Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 201 A Blessing from Heaven
Not only was the Left Prince curious, but everyone standing at the city gate was practically driven mad with curiosity! Since ancient times, all salt in the world has been obtained from salt mines, and the fact that Yancheng had found so many salt wells and salt lakes was already a blessing from heaven. Over the years, ninety percent of the salt consumed by the people of Dajing came from Yancheng, making Yancheng salt extremely important to the people. This was precisely why the previous rumors had nearly driven everyone to despair. If even Yancheng's salt was destroyed, where would they buy salt for the next few decades? The surrounding countries, large and small, were eyeing Dajing covetously; they wouldn't even sell them salt, they even wanted to carve up the entire Dajing! Moreover, the surrounding small countries were already short of resources, barely enough to eat themselves, so why would they be so generous as to sell to them? If Dajing were annexed by the surrounding countries, even if they still had salt, they would certainly prioritize feeding their own people first.

This is what people in various places have been worried about these days.

Seeing the Princess of Ying County bring a whole convoy of salt into the capital, and the salt was so white and of better quality than any salt they had ever bought before, how could the people of the capital not be excited?

"This salt is so white, is it very expensive?"

"I think it will be more expensive than salt before. After all, look at the salt we used to eat, it was gray. Those high-ranking officials and nobles ate blue salt, which wasn't as nice-looking. I heard that it cost one tael of silver per jar! I wonder how expensive this snow salt will be?"

"Even if it's expensive, we still have to eat it. We can just buy a whole jar and eat it sparingly."

"That's true. If our family can't afford it, our two families can buy one can together and split it equally."

"you are right."

While everyone was secretly speculating, Emperor Jingtai also thought of this issue. He had already learned from letters that the cost of producing this salt was not high, but in front of the many people and officials, he still wanted to reassure everyone.

"Nine Palaces, is the new salt-making method difficult? What are the yields like? How much does salt cost?"

This matter has already been agreed upon with His Majesty through the carrier pigeons exchanged between the two sides. At this moment, Jiu Que spoke calmly.

"Your Majesty, this new salt-making method is not difficult, and its output is enormous, more than ten times that of Yancheng each year. Because the production cost is low, the price of salt is also not high. Of course, this still depends on Your Majesty's decision. In my humble opinion, it will be about half the original price of salt."

In fact, according to Jiu Que's opinion, salt, a necessity of life, should be extremely cheap. However, after discussing with Chunyu and the others, they listened to the locals' opinions. If the price of salt dropped too much, it would inevitably have a chain reaction, causing other undesirable changes. If they wanted the people of the world to regard salt as a common commodity, they could only proceed gradually. Without causing a public outcry, it would take at least seven or eight years to complete.

However, the King of Binyang once said...

"Jiu Que, your new salt-making method is tantamount to saving the lives of the people. Don't think I'm exaggerating; the price of salt used to be quite high, and the people were just being frugal. But now is a special time. The northern barbarians and southern tribes are eyeing us covetously, and they have already obtained too much salt from my Salt City. Their desire to divide the Central Plains remains undiminished, and they will always find an opportunity to stir up trouble. Although they won't launch a military campaign at the same time, they will use the price of salt to incite panic among the people and sow discord among the subjects of the Great Jing Dynasty, which will inevitably cause unrest."

"The people of the Central Plains were embroiled in war for nearly twenty years. This period was far too long, and the harm done to the people was far too profound. Destruction is always easier than reconstruction. Even after thirteen years of recuperation, the people have not yet recovered from the turmoil. They have finally regained some strength, and if war breaks out again, it will surely cause them great harm. The people cannot bear it any longer."

These were the heartfelt words of the King of Binyang, and after listening to them, Jiu Que couldn't help but think of one sentence.

"When a dynasty prospers, the people suffer; when a dynasty falls, the people suffer." The King of Binyang and his companions were taken aback at first, then their eyes flashed with a sharp light as they stared intently at Jiu Que, who knew he had spoken out of turn. They were incredibly excited.

"Nine Palaces has such beautiful verses, how come I've never heard you mention them before?"

"No, this isn't a poem I wrote; I just heard about it from someone else..."

Coming to her senses from her memories, Jiu Que met the incredulous gazes around her and nodded solemnly.

"Heaven cherishes life. Your Majesty has unified the Great Jing Dynasty and for the past thirteen years has worked tirelessly day and night for the sake of the people. This low-priced salt is a blessing for our Great Jing Dynasty, thanks to Your Majesty's efforts. Long live Your Majesty!"

Jiuque decisively attributed all the credit to Emperor Jingtai. It must be said that this emperor had truly done his utmost. Being the founding emperor is extremely difficult, especially in recent years with constant natural and man-made disasters, including floods and droughts. Under such circumstances, Emperor Jingtai's ability to allow the people to recuperate and the country to recover rapidly makes him an exceptionally wise and capable ruler.

Jiu Que sincerely admired this emperor. Although he would often secretly complain about him in his heart, Emperor Jingtai was truly a good emperor.

[In truth, the old emperor had done his best; even another emperor might not have done better. How so? It's just that the old emperor was unlucky; natural disasters and man-made calamities struck one after another in recent years, making his life truly difficult. Under such circumstances, he was still able to keep the northern barbarians and southern tribes in check, making him a truly remarkable emperor.]

Emperor Jingtai wanted to say something more, but upon hearing Jiu Que's thoughts, he couldn't suppress the smile on his face. Haha, Jiu Que is good in every way, except he's too honest. But this time he's being too cautious, isn't he? Why doesn't he just openly praise me?

Ahem, that makes sense. With so many people watching, if Jiu Que were to praise me lavishly as he wishes, he might be seen as a sycophant. That won't do. This child is so outstanding; he's destined to be a pillar of the state in the future.

Even so, the officials around him weren't blind. His Majesty's wide smile was practically piercing their faces; how could they not see it? However, no matter how jealous they were, they couldn't possibly speak recklessly to Ying Jiuque. After all, developing a new salt-making method was a great benefit to the country and its people. No matter how jealous they were, they couldn't turn a blind eye to Ying Jiuque's faults in such a matter.

"Ying Qing is truly my right-hand man. With Ying Qing around, my Great Jing will have nothing to worry about for the next twenty years!"

Hmm, although everyone knows His Majesty values ​​Ying Jiuque highly, isn't this a bit too much? These ministers have worked diligently for many years; how can they not deserve such praise from His Majesty?

The group of men were filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment, but when they glanced at Lin Wei, whose face was pale, they suddenly realized that they weren't the worst off.

(End of this chapter)