Zhenguan Xiaoxian Wang Li Shen Li Shimin

The Dongfeng Li Shen mentioned was the exclusive license issued by the imperial court.

This made Li Shen couldn't help but sigh that it is really important to have a certificate throughout the ages.

Wang Xuance nodded in agreement.

"What the prince said makes sense. If our Prince Ji's Mansion does steel business in the Central Plains, there will be great resistance. Goguryeo is our best choice at the moment.

Moreover, Goguryeo should be regarded as a pure land that has not been explored much. Goguryeo's iron-making technology is very backward and slow.

So this is an opportunity for us at Prince Ji’s Mansion. "

"Well, in the spring of next year, Lao Wang, you will find someone to deal with this matter. A lot of materials for the construction of the blast furnace have been shipped this year, and they will continue to be shipped next year.

My plan is to build at least two blast furnaces next year and transfer the steel-making craftsmen from the workshop to Goguryeo.

There are a lot of mining workers, and what Goguryeo is most lacking now is cheap labor.

By the way, a brick factory and a cement workshop will be built there next year, and I am planning to build a few more bridges to facilitate our steel transportation.

The carriage workshops must also step up improvements and try to use lightweight steel to make large transport carriages, so that our transportation costs will also be reduced. "

Li Shen has made these arrangements, and his subordinates need to do the rest.

Wang Hongfu nodded and accepted the order, and Li Shen continued:

"Now we are discussing the salt matter. Xuance will be responsible for this matter. Didn't we buy a lot of land by the sea in Fuzhou?

Set aside areas that are not very good on the seaside and transform them into salt fields, where we can dry the salt ourselves.

Today's salt price fluctuates between twenty and thirty cents per bucket, which I think is too high.

The price should be less than [-] cents. Don’t think about making too much money from salt. Let’s accumulate some virtue for our descendants. "

After hearing what Li Shen said, everyone agreed that there was actually no shortage of salt in the Tang Dynasty. The Sui Dynasty had already improved salt production.

There are many methods for making salt in various places. The most common one is the five-step salt production method, which involves collecting brine and evaporating it, passing it through baskets to remove impurities, storing brine, crystallizing it, and shoveling it out.

Moreover, Li Shen, a person from later generations, was poisoned by various TV series and novels of later generations. He felt that eating salt in ancient times must have been a luxury, and that salt must be bitter and mixed with a strange smell.

But when Li Shen came here, he realized that this was not the case at all. A bucket of salt cost less than [-] cents and less than [-] cents, and basically everyone could afford it.

And there is no bitter taste, but there is a little bit of a strange smell.

As long as a businessman with a little money, the salt they buy has no taste, let alone a wealthy person like Li Shen.

"Your Majesty, if that's the case, I have an idea. Our pirate group has captured many Japanese people and prisoners.

We can ask them to make salt for us on Pirate Island, and they will never leave there for the rest of their lives and will not leak any information.

The most important thing is, no wages are required. "

At this time, Wang Xuance came up with a clever plan that was in line with Li Shen's principles.

"Huh?? That's right, let's do it this way. Of course we have to use free labor, otherwise how can we feed them in vain?"

Li Shen clapped his hands and applauded. He likes the free ones best.

Wang Hongfu spoke with some worry at this time.

"Your Majesty, if we lower the price of salt, some villains may target us. For the nobles of big families, at least [-]% to [-]% or even [-]% of their annual income comes from salt.

If we do this, the little people are worried that they will jump over the wall. "

This is indeed a problem. It is easy to dodge and hide from hidden arrows. Li Shen is not afraid of it. After all, the identity of the prince is here.

But it would be difficult if they come here to cause trouble. We can't always be wary of this.

"Actually, Your Majesty, sometimes we don't have to lower the price first. We can force them to lower the price themselves." Wang Xuance thought for a moment and then said to Li Shen.

"Oh, Xuance, do you have any clever ideas?" Before Li Shen could think of it, Wang Xuance came up with it.

"Your Majesty, we can completely follow His Highness's method of gold and ship it in large quantities in the market. We will not lower the price. We will sell as much as they sell.

And our advantage lies in our Datang First Chamber of Commerce. Although people from the Chamber of Commerce cannot sell salt, they can buy salt.

We have so many merchants, and many of them are well-known people in the local area. Let them promote us. What they eat is the salt of our Prince Ji's Mansion.

Your Majesty, the people will follow suit. You said that if the people can afford the things used by Prince Ji’s Mansion, will they follow suit? "

After Wang Xuance finished speaking, Li Shen praised:

"Wonderful, we have members in every place throughout the Tang Dynasty, which is good. When the market share is occupied and their salt wants to compete with ours, they will have no choice but to lower the price.

When the time comes, I will go to court to impeach them for making random bids, competing with the people for profit, and hurting my pocketbook. "

Li Shen was extremely excited. He had always been impeached for malicious bidding in the past, but this time he finally had a chance to regain his position.

"Okay, then it's decided. Huaiying will cooperate with Xuance. Let's do all the early things well, and we'll start taking action in the spring of next year."

Li Shen immediately gave instructions.

"Your Majesty, there is one more thing," Wang Hongfu said just as Li Shen was about to leave the meeting.

"What's going on?" Li Shen was curious.

"The members of the Chamber of Commerce now account for almost 2000% of the entire Tang Dynasty. More than 60 merchants have joined us in Chang'an alone. The Tang Dynasty now has nearly [-] states and more than [-] counties, as well as those from the Western Regions and Fanbang. Merchants. We now have [-] million members.

This year we collected more than 800 million yuan in license fees, membership guarantee fees, and information release fees. Don't know how to deal with it. "

"How much?" Li Shen exclaimed.

"Say it again, I didn't hear you clearly just now." Li Shen asked again in disbelief, and picked his ears with his fingers.

"Go back to the prince, more than 800 million yuan." Wang Hongfu repeated again.

"Impossible, this is absolutely impossible. The license fee is only a few dollars a year. You must have miscalculated. I said Lao Wang, why have you become so confused in just a few years?" Li Shen shook his head, impossible. so much.

"Your Majesty, I have checked many times and the license fee is indeed not that much. However, because our Prince Ji's Mansion has been maintaining business, many businessmen have emerged who make more than a thousand dollars a year.

The main source of this money is transaction guarantee fees, because there have been several fraud cases, some of which were committed by people from other countries.

If we can't find anyone, our Chamber of Commerce will pay the compensation for those who have provided guarantees. For those who have not provided guarantees, we have no choice but to agree to help them find someone.

So this year we charge a [-]% guarantee fee for all transactions of more than [-] yuan. "

After listening to Wang Hongfu's explanation, Li Shen's eyes widened even more and his mouth opened wide. Even Wang Xuance and Di Renjie looked in disbelief.

"Now the transaction volume of our chamber of commerce can reach 8000 million yuan a year???"

(Class: stand up.

According to records, salt production technology has been greatly improved since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, especially the birth of the five-step salt production method, which was extended to the production of sea salt.

The salt produced through this five-step salt production method has larger particles, pure white color, and has no bitter taste.

The "Five-step Salt Production Method" has also been included in the national intangible cultural heritage list.

From this point of view, the salt eaten by people in the early Tang Dynasty was not as bitter and difficult to swallow as in the TV series, and the method of making salt was not that backward.

During the Zhenguan period, salt was worth twenty cents per dou, while during the Tianbao reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, it was only ten cents per dou. Only later during the reign of Emperor Suzong of the Tang Dynasty, when the imperial court implemented a monopoly, did the price of salt per dou rise to 110 Wenqian.

As an aside, many people were talking about salt when I wrote about pickling locusts. I regretted not finding this at the time. Kill them.

get out of class is over. )