I heard that the green salt of the North Land is not as clean as the white salt boiled in the East China Sea, why don't you use the white salt of the East China Sea in the palace? Fang Qiao looked curious and puzzled.

Yang Guang was also interested, and asked the imperial chef: "Yes, I am also curious, why don't you use the East China Sea white salt to cook for me?" ”

Several imperial chefs looked at each other, not knowing how to answer for a while, thinking to themselves, the palace has been like this for many years, how do we know.

On the contrary, Yu Shiji suddenly smiled and said: "Your Majesty, the green salt of Huamachi comes from the frontier, the color is the best, and the taste is the most positive." And Anyi was called Great Xia in ancient times, the salt of Great Xia, and the beauty of harmony. These two or two are the most suitable seasoning for the king. Although the salt of the East China Sea is white, most of it tastes astringent, and if it is not cooked properly, there is a bitter taste, which is the salt used by the common people, how can it enter the mouth of His Majesty? ”

"Although it is the food of the people, it is a huge profit of the imperial court." Fang Qiao seemed to have known that Yu Shiji would say this, and hurriedly interjected.

"Oh! Why is it said that it is a huge profit of the imperial court? In recent years, the construction of a new capital, the construction of the Great Wall, the repair of the Great River, the repair of the Chi Road, etc., are all big projects, the court costs too much, Yang Guang is very happy, the reward for the courtiers is heavy, the first emperor Yang Jian saved the foundation consumption is too large, the silver in the treasury is getting less and less, Yang Guang has also heard the household department complain many times, and even sent Yu Shiji to check the tax book.

Fang Qiao said: "Your Majesty, the minister wants to tell Your Majesty some views on the salt politics of the world. ”

Yang Guangyi waved his hand, asked the imperial chefs to step back, and motioned for Fang Qiao to speak while eating.

Fang Qiao said with a smile: "Your Majesty, this salt seems ordinary, everyone eats it every day, it seems to be just used for food seasoning, but in fact, it is the same as food, it is enough to determine the life and death of people, and it is related to the strength of the Great Sui!" ”

"Oh, why is that?" When Yang Guang heard that it was about the strength of the Great Sui, he suddenly became even more interested.

Fang Qiao is from a common people, and an official from an aristocracy like Yu Shiji is different, he understands the warmth and coldness of the people at the bottom very well, and after a little contemplation, he said: "Your Majesty, this person eats salt every day, and the nobles are accustomed to it, and sometimes they feel that salt is heavy, because they are never short of salt, but for poor ordinary people, many times there is no money to eat salt, at this time, people know the difference between not eating salt for a long time and having salt to eat every day, thus proving that eating salt or not is indeed a matter of life and death!" ”

Fang Qiao said this, with a look of emotion, and said: "I remember that when the minister was a teenager, his mother was sick, and the family had difficulty in money and food, so he had no money to buy salt, and he and his father did not eat salt for more than a month, and it turned out that he was weak all day long, not to mention working in the field, and even felt that he had no strength to walk. ”

The truth that Fang Qiao said was extremely simple, Yang Guang immediately understood the truth when he heard it, and his expression became solemn, and Fang Qiao continued: "Your Majesty, in addition to the daily needs of salt, the preservation of vegetables, meat, fish and other things among the common people also depends on salt to pickle, such as the salt sauce and vegetables commonly used in Guanzhong, which need salt, otherwise it cannot be pickled. ”

Yang Guang nodded and said: "Aiqing said that the salt sauce I saw in the army when I led the troops to fight, the salt sauce is mashed and pickled with beans, and it is an indispensable food for the Guanzhong Beijing army to go out, it is salty, but a meal only needs a small plate, and the dry corn can be eaten deliciously. ”

Yu Shiji saw that the limelight was occupied by Fang Qiao alone, and at this time he also interjected: "Your Majesty is wise, the vegetables that Lord Fang said, when the minister was young, he also saw the tenants in the fields at home pickled, in fact, it is pickled vegetables, mainly winter sunflower vegetables, which are common dishes in farmers. ”

Fang Qiao nodded and said: "What Your Majesty said is to the point, and Lord Yu is not wrong, for example, the sea fish produced in the East China Sea is also salted nearby, so that it can be widely sold in the mainland, and it has become the only meat that many people can eat all year round......"

Speaking of this, Fang Qiao's tone changed and said: "In short, salt is so important to the Great Sui and His Majesty's people, it can be said that everyone can't do without him, but the biggest problem is that not every region of my Great Sui produces salt." ”

When Fang Qiao said this, his expression became solemn, and he said in a deep voice: "Most of my Da Sui farmers are self-sufficient, the food they eat can be grown by themselves, the clothes they wear can be grown by the commoners, and then the women will rub the thread and weave, and the nobles have silk close to their bodies. In short, the necessary things for food and clothing can be solved by themselves no matter where they are in the world, but only salt is not good, salt is not produced, only to find salt mines to dig or boil from the seawater, so including the capital, many places in the Great Sui need to buy and exchange salt from other places, so salt is a huge profit, as early as the Han Dynasty became an official camp. ”

Yang Guang thought for a while, nodded and said: "Therefore, in the world, only grain, salt, cloth, iron, copper, and livestock are the heaviest, and salt ranks second, second only to grain, and even more important than the cloth people wear!" ”

"So the land of the East China Sea is rich by sea salt?" Yang Guang stopped his chopsticks, his eyes flashing.

Fang Qiao said: "What Your Majesty said is extremely true, Donglai County, Beihai County, Fanyang County, Gaomi County and Jiangdu County are mostly rich places. The minister heard that as early as before the Han Dynasty, the five counties of the East China Sea were mostly salt and brine land, and the land was vast and sparsely populated. ”

Yang Guang nodded and asked, "How much is the salt tax that these five counties pay to the imperial court every year?" ”

Fang Qiao turned his head to look at Yu Shiji and said, "The salt tax has always been verified by Lord Yu. ”

Yang Guang looked at Yu Shiji, who hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, since Your Majesty ascended the throne, the annual salt tax of Donglai, Beihai, Gaomi and Jiangdu counties has been more than 500,000 taels of silver, and the salt tax of Fanyang County is a little more than 200,000 taels of silver. ”

Yang Guang frowned and said, "Why is the salt tax in Fanyang County so small? ”

Yu Shiji glanced at Fang Qiao, and thought to himself, it turned out that this poor boy had gone around in a big circle, and he wanted His Majesty to pay attention to Fanyang County, whether there was anything else in this, he didn't know anything, and whether it was the Lu family or Wang Junlin, it was not easy to offend, so he had to say: "Your Majesty, the minister is derelict in his duties, and I don't know why Fanyang County has such a small salt tax, so I will investigate it immediately after I go down." ”

Yang Guang snorted coldly and said: "I don't need to investigate to know that this must be related to the Lu family, a few days ago, there were secret reports from the Blue Cloth Guard Mansion and the Inner Court, Wang Junlin was almost besieged and killed by a thousand cavalry on the first day he took office in Fanyang County, if it weren't for Wang Junlin being the most difficult of my courtiers to kill, wouldn't the Taishou I sent be killed by thieves, the Lu family is so bold that they actually raised cavalry, and now it seems that the salt tax of Fanyang County is much lower than that of the other five counties in the East China Sea, and most of them are also related to the Lu family. ”