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

With Li Shimin's permission, Chen Huai'an went to the Ministry of Works the next day and summoned Yu Shao, the director of the Directorate of Works.

He also ordered the excavation of inferior rock salt and soil salt, which are considered toxic salt mines by ordinary people.

To produce sea salt, one needs to first establish salt fields on the coast. However, time is of the essence, so the only option is to mine these toxic salt mines and use dissolution and refining methods to produce salt.

At first, the people from the Ministry of Works and Yu Shao were somewhat puzzled, unable to understand why Chen Huai'an was digging these things up.

Until Chen Huai'an produced the method for making salt.

Chang Gui and Ouyang Shu were completely convinced, and the way Yu Shao looked at Chen Huai'an could only be described in four words—reverence as if he were a god!

The artisans in the workshop are very pure; they respect whoever is more skilled.

To them, Chen Huai'an was practically a living god!

"Alright, enough talk. Quickly arrange for the people below to start mining. If you have any questions about the manufacturing process, feel free to ask me anytime," Chen Huai'an said calmly. "Of course, I'll demonstrate it for you later."

"However... let me make this clear from the start."

At this point, Chen Huai'an paused, his eyes turning cold: "Regarding the production of refined salt, all personnel must keep it a secret, and untrustworthy individuals must not be employed."

"Afterwards, I will have His Majesty intervene and send people to monitor the entire process."

"If this salt-making method were to leak out... regardless of the reason, everyone would be held accountable, and their heads would be chopped off, understand?!"

The three of them jolted awake, instantly snapping out of their excitement, and quickly nodded in agreement.

Chen Huai'an's words were extremely harsh: if the salt-making method were leaked, he would hold everyone accountable, regardless of the reason.

What does this mean?

This means that if anyone leaks the information, everyone involved in salt production will be sentenced to death, and no one will escape punishment.

They naturally included that.

Chen Huai'an glanced at the three of them and continued, "The production of salt is divided into three grades. The lowest grade, which is better than the salt on the market, will be priced at twenty copper coins per dou."

"Medium-grade salt, that is, coarse salt without impurities, is priced at fifty coins per dou."

"As for the finest salt, it is priced at one hundred coins per dou."

what?

Upon hearing the price, all three were stunned and looked up in shock.

It's not because it's too expensive, but because it's too cheap.

The lowest grade of salt is only priced at twenty coins?

You should know that even the salt sold in Chang'an city costs nearly thirty coins.

This salt is even worse than the inferior salt Chen Huai'an mentioned.

As for the medium and high-end grades, they could definitely be sold for even higher prices!

"Minister... isn't this price a bit inappropriate?" Ouyang Shu hesitated before speaking. "We could easily sell it for a higher price and make more profit."

"There's no need," Chen Huai'an shook his head. "We can certainly sell it for a higher price, but don't forget, the Tang Dynasty is short of grain, but salt is not actually that scarce."

"The salt available on the market is of lower quality, but it's not inedible."

"If it's too expensive, people might not buy it."

"Furthermore, although we sell our salt at a low price, our costs are quite low. Not only is the price cheap, but the salt we sell is also better than others. More importantly, we can still make a profit."

"That's enough."

The three of them thought about it and agreed that it made sense, so they didn't say anything more.

They could all see that Chen Huai'an had made up his mind. As subordinates, they could raise a question once, but they couldn't keep questioning their superior; that would be incredibly inconsiderate.

Next, Chen Huai'an personally found people and materials, and in front of Yu Shao, taught him how to make fine salt step by step. He also wrote down the detailed method and handed it to Yu Shao.

Furthermore, they were solemnly instructed to quickly find someone to dredge the waterways and lead people to reclaim wasteland.

After a whole day, Chen Huai'an finally managed to arrange everything.

The following day, after court, he went to the Eastern Palace, found Li Shimin, and asked Li Shimin to send someone to oversee salt production.

After hearing this, Li Shimin agreed without hesitation: "No problem. I will personally select the salt-making location for you, and as for the personnel involved in salt production... I will send people to choose them."

"You don't need to worry about these things, just focus on doing your own thing!"

"That's good then." Chen Huai'an smiled and prepared to take his leave.

Unexpectedly, Li Shimin suddenly said, "Huai'an, Pei Ju... is too old. This year, he is already seventy-nine. Don't be fooled by his still energetic appearance; he doesn't have much time left."

Chen Huai'an couldn't understand why Li Shimin brought this up, and pondered for a moment before saying, "Although Pei Ju is old, he is a qualified Minister of Revenue. At least from the time I've known him, his actions have been worthy of his position."

"What is Your Majesty's intention in bringing this up?"

Li Shimin gazed at him: "Back then, I promoted him to Minister of Revenue because he was getting old and was indeed capable, making him a good candidate for a transition."

"As you know, I have only been on the throne for a short time, my foundation is not deep, and I don't have many people under my command who can shoulder great responsibilities."

"But the Ministry of Revenue's responsibilities are too heavy, so choosing Pei Ju was a last resort."

"Now, you have developed a better method for forging iron and a new method for making salt. However, of the revenue from these products, 40% remains with the Ministry of Works, 30% goes to the Ministry of Revenue, and the remaining 30% is given to the Ministry of Revenue."

"This kind of allocation may work in the short term, but many drawbacks will emerge in the long run."

"Therefore, I have come up with a solution that can resolve your concerns once and for all, allowing you to focus on getting things done."

Chen Huai'an was taken aback: "What method?"

"You will serve as Minister of Works and Minister of Revenue simultaneously!" Li Shimin said earnestly.

Chen Huai'an: ?

Simultaneously serving as Minister of Works and Minister of Revenue?

Chen Huai'an was a little confused and subconsciously wanted to object.

How can one person simultaneously hold the positions of Minister of two ministries?

This is not reasonable.

But after thinking it over carefully, Chen Huai'an hesitated again.

Because he remembered that during the Zhenguan period, there seemed to be quite a few cases of one person simultaneously serving as the Minister of Two Ministries.

In the second year of the Zhenguan era, Du Ruhui was appointed Minister of War as his official position, concurrently serving as Minister of Personnel, and was also given the additional titles of Grand Councilor and Superintendent of Military Affairs of the Eastern Palace.

After Du Ruhui's death, Dai Zhou, who was then the Minister of Revenue, was appointed to oversee the position of Minister of Personnel, thus holding two positions in one person.

Moreover, these were the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Personnel, the two most prestigious ministries.

Simultaneously serving as Minister of Works and Minister of Revenue... seems like there's no problem.

"What do you think?" Li Shimin asked with a smile.

Chen Huai'an thought for a moment and said, "I am honored by Your Majesty's high regard for me. If Your Majesty is willing to entrust me with this important task, I will naturally have no reason to refuse."

"However, some people in the court might disagree."

"It's good that you agree." Li Shimin stood up, speaking casually as if he were talking about a trivial matter.

"As for other people's opinions... they're not important!"

"......"