"The Salt and Iron Official Camp!"
Li Shimin couldn't help but pause. The Salt and Iron Official Camp had existed since ancient times, and it was a powerful tool for the imperial court to increase its revenue. The most famous example of the Salt and Iron Official Camp was the Salt and Iron Debate during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. Although it was controversial, it was still carried out in the face of huge benefits.
"Do you know how much controversy the Salt and Iron Official Camp has caused?" Li Shimin frowned and asked.
The Salt and Iron Official Camp during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han had caused a great disturbance. After the death of Emperor Wu of Han, the Salt and Iron Official Camp was abolished and established. One could imagine the struggle among them. Later, during the Sui Dynasty, the national power was tyrannical, and there was no need for the Salt and Iron Official Camp to amass wealth. The Tang Dynasty followed the Sui Dynasty's system and similarly implemented the private ownership of salt and iron.
Tang Jian nodded solemnly and said, "If it was before, the Minister naturally wouldn't have rashly proposed the Salt and Iron Official Camp. But now, in the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty is thriving and the imperial court's finances are tight. The Minister really can't do anything about it!"
Li Shimin couldn't help but sigh. Although the Tang Dynasty's national power was thriving, there were too many places to spend money. The imperial court's finances were indeed tight, and the Salt and Iron Official Camp was indeed a big temptation.
In addition, the repeated commercial wars between the iron mine and the Mo Family Village had caused the price of iron to fluctuate violently, which affected the national economy and the people's livelihood. Finally, it gave the imperial court a reason to intervene in the Salt and Iron Official Camp.
"There's no need to use a sledgehammer to kill a chicken. I don't need to do anything. Meton will teach these mine owners a lesson. The Salt and Iron Official Camp involves a lot of people. This matter can be discussed in the future." Li Shimin waved his hand and said.
"Ah!"
Tang Jian couldn't help but look at Li Shimin in surprise. He didn't expect Li Shimin to be so confident in Mo Jiazi. In his opinion, if the imperial court didn't intervene, Mo Jiazi wouldn't have a chance to make a comeback.
"Don't worry! In terms of business battles, Mo Jiazi has never lost before! "Li Shimin said, brimming with confidence.
Usually, Li Shimin would not let those mine owners off if they dared to make trouble like this. But now, when Meton was fighting with these mine owners, Li Shimin had the pleasure of watching from the sidelines. And according to his past experience, whenever the Village Mo was in a desperate situation, Meton would always give him an unexpected surprise.
"Then I'll wait and see, Minister." Tang Jian laughed, hiding the regret in his heart.
However, to everyone's surprise, as the price of iron continued to rise, the Mo's Village did not take any action. They neither bought iron at a high price, nor did they intend to use the secret skill of stainless steel to negotiate with them. They had been resisting with the stock of the Mo's Village.
"Reporting to Young Master! The stock of the Mo's Village will not last long. When the Mo's Village runs out of iron, Mo Jiazi will definitely give in. "In the Zhangsun Mansion, Steward Zhangsun reported to Zhangsun Chong with a complacent face.
"Hahaha, Mo Jiazi, let's see how long you can be complacent this time. This time, you have offended all the iron trades in the world." Zhangsun Chong said complacently.
The competition among the iron trades in the world was fierce, but Mo Jiazi was the dominant one. With the advantage of technology, he wantonly purchased cheap iron materials. After passing through the steelmaking furnace of the Mo's Village, the iron materials were turned into high-quality steel at a high price and sold at a good price. Especially the special steel produced by the Mo's Village, which was as rare and precious as gold. Selling iron at a price comparable to gold made all the iron trades in the world jealous.
Now that the Mo's Village had finally provoked the public's anger, all the iron trades in the world responded to Mo Jiazi with a slight push from behind. For so many years, Mo Jiazi and Zhangsun Chong had fought each other with dismal results. This time, he finally had the chance to trample Mo Jiazi under his feet.
"Continue to watch. Don't let Mo Jiazi have any chance to get cheap iron materials." Zhangsun Chong sneered.
Steward Zhangsun Chong patted his chest and promised, "Young Master, rest assured. I can guarantee with my head that none of the iron trades will side with Mo Jiazi."
With the Zhangsun Family taking the lead, no one dared to go against the alliance of the iron trades in the world. Moreover, Mo Jiazi needed a lot of iron materials. If someone secretly sold the iron materials to Mo Jiazi, it would not escape their eyes.
Zhangsun Chong nodded with satisfaction. Suddenly, a servant hurried in and reported.
"Young Master, Master invites you in!"
Steward Zhangsun Chong's expression changed as he looked at Zhangsun Chong. This time, Zhangsun Chong privately colluded with the iron trades in the world to raise the price to pressure the Mo's Village without Zhangsun Wuji's approval.
Zhangsun Chong's expression did not change as he said, "Go and do your work! I am going to see Father. "
Zhangsun Chong came to the living room in the front yard and saw Zhangsun Wuji waiting for him.
Zhangsun Wuji took a deep look at Zhangsun Chong and said helplessly, "Father thought that after you and Gao Yang got married, the grudge with Mo Jiazi would have disappeared. I didn't expect you to still be unable to let it go."
Zhangsun Chong was stunned as he said, "Father, what do you mean? I am doing this for the Zhangsun Family and not for my personal grudge. "
"For the Zhangsun Family?" Zhangsun Wuji frowned.
Zhangsun Chong nodded and said, "After I got married, Father handed over the trivial matters of the family to me, including the iron trades. However, I realized that the iron trades that were originally the source of the Zhangsun Family's income was not as good as before. The source of all this was the rise of the Mo's Village."
Zhangsun Wuji sighed helplessly. An aristocratic family needed a huge amount of money to support it. Other aristocratic families had been in business for thousands of years and were already deeply rooted. However, the Zhangsun Family had fallen. Zhangsun Wuji had just revived it for about 20 years and had a shallow foundation. The iron trades were the main source of the Zhangsun Family's prosperity. However, with the rise of the Mo's Village and the tall steel smelting furnace overlooking the entire Guanzhong Iron Trades, the Zhangsun Family's original market advantage was immediately crushed by the Mo's Village's technical advantage.
"If it was only because of this, I wouldn't act rashly. The Zhangsun Family could also live comfortably by selling some iron wares. However, in this Mo Jiazi Art Exhibition, Mo Jiazi displayed stainless steel and said that the future of Steel World would be stainless steel. In the future, the Zhangsun Family wouldn't even be able to sell iron wares. It's not that I am rash, but that Mo Jiazi is too much of a bully," Zhangsun Chong said coldly.
Zhangsun Wuji nodded slightly. The iron trades were the economic pillar of the Zhangsun Family. If stainless steel became popular in the future, the Zhangsun Family's income would decrease sharply and the Zhangsun Family's interests would be severely damaged. From this point, Zhangsun Chong wasn't wrong.
"Don't be rash in this matter. Iron wares are the foundation of the country. If the price of iron wares were to rise or fall, it would definitely attract the attention of the imperial court. At that time, the Zhangsun Family wouldn't be able to take it." Although Zhangsun Wuji still didn't know about Tang Jian's plans for the Salt and Iron Official Camp, he had been in the imperial court for many years and knew how sensitive iron wares were. Thus, he gently reminded Zhangsun Chong.
"Father, don't worry. I know what I am doing. Now that the price of iron in the Tang dynasty has only doubled, the Mo Family Village has no choice but to buy iron materials at a high price. In this way, even if Mo Jiazi doesn't reveal the secret of stainless steel, the Zhangsun Iron Trades can still return to its former prosperity," Zhangsun Chong said proudly. The Zhangsun Family was the most direct beneficiary of the price increase this time. No matter what, he was in an invincible position.
Zhangsun Wuji nodded and said, "This matter will be like this for now. However, you have to explain clearly to Princess Gao Yang to prevent any misunderstandings."
"Princess Gao Yang?"
Hearing this, Zhangsun Chong's face couldn't help but flash a trace of helplessness. However, he still cupped his hands and said, "I understand."
Zhangsun Chong bade farewell to Zhangsun Wuji and returned to the backyard. However, he didn't see Princess Gao Yang.
"Where is the Princess?" Zhangsun Chong asked sternly.
"Reporting to the Prince Consort, Her Highness went to the temple to worship Buddha," a palace maid bowed and replied.
"She went out again?" Zhangsun Chong's face instantly darkened.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
