I am Li Shen and Li Shimin, the free kings of the Tang Dynasty

Watching the lively discussion, Li Shen couldn't help but admire his emperor father.

His father was really amazing, it was just a joke.

This will make the relationship between all ministers and the emperor closer and more harmonious.

This sentence resonated with everyone and made everyone feel the same.

The court, which had been solemn and dignified just now, suddenly became full of joy.

Being an emperor is indeed different. Crown Prince Li Chengqian may not be able to learn this even if he studies for several more years.

But at this moment, a voice broke the harmonious atmosphere:

"Your Majesty."

The hall fell silent in an instant, and everyone looked at this out-of-place person.

The person who spoke was Li Zhi, Prince of Jin.

Li Zhi bowed to Li Shimin and said:

"Your Majesty, there is something I don't understand, and I hope Prince Ji can help me solve it."

"Oh? If you don't understand something, just ask."

Li Shimin nodded.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Li Zhi turned his head and looked at Li Shen.

"Old Ten, as Minister Tang just said, the Great Tang No. 1 Chamber of Commerce has handed over 1,100 strings of cash in the past ten months.

As far as I know, in addition to collecting license fees every year, most of the money of the Tang Dynasty First Chamber of Commerce comes from guarantee fees.

On average, the guarantee fee accounts for almost 10% of the transaction amount.

In other words, the transaction price of 1,100 strings of cash would have to be at least 100 million strings of cash.

But our Tang Dynasty has not minted 100 million coins since its founding, so where do your taxes come from?

Could it be that you, out of greed for merit, oppress the people and extort profits from merchants?

Or maybe you made money privately?

I wonder if you can help me clear this up?"

Li Zhi stared at Li Shen's eyes, trying to see panic and tension in Li Shen's eyes.

The officials present were also stunned after hearing this. Yes, the Tang Dynasty had not yet minted 100 million coins.

Although the court minted some coins due to the development of commerce and the shortage of copper coins, a lot of them flowed to the territories that had just been occupied.

For example, some small countries around, the north, and today's Liaodong Road.

Without so much transaction volume, how can we collect so much money?

They had heard that the No. 1 Chamber of Commerce in the Tang Dynasty charged up to 25%.

Li Shimin also frowned. The question raised by Li Zhi was very crucial.

If Li Shen really wanted to gain merit, oppress the people, and exploit the merchants, it would have a great negative impact on the court and the royal family.

"Prince Ji, please explain it to me."

Although Li Shimin didn't believe that Li Shen would do this, it was better to explain it clearly.

There was no nervousness or panic in Li Shen's eyes. Instead, he looked at Li Zhi as if he was a fool.

Li Zhi felt very uncomfortable watching this.

Li Shen looked around and saw that everyone was looking at him, and he couldn't help but shake his head.

"Minister Tang, do you understand?"

He looked at Tang Jian, the steward who was in charge of the world's wealth and asked.

"I understand a little bit, but certainly not as thoroughly as you, Your Highness Prince Ji."

Tang Jian said humbly.

Li Shen nodded.

"Well, that's not bad. At least you know a little bit about managing the national treasury, otherwise I would be very worried."

After saying that, he came to Li Zhi, looked at Li Zhi, and took out his handkerchief.

"Brother Jiu, this handkerchief of mine is worth ten thousand strings of cash. Let's trade it and sell it to you.

This handkerchief is made of silk. Although I have a workshop, I don’t have the raw materials, so I used your money to buy the raw materials from my fourth brother.

Fourth brother went to buy from the common people, and the money he spent was still yours.

Then the people below use the money to buy some daily necessities, and the shopkeepers who sell daily necessities use the money they earn to buy your handkerchief.

This is how money circulates.

So now you should understand why our Chamber of Commerce charges so much money, right?"

If you still don’t understand such a simple loop problem, I won’t explain it to you, a fool. This is Li Shen’s idea.

Li Zhi understood the reason after thinking about it for a while.

There is a fee for wholesale of finished products, and there is also a fee for wholesale of raw materials. The money is still the same, but some of it was taken away by Li Shen.

In fact, it is the same as paying taxes, but Li Shen just calls it a guarantee fee.

The other ministers also suddenly realized that they had never thought of this.

Only Tang Jian didn't find it strange.

"Your Highness Prince Ji, I would like to ask you something..."

"Alright, Minister Tang, it's not convenient to do this in the court. I will discuss this with you in detail when we have the chance in the future."

Li Shen ruthlessly interrupted Tang Jian's question.

He knows clearly what his own abilities are. He only knows the basics of economics, or even less than that.

I still have a few decades to live, so I have to leave something for future use. Otherwise, if I use it all up, what will I do with the remaining decades?

"Your Majesty, today we are discussing the impeachment of Prince Ji, but Prince Ji has not yet made his statement clearly."

Li Yifu couldn't bear it any longer.

This moment is almost turning into a commendation meeting for King Ji.

Prince Ji’s ability to change the subject is truly amazing.

After Li Yifu said this, the court officials remembered that today they were impeaching Li Shen, so why did they just discuss money?

"Okay, then go ahead and get to the point. Don't waste time."

Li Shimin agreed.

"Yes, Your Majesty, what Prince Ji said just now is indeed not against the law, but what Prince Ji did violated the etiquette.

According to the Zhenguan Ritual, what King Ji did was against the etiquette.

The crown prince's coming-of-age ceremony was not celebrated by the whole nation or shared by the people, nor was there such a lavish ceremony.

There was also clean water being poured on the streets and red carpets being paved on the roads. These were ceremonies only performed when His Majesty traveled.

Although Prince Ji is a prince, he should not do this.

What's more, this universal celebration is exclusive to Your Majesty. Your Majesty is the ruler of the world and only you are qualified to celebrate with the world.

The prince is not the ruler of the world, how can he celebrate with the whole world? Is this beyond the etiquette?

I hope your Majesty will issue an order to have Prince Ji's Mansion revoke its decision."

Li Yifu repeated all the reasons he had thought of in one breath.

He hoped to use etiquette and laws to force Prince Ji's Mansion to withdraw all its arrangements.

This was also discussed in advance between him and Li Zhi.

After hearing what Li Yifu said, the ministers began to talk again. Indeed, the Prince Ji's Mansion was too grand.

It is indeed a bit beyond the limit.

It’s the same as when Princess Changle got married. Li Shimin loved his daughter, so he gave her a lot of dowry.

As a result, he was stopped by Wei Zheng. After a lot of scolding, Li Shimin was so angry that he almost killed Wei Zheng.

If it weren't for Empress Changsun's intercession, Wei Zheng would have died long ago.

Wei Zheng's reason at the time was that Princess Changle's dowry was twice that of Princess Yongjia, and Princess Yongjia was Princess Changle's aunt and of a higher generation, so it exceeded the rules.

And this is exactly the case now. Li Shen's show is even greater than that of the crown prince, which is beyond the rules and unreasonable.

(Modern people, myself included, really cannot understand the hierarchy of feudal society.

Transgressing etiquette is a big deal.

I have read a lot of relevant information, and many people were punished for violating etiquette.

As an emperor, Li Shimin was not allowed to give his daughter more dowry, and was opposed by Wei Zheng. This is also recorded in history.

In ancient times, etiquette and law were the same as laws. They could punish crimes and lead to the death penalty.

As for economic circulation, it’s just for fun. I’m not an economic expert.)