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

The next day.

Cui Gan and Cui Dunli together brought Cui Xuan over.

The two of them shared their conversation with Chen Huai'an with Cui Xuan without holding back.

Cui Xuan immediately breathed a sigh of relief. The fact that his two cousins ​​were willing to tell him this meant that they did not intend to take full control of the salt profits.

"I knew Chen Huai'an was still up to no good and wouldn't hand over the salt profits to me easily. I owe this to my two cousins. As for the rest, let the clan elders decide," Cui Xuan said with a smile.

Cui Gan's tone was rather cold: "No need to thank me. He wants to see us fight among ourselves, but of course we can't let him have his way. But let me make this clear from the start: this portion of the salt profits will, on the surface, be on our side. The other powerful families may not be happy about it."

"We need to take on a considerable risk, so you can only get 20%, and the remaining 10% will stay with our second branch. I have already written to the clan elders to inform them of this."

Cui Xuan's expression changed slightly. After thinking about it carefully, he nodded in agreement.

Two-tenths is already within their expectations. Anyway, before refined salt comes out, no one can really achieve a monopoly.

Even though the main source of income for the eldest son's family is salt, their share in the overall market is at most 20%.

Even if we now capture 20% of the refined salt production, the profits we can earn will not be less than before.

If you're unwilling to give even a tenth of the money to your second wife, then Chen Huai'an's goal is truly about to be achieved.

"No problem. I will also mention this to the elders. We are family after all, and we should unite against outsiders," Cui Xuan said.

Cui Dunli suddenly said, "There's one more thing I need to remind you: stop opposing Chen Huai'an. Since we're cooperating, we need to have a cooperative attitude!"

"The longevity of a family is never about short-term gains or losses. In a way, Chen Huai'an's appearance is also a good thing for us, understand?"

Cui Xuan felt somewhat helpless: "Cousin, I understand this. Last time was truly an accident. The family has already sent that elder away."

Cui Gan snorted coldly, "It's better for someone like that to die. He'd only cause trouble if he were alive anyway."

"More trouble than they're worth!"

Cui Xuan didn't respond. Cui Baiqing was, after all, one of their family members and, moreover, one of his elders, so he couldn't say much.

"Cousin, I'll be leaving now. I won't bother you any longer."

"..."

Once the system of "government-owned, government-approved, and commercially sold" was passed, Chen Huai'an paid little attention to it, as the matter was temporarily concluded.

Once these people have settled their disputes and distributed the benefits among themselves, the struggle with the powerful families can be declared temporarily over.

Next comes the formal dismantling of monopolies, binding of interests, changing of rules, and slow dilution.

As I said before, this is destined to be a long process, so there's no need to focus too much attention on it.

The only people to be dealt with right now are the disaster victims from various places who are about to arrive in Chang'an.

"Oh, isn't this the Duke of Anguo? What brings you here today?"

Inside the Eastern Palace, Li Shimin spoke in a sarcastic tone.

Chen Huai'an chuckled and said, "Your Majesty, why speak to me like that? Aren't all the things I'm busy with important matters?"

"Yes, isn't that right?" Li Shimin said with a nasal tone, "You've been busy, busy without any worries, but I've borne all the hardships."

"You're having a really easy time!"

Chen Huai'an countered, "I recall that a few days ago someone suggested to Your Majesty that you feign anger to test the loyalty and treachery of the court officials. Your Majesty refused in public, stating bluntly, 'It is impossible to expect a clear stream from a muddy source,' meaning that you should treat your subordinates with sincerity!"

"Since the ninth year of the Wude era, I have been working hard to deal with the drought, and I have openly opposed the powerful families. I have been assassinated many times, and even now I am being cursed by major grain merchants for eighteen generations."

"Your Majesty wants to reduce the power of the princes and reclaim control of finances, military and political affairs. All the other ministers avoided discussing this, but I resolutely stood up at the risk of offending the imperial family and gave Your Majesty a complete reason."

"Does Your Majesty still blame me?"

Li Shimin was moved. Looking at the young man in front of him who was only a few years younger than himself, he felt a little uncomfortable.

Yes.

Since Chen Huai'an appeared, everything they did was for his sake and to help him, with their hearts set on the Tang Dynasty and its people.

He himself suffered a bit, but Chen Huai'an didn't have it easy either.

He also bore the pressure and faced risks.

He was assassinated several times, and there's no way to fake it.

Thinking about it this way, I realize that I was being sarcastic and malicious towards the other party, which was really heartless of me.

He remained silent for a moment, then stood up and solemnly said, "Huai'an, this matter... is my fault."

"I apologize to you, and I hope you can accept it."

Inside the hall, Zhang Anan and many eunuchs and palace maids were stunned.

A monarch publicly apologizes to a subject?

Chen Huai'an smiled and said, "What wrong has Your Majesty done? I know Your Majesty is not feeling well. Too many unpleasant things have happened these days, and the pressure and responsibility on your shoulders are too great."

"Let us... encourage each other, ruler and subject!"

Li Shimin was taken aback, then burst into laughter: "Hahaha, good, what a wonderful mutual encouragement!"

"Bring forth the finest wine! Today, I wish to drink with Huai'an until we're completely drunk!"

Zhang Anan hurriedly accepted the order and left.

"Huai'an, sit down." Li Shimin gestured for Chen Huai'an to sit down, then said with a sigh, "You were right just now, my emotions were a bit off."

"Although it's because so many things have happened recently, I shouldn't blame you. This is a responsibility I have to bear. You've also had a hard time lately."

"Hmm... how about this, I will grant you thirty servants. Your vast mansion needs someone to manage it."

"Furthermore, I will grant you an additional fief of 500, bringing your total to 1200, and bestow upon you the title of Grand Master of the Golden Purple Light!"

Chen Huai'an accepted the offer readily: "Your Majesty, I thank you!"

Who says only Wei Zheng could tame dragons? He himself is just as good at taming dragons.

Oh, no, it's taming a phoenix!

"No need," Li Shimin waved his hand. "This is what you deserve."

"Tell me, what brings you to see me today?"

Chen Huai'an stated frankly, "Your Majesty must already know that some people from Shandong and other regions who were not employed by the government have already reached Tongguan and are about to arrive in Chang'an, right?"

Li Shimin nodded slightly; the disaster victims were naturally something he had always been concerned about.

Their entire harvest failed, leaving them with no way to survive. Naturally, they thought of Chang'an, the capital of the emperor, seeking a chance to live.

"What's your purpose in bringing this up?"

"I remember that your Ministry of Revenue has plenty of money and grain, and the Ministry of Works still has so many projects. Why not prioritize disaster relief and then hire all these people as laborers for the relief efforts?"

Chen Huai'an said tactfully, "Your Majesty, as you know, I am quite busy. The Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue have too many official duties, and the officials below also have many things to do."

"To this day, we can't even find a single person to lead the disaster relief efforts..."

"Isn't that simple?" Li Shimin thought it was something serious and said casually, "I'll immediately send Xuanling..."

As he was speaking, he paused for a moment, then suddenly realized something and stared intently at Chen Huai'an.

"..."