"Your Majesty, since the Bureau of Imports is of such great importance, we must be even more cautious in selecting candidates. This lowly subject is still young and lacks experience. It is difficult for this lowly subject to take on such an important post!"
Within Dew Hall, Li Zexuan was silent for a long time before refusing.
This wasn't because he didn't 'love his country', but because he felt that there was no need for him to personally take on this matter! With Li Xiaogong presiding over the Bureau of Imports, he could basically guarantee that no major corruption cases would occur. Other than helping to perfect the Great Tang's' customs' system, he really couldn't think of anything else he could do.
In addition, he felt like Old Li was trying to trick him. The Great Tang's border situation had not yet reached the point where war could break out at any moment. Based on the normal course of history, Li Er would only send Li Jing and the others to attack the Turks in the eighth month of the third year of Zhenguan. It was still too early. After all, the Great Tang still had to deal with the locust plague next year!
Li Er's gaze abruptly darkened, and his face instantly lost its composure. Logically speaking, as the Emperor, he was already giving a great deal of face to his subjects by personally advising them. However, Li Zexuan was still as stubborn as a dead pig that wasn't afraid of boiling water. He couldn't help but feel annoyed.
"Hmph! Still young? Lacking experience? Brat, you've done so many things, but which one of them is something that someone as young as you can do? Based on what you're saying, shouldn't We also remove you from your marquis title? Since ancient times, has there ever been a fifteen-year-old marquis? Even Huo Qubing, despite his illustrious achievements on the battlefield, was only made a Marquis Champion at the age of twenty! "
Li Er walked down from above and stopped five steps in front of Li Zexuan.
Li Zexuan was a little anxious at these words. It was fine if he didn't become an official, but he had to have a title of nobility. This sort of thing was the foundation of a feudal society where one would not be bullied. "Cough, cough, Your Majesty is the sovereign of the Nine and Five, so your words naturally carry enormous weight. How can you take back a title you've bestowed?"
Li Zexuan awkwardly smiled.
"Hmph!"
Li Zexuan angrily flicked his sleeves. If it weren't for the Emperor's prestige, he would have stripped Li Zexuan of his title.
"Tell me, what do I have to do to make you willingly take up a position in the Department of Shipping? As long as the request is not too excessive, I will consider it! "
Since ancient times, there was no lack of officials begging the Emperor to become an official. But now, he, the Emperor, actually had to "beg" his officials to become an official. This made Li Er gnash his teeth in anger.
However, in his opinion, if he wanted to build the Department of Maritime Trade from scratch, quickly establish it from scratch, and quickly display its proper functions, he must find someone with a long-term vision, a free mind, and a true understanding of maritime trade to manage it. Although Li Zexuan had personally gone to sea before, in terms of ideas and ideas, he was far inferior to Li Zexuan.
Letting Li Zexuan be the head of the Department of Maritime Trade and overseeing the overall situation, and then letting Li Zexuan be the second head of the Department of Maritime Trade and be responsible for formulating the specific rules and regulations. In Li Er's opinion, this was the most perfect personnel allocation.
"Uh, Your Majesty, I am greatly indebted to the Empire. As long as the Imperial Court needs it, I will do my part even if I have to go through water and tread on fire. This kind of thing where I haven't even done anything yet is definitely not something I can do …"
Li Zexuan said with "awe-inspiring righteousness".
Li Er snorted and said, "You brat, don't take it for granted. If you continue to dawdle, don't blame me for being impolite!"
"Your Majesty, I want a few mines!"
As soon as Li Zexuan finished speaking, Li Zexuan hurriedly called out.
"Mines? You brat, you want iron ore? "
Li Er's face suddenly became serious. For a feudal Emperor, iron ore was a very sensitive thing.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, Guan Zhong of the State of Qi proposed the "Salt and Iron Monopoly" policy in his "Guan Shan Hai" theory. It allowed the State of Qi to quickly become rich and become the first hegemon of the Spring and Autumn Period. However, although Guan Zhong was highly respected by later generations, in the hundreds of years after his death, other than Shang Yang who was determined to reform, there were very few people who followed his policy of strengthening the country.
It wasn't until the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty that the Imperial Court, due to years of expeditions against the Xiongnu, that the central government's finances were gradually emptied. The rich people of China "smelting and boiling salt could make a fortune of tens of thousands of gold, but it wasn't for the urgent needs of the government." Only then did Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty realize the importance of smelting and boiling salt to the country's tax collection. Thus, it gave birth to the "Salt and Iron Monopoly" policy that was implemented intermittently in the history of China for more than two thousand years.
The so-called "Salt and Iron Monopoly" meant that the right to smelt iron and boil salt was all taken over by the central government. However, it was important to note that the "Salt and Iron Monopoly" was not the "Salt and Iron Official Monopoly". In terms of smelting iron, it was implemented between the state and the private. The state generally implemented a monopoly policy on all mining resources. As long as the private found a mine, it would immediately be protected and sealed by the state.
The ruler controlled the pricing power of the ironware and bought and sold all the ironware that was produced. Under these conditions, the Imperial Court opened up the smelting workshop industry and allowed the private merchants to operate it. The added value would be 70% for the merchants and 30% for the ruler, which was equivalent to a 30% income tax.
However, due to the unavoidable problems of the bureaucratic system, the salt and iron official monopoly also had some serious problems. In order to complete their tasks, the official ironware only focused on production. Most of the ironware produced were large farming tools that were not suitable for farmers to use. Not only that, the official ironware also had problems such as high cost, low quality, not being able to choose, not being able to buy, and forcing farmers to work. More importantly, the price of the official salt and iron was expensive, and many poor people could not afford it.
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the ruler removed the salt and iron monopoly policy and implemented a tax system. The Three Kingdoms and Two Jin focused on purchasing, and the tax system was implemented during the Northern and Southern Dynasties. From the Sui to the early Tang Dynasty, the salt and iron taxes were removed, and they were taxed like other goods. After the Tang Anshi Rebellion, due to financial difficulties, the salt and iron monopoly was implemented once more.
Since then, the successive dynasties strengthened the salt monopoly and implemented a tax system on iron, no longer treating it the same as salt. The salt and iron monopoly allowed the feudal country to gain considerable benefits, especially salt. It had always been the most important monopoly product that the feudal government firmly controlled, and the income from it was an important source of income for the successive governments.
"Uh, your subject not only wants the iron, but also a few sulfur mines. Your Majesty, please grant me this!"
Seeing Li Er's suddenly serious expression, Li Zexuan suddenly had a bad premonition, but he still braced himself and said.
Previously, when he was in the workshop, he took it for granted that as long as he found the iron ore based on the memory in his mind, he would be able to own it. Later, when he went back and told his father, he found out that he was wrong. Today, he had such a rare opportunity to negotiate with Li Er. If he did not do so, he would be letting himself down!
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