Yipin Tang

Chapter 140 Make a deal with His Majesty

When I heard the voice, it was Li Zhi, that brat.

Wang Xiang turned a corner and saw Li Zhi standing in the middle of a pile of green vegetables, pointing at this and clicking on that. Several guards followed him with baskets and picked whatever he pointed at.

"Young slave!"

Before Wang Xiang could speak, the little Lolita couldn't help crying out.

Hearing the voice, Li Zhi turned around and saw the little Lolita staring at him with her waist inserted, and quickly put on a smile and said, "Sister Xiaowu, why are you here?"

Little Loli became even angrier when she heard this: "Why did I come? This is our family's vegetable garden. I should be asking you why you are here, and what are you doing?"

Seeing a guard about to pick a big emerald green cucumber, Little Loli hurriedly shouted: "Stop!"

The guard had already grabbed the cucumber and didn't know whether to pick it or not, so he looked at Li Zhi anxiously.

"Sister Xiaowu won't pick it if she doesn't let her pick it."

In the past, Li Chengqian and Li Zhi would often come to the vegetable garden to pick some fruits and vegetables, but there had never been such a big battle like today. The big bamboo baskets in the hands of the guards were full, and they were obviously fresh vegetables that had just been picked. .

"Children, why are you picking so many vegetables?" Wang Xiang was not reluctant to part with these vegetables, but just curious.

Li Zhi fiddled with the bamboo basket in the guard's hand and seemed quite satisfied. He smiled and said, "Father is going to have a banquet in the palace, so he asked me to pick some vegetables. The vegetable garden in the palace doesn't have a long life."

"A banquet? Why does Your Majesty have a banquet?"

"Of course it's to celebrate the recovery of the prince's brother and I from smallpox, and my father has sent people to spread the news of the cowpox throughout the Tang Dynasty. From now on, the people of the Tang Dynasty will not have to be afraid of smallpox. Such a happy event will naturally be celebrated with a banquet."

Li Zhi said with a smile: "Father said that he will also invite Wang Jiancheng to the palace for a banquet."

Li Er wanted to pick some vegetables for the banquet, so he had to give them, besides, Li Zhi even invited himself after he said it.

"Then you can pick any vegetables you need. Later, Daoist Li will build a glass shed for the palace. When the time comes, His Majesty can eat whatever vegetables he wants. How troublesome it is to send people over every time."

Li Zhi said with a smile: "The construction of the glass shed in the palace has already started, but it will take some days to complete."

Wang Xiang told Li Zhi to go ahead and pick the little lolita, so he just pouted and remained silent.

After Li Zhi finished picking the vegetables, Wu Shun took everyone back to the mansion, and Wang Xiang entered the palace with Li Zhi. He hadn't seen Li Er since he came out of Xishui Village, and Li Chengqian's leg injury didn't know what happened.

Li Er was not in the Tai Chi Hall at this time, but in the Lizheng Hall of Empress Changsun, and Sun Simiao was also there.Although there are Wang Xiang's pills to suppress Qi disease, Empress Changsun's health is still deteriorating. The accident of Li Chengqian and Li Zhi has had a great impact on her condition.

When they arrived at the Lizheng Palace, Empress Changsun had just finished taking the medicine and fell asleep. Li Er and Sun Simiao were sitting in the outer hall talking, and Xiao Si was obediently practicing calligraphy in the inner hall. Wang Xiang was ashamed of his seriousness. Si son gap is getting bigger and bigger.

When there were no outsiders, Li Er was quite easy-going. He beckoned Wang Xiang and Li Zhi to sit down, and asked, "Zixin, the Queen's condition is serious again. Do you have any good prescriptions?"

Wang Xiang looked at Sun Simiao who was at the side and shook his head with a wry smile: "I just got the pills that can restrain Qi diseases by chance. I don't know any medical skills. If the empress's pills run out, I still have some at home."

"There are still pills, but... hey." Li Er sighed. He knew Wang Xiang very well now. Some basic things are not as good as Li Zhi's.

"By the way, I heard Daoist Sun said that you once said that the reason why people get sick easily is because of their weak health, and their weak health is due to lack of salt. Is there such a thing?"

Hearing Li Er mention this matter, Wang Xiang nodded. He did mention this to Sun Simiao when he was in Xishui Village.

Li Er frowned and said, "What's the relationship between weak body and easy disease and salt?"

Wang Xiang said sternly: "The human body needs to absorb many different nutrients to be healthy. A strong body has strong resistance and is not easy to get sick. Salt is a very important nutrient for the human body. Your Majesty also knows that people will be weak without salt. , In fact, what is more serious is that the body's resistance will decline, and if it is serious, you will get big neck disease."

"Big neck disease? What is big neck disease?"

"Eh..." Wang Xiang sweated in his heart, "That is, if the people lack salt for a long time, their necks will swell."

Li Erchao asked Sun Simiao, "Did Daoist Sun hear of this strange disease?"

Sun Simiao nodded and said: "Pindao has indeed seen that some poor people have thicker necks than ordinary people, but I don't know if it is the big neck disease that Marquis Jiayuan said."

Wang Xiang was still thinking of worshiping old man Sun as his teacher, and hearing him call himself Jiayuanhou, he quickly said, "Daozhang Sun called me Zixin."

Then he said to Li Er: "What Daoist Sun said is actually big neck disease. Many poor people can't eat salt a few times a month, so they suffer from big neck disease because of the lack of salt in their bodies, and their body's resistance is worse than ordinary people."

Li Er frowned and said, "It's not easy to produce salt. In addition, salt dealers hoarded and sold illegal salt, which caused the price of salt to rise. This made the people of Tang Dynasty unable to afford table salt. These people who sell illegal salt should be killed!"

Hearing the murderous intent in Li Er's words, Wang Xiang couldn't help but think of Ma Wenxin, who had escaped his life. Now that he is following Zhang Kuishan to develop the Western Regions, his talents can be used.

Wang Xiang asked cautiously: "Why doesn't Your Majesty lower the price of official salt, so that the common people can eat Shangguan salt, and naturally no one will sell private salt."

Li Er shook his head: "Salt tax is the most important tax. There is not much salt that can be produced every year. If the salt price is lowered, many people will still not be able to eat salt, but the salt tax will be much lower, which is not good for the country."

"What if the salt produced every year is enough for the people of Tang Dynasty to eat all of it?"

Is it so easy to produce salt? Li Er was about to shake his head when he stared at Wang Xiang and asked, "Could it be that you have a way to increase the production of salt?"

Wang Xiang smiled and said: "It is enough to be enough for the people of the Tang Dynasty to eat salt, and there is still a lot left."

"Tell me quickly!" Li Er immediately regained his spirits. Salt and iron have always been the country's most important weapon, how could he not be excited after hearing Wang Xiang's words.

Wang Xiang rubbed his nose and said in a low voice, "This... Your Majesty, the price of colored glaze in Gewuyuan has fallen sharply recently."

Talking about it carefully, how did the salt get involved in the colored glaze business of Gewuyuan?Li Er was stunned for a moment, then saw Wang Xiang's movement of touching his nose, and immediately reacted, and said with an angry smile: "Well, Wang Zixin, you have not changed your greed for money after leaving Chang'an for half a year."

Wang Xiang argued: "How can I be greedy for money? In order to let the people of the Tang Dynasty eat salt and strengthen their physique, I have worked hard to come up with a method of making salt. I am willing to dedicate this method to Your Majesty. Your Majesty will never let me. ..."

Why are you working so hard for the people of Tang Dynasty? Li Er interrupted angrily: "Tell me, what do you want?"

Wang Xiang smiled awkwardly and said, "I just want to make a deal with His Majesty."

(End of this chapter)