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

"Enough!!"

"Stop saying that!!!"

Li Shimin's breathing gradually became heavy, and his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

Chen Huai'an didn't say anything more, but just looked at him quietly.

He knew that no matter what others said, it was useless; Li Shimin had to figure it out himself.

Zhang Anan was so terrified he wanted to bury his head in his crotch.

No, are you really that brave?

They really dare to say anything!

Forget about using reverse psychology, what did you mean by Xuanwu Gate?

Is this something I can mention?

Zhang Anan even breathed cautiously, fearing that the emperor might suddenly fly into a rage.

However, after a long time, Li Shimin did not fly into a rage as he had imagined. Instead, he slowly loosened his fist and let out a long breath.

"you're right."

"Since I took this throne, I... have changed a lot."

"But it's definitely not because I'm afraid!"

"Then why don't you dare?" Chen Huai'an retorted.

Hard!

Li Shimin hardened his fist: "I have no reason not to!"

"Really? Maybe I'm blind and didn't see it."

"Damn it!" Li Shimin roared in fury. "Are you never going to stop?!"

"Trying to provoke me?"

"Have I been too lenient with you?!"

Chen Huai'an calmly said, "With the opening of the Grand Canal between the Central Plains and Lingnan, the first trade will definitely be the most profitable. Feng Zhidai told me today that his Feng family is willing to prepare some top-quality luxury goods and materials, such as ivory, spices, pearls, rhinoceros horn, tortoiseshell, and jade, and sell them to His Majesty at twice the price of those in Lingnan."

"At the same time, the Feng family is willing to purchase silk, brocade, and porcelain at five times the price in the Central Plains."

"..."

Zhang Anan's expression suddenly turned strange.

It wasn't because the topic jumped too quickly, from debate to trade between the Central Plains and Lingnan regions in an instant.

That was what Chen Huai'an wanted to express.

"Is it for me?" Li Shimin asked.

"That's right," Chen Huai'an admitted. "The Ministry of Revenue won't get involved because it will be collecting taxes such as commercial taxes in the future."

"Trade has not officially started yet, so we can only have some friendly exchanges and exchange local specialties for the time being. Trade will only start officially once various systems are in place."

Li Shimin sniffed, even though he still didn't understand what the so-called friendly exchange meant.

They're rushing to give him money to show their loyalty.

Of course, the Feng family can also make some money.

"Ahem..." Li Shimin coughed lightly. "Huai'an, I've been thinking about it and I think what you said makes sense. Only those who dare to be the first in the world can be considered true heroes."

"Moreover, I am the Son of Heaven."

"If I don't do it, then who will?"

"Not only will I adopt your advice, but I will also issue a decree of self-reproach to the world, acknowledging my own mistakes!"

"Zhang Anan," Li Shimin called out.

Zhang Anan quickly came out.

"Issue a decree! Effective immediately, decree that locusts are not natural insects, but pests! Wherever locusts are encountered in a prefecture or county, the people may kill them, and the government shall not obstruct them for any reason, but shall fully support this, with officials setting an example."

"I...I will personally eat locusts to demonstrate my resolve!"

"If Heaven truly intends to punish me, the blame lies solely with me, and has nothing to do with the people!"

Zhang Anan was startled and quickly replied, "Yes, this servant obeys."

Chen Huai'an knew this would happen.

The saying goes, "If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked too."

With those scoundrels in the court changing their tune faster than anyone else, how could Li Shimin possibly be any better?

He smiled helplessly.

However, it is precisely because of this kind of Li Shimin that so many people are willing to follow him.

With Li Shimin's edict and his demonstration of eating locusts himself, the folk belief about celestial insects was refuted without any further evidence.

Although it is impossible to eradicate it all at once, at least some people will dare to take action. As long as one person dares to take action, then more people will dare to take action.

In this way, the locust plague can be reduced considerably.

After Li Shimin issued this edict, he felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted, and he felt much more relaxed.

He picked up the memorials on the table again, flipped through them, and looked at Chen Huai'an: "Tell me in detail about the canal transport."

As for friendly exchanges with Lingnan... just keep it to yourself.

"Your Majesty, here is the preliminary draft of the regulations prepared by the Ministry of Revenue." Chen Huai'an composed himself and handed over the regulations that Liang Bingyi had written according to his requirements.

Li Shimin took the folded book and examined it carefully.

The more I look, the brighter my eyes become.

"Let merchants handle transportation, while the government is only responsible for road construction, warehouse building, and setting regulations... Light taxes and broad collections will result in a larger tax base and higher total revenue... Monopolize highly profitable commodities such as salt and iron, while liberalize the rest."

Li Shimin would sometimes nod, and sometimes raise questions: "Your transit tax and residence tax are very interesting. Why do you collect them like this?"

"It's very simple," Chen Huai'an said with a faint smile. "Your Majesty can think of the so-called tax as a toll fee."

"This canal was built by the government. If you want to use the government's canal, I'll charge a small toll. Is that alright?"

"No problem, no problem..." Li Shimin had no objection to this, and even thought it was normal.

Toll fees? Need I say more?

For example, along the Silk Road, countless people collected tolls.

The only thing that displeased Li Shimin was that the toll was far too low.

Only two percent is charged.

In other words, for goods worth one hundred coins, only two coins of tax need to be paid.

He felt it was too low.

Seemingly understanding what he was thinking, Chen Huai'an patiently explained, "Your Majesty, don't underestimate 20%; it's just a toll."

"The reason for collecting less is to make the merchants feel no pain. Once they've left, the residential tax will become the real commercial tax."

Li Shimin thought about it and began to understand Chen Huai'an's meaning.

Indeed, in the system established by Chen Huai'an, in addition to transit tax, there was also residence tax.

The so-called residence tax is the tax levied when the goods are finally sold. It is more than the exit tax, at 3%, so the total is 5%.

These are just the most basic supplies. If they are more valuable or have higher profits, the tax will be much higher.

So it seems there are quite a few.

Moreover, Li Shimin had learned a lot from his long-term contact with Chen Huai'an.

Higher taxes will also increase the price of goods, which will affect business development.

If the tax is low, it won't have much impact on merchants; they might even think the court is benevolent.

Most importantly... Li Shimin saw through Chen Huai'an's thoughts.

This kid probably wants to take this opportunity to try it out and see if commercial tax can be fully implemented.

"Then so be it," Li Shimin agreed, then changed the subject, "However, you can't make this decision entirely on your own."

"We still need to call Xuanling and the others to discuss this."

"Let's see if there's anything we've missed."

"No problem." Chen Huai'an had no objections at all, and even hoped so.

Let's leave this kind of delicate work to someone else.

"..."