"The young dragon slayer turned into an evil dragon!"
Instantly, everyone in the imperial court focused their attention on Meton. According to what Meton said, the Mo Family Village could be said to be the biggest iron producer in the Tang dynasty and had grown into a giant dragon. It would be easy for them to make use of this influence to make profits. According to Meton's theory, wouldn't it also turn into an evil dragon?
"I can't guarantee that it won't happen." Meton was silent for a while before replying honestly.
All the officials were stunned and looked at Meton in surprise. They thought that Meton would quibble and say that the Mo Family's philosophy could prevent the tragedy of the young dragon slayer turning into an evil dragon. However, no one thought that Mo Jiazi would actually admit it.
Zhangsun Wuji said playfully, "According to what Mo Jiu said, we can't do anything about it. This is an unsolvable problem. We have to choose the lesser of two evils. In my opinion, the Salt and Iron Official Camp is the best solution."
Meton took a deep breath and said, "Of course not. Everything in the world has a solution. We just need to find the root of the problem. Currently, there are three issues that are being debated the most in the imperial court. The first is the ownership of the super large iron mine. The second is how to solve the imperial court's financial problem. The third is whether to implement the Salt and Iron Official Camp and how to implement it. "
All the officials nodded. These three issues were indeed the main points of their debate.
Meton looked around and said loudly, "In my opinion, these three issues are extremely difficult to solve individually. However, when put together, they can be easily solved."
"Easily dealt with?" Tang Jian suddenly raised his head and stared at the son of the Mo family. The finances of the imperial court were his biggest headache. He had thought hard about it and finally proposed the Salt and Iron Official Camp at the risk of universal condemnation. However, the son of the Mo family was able to solve it so easily. How could he accept this?
The other officials were also surprised, and even Li Shimin was listening attentively. If Mo Jiazi could solve the financial problems of the Imperial Court, it would be a great achievement.
At this moment, Mo Jiazi suddenly became the center of attention in the Imperial Court. Meton spoke with fervor and assurance, "The first question is about the ownership of the super large iron mine. The Minister believes that there are three scenarios for the ownership of this underground mine. The first scenario is that I buy a piece of land and discover a gold mine underground. This gold mine will belong to me. Does anyone have any objections?"
The ministers hesitated for a moment before nodding their heads. The feudal system was also based on private ownership. Since they had bought the land, the things underground naturally belonged to them.
"The second scenario is that a gold mine is accidentally discovered on an unclaimed piece of land. Since all the land under the heavens belongs to the king, the gold mine should belong to the imperial court. Similarly, there is no dispute about that," Merton said.
Li Shimin nodded his head. According to the principle of private ownership, the land belonged to the imperial court. If a gold mine was discovered on the imperial court's land, it should belong to the imperial court.
"The third scenario is more controversial. Just like the super large iron mine, the super large iron mine was not discovered by accident. It was discovered by the Mo family who hired a geographer with a high salary and invested a huge amount of manpower, material, and financial resources. Logically speaking, the land belongs to the imperial court, and the underground mine should have something to do with the imperial court. However, without the Mo family, this super large iron mine would not have been discovered for hundreds or thousands of years. The Mo family also contributed a lot. If the imperial court took away the super large iron mine indiscriminately, I'm afraid that no one in the world would be willing to explore the mine again," Merton said.
The officials nodded their heads slightly. This was exactly what they were worried about. If the super large iron mine was taken away by force, there would be a lot of controversy. Although Zhang Liang, the Minister of Works, was unconvinced, he did not refute. With the technological level of the Tang dynasty, exploring the mine needed a lot of chance. If there was no profit motive, no one would be willing to help. Moreover, the imperial court was also willing to let the people explore the mine. After all, the more output the Tang dynasty produced, the more prosperous the economy would be.
"So, the Minister's idea is that any mine discovered by the people will have the priority to mine, but they will have to pay a mining fee to the imperial court. After all, this is the land of the state. In this way, the ownership of the mine can be solved and the interests of the imperial court can be guaranteed," Merton said solemnly.
Li Shimin's eyes lit up. This method was also feasible. Originally, the imperial court allowed the people to explore the mine freely, causing the aristocratic families to become rich and the national treasury to be empty. Now that they had to pay the mining fee to the imperial court, the imperial court could also benefit a lot.
"Mo Jiazi is quite benevolent!" Hearing that Mo Jiazi was willing to pay the fee to the imperial court, many officials nodded their heads slightly. At least Mo Jiazi was not a stingy person who was willing to give up a part of the benefits.
"That's not much money?" Tang Jian was slightly disappointed.
Meton continued, "This method is not only applicable to the mine, but also to all the mines in the world."
Tang Jian's breath suddenly stopped. In this way, the benefits of this method could not be underestimated.
"This matter still needs to be legislated by the imperial court. In this way, the disputes between the people can be reduced." Meton cupped his hands and said to Fang Xuanling.
Fang Xuanling could not help but feel a pain in his heart. In this way, the laws of the Tang dynasty would have to be changed again, and the completion time would be delayed again.
"Okay!" Fang Xuanling accepted his fate.
Meton continued, "Of course, it is not realistic to think that the mining fee alone can solve the financial problem of the imperial court. Furthermore, it will not solve the problem of the young dragon slayer turning into an evil dragon. Especially when it comes to iron, which is a strategic resource that affects the national economy and the people's livelihood. The imperial court cannot ignore it and let the rise and fall of iron affect the national economy and the people's livelihood. This is the reason why the Zhangsun Family was responsible for collecting iron for the imperial court. Since the establishment of the Tang dynasty, the Zhangsun Family has contributed a lot to the steady development of the country."
Zhangsun Wuji looked at Meton in surprise. He did not expect Mo Jiazi to ask for credit for him. Even Li Shimin could not help but reveal a proud expression.
"Since this is the case, why don't the Emperor take this method one step further and take the responsibility of the Zhangsun Family and give a portion of the iron mines to the government? In this way, when there is a sharp drop or surge in the price of iron among the people, the imperial court does not need to do anything. They only need to use the government's iron mines to mediate and ensure the stability of the price of iron among the people and the supply of iron. At the same time, the profits from the government's iron mines can be used to support the imperial court's finances. With the government's iron mines as the main and the private iron mines as the support, the government's iron mines will stabilize the market while the private iron mines will focus on the technology. In this way, the imperial court will have profits and the price of iron among the people will be stable. It will not affect the progress of the iron smelting technology. Isn't it a win-win situation? "Meton said proudly.
"A portion of the iron mines!" The officials were all stunned. Then, they felt a rush of excitement. It had to be said that Mo Jiazi's improved salt and iron mining method had removed all the drawbacks of the salt and iron mining, and there would be benefits for all parties.
Li Shimin could not help but nod slightly. The impact of forcefully implementing salt and iron mining was too great. Furthermore, there were many drawbacks and it was short-sighted like killing the goose that laid the golden eggs. Meton's suggestion was indeed the best solution. More importantly, with the competition between the government's iron mines and the private iron mines, the cycle of the dragon slaying youth becoming an evil dragon would finally be resolved.
Only Zhangsun Wuji was furious. He felt that Mo Jiazi was eyeing on the iron mine that he handed over. If he completely removed himself from it, only the Zhangsun Family would suffer losses in the end.
However, Meton's next sentence made Zhangsun Wuji dumbfounded.
"In order to express the Mo Family's sincerity, the Mo Family is willing to give up the mining rights of the super large iron mine and let it be the pilot for the government's iron mines," Meton said solemnly.
"What?" The officials were in an uproar as they looked at Mo Jiazi in disbelief.
Everyone thought that Mo Jiazi's reason for wasting his breath was to protect his super large iron mine. However, no one would have thought that Mo Jiazi would give it up so easily.
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