin Paper floated out.
The majestic voice of Divine came again: “Very good, continue negotiating with them! Longevity Association and Zang Shaochen from Star Sea White Wolf can be handled by themselves, but I want to see the results soon. The items I desire are marked on the Dragon Skin Paper, you must obtain them from their hands, and this matter should be managed entirely by Lin Hao and your subordinates, without delegating further to anyone else.”
Lin Rui reached out to catch it and didn’t pay much attention, but the moment the Dragon Skin Paper touched his hands, his body trembled slightly.
...
This was actually a piece of Tenth Realm Dragon Skin Paper!
There were only a few lines of numbers on the Dragon Skin Paper, corresponding to the technologies and materials listed in the data pen, and the required quantity for each type of material.
Lin Rui hadn’t seen the contents recorded inside the data pen, whose encryption method was designed to destroy after reading, but he actually knew the contents inside out.
“Your servant obeys the order!” Lin Rui carefully placed the Dragon Skin Paper back into his bosom, thinking that he could scrape it a bit and trim it for reuse when he got back.
Looking back, he could place the contracts of Li Yuehua and Hou Yuting on this Dragon Skin Paper. The paper was so large that by writing the text smaller and squeezing it a bit, it would be enough to use.
At that time, with Venerable Bao Ying, Green Blood Venerate, and Divine Law Venerable as witnesses, and with his own power to suppress, the effect of this Divine Contract would not be inferior to the Life Tie Book, he was sure those two would dare not defy it.
There were rumors that Venerable Bao Ying, Green Blood Venerate, and Divine Law Venerable had not fallen, and the three no longer needed to exist in the physical form like current deities.
Lin Rui found it ridiculous before, but when he witnessed the Root and the Heavenly Curtain with his own eyes, he felt this possibility should not be dismissed out of hand. In any case, those who defied the Divine Contracts of these three Heavenly Venerates never had a good ending.
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Luo Wangshu, who was standing beside and lowering his head, heard this and gradually revealed a gleam of strange light in his eyes.
Divine and the others didn’t mention a word about the tens of thousands of civilians who died in the blasphemy case due to the Outer Heaven Demon’s human experiments when they were discussing Heavenly Demon, showing that they obviously didn’t care.
“Divine, regarding the Outer Heaven Demon, your servant has further suggestions.”
Lin Rui then bowed again and said: “As the art of war says, know the enemy and know yourself, then you can fight a hundred battles without disaster! To supervise the Earth Federation in pursuing Longevity Association and Zang Shaochen, and also for inquiring about the military intelligence, national defense, and political landscape of Heavenly Demon, your servant requests to negotiate with Heavenly Demon, and establish embassies and consulates in those Heavenly Demon homeland. Otherwise, we are completely ignorant about the internal situation of Heavenly Demon homeland, wouldn’t it be allowing Heavenly Demon to deceive us?
Naturally, according to the principle of diplomatic reciprocity mentioned by the Heavenly Demon side, we should also allow Heavenly Demon to establish embassies and consulates in Great Song.”
As soon as Lin Rui’s words came out, including the First Divine Envoy, everyone present looked at Lin Rui in utmost surprise.
Even the Emperor outside being whipped raised his head in shock and looked inside the hall.
This kid really dares to say it! Since the emergence of Outer Heaven Demon, the unanimous attitude between the court and the people of the Great Song Dynasty has always been to guard strictly; no one has ever dared to speak such outrageous words!
This guy regards Heavenly Demon as mortal enemies, yet he advocates for communication with Heavenly Demon!
Luo Wangshu also found it incomprehensible, thinking is this kid crazy? There’s a limit to how bold you can be, isn’t there? The first time he faced Divine, he dared to say such things?
Yet Lin Rui was quite calm, from the technologies and materials marked by East Abyss, he could roughly infer the attitude of East Abyss.
Divine was gradually taking the technology and strength of Outer Heaven Demon seriously, trying to study and understand them, having a sense of wariness and at the same time desiring their items.
And Lin Rui believed in one thing, that hostility comes from closure and misunderstanding, as well as crucial interests.
Human beings and people of Tianji Star must coexist in this world in the future, hence an increase in mutual understanding between the two is essential to avoid more tragedies.
The silhouette on the Cloud Platform remained silent for a long while after that, seemingly weighing and considering.
Moments later, a voice came from behind the gauze curtain: “Agreed!”
Luo Wangshu relaxed at these words, but just as she thought she could ease her mind, Lin Rui once again clasped his hands in salute and said: “Since I have taken over as the Commander of the Spy Detection Bureau, I have rigorously investigated the trade of smuggling Heavenly Demons everywhere, slaughtering and capturing no fewer than three thousand. However, due to the severe corruption in the Great Song’s localities, and their infiltration by Heavenly Demons, the results have not been satisfactory.
Recently, I have reviewed the archives in the cabinet library and compiled statistics, discovering that over the past two hundred years, the scale of trade between Great Song and the Heavenly Demons has surged by one hundred and twenty times! Reaching at least a scale of a billion taels of Magic Silver.
Now, many local people are cultivating various economic crops needed by the Heavenly Demons, relying on it for their livelihood. My full-force eradication of smuggling has instead put these people in a difficult situation, resulting in a significant reduction in local tax revenue. However, the smuggling trade has not been completely cut off. Those powerful gentry, local tyrants, and powerful families take advantage of this to buy low and sell high, profiting handsomely!
I am of the view that allowing this to continue will only benefit the full court of officials, those local rural powerful figures, and noble families, while the common people, the court, and the Divine Palace will suffer losses!”
At this point, Lin Rui felt a pang of conscience, as a substantial portion of this income had found its way into his own pocket.
Several Divine Envoys and candidate Divine Envoys in the hall were not just shocked, but horrified!
The emperor had already completed the flogging punishment, and upon entering, he had forgotten to pay his respects and express gratitude, his eyes staring straight at Lin Hao.
Luo Wangshu felt an intense headache and wished she could drag Lin Hao by the ears if they were not currently in the presence of the Divine.
The First Divine Envoy was very fond of Lin Hao, but now couldn’t help but rebuke angrily: “Lin Hao, are you suggesting that the court should permit trade with the Heavenly Demons? However, those Outer Heaven Demons have wolfish ambitions, seizing possession of the people in various Great Song localities, committing lawless acts, and stirring up trouble.
If the court allows these Heavenly Demons to enter the territory of Great Song, firstly, it would be impossible to explain to the people of the world, and secondly, it would further disturb the hearts of the populace, and might even collude with local forces, causing unrest within Great Song from now on.”
“The First Divine Envoy is prudent and has concerns for the nation. Your points are extremely valid!”
Lin Rui expressed his admiration for the First Divine Envoy with a respectful bow: “Therefore, I believe that trade with the Heavenly Demons must be brought under the control of the court! My proposal is to select a location near Luojing to develop as a trading port, specifying that the Heavenly Demons’ ships can only enter this port for trade. All the trade goods will then be under the supervision of the court, which can also collect a commercial tax from these trades.
According to my aides’ calculations, this commercial tax revenue alone should reach half of the court’s ordinary tax revenue. At its peak, it might exceed twice that amount, helping to supplement the daily income shortfall of the court and the Divine Palace. We could also obtain unique medicines and their raw materials from the Heavenly Demons, as well as various high-strength alloys and machinery, among other things—”
Lin Rui paused in his speech, glancing around at the people present: “This trading port is not open to just anyone. To ensure the long-term stability of Great Song both internally and externally, we can have the Divine Envoy issue licenses, granting only those honest and loyal Heavenly Demon traders. Within Great Song, we must also carefully select those who truly worship the Divine and are loyal to the court to be permitted by the Divine Envoy to enter the trading port for trade.”
Luo Wangshu was captivated upon hearing half of it.
She thought that if the Divine truly agreed to Lin Rui’s suggestions, it would surely vitalize billions of commoners!
The common people would no longer have to hide their cultivation of Heavenly Demon crops, for fear of being pursued for crimes by the court; they would still be exploited by local nobles and merchants, but the extent of exploitation would be significantly reduced.
The court’s income would also greatly increase, without the need to further increase taxes on the people.
By then, as long as she could intensify the crackdown on local corruption, perhaps the billions of Great Song’s commoners could enjoy good times for one or two hundred years, waiting for the day she and Hao reached the pinnacle.
The First Divine Envoy, the Second Divine Envoy, and the emperor initially sneered, but when they heard the word ‘commercial tax,’ their expressions shifted subtly.
Bringing the trade of Heavenly Demons under the court’s control would indeed be of great benefit to the court, far better than the present situation where the ban is ineffective and not a penny can be obtained.
Upon hearing the word ‘license,’ a glimmer appeared in their eyes.
With the licenses being issued solely by the Divine Envoy, that authority naturally fell into their hands.
The Third Divine Envoy candidate was an upright individual, and upon hearing Lin Hao’s words, he was filled with admiration. Although the Commander of the Spy Detection Bureau was young and audacious, his intentions were good, truly concerned for the nation and the welfare of the common people, which was why the court’s moralists favored him.
Without a second thought, the Third Divine Envoy candidate bowed and said: “Divine, to my knowledge, several island countries in the Central Continent have legalized trade, which is said to be quite profitable. I believe our court might as well select a site and try it out to see the subsequent effects.”
At this time, the silhouette on the Cloud Platform fell into silence once again.