Someone must be harming me behind my back!
Li Tai couldn't help but lose countenance on the spot, but he knew that this was not the time to inquire about this question. He took a deep breath, managed to calm down, and asked in a low voice to the young chamberlain who came to report the news.
"Has the news been verified? What are the reactions of Zhongshu and his disciples?"
An imperial edict like this is not something His Majesty alone can say. It must be drafted. After the emperor has reviewed it, it will be sealed by Zhongshu Ling, and then issued to the Menxia Province. The officials of the Menxia Province will review it again to confirm that the decree is appropriate. The chief of the sect will stamp the seal on the servant and officially promulgate it.
These three links are indispensable.
In fact, if a government order is confirmed by the emperor and Zhongshu Province, if the Menxia Province believes that the order is inappropriate, it has the power to reject it on the spot.
Therefore, after Li Tai managed to calm down, the first thing he did was to ask Zhongshu and his disciples for their reactions.
As the most favored son of Li Shimin, His Royal Highness the King of Wei, who can open a hotel alone and recruit talents, Li Tai naturally has no shortage of followers. Not only within the palace, there are many informants, even those under Zhongshu's sect. The department is not without ministers who secretly support it.
The little chamberlain who came to report the news looked panicked.
"Reporting to His Majesty, there is news from Zhongshu and his disciples that His Majesty and the prime ministers are taking a tough stance. This decree has been officially passed and will be issued soon -"
When Li Tai heard this, his figure suddenly swayed and he almost collapsed on the large sofa.
Li Tai's sudden reaction caused the entire banquet to become silent.
The musicians on both sides quietly stopped. The maids standing there stood stunned, not knowing how to react. The guests who were chatting and laughing also stopped their wine glasses one by one and looked over in surprise.
"Your Highness, King Wei, why are you so alarmed..."
Cui Xiangzhi, who was sitting under him, quickly asked with concern.
He is a child of the Boling Cui family. He has always been with Li Tai and is considered one of Li Tai's most powerful confidants.
Li Tai waved his hand.
The musicians and servants on both sides took the initiative to resign, and in an instant, only a dozen of his close associates were left around.
"News has come. His Majesty has made up his mind to ask the officials to pack their bags and rush to Yangzhou within three days..."
When everyone heard this, their expressions suddenly changed.
This is no joke.
As an investor promoted by the family, he is already on the boat on King Wei's side. If the boat capsizes, the family behind him will definitely be fine, but his own future will most likely be completely over.
"Your Highness, Your Majesty was still praising His Highness, but there is absolutely no possibility of his sudden change of attitude. I think there must be some villain behind it!"
Cui Sangzhi soon realized that something was wrong.
Because just three days ago, His Majesty had just issued a decree to commend His Highness the King of Wei. It is unreasonable that the situation suddenly changed and he demanded a deadline.
You know, the New Year is just around the corner, and even officials from other places have returned to Beijing to report on their duties.
One can imagine what it means to go to Yangzhou to take up the post at this juncture.
Moreover, once the news officially spreads, it will probably have a series of chain reactions.
As soon as he said this, several confidants around him nodded.
"Your Highness, the top priority is to enter the palace immediately to ask for an audience with His Majesty and the Queen. Even if His Majesty's mind cannot be swayed for the time being, please try to postpone it until after the New Year..."
Li Tai thought about lightning in his mind, and immediately made up his mind and forced his fat body to stand up from the couch.
"I will enter the palace to see my father—"
However, before he could walk out of the palace, officials from the palace had already arrived.
When the imperial edict arrived, the officials who came to deliver it politely declined Li Tai's gift of thanks and hurried away with their entourage as if they were avoiding the god of plague.
"Bah - a bunch of dogs who just follow the wind..."
It wasn't until the other party walked away that Cui Xiangzhi spat viciously.
Li Tai's face turned pale and he waved his hand.
"You guys wait here first, I will enter the palace soon to ask for an audience with my father!"
However, before Li Tai could reach the Imperial Study Room, people outside the courtyard were stopped by the guards on duty.
"Your Majesty, King Wei, your Majesty is not feeling well and it is not appropriate to see you. Your Majesty, please come back -"
Your Majesty refuses to see you!
Li Tairu was struck by lightning——
He knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly to the imperial study room.
"Aye, the child has no other meaning. It's just that once he leaves, the mountains are high and the water is far away. He no longer knows when he will return, and he can no longer fulfill his filial piety in front of his father's knees. What's more, the child has always been in poor health. In this world of ice and snow, , After a long journey, I don’t know if I will have a chance to see Aye’s Tianyan again in the future. Please be kind to Aye and let me see you one last time before the child leaves..."
Li Tai couldn't help but kowtow to each other.
The imperial study room was silent, and Li Tai gradually became desperate. With the help of the guards next to him, he climbed up from the ground with difficulty. He took a deep look at the direction of the imperial study room, threw away the big hand of the guard who was supporting him, and turned around with a staggering step. Leave.
When he reached the entrance of the imperial city, Li Tai turned around and looked at the rows of palaces behind him, with a trace of deep reluctance in his eyes.
I have worked hard and managed it for many years to achieve the current situation.
I originally thought that that position was within reach, but unexpectedly, when I was most proud, I was slapped to the ground without any warning!
Who is harming me behind my back?
The strong unwillingness made him almost blind.
Finally, he stamped his feet, turned around and staggered back to the harem.
Since dad's front door won't work, then I'll take mom's back door. In short, no matter what, I can't leave Beijing before the end of the year.
As long as you don't leave before the year is over, there will still be room for change, and there will still be hope for a comeback!
…
Royal study room.
Li Shimin's face was deep and silent.
Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji hesitated many times, not knowing how to speak.
Until Li Tai struggled to get up from the ground and left with desperate eyes.
Changsun Wuji let out a long sigh.
"Your Majesty - why don't you meet him..."
Li Shimin shook his head gently.
"Zi'an is right. Parents should think long-term for their children. When I meet him, it's just to mess with his mind and make him have some unnecessary thoughts. The long-term pain is worse than the short-term pain - I do it for him too. good……"
Changsun Wuji was silent for a moment, sighed quietly, and stopped making any sound.
They are all his nephews, and they are all very smart children, but they have to make choices. The key is that His Majesty has obviously already made his own choices.
"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the King of Wei has left - it looks like he is going to the harem..."
The guard outside the door reported in a deep voice.
The movements of Li Shimin's hands could not help but stagnate slightly, and Changsun Wuji's eyes flashed slightly.
It seemed that he was still a little unwilling after all.
Li Shimin was silent for a while and waved gently.
"I know, don't worry about him, just step back..."
He naturally knew what Li Tai was thinking, but he failed to harden his heart in the end, which cut off his chance to cry in front of his mother.
"Guanyin Maid, if you can persuade him and give him some comfort, it would be a good thing..."
Li Shimin sighed silently in his heart.
He did not say hello to Queen Changsun in advance regarding the appointment of Li Taizhi, but he believed that his Guanyin maid would understand his painstaking efforts.
When the atmosphere was dull, the guards outside came to report.
"Your Majesty, Tang Jian, Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, would like to see you——"
Li Shimin immediately put aside his previous emotions and gave instructions in a deep voice.
"Ask him to come in——"
"Your Majesty, there is a shortage of salt in Chang'an City now. The price of one liter of coarse salt has risen to 175 Wen. Moreover, there is no market for it. Many ordinary people have reached the point where they have no salt to use. If we don't find a way, I am afraid that sooner or later we will have to pay for it. Something big happened..."
Entering the Imperial Study Room, Tang Jian was not polite and asked Li Shimin for advice anxiously.
Since the imperial court implemented a tax on salt and iron, salt and iron shops on the market have restricted sales or simply closed their doors. Ironware is okay, and there will be no problems for a while, but the same cannot be said for salt.
But the imperial court finally took advantage of Du Ruhui's incident to carry out this policy. How could it easily take it back again?
Therefore, the two sides entered this confrontation.
Seeing Tang Jian getting angry in a hurry, looking haggard, and having chapped lips, Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji couldn't help but frown slightly. This is indeed a very urgent issue, but the crux of the matter is that this time His Majesty seems to be a bastard who is determined to take the weight and refuses to let go.
When Li Shimin saw this, he stood up with a smile and poured a cup of tea for Tang Jian himself.
"Maoyue, didn't I tell you a long time ago that there is no need to worry at this time - there must be a road to the mountain. How can such a large court be stumped by a little salt?"
Tang Jian smiled bitterly and took the tea cup, holding it in his hand without drinking it, looking at Li Shimin and saying in a solemn voice.
"Your Majesty, if it weren't for the well salt support from His Highness the King of Shu some time ago, I'm afraid our situation would be more serious than this. But with so many people in Chang'an City and so many soldiers in Beiying and Nanya, the salt consumed every day is It’s a terrifying number. The King of Shu alone is almost unable to hold on. If Your Majesty doesn’t think of another way..."
Having said this, Tang Jian shook his head with a heavy expression.
Although he knew the significance of the salt and iron tax to His Majesty and the court, this kind of persistence and confrontation hurt ordinary people in the end.
Li Shimin nodded slightly when he heard this, stretched out his palm, and gently patted Tang Jian's shoulder.
Ah, I don’t know when he got into the habit of tapping people on the shoulder...
"Maoyue, I've worked really hard on you during this period, but don't worry, these days will be over soon!"
Having said this, Li Shimin couldn't help but have a look of pride on his lips.
What did Zian say? Yes, it seems to mean taking advantage of the opportunity and seizing the market!
I have been waiting for this day for a long time!
"Is the store I asked you to prepare ready?"
Although he didn't know why his majesty suddenly mentioned this, Tang Jian still replied honestly.
"Your Majesty, we have already made preparations. There are 218 stores in total. According to the plan you gave us, there are 28 boutique stores in the east of the city, and the rest of the ordinary stores are scattered in the west and south of the city..."
Li Shimin nodded with satisfaction after hearing this.
"Notice further, starting from tomorrow, all stores will officially open - salt will be sold at a price of ten cents per liter. Please pay attention to allowing people from Chang'an and Wannian counties to sell in limited quantities according to household registration documents to prevent people who are interested in taking the opportunity to hoard goods. "
After Li Shimin finished speaking, he calmly returned to his seat, picked up the teacup on the table, and took a sip gently.
Not to mention, Wang Zi'an's cowardly attitude is really cool when done, which is a bit cool!
"Salt—Your Majesty, where did the salt come from..."
Changsun Wuji couldn't help but feel something in his heart. Meng Di raised his head and asked uncertainly.
"Your Majesty, are you talking about the salt field in the west of the city?"
Li Shimin sat on the chair with his legs crossed, and the old god nodded.
Fang Xuanling couldn't help but suddenly realized. No wonder His Majesty has been able to stabilize his mind during this period. He was already prepared. However, I still couldn't help but ask a little worriedly.
"Your Majesty, the production of mineral salt in the west of the city alone is not enough, right?"
Li Shimin couldn't help laughing when he heard this.
"Xuanling, I know I can't hide it from you - don't worry, there is so much salt over there, even if the whole city eats it, it can last for more than three months - and..."
Having said this, Li Shimin couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth, showing a hint of pride.
"In my hands, there is more than just a salt field in the west of the city..."
Originally, I was worried that mineral salt would not be able to open up the market, but now it is so good, but those idiots actually want to use the sales limit to blackmail themselves.
Really——
Very good!
He just happened to take advantage of it.
When they come to their senses and want to take back the market, they have to ask the people who have tasted the benefits if they are willing or not!
Comfortable!
Li Shimin felt very proud and proud.
I have been holding this breath for a long time. If that brat Zi An hadn't stopped me, I would have taught them how to behave.
They even joined forces to fight against themselves!
However, looking at it now, Zian is still a bitch with a dark heart. If this hammer goes down tomorrow, the major salt merchants in Chang'an will lose most of their lives even if they don't die!
Although Li Shimin secretly enclosed land to build a salt farm in the west of the city, he did not make it public, but the fact that more than 20,000 refugees from the east of the city came to camp at the salt mine in the west of the city could not be hidden from anyone at all.
What's more, Fang Xuanling was a servant of the court, and Tang Jian was also the minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Naturally, he was particularly concerned about this kind of thing, and he had heard some rumors. In addition, the two of them visited Wang Zi'an's house many times, ate the exquisite salt from Wang Zi'an's house, and even experienced Wang Zi'an's various abilities to turn decay into magic.
Therefore, when comparing the two items at this time, I naturally had some guesses in my mind.
But what they didn't expect was that in just over a month, so much salt had been stored in the west city salt field.
This production efficiency is really terrible.
In fact, it’s not surprising that they were surprised. The production efficiency of salt in the world today is not very high. Coupled with the inconvenience of long-distance transportation, the turnover cycle is even longer.
What's more, the mineral salt in the west of the city not only needs to be processed, but also detoxified?
However, although I don’t know why the production efficiency of the Chengxi Saltworks is so high, since Prince An is behind it and His Majesty dares to say so, it proves that there is indeed no problem.
Fang Xuanling and Tang Jian immediately felt relieved, and they discussed the details of tomorrow's action.
If things are forewarned, they will be successful; if they are not forewarned, they will be ruined.
It is conceivable that things will never be that simple. Those aristocratic families and major salt merchants will never sit back and watch helplessly as the salt that suddenly appears takes over their own markets.
Listening to several people discussing, Du Ruhui was a little confused at first. After listening for a while, he finally understood that it turned out that His Majesty and these people wanted to control the poisonous mineral salt in the west of the city. Sell it to the people to solve the current problem of lack of salt and continue to fight against those salt merchants!
This is really unreasonable!
"Your Majesty, you absolutely must not—"
Du Ruhui suddenly felt anxious. There was good salt in the west of the city, but it was all poisonous mineral salt!
The kind that will kill you if you eat it!
"Your Majesty, you are confused - as we all know, the mineral salt in the west of the city is poisonous and cannot be eaten. It will kill people. Once these mineral salts flow into the market, the consequences will be disastrous - even if we are short of salt, we must not act like this - —…”
Having said this, Du Ruhui looked around at his three colleagues, heartbroken.
"What do you three do for a living? Your Majesty is so confused. How could you be so confused? You are digging your own foundations and taking human lives into consideration. If you do this, will you be able to sleep at night..."
Looking at Du Ruhui, who was anxious and still in the dark, Li Shimin and others couldn't help but look at each other and laughed in unison.
Du Ruhui was immediately stunned by the laughter of their emperor and ministers. What is going on?
In the end, Li Shimin suppressed his laughter, explained a few words with a smile, and then asked the eunuch next to him to get a bag of fine salt from the salt mine in the west of the city.
Du Ruhui stretched out his finger, dipped a little salt in it that looked as white as snow, put it in his mouth and tasted it carefully, then sat down doubtfully.
"Is this really from the west of the city? It's unbelievable. It's even higher in quality than well salt. Where did your Majesty get this method to remove the toxicity in mineral salt?"
Although he had accepted the fact that Chengxi Mine Salt was edible, Du Ruhui still felt it was strange and couldn't help but ask curiously.
"Zian's place - this brat used this method to pry away 30% of my penis. This piece of shit, he only came up with this one skill and didn't care about anything else. I'm here to help. He is like a handyman. Not only does he have to work and manage people, but he also has to help support the 20,000 refugees in Dongshan. Let me tell you, just his 20,000 refugees, not to mention food and drink, only earn a month's wages. Big money..."
Li Shimin sighed while talking.
"It's so hard for me..."
Fang Xuanling, Changsun Wuji and Tang Jian secretly rolled their eyes inwardly.
Your Majesty, are you complaining?
You are showing off nakedly!
The mineral salt in the west of the city was originally an ownerless barren mountain, but you acquired it at almost zero cost.
The workers are refugees transferred from Dongshan!
All you need to do is provide a little food.
As for wages, they are worth so much money, how can you have the nerve to mention them?
Oh my god, look at you, you are so proud, the corners of your mouth are almost touching your ears and the back of your head, you really can’t see...
…
When Li Shimin returned to the Manlu Hall and saw his Empress Changsun, she was sitting in the room in a daze with red eyes.
It wasn't until he walked in that he stood up in a hurry.
"Erlang——"
Li Shimin nodded, went up and gently held Queen Changsun's little hand.
"Mr. Guanyin, will you blame me?"
Queen Changsun gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and shook her head gently.
"These are national affairs, I don't understand them, but I know, Erlang, there must be a reason for you to do this..."
Li Shimin reached out and touched his wife's face, which was still the same as before, stretched out his arms, and hugged Empress Changsun into his arms.
"Mr. Guanyin, aren't you—"
Before she could finish her words, Queen Changsun's lips were already covered by her soft catkins.
"There's nothing I'm sorry about. I know you must have your own difficulties..."
Li Shimin tightened his arms, hugged Queen Changsun and walked to the window. He looked at the gradually darkening sky outside the window and let out a long sigh.
"Zi An accidentally talked about Gao Ming and Qing Que today..."
Having said this, Li Shimin asked softly.
"Guanyin Maid, do you think Gao Ming and Qing Que are like me and my eldest brother back then..."
Empress Changsun could not help but tremble. She slowly raised her head and looked at Li Shimin with complex eyes.
"Why, do you think Zian looks similar?"
Li Shimin nodded slowly and released his arms holding Queen Changsun.
"Although that child Zian has a wild temperament and is a bit cynical, his talent, learning, character, and vision are far beyond ordinary people. Even Auxiliary Machine, Ke Ming, and Xuan Ling are probably not as good as him. Since we got to know him, his Judgment is almost always error-free..."
Having said this, Li Shimin raised his head slightly, his voice inexplicably lonely.
"He said that Gao Ming and Qing Que are very much like my eldest brother and I back then, and my attitude towards Qing Que and Gao Ming is very similar to what my father did back then. If this continues, the tragedy of that year will definitely happen again - Guanyin Maid , you say, did I really do something wrong? They are all our children, I just want to be a father who loves his children..."
Queen Changsun walked over, gently held Li Shimin's big hand, and gently nestled in his arms.
"I know, I know everything, but you are not just a father, you are also the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. From the day you ascended the throne, it was destined that our family no longer has its own private affairs..."
Li Shimin hugged Queen Changsun and remained silent.
That step back then, to this day, still makes him unable to let go.
Did you really do something wrong back then?
But he also knew that if time repeated itself, he might still take that step.
"Qingque cried and begged today that he wanted to spend another Spring Festival with us and perform filial piety in front of our knees for two more days..."
"Did you promise him?"
There was no lamp in the room, so Empress Changsun couldn't see her husband's face clearly, and she just shook her head gently.
"I listen to you -"
Li Shimin tightened his arms with some guilt, bringing the two of them closer.
"I actually do it for his own good. I'm afraid that he will have any thoughts that he shouldn't have. I'm also afraid that I will be soft-hearted and reluctant to drive him away - while it's still early, let him stay far away from this right and wrong. Yangzhou is a rich and prosperous land, let him be a wealthy prince in the Jiangnan water town..."
