Wei Bochu couldn't help but be embarrassed when he heard the prince's question, he was infamous because he took advantage of his work in the Department of Profit, set up a salt introduction shop to engage in the speculative business of buying and selling short, although he got a lot of benefits from it, but he still couldn't keep his glory and wealth. ,!

"Lord Wang, the salt money is actually not as sinister as the outside world legend, in fact, it is just the operation in the meantime, of course, the lower officials also participated in it back then, which led to its collapse, and it is difficult to escape the blame!" Wei Bochu thought about it and first made some self-criticism, "Cai Cai has been collecting money for many years to please the saint, and the issuance of too many salt banknotes has led to the depreciation of the banknote price, which is the issuance, recycling, and exchange of salt banknotes, and the definition of new and old banknotes is formulated by the government, and businessmen cannot participate in it. ”

"So how can we ensure the number of salt banknotes issued and maintain the normal price of salt?" Zhao Ta asked again, he knew the truth in it, it didn't mean that he could come up with a solution, and he still had to listen to the opinions of experts.

"Lord, the salt merchants have a limited capital to buy money, and if they don't buy too much, the price of money will be reduced and the price of money will be raised, and the price of salt will be increased. When the amount of money issued is less than the salt, the salt falls and the money rises. Only by balancing the amount of salt and banknotes can we ensure a profit without causing the result of one thing or the other," Wei Bochu said.

"What Mr. Wei means is that as long as it is done properly, it is feasible!" Zhao Ta said after hearing this.

"Yes, Lord Wang!" Wei Bochu nodded.

"This king has an idea, let's take a closer look, is it possible?" Zhao Ta pondered for a moment and said. "I want to set up a Northwest Salt Industry Guild, with the participation of salt owners from various salt-producing areas in the Northwest to discuss the issuance of salt, and the price and quantity of the issuance are determined by the guild, and the government does not participate in the operation, only collects taxes!" Zhao said.

"Well, it's possible, you might as well give it a try!" Several other people all looked at Wei Bochu, and they also knew that he was the one who had the most say in this matter, and Wei Bochu thought about it.

"Good. Since Mr. Wei thinks it is feasible, then I don't think you will be the salt supervisor anymore, just serve as the second treasurer of Sheng Hetang, in charge of the salt business, and the guild will be convened and established by you on behalf of Sheng Hetang, and the treatment will refer to the regulations in the hall, and everything should be available, how about it? Zhang Qu, Zhao Zhi, and Jianxi looked at each other, and everyone saw the huge profits in this salt. Now the prince wants to hand this over to a person with a lack of virtue to manage, but the prince asked in a consultative tone. But no one can hear the meaning of the indisputable.

"Lord Wang, I'm afraid that it will be difficult for the lower officials to take on the heavy responsibility, so I also ask the prince to choose another talent!" Wei Bo was shocked when he heard this, he knew very well who he was, and with his bad reputation, he was afraid that presiding over this matter would backfire, so he immediately refused.

"Mr. Wei, don't shirk, your experience and qualifications are enough to be qualified for this position!" Zhao Ta waved his hand and said, "The ancients died at night, I understand what you think." If you can think like this, it means that you are by no means an incorrigible bad person, don't think too much, fall down and get up again, and be an upright person again! ”

"Lord Wang, the villain is determined to die!" Wei Bochu bowed deeply, his eyes were full of tears, and he could be regarded as having experienced the heat and coldness of the world. has experienced the warmth and coldness of the world, but the people he has welcomed in every way have abandoned him one by one, and they have been spurned by the world for themselves, but when they are in trouble, they reach out and pull themselves. Not only did he ignore his previous suspicions, but he was also entrusted with a heavy responsibility, how could he not be moved.

"Don't be happy too early, first work out the specific rules for the issuance of salt banknotes, if you can't get everyone's approval, you have to go back to the mansion, then you can't even be a salt supervisor, you can only be a small official again!" Zhao Tan quipped when he saw his appearance.

"Hehe, I'm relying on the prince, even if I let the little feeding horse sweep the floor, I won't leave!" Wei Bochu wiped the corners of his eyes and smiled, his face had a little more of the past style.

"Zhang Qu, Zhao Zhi, the two of you and Mr. Wei are discussing the matter of going down to the cabinet on the road, and strive to come up with a charter, and when we return to Taiyuan, the shopkeepers and chief stewards of the other halls should also arrive, let's discuss it well and strive to do it next year!" Zhao said.

"Yes, don't worry, we will do our best!" Zhang Qu and the two replied.

"I think according to our expectations, investing two million taels of silver should be enough to open the business, right?" Zhao Ta asked the three again.

"It's basically open for business!" Zhang Qu roughly calculated and said.

"Okay, I think so, the money comes out of the house, but the king only accounts for one percent of the shares, and the rest is distributed to the old people in the house, including those stewards, servants and chamberlains, guards and veterans of the caravan when they first followed the king in the Xiangyi Mansion, and the benefits of each year will be distributed equally to everyone in the future, and if the people are gone, they will give their children and grandchildren, and I will repay everyone one or two!" Zhao Ta thought for a while.

"Lord, how can this be done, your kindness and subordinates can't be reciprocated, how can you take shares again!" Zhao Zhi refused to accept it.

"Do you have too much money and look down on this little money?" Zhao Tan glared at Zhao Zhi and said, "You have all followed me for more than ten years, serving me wholeheartedly, following me in life and death, it is said that this money is really not much, it can only be regarded as a little bit of my heart for my brothers, and I also took one percent, which can be regarded as a total of wealth!" ”

"The prince's kindness has really made his subordinates unrequited!" Seeing that Xi's eyes were also red, it is said that he really does not lack this money now, but the prince still thinks about these 'old people', and this heart is enough to move people.

"Don't say anything about kindness, if you want to say kindness, it's also everyone's kindness to me, you all have to do your best in this matter, do a good job, even if I am dismissed one day, I can rely on this money to support the elderly, so I won't live on the streets!" Zhao Ta said with a smile, he knew that he was walking a tightrope now, maybe one day he would attract unwarranted disasters, who made him a royal child, and he also wanted to arrange the people around him who were born and died for him, leaving a foundation for their families to live on!

After a few days of marching, the brigade arrived in Youzhou, after a day of rest, replenished grain and grass, drinking water, Zhao Xiao led the lion general to join the team of 'going home', there were more people, and it was a lot more lively. Out of Youzhou is only fifty miles, it is full of yellow sand, and it is rare to see a tree, Zhao Ta can't help but be melancholy. This Youzhou is 320 miles from east to west to Xiazhou, 650 miles from the southwest to Lingzhou, and 560 miles from the northeast to Zhongshoucheng, and the geographical area is almost the same as the entire Western Xia, but this place is big, but it is a poor place.

Youzhou in the upper reaches of the Wuding River on the east bank of the Hongliu River, as early as the Tang Dynasty has built the city, the original city site is selected on a large grass beach, the grass beach is connected to the Hongliu River in the east, the west end is a big lake, it was originally one of the agricultural development zones in the upper reaches of the Wuding River, but due to the excessive development here has been seriously desertified, to the Song Dynasty Mu Us Desert has stretched out here, you can see the flowing sand dunes everywhere, squeezing the production and living space of human beings, only along the river and the oasis that falls in the sand sea can see the traces of cultivation and grazing.

"Lord Wang, our loyal army withdrew from Lingzhou and then withdrew from Youzhou, and there are only forbidden troops, Xiang troops and archers defending thousands of miles in the river, and Youzhou, as the second line, only has 3,000 forbidden troops and 5,000 Xiang troops, isn't it a bit hasty?" Zhao Xiao still had some opinions on the prince's order for the loyal and brave troops to fully withdraw from the Hezhong area, and couldn't help but mention it.

"Zhao Zhi also asked this question, and now that he has figured it out, listen to his explanation!" Zhao Ta chuckled and said, what position is this person really sitting on, the things he thinks about in his head are different, Zhao Xiao used to be in charge of a branch of the army, but now he is a landlord general, and what he sees and thinks is different.

"Zhao Xiao, although Youzhou has a wide area, it is mostly sandy moraine, which is not suitable for crops, and even cannot be stationed in herding, and it is difficult for local households to live on their own, let alone guarantee the supply of war and garrison. If a large army is stationed here, the supply of baggage and supplies will depend on Shaanxi and Hedong! Zhao Zhi looked at Zhao Xiao and said, Zhao Xiao nodded in agreement with his statement.

"The geography of this place has determined the advance and retreat of the two countries. Between Lingzhou and Huanqing, separated by the barren land known as the 700-mile Hanhai, the Xia army must conquer Lingzhou, across these ecologically harsh areas, and Lingzhou thinks I get, there is a place of ointment, the prince Chen has nearly 100,000 soldiers, but he can plough and fight, and rely on the Yellow River to prevent the enemy from outside. Youzhou's strategic position has declined, and it is not necessary to spend a lot of manpower and material resources to maintain a large number of garrisons. Taking a step back, even if the Western Xia raises the whole country's troops to conquer Lingzhou, the Hanhai Sea and the desert are also obstacles that are not easy for it to cross, and our Shaanxi and Hedong armies also have time to gather and prepare for early warning, but the possibility of the Western Xia attacking us and us to wage war against the Western Xia has been extremely small in recent years! ”

"It's incredibly unlikely! Why is that? Zhao Xiao asked suspiciously.

"Because the prince has money, and he will scatter it!" Zhao Zhi looked at the prince and said with a smile.

"Isn't scattering wealth just spending money?" Zhao Xiaoyou was confused.

"It's not that simple!" Zhao Zhi shook his head and sold a pass, "Xixia is on the ancient trade route, after the founding of the country, it controlled the trade route of the Western Regions, and the countries of the Western Regions are not abundant, it is difficult to be self-sufficient in grain, and the tea, wine, salt, and silk needed for daily use need to be purchased from outside, and their own production has to go through the Western Xia to get what they need, which has to endure the exploitation of the Western Xia and pay heavy taxes, which leads to their high prices and economic difficulties, you may not have heard that the rich people over there do not lend money, but put grain!" After the defeat of the Western Xia, they reopened the trade routes of the Western Regions under the coercion of the prince, and the goods of our Great Song Dynasty could be circulated to various countries without paying taxes, and the prices were much lower, saving them how much money. They got cheap, and of course they were even closer to the Great Song Dynasty, and they couldn't wait to supply us, and we could use them to contain the Western Xia, so that he didn't dare to easily march against the Great Song Dynasty! ”

!