In the Chang'an luxury mansion of the Li family in Zhao County, the representatives of the family lords and the nobles of Longxi who gathered together did not speak, they all looked at the high-spirited Li family master, the Li family master He also deals in salt, so he naturally knows the Tao of it, and said after thinking for a while.

"Your salt costs about four Wen, usually sells seven or eight Wen, sells ten Wen in a good year, and sells fifteen or sixteen Wen a few days ago, and makes a lot of money, I don't hide it, the sage is very dissatisfied with this, I hope that the price of salt in Chang'an will come down, but Li Yong's snowflake salt is sold according to four Wen, so next, everyone will sell three Wen in a unified manner, and Li Yong will fight a price war."

"It's just three words?"

All of them screamed in shock, but the cost of their salt was four cents, wouldn't it be a loss to sell it according to three cents?

"What, unwillingly? That's what a saint means. ”

The Li family master's face was cold, and everyone didn't dare to say anything as soon as they heard that it was Li Er's meaning, but they were unwilling, and the Li family master continued with a cold face.

"The price is indeed lower, and after the new salt is shipped, it will be sold at this price, until Li Yong is suppressed, and the batch of salt rots in his hands, breaking his idea of operating salt, and the salt in Chang'an City is not present in the future, you have the final say, as for everyone's loss, there will be a large shortage of grain after the Jiangnan area is pacified, and those who are willing to work together will stay in detail, and those who are unwilling can leave."

said that the tea was served slowly, so the old god was there, and it was hard to pretend to be thirteen. They know that after the flood, there will be a shortage of food, and the price of grain will skyrocket, this is common sense, everyone here is a human spirit, how can they not know, when they hear that they can make up for it by selling grain, and even make money with blood, they are immediately tempted, but they seem to have forgotten that Li Yong has such a large output of grain as Zhancheng rice, but they have been carried away by interests and blinded by money.

"It's still the Li family master who is wise!"

"Follow the head of the Li family, don't worry about not being able to earn silver."

Everyone laughed and complimented, no one left, Li Yong didn't know that the salt dealers in Chang'an City headed by the Li family were preparing to fight a price war with him, and they were writing some books in the backyard boringly, because he still remembered that he was free, so he hurriedly wrote them down, because in the future, Xishan University Hall will start to open, and he can use these books as a guide, and then modify them with the cooperation of those experienced craftsmen.

"Commander, the old bachelor asked me to bring a message, saying that the recruitment is full, and everything is going well."

"It's full so quickly?"

Li Yong asked with some surprise.

Xue Rengui also said with emotion.

"Commander, you didn't go to the scene, it may not be clear, there are too many people, and there are still many people who have not registered, ask if you can register first, and if you have the opportunity to give priority in the future, the old bachelor will not dare to agree."

"It seems that there are still many people in Chang'an City who have nothing to do, this time robbed so many people in Chang'an, Jingzhao Mansion should be distressed for a long time, right?"

Li Yong said with emotion, who really knows what is behind this seemingly prosperous Chang'an? He thought for a moment and said.

"The women's workshop in Xishan is too crowded, all let them go to Huating, there are new plans, everything is ready-made, do a good job of registration and screening, when you leave, you must tell them the situation clearly, if you want to go, then tell them the situation over there, if you don't go, don't force you to stay, but you must keep it secret, you can't let people know that they all went to Huating, and let people go to the Jiangnan flood area to recruit 1,000 displaced people to go to Huating County to be tenants, each household is divided into ten acres of paddy fields, and only two percent of the rent is collected, If the surplus grain is sold, it must be sold to the government, of course, it will be purchased at the market price of the year, and I hope we can help more of these people. ”

The paddy fields that have been opened up in Huating County now are not enough for people to plant, and the pirates in those labor camps are already too busy, at this time, you can let those affected people plant, it is 10,000 acres of high-quality paddy fields, and they will be all grain in the future, what a pity it is to be empty, after Xue Rengui received the order, he hurriedly left to arrange. Time flies, at noon two days later, the sky is overcast, the wind and rain are coming, the manna hall is quiet, only the sound of Li Er turning the notebook, the floods in the south of the Yangtze River, the changes in the west, the war in Tubo is scorching, each item makes him anxious, inexplicably, Li Er remembered a sentence he said to him on the wedding day of Li Yong and Changle, now in retrospect, he is really hard work, not as good as Li Yong at ease, but unfortunately this son has a heavy mind, unruly, and difficult to control. It's a pity, Li Er sighed, raised his head slightly, looked at the gloomy sky outside the window and was stunned, he couldn't understand when they started to get to where they are today, at this time, Huang Yan hurriedly trotted in to pray.

"Holy Lord, the head of the Li family asks to see you."

"Xuan in, by the way, can the sea return promised by Li Yong be fulfilled?"

Li Er asked suddenly, Huang Yan was also stunned for a moment, but he reacted quickly and hurriedly said.

"The return promised by Huatinghou will be fulfilled immediately after the fleet returns, and it will be handed over according to the truth, and now the fleet has not returned."

Li Er bowed his head and didn't ask more, Huang Yan didn't dare to ask more, so he hurriedly retreated, and not long after, the head of the Li family strode in, looking at his red face and high-spirited appearance, Li Er asked in surprise.

"The head of the Li family has good news when he sees so-and-so?"

"A saint's eyes are like torches, and he sees everything."

The head of the Li family slapped a sycophant, and immediately said respectfully.

"Sage, I have persuaded all the salt merchants in Chang'an City to sell at a loss, and the inventory has been taken out, three cents and one catty, and about 10,000 stones have been sold in the past two days, and the people of Chang'an have been grateful, and the problem of eating salt has been alleviated."

Li Eryi's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he was immediately overjoyed, because once the problem of eating salt was solved, the hearts of the people of Chang'an would be stable, and he thought about it, Li Yong is a great business talent, how can he be so easy to deal with? Because everyone knew that those industries in Chang'an belonged to Li Yong, but it was just a secret whether these were secrets or not, he couldn't help but ask.

"The head of the Li family is doing things for the imperial court, and he is very relieved, so he will remember a merit first, and then he will be rewarded when he goes back, and tell me, who has this salt been sold to?"

"Naturally, it is the people in Chang'an City."

"That's good."

Li Er put his mind at ease, but he felt that something was wrong, Li Yong's means knew that it was impossible to be so vulnerable, thinking about it carefully, but he didn't know what was wrong, so he asked.

"How much does it cost?"

The head of the Li family was waiting for this sentence, and hurriedly invited the merit to say.

"Back to the sage, the cost of salt transported to Chang'an requires more than five wen per catty, but in the next keep in mind the sage's instructions to let the people afford to eat salt and reduce the burden on the people', persuade the major salt merchants to support, and for this reason, they also gave away a lot of Li's interests, and finally let them agree to sell at a loss, and the price per catty is three wen, which is cheaper than the salt for three meals a day."

first mentioned the difficulty, then showed the merit, and finally stabbed Li Yong in the back, Li Er said with joy when he heard these words.

"Three pennies and one pound, it is indeed sincere, this loyalty has been recorded, and I told them that there will be a reward if there is a chance, and I can't lose everyone."

"Don't dare, it's a blessing for me to be able to share the sorrows of the saints."

Li Er became more and more useful, thinking about selling it at the price of three cents, Li Yong's salt over there would definitely not be able to sell, so what else could he fight with himself? He asked.

"Sanwen benefits the people, it is a good policy, how long can it last?"

"As long as the saint wants to last, I will hold on as long as I want, and as soon as the floods in the south of the Yangtze River go away, the road will be opened, and a large amount of sea salt will enter Chang'an, and the price will be the same, the entire Chang'an City, no, the entire thirteen counties of Jingzhao Prefecture can eat the cheapest salt, and we are willing to share the worries of the saint and transport a large amount of grain to Jiangnan to relieve the people."

"Good, commendable loyalty!"

Li Er was overjoyed, and looked at the Li family master with a little more appreciation, he said.

"After the flood in the south of the Yangtze River, all kinds of waste are waiting to be rebuilt, food is fundamental, you wait for the early preparation, wait for the road to be opened, quickly transfer the past, a certain future will not hesitate to reward, a county baron is indispensable to you."

No military merit is not knighted, this is the rule, Li Er directly took out the title reward, although it is only from the five grades, the lowest title, but it can also be seen that the importance of transporting grain to Jiangnan for disaster relief, the satisfaction of the Li family master, even the lowest title, is difficult to climb for the Li family master, he was overjoyed and excited, and he swore to do it when he went back, and it must be done, he hugged his fists and said.

"Although thanksgiving is gracious, I will not fail in my mission."

"Go ahead."

Li Er waved his hand with satisfaction, and almost at the same time, Li Yong was still writing in the study, and Xue Rengui came in in a hurry, and he said with joy on his face.

"Commander, everything is as clever as you are, all the salt dealers in Chang'an City have reduced their prices uniformly, and thousands of people have been organized to take turns to buy from different shops, and they have purchased more than 7,000 stones, and they will soon exceed 10,000 stones."

"It's only 10,000 stones, which is far from enough, and we will increase our acquisition efforts."

Li Yong said with a smile.

"Understand, the old bachelor has increased the manpower, Sanwen buys, re-refines into snowflake salt, sells Siwen, and can make a penny, such good things are naturally more and better, and everyone is used to eating snowflake salt, no one buys other salt, it's just one more, and they are all willing to give it, and in the end all the salt sellers' salt falls into our hands, and they are busy in vain and become our transport team."

Xue Rengui said excitedly.

"Hahaha, the transport team is good, how much profit is Chang'an? If it weren't for the people, it would be more than ten times more profitable. ”

Xue Rengui was right when he thought about it, so he smiled

"The commander is benevolent and righteous, I can't see the people suffering, Xue is taught, however, there is a transport team, we are not bad at this point in Chang'an City, and when the floods in the south of the Yangtze River are leveled and the new salt enters Chang'an, they will definitely not rise in order to suppress it, and the saint will not let the salt dealers rise in order to maintain the dignity of the court and the name of benevolence and righteousness, otherwise no one will buy their salt, and it will return to the original situation, we will win."

"Merchants are profit-seeking, why do those salt sellers follow my old man like this?"

Li Yong asked with some intention of taking the school.

"Yes, a loss-making business, why?"

Xue Rengui asked rhetorically, looking dazed, after all, he is a professional soldier, either he has taken off his military uniform like Gundam or is an administrative and business talent, plus Xue Rengui has not been baptized by commercial capital, so he naturally can't see through the puzzle, but Li Yong has a clear heart, and he said to Xue Rengui in a teaching style.

"The Li clan of Zhaojun assisted the King of Wei to go to Jiangnan for disaster relief, the King of Wei lacks local governance experience, and must be overlooked, and the area around Jiangnan is controlled by the Jiangnan Shi clan, and the flood is flattened, and a lot of food is needed."

Xue Rengui reacted at this point, and he asked in surprise.

"The commander means that they will sell grain to Jiangnan to make huge profits? And the salt loss sale is just to curry favor with the saint and obtain the right to sell? ”

"All in all, businessmen are profit-seeking, it is impossible to do loss-making business, salt is sold at a loss, and it must be made up from other places, and grain is the best breakthrough."

Li Yong said in a deep voice, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that it made sense, how to add it immediately.

"Hanzhong is one of the granaries, and next month is the harvest season, but unfortunately, have they forgotten our Champa rice in Xishan and Huating? We eat a lot of food, and they sell it at a good price, and now they are giving us the opportunity to make this money. ”

"Then when the time comes, aren't they going to cry and faint in the pit?"

Xue Rengui said with a wicked smile.

"When the time comes, just like the salt now, there will be another wave of purchases, forcing them to reduce the price, we can make wine for those grains, the wine can earn greater profits, and we can also sell it to the people who help us work at the original price, in short, we will not lose money, and the general meaning is not to give them the opportunity to increase prices."

Xue Rengui's eyes lit up, smiled, and said sincerely.

"Commander Yingming, I'll arrange it."

"Pay attention to confidentiality and security."

"Yes."

Xue Rengui saluted and left again, watching Xue Rengui leave, Li Yong looked out the window with a little colder, and said softly to himself.

"Father-in-law, our contest has begun, let's get ready to accept the iron fist of capital."

After a moment of silence, Li Yong came to the front yard, and saw that the new chief of the guard was practicing the horse lance, sweating profusely, and the tiger and tiger dancing with a horse lance danced in the wind, his hands suddenly itched, and he stepped forward violently, and an iron mountain knocked him out, and he twitched in pain, and the chief of the guard got up from the ground and said.

"Commander, we're not allowed to play tricks."

"Your vigilance is not good."

Li Yong said with a smile.

"It's the subordinates who are too engrossed, please punish the commander."

The new chief of the guard was a little depressed when he heard this, he had only been in office for a few days, and such a thing happened, to put it bluntly, it was a shame, and he was thrown to his grandmother's house.

"Okay, just pay attention to it in the future, we are in Chang'an now, don't practice these in the house anymore, it will be troublesome to be known by the Baiqi Division."

"Yes, no next time."

Seeing that Li Yong didn't mean to punish himself, he hurried to respond.

"Xi Junmai and Zhang Renyuan are willing to be in charge of the Western Regions, and Liu Renliang originally ran the first line of Goguryeo, but now that the Japanese State is doing something, and the fleet can't pull away, do you dare to go?"

Li Yong asked with a smile, the new chief of the guard is called Liu Renyuan, he has nothing to do with Liu Renliang, it just happens that the name is about the same, but Li Yong knows that Liu Renyuan is called Baekje Wow Wow in history, and the famous generals he has collected are not good, this Liu Renyuan is the same as said in history, full of guts, Liu Renyuan originally wanted to be the head of the guard, but Xishan Camp couldn't draw out someone more suitable than him, in fact, what was more envious was that Xi Jun bought them, and now Li Yong gave him this opportunity, and hurriedly patted his chest and said.

"Why don't you dare? It's not that I haven't been there, the terrain is familiar, the people are familiar, and this trade route belongs to me. ”

"Okay, I'll tell Xue Rengui when I go back, and when the caravan over there is ready, you will set off."

"Okay."

Liu Renyuan agreed very simply, and three days later, Chang'an City was shrouded in wind and rain, the sky was overcast, there were lightning and thunder in the dark clouds, and the wide streets were empty, deserted, and empty.

"Driving~" a man and a horse galloped over, with three letter flags behind him, Chang'an City is not allowed to set horses, the patrol forbidden army rushed to hear the sound, saw the letter flag quickly stopped to avoid, the war horse fell under the feet of a stumbling down, the messenger on horseback was thrown out, let out an exclamation, smashed to the ground, rolled twice, wailed, a forbidden army officer stepped forward and asked: "Brother, does it matter." ”

"Quick, send me to the saint."

The other party shouted weakly, the officer saw that the messenger was seriously injured and could not run around, but the messenger was a heavy responsibility, gritted his teeth, picked up the person and put it on the horse, led the horse and hurried forward, not long after, the group came to the gate of the imperial city, and the internal guard of the forbidden army stepped forward to stop it, and the officer stepped forward and said.

"Brother, it's the messenger, send it in."

The messenger was picked up by the internal guards of the forbidden army, quickly sent into the imperial city, and was led to the Ganlu Hall by the inner attendant, Li Er was reviewing the book at this time, when he heard that the messenger was coming, his face changed slightly, and he hurriedly let people in, and when he saw that the messenger was wet, his face was haggard, weak, and there was not much left in one breath, obviously he ran long distances, and quickly got up and went forward, the messenger took out a letter from his arms with difficulty, fainted, Li Er took the letter, and told Huang Yan at the same time.

"Quick, send it to the imperial doctor, you must be saved."

Messenger is a high-risk profession, but also a respectable profession, Huang Yan knew the severity, quickly agreed, beckoned a few chamberlains to carry people away, Li Er saw that the letter was printed in good condition and had not been opened, so he quickly opened it, took out the letter and looked at ten lines, and soon his face instantly became gloomy, his eyes were beating with anger, and after reading it, he was furious and scolded.

"Bastard, damn it, I can't spare you."

The attendants who stayed in the hall to serve were so frightened that they didn't dare to move, but they hurriedly recorded Li Er's anger, which will be archived and preserved in the future.

"Come here, Xuan Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling will meet you."

Li Er roared, angrily returned to the imperial case and sat down, motionless, his face was gloomy and terrifying, and after waiting for a while, Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling rushed over.

"See the saints."

Li Er waved his hand to show that there was no need to be polite, and said in a cold voice.

"Qi Bi Sili sent someone to send an urgent military situation, saying that news came from the front line, a large number of pirates have looted Chuzhou, Haizhou, and Yizhou one after another, the old and young people have all been killed, women, children, and children have all been taken captive, and they have fled to the sea, ten rooms and ten emptiness, coastal cities, villages and towns have been burned to ashes, and the sins are too numerous to write.

"What?"

Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling were taken aback, and immediately became furious and shouted.

"The pirates are too deceitful, you will kill them, the minister suggested that the Qi Bi Sili divide the troops all the way, go to the three places to check, preside over the disaster relief, Chuzhou, Haizhou and Yizhou are guarded by government soldiers, pirates can be taken one after another, and a huge number of troops are needed, it can be seen that the pirates are jumping over the wall in a hurry, concentrating their forces to fight, and after they succeed, they retreated and escaped into the sea, and ordered the sea yamen to block the sea, so as not to let these Japanese ships reappear in the sea area of our country."

"You mean, there are no pirates in the Jiangnan area? Also, not long after Li Yong's maritime yamen was established, the sailors of the imperial court were annihilated by pirates, how could this block the sea area. ”

Li Er asked several questions, so that Du Ruhui and the two were a little speechless, as for whether Li Yong had a warship, in fact, Li Er also had a judgment in his heart, but there was not enough evidence, I dare not be sure, Du Ruhui's eyes were cold and terrible, Sanzhou was burned, I don't know how many people were killed, this hatred is not shared, he said coldly.

"The Japanese know that the imperial court reinforcements are dispatched, and they will be defeated after a long battle, and they must make the last fight, but the lack of troops will definitely not be able to connect the three states, so they can only concentrate their forces in one battle, and leave after grabbing, and when they reach the sea, the imperial court is helpless, and the ministers implore them to vigorously build sea ships and train sailors for the future."

"It is really necessary to rebuild the sailors, and a certain will consider that once these pirates are all far away from the sea, it is difficult to chase and kill, half of the Jiangnan problem is solved, and the rest is disaster relief and compassionate places, the two Aiqing have been worrying about more recently, and it is best to organize the transportation of a batch of grain and grass over."

Li Er admonished.

"Yes."

Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling solemnly agreed at the same time, but their minds were full of killing and hatred created by the Japanese bandits, in the land of Sanzhou, there were tens of thousands of people, and now they were either killed or robbed, reduced to slaves, women can give birth, in time, wouldn't there be more and more pirates? Thinking of this, Du Ruhui proposed again.

"Sage, pirates kidnap women, children and children, it won't be long before there will be more of them, the imperial court now has no power for naval warfare, pirates may invade again at any time, the coastal line will no longer be peaceful, sea ships, sailors are imperative, and as soon as possible."

"I'll think about it, let's go prepare grain and grass."

Li Er waved his hand, let Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling come over mainly about grain and grass, military power Li Er didn't want to easily let it out to anyone, Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling saw Li Er's thoughts, they secretly sighed and left.

"Sailor?"

Li Er let the inner servant push the map, his eyes fell on the three places of Chuzhou, Haizhou and Yizhou by the sea, he didn't want to rebuild the water division, but he couldn't do it, he didn't have money, not to mention that it was imperative for him to take back the military power, suddenly, Li Er thought of another problem, he suddenly felt cold all over his body, his pupils shrank, and an unprecedented sense of tension came to his heart.

"Haizhou, Chuzhou, Yizhou, salt?"

Li Er looked at the three places, muttered to himself, and roared unwillingly.

"Someone."

Immediately, someone stepped forward to make a promise.

"Let's go and check whether Haizhou, Chuzhou and Yizhou are salt production places? Just go. ”

The waiter felt Li Er's anxiety and anger, and hurriedly agreed, and hurriedly went, Li Er sat on the dragon couch, staring at the three places on the map, without blinking, the whole person was trembling, and not long after, the waiter hurriedly returned.

"Sage, I found out, Sanzhou is the main place where I make sea salt, and the rest is Yangzhou."

"Bastard."

Li Er was furious, kicked the imperial case over, and the transcript on it was scattered on the ground, so frightened that everyone in the hall did not dare to move, and even held their breath, for fear of touching the moldy head, but Li Er was full of anger, where to care about the people around him, his eyes became red, and he rushed to the side of the map, at this time he didn't understand what was going on, then he was not Li Shimin, this time it was a series of tricks, and now the three places in Haizhou were destroyed, and the ten rooms were empty, which means that the salt fields will also be destroyed, and all the craftsmen who know how to make salt have been killed. For a long time, there will be no sea salt to be manufactured, and the remaining Yangzhou can't even satisfy the south of the Yangtze River, and there can be no surplus, what should Chang'an do? Without salt, there will be a big mess, there are only three kinds of salt in the world, sea salt, green salt and rock salt, also called well salt, sea salt is gone, rock salt is only for the southwest area, the remaining green salt is in the Longyou area, the output is also limited, they are insufficient, and they are also unable to support Chang'an, a sense of powerlessness wells up in my heart, if the 100,000 stone rock salt in the imperial court is still in hand, how much can it be relieved, now it is all gone, even the inventory of Chang'an salt merchants is also sold short under their own instructions, how much is the people's home, can survive for a while, but what about others? How long has it been?

"Li Yong?"

A name flashed in his mind, Li Er's expression suddenly relaxed, Li Yong still has a lot of salt in his hands, as long as he takes it, he can relieve it, and soon, Li Er's face froze, thinking that the relationship between the two is currently relatively tense, after his thoughts flashed.

"Defeated, so-and-so is still defeated, in terms of the way of helping the people, so-and-so is not as good as a stinky boy who is not as good as the crown!"

At this moment, Li Er muttered to himself, his face was full of shame, distress and helplessness, Li Er thought that it was all caused by his own suspicion, and the fault was his own, but he did not regret it, because he was the emperor, how could the emperor be wrong, even if he was wrong, it was his own fault, so there were some things he had to do, and he only blamed the other party for being too good.

"Salt, you have to get it!"

A thought emerged, and it quickly became firm, now tearing your face is not good for yourself, it is not advisable, then buy it, that batch of high prices, the court can't be chaotic, and the people's hearts can't be chaotic.

"Someone!"

Huang Yan hurriedly agreed.

"You go in person and ask Li Yong what conditions the salt in his hand can be sold to the imperial court."

"Huh? Compliance. ”

Huang Yan was a little confused, but he didn't dare to ask more, he hurriedly went, most of the time later, Huang Yan came to Li Yong's house, he was taken to Li Yong's study, Li Yong met him in the study, after all, Huang Yan and him, Changle The relationship is still very good, he also treats Huang Yan like an elder, Li Yong asked with a smile while pouring tea for Huang Yan.

"It's rare for Gonggong Huang to come here, although this is this year's spring tea, it tastes good."

Huang Yan looked at Li Yong, then looked around, and said in a low voice after making sure that there was no one else.

"Now that there is this kung fu to drink tea, you and I are not outsiders, the imperial court has just received an emergency military situation, Haizhou, Chuzhou and Yizhou have been looted by the islands one after another, the city has been burned, the old man has been killed, women, children and children have been taken away, ten rooms and ten empty, I have been ordered by the saint to ask you what conditions you can sell the salt in your hands to the court, the saint will be soft."

"Huh? It's burning, robbing, killing."

Li Yong was stunned when he heard this, and then his face turned pale, his eyes danced with endless anger, and he also understood why Li Er wanted to buy this batch of salt in his hand, Sanzhou is a major salt-producing town, and now it has been destroyed, and there is no sea salt coming in in a short period of time, Chang'an is going to be chaotic, so he couldn't help but ask.

"What about pirates?"

"Far away from the depths of the sea."

"I see."

Li Yong understood, looked out the window and was silent, his eyes were cold.