Chapter 129 The Problem of Salt
The Imperial Study.
Li Shimin sat solemnly on the dragon throne...
"The Jiangnan and Liangzhou regions are far from Chang'an, and salt prices have skyrocketed, causing widespread discontent among the people..."
"The price of salt has skyrocketed to eighty coins, and Chang'an is only just receiving the news!"
A fierce killing intent flashed in Li Shimin's eyes.
He then looked at Wei Zheng and said, "Xuancheng, you won't blame me for sending Shuyu to other places, will you?"
“Your Majesty, I am overjoyed that Shuyu is speaking up for the people, so how could I possibly feel dissatisfied?” Wei Zheng bowed to Li Shimin.
Li Shimin nodded.
The fact that the Censorate, which oversees all officials, failed to report such a significant matter strongly suggests that it has been infiltrated.
He dared not use it lightly!
They conveniently executed two scapegoating censors and replaced them with Chu Suiliang and Wei Shuyu.
In fact, Ma Zhou, Chu Suiliang, and Wei Shuyu were all personally selected by Li Shimin.
Ma Zhou was born into a peasant family and lost both his parents at a young age. He was meticulous in his conduct and was personally promoted by Li Shimin, so he was trustworthy!
Chu Suiliang served in the Hongwen Academy for more than ten years, working diligently and conscientiously. Apart from practicing calligraphy with Yu Shinan and others, he had little contact with court officials and could be trusted.
Needless to say, Wei Shuyu was so young. Who would have nothing better to do than collude with him? Besides, Wei Zheng was there too, so he was absolutely trustworthy.
"This matter is very troublesome. I wonder if Shuyu can investigate it thoroughly..." Li Shimin shook his head and sighed.
With salt prices skyrocketing to eighty coins, how many more people will suffer?
"Your Majesty, rest assured, if Shuyu fails to complete the mission, I will personally go to investigate!" Wei Zheng bowed respectfully.
"I naturally trust Uncle Yu."
Li Shimin smiled and praised, "Don't bow so often. There are no outsiders here now, let's have a good chat, Your Majesty and I..."
Li Shimin liked this about Wei Zheng: he was meticulous in his work!
"Your Majesty, you must not say such a thing!"
Wei Zheng's expression changed, and he solemnly admonished, "A ruler is a ruler, and a subject is a subject. How can the proper etiquette be disregarded?"
"I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty's favor in appointing me to the position of Attendant-in-Ordinary. I should therefore fulfill my duties and uphold Your Majesty's image..."
"Your Majesty, please do not say such things again."
"If word gets out, it's a minor matter if outsiders criticize me for not knowing my place; the major issue is the damage to Your Majesty's reputation."
"Your Majesty, you don't need to worry about me. My back is still strong, and I can still perform the bows a few more times..."
Li Shimin sat there dumbfounded...
God's wow, your back is still strong.
I just praised you a few times, and you've already gotten arrogant, haven't you?
And you're still trying to convince me that your back is strong?
Are you stronger than me?
“Xuancheng is right.”
Li Shimin appeared to be humbly accepting instruction.
Let you be smug for a while.
Once I snatch Wu Yatou as my daughter-in-law, let's see if you can still be so strong!
The Censorate.
After Wei Ting finished the meeting.
Wei Shuyu, Ma Zhou, and Chu Suiliang then went to another room to begin a meeting...
All three were straightforward and honest, and since they weren't familiar with each other, they didn't know how to start a conversation.
"Cough cough..."
Ma Zhou coughed lightly: "Since you're all new here, let me say a few words first..."
"My name is Ma Zhou, courtesy name Binwang, and I currently hold the position of Imperial Censor."
"My guiding principle in doing things is..."
"Find fault where there is none, and even if there isn't, dig for it!"
Wei Shuyu looked shocked.
I knew you got promoted so quickly; it's all thanks to your hard work.
"Well said!"
Chu Suiliang echoed, "Lord Ma's words resonate deeply with me."
"..."
I feel like I've joined a pyramid scheme.
"Shuyu, what do you think?"
Chu Suiliang looked at Wei Shuyu.
"Okay, very good, excellent!" Wei Shuyu nodded against his will.
"Ha ha……"
Ma Zhou laughed: "You two should introduce yourselves. We might be working together for a while from now on."
After the three introduced themselves and chatted for a while, they got down to business.
What are your thoughts on this salt issue?
Chu Suiliang and Wei Shuyu shook their heads.
They've just arrived at the Censorate, what do they know?
"Then let me tell you about it. I've been following this matter for a while now, and I was even prepared to impeach the Ministry of Personnel, but I didn't expect His Majesty to discover the irregularities ahead of time..."
Ma Zhou looked displeased.
It's as if a great achievement has been lost.
"Wait, the Ministry of Personnel?" Wei Shuyu's eyes widened.
"That's right, salt and iron are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Works, so naturally they should be impeached..."
Wei Shuyu was taken aback.
During the Zhenguan era, there was no Salt and Iron Commissioner; salt and iron were managed by the Ministry of Works.
Li Shimin served as the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat during the reign of the Prince of Qin.
Therefore, after he ascended the throne, the position of Minister of the Imperial Secretariat remained vacant. The highest-ranking officials in the Imperial Secretariat were the Left Vice Minister and the Right Vice Minister.
Left Minister: Fang Xuanling.
Right Minister: Li Jing.
have to.
Daring to impeach the Ministry of Personnel, yet another stubborn fool...
"Speaking of salt prices, there have been huge fluctuations in both the north and the south!"
"The price of salt in the Jiangnan region has risen to about eighty wen per dou."
"The price of salt near Liangzhou in the north has also soared to eighty wen."
"While the increase wasn't as pronounced in the other prefectures, it was still somewhat upward!"
As Ma Zhou recounted his story, Wei Shuyu gradually came to understand...
It means someone is speculating on the price of salt.
"Then, Lord Ma, what do you mean...?" Chu Suiliang asked.
"The salt capital is under the control of the government, so we need to make the trip ourselves," Ma Zhou sighed.
What?
Should I make a trip?
Why would I give up being a proper second-generation official to run around outside in the wind and sun with you guys?
No, no, I'm not going...
The Tang Dynasty did not have airplanes or high-speed trains.
With the round trip and the time allotted for the investigation, it's hard to say how long it will take.
"Shuyu, where do you want to go?"
Chu Suiliang looked at Wei Shuyu.
The two of them didn't care, but Wei Shuyu was young and would definitely have to go to one of them with him.
"I'll be waiting for your good news in Chang'an!"
Wei Shuyu replied with a serious expression.
"No, it won't work..."
Chu Suiliang shook his head: "His Majesty has ordered you to participate in the investigation."
"..."
Wei Shuyu was very tired.
"Go to Jiangnan. It's prosperous and safe there."
"Yes, Liangzhou is not very safe because it is close to Tuyuhun."
Without further ado, the two finalized Wei Shuyu's itinerary.
"etc……"
Wei Shuyu quickly interrupted the two, asking, "Why must we leave Chang'an?"
Um?
The two looked at each other with puzzled expressions.
It's as if it's saying, "How can we investigate if we don't leave?"
"The Ministry of Works, which is in charge of salt and iron, must have records of salt production from salt ponds and the sale of salt."
"If we simply go through these records and compare them one by one, we can roughly determine where the problem lies..."
"Then by following the clues, we can find out the officials with problems."
Wei Shuyu's words made the two of them nod in agreement.
However, Ma Zhou soon raised a new question.
"I think I understand what you mean, it's like checking the ledgers, right?"
"That's right!"
"What if the other party is secretly producing salt and hasn't recorded it in the Ministry of Works?"
Although Wei Shuyu was young, he had witnessed Wei Shuyu's performance in the court yesterday.
Therefore, Ma Zhou treated Wei Shuyu as a true colleague.
"That's very unlikely."
Wei Shuyu shook his head: "The price of salt in the Tang Dynasty is only ten coins, and the profit is not very high. It's not worthwhile to build salt ponds and open salt mines ourselves..."
"Most importantly, they've raised the price of salt so high. Why not just buy salt directly from the government? Why bother with all the trouble of mining salt mines?"
"Isn't this just redundant, giving us ammunition against us?"
Upon hearing this, the two nodded in agreement.
"So as long as they target the government-controlled salt, we will definitely be able to find clues in the salt production and expenditure!"
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