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

"Require......"

Li Shimin's breath hitched.

He understood that Chen Huai'an had really had a tough time, and everything he did was without any selfish motives.

As for the titles and such, it's just a little tacit understanding between the two sides. If they're removed, they're removed; it's no big deal.

There are some things that he, as emperor, cannot say aloud, so he can only offer a toast.

But when Chen Huai'an made that request, he felt something was wrong no matter how he listened to it.

Every time the other person talks like that, he feels like he's about to be scammed.

"Tell me your requirements first," Li Shimin said cautiously.

Seeing this, Chen Huai'an was both amused and exasperated: "Actually, there's nothing too demanding. Your Majesty should know that even though the national treasury has supplies like fine salt to support it, the cost of work-for-relief programs is really too high, not to mention the war and all that... the national treasury is under immense pressure."

"His Majesty raided so many houses this time, and these seized items..."

Having said that, Li Shimin immediately understood what Chen Huai'an was up to and glared at him, saying, "Damn it, what are you thinking...?"

He seemed to realize something was wrong; this wasn't a private setting, there were so many people present.

Li Shimin had no choice but to grit his teeth and change his tune: "Huai'an, the seized land, wealth, and property haven't been inventoried yet. How about we discuss that later?"

"No problem!" Chen Huai'an said with a smile, "The Ministry of Revenue has plenty of manpower. No one is more suitable than the Ministry of Revenue for taking inventory of assets."

"Your Majesty, please rest assured and leave it to me. I will make the arrangements immediately."

Li Shimin: "..."

Looking around, he saw Wei Zheng, Fang Xuanling, and Du Ruhui all staring at him intently, and he couldn't bring himself to refuse.

Finally, Li Shimin, with a dark face, agreed: "Fine, fine, I agree. You can go and do the counting!"

"It was truly a worthwhile appointment of you as Minister of Revenue!"

Logically, the spoils obtained from confiscating property should naturally be added to the national treasury. However, this situation was exceptional, and Li Shimin could secretly manipulate the system to enrich his own personal coffers.

Now that Chen Huai'an has spoken, he certainly can't do that anymore.

As the Minister of Revenue, it was perfectly reasonable for him to make such a request, and he couldn't find any fault with it.

So you're only targeting him for suffering?

"Speaking of which..." Changsun Wuji, seeing the awkward atmosphere, stepped forward to change the subject, "The effects of the work-for-relief program are almost visible to the naked eye, but the pressure on the national treasury is simply too great."

"Mr. Chen, to be honest, doing this for a short period of time is fine, but over time, problems are likely to arise."

"Unless the national treasury has new, continuous large amounts of revenue."

Chen Huai'an nodded: "I have considered this issue. At first, I thought that everyone should grit their teeth and try to get through these difficult years."

"God can't keep making things difficult for us forever. After overcoming so many hardships, we should finally have a few years of good weather and abundant harvests."

"My idea is that at that time we can stop most of the work-for-relief programs, or go back to open source."

"Open source?" Changsun Wuji asked, having never heard of this term before.

"Simply put, it means..." Chen Huai'an explained, roughly meaning revenue generation, which is easy to understand.

Li Shimin immediately perked up: "You have other ways to generate revenue... to increase income?"

"There are many." Chen Huai'an didn't hide anything. "In the Tang Dynasty, there were only a few things that shared the same interests as ironware, refined salt, and papermaking."

"The first priority is grain, the second is silk, the third is tea, and the next priority is shipbuilding, porcelain, and medicinal herbs."

"Is that right?"

No one refuted his words.

Fang Xuanling pondered, "Grain goes without saying, and so does silk. They are the hardest of hard currencies, and in terms of value, they are actually even more valuable than salt."

"The tea leaves are about the same quality, and they're very popular."

"Yes." Chen Huai'an nodded. "The importance of grain and silk goes without saying, especially silk fabrics."

"Since ancient times, the control of silkworms has been extremely strict, and they are absolutely not allowed to leave the country."

"Of course, it's pointless to talk about these things for now. Grain absolutely cannot be touched, silk... I don't have a good solution for now, as for shipbuilding, porcelain, and tea..."

Chen Huai'an beckoned, and Yunyan immediately brought over the tea set and carefully poured tea for everyone.

"Your Majesty, and fellow colleagues, what do you think of my tea?"

"Of course!" Li Shimin exclaimed excitedly, "It's a real shame not to sell your tea."

Having known Chen Huai'an for so long, everyone knows that Chen Huai'an's tea is excellent. Wei Zheng would often find various excuses and try every means to smuggle some tea back with him.

Need I say more about its value?

"Since everyone understands, I won't explain further." Chen Huai'an smiled slightly. "We can also start a business selling this kind of tea. For now, we can use the channels of families like the Wang family in Taiyuan to sell it and try to get through the current difficulties."

"Once the weather improves, we'll get rid of them."

"Anything else...?"

Chen Huai'an said meaningfully, "Although I don't understand porcelain, I do understand how to make glass!"

Crystal?!

The moment those two words were uttered, no one could remain seated. Li Shimin's gaze burned with fervor: "You know how to make glass?"

"Mr. Chen, this is no joke!" Du Ruhui swallowed hard. "Liuli (glass) can easily sell for thousands or even tens of thousands of strings of cash."

"If we mastered the method of making glass, wouldn't we possess an inexhaustible mountain of gold and silver!"

"A joke?" Chen Huai'an was speechless. "What's there to joke about?"

"So-called glass is actually just sand fired into glass. It's not worth much money. The cost of the glass itself is less than the cost of hiring a craftsman."

"It's worth at most ten coins."

Li Shimin's breathing quickened: "Are you sure what you're saying is true?"

If, as Chen Huai'an said, the production cost of a piece of glass is at most ten coins, then even the worst quality piece can sell for at least tens of coins, an average quality piece for several hundred coins, and a good piece for tens of thousands of coins.

The profits involved were so great that Li Shimin couldn't even count them on his fingers.

It's enough to drive anyone crazy!

"Of course it's true." Chen Huai'an was somewhat speechless. "When did I ever boast?"

"If this thing weren't so complicated, I would have made it a long time ago."

Don't underestimate science students!

While one cannot manufacture a steam engine by hand, with a year or two of experience and such immense power, producing glass is certainly not a problem.

"Oh dear!" Li Shimin beamed. "Huai'an, I think I spoke a little too loudly just now. I hope you weren't startled?"

"In my opinion, there's no need to abolish the title of Duke. Why would we abolish it?"

"..."

P.S.: Don't worry, my darlings, I'll be writing this on Qixi Festival, so don't ask me how I'm spending it.

I walked through life alone, passed by, missed opportunities, brushed past others, and felt sad and heartbroken all by myself, just getting by.

Please give me a good review!