The Prodigal Son

Upon returning to the Qin residence, Qin Yu finished recounting the events in the palace to Nan Que'er and Luo Qingyi.

"This task has indeed fallen to you."

Luo Qingyi sighed helplessly, then asked nervously, "Did His Majesty say when you should set off?"

"Not yet!"

Qin Yu shook his head and said, "This should be decided after tomorrow's court meeting! But I estimate it shouldn't be too long! At the latest, it won't be later than the fifteenth of the first lunar month."

Zhao Luan attached great importance to the rectification of the salt administration.

At this critical juncture, Zhao Luan definitely wants a quick victory.

He estimated that he might be ordered to set off as early as the sixth day of the first lunar month.

"..."

Luo Qingyi opened her mouth slightly, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

Upon seeing this, Qin pulled her into his arms and teased, "You can't bear to part with your master, can you?"

"Um."

Luo Qingyi nodded gently and snuggled closer to Qin Yu's embrace.

Nan Que'er pouted slightly and said with dissatisfaction, "Your Majesty is really something! It's not like Da Ning is short of people, why do you always have to be used by one of them? You've only been back for a short time, and you've already been assigned such an important task."

"Don't say that."

Luo Qingyi gently patted Nan Que'er, "The salt administration has always been a matter of national importance. His Majesty entrusting such an important matter to the Thirteenth Young Master shows that His Majesty trusts him."

Nan Que'er curled her lip, unconvinced.

trust?

That sounds nice, but it doesn't!

No matter how much you trust someone, you can't treat them like a donkey!

Moreover, regulating the salt administration was no easy task.

To put it nicely, it's about trusting him; to put it bluntly, it's about dumping a problem on him!

"Alright!"

Qin Yu patted Nan Que'er's hand, "Since I've already taken on this task, there's no point in saying anything more! Let's hope we can get this done as soon as possible!"

Nan Que'er sniffed and said with a mischievous look, "I don't care. I'll definitely follow you wherever you go. It's just a pity for Qingyi. She's only just gotten used to sleeping with a man, and now she'll have to stay alone in her room again."

"That's not necessarily true!"

Qin Yu's lips curled up slightly.

"Um?"

Nan Que'er pouted again, and said resentfully, "You're not going to stop me from going with you, are you?"

Seeing Nan Que'er's expression, Qin Yu couldn't help but laugh. He then reached out and pinched Nan Que'er's pouting lips. "Couldn't I have brought Qingyi along too?"

"what?"

Luo Qingyi and Nan Que'er both stared at him in astonishment.

Is it possible... like this?

After regaining her senses, Luo Qingyi gently shook her head: "I'd better not go! Putting aside whether His Majesty would allow you to do this, there are so many things to do in our household, and so many businesses that still need me to manage. If I go with you, who will do these things?"

"Business is easy to handle! Old Tu can help manage it all."

Qin Yu smiled and said, "I was just saying, whether it will work or not, we'll see later!"

He did indeed have the idea of ​​bringing Luo Qingyi along.

Moreover, bringing Luo Qingyi along wasn't purely for her company.

A crackdown on the salt administration will definitely involve things like auditing accounts.

Luo Qingyi is extremely sensitive to accounts; she can help me check the accounts.

However, this is something that people in the Ministry of Revenue can also do.

Whether or not Luo Qingyi should be brought along depends on how much power Zhao Luan grants her.

Those salt merchants certainly wouldn't sit idly by and wait to die; this trip would definitely be dangerous.

After Luo Qingyi followed him, she did learn some basic martial arts, but it was only superficial. If Zhao Luan didn't give her enough power, he wouldn't have needed to take Luo Qingyi on these dangerous adventures.

"Don't worry about what happens next."

Luo Qingyi wrapped her jade-like arms around Qin Yu's neck, a charming and alluring smile suddenly appearing on her face. "I need to get my hands on the meat first!"

"Who will eat whom is uncertain!"

Qin Yu grinned mischievously and kissed Luo Qingyi's alluring red lips...

……

Despite Zhao Luan's warning, Qin Yu still attended the court assembly on time the following day.

Qin Yu also spotted Yu Jing among the assembled officials.

Today marks the start of the new year's imperial court session, which includes an extra step compared to previous years.

Outside the Zichen Palace, Zhao Luan personally presented each minister with a New Year's gift—a "Fu" character written by her own hand, along with a palm-sized bag.

The bag contained nine copper coins and five kinds of grains, symbolizing abundant harvests year after year and full granaries.

After the officials expressed their gratitude, Zhao Luan led them into the Zichen Palace.

Qin Yu is now in a relationship.

As a second-rank official, he was already able to stand in the front row.

The morning assembly began.

Zhao Luan briefly told the officials about the fall of Zhubei City, and then suddenly changed the subject.

"I have issued an edict ordering Xue Chengdao to lead his troops to retreat and defend Zhenzhou, and have entrusted him with the military and political affairs of the three northwestern prefectures so that he can mobilize troops and supplies at any time!"

"This matter will not be discussed at today's court assembly!"

"After Prince Fengyi led seven prefectures of Min to submit to our dynasty last year, many officials in the court advised me to promote Min salt and open up salt routes in Min!"

"With Salt Commissioner Shi of Liangjiang here today, I would like to discuss with you all whether this matter is feasible!"

"My esteemed subjects, please do not hold back; speak freely!"

After speaking, Zhao Luan raised his eyes and scanned the assembled officials.

Zhao Luan's words came as a complete surprise.

Many ministers thought the first topic of discussion today would be the war in Shuozhou, but Zhao Luan unexpectedly brought up the matter of Min salt.

For a moment, many ministers were caught off guard and began to weigh the pros and cons in their minds.

"In my humble opinion, promoting the Min salt industry and opening up salt routes in Min is imperative!"

Su Yu was the first to stand up, "Previously, due to geographical limitations, more than 70% of the salt in our country came from Hai and Yuan prefectures. The salt from these two prefectures was transported to various places over long distances, and the salt profits were also subject to layers of exploitation, resulting in high salt prices and widespread discontent among the people!"

"Now that Min has submitted, and Min possesses abundant sea salt resources, promoting Min salt and opening up salt routes in Min will not only reduce the imperial court's dependence on salt from Hai and Yuan prefectures, breaking their monopoly on salt affairs, making salt affordable for the people of the land, but also develop Min and win the hearts of its people!"

As Su Yu finished speaking, many ministers nodded in agreement.

Yu Jing also stepped forward, agreeing, "Minjiang has abundant salt flats along its coast. As long as the imperial court vigorously promotes Minjiang salt production, large-scale salt fields can be built in a short time, ensuring that the people of Daning have salt to eat!"

"Your Highness is mistaken!"

A minister stepped forward to retort: ​​"Min is indeed rich in sea salt resources, but the roads there are not smooth. Once the salt is produced, transportation is a major problem! The late emperor once considered importing large quantities of Min salt, but because the cost of importing Min salt was too high, it was never done on a large scale..."

Min is not like Daning.

During the reign of the late emperor, Da Ning ushered in a golden age. During this period, Da Ning built and improved many official roads, connecting the entire road network of Da Ning.

However, Mindi did not have enough manpower and financial resources to build and improve the official roads. Many places were just rugged paths, and once the rainy season came, many roads became muddy.

Under such circumstances, salt transportation would inevitably encounter many problems.

"The past is the past, the present is the present! If roads are impassable, we'll build them. We can also provide work relief so that the people of Min, who have just survived the ravages of war, can have enough to eat!"

"You make it sound so easy. The imperial court is already facing a financial crisis; where would it get so much money to build roads?"

"How much silver is needed for the work-for-relief program? If roads aren't built and the people of Min suffer from the disaster, will the imperial court not provide relief?"

"..."

Soon, the court officials began arguing about it...