Upon hearing this, Changsun Wuji let out an undisguised snort. His family had been in the iron smelting business for many years and he knew all too well the hardships of the industry.
This stuff involves hundreds of processes, from collecting iron ore to grinding and smelting.
One wrong move and you could lose money!
Li Jue has quite the nerve; he actually wants to drive my family out of business!
Furthermore, he had all the high-quality mines in the Tang Dynasty under his control, so he didn't believe Li Jue could buy cheap iron ore!
Similarly, the salt industry is the same.
In the Tang Dynasty, almost all the major salt wells were controlled by princes and nobles. To boil salt, one needs brine, so where did he get so much brine?
Therefore, in Changsun Wuji's view, unless Li Jue could conjure up iron ore and brine out of nowhere, he could not possibly accomplish this!
Upon hearing Li Jue's words, Li Shimin felt as if his grandson had gone mad.
He doesn't implement a salt and iron monopoly, so those salt and iron mines can't be taken back by the imperial court. What makes him think he can produce salt and iron?
Could he be a magician?
In fact, the reason why Li Shimin did not implement a salt and iron monopoly was that he did not want to infringe on the interests of these people.
After all, these people are either his own brothers, sisters, or daughters. How could he possibly be so rude as to ask them for money?
"Li Jue, don't worry, no one in this world can threaten me!"
"As long as you don't seize the property of the imperial family and relatives, no matter what method you use to refine salt and iron, I will consider it a great achievement for you!"
Li Er's words were very clear: as long as you don't rob... you can steal, you can buy, you can ask for, you can borrow...
This opened a significant loophole for Li Jue.
Whether Li Jue can open these breaches is not something he, as emperor, should worry about.
After all, even he, the emperor, couldn't handle those imperial relatives and nobles...
Upon receiving Li Er's affirmative reply, Li Jue immediately began discussing business with the Three Departments and Six Ministries in the imperial court.
"Uncles and elders, I am now planning to establish a state-owned saltworks and a state-owned ironworks. I wonder if any of you would be willing to invest?"
"It is hereby declared that no individual investment is permitted in this saltworks and ironworks. Investment is only allowed in the name of the government. All profits will be allocated to the national treasury and distributed by the imperial court!"
"However, if Your Majesty wishes to invest, you can own 10% of the shares, and the annual profits will be deposited into the Taiji Palace treasury in a dedicated manner."
"Furthermore, I'll personally take 30%, leaving it to my unborn, unworthy descendants, hehehe..."
Upon hearing this, everyone began to ponder in their hearts. It was understandable that individuals were not allowed to invest; they hadn't intended to profit from such a situation anyway. But allowing only government agencies to invest was indeed a novel thing.
Furthermore, the Crown Prince stated that all revenue should be allocated to the national treasury…
Putting aside whether he can generate income, his credibility alone deserves everyone's respect.
The Minister of Revenue was the first to step forward.
"Your Majesty, I am willing to allocate 300,000 strings of cash from the Ministry of Revenue to invest in and support the Crown Prince in setting up a factory!"
"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Works...the Ministry of Works can also contribute 30,000 strings of cash..."
"Your Majesty, the Ministry of War is willing to offer 100,000 strings of cash!"
"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Rites is rather poor and can only afford three thousand strings of cash..."
Under Li Jue's encouragement, almost all six ministries of the Tang Dynasty contributed varying amounts of money. Even the Secretariat, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Chancellery each contributed several thousand strings of cash to support his entrepreneurial endeavors.
Li Jue wrote down the names of everyone's government offices, then smiled and made a promise to them.
"Although most of the profits have to be handed over to the national treasury, a portion can still be retained as a food subsidy for various government departments."
"A year from now, you will all be glad you made this decision!"
After saying this, Li Jue looked intently at Li Shimin. He knew that Li Er had no less than one million strings of cash hidden in his treasury!
Li Er was so embarrassed by Li Jue's gaze that he could only hold up one finger.
"I'll offer 100,000 strings of cash in exchange for 10% of your shares!"
Upon hearing this, Li Jue ran to the dragon throne, grabbed Li Shimin's hand, and gave him a high five to swear an oath.
"make a deal!"
"Grandpa, this is the greatest decision you've made this year, hahaha!"
No one knew why Li Jue was so happy. In their eyes, this silly child would have a lot to cry about in the future.
But no one knew that Li Jue had already made all the necessary preparations.
It doesn't matter if there are no salt wells, because there are salt lakes in the northwest, enough to feed the Tang people for thousands or even tens of thousands of years.
As for iron ore, it didn't matter. He knew that there were dozens of unexplored iron ore deposits in the Tang Dynasty.
As long as one holds power, coupled with the advanced production technology of later generations, it would be incredibly easy to overthrow the feudal handicraft workshops of the Tang Dynasty, which were mainly based on small-scale peasant economy.
"Grandpa, I've taken on such an important task. In the coming months, I'll be searching for mines and exploring salt lakes across the country. I won't be able to pay my respects to you every morning and evening. Please don't take offense!"
Upon hearing this, Li Shimin couldn't help but show his reluctance.
"Grandson..."
"Don't work too hard. If you really can't do it, that's fine. Grandpa won't laugh at you..."
This was the greatest leniency Li Shimin could give Li Jue. Even if Li Jue made a complete mess of things in the end, Li Shimin would still use the reputation and prestige he had accumulated over decades to forcefully endorse Li Jue.
Li Jue was slightly moved by these words, and his eyes suddenly reddened.
"Don't worry, Grandfather, your grandson will certainly not fail in his mission!"
After finalizing the shareholding agreement with everyone, Li Jue resolutely left the small court and went off to attend to his grand money-making plan.
Li Shimin watched Li Jue's departing figure, his eyes gleaming.
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