Prince of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 244 Shocked Old Li
In the Tang Dynasty, although the powerful families secretly competed with each other, they had the same attitude towards the royal family, just like the attitude of the states towards Qin during the Warring States Period.

The same is true between the two aristocratic families of the Lu family and the Cui family. Although they compete with each other, they are also connected with each other. For example, Lu Zhi's aunt married into the Cui family of Qinghe.

Lu Zhi, as the Minister of the Household Department, is also the biggest official of the Lu family. His attitude also represents the attitude of the Lu family to a certain extent.

Therefore, when Gao Ming heard that Lu Zhi had fallen out with the Cui family in the court, he was immediately happy.

"Really? What's going on?"

Li Shimin was also happy to see the disharmony among the aristocratic family, and immediately told Gao Ming about the morning court.

The cause of the incident is very simple, because Cui Li, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, impeached Zhang Sizheng, saying that he not only exceeded the specifications for holding a wedding, but also violated Chang'an's curfew, and asked Li Shimin to fine him three months' salary.

This matter is actually nothing, after all, with Zhang Sizheng's current status, the three-month salary is nothing more than a dozen yuan, and Gao Ming usually rewards him with more than this amount.

According to Gao Ming's thinking, one more thing is worse than one less thing. After all, in his opinion, things that can be solved with money are nothing!

But Lu Zhi didn't think so. In his opinion, Cui Li came out to slap his face.

Who is Zhang Sizheng's wife?That's the daughter of the Lu family. If you take his wedding as an issue, what else is it if it's not a slap in the face of the Lu family?
And for so many years, how many honorable people in Chang'an City have married, after all, it is a happy day, even if the rules are accidentally triggered occasionally, everyone just turns a blind eye and passes by.

Everyone is like this, how come you Cui Li is going to make trouble for me, is it because you can't see our Lu family clearly?
Therefore, Lu Zhi jumped out to argue with Cui Li on the spot.

If the matter is just like this, it's nothing. Even if there is no winner, the most is that the two of them are arguing in the court, and it will be over after the next court.

But the bad thing is that the two are still arguing, Cui Xi, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, stood up, and after he stood up, Cui Xi expressed with a very firm attitude that it was Zhang Sizheng who was wrong, so Zhang Sizheng's salary for the past three months It must be punished!
Then the nature of the matter changed.

If Zhang Sizheng's salary is fined, it means that Lu Zhi has lost. In the future, when everyone faces a team, they will definitely choose to side with the Cui family. After all, everyone is in the officialdom, and they still hope to find a reliable backer.

If it was the past, Lu Zhi might have flinched. After all, he was in front of the "two Cui", and it would not be worthwhile to have a deadlock with them.

But now it's different.

From Lu Zhi's point of view, if he can't keep Zhang Sizheng's salary this time, he will not only lose face, but also make Gao Ming look down on him. became a sinner.

After thinking about these things clearly, Lu Zhi began to fight Cui Li and Cui Xi to the death, and finally, when he couldn't find anything to say, he and Cui Xi staged "Full Martial Arts" in the court hall.

The Tang Dynasty is no better than the later Ming Dynasty, and it is relatively rare for officials to fight, so Lu Zhi's actions are quite shocking. Board" opportunity.

In the end, the matter of Zhang Sizheng's salary was not settled. Instead, Lu Zhi and Cui Xi were paid half a year because of their insulting respect for fighting in the court, and Lu Zhi also took a one-month vacation to go home to recuperate because of his facial injury.

After listening to Li Shimin's narration, Gao Ming suddenly felt dumbfounded.

"At first I thought tearing face was an adjective, but I didn't expect it to be a verb!"

After Gao Ming finished speaking, Li Shimin also nodded.

"Yeah, even I didn't expect that this guy Lu Zhi lost his temper so much that three or four ministers couldn't stop him, and he just scratched and scratched Cui Xi's face, making it bloody."

Speaking of this, Li Shimin looked at Gao Ming directly.

"I don't think Lu Zhi is acting for me. He should have really turned his back on Cui Xi. Gao Ming, tell me the truth. What good did you do to Lu Zhi to make him turn against Cui Xi and Cui Li? "

Seeing Li Shimin's curious expression, Gao Ming immediately shrugged his shoulders, and then spread his hands towards him.

"Actually, it's nothing. I just promised him to help the Lu family build a salt field with an annual output of more than 200 million stones, and at the same time give them [-]% of the salt produced."

"hiss……"

As soon as Gao Ming finished speaking, Li Shimin gasped, and his eyes were full of horror.

"What? A salt field with an annual output of 200 million shi?"

Seeing Li Shimin's horrified expression, Gao Ming nodded immediately.

"Yes, and 200 million shi is the minimum. If the construction is good, it shouldn't be a big problem to double it after three years."

In Gao Ming's view, Datang has no heavy industry anyway, and the seawater is not polluted. If you want to increase production, you just need to build more salt farms. By then, all the places that can be built along the Bohai Sea will be built, with an annual output of one million tons of salt. Like to play.

But when Li Shimin heard these words, it sounded like an Arabian Nights tale.

"Ten times in three years? What do you think salt is? Is it the sand by the sea?"

Seeing Li Shimin's expression of disbelief, Gao Ming laughed again.

"Haha, in my opinion, as long as there is the sun in the sky and sea water on the ground, then salt is really not a rare thing."

Speaking of this, Gao Ming picked up Li Shimin's brush, then found a blank piece of rice paper from his desk, and began to draw on it.

"Look, old man, we need to make two kinds of pools like this on the seaside first. The first is called the evaporation pool, and the second is called the crystallization pool."

While drawing, he began to explain to Li Shimin.

"At that time, we only need to introduce seawater into the evaporation pool through the ditch, and after the wind and sun, the seawater will be evaporated to a certain extent, and then put the seawater into the crystallization pool, because the concentration is enough, so when the water is dry, it will be able to Got the salt."

After hearing Gao Ming's words, Li Shimin suddenly revealed a look of surprise.

"Don't cook in a pot, but directly in the sun? How did you come up with this method?"

Seeing Li Shimin's amazed expression, Gao Ming shrugged his shoulders again.

"There is a kind of person in this world, their name is genius, if you don't believe it, just look at me and you will understand."

"..."

Seeing Gao Ming's sullen expression, Li Shimin couldn't help but glared at him again.

"Don't rush to talk big, how do you know if it will rain? What if it rains?"

Hearing Li Shimin's words, Gao Ming immediately laughed.

"I don't know when it will rain, and there is nothing I can do if it rains, but do you know why I chose to build a salt farm in Lu's house?"

As soon as Gao Ming's words fell, Li Shimin also showed a trace of doubt on his face.

Because according to his understanding of Gao Ming, as long as he can eat alone, this kid will never give the benefits to others, but now he has given the benefits to the Lu family, so this shows one thing!

"Is there something wrong with the boundaries of the Lu family?"

Hearing that Li Shimin explained the crux of the problem with one word, Gao Ming immediately gave him a thumbs up with a smile on his face.

"It is indeed the most wise and powerful emperor in the history of the Tang Dynasty, amazing!"

Obviously, Gao Ming was flattering again, and Li Shimin knew this, so he couldn't help laughing and cursing immediately.

"Don't flatter me, kid. Tell me what's going on. Could it be that Fan Yang is really a treasure?"

Seeing Li Shimin's slightly puzzled look, Gao Ming nodded again.

"That's right, if you look at it in terms of salt production, it's one of the few treasures in the entire Tang Dynasty!"

Having said this, Gao Ming's expression became serious.

"Less than a hundred miles south of Fanyang, there is a very wide and flat muddy beach, and the climate there is windy and rainy, with plenty of sunshine, which is very conducive to the evaporation of seawater. It is the first choice for saltworks. Places like this , the annual output of millions of halite is just like playing."

Hearing Gao Ming's explanation, Li Shimin's eyes widened again.

"How did you know?"

"Uh……"

Gao Ming was slightly taken aback, and then showed a forced smile towards Li Shimin.

"Of course I know, didn't I just say it all? I'm a genius, hehehehehehehe......"

Seeing Gao Ming's smiling face, Li Shimin immediately rolled his eyes at him.

"It's fine if you don't want to say it, anyway, as long as you can let me see 200 million rock salt, I don't care about the rest!"

Hearing Li Shimin's words, Gao Ming immediately stood up straight, and then patted his chest.

"Don't worry about my work, the mere 200 million rock salt is covered by me!"

"..."

The current price of salt in Datang is more than 100 Wenqian per bucket, and one stone is more money than usual. If calculated in this way, 200 million stones is more than 200 million Guan, which is equivalent to the tax of Datang for a whole year.

So just as Gao Ming finished speaking, the corners of Li Shimin's mouth twitched again.

"'Two million stone salt', Gao Ming really dares to say that!"

But after regaining his senses, Li Shimin immediately realized a problem, that is, if so much salt can be produced, the price of salt will definitely drop by then.

Thinking of this, Li Shimin frowned immediately.

"If it is possible to produce 200 million stones of salt a year, what is the price of salt?"

As soon as Li Shimin finished speaking, Gao Ming laughed again.

"I thought you wouldn't ask. I've already thought about this. I'll cut the price of salt by half at the beginning. After a few years, when the salt farm expands, I'll gradually reduce the price of salt and food. to the same extent."

After hearing Gao Ming's words, Li Shimin's frown became deeper and deeper. Looking at Li Shimin's expression, Gao Ming quickly figured out the reason, so he laughed again.

"Old man, we don't need to rely on salt to search for the people. Doing so will do more harm than good, and it will also shake the foundation of the country. Only by making the people rich first can we have a future in Tang Dynasty."

Speaking of this, Gao Ming immediately patted himself on the shoulder, and then said to him with emotion: "Old Li, now our Datang should focus on economic construction!"

Li Shimin: "..."

(End of this chapter)