It must be very refreshing to want to poop when you hear a few words, otherwise Li Shimin wouldn't have a crooked smile.

In the imperial study, the rest of the important ministers who listened to Ma Zhou's words also looked at him differently.

"So how to solve the second problem?" The eldest grandson Wuji couldn't help but say first.

Ma Zhou replied almost without thinking, "Your Majesty set the idea of benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and faith in governing the country for our Tang Dynasty at the beginning of his accession to the throne, so why not show the letter of the imperial court to the people of the world?" ”

"How?" This time, Li Shimin was more anxious than the eldest grandson Wuji.

"Your Majesty, Hu Shang's goods, it seems that private trading, but also a state affair, they have walked in Datang this year is not in demand for goods, this is their own choice mistake, doing business, there will be profits and losses, this is not to blame others. However, without these Hu businessmen selling the goods produced by our Datang, it will affect the internal economy of our Datang.

Yes, Weichen suggested that His Majesty can guarantee those Hu merchants who have lost money in the name of the imperial court, so that those merchants in our Datang who have a backlog of goods and cannot sell them can lend a batch of goods to those Hu merchants at the market price, and the Hu merchants will take our Datang goods back to their own country, and they can make money by selling the goods, and they only need to repay the payment plus a little interest to the Datang merchants who lent them the goods.

In addition, the army we sent has always been going to send the Hu merchants back to China, and they are not afraid that they will run away on their debts, and with a small number of troops, all the Hu merchants and the Han merchants who are going to the Western Regions will be linked, the team is so huge, I believe that the Jieli and Tuli who are still alive will not be able to gnaw, and as long as they do it, they will be angry, at that time, Your Majesty only needs to let the main general of this partial division unite the armies of the countries of the Western Regions, and at the smallest cost, you can wipe out all the two remnants of the Turkic forces in the Western Regions. ”

"Well said······"

In a short period of time, Li Shimin pulled the poop again, Ma Zhou's magic policy, not only Li Shimin, but all the ministers present were also amazed, from beginning to end, the imperial court only produced a small number of people and horses who did not need to be fed by themselves, but took a lot of advantages, not only to invigorate the economy, but also to bury a mine, let Jieli or Tuli step on it, what is the talent of the world? This is the talent of governing the country through the world.

After everyone exchanged words and confirmed the feasibility of this policy, Ma Zhou said, "Your Majesty, Weichen still thinks that with the increasing abundance of our Datang products, the imperial court should also have clearer guidance or regulations for foreign trade. Let foreign businessmen import goods for Datang under the guidance of the imperial court, such as this year, the courgette and white stacks sent by Hu merchants in the Western Regions, we Datang already have production, I believe that there will only be more next year, Datang does not need to buy such items, yes, there is no need for businessmen to send them.

But our Datang lacks gold, silver, copper, and salt and iron, these things, the countries of the Western Regions, overseas countries, there are always countries with relatively large outputs, we can raise some prices to buy these materials from them, in the words of Sun Xiamu, that is, to exchange renewable goods for their non-renewable goods, in the long run, my Datang is rich in all aspects of materials, and the national strength is naturally strong······"

"You wait, what is renewable and non-renewable, you make it clear." The eldest grandson Wuji interrupted Ma Zhou's words.

For example, all the countries in the Western Regions love the silk produced by our Datang, silk this thing, our Datang raises silkworms every year, and there are similar ceramics, grain, etc., all the goods that can be produced through planting and handicrafts, we can call it renewable goods, such goods, even if we sell them every year, they can't sell endlessly.

And non-renewable goods, like gold, silver, copper and iron, etc., there are so many in the world, a little more Datang, a little less for other countries, when Datang uses a steady stream of things that can be planted and produced to exchange the gold, silver, copper and iron of other countries to Datang, what other countries dare to use swords with our Datang? ”

All right! When Li Shimin heard that he was going to poop again, he didn't know if his pleasure was still the same when he opened the mouth more times, so he slapped the table and said, "This is reasonable, don't use swords, but collect the world's sharp weapons, it is also a strategy to seek the country." ”

After listening to this renewable and non-renewable, the ministers nodded their heads and stroked their beards, they never thought that business and competition were so important to the country, and for a while, many ideas came to them, and they fell into deep thought.

Ma Zhou is an active person, and it is rare to get a summons from Li Shimin, so he naturally wants to take out all the goods in his stomach, and after waiting for a few breaths, he saw that everyone almost came up with a clue, and he said, "In fact, we have always had a shortage of materials in Datang that cannot be supplied, so that the productivity of the people cannot be improved." ”

"What's that?" Li Shimin was the first to ask when he heard this.

"Salt."

Speaking of salt, Li Shimin and the ministers all darkened, this thing is necessary for the human body, but the output of the Tang Dynasty is very small, and there are a few salt ponds in the Central Plains, after the development of the previous dynasties, the current shipments are very small, resulting in the price of coarse salt has reached dozens of Wen a catty, and most people can't afford to eat salt at all.

And without salt to eat, there will be a lot of serious consequences, the body is swollen and weak, this is the most common, long-term in the state of insufficient salt, people's life expectancy will be very short, or how to say that Li Shimin does not dare to work too hard, even if farming is such a big thing, it can be simplified and simplified! Because the people who do not have enough salt intake are simply not driven.

Of course, Ma Zhou also learned one reason why the people in Happy Village work so efficiently because he worked with Shi Dalang for a few months, that is, they have salt to eat, and through research, Wangjianglou has long mastered a salt-making process, which can refine coarse salt into refined salt, which makes Wangjianglou's food taste more delicious than the food elsewhere.

However, this is someone's unique business secret, Ma Zhou is a moral gentleman, and he will not break other people's information, he just wants to remind Li Shimin that we Datang can live without being so tight, salt is a thing, Tuyuhun and Khotan have more, and they can pay for them to transport salt over, benefit the whole people of Datang, and let the labor force of all ordinary people be improved.

"In a few years, I will definitely destroy Tuyuhun."

Just like Datang banned the export of salt and iron, Tuyuhun also banned the export of salt and iron, especially the prohibition of salt from flowing into Datang, if Datang wanted to buy their salt, it needed to be paid a high price by the imperial court, and a large amount of transportation costs were required, so the price of buying their salt in large quantities was too high for the imperial court to accept.

"Your Majesty is eloquent, and it is a matter of time before we destroy Tuyuhun, but before that, we can use means to divide Tuyuhun first, reduce the difficulty of destroying them at that time, and at the same time allow our Datang to gain some benefits from it." Ma Zhou smiled when he heard this.

"Come on." Li Shimin and several ministers said almost at the same time.

"The key is still on the merchants, there are a lot of merchants in Tuyuhun, they will come to my Datang every year to sell cattle and sheep skins, and now the leather goods they produce are not easy to sell, so they can't make profits, Your Majesty should lure them with profits, I heard that people outside the customs are very fond of my Datang spirits, if Tuyuhun that caravan transports the most low-cost salt, then, Your Majesty can give them the exclusive right to operate this spirit, causing their caravans to compete with each other at the same time, so that Fu Yun is tired of preventing merchants from smuggling, These caravans are supported by the leaders of various departments, and in the long run, they will have a gap with Fu Yun, and if they provoke a little, they will rebel, and I, Datang, can get cheap salt without a single soldier, while sitting and watching Tuyuhun weaken.

In addition, among the countries of the Western Regions, if there is a caravan passing through Khotan, they can also be allowed to bring some salt along the way, and the imperial court will purchase it at a fixed price and then sell it at a flat price, then the price of salt in the Tang Dynasty can drop a lot. ”

"Well, that's a good idea." Li Shimin nodded when he heard this, in his words, Li Shimin smelled the strong smell of Sun Xiangfu, and when it came to businessmen, it seemed that he was inseparable from that kid, anyway, Ma Zhou was also inspired by the exchange with Sun Xiangfu.

While thinking about it, an attendant sent a secret letter from the south, and several ministers retreated to the outer hall in order to avoid suspicion, and Ma Zhou also retreated.

"All those plans just now were your own thoughts?" Fang Xuanling deliberately approached Ma Zhou's side and asked.

"Exactly." Ma Zhou said calmly.

"With your talent, at least you can be a scholar." Fang Xuanling said this, that is, he would suggest to the emperor that he be promoted to the official, Zhongshu Sheren is the official position of the fifth grade, and can get close to the center, with Ma Zhou's age as the central sheren, the speed of promotion can be said to be the crown of the dynasty, you know, last year he was still a white body who did not enter the ranks, and in history, Ma Zhou climbed to this position after eleven years.

"The lower officials don't dare to hope for the high position of the Zhongshu Sheren, so they just want to continue to serve in the capital water supervisor to help the imperial court cope with the drought that may come next year." When Ma Zhou heard this, instead of being happy, he said with a sad face.

"Drought next year?" Fang Xuanling was stunned, and the eldest grandson Wuji and Du Ruyan also came over here when they heard this.

"The first to raise this question is Sun Xiamu of the Animal Husbandry Supervision Bureau, he concluded last year through various signs that there will be a small drought this year, and it really came true, Xia Guan consulted a lot of historical books during this time, and also went to the Taishi Supervision to find Yuan Daochang to confirm it, and found that the situation next year is not optimistic, yes, I want to stay in the capital water supervisor, and make more preparations for the drought that may come next year." Ma Zhou replied truthfully.

"Can you say that there will be a drought next year?" The eldest grandson Wuji, who was the head of the household, asked a little anxiously.

"Not yet, but this spring, this summer there is little rain, and many mountain springs and streams are dry, if there is no snow this winter, I am afraid that there will be a great drought in a hundred years next year."

Ma Zhou is not alarmist, because after listening to some of Sun Xiangfu's remarks, he checked all the classics on recording drought, and found that drought often does not dry for a year, at least for two or three consecutive years before it is a cycle.

The small drought in Guanzhong this year has led to a lot of financial and tax cuts in the imperial court, so the eldest grandson Wuji is most concerned about this matter, and just as he was about to ask about the following, Li Shimin called them in.

"That kid said that the things in the south can be closed, let's discuss and see what to do!" Li Shimin revealed Sun Xiangfu's secret letter to everyone.