Wentang

Chapter 285
"Yanzheng, don't you want to say that the salt and iron franchise is right?" Li Shimin asked pretending to be puzzled.

"Of course not. In the long run, the salt and iron monopoly will do more harm than good. It is not the work of a benevolent king. How can a sage practice such a tyrannical government." Yue Shan accidentally slapped it.

As soon as these words came out, the eyes of the ministers in the court were straightened, what about your integrity?Some even labeled him a jester.

Li Shimin was also taken lightly by this fresh flattery, and almost laughed happily.But he still woke up in time, coughed dryly and said:

"Okay, okay, don't say these flattery words, just talk about your solution."

"The current salt administration is very unreasonable. The sale of salt is in the hands of powerful and rich businessmen, who can earn tens of millions of profits every year without paying any taxes. The original intention of the imperial court is to reduce the burden on the common people. But actually?" Yue Shan also knew that he seemed to have said something out of morality, so he quickly changed the subject:
"The salt merchants didn't understand the meaning of the court to the court, or they knew it but didn't take it to heart. The price was increased layer by layer, and the profit was ten times or dozens of times when it was shipped to a different place. The result was that the people didn't get any benefits. , but fattened a group of salt merchants."

"Qingshui Hou's words are wrong. Salt merchants need costs to produce salt, and they also need costs to transport salt to other places. How can they make money without raising prices?" At this time, an official in scarlet robes stood up and said.

"Oh? Then my colleague, do you know how much the cost of table salt is, and how much is the transportation cost?" Yue Shan asked back.

"This is a business matter, how would I know." The official said disdainfully.

"Oh? It turns out that you don't know. You dare to speak in the court without knowing anything. Either you have malicious intentions to mislead the saint and your colleagues, or you are stupid. I don't know which one you are?" Yue Shan sneered.

"You...you little brat dare to insult me. Saint, please uphold justice for me." The official said angrily.

"It should be severely punished. Someone, drag him out, and check to see if there is any violation of law and discipline. If there is, we will investigate and deal with it according to the law. If not, we will demote him to a commoner." Li Shimin said coldly.

The official's face brightened, he didn't expect the emperor to give him face so much, and he said quickly: "Thank you saint for upholding justice..."

However, as soon as he spoke, he found that all the people in the court were looking at him strangely. Before he could figure out what was going on, he was dragged out by the arms of two guards.

"Saint, I was wronged, I was wronged..."

Hearing the miserable shouts coming from outside the door, many people couldn't help but shuddered, and the importance they paid to Yue Shan was raised several levels again.They finally realized that the rumors might not be true.

Although this Qing Shuihou didn't have any real job, his status in the emperor's mind was comparable to that of a prime minister.Those who originally wanted to win the emperor's attention by refuting Yue Shan also immediately gave up their thoughts.

Seeing this passer-by character like A, B, C, and D being dragged out, Yue Shan felt quite refreshed.

As for the guilt... What is such a mindless official doing in court?What's the use of it other than occupying a pit, clearing it out can also give talented people a chance.

"Then what do you mean, taxing salt merchants?" Li Shimin continued to ask according to the original plan after dealing with the discordant voices.

He is not a strict monarch, and he will not easily deal with an official above the fifth rank just for a few words.

The reason why the official was dealt with so harshly was to deter the courtiers and clear the way for the next plan.

"No, tax the salt merchants and they will raise the price of salt. In the end, it is the common people who will suffer." Yue Shan finally expressed his true intention:
"I know a method of extracting salt from seawater, which can be donated to the imperial court free of charge. But in order to prevent salt merchants from profiting from it after learning it secretly, I propose that the imperial court issue a 'sea salt monopoly law'."

(End of this chapter)