Li Xuantian received the imperial edict and was completely stunned when he opened it.
I didn't expect that my son would do such a big thing just after arriving at the border.
In total, more than 100,000 cattle and horses were traded.
This amount of livestock accounts for a considerable proportion of the entire Dayuan.
Cultivating tens of millions of acres of land, the grain yield is extremely abundant.
Moreover, the farmland is located at the border, so it does not need to be transported over long distances before it can be used by the army.
It can save costs significantly.
Although it sold banned goods, Dayuan gained greater benefits.
After all, the grain was sold at thirty times the price.
Anyone who doesn't do this business is a fool.
But this kind of thing does violate the laws of the court.
If someone were to pursue this matter seriously, there would be no way to deal with it.
Moreover, Li Ye made the decision on his own without reporting it to the court.
Li Xuantian also felt a headache after seeing the report.
Call Prime Minister Shangguan Qi to discuss the matter together.
Shangguan Qi was surprised after reading the memorials from the two.
He said excitedly: "This is great news!
We in Dayuan are seriously short of livestock for farming. Your Highness the Sixth Prince has truly done a tremendous deed."
Li Xuantian pretended to be angry and said, "What kind of thing do you think this is? The imperial court has strictly prohibited the barbarians from providing ironware and food.
Moreover, he has provided so much, how do you think he should be punished?"
Shangguan Qi said sternly, "I think not only should you not be punished, but you should be rewarded."
"What kind of words are you talking about? As the prime minister of the current dynasty, how can you speak up for someone who breaks the law?
Don't think that he can avoid punishment just because he is a prince.
What if everyone does this? "
"I am not saying this to offend the Sixth Prince.
His Royal Highness the Sixth Prince is different from others. He does this for the Dayuan court and the Qi family.
Others try to smuggle contraband in order to make more money.
Your Highness did this to support tens of thousands of people and to provide sufficient military rations for the border.
Moreover, His Highness's management method of both military and civilians can effectively resist enemy invasion.
I believe that it won't be long before the area under Your Highness's control will be able to deal with the enemy country with its own strength.
This is harmless to Dayuan, so how can we not reward him?
Besides, whether it is horses or oxen, they also meet the strict prohibition of large-scale flow of large sources.
We made a fortune by acquiring these animals."
"That's true, but he did violate the laws of the court after all.
If the censor investigates, what should be done?"
As the prime minister, Shangguan Qi was no longer surprised by such things.
He smiled and said, "Both General Zhao and His Royal Highness the Sixth Prince should inform the Emperor immediately.
They made it very clear in the letter that due to the urgency of the matter and the fear that the other party might go back on their word, they had no time to report it first, so they could only make the decision themselves.
Besides, hasn't the Emperor already given His Royal Highness the Sixth Prince the power to do things as he pleases?
Even if it is serious, Your Highness did not go against the Emperor's will.
However, I think this matter should be handled in a low-key manner and should not be publicized as much as possible.
At worst, we can just say that the emperor gave a secret decree allowing this."
Shangguan Qi became more and more excited as he spoke, rubbing his hands and saying, "Although I don't know how Your Highness made the barbarians do a loss-making business, they cultivated so many fields.
From now on, we don’t have to worry about food and fodder at the border anymore.
They can feed all the garrisons at the border.
All you need to do is transport the silver needed to buy the food.
The emperor can then devote all his energy to handling domestic affairs.
Your Highness has accomplished a tremendous feat."
"You, you're spoiling him too much! He's so bold to make such a big decision.
I must teach him a lesson, otherwise he will gain too much power in the future and become rebellious."
After hearing Shangguan Qi's words, Li Xuantian was very happy in his heart, but he couldn't show it for the sake of face.
He severely criticized Li Ye's actions.
They both knew very well that this business was a huge profit.
It solved a huge problem for the court.
The money saved can be used in other places, reducing a huge burden on the national treasury.
After discussion, the two decided that this matter should not be publicized.
If you have taken advantage of someone, you should just keep quiet and make a fortune.
He didn't even reply to Li Ye, tacitly agreeing with everything he did.
Li Ye didn't receive a reply for a long time, and he felt more and more relieved.
"It seems that the emperor has tacitly approved of us doing this. Now we have no scruples."
Zhao Wudi also felt relieved.
He was really worried that his political enemies in the court would use this incident as an excuse to deal with Li Ye.
Even the emperor might not be able to withstand such tremendous pressure.
The emperor's low-key handling of the matter and tacit approval of their actions was indeed the most appropriate response.
Li Ye inspects the territory every day.
The first few buildings had been built in an orderly manner, and a large number of talents such as blacksmiths and carpenters were recruited.
Not only to create some daily necessities.
The most important thing is to forge a large number of plows.
Li Ye modified the plow to make it lighter and more powerful.
It's not very hard to plow a field with just one ox pulling it.
Moreover, the sand casting method is used to greatly increase the forging speed.
Since iron is very expensive, it is impossible to manufacture hundreds of thousands of plows.
Such a large sum of money is enough to empty the national treasury.
The officials promoted by Li Ye were all frowning.
Seeing that tens of thousands of pounds of iron were about to be used up, it still could not meet the demand.
I can only find Li Ye and tell him the situation.
"Your Highness, the iron horses are almost used up, but the need for plows is much greater.
What can we do if we don’t have enough iron to make enough plows?”
"Don't worry, there will be enough iron for you soon." Li Ye said confidently.
"Oh, could it be that His Highness has already sent people to purchase iron in advance?"
Li Ye shook his head and said, "No, if I buy all of them with money, how much silver will it cost? Even if I am rich, I can't afford to spend it like this."
"If you didn't buy it, how did you get the iron?"
The officials were completely stunned.
Li Ye smiled and said, "I have sent people to explore for iron ore everywhere. I estimate that there will be a reply soon.
Several possible locations for iron ore deposits have already been identified, and now all that is left is to drill holes to confirm them.
We mine the iron ore ourselves, build blast furnaces, and produce as much iron as we need.
Not only is the cost low, but it can also increase employment, which is a win-win situation."
The officials were shocked.
"Iron ore mining must be managed by the imperial court. Mining privately is a capital crime punishable by death.
We should report this to the imperial court and get their approval before we can start construction.”
"I'm telling you, aren't you a bit timid? Even if this matter were reported to the imperial court, they wouldn't approve it.
Because it is too close to the border, if the enemy knows about it, they might come and rob us.
So the only way is to mine privately and keep it strictly confidential and not tell anyone," said Li Ye.
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