"The Emperor has arrived—"

"We respectfully welcome Your Majesty!"

Ouyang Zheng, along with the officials and scholars, kowtowed at the same time.

Emperor Feng looked at the huge crowd ahead.

"Gentlemen, please excuse yourselves."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Ning Que followed and walked beside him.

The first thing you see inside the academy is a peach orchard.

The fruits are abundant and very pleasing.

"Brother Leng."

Leng Qian just smiled and nodded.

The disciples behind him raised their hands.

"Meet Junior Master!"

"Ahem, no need to be so polite."

Ning Que smiled and waved his hand.

After all, his seniority is there.

There is nothing wrong with calling him Junior Master.

Chen Xia also calls him that in private.

"The Jixia Academy is indeed worthy of its reputation."

"Ouyang County Magistrate has worked hard these days."

Emperor Feng looked at the peach forest and nodded in appreciation.

All the officials were also very curious at this moment.

Only Tian Zhongxun looked unhappy.

Linzi was originally his fiefdom.

Just because he lost the bet to Ning Que.

He can destroy everything in Linzi.

The only thing they couldn't do was to take action against the Jixia Academy.

Jixia is the most advanced academy in Kanto!

Tian Zhongxun had many counselors and generals under his command, all of whom were graduates of the Jixia Academy. If he dared to destroy Jixia, these people would surely defect.

Many of them came from poor families and relied on the Jixia Academy to waive all their tuition fees and provide them with food and drink so that they could study. If they wanted to help the King of Qi destroy Jixia, they would be condemned by thousands of people.

In addition, Jixia has always been a neutral force.

It is similar to the Shenji Pavilion.

Does not belong to any country.

Always adhere to the principle of teaching without discrimination.

Anyone who is sincere in studying can enroll.

Tian Zhongxun was also unwilling to fall out with Jixia.

It can be considered as indirectly helping Ouyang Zheng.

"Come in."

Leng Qian, as the dean, walked in front.

At the same time, the specific situation of the academy is introduced.

Ning Que ordered Tie Niu and the others to stay where they were.

Do not disturb the lives of the students in the academy.

The three guards took turns to protect the safety of Emperor Feng.

The Yulin Army entered the Jixia Academy.

Responsible for the personal protection of Emperor Feng.

After more than ten days of traveling, all the officials were quite exhausted. Emperor Feng ordered them to rest for a while, while he summoned Ning Que, Ouyang Zheng and others separately.

There are many ancient books piled up in the house.

Many of them are bamboo slips.

It has a history of at least hundreds of years.

Emperor Feng looked through the documents presented by Ouyang Zheng.

These are mainly the problems that Linzi has faced recently.

Ouyang Zheng stood at the front.

Focus on the most troublesome thing at the moment.

"Ever since I took over Linzi, I've discovered Tian Zhongxun's viciousness. All the truly talented officials in the county have been withdrawn. The workshops and ports have been practically destroyed. Linzi has only just resumed production and is unable to build warships."

"He also released all the prisoners from the three counties, and they were spread throughout Linzi County. The prisoners took over the mountains and became kings, and the King of Qi provided them with county soldiers and weapons. I have mobilized as many troops as possible, but with little success."

"The most important thing is the salt fields. Years of cutting firewood and boiling the sea have burned up all the nearby firewood. If we want to continue boiling the sea for salt, we have to transport it from the jungle dozens of miles away to the coast. Although sea salt has no cost, the crude salt produced by boiling is not very profitable. Especially with the Jiaodong sea salt, which is of higher quality and more plentiful, it is difficult to maintain the salt production in Linzi."

"They are engaging in dumping..."

Ning Que couldn't help but smile bitterly.

I didn't expect Tian Zhongxun to have such a brain.

What this guy did was actually very simple.

Using higher-quality, cheaper sea salt, they challenged the Linzi sea salt market. Linzi was currently in a state of disrepair, resulting in higher costs for boiling sea salt at the saltworks. With costs exceeding the selling price, they naturally couldn't make a profit. Without profitability, the saltworks couldn't be established; after all, it was impossible to operate at a loss.

Even if Tian Zhongxun gave up Linzi County as promised, he would not give up easily. Even if it meant making life difficult for himself, he would not let them live comfortably. Through a series of measures, he would destroy the livelihood and economy of Linzi. By then, many Linzi people would move to Jiaodong and Langya, making Linzi a useless county!

"Is this the trade war Xiao Ning mentioned?"

"Exactly."

Emperor Feng nodded in understanding.

He frowned and put the paperwork back on the table.

"Xiao Ning, do you have any ideas?"

“There are so many ways.”

Ning Que laughed.

This is a professional match.

What Tian Zhongxun did was the stupidest thing.

Although it is a bit straightforward, it is very effective.

This is an advantage based on productivity.

The quality of Jiaodong sea salt is simply higher!

The price is even lower!

How does your Linzi sea salt compare?

"I have two plans."

"One treats the symptoms, the other treats the root cause."

"Tell me about it."

"Let's talk about the temporary solution first: raising tariffs."

Trade in Dafeng was subject to market taxes, including customs duties and market taxes. Customs duties were levied based on the value of goods at each customs checkpoint. Market taxes, on the other hand, were collected after goods arrived at the market.

Linzi was once a fiefdom of the King of Qi, and Tian Zhongxun established a trade zone there. This meant that the three counties of Jiaodong, Linzi, and Langya could trade with each other without paying customs duties, only basic market taxes.

"Raising tariffs means higher costs. The price of sea salt shipped from Jiaodong will have to be increased. However, this policy is only a temporary solution and will also harm the people."

"This policy is indeed inappropriate," Bu Suanzi warned, adding slowly, "Raising tariffs will ultimately harm the people."

"Then how can we address the root cause?"

Emperor Feng looked at Ning Que expectantly.

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