The immortal of the Tang Dynasty, but the game starts at Xuanwu Gate?

From the afternoon onwards, the conversations inside Xiande Hall never stopped, and many ministers even dined there.

It wasn't until evening, after all the details regarding Luo Yi had been thoroughly discussed, that the ministers finally departed.

However... to Li Shimin's surprise, Chen Huai'an did not leave.

"Huai'an," Li Shimin raised an eyebrow, "You're usually the one who walks the fastest, why aren't you in a hurry today?"

"Your Majesty, you're asking a question you already know the answer to." Even though Li Shimin was teasing him, Chen Huai'an didn't feel embarrassed at all. "I stayed because I have something to discuss with you."

"Alright, I know you have something to say, so hurry up and say it." Li Shimin glanced at him and became serious.

Chen Huai'an is a man who either has nothing to do, or when something does happen, it's no small matter.

"Your Majesty, it's like this..." Chen Huai'an explained his plans, including repairing the water conservancy in the Guanzhong region and leading people to reclaim wasteland.

Li Shimin said blankly, "If I remember correctly, you were still building granaries, mining iron ore, and leading people to forge ironware."

"This whole thing is done on an employment system. How can a nascent ironware business support you doing so much at the same time?"

"Of course not," Chen Huai'an said frankly.

Li Shimin's lips twitched: "You know it won't work, but you still want to do it?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly thought of something and hurriedly asked, "Could it be... that you have another way?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, yes!" Chen Huai'an took out a cloth bag from his bosom and handed it to Li Shimin.

The latter took it curiously, opened it, and raised an eyebrow slightly: "Refined salt?"

"No...no, this is whiter and finer than fine salt, like snowflakes, without a trace of dirt or impurities."

Li Shimin's expression suddenly turned serious. He gently pinched a little salt with his fingers and put it into his mouth without hesitation.

The eunuch who was about to stop him suddenly froze.

"Hmm..." Li Shimin tasted it and said in silence, "It is indeed salt, without a trace of bitterness. Our Tang Dynasty... never had such good salt before."

Chen Huai'an immediately smiled.

Of course, the Tang Dynasty did not have that.

The salt-making technology of the Tang Dynasty was very backward, but Chen Huai'an had at least a few salt-making methods in his mind that could completely outmaneuver the Tang Dynasty.

Just like how the main method of salt production in the Tang Dynasty was "leaching brine and boiling salt".

What does that mean?

The process involves first preparing brine containing salt, then boiling it over a fire to evaporate the water and obtain salt. Specific methods include scraping salt soil from the seashore to leach brine, or directly boiling the brine from salt wells.

In short, it's all about frying!

This method is extremely wasteful of firewood, manpower, and material resources.

Even if Chen Huai'an did not use methods such as sedimentation and filtration, he could still utilize the Ministry of Works to build salt fields by the sea and produce salt through sun drying.

Either way, it can greatly increase salt production efficiency, significantly reduce costs, and, most importantly, produce salt of far superior quality than the best salt on the market.

"What does Your Majesty think? A mere beginning of ironware production is certainly not enough to support me in undertaking such a large project at the same time, but what if we add this?" Chen Huai'an asked with a smile.

Li Shimin replied without hesitation: "Iron is something many people can do without, or even share, but salt is something they absolutely must eat."

"With this, not only can you undertake several large-scale projects simultaneously, but even continuing to build the Grand Canal wouldn't be impossible!"

"However... I must remind you." Li Shimin put down the cloth bag containing fine salt. "Do you know what the appearance of this thing signifies?"

"And do you even realize how many people's interests will be affected by its emergence?"

"By the sea and near the salt wells, there are countless salt-making households who have made their living by boiling salt for generations. Once you release this kind of salt, these millions of salt-making households will lose their livelihoods overnight and become refugees. People like that are capable of anything!"

Li Shimin's last sentence was somewhat intriguing.

Chen Huai'an listened silently, without speaking immediately.

He felt that Li Shimin's words should be reversed.

The emergence of refined salt will infringe on the interests of too many people, and those whose interests are violated are capable of anything!

This is what Li Shimin wanted to express.

Chen Huai'an certainly understood this, otherwise he wouldn't have bothered with any alcoholic beverages in the first place.

Instead, they applied salt directly.

After all, isn't this simpler than making wine?

But as I said before, times have changed, and the disaster situation is urgent.

Now, he is the Duke of Anguo, who is highly trusted by Li Shimin, and has also secured the position of Minister of Works.

Chen Huai'an said: I avoided his sharp edge?

"Your Majesty, I'm already a Duke, and if I'm still so timid and hesitant, then what's the point of being a Duke?" Chen Huai'an spread his hands.

"So what if I infringe on other people's interests?"

"Does Your Majesty believe that iron does not infringe upon the interests of others?"

"We're all going to walk this path sooner or later, Your Majesty, there's no need to scare me."

"As for the kitchen staff..." Chen Huai'an smiled faintly, "That's simple. We need to hire workers anyway, so why not just hire them directly?"

"We might not even have enough manpower."

"It seems you've already made up your mind." Li Shimin tapped the table lightly with his fingers. "Here's what you'll do: move as soon as possible. With your rank, hiring guards shouldn't be a problem."

"Take care of yourself and be mindful of your safety."

"As for salt..."

Li Shimin looked intently at Chen Huai'an: "You can go ahead and do it. The old rules still apply: 40% of the profits will go to the Ministry of Works first, and the rest will be given to the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Personnel."

"Furthermore, you mentioned reclaiming wasteland, repairing water conservancy projects, and storing rainwater; I... agree!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Chen Huai'an was overjoyed and quickly expressed his gratitude.

Li Shimin replied earnestly, "Huai'an, you shouldn't be thanking me; I should be thanking you!"

Chen Huai'an's face stiffened.

That's a difficult question to answer.

Li Shimin seemed to sense something, and a pang of sadness welled up in his heart. He waved his hand and said, "Never mind, I didn't mean anything by it. Don't overthink it."

"Go ahead and do it. As long as you're right, I will support you!"

Chen Huai'an breathed a sigh of relief: "Alright, I understand. I'll take my leave."

"Go."

After the matter was discussed, Chen Huai'an stood up, preparing to leave, when Li Shimin suddenly called out to him again: "Huai'an."

"I am here, Your Majesty."

"...I don't know why you're in such a hurry, but I trust you. Don't worry, I've got your back!"

"...Then Your Majesty, please rest assured, I will take care of everything."

"Hahahaha, great!"

"......"