The Legalists have laid a foundation since the Shang Emperor changed the law, and all the changes in the laws of later generations were changed under the principle of controlling the five arts.

That is, to squeeze the private resources to the greatest extent for the state, heavy farming and heavy taxation at the same time, break up the old surname gathering, dismantle everyone as a small family, challenge the bottom line of human nature, and finally let go of the mouth of the promotion, giving an unreachable light.

Although Li Si made certain innovations to the laws of the Lü Buwei period after becoming the left minister, and at the same time, because the Great Qin unified the six countries, the Qin officials were temporarily unable to go deep into the local area, and made a certain policy relaxation, but in essence, Li Si still did not go beyond the scope of the five arts of controlling the people.

Therefore, Li Si naturally did not agree to give benefits to the people.

The essence of Guanshanhai is to pay taxes on the price, and add taxes to the price of salt.

Now Daqin has mastered the exclusive production technology, and the current salt price is still within the range of the people's affordability, the cost is reduced, and the output is expanded, but there is still no need to reduce the salt price.

While keeping the people at the lowest standard of living, it is Li Si's code of action to squeeze the rich labor force and wealth of the people to the greatest extent.

Therefore, it is understandable that Li Si disagrees with the decline in salt prices.

"Your Majesty, the Xiongnu suffered a setback in Yue's Donghu, and it is inevitable that they will try to go south to the Hetao again this year, and there are still 600,000 servants in the land of Baiyue...... The Afang Palace needs to be repaired, the roads in various places need to be paved, the Great Wall needs to be built, and the Great Qin treasury is empty......" Li Si frowned and explained his motive to the First Emperor.

There is another key reason why he disagrees with the drop in salt prices, Daqin, is too poor!

There is a reason why Daqin is poor......

The war to destroy the Six Kingdoms consumed a lot of manpower and material resources, Li Xin defeated the Chu army of 200,000 Qin troops in the first battle, Wang Jian attacked Chu, and the 600,000 army confronted the Chu State for a whole year.

In the end, the state of Chu couldn't withstand the logistical pressure and chose to harvest grain, so Wang Jian was decided.

After the unification of the six countries, the Great Qin conquered the Hetao in the north, the Baiyue in the south, and suffered another defeat during the southern expedition of Baiyue, during which the Great Wall was also built, Chidao, Qin Zhidao, Qin Shihuang Mausoleum, the Forbidden City of the Six Kingdoms, and the Afang Palace......

At present, not only Li Shu is being squeezed, but the treasury of Qin is also being squeezed, and being rich is nothing rich, as the left minister, of course, he is also responsible for the finances of Qin.

In short, the current salt price is bearable, and it is a very reasonable way of thinking to use the reduced cost and expanded production to generate income for the Qin State.

Bitter and bitter......

"Hmm......" The First Emperor nodded to indicate that he already knew, and Li Si stepped back sensibly.

The First Emperor was a very assertive person, and Li Si held real power as the left minister, but he did not dare to rashly interfere with the decision of the First Emperor.

"Sit down......" After Li Si retreated, the First Emperor motioned for Zhao Si to sit down.

"Papermaking and printing ready?" The First Emperor asked.

Zhao Si nodded and said: "It's ready, papermaking has experience, it won't take long to produce paper, the principle of printing is simple, the difficulty lies in making engraving, and it is not a difficult task." It is estimated that in a maximum of 100 days, the first pieces of paper and engraving will be born. ”

The First Emperor nodded, pondered for a moment and asked, "Did you hear Li Si's words just now?" ”

Zhao Si nodded.

"Do you think the price of salt should be lowered?" The First Emperor looked at Zhao Si with playfulness in his eyes.

Zhao Si was slightly silent......

"Speak up." The First Emperor knocked on the case.

Zhao Si saw that the first emperor could not refuse, and he pondered for a long time before he spoke: "The minister thinks that he should surrender." ”

In fact, what Li Si said was what Zhao Si was most worried about.

Zhao Si, the core of the Legalist people, has read it many times, how can he not understand it?

How can Zhao Si not see Li Si's starting point?

But this is also what Zhao Si is most worried about.

At present, Daqin is always at the limit, if he blindly follows the concept of governing the country in accordance with the five techniques of controlling the people, then the so-called sweet potatoes and corn potatoes brought back by Zhao Si are useless.

There is no gain in the salt method......

Including all the subsequent inventions, even if the golden finger gave birth to high-yielding rice and wheat, it is meaningless.

The core spell casting policy of the Five Techniques of Harnessing the People has not changed, and the internal contradictions of Great Qin will never subside due to the additional increase in food production and the reduction of production costs.

At present, Daqin's tax is fifty percent.

How did this fifty percent come about? It is the minimum standard of survival after calculating the various types of forced labor and the average yield.

The average grain yield has generally increased because of the three grains? That's good, in the past, we used to collect 50% tax, but now we will collect 70% and 80%, and organize more conscription.

The cost of salt production is reduced and the yield is increased? The price of salt continues to remain the same, and if it is lower, won't Li Shu want to eat salt freely?

The essence of the five arts of harnessing the people is exploitation, and there will always be 10,000 methods and reasons for exploitation.

If we do not change the governance concept of extreme exploitation, the people of Daqin will never improve their living standards because of the improvement of productivity, and the contradictions in Daqin will never disappear.

The essence of Qin Law is for the country, not for the people, and for the First Emperor, perhaps Li Shu is just a consumable of relevant numbers......

Zhao Si is no longer a novice, after so long of study, and the guidance of Su Feng, Zhao Si has understood a lot of things.

He also knew the cause of Daqin's internal contradictions, although, with Zhao Si's own high position, his ass began to gradually move closer to the exploiter, but Zhao Si's heart was a little benevolent after all.

"Your Majesty, the minister thinks that it is time to surrender!" Zhao Si said seriously.

Zhao Si's words are equivalent to offending both the left minister Li Si and the right Cheng Chi Gong at the same time, and even potentially offend more people, only Meng Yi is currently the only one who supports the price reduction on the surface.

But Zhao Si still said it.

With a playful smile on his face, the First Emperor put the brush on the desk and looked directly at Zhao Si: "Why?" ”

"The salt drying method cannot be kept secret for a long time......" Zhao Si did not dare to challenge the core of the Legalist family, but he was not without other reasons.

"At present, although Daqin implements the policy of officials and mountains and seas, private salt is still prevalent, and the method of drying salt requires a lot of laborers, and it cannot be kept secret for too long." Zhao Si opened his mouth to explain.

"The price of official salt is tax, and there is no tax price for private salt, and the price is much lower than that of private salt, so some people take risks to buy private salt. It is true that people cannot live without salt. ”

The First Emperor nodded and motioned for Zhao Si to continue.

"Daqin now has a method of drying salt, compared with the method of boiling salt, both the cost and the output are twice better, and those who are now boiling private salt do not know for the time being. As long as the price of official salt in Daqin drops, there will be no room for private salt to survive.

Buying illicit salt is the same crime as selling illicit salt, and the price of official salt is much lower than that of illicit salt, so Li Shu knows how to choose. Zhao Si said seriously.

Zhao Si had a perfect starting point, not for Li Shu, but for the fight against the reactionary forces.

Since ancient times, private salt has been repeatedly banned, mainly because the official salt is taxed, and the price is inherently higher than that of private salt without tax.

Salt is also a necessity of life, and the price is not cheap, so there is a soil for the survival of private salt.

There is nothing wrong with the explanation given by Zhao Si.

First of all, it is impossible to keep the technology of the salt drying method secret for too long, and the number of participants is too large, and it is very simple to spy on the details, especially since the salt ponds are mostly located in coastal areas, and the Tiangao Emperor is far away......

It won't be long before the salt drying method will be copied and pasted, and Daqin will only take advantage of the technological advantage to make money for three or five years at most.

Secondly, those who can organize the production and sale of illicit salt, needless to say, must be within the scope of Great Qin's crackdown, the remnants of the Six Kingdoms, reactionary forces.

Since the technology cannot be kept secret, it is better to simply rely on the technical advantage and first-mover advantage to fight a price war and directly destroy the opponent's industrial chain.

In this way, the price of salt has been reduced, and the people have benefited.

Producers and dealers of illicit salt are unable to sell illicit salt, and the economy and industry have been directly hit hard, hurting their muscles and bones.

It can be said that it is a completely win-win situation.

"Not bad idea...... "The First Emperor's fingers twitched on the desk, and then he looked at Zhao Si playfully and looked up and down.

"Tomorrow, you will be around." The First Emperor smiled and waved his hand.

"Let's continue to look at the recital." With that, the First Emperor sank his head and began to continue to deal with government affairs.

The court meeting is divided into large court meetings and small court meetings.

The Great Imperial Council is a representative figure involving civil and military officials and various factions, and the ceremony is greater than the content.

As for the small court meeting, it was normal for the three princes and nine secretaries and the more important subordinate officials under the three princes and nine secretaries to routinely summarize the situation of various departments to the first emperor every day, as well as put forward some political applications and suggestions.

The big court meeting is often a day, the rules are very strict, the small court meeting is often less than an hour, after the summary of the situation is submitted with a table, the first emperor asks about some things, officials at all levels hit the application report, basically the end.

It is equivalent to the difference between the general meeting and the morning meeting.

Zhao Si is a squire, and his official position is not qualified to participate in the company's morning meeting.

There is no way, Zhao Si's position is not clear and important enough, and his official rank is not enough......

However, with the special approval of the first emperor, although Zhao Si is a little transparent, he can also observe the company's morning meeting.

Zhao Si had already studied the twists and turns here, and he was shocked when he heard this, and he was slightly worried about whether the First Emperor would let him express his opinions during the court meeting and fight with Li Sichigong and other bigwigs......

That's a big problem...... Zhao Si was a little numb in his heart......

Zhao Si didn't dare to rashly bombard the foundation of the Legalist family, he was just an official with a thousand stones.

Zhao Si, who was full of apprehension, forcibly suppressed his restless emotions and continued to look at the recital of the previous year's meeting.

"Hey......"

At the end of the day, Zhao Si still didn't see anything.

Until sunset and dusk, Zhao Si accompanied the first emperor to exercise and dine every day.

"Your Majesty, the minister retires!" Zhao Si bowed and saluted, the sky was already dim and dark.

Looking at Zhao Si's departing figure, the First Emperor fell into deep thought.

The First Emperor was sure that what Zhao Si said was not what he had in mind.

In other words, Zhao Si's support for reducing salt prices is true, and the so-called use of price advantages to take advantage of the opportunity to crack down on illegal salt is not Zhao Si's main purpose.

This is just Zhao Si's excuse.

He could even feel Zhao Si's apprehension......

He could also feel that Zhao Si wanted to speak again.

The First Emperor didn't mind letting Zhao Si speak out boldly......

Zhao Si is very good, but the First Emperor can feel that compared to people of the same age, Zhao Si is a little less sharp.

Although in daily life, Zhao Si behaves no different from his peers, but when it comes to a special moment, Zhao Si is just a little less sharp.

Zhao Si used papermaking and printing to ask for knighthood for craftsmen, or to raise the price of salt today.

said that it was a little less sharp, but in fact, it revealed the spirit of a small family.

But the First Emperor could feel that Zhao Si had an idea in his heart.

After getting along for a long time, the First Emperor has actually slowly accepted Zhao Si, but Zhao Si has been patiently following his own views and thoughts.

This was not what the First Emperor wanted......

(End of chapter)