Back to the prosperous Tang Dynasty to be the emperor

Chapter 90

250 million taels per year does not seem to be much, but when converted into silver, it is only 250 million taels, which is really not much compared to the excessive expenditure on river governance in later generations. The regular silver taels in the canal are far more than this amount, not to mention the special rectification costs that are often in the millions of taels. In fact, the strength is only in the military, and the economic strength can only be regarded as mediocre. The annual revenue of the national treasury is only about 700 million yuan. It is already pitifully small, and this is not counting the needs of various border wars that break out almost every year. If it is calculated seriously, the court can only achieve a rough balance of income and expenditure. There is a slight surplus, but it is definitely not as much as 250 million taels. Obviously, it is almost impossible to allocate the 250 million taels of silver from the treasury. No wonder the courtiers were surprised. If the courtiers learned that Li Xian If the reported number is actually only [-]% of what is actually needed, I'm afraid I'll be so shocked that I'm sweating profusely.

"Your Majesty's arrogance, I admire, but I have something that I don't understand, please explain it in detail." Although Yan Liben had just taken over the household department, after working hard for half a month, he knew the state treasury well. As soon as Li Xian mentioned that the cost of 1000 million guan is as easy as saying [-] guan, he was immediately shocked. I really didn't know whether to be angry or laugh, but then again, Yan Liben The purpose of standing up this time was to embarrass Li Xian, but it would be a good thing for him to find out the loopholes in Li Xian's strategy, so he said calmly.

"Yan Shangshu has any questions, but it's okay to say. Xiao Wang dare not say that he will be able to answer, but he will do his best." Li Xian has prepared the booklet for water transportation for more than a year, and he thinks that he knows all aspects of water transportation. Even though he knew that Yan Liben was making things difficult on purpose, he didn't take it to heart, so he cupped his hands with a smile and replied confidently.

"Thank you, Your Highness." Yan Liben saluted respectfully, thanked him first, and then said solemnly: "Your Highness, do you know how much I have earned and what is my surplus?"

"As far as Xiao Wang knows, last year had a good harvest, and the imperial court's annual income was 900 million yuan, an increase of about [-]% compared to the previous year. The past years are roughly the same as the previous year, with limited increases and decreases. As for the surplus, this Xiao Wang does not know. Yan Shangshu is in charge of the household. Of course, you should know better than Xiao Wang." The remaining amount of the national treasury is a secret of the court. Although Li Xian is a prince, he also doesn't know it well, but he generally knows that the national treasury is not too rich, but that's all. Well, Li Xian doesn't care much about how much surplus the state treasury has now, but Li Xian has other plans because of the cost of river governance. Therefore, knowing that Yan Liben raised this question with bad intentions, Li Xian still answered it well. Very easy.

"Your Highness can know the income of the year. He is really a caring person. I admire you." Yan Liben sarcastically mocked Li Xian, which meant that Li Xian was uneasy about the position of prince, and he was really ambitious. His face immediately changed, and he gave Yan Liben a gloomy look. He was about to explode, but he didn't dare to be too presumptuous in such a court, and his neck was thickened by anger. If the eyes can kill, as long as I was afraid that Yan Liben would have died tens of millions of times, but it was a pity that Yan Liben didn't follow him at all, and didn't care whether Li Xian was angry or not, so he continued unhurriedly: "Last year's big harvest, the court has a little The surplus is 70 guan, which is the highest in the past years. The treasury now has a total of 1000 to 100 million guan. After deducting the expected expenditure this year, the number of people who can call it is less than [-] million guan. I really don't know what your highness said. Where does the running fee come from, please give your Highness advice."

"Yan Shangshu is loyal to his duty, and Xiao Wang also admires it." Li Xian was extremely hurt by Yan Liben's previous words. Even though he knew that this was not the time to care about his status, he still couldn't help but retorted, alluding to Yan Liben It is a shame to seek refuge with the crown prince, but he is quick to fight back. Unfortunately, Yan Liben is very good at nourishing Qi, and he is not moved by Li Xian's words at all. There is no expression on his flat face, just calm. Standing quietly, waiting patiently for Li Xian to give a reasonable explanation, it just made Li Xian feel like he was punching into the air, and it was natural to be annoyed, but at this moment Li Xian was There was no way to take Yan Liben, so he had to grit his teeth secretly, and continued in an angry tone, "Where did Xiao Wang say that he would transfer money from the treasury, Yan Shangshu may have misunderstood it. It is true that the cost of water transport is huge, but what happened?" To ensure the safety of the country, it is necessary to do it with great effort. If it takes ten years to do it gradually, the treasury will not be enough. Unfortunately, the water in the distance will not quench the thirst. The food shortage in Guanzhong is estimated at millions of stones. It will be easier if it is not done sooner. In short, fear of famine, four years of work, although it is difficult, but it can solve the urgent need, Xiao Wang dare not shrink because of the difficulty, he must make plans to do his best!"

"I would like to hear the details." Li Xian said it impassionedly, but Yan Liben didn't respond at all. As soon as Li Xian's words fell, he asked a question, making it clear that he didn't believe that Li Xian could do it out of thin air. Make money.

"Father, my son has several strategies that can save the national treasury and gather water transportation needs. I implore the father to make a clear decision." After being entangled by Yan Liben to this moment, Li Xian finally woke up suddenly-Yan Liben was just a guy who came to find fault, and with No matter how much nonsense he talked, it would be useless. Instead of fighting against him, it would be better to ask Gao Zong to make the decision. He didn't even look at Yan Liben, turned around, and bowed to Gao Zong.Report loudly.

"Oh? What's Xian'er's strategy, let me tell you." Gaozong was obviously very happy to see Li Xian arguing with officials from the crown prince's lineage, and when he was enjoying hearing it, he suddenly listened to Li Xian's words and other things. Immediately became interested in the clever strategy for raising money, raised his hand with a smile, and asked with great interest.

"Father Huang Mingjian, now not only Guanzhong is frequently short of food, but also the whole west and north. Even so, the wind of brewing wine is becoming more and more prosperous everywhere, not to mention the cost of food. There are many people who make mistakes due to alcoholism. In Japan, the first emperor issued several edicts to ban alcohol, but the profit of alcohol was so high, private brewing was banned repeatedly, and the matter was abandoned. The child thought that alcohol was difficult to control, so it was better to use one organization to control it, and it was called: Wine Division Liquor licenses are issued as certificates for producers, and those without a liquor license are illegal brewers. They should be punished severely, and even ransacking their homes is not an exaggeration. The monopoly bureaus of each state can issue a fixed number of licenses, which are changed every year. There should be millions of guan used for river engineering. This is one, and the other is that my father issued an edict a month ago, ordering businessmen not to ride horses. In fact, it is difficult to make a living without cars and horses. My child thinks that it would be better if the network can be opened up. It might be possible to sell cars and horses in a monopoly bureau. It can not only make the merchants have the power to do business, but also make them contribute to the river engineering. Why don't you do it, it's all my sons and ministers' superficial hearing, and I hope my father will investigate it carefully." Li Xian took a deep breath, and then talked about it, and it took a few minutes to talk about it. For a long time, all the courtiers were frowning, and before Li Xian could finish speaking, private discussions rang out again.

A monopoly organization like the wine department is not innovative at all. There have been precedents for salt and iron monopoly. The same is true for the franchised products of the Tang Dynasty. The Yantie Division under the Sinong Temple is a permanent organization in charge of the national salt and iron monopoly. Logically speaking, even if there is one more wine division, it is not a big deal. It's just that the wine on the market is more expensive, but in fact it's not that simple. It's not for anything else, just because most of the wine making places in this period are in the hands of wealthy families. For example, the largest breweries are all properties of the aristocratic families in Beijing, and all the courtiers in the palace are more or less related to the breweries. If Li Xian's words are really followed, the interests of the wealthy families will surely be destroyed. Suffering a heavy loss, it is obvious that as soon as Li Xian came out with such a regulation, it was like a thunderclap on the flat ground, which literally shocked all the courtiers into a daze, and the big guy turned upside down. No surprise there.

"Your Majesty, the old minister thinks that His Highness Lu's two strategies seem reasonable, but in fact it is not. First, it is a taboo in the court to compete with the people for profit. Second, business and industry should not ride horses. It is to emphasize agriculture and suppress business. Buying a license to ride a horse is not a disguised form of accumulating money, your majesty's original intention is gone, and people will criticize it, it is really absurd, it is absolutely unfeasible, hope your majesty will learn from you!" Li Xian didn't want to pay attention to Yan Liben , but Yan Liben did not intend to stop there, and immediately objected loudly without waiting for Gaozong to express his opinion.

"Your Majesty, Yan Shangshu's words are very true, and my ministers agree."

"Your Majesty, the original intention of managing water transport is to secure the country. If it is at the cost of disturbing the people, then the cart before the horse, it is absolutely impossible!"

"Your Majesty, I think that although His Royal Highness King Lu has the heart for the country, his experience is still inexperienced. Although his intentions are good, it's a pity that the means are not right. We should act with caution."

As soon as Yan Liben finished speaking, Liu Daoxiang and other senior officials on the prince's side stood up one after another, or directly refuted Li Xian's suggestion, or pretended to excuse Li Xian with the excuse of lack of experience. Many neutral officials who were afraid that Emperor Gaozong would approve Li Xian's performance also made statements one after another, almost unanimously opposing Li Xian's suggestion. This one-sided situation was extremely pessimistic for Li Xian.

(End of this chapter)