Do you know the long song of laughter?

Chapter 450 Aunt Kang comes to visit

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you, Your Highness King Huan!"

The Minister of Revenue, the Left and Right Vice Ministers of the Ministry of Revenue, and the Envoy of the Ministry of Revenue walked into the Longtu Pavilion and bowed.

"No need to be polite, please take a seat." Zhao Zongquan waved his hand.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" After expressing their gratitude, several people sat down.

"I have summoned you to ask you about the Maritime Customs." Zhao Zongquan said.

"I wonder what aspect Your Majesty wants to know?" asked the Minister of Revenue Zeng Chuanliang.

"I have heard that the profits from overseas trade are quite substantial, almost several times or even dozens of times. Why is the tax set by the Maritime Customs so low?" Zhao Zongquan asked.

"Your Majesty is right. Merchants can indeed make a lot of profit by going out to sea to trade. However, going out to sea is very dangerous. If things go wrong, the ship will be destroyed and people will die, and the goods will naturally be lost. If the tax is set too high, no merchant will be willing to go out to sea." Zeng Chuanliang said.

"But I looked through the records of the archives over the years. Although there were accidents on merchant ships sent out to sea by the imperial court, the frequency was not high," Zhao Ceying retorted.

"Your Highness is right, but the ships sent out to sea by the court are all top-notch ships. How can those merchants' ships compare with them?" Zeng Chuanliang said.

Zhao Zongquan nodded slightly when he heard this, and felt that what Zeng Chuanliang said made sense.

"Once a merchant ship encounters an accident, even if only one ship is lost, a year's work may be in vain. In serious cases, the merchant may even suffer losses. If the tax is too high and there is no profit for the merchant, he will naturally be unwilling to go out to sea," said Zeng Chuanliang.

"Your Majesty, Minister Zeng is right. Although the taxes collected by the Maritime Customs seem to be low every year, there are many workshops in Jiangnan, and the goods produced cannot be consumed by the Song Dynasty alone. Those workshops not only provide jobs for many people and enable them to support their families, but also provide a large amount of taxes to the court." said Chen Jingxian, the director of the Ministry of Revenue.

"Then why doesn't the imperial court send more merchant ships out to sea? Since the imperial court's ships are less likely to get into accidents and are very profitable, why are there not many merchant ships sent out every year?" Zhao Ceying said.

"Your Highness, you don't know that the porcelain and silk transported by the imperial merchant ships are all fine products and are expensive. Those countries are not big and only a few nobles can afford them, so the annual demand is limited. If ordinary goods are transported, we will compete with the people for profits." Zeng Chuanliang said with a smile.

Zhao Zongquan heard this and pondered for a while before saying, "I understand what you said, my dear ministers. I was not thoughtful enough."

"Your Majesty has just ascended the throne, so it is normal that you do not understand these trivial matters. If Your Majesty has no other instructions, we will take our leave." Zeng Chuanliang bowed.

"Yeah." The official nodded.

Zeng Chuanliang and his companions bowed and left.

"You heard it too, right? Li Ang may have some talent, but he is young after all, and his ideas are not comprehensive and are just theoretical talk." Zhao Zongquan said.

"Father, I always feel that this matter is not that simple." Zhao Ceying said.

Although what Zeng Chuanliang and others said made sense, he always felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what it was.

"Okay, there is no need to talk about this anymore. If you have time to think about these things, you might as well focus on the salt business. The salt business involves a wide range of people, and I'm afraid no one will be willing to investigate it thoroughly by then. Moreover, I don't trust others if I hand it over to them, so I will need you to do this job by then." Zhao Zongquan waved his hand.

"I understand, your son. I will take my leave first." Zhao Ceying bowed.

"Go ahead." Zhao Zongquan waved his hand.

……

"Sir Zeng, will the emperor believe it?" Chen Jingxian asked in a low voice.

Zeng Chuanliang smiled and said, "Hasn't the emperor already believed it?"

"But His Royal Highness Prince Huan may not believe it. After all, this matter was initiated by His Royal Highness Prince Huan. He may know something." Chen Jingxian said worriedly.

"What if Prince Huan doesn't believe it? After all, he is just a prince, not a crown prince." Zeng Chuanliang said.

"But Prince Huan is the eldest son of the emperor. In the future..."

"The emperor is young and strong, but King Huan is already an adult. Do you think the emperor will be on guard against him? As long as the emperor believes it, nothing King Huan says will be of any use. As for what will happen in the future, who can tell?" Zeng Chuanliang said with a smile.

"What Lord Zeng said makes sense, but why did King Huan suddenly pay attention to the Maritime Customs?" Chen Jingxian frowned.

"Who knows? Maybe he wants to make some achievements and prove himself to the government. You don't have to worry. The local customs offices are very far away from Bianliang. They only send some account books every year. What can they find out?" Zeng Chuanliang said nonchalantly.

……

Zhao Ceying came out of Longtu Pavilion and felt more and more that something was wrong, so he went to the Hanlin Academy.

In the editing office, Fan Cunjin and others were writing furiously. Li An had already completed his task and was watching them write from behind and learning from them.

There was the sound of footsteps. Li An turned around and saw Zhao Ceying coming in. He bowed and saluted: "Your Highness!"

When Fan Cunjin and his companions heard the noise, they turned around and quickly put down their pens, stood up and saluted, saying, "Your Highness, we greet you!"

Zhao Ceying waved his hand and said, "You guys go about your business. Ziqian, come with me. I have something to discuss with you."

"Yes!" Li An responded and followed Zhao Ceying out.

"His Royal Highness Prince Huan came to see Ziqian in person. Ziqian has a bright future ahead of him." Zhang Weihua said with envy.

"Needless to say, Ziqian has the merit of delivering the blood edict. And I heard that Ziqian has a good relationship with Lord Hai, so he must have a bright future." Fan Cunjin said.

"Ziqian has this relationship? Why haven't I heard him mention it?" Zhang Weihua asked in surprise.

"How can this be false? Ziqian's wife is a girl from the Sheng family, and the eldest son of the Sheng family married the daughter of Lord Hai, so they are relatives. Ziqian has such a background and has made great contributions, but he treats people kindly, unlike some people who become arrogant when they are proud." Fan Cunjin glanced at Lin Yizi and said.

…………

"Zi Qian, this morning I went to the secretarial office to check the records of the taxation of the Maritime Customs and the sea trade dispatched by the court over the years. It was the same as what you said. I reported it to the emperor, and after listening to it, the emperor summoned the chief officials of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Revenue to inquire."

Seeing that there was no one around, Zhao Ceying repeated the explanation given by Zeng Chuanliang and others to Li An.

"I always feel something is wrong, but what they say makes sense," said Zhao Ceying.

"Your Highness, what they said seems to make sense, but it's actually bullshit. Your Highness forgot what I said yesterday, that the precious gems, ivory and spices in the Song Dynasty are worthless in the coastal countries. Merchants from the Song Dynasty who go out to sea to trade cannot calculate those things according to the value of the Song Dynasty. Using their worthless things to exchange for Song Dynasty items, although ordinary people can't afford them, there are still many people who can afford them."

"As for the risk of going out to sea, I do not deny that, but compared with the benefits gained, it is nothing," said Li An.

"You're right. I always felt something was wrong. Turns out they were trying to change the concept." Zhao Ceying said angrily.

"Your Highness, this matter is probably not that simple. The imperial merchant ships transport high-quality tea and official kiln porcelain. How is it possible that the profit is only about ten times?" Li An said.

"Are you saying there is something fishy going on?" Zhao Ceying frowned. "Yes, according to my estimation, the profit of going out to sea is only a few times, ten times. If the profit of the court's merchant ships is only several times or ten times, then the profit of those merchants is even lower? If so, they are still losing money. However, the number of ships going out to sea for trade has not decreased but has continued to increase. Your Highness, do you think this is possible?" Li An said.

Merchants are profit-driven, and the cost of building ships is very high, not to mention the various dangers at sea. If there were no huge profits, how could so many merchants go out to sea?

"I said something was wrong. It turns out they were deceiving father." Zhao Ceying said angrily.

"Your Highness, you were impulsive this time. The waters in the Maritime Customs are deeper than those in the Salt Administration. I tell you all this just to give you an understanding." Li An said.

He didn't expect Zhao Ceying to be so impulsive. He just briefly understood the situation and went to report to the emperor.

If it were just that, it would be fine, but they actually called in officials from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Revenue Department for questioning. Isn't this just alerting the enemy?

"I was really anxious this time." Zhao Ceying also reacted at this time.

"Your Highness, the three-foot-thick ice did not form overnight. These are all accumulated problems and cannot be solved in a hurry." Li An reminded.

"I was too impatient this time. Ziqian, what do you think we should do next?" Zhao Ceying asked.

"There is no need to do anything. Judging from what they said, they should have received the news when His Majesty summoned them." Li An said.

"Impossible. When I told my father about this, there was no one around." Zhao Ceying shook his head.

"Your Highness, the local Maritime Customs Offices are independent and are not under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Revenue or the Ministry of Revenue Department. They only need to report accounts on time. It stands to reason that the officials of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Revenue Department should not be very clear about the situation of the Maritime Customs Offices. However, when faced with the official's inquiries, they were able to answer fluently, which obviously showed that they had known in advance and were prepared.

If Your Highness does nothing at this time, they will think that Your Highness and the Emperor have believed what you said, and they will relax their vigilance. "Li An said.

"I understand."

Zhao Ceying nodded, chatted with Li An for a while and then left.

Li An looked at Zhao Ceying's back and shook his head slightly.

Through several contacts, Li An could feel that Zhao Ceying really wanted to do something.

But Zhao Ceying also has a shortcoming, he is too impatient and not calm enough.

If there is to be any reform in the future, he must change his temper.

……

"Sir, Master's wife came this morning and chatted with me for a while." Minglan said as she helped Li An change his clothes.

Li An patted his forehead and said, "I have been so busy during this period that I haven't been to the teacher's house since we got married."

"Master's wife also knows that the master has been busy lately, and she doesn't mean to blame him." Minglan comforted.

"I know." Li An nodded and said, "Next time we take a bath, let's go over there."

"Yeah." Minglan nodded.

Li An straightened his clothes and said with a smile: "We won't eat at home tonight. Let's go to Fanlou to eat. After eating, we can go out for a walk."

"Thank you, sir." Minglan said happily.

"Why be polite between husband and wife? Hurry up and change your clothes. I'll go get someone to prepare the car." Li An said.

"Yeah." Minglan nodded.

Li An and Minglan went to Fanlou for a meal, then went shopping at the night market, and didn't go home until late at night.

The next morning, after Li An had his meal, he went to the palace. Minglan went back to her room to take a nap because she had not slept well the night before due to playing too late.

I was woken up by Danju while I was dazed.

"What time is it?" Minglan asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Madam, it's still early. Aunt Kang is here." Danju said.

"Why is she here?" Minglan frowned slightly.

"I don't know either. She just said she wanted to see the lady." Danju said.

"Send some hot water over," Minglan ordered.

"Yes." Danju responded and walked out.

Minglan took her time to wash and dress up with the help of her maid, and half an hour later she came to the main hall.

"Hello, Aunt Kang." Minglan bowed with a smile.

"Sixth Miss, I'm not being nosy as your aunt. Even though you don't have parents-in-law and are the head of the household, you can't sleep in until the sun is high in the sky. We are all family, so it's okay for me to wait. But if there are other guests coming to visit, you can't keep them waiting, right?" Mrs. Kang waited for half an hour and looked unhappy.

"Aunt Kang's worries are unnecessary. Who would come to visit without even leaving an invitation? That's a bad guest," Minglan said sarcastically.

"You..." Hearing this, Kang Wang's face turned ugly and she said, "Why, as an elder, I can't say a few words to you?"

"Aunt Kang is an elder, so she can speak." Minglan smiled and said, "But Aunt Kang came to my house so early in the morning, could it be that she wanted to lecture me? Speaking of which, Aunt Kang cares about me more than my stepmother. I have been married for more than a month, and my stepmother has not come, but Aunt Kang has come."

What Minglan meant was that Madam Wang's stepmother hadn't come to lecture her, so who do you think you are as an aunt to come and lecture me?

Kang Wangshi could naturally hear what was said, but thinking of her own purpose, she endured it and forced a smile, saying, "I am also worried that you will offend your master by doing this. Since you don't like to hear it, I won't offend him. I came here this time because I want to ask you for help with something."

"Aunt, this is really difficult for me. I am a woman who has just married and I don't even know the husband's temper. How can I help you?"

Minglan sneered in her heart, as expected, no one would come here for no reason. She knew that Aunt Kang must have some purpose in coming this time.

She wasn't even interested in listening, let alone helping.

"Haha, if you can't help, I won't bother you." Lady Kang smiled and said, "Your cousin Kang Jin is not young anymore and doesn't even have a job. See if you can ask your husband to help and arrange a job for him."

"Aunt, you talk as if my husband is your husband and it's easy to assign him a job. He's just a compiler in the Hanlin Academy and has no real power. How could he have that ability? Besides, the government has opened up special examinations, wouldn't it be better to let cousin Kang Jin take the imperial examination and become an official?" Minglan said with a smile.

"If he had that ability, I wouldn't have to worry about him. I heard that your husband has a very good relationship with His Royal Highness Prince Huan and Uncle Shen. It's just a matter of talking." Princess Kang said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)