The fact that the national treasury had no money had always been a source of worry for the court of the Great Qi Dynasty.
Li Zhuo had complained to Lu Chen about this matter many times in private.
Yes, it was in private. Nowadays, Li Zhuo would invite Lu Chen to dinner in the palace every now and then, and he had said many times, openly and secretly, that they were family.
Lu Chen didn't know if this was Li Zhuo hinting to him that he could be bolder when interacting with Li Mingyue.
In short, Emperor Li Zhuo lived a truly miserable life, so miserable that the food in the palace was not as good as the food in the restaurants on the commercial street.
Ever since Li Zhuo went to the commercial street in disguise, he has been dissatisfied with the chefs in the palace.
In the final analysis, the palace is out of money. I heard that the imperial garden of the palace has not been properly repaired for a long time, and now no one can enter.
Lu Chen was also very worried. If there was no money in the national treasury, he would have to borrow from the emperor's private treasury. It was common practice to borrow money and not pay it back.
What's even more outrageous is that Minister Liang and his men have now set their sights on the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Even if there are royal shares in the Chinese Academy of Sciences, it cannot withstand the entire Great Qi Dynasty sucking blood from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Besides, Lu Chen has other uses for the money earned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Scientific research itself is very expensive.
At that time, Lu Chen had talked with Li Zhuo and the six ministers, asking them to quickly increase revenue and reduce expenditure.
Don't expect to collect agricultural taxes or something like that. Given the current situation in the world, if the burden on the people is really increased, it won't be long before war breaks out all over the territory of Da Qi.
Since we can't do anything about agricultural taxes, we can only focus on commercial taxes.
Later, Lu Chen really studied the commercial taxes of the Great Qi Dynasty in detail, and could only say that the commercial taxes of the Great Qi Dynasty were simply shockingly low.
Take the perfume developed by Lu Chen for example. A bottle of perfume sold in the commercial street costs an average of 200 taels of silver. If it is sold to places like Xixia, Liao and Jin, it will cost 500 taels of silver a bottle and still be in short supply.
But do you know how much tax this bottle of perfume has to pay? Fifty cents!
Yes, you read that right, fifty cents!
When Lu Chen first learned about the tax rate, he was shocked.
With this tax rate and this profit, this is no longer making money, it is simply insane.
What made Lu Chen even more confused was that the fifty cents was only because the perfume was packaged in a glass bottle.
If you switch to ordinary bottles, you will have to pay less tax.
After learning about this, Lu Chen felt that it was imperative to revise Da Qi's commercial taxes.
Of course, revising a country's commercial taxes is not something that can be done overnight, so Lu Chen set his sights on the salt tax.
Even in the capital, Lu Chen had heard about how wealthy the salt merchants in Yangzhou were.
Every year, candidates from Yangzhou go to the capital to take the imperial examinations. When they get there, they show off their wealth in various ways, which really makes people's teeth itch.
Moreover, the tax rate for salt is relatively easy to define. Once it is determined, it can bring a large amount of income to the Da Qi court. If Lu Chen does not make a big cut on it, he will feel sorry for these salt merchants.
The main purpose of this trip south is indeed to fight the epidemic, but it would be even better if the salt tax issue could be solved at the same time.
Lu Chen was originally still worrying about where to start in order to get the job done, but he didn't expect that the fourth master of the Qiao family couldn't wait to hand him a knife.
I, the great national master, have been offended by you, so of course I have to take revenge on you.
If I don't destroy your family, I will be unworthy of my name as a demon!
In this way, all the gifts Lu Chen received were packed and sent to the capital, along with a letter from Lu Chen.
A few days later, the gifts were successfully delivered to the eldest princess. She looked at the gift list, then at the rare treasures before her, and could not help but exclaim in amazement, "No wonder they say Yangzhou City is rich. These people are really rich! Some of these treasures are probably not even available in the imperial palace."
After she finished speaking, she suddenly said, "Zhang Guizhi, change my clothes quickly. I want to go to the palace to see my brother!"
After a commotion, the gate of the Princess's Mansion suddenly opened!
The onlookers outside were all watching this scene curiously, wondering what was going on in the Princess's Mansion?
Then they saw several people carrying the eldest princess's sedan chair out, followed by a group of guards in armor, and behind them were carriages.
After seeing clearly what was loaded on the carriage, many people almost popped their eyes out.
What did they see! What rare treasures were they!
Two-meter-high red corals, rockery made of jade, and countless other gold, silver and treasures.
Seeing so many good things parading around, many people couldn't help but want to go forward.
But at this time, the guards of the princess's mansion immediately drew their swords and looked at these people with murderous intent.
To be honest, the guards at the princess's mansion were also very nervous. Even though they were in the princess's mansion, they had never seen so many good things!
I heard that these were all brought back by the Imperial Master as gifts to the princess. No wonder the Imperial Master is so capable. Just look at when the former prince consort ever gave the princess these good things. It's true that life is more promising when you follow the Imperial Master.
Now, everyone in the princess's mansion, except Zhang Guizhi, likes Lu Chen very much and hopes that Lu Chen can come to the princess's mansion often.
Ever since Lu Chen and the princess' relationship improved, everyone working in the princess's mansion noticed that the princess's temper was much better than before.
In the past, people like them would be beaten or scolded at the slightest provocation, but now they are rewarded with silver at the slightest provocation, and those who receive the rewards are terrified.
I heard that this was all because the Imperial Master helped the princess make money, and those in the princess's mansion were able to benefit from it as well. The Imperial Master is simply awesome!
Although it was unclear why the princess had brought out these treasures, the guards had made up their minds: anyone who dared to touch them would be hacked to death! No mercy.
At the same time, Li Zhuo sat on the dragon throne, rubbing his eyebrows with a bitter look on his face.
As for the court, Cui Shanzhan and Liang Licang started fighting again.
As for the reason, it was caused by the previous incident.
Cui Shanzhan said that the Northeast Border Army needed to start preparing winter clothes and asked the Ministry of Revenue to provide money quickly.
Liang Licang said in a very nonchalant manner that he had no money and even if he had money he would not give it to the Ministry of War.
Then Cui Shanzhan criticized Liang Licang and asked him whether he had taken all the money from the national treasury back home.
Liang Licang was also furious and directly ridiculed the people in the Ministry of War for sucking the blood of the soldiers. It’s not even summer yet, and you’re already preparing winter clothes?
After a while, the two sides became really angry. Since they couldn't convince the other side, they had no choice but to resort to violence.
Li Zhuo was also upset because he had no money!
Just as he was wondering what to do, the young eunuch outside came running in, crying hysterically, "Your Majesty, the eldest princess has sent you gold, silver and jewelry! They are all priceless treasures!"
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