"But, my lord, you need to work out the details. We've converted everything into Merit Points for you, and at one and a half times the normal rate, too.
If you donated the money outright, you wouldn't get a single person or a single plot of land.
This is a rare opportunity for you. Once the war dies down, this benefit will be gone," Zhao Duan said.
"I'm a businessman. I don't have that much silver to donate for Merit Points, do I?" Tang Wen said.
"Sir, why not give him the Horse Ranch behind it as well?" Secretary Luo Sen suggested.
"That can be done, my lord. Our Red River Prefecture Horse Ranch is no small place. It covers several thousand mu. It's not far behind the Hundred-Leaf Workshop, so the two can easily be joined into one tract," Zhao Duan said.
"Several thousand mu?" Tang Wen asked.
"Do you see that hill not far behind us? That gently sloping hillside is our Red River Prefecture Horse Ranch." Zhao Duan pointed behind the Hundred-Leaf Pit.
"I didn't see many horses," Tang Wen said.
"Of course not. They've all been requisitioned for the front. We used to raise over a thousand warhorses there.
That land covers a full five thousand mu. Together with the Hundred-Leaf Workshop, that's six thousand mu.
At three hundred taels per mu, that alone comes to nearly two million taels.
With that, plus over two thousand people and the Merit Points, you certainly won't lose out," Zhao Duan said, nodding.
"Three million taels, not a copper more. And you must be responsible for converting it into forty-five thousand Merit Points, Lord Zhao," Tang Wen said.
"All right, then. You're no outsider, my lord. It's settled." Zhao Duan nodded, while his Popularity Little Figure secretly rejoiced.
*What