Li Shimin agreed, sighed and said, "A family has been entrenched for thousands of years. Even I am helpless. But after hearing what you said, I feel much better. Although I have no fate with Mrs. Mudan, fortunately, Mrs. Mudan has no sweetheart, which is a good thing among bad things."

Li Mu frowned in his heart when he heard this, thinking that this idea is really macho. What is this called the three views? If someone is not destined to be with you, he cannot fall in love? Thinking of this, Li Mu asked carefully: "Your Majesty, this is a normal love for men and women to love each other. If Mrs. Mudan has someone she likes in the future..."

"Hmph!" Li Shimin snorted coldly: "Who dares to steal my woman?"

"Uh..." Li Mu quickly closed his mouth. It seemed that this underground love would never float to the ground.

Although he felt that Li Mu looked strange, Li Shimin could not doubt Li Mu and said, "Anyway, on Madam Mudan, you should help me more. What good ways to make money? Think about her a little. Treat him with respect like a queen. After all, I am here, and you know my feelings for her."

Li Mu stammered and agreed. Li Shimin patted his shoulder and leaned closer and whispered: "Look at me. If someone who is unruly appears by her, I will report it to me quickly. If someone bullies her, I will promise you to kill me first and then report it. Also, remember to hide the news from the queen and leak the news, I only ask."

"promise."

Li Mu sighed in his heart, Boss, if you really follow your will, I will have to wipe my neck when I go home. Last night, I was sorry for you!

At this moment, Eunuch Gao quietly entered the hall and bowed to Li Shimin and said, "Your Majesty, Duke Chen is here to thank you for your kindness. You have been waiting for a long time."

When Li Mu heard this, he quickly said, "Your Majesty, I will leave."

"You wait!" Li Shimin said: "I have another thing to ask Li Mu. Let Hou Junji wait for a while, he is not an outsider."

"Ah...No." Eunuch Gao was slightly stunned, but he still responded and turned around and went out.

When he arrived outside the hall gate, Hou Junji hurried over and asked, "Eunuch Gao, is Your Majesty going to see me?"

"Duke Chen, our family is going to ask you, but Your Majesty said there is another thing to ask Zhulu Marquis, so you can wait a little longer."

Hou Junji's face appeared on his square face and said, "Eunuch Gao, what is Li Mu's origin? I have neglected to train troops these days. I still don't know why his Majesty looked at him differently?"

"Oh, this is a long story." Eunuch Gao knew a lot about Li Mu's deeds. When Hou Junji asked about it, he happened to have nothing to do, so he picked up what he knew and started talking about it from the beginning.

Hou Junji listened quietly, his expression changing.

In the hall, Li Shimin asked Li Mu a very real question.

"Did you think of a way to fill the treasury?"

"Uh..." Li Mu pondered for a moment. Before he could think about it, he had no time to think about the past few days. But when Li Shimin asked, he had to answer. If he didn't answer, he would seem incompetent. Incompetent is a sin.

"I have already made up my mind."

"I'm not a little bit, let's hear it."

"Your Majesty, I plan to do something on the salt."

"Salt?" Li Shimin frowned and said, "How to make a fuss about salt? Salt and iron are the lifeline of the country. Haven't you told me that the treasury is the treasury, and you don't compete for profit with the treasury? Why, is your ability just like this?"

"No, Your Majesty misunderstood me." Li Mu said seriously: "Your Majesty, I have been studying salt for more than one day or two. After I arrived in Chang'an, I began to study salt."

"Studying 'salt'?" Li Shimin said in confusion: "What is salt research? Isn't it just salt?"

"Your Majesty listen to my analysis first." Li Mu said, and got up and came to the side of the desk. Li Shimin also followed. Li Mu found a suitable wolf-haired pen, ground ink and dipped it ink, and drew three circles on rice paper.

"Your Majesty, I have checked the information of the Yu tribe and learned that the salt in our Tang Dynasty is not abundant now. Many common people's families are still seasoning with 'salt cloth'. This is the case when I lived in Mayi before."

"I know what you said. But the yield of salt is limited. What can I do? Not only my Tang Dynasty, but the yield of salt has always been insufficient in tracing back to the previous generations. Why, you boy have a way?"

"Yes!" Li Mu said loudly.

"Hmm?" Li Shimin became serious and said, "You can't say this nonsense. Do you really have a way?"

"I really have a way." Li Mu confirmed again. He pointed to the three circles on rice paper with a brush, first wrote the word "sea salt" in the first circle, then wrote the word "chip salt" in the second circle, and then wrote the word "rock salt" in the third circle.

"Your Majesty, please see, these three circles of me are the three ways for my Tang Dynasty to obtain salt now."

Li Shimin frowned and looked carefully for a long time, looked up at Li Mu, and said, "What you wrote is called 'character'? With such words, do you still want to take the top scorer?"

Li Mu's cheeks were so smeared that he blushed and said, "I can practice... Oh, in short, there are three parts, sea salt, pond salt, and rock salt. But these three ways of obtaining salt have their own shortcomings. For example, sea salt needs to be steamed repeatedly, and the cost is very high and the yield is still low. Although pond salt is formed naturally, it is relatively rare in our Tang Dynasty. On the contrary, it is abundant in the plateau area, the Chaerhan Salt Lake, Chaka Salt Lake and other places in Tuyuhun. The wars between the Hu people in all dynasties are more or less related to this "salt", accompanied by risks. Although rock salt can be mined and the stock is not small, most of them are highly toxic and inedible. Your Majesty, is what I said wrong?"

"Yes, that's true."

"I have a secret method that can completely solve the dilemma of our Tang Dynasty's salt shortage."

Li Shimin was also impatient and said, "I don't want to listen to you going around the corner, just say, what can you do!"

"Your Majesty can tell that my family uses fine salt."

Li Shimin said angrily: "Who doesn't know that you have money, so you can naturally afford fine salt."

"No, the fine salt in my family is all made by me by me who bought the cheapest rock salt."

"Make?" Li Shimin frowned and said, "You just said that most of the rock salt is poisonous. Besides, how to make salt? Do you mean, if it is finely ground, it will be non-toxic? Have you invented a millstone?"

Milling plate? Li Mu was defeated by Li Shimin's imagination and said, "Your Majesty, I invented the method of refining, which can extract the impurities, that is, poisons, in the rock salt. Through several complicated processes, the rock salt can be turned into fine salt, and any quality of rock salt can be refined. I have calculated that the ratio of raw materials to output is approximately ten to six, that is, one pound of rock salt can produce six taels of fine salt. The price of fine salt is twenty times that of rock salt. Your Majesty now understands, does the profit in this?"

"A pound of inferior rock salt can produce six taels of fine salt..." Li Shimin estimated in his head, and suddenly widened his eyes. He seemed to see golden cakes, and the whole room was filled with golden cakes. You know, rock salt is much less than coal stone. In the Western Regions, the territory where the former Turks were located, near the desert, there were dry lakes everywhere, and the bottom of the lake was full of rock salt. Moreover, because most of them were poisonous, they were almost unmined, and the quantity was unpredictable.

Li Shimin's breathing became rapid, and he grabbed Li Mu's shoulder and asked, "Take it seriously? You can't lie. You have to be beheaded for the crime of deceiving the king!"

Li Mu said helplessly: "Your Majesty, do you dare to lie to you? I can make it happen at any time. If you don't believe it, you can go to my studio if you have time another day, and I will just show you."

Li Shimin let go of Li Mu's shoulders and said suspiciously: "Since you have such a means, why not use it to make money. The profit of salt is greater than that of wine."

Li Mu said seriously: "Your Majesty, I have said many times that I am a person who regards money as dirt. Money cannot make me happy. Only by being loyal to Your Majesty and doing things for the people can I make me..."

"Okay, shut up, I don't want to listen." Li Shimin's head hurt when he heard Li Mu's speech. Although it sounded like this kid was talking nonsense, what he did was really like.

Seeing that Li Mu was so confident, Li Shimin believed it and sighed: "You are really my blessing general. You can even make salt, which makes me very pleased. I just imagine that from the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors to the present, which dynasty and the people can eat fine salt? None of them! If I did it when I was the emperor, I could use this name to keep it in history."

As he said that, he looked at Li Mu and said, "You are the same, together with me, leave your name in history."

"I thank Your Majesty for your grace." Li Mu first praised it, and then said: "But I think your Majesty has made things simpler."

"Hmm? Didn't you say that rock salt is inexhaustible? Why can't people eat fine salt?"

"Your Majesty, salt is the fundamental of the country. If this method of salt making is leaked and the surrounding countries learn it will be extremely unfavorable for our Tang Dynasty. Therefore, I think it is better to proceed step by step. From top to bottom, let officials, family members, landlords and others eat fine salt first, then the price of pool salt and sea salt must be reduced. In this way, rich peasants can also eat pool salt and sea salt, while ordinary people can at least eat non-toxic rock salt and no longer use salt cloth. This way, slowly implementing it from top to bottom is the right way. And Your Majesty can also obtain profits, fill the treasury, and have the best of both worlds. In time, when our Tang Dynasty is recuperating and recovering, we are not afraid of the invasion of the four barbarians, we will further promote fine salt. One day, everyone in our Tang Dynasty will be able to eat fine salt.

Li Shimin thought for a while and said, "It's true. I'm a little eager for quick success and instant benefits. I'm not as careful as you think about this business method. Well, I won't care and leave it to you to deal with it."

"promise."
Chapter completed!