The salt tax has been an important source of revenue for the state since ancient times. This small amount of salt, the production cost is almost none, but it is an indispensable and important material in the lives of ordinary people.

In the territory of Dashang, only the territory of Dongbohou is near the sea and can dry salt, so the production and transportation of salt have always been controlled by successive Dongbohou. According to the practice of the Great Merchant, the Eastern Bohou collected 30% of the production and transportation costs from the sale of this salt, and the rest was owned by the imperial court.

But after all, drying salt is not a high-tech job, and the sea water is there, not white, not dry, and the profits are so high, so in recent years, the people have privately dried salt and the court to compete for profits, and it has been repeatedly prohibited, called private salt.

Until last year, the salt tax that the imperial court could collect was less than 30% of that of Emperor Yi, and the rest of the share was obtained by private salt.

In recent years, Dong Bohou has reported to the imperial court many times and sent more people to rectify the salt affairs, but he has had little effect, and the king of Shang has always been a little helpless about this.

Now that Jizi has linked Shang Rong and Dong Bohou with the matter of salt tax, everyone is suddenly enlightened, and many problems that they could not figure out before have been instantly integrated at this time.

The imperial court inspected smuggled salt, not only did Dongbohou send people to inspect along the coastline, but also the checkpoints set up by the imperial court, on the roads leading to all parts of the country. In this era, transportation was not developed, and it was almost impossible to carry a large amount of private salt and sell it to all parts of the country without alarming the imperial court.

But if there is Shang Rong's assistance, then this matter will not be difficult, because the matter of inspecting the salt introduction is controlled by Shang Rong's prime minister. As long as Shang Rong is willing to cooperate, he can turn official salt into private salt, and how much salt tax to pay to the imperial court is just a sentence from Shang Rong. The rest of the salt tax naturally fell into the pockets of Shang Rong and Dong Bohou.

The king of Shang shouted angrily: "This old thief dares to fill his pockets so much, no wonder he doesn't take the little money that the queen sells to the official in his eyes." King Wu Cheng, has the old thief's money been withheld?"

King Wu Cheng was stunned when he heard this, but he didn't answer, but looked at Zigan. Zigan said: "The king, this matter is very involved, so the ministers are in charge of their own affairs, and they have not withheld Shang Rong's money." ”

Shang Wang Qi said: "Why is this?"

Zigan said: "King, the matter of salt tax, Shang Rong has shared 40 million, and it is now under the control of the imperial court, and it can be copied at any time. The king thinks that the income of the Eastern Bohou is afraid that it still exceeds that of Shang Rong, and they are different from Shang Rong, they are big and small, and even the more than 2 million yuan that the queen sold her official position can still be collected. The king thinks, what's the use of Dong Bohou asking for so much money?"

When these words came out, everyone's faces changed greatly, Dong Bohou is a feudal official, a very popular minister, he wants so much money, of course, there is only one role. Raise soldiers! Rebellion!

Now everything is clear, the Jiang family was able to work so hard for Shang Rong's restoration before, presumably not really for Shang Rong himself, but because he was afraid that the position of prime minister would fall into the hands of others, and if he rectified the salt affairs, he would completely expose the matter.

King Shang rubbed his forehead and said, "Uncle Wang, what should I do about this matter?"

Zigan said: "The king, the minister thinks that for the sake of today's plan, it is not appropriate to startle the snake, and the business and salt affairs cannot be moved at the moment, but there are two things that need to be confirmed urgently." The first is how many soldiers Dong Bohou has raised over the years, what is his combat effectiveness, and if he really rebels, how much will it cost the imperial court to rehabilitate him. Second, adjacent to the territory of Dongbohou is Chentangguan, and it is necessary to confirm whether Chentangguan is too guarded by Li Jing, whether he has an affair with Dongbohou, and if the two are really related, the imperial court needs to respond as soon as possible. ”

King Shang nodded and said, "Uncle Wang's idea is always serious, so it is naturally the most suitable. I don't know who is the best person to send to investigate?"

King Wucheng said: "King, yesterday Yin Rui had returned from Jizhou, but the matter of Mei Bo had been concluded, so he did not tell the king. This man is the most shrewd, and it is most appropriate to go and investigate. ”

King Shang said: "Yin is back from ruin? Then tell me my will, that he will set out tomorrow to find out. ”

King Wucheng hurriedly received the order. And after a little more deliberation, they dispersed.

Out of the Nine Palaces, the King of Shang was still rubbing his swollen head. Who would have thought that there were so many things to worry about this year, one after another.

Jiao Fang leaned up and said softly: "King, Jiren has his own natural appearance, don't worry too much about hurting your body." ”

King Shang looked back at the old attendant who had been with him for more than ten years, frowned slightly, and nodded.

Jiao Fang said: "King, why don't you go to Ronghua Palace now to relax?"

When King Shang thought of Huang Xue, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he nodded, "Very good." ”

When the king of Shang came to Ronghua Palace, Huang Xue was receiving visitors, who were also acquaintances of the king of Shang, the daughter of King Wucheng, and Huang Xue's sister-in-law, Huang Yan.

Huang Yan came to find Huang Xue this time, but she didn't come to chat, but brought a message to Huang Xue.

Their eldest brother, Huang Tianhua, has already decided to leave Chaoge and go back to find his master Dao Dao Zhenjun to continue his cultivation, and he will take leave from King Shang in the near future.

The incident of Mei Bo a few days ago dealt a big blow to Tianhua, who has always been conceited in martial arts, and he also understood the truth that there are people outside the world. He has been practicing martial arts since he was a child to protect his family, but who knows that a mere plum tree demon makes him helpless. So, while recuperating from his injuries at home, he thought about it for a long time, and finally decided to go back to the mountain to continue his cultivation, determined not to cultivate the ability to subdue demons and eliminate demons, and never to go down the mountain again.

When Huang Xue heard this, she was inevitably a little sad, in the past two years, Tianhua has been taking good care of her, and her affection for Tianhua's brothers and sisters has long surpassed that of her own brother Su Quanzhong. But Tianhua is for cultivation, and she, as a younger sister, naturally needs a lot of support, but unfortunately she is limited to the rules of the palace, and she can't go to see him off in person, and she can only bless him silently in her heart.

When Huang Yan saw the king of Shang coming, she didn't dare to say more, so she hurriedly saluted, then got up and said goodbye and left.

Huang Xue saw that the king of Shang was a little worried today, and guessed that something happened in the court, so he didn't dare to ask more. As soon as his eyes rolled, he smiled and said: "The king is really here today, the concubine has prepared dishes for the king for many days, but today is just right, why don't the concubines get some for the king?"

When the king of Shang heard this, he was surprised: "I have prepared dishes for many days, but those pieces of meat hanging in the courtyard?"

Huang Xue nodded and said, "Exactly." After that, he asked the spring equinox to go to the courtyard and choose a piece of meat to cut off a piece, go to the kitchen to steam it, cut it into slices and serve it to the two of them.

Shang Wang looked at the plate in front of him, I don't know how many days of meat has been hanging, although the appearance is brown and red, the smell is mellow, but he didn't move his chopsticks for half a day. Hesitantly, "Daji, this ...... You won't have a problem eating this, right?"

Huang Xue smiled slightly and said, "That concubine is brave, taste it for the king first." After that, he picked up a piece of chopsticks, put it in Sakura's mouth, closed his eyes and chewed slowly, as if he was enjoying. After a while, he opened his eyes, and suddenly said to Jiao Fang, who was standing aside: "Manager Jiao, why don't you come and taste it too, so that the king can enjoy it with confidence." ”

Jiao Fang looked at the king of Shang and saw that he nodded, so he cautiously stepped forward, picked up a small piece and put it in his mouth, chewed it, and opened his mouth to praise: "Fat but not greasy, thin but not stiff, taste it carefully, the fruity fragrance is overflowing, it is really an endless aftertaste." Come and try it, my lord. ”

Seeing that Huang Xue and Jiao Fang were all right after eating, King Shang swallowed his saliva, picked up a piece of chopsticks and put it in his mouth. After a while, he suddenly exclaimed: "It's so delicious, I've never eaten it, could it be the dragon meat in the sky?"

Huang Xue covered her mouth and smiled: "The concubine can't catch the dragon and the king in the sky to taste, this is just ordinary pork." ”

King Shang said: "Pork can be cooked so deliciously, Daji, you are really ingenious." ”

Huang Xue said: "The king doesn't know that there is another benefit to this meat. Ordinary meat will spoil in two days, but this meat is enough to be stored for half a year, steamed and fresh. ”

The king of Shang was shocked: "It is so miraculous? In this way, isn't it possible for every household to buy this meat and store it, and eat it every day without fear of spoiling?"

Huang Xue said: "Exactly. ”

King Shang said: "This meat is really a divine object, I don't know if this meat has a name?"

Huang Xue said: "But please give the king a name." ”

The king of Shang muttered: "If you store it for half a year, the taste will be fresh, so it might as well be called 'longevity meat'." ”

Huang Xue and Jiao Fang hurriedly praised and applauded.

The two ate a few more pieces of longevity meat, Huang Xue remembered what King Shang had just said, and suddenly her heart moved, and said: "King, the concubine just thought that if you find someone to make more longevity meat, sell it outside the palace, and make some money, maybe you can build the orphanage that the concubine said before, what does the king think?"

The king of Shang frowned when he heard this, and he didn't speak for a long time, the harem concubines were in business, and they had never heard of it since ancient times. After a while, he said: "You are the harem Ronghua, this matter can be inconsistent with etiquette." ”

Once Huang Xue made a decision, but the nine cows couldn't be pulled back, seeing that the king of Shang hesitated, he continued to advise: "The concubine is only the chief of this matter, and she will not handle it personally, so the king does not need to worry." If this happens, it will be of great benefit to the king's reputation. ”

When the king of Shang heard this, he pondered for a while and asked, "I don't know how much this meat costs?"

Huang Xue was overjoyed when she heard this, and if the king of Shang could ask this, most of the matter was successful. She hurriedly replied: "Your Majesty, the cost of this meat is not much higher than that of ordinary pork, but it takes some time to make." If you can sell it, you will make a lot of money. ”

King Shang sighed slightly, the matter of the orphanage is really a good thing, but if it weren't for the emptiness of the treasury and the tight budget, how could the harem concubines be allowed to do this cheap business. After a while, he spoke: "In this case, you can try it, but it is for you." ”

Huang Xue said happily: "The concubine can do something for the king and the big businessman, it's too late to be happy, what's the hard work." ”