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On this day, Li Su called Shangguanyi, Wang Yinlong, Dou Xiande and others over to inspect the salt mines in Chengdu Prefecture in an official capacity, accompanied by Tong Nian and other people from the Tang Chamber of Commerce.

"Dou Xiande!"

On the way, Li Su called out to Dou Xiande, the Dou family is a big family in Yizhou, and it is impossible not to understand the profiteering industry of salt mines.

"The lower official is here!" Hearing this, Dou Xiande urged Ma and Li Su to go side by side, waiting for Li Su's questioning.

"This king heard that the salt merchants in Chengdu Mansion are basically from Hedong Province, and the local wealthy families are just participating in it to get some shares, right?"

Dou Xiande nodded and replied: "Your Highness, this is indeed the case, because the price of opening a salt well is too high, a small well needs twenty or thirty thousand guan, and a large well can easily open a hundred thousand guan, and without sufficient family resources, it is impossible to open a salt well, and some of the gate valve clans in Hedong Province have rich family assets, and only they have the money to drill salt wells, because of the windfall profits of salt, they are united with local wealthy families, and they are afraid that the locals will make trouble." ”

"This king heard that your Dou family has also participated in the mining of many salt wells before, is this going to happen?" Li Su asked.

Dou Xiande sighed and said: "I did participate in Gao Quan before, but then they were all plundered by Gao Quan in various names, and after Gao Quan left, these merchants of Hedong Dao have already gained a firm foothold here, and they don't need us anymore." "There is a great regret between the languages, which is also one of the reasons for the decline of the three old families.

"The salt industry in Chengdu is relatively prosperous, but the people still eat light food. Can't afford salt! Shangguan Yi said.

Wang Yinlong has a deep understanding that he has been poor since he was a child, and he often can't afford to eat salt. He said: "Although it is prosperous, it is also relative to other places, but the output of this salt is too low, Dou Sima also said that only the imperial court and wealthy merchants have the ability to open salt wells, the number of salt wells is naturally not too much, and the salt production is also limited, and the price is high." ”

Li Su listened to a few of them. I am also calculating in my heart, this salt is more demand than supply, the market is very large, and it is also a consumable, increase production, reduce the price, then the profit of salt will increase exponentially. And for the salt well problem they said is not a problem for Li Su at all, they need to open a salt well to consume 20,000 or even 100,000 yuan, Li Su can completely save these costs, light water well drilling rigs are sold everywhere in modern times, salt wells are nothing more than used to extract brine, and water wells are almost the same. When the time comes, a pressure water lifter will be installed, which is the kind of hand tool that has a water outlet in front and a long handle in the back, which will lift the water up as soon as it is lifted and pressed, similar to a pressure kettle.

The more Li Su thinks about it, the more beautiful it becomes. I laughed unconsciously, I can't help it. Now that his family has a big business and uses money everywhere, peach orchards, treasure ships, armor, weapons, colleges, armies, municipal construction, craftsmen and monthly salaries, and the entire Yizhou Express Exhibition is supported by huge funds, can he not think of a way to make money? Otherwise, sooner or later, his fat sheep will be plucked out of his wool and become Ge You's head.

The officials looked at Li Su, not understanding why Li Su was smiling, they all had an inexplicable expression, Li Su said: "This court does not allow this king to mint money privately, but it does not say that this king is not allowed to sell well salt, Shangguanyi, and the treasury of Chengdu Mansion will be abundant soon." ”

"Your Highness is going to run an official salt?" Shangguan Yi said happily, since Shangguan Yi took office, the treasury has not had much income, all rely on the support of the royal government, which makes him feel gloomy, although this year has been taxed, there is not much left except for the imperial court, and this rural cooperative has consumed a lot of expenses, and the treasury is suddenly empty again.

Several people smiled when they heard this, the state pays taxes, and more than half of the salt profits are made, this is not a joke, and in history, there is a Tang Dynasty that prospered in salt and lost to salt profits, this Huang Chao is a guy who illegally smuggles smuggled salt, which can attract a group of people.

"Then why doesn't Your Highness take back the right to sell illicit salt, so that we can monopolize well salt." Wang Yinlong said.

Li Su shook his head, it is better to do less to compete with the people, especially this well salt, which is a natural product, and he personally occupies it for himself, which will definitely provoke a lot of people who rely on well salt to eat, in this case, it is not as good as making money for everyone, "This is not necessary, the reserves of well salt are very large, and we can't finish mining for hundreds of years, and although this well salt is mostly occupied by wealthy families, but they do feed some people who have lost their land, and they have also paid a full amount of salt tax, which is not harmful to us, this salt industry has reached, Yizhou's taxes will increase exponentially, which is not a bad thing. ”

Li Su's words made several people nod again and again, and Wang Yinlong said: "It's the lower officials who are short-sighted. ”

"Although your idea is not appropriate, it is beneficial to us, but although we do not monopolize it, we can completely let us produce eighty percent of the salt in this market." Li Su let out bold words.

Dou Xiande wrung his brows and said, "But Your Highness, the cost of this salt well is not expensive, and it is difficult to build a salt well in one or two years." ”

"You don't have to worry about this, this king has his own way, do you want to mine well salt? This king will not charge you more than 100,000 guan, the price is reasonable and fair, 50,000 guan a medium-sized salt well, and it is guaranteed to be handed over to you within three months, how about it? Li Su asked.

Dou Xiande sneered: "Your Highness is joking with the lower officials, how is this possible?" ”

"What if it was possible?"

"Then the Dou family is willing to buy five salt wells!" Dou Xiande said with a smile.

"Don't you regret it then?"

“……”

A group of people laughed and laughed at a salt well outside Yizhou City, in fact, it is a salt well, it is better to say that it is a small village, many years of exhibition, the people who rely on the salt well to live here have settled here, and slowly formed this village.

Seeing so many officials, the faces of the people in the village showed a vigilant look, and some children ran to the village.

Li Su reined in the horse's head and looked at the village, hundreds of thatched houses were neatly arranged on both sides of the road, at the end of the road stood a triangular wooden support, on which a bamboo tube filled with brine was being lifted, and on one side of the triangular support, there was a smoking workshop, workers were going in and out, outside the workshop, Li Su even saw a snow-white salt pile.

The group waited at the intersection for a while, and a middle-aged man wearing a green round-necked robe hurriedly ran over, and when he saw Li Su, he saluted in a proper manner, "Cao Min Wang Tao, see the Sixth Highness!" ”

"Do you know this king?" Li Su just made random rounds without notifying anyone, so he asked.

Wang Tao was five short and three thick, his face was dark, he must have been busy under the sun, he said: "The grass people have been to the exhibition and have seen His Highness. ”

Li Su and the officials dismounted, and hundreds of guards behind immediately poured into the village, standing in a row along the road, which made the people in the village show a frightened look, Wang Tao's face was also a little nervous, in the past, they paid protection money to Gao Quan for peace, but now that Gao Quan is finished, is Li Su starting to free his hands to clean them up?

Li Su smiled: "Don't be nervous, this king and the officials are just here to inspect the salt wells in Yizhou, and lead the way in front!" ”

Hearing this, Wang Tao breathed a sigh of relief, raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat on his forehead and said, "Your Highness, please!" ”

Li Su asked as he walked, "Where is the shopkeeper Wang?" ”

"The grass people are from Taiyuan!"

"Taiyuan people?" Li Su glanced at Wang Tao, "It is said that the Wang family in the world is out of Taiyuan, what is the relationship between you and the Wang family, one of the five surnames and seven wangs?" ”

"The grass people are from the Wang family's sideline, and they are responsible for the Wang family's salt well in Yizhou and the sale of well salt." When he said that he was from the side branch of the Wang family, Wang Tao showed a slight smugness.

"Oh, how many salt wells does the Wang family have here?" Generally speaking, a salt well with a diameter of ten centimeters is considered a small salt well, and the price is about 80,000 yuan, while Wang's salt well is half a meter deep, and the depth is at least fifty meters, which is definitely a large salt well.

Wang Tao said: "Back to Your Highness, the Wang family is just this salt well." ”

Li Su nodded and entered the workshop on the side, where hundreds of workers were boiling well salt, and there were baskets of well salt stacked in the house.

"Your Highness, I found it!" Dou Xiande got off the horse and began to turn over the records of the salt well, every time a salt well is opened, this salt is a large tax collector, and it is also a large tax evasion, so the records are very detailed, "This salt well was built in Zhenguan four years, producing 10,000 stones of salt every year, and now the price of salt is 400 Wen per bucket, 10,000 stone is 40,000 yuan a year, according to each tax to take 100 Wen, a year's salt tax is 4,000 yuan, and last year's salt tax has been paid." ”

Huge profits, what a huge profit, Li Su thought in his heart, a bucket of salt was sold for 400 wen, which is much more valuable than potatoes, and the strange thing is that even in modern society, this salt is controlled by the state.

Wang Tao echoed on the side: "Exactly, exactly!" ”

Li Sucai will not believe the apparent figures, the actual output must be much more than reported, but the supervision of the salt industry is very troublesome, and there will always be negligence.

"How much did it cost to build this salt well?" This salt well is not small, Li Su plans to ask clearly, and also prepare for selling salt wells in the future.

Wang Tao recalled: "Your Highness, a total of 180,000 yuan was spent at the beginning, and the cost has not been recovered until now, but this is currently the largest salt mine at present, from the early years of Zhenguan to the fourth year of Zhenguan, it took a total of four years to complete. ”

Li Su couldn't help but sigh for a while, the ancients really had perseverance, this well took four years, and it was no wonder that the big families did this, and the small families might be finished one day, and they couldn't afford to play such a long cycle.

After observing the boiling process of well salt again, and instructing Wang Tao to pay taxes according to law, Li Su went to other salt mines, and there are currently more than 100 salt wells registered in the Yizhou government.