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

"It's reversed! It's reversed!"

Inside the Xiande Hall of the Eastern Palace, Li Shimin learned that Chen Huai'an had been assassinated by six assassins, and he flew into a rage, even overturning the table in front of him.

Pen holders, documents, ink, paper, and inkstones were scattered all over the ground.

"In broad daylight, under the clear sky, do they even respect me?! They dare to assassinate my newly appointed Minister of Revenue right here in the street?"

"Do they even respect me anymore?!"

Li Shimin's personal eunuch Zhang Anan bowed and stepped forward hesitantly, saying, "Your Majesty, according to the news from below, although Duke Anguo was covered in blood, he was able to return home on his own, so he should be alright."

"This servant suggests that we should find out who is behind this as soon as possible..."

"Investigate?" Li Shimin said sternly, "Does this even need an investigation? Six assassins, each a skilled fighter, dared to assassinate a court official right under the emperor's nose, and the one they killed was Huai'an."

"Tell me, is there any need to investigate this?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Zhang Anan naturally knew there was no need to investigate, but he said it that way on purpose.

"Your Majesty, perhaps we should send someone to visit the Duke of Anguo? He was previously assassinated by a grain merchant, and now he's been attacked by six assassins. Even if he's not seriously injured, he must have been quite frightened..."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin sat down, his face grim.

Zhang Anan's words made him think of some things.

Chen Huai'an had no problems when he was working on iron forging methods, and he had no problems when he was working on refined salt, but now that he's dealing with grain, one problem after another has arisen.

It's hard for him not to overthink things.

"Your Majesty."

At this moment, a young eunuch walked in silently: "The Ministry of Works has submitted an urgent memorial."

"Hmm?" Li Shimin raised his eyes. "Bring it here for me to see."

"Yes." Zhang Anan took the memorial from the eunuch and presented it.

Li Shimin looked through it for a while, then laughed in anger: "They say my fine salt is poisonous, and that people have died from eating it?!"

"Did my empress, crown prince, princess, and I all eat this kind of salt? How come I didn't die from it?!"

Li Shimin was truly enraged.

He could certainly understand a problem that even the people in the Ministry of Works could figure out.

Once the reputation of refined salt is ruined, one of the two pillars supporting the work-for-relief program will collapse instantly, and the national treasury revenue will plummet. This is something that Li Shimin absolutely cannot accept!

"Your Majesty, the Duke of Anguo is requesting an audience while he is away."

Another eunuch came to report, and Li Shimin was taken aback for a moment before hurriedly saying, "Summon him quickly."

Soon, Chen Huai'an, who had changed his clothes, walked in carrying a stack of papers: "Your Majesty, I pay my respects."

Li Shimin came down, carefully looked Chen Huai'an over for a while, and even reached out to pinch his arm.

"What does Your Majesty mean by this?"

Li Shimin asked with a strange expression, "Six assassins surrounded you, and you really weren't hurt at all?"

Chen Huai'an coughed dryly and said, "Your Majesty, I have already said that I know a little bit about martial arts."

Li Shimin: "..."

"...You really have never practiced martial arts?" Li Shimin asked, pinching the hard muscles on Chen Huai'an's arm.

Chen Huai'an replied without batting an eye: "I have only learned some of the Six Arts of a Gentleman, and have never practiced martial arts."

Li Shimin smirked, scoffed, and sat down again with a flick of his sleeve: "Fine, if you don't want to talk, I'm too lazy to ask."

"Now do you know just how ruthless the aristocratic families are? I warned you long ago not to underestimate them."

"While ironware was still within their acceptable range, refined salt was something they absolutely could not tolerate."

"Moreover, you also pulled this stunt in Chang'an, which is tantamount to forcibly purchasing a huge amount of grain at a low price."

"Do you really think some grain merchants can produce that much grain?"

"Think about yourself. You made so much money at the Beauty Pass, you must have earned hundreds of thousands of strings of cash in just a few months. But you sent people all over the world to buy grain, how much did you actually manage to buy?"

"Isn't it only 180,000 shi?"

"Now...you've seen how powerful they are, haven't you?"

"No!" Chen Huai'an raised his head, smiling broadly. "Your subject has witnessed his own power!"

Li Shimin looked him over carefully for a moment: "You came prepared today?"

"Of course." Chen Huai'an nodded, then asked a question, "In Your Majesty's opinion, what is the cruelest system in history?"

Li Shimin chuckled and said, "The imperial examination?"

"Indeed!" Chen Huai'an said unhurriedly, "In my opinion, the most ruthless system since ancient times is the imperial examination."

"It was not a simple exam; it broke the monopoly of powerful families from the very bottom and carved out a path to the top."

"Even if you come from a poor farming family, as long as you study hard, take the exams, and pass the imperial examinations, you can instantly transcend social class and gain official positions, wealth, and status."

"From a humble farmer in the morning to a high-ranking official in the evening!"

Li Shimin nodded in agreement; that was indeed the case.

Chen Huai'an then changed the subject: "However, the imperfections of the imperial examination system and the monopoly of books and knowledge by aristocratic families meant that even with the imperial examinations, it was still extremely difficult for children from poor families to make a name for themselves."

"Aren't I the best example? So what if I passed the exam? My achievements can be easily taken away by others."

Li Shimin propped his head up with his hand and said calmly, "What do you want to say?"

"I would like to ask why the powerful families are so difficult to shake," Chen Huai'an said slowly. "Firstly, it is because they possess vast estates and at the same time shelter a large number of tenants and retainers."

"These people do not register their household registration, pay taxes, or perform corvée labor and military service. It is no exaggeration to say that at least 30% of the Tang Dynasty's finances and manpower were privately intercepted by powerful families."

Li Shimin scoffed, "You've underestimated it."

Chen Huai'an didn't respond, but continued, "Secondly, it's because they monopolized core livelihood industries, from salt, iron, brewing, and cloth to local commerce and canal transport. These things were mostly controlled by powerful families before."

"Any new policies of the imperial court, such as reforming the salt administration, stabilizing grain prices, or reforming taxes, will touch upon their interests."

"They don't need to openly defy the imperial court. They only need to hoard goods to cut off supplies, spread rumors, and organize merchants to boycott the new policies in a collective manner to make them completely ineffective in the local areas, and even trigger unrest among the people."

Li Shimin said coldly, "I have already witnessed it. People said my fine salt would kill them, and then you were immediately surrounded and killed."

"Heh... Come to think of it, since you appeared, almost every step you've taken has touched their interests. I find it strange that they've tolerated you until today."

"Forget about that, what about third?"

Chen Huai'an smiled and said, "I myself find it strange, as for the third..."

"..."