I opened a tavern in Datang/Datang: My peerless talent was exposed

Therefore, for these merchants, this royal name auction is not only an opportunity to make a lot of money, but also a great opportunity to expand their business to other state capitals. As long as they can afford it, they must smash!

Chapter 203 Li Shimin's Great Terror

Under the watchful eyes of Li Shimin and his ministers, the final auction price of the royal name of the cloth industry was an extremely terrifying 27 guan!

And the auction in this industry was also the longest auction among all the auctions that day. In the end, only two people's voices could be heard in the entire lobby.

These two are actually representatives of local merchants, and behind them are a large group of powerful merchant groups.

Behind every price is the constant calculation of many merchants. From the beginning, the price increase of 1 to 1000 was like taking money for money. In the end, it was a 100, [-] increase, and even at the end, it was already [-], [-]. The price has increased.

No one is willing to give up such a rare opportunity. The ghost knows whether the court will hold such an auction again in three years, or after three years of operation, the strength of these merchants who have won the auction now will be stronger when the time comes. How strong is it?

Therefore, in the end, the merchants who joined the group almost counted their last copper plate, and even counted the funds that could be borrowed, and they went bankrupt and fought.

Someone even signed an agreement on the scene to mortgage the fertile land and real estate. If Dai Zhou insisted that the court only wanted cash, both parties would have directly taken the fertile land or sold or mortgaged it directly to the court for money.

In the end, the auction of the monopoly of the royal name of the cloth industry was won by the noble family in the north with a deeper foundation.

These wealthy families have been passed down for a long time, and because they supported Li Tang Jianguo, they made a lot of money in the past few years, which is indeed a bit better than the south where they were confused at the end of the Sui Dynasty.

When the cloth auction ended, Li Shimin almost yelled loudly!

It is really that the final transaction price is too scary. With this money, the court has money for the national economy, the people's livelihood, and military construction. Not to mention completely enough, but at least it is much better than the stretched situation before.

However, not long after being excited, Li Shimin suddenly calmed down, and obviously began to frown and start thinking.

The few near him beside him are close ministers who have followed him for many years, not only are they very familiar with him, but also they are all very delicate and exquisite. At this time, it is not obvious that His Majesty is thinking of something troublesome.

Is Changsun Wuji the best personal friend with Li Shimin? Not just a close minister, but also a brother-in-law. He also spoke a little presumptuously, and asked,

"Your Majesty, the situation is so good now, why are you frowning? The ministers are willing to share your majesty's worries!"

Li Shimin forced a smile, and said in a deep voice,

"Auxiliary machine, I was happy to get a large amount of money for the Ministry of Households, thinking that I would be able to enrich the country and strengthen the army, and create a prosperous world, but when I turned around, I felt chills all over my body, and there was great terror! "

Speaking of which, Li Shimin looked seriously at the few most trusted close ministers in front of him, and said quietly,

"I racked my brains for spending tens of thousands of guan before, but now a few aristocratic families get together a little and can easily spend hundreds of thousands of guan. You must know that this is not all their family wealth!"

"This scene makes me feel chills all over my body. If one day they support my family's army as they did back then, how will I resist?"

Changsun Wuji and the others gasped, completely shocked by Li Shimin's hypothesis.

They are actually very clear that even a large part of these merchants are actually the spokespersons and collateral children of those big families, and they are also operating the family's ancestral business.

But it seems that they have pooled a large sum of money, but in fact, the money is far from hurting the muscles and bones of these big aristocratic families.

For these big aristocratic families, the family's hole cards must not be used until the family is exterminated.

And their greatest assets are actually the large tracts of land accumulated from generation to generation, acquired through various means such as extortion, and the gold and silver hidden in secret warehouses obtained through various means.

But now these big families are so shocking just by spending their own business funds, then if it really comes to a certain moment, or even fully supports the rebellion of a certain force as His Majesty said, what kind of scene will it be?

Before the ministers could say anything, Li Shimin continued,

"Just now I took a closer look. In the end, more than 40 merchants from the south were fighting against less than [-] big families from the north. The merchants from the south have always been famous for their wealth. The dewy northern clan has smashed it with money!"

"Auxiliary machine, Keming, Fang Qiao, could the lovers have thought of the great terror in my heart? It is the terror of knowing nothing about the opponent!"

"I originally thought that our big families were just hoarding some land and food, and we were more focused on exerting our strength in the court, but now that we made an appearance, it completely frightened me! You know, not all the big families participated just now. , there are several companies that did not participate!"

Changsun Wuji and the others were completely silent when they heard the words. In fact, they were also frightened when they thought about it.

This is like saying that the little boy who thought he could only read books suddenly became a martial arts master. He even knocked down a martial arts master with three punches and two kicks without exerting all his strength.

And it's so hard to die, this little boy is still your deadly enemy, so I asked you if you were afraid?

Du Ruhui was born from a poor family, and now he has lost his usual laughter, and said seriously,

"Your Majesty, it is said that if the aristocratic families with centuries-old dynasties and thousands of years don't think of a way, these aristocratic families will become bigger and bigger. We must make plans early!"

Li Shimin nodded,

"Keming, why don't I want to attack the family? Not to mention completely destroying the family, but I can't let these gnats lie on the court and suck blood.

But it's not that easy, not to mention going to the court, just the workshop that sells cheap book paper run by Zhen and Xiao Zhang's shopkeeper, it has already made the family unable to sit still! "

"There is one thing I haven't told you before, that is, in the past two months alone, the guards I placed outside Xiao Zhang's shopkeeper Zhuangzi and outside the paper workshop have killed more than a dozen groups of infiltrators!"

Hearing Fang Xuanling raised his head sharply, he looked at Li Shimin in surprise, but when he saw Li Shimin nodded calmly, he gasped suddenly.

He knows how these dead men came here, and everyone here knows it well, and even more knows what these people are doing.

The purpose of the gentry is to monopolize the right to read and write. If a poor family cannot produce a noble son, they must either join the gentry to study, or be an honest farmer with his face turned to the loess and his back to the sky.

But once the cheap paper and cheap books of this little shopkeeper are sold everywhere, this monopoly may be broken, and this is definitely something that the nobles and big families do not want to see, so it can only be destroyed!

Chapter 204

As for Li Shimin's worries, several courtiers are actually very clear, and it can even be said that they have discussed these matters with Li Shimin not once or twice.

But unless Emperor Sui Yang's bloody sweep of the southern aristocratic family was used, there was no easy way to solve the aristocratic family.

It can even be said that even if a decree to weaken the aristocratic family is to be passed in the court, it may cause turmoil in the court.

The aristocratic family's monopoly on education and talents for many years, as well as the continuously intertwined network of relationships through election as officials and marriages, have already formed a dense and strong chain in the court.

Whether it is the emperor Li Shimin or poor scholars like Du Ruhui, those aristocratic families are undoubtedly a big mountain in front of them.

But how to destroy the family?

From a short-term perspective, it can only limit the performance of family officials in the court, but from a long-term perspective, it is necessary to support the rise of poor scholars as much as possible.

Only after the rise of the humble family can a court game situation be formed with the aristocratic family, even if it cannot be evenly matched for the time being, at least there is a game, and there is room for the emperor to play.

For Li Shimin, if there is no fight in the court, then these courtiers should fight with him, which he cannot allow.

But if the poor family rises up to compete with the aristocratic family, then he will feel comfortable. He has changed from an athlete to a referee in one fell swoop.

To realize this situation, the cheap paper and cheap books produced by Zhang Nuo are indispensable artifacts. Without these things, the poor family can still only get the opportunity to study from the aristocratic family.

As time goes by, is the poor family still the poor family?

Although Zhang Nuo seems to be not well-known in the court, in fact, all the top bigwigs in the court know him, and the top families have also known from other channels that Li Shimin has such a man. The adopted brother is also a talented man in the field who is proficient in natural resources.

The aristocratic family's initial plan was to kill him directly. In their eyes, Zhang Nuo, who had no official position at that time and ran the tavern, was just a commoner. It was just luck that he met Li Shimin. If he killed him, he would kill him.

But God knows how Li Shimin was willing to place so many security forces around Zhang Nuo, let alone after Zhang Nuo moved outside the city.

It was like an iron barrel array, and the army was directly mobilized to live in the village.

This is difficult, even if there are dead soldiers, how to break through the encirclement of the army and fight in front of Zhang Nuo?

What's more, it can be seen from Zhang Nuo's power when he shot the general of Li Youliang's family in the street last time, he is obviously a warrior with both civil and military skills.

If he rushed to Zhang Nuo with great difficulty, but couldn't beat him, wouldn't it be a delivery?

It is not easy to cultivate a dead soldier, it is slowly piled up with time and money.

No matter how big the aristocratic family is, there are actually not many dead soldiers who can go to the battle. After all, what should be avoided should be avoided a little bit, and you can't directly train soldiers yourself, right?

Therefore, since then, the aristocratic family has become hard at both hands. On the one hand, it continues to send people to try their best to get new paper making methods. After all, this is also a great source of income.

On the other hand, it is to find a way to kill Zhang Nuo. As long as the culprit is killed, the family will be comfortable, and even use Zhang Nuo's new paper-making method to make profits to a higher level.

Zhang Nuo didn't know these things, but Li Shimin knew it very well, because he arranged many things by himself, and there were even several collateral families in the middle who were directly arranged by Li Shimin to be killed and planted on Zhang Nuo.

On the surface, it looked like a tacit fight between Zhang Nuo and the aristocratic family, but in fact, without Zhang Nuo's knowledge, he and several major aristocratic families had almost become deadly enemies.

Li Shimin took great pains so that Zhang Nuo would not fall to the aristocratic family.

But just one Zhang Nuo is not enough. Judging from today's auction, the background of the aristocratic family is much more terrifying than he imagined.

No matter what age it is, it is better to have money than to have no money, but once there is a certain amount of money, a very different situation will appear.

Especially the Northern Family Consortium, which just won the auction, has a huge amount of cash of 55 yuan, which can be delivered to the Ministry of Households tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

How much property of these aristocratic families has been taken up here?How much gold and silver is still buried and hidden in their big houses and ancestral lands?

Thinking of this, Li Shimin felt a dull pain in his brain.

Fang Xuanling was not from a wealthy family, so he was naturally on Li Shimin's side at the moment, and said slowly,

"Your Majesty, this royal title has been given to the northern family. Although they have been given a sum of money temporarily, will it make them stronger?"

"After all, this is still a business in the final analysis. These merchants on the field dare to invest so much, so they naturally see that they can earn more opportunities from it."

"The aristocratic family already has a deep foundation, if you wantonly make money, wouldn't it be an incomparably rich country?"

Li Shimin's teeth itch when he heard that "wealth can rival a country",

"No need for the future, they are actually wealthy now, Guochao's annual income of 180 million last year, I'm afraid it can't compare with the dark coffers in these people's homes!"

After complaining, Li Shimin still honestly pondered what Fang Xuanling said just now.

After thinking about it for a while, Li Shimin shook his head and said seriously,

"It's okay, no matter how the family earns money, as long as it is done in an upright manner, it must pay me commercial tax. Commercial tax doesn't matter whether you are from a noble family or not."

"And as long as you make money in an upright manner, you don't have to worry about your status. I still have this measure. Guochao also hopes to have a few more such big households paying business taxes!"

"The most important thing is that Guochao has gained a large amount of income this time, and the national power and military power will definitely increase. Before, I was able to suppress them, and now I am suppressing them!"

"After all, a family is still not as strong as a country and a dynasty. As long as the Tang Dynasty continues to be strong, and the monarch and ministers are of the same mind, even if such aristocratic families rebel, they will definitely be like a cart."

Although Li Shimin has worries, he will never show any weakness in front of his courtiers. He does have worries when facing the aristocratic family, but he is more confident.

It doesn't matter if you are strong, I can become stronger than you, and in the end I will be so strong that you will be speechless.

Li Shimin knew very well that the encirclement and suppression of aristocratic families was not a matter of a day or two or even a year or two.

Then, no matter how profound the family background is, it will eventually be Li Tang's stepping stone!

Chapter 205

For Li Shimin, even if the total turnover of the entire auction eventually exceeded one million guan, accounting for [-]% of last year's annual income, Li Shimin was too lazy to take care of it for the time being.

Now his mind is full of thoughts on how to restrict the aristocratic family, and at the same time protect his little brother Zhang. Only when he continuously produces good things can he have more courage to face all this.

When the ministers saw that the auction was over, they all planned to leave, but Li Shimin sat there firmly, looked at the ministers around him and said seriously,

"Father has practiced strict frugality for nearly ten years, but still can't restore the people's livelihood of Daye for ten years. When was that? That was the time when Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty ruined Emperor Wen's family property and the Sui Dynasty was about to collapse!"

"I often chat with Brother Xiao Zhang. Once he drank too much and once told me that he who wins the hearts of the people wins the world. As long as the people in all the territory of the Tang Dynasty have no worries about food and clothing, no one can set off a large-scale riot." rebel!"

"I agree with this point very much! This auction is over, and the love ministers will supervise Dai Zhou to complete the follow-up handover. I believe you have seen the new cavalry weapon that I worked so hard to get from brother Zhang!"

"As long as the finances are sufficient, one year is enough for us to form more than [-] cavalry, and the Turkic wolf cubs will beat them to death!"

"After the Turks are destroyed, I will turn around and rectify the country. At that time, with the power of a great victory, I will deal a severe blow to the arrogance of the aristocratic family. I also hope that all my lovers can follow in my footsteps and move forward bravely!"

All the courtiers don't understand now that the emperor is forcing them to express their views, so it goes without saying that they must quickly follow in the footsteps of the emperor. forward.

Li Shimin is finally satisfied. Although he was a little hit by the rich financial resources of the family before, it doesn't matter. The money was sent to the treasury and his internal funds. He also has a group of virtuous officials and generals. family.

This night, Li Shimin, who was not only excited, practiced martial arts for an hour in front of the Ganlu Temple in the heavy snow, and then went to rest.

But the next morning, just after the morning court, he was held back by Cheng Yaojin with a wicked smile on his face, and asked him with a smile if he wanted to be a guest at the Zhuangzi outside the city.

Li Shimin was taken aback, what do you mean?Why don't you go to work and plan to sneak away to the shopkeeper Xiao Zhang's village outside the city to eat delicious and spicy food?

But before he opened his mouth to reprimand, Cheng Yaojin took the initiative to say,

"Your Majesty, the soldiers who were assigned to Zhuangzi outside the city have been prepared, and they can go out of the city today. Do you want to go and have a look, Your Majesty?"

Li Shimin thought about it, but still refused, because he was afraid that some general who knew him would accidentally reveal his identity, and it would be no fun.

So, let's wait for Cheng Yaojin and others to make arrangements first, and at the same time, he also asked Cheng Yaojin to give some serious instructions.

Especially the recent assassination of Zhang Nuo by the aristocratic family, which was almost continuous, all of which required the general to spend some effort on defense at that time.

Cheng Yaojin frowned when he heard the current situation. Although he looked like a bastard on the surface, in fact, he never made mistakes in the tasks assigned by Li Shimin.

Therefore, after hearing that there were already more than a dozen groups of dead men who wanted to assassinate Zhang Nuo, his first thought was to simply defend according to the standard of garrisoning the army after it was deployed.

Datang's army has strict standards for setting up camp. The defensive circle, clear whistle, dark whistle, horse refusal posts, patrol teams, and passwords are not as strict as they are one by one.

But this matter requires His Majesty's permission. After all, setting up a military camp directly outside Chang'an City is not a regular military camp. If there is no permission from His Majesty, it will be trivial to be accused of treason.

Cheng Yaojin directly expressed his concerns, Li Shimin smiled and shook his head,