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

After pondering for a moment, Chen Huai'an said, "Could it be that Vice Minister Cui has misunderstood something? The thorough investigation I referred to is not a comprehensive investigation of the entire country, but only a part of it."

"How about this: thoroughly investigate a portion of the locations, and let Vice Minister Cui make the final decision?"

Cui Gan sneered, "The Duke of Anguo certainly has impressive methods!"

Chen Huai'an smiled but remained silent.

If the reaction to just one Cui family is so strong, then a thorough investigation is impossible, at least not now.

Therefore, Chen Huai'an settled for second best and only investigated a portion of the areas, some of which were even determined by members of the Cui family themselves.

The Cui family certainly wouldn't just assign Chen Huai'an a position arbitrarily. Would Chen Huai'an be willing to accept it if he didn't gain anything from it?

Therefore, the purpose of this designated location is to force the Cui family to relinquish some of their land, or to find a way to get others to relinquish some of their land.

In short, Chen Huai'an wanted land and people; he didn't care where they came from, he just wanted a result.

This is also an exchange of benefits.

"Will Vice Minister Cui agree?" Chen Huai'an asked after a while.

Cui Gan closed his eyes: "I can't give you an answer right now. I'll visit you in a couple of days."

"Then I'll await good news from Vice Minister Cui." Chen Huai'an readily agreed and got up to take his leave.

After Chen Huai'an left, Cui Gan sat quietly for a long time before suddenly asking, "What do you think?"

Behind the screen, Cui Dunli slowly stepped out and whispered, "Chen Huai'an wants to divide us, make us fight among ourselves, and has offered enough benefits to tempt others."

"He didn't hide anything; he used a blatant, overt strategy!"

"Too bad, he underestimated us!"

Cui Gan laughed.

Their family has stood the test of time for so many years, weathering the changes of the times. How could they be easily divided by a little bit of profit?

Internally, they do have disagreements and differing interests, but externally, they are quite united!

If the threat is big enough, even all their families can unite!

Cui Gan pondered for a moment and said, "I think we can agree to his conditions, inform the elders above, and also inform Cui Xuan."

"We'll just act as messengers, adding a few of our own opinions, but it's best if we don't get involved in anything else."

"Chen Huai'an's plan is destined to fail, which is actually for the best, to prevent the conflict from escalating further. It would be bad if things developed to a point that no one wants to see."

Cui Dunli nodded: "That's what I think too, but we, the second branch, can't suffer too much loss. Of the 30% profit, we should at least keep 10% for ourselves."

"Chen Huai'an made a good point: this portion of the profits is too large, and others might target us. This is what we deserve."

"Write this suggestion down and send it to the clan elders!"

"..."

"Minister, did you really give the Cui family 30%?"

Inside the Ministry of Works, Chang Gui hesitated and said, "Isn't this allocation somewhat unreasonable?"

"The Cui family has taken too much. What about the others?"

"The others?" Chen Huai'an lay back in his chair, gazing at the ceiling, and casually said, "Let the others compete among themselves, each according to their own abilities."

"We don't care about that."

Chang Gui was taken aback for a moment: "Sir, do you mean that besides the Cui family's fixed 30%, the other salt permits should be left for them to compete for? Whoever gets them, we'll give them the salt?"

"Yes, that's what we'll do." Chen Huai'an nodded.

Ouyang Shu, standing to the side, said, "Minister, do you want them to argue among themselves?"

"Forgive my bluntness, but there are indeed many conflicts among the aristocratic families. However, the relationships between them are quite complex, and perhaps they have already made their own arrangements in advance..."

"I know," Chen Huai'an said slowly, "but what does it matter? They can fairly distribute the profits for one or two years, but what about five or ten years later?"

"Can they still tolerate the Cui family taking so much, or other families taking more than them?"

"To fight against such behemoths, or even to defeat them, one must have patience."

Think about the original history: Li Shimin and his son, plus Wu Zetian, spent their whole lives fighting against powerful families.

During Wu Zetian's reign, the power of aristocratic families was severely weakened, but they were not completely eradicated.

Chen Huai'an never expected to eliminate the powerful families in just a few years; it was destined to be a long process, and he had plenty of patience and time.

Moreover, in the first three years of the Zhenguan era, Chen Huai'an was unwilling to fight too fiercely with the aristocratic families!

Because of the constant natural and man-made disasters during the three years of Zhenguan, if the infighting became too fierce, it would cause the powerful families to band together and potentially use these disasters to their advantage.

You have to understand, this is ancient times, and people are naturally a bit superstitious.

Moreover, Li Shimin's ascension to the throne was illegitimate.

What if someone were to suddenly claim that Li Shimin is not tolerated by Heaven and that natural disasters will continue as long as he sits on the throne? Where would you go to reason with them?

Chen Huai'an strongly suspects that Li Shimin issued the edict of self-reproach partly to prevent such voices from emerging.

"Minister, what about papermaking?" Chang Gui cupped his hands in greeting. "Since you introduced the papermaking technique, the artisans in the Ministry of Works are now able to produce paper. However, woodblock printing is a bit troublesome, as it requires carving each piece bit by bit."

Chen Huai'an casually said, "Just like with salt, give the Zheng family 30% of the paper production, and let them fight for the rest or distribute it themselves. We won't interfere with the rest; we'll just handle the shipping and collecting the money!"

"Yes, Minister!" Chang Gui replied.

"Has anything unusual happened recently?" Chen Huai'an asked again.

Chang Gui thought for a moment and said, "The only thing worth mentioning recently is that Yuan Junzhang, who had long been dependent on the Turks and occupied Heng'an, has led his people to surrender."

"At present, the conflict between the two leaders of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, Jieli and Tuli, has broken out, and the country is weak. After Yuan Junzhang led his people to surrender, he was granted the title of Duke of Rui."

Chen Huai'an was speechless: "I know about this, but can you tell me something I don't know?"

Chang Gui was speechless for a moment. Ouyang Shu pondered and said, "Indeed, there is another matter. According to news, the people in Shandong and other regions who were not hired by the government are already arriving in Chang'an in small numbers."

"We have already arrived at Tongguan and are expected to reach Chang'an within seven days."

"So, the disaster victims are almost here?" Chen Huai'an finally became serious.

"Your Excellency, that is indeed the case," Ouyang Shu replied. "However, the price of grain in Chang'an has risen somewhat recently, reaching two hundred coins. I believe this is a normal price increase."

"The Ministry of Revenue bought up most of the grain in the hands of those grain merchants, and the rest were bought by ordinary people with money."

"In addition, it is now mid-May, and the spring harvest is just around the corner. By the end of the month, the grain planted on the reclaimed wasteland in the Guanzhong region will be ready for harvest."

"..."