"If necessary, I will speak to Brother Huang."
Li Ke smiled and did not reject Li Tai's kindness.
But in his mind, countless thoughts arose.
"It's time to build your own intelligence network. Otherwise, you have to wait for others to tell you everything. Obviously, you will miss the best opportunity..."
"His Majesty."
Zhang Liang stood up.
"How is the Qing family handling the salt issue?"
Li Shimin, who was sitting on the dragon chair, said calmly.
"Back to Your Majesty, I have tried every possible way during this period, but I have only managed to get around 30,000 kilograms of salt."
Zhang Liang's face was full of bitterness.
"There is still a certain gap between filling the needs of Chang'an City..."
In fact, what he said was quite conservative.
The entire city of Chang'an has a population of hundreds of thousands.
Thirty thousand kilograms of salt seems like a lot, but if it flows into the market, no one will be able to get even a tael.
"I am very disappointed with what I love you to do."
Li Shimin shook his head.
“How much salt is left in the treasury?”
"Back to Your Majesty, I just checked yesterday and there are still about 80,000 kilograms left."
Changsun Wuji took a step forward and said.
As the Minister of Household Affairs, he is responsible for the treasury affairs.
"Let's divide it all."
Li Shimin waved his hand.
"According to the market price... no, thirty cents lower than the market price. There are also those private salt dealers, tell them that on weekdays, I can turn a blind eye. But whoever dares to seize this opportunity to make a fortune will be punished. Treated with treason."
"I obey the order."
Changsun Wuji bowed slowly.
It can be seen that His Majesty has spent a lot of money.
It was sold at a discount of thirty cents, and the money earned was not enough to pay the officers and soldiers in the South China Sea.
The shortfall must be filled with the emperor's small treasury.
After so much effort, there are still some unsighted private salt dealers to share the cake.
It's the same crime as treason, but it gives them an advantage.
"Zhang Liang is not doing his job well... He has been suspended from work and salary for one year. He should reflect at home."
Then, Li Shimin also announced the punishment for Zhang Liang.
This incident can be regarded as a matter of taking things lightly and taking them lightly.
After all, Zhang Liang is also an old minister who follows him, and the position of navy admiral is not something that everyone can do.
It's a pity that Jun Wuxi said that if he wanted to punish him, he would have to come up with some means.
A one-year suspension can be considered a serious matter, at least no one will gossip.
"Have you finished playing other things?"
Li Shimin sighed.
"Everything is fine. Dear friends, you might as well discuss it. What's the explanation for the lack of salt?"
The ministers in the audience looked at each other in confusion. After a long time, someone stood up and said something.
"I propose that some of the output of Jiangnan Road be allocated to make up for the vacancies in the capital."
"What Mr. Cui said may not be a bit taken for granted, right?"
Before the words were spoken, opponents stood up.
"The population of Jiangnan Province is several times that of Chang'an. If you take away their share, what will happen to the people of Jiangnan Province?"
"Is there anything wrong with following urgent matters and giving priority to the emperor's feet?"
Master Cui blushed.
"The people of Chang'an City are human beings, but not the people of Jiangnan Road? Mr. Cui comes from a noble family, so he doesn't even understand this truth?"
Opponents are not to be outdone.
"Quiet! This is Tai Chi Hall, I'm still here!"
Li Shimin looked embarrassed. He couldn't stand listening anymore and waved his hand to interrupt the quarrel among the ministers.
Wherever there are people, there are rivers and lakes. Even in this court, it is not monolithic.
The person who proposed to fill the vacancy with Jiangnan Dao's products was the Cui family of Qinghe, one of the seven sects and five surnames, which represented the interests of the powerful families.
Another official came from Jiangnan Road and represented the emerging wealthy and famous family.
On normal days, Li Shimin would be happy to see them quarreling.
After all, a place like the Chaotang cannot be dominated by one family.
Different forces restrain each other, which is more conducive to governing the country.
Changsun Wuji had great power in both the government and the public, and important ministers such as Fang Xuanling were needed to check and balance him.
As strong as the military god Li Jing, after fighting all the battles.
He also had to put down his military power and stay at home.
The saying "great achievements shake the master" is never just a matter of words.
But the problem is, now is obviously not the time to quarrel.
The top priority is to come up with solutions to the problem as soon as possible.
"Prime Minister Zuo, do you have any ideas?"
Li Shimin looked at Fang Xuanling.
"I heard that there is a large lake thousands of miles to the west, covering hundreds of thousands of hectares. The water is salty and astringent, just like sea water. Can we start there?"
Fang Xuanling thought for a moment and gave an ambiguous answer.
Li Ke's eyes shone brightly in the audience. If he hadn't seen so many people present, he felt that he couldn't help but start applauding.
He is worthy of being a prime minister who has left his name throughout the ages. The advanced nature of his thinking is comparable to that of some scientists.
The method of extracting salt from lake water was only discovered in the late Song Dynasty.
However, it has not been widely used. After all, the cost of lake salt is much higher than that of sea salt.
Until the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Japanese pirates were rampant, which made the extraction of sea salt very difficult.
At this time, people gradually noticed that there is also a lot of room for excavation of lake salt. Similar to Qinghai Lake, Chaka Salt Lake, Chaerhan Salt Lake, etc. were all put into use during that period.
Until later generations, they were also very important salt producing areas.
Li Shimin was obviously aroused by Fang Xuanling's words, and his target turned to the Minister of Industry.
"Duan Lun, can the Prime Minister's words be implemented?"
"Theoretically, there is a certain feasibility."
Duan Lun smiled bitterly.
"But this cost... seems a bit difficult to control compared to Haiyan."
The implication is, no money.
Li Shimin turned his attention to Changsun Wuji again.
"Your Majesty, the situation of the Ministry of Finance this year...is not very good."
Changsun Wuji also had a look of embarrassment on his face.
There is no surplus food left in the landlord's house, so he can go to whoever he likes.
"This won't work, and that won't work either. What use do I need from you!"
Li Shimin rarely got angry.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me."
Changsun Wuji and Duan Lun knelt down at the same time.
Speaking of which, Fang Xuanling is not to blame for this. He just put forward an idea, and who knew that so many chores in the court were exposed at once.
If you want to blame it, you can only blame Datang’s current system, which still has many shortcomings.
Both of them have done their best in their respective positions.
"Father, I have something to say."
Seeing that the situation was almost over, Li Ke stood up on his own.
"There's no need to plead. What I want is a solution."
Li Shimin was furious and didn't give him a good look.
"What I want to say is related to this."
Li Ke said slowly.
"I heard that there are several salt mines in the west of the river, where many cattle and horses gather. Why don't you think of a solution from there?"
"Hexi? Salt mine?"
Li Shimin was stunned for a moment.
It's not that he has never been to Hexi, but this is the first time he has heard about the salt mine.
