Chapter 90 A thunder breaks out from the ground (3)
Two and a half million taels per year may not seem like much. When converted into silver, it is only two and a half million taels. Compared with the extravagant expenditures of later generations on river management, it is really not much. You must know
In later generations, during the Qing Dynasty, the amount of regular silver taels thrown into the canal every year was far more than this amount, not to mention the special renovation costs that often amounted to millions of taels. The problem was that although the Tang Dynasty at this time had been managed by three generations,
The country is powerful and known as the Celestial Dynasty, but in fact it is only strong in the military, and its economic strength can only be regarded as average - the annual income of the national treasury is only about 17 million yuan, deducting administrative expenses and various seventy-seven
Eighty-eight dollars of expenditures, what is left is very little, and this does not include the needs of various border wars that break out almost every year. After careful calculation, the imperial court can only do roughly the same.
Even if there is a slight surplus, it is definitely not as much as 2.5 million taels. Obviously, it is almost impossible to allocate these 2.5 million taels of silver from the national treasury.
No wonder the courtiers were so surprised. If the courtiers learned that the figure reported by Li Xian was actually only 70% of what was actually needed, they would be even more shocked to the point of sweating like rain.
"Your Highness's arrogance is admired by this official, but there is something unclear about it. Please explain it in detail." Although Yan Liben has just taken over the household department, after working hard for the past half month, he knows very well about the background of the treasury.
As soon as I heard Li Xian talking about the cost of ten million guan, which was as light as a thousand guan, I was immediately shocked. I really didn't know whether to be angry or laugh, but then again.
, Yan Liben's purpose of standing up this time was to embarrass Li Xian. It would be a good thing for him to find the loopholes in Li Xian's strategy, so he said calmly.
"If Yan Shangshu has any questions, it's okay to ask them. Xiao Wang doesn't dare to say that he will definitely be able to answer them, but he will try his best." Li Xian has been preparing the details of water transportation for more than a year, and he thinks that he knows all aspects of water transportation.
Zhang, although he knew that Yan Liben was deliberately making things difficult, he didn't take it to heart, so he cupped his hands with a smile and answered with great confidence.
"Thank you, Your Highness." Yan Liben bowed respectfully, first thanked him, and then said solemnly: "Your Highness, does he know how much income I have earned and what my surplus is over the years?"
"As far as Xiao Wang knows, there was a good harvest last year, and the imperial court's annual income was 19 million yuan, an increase of about 20% from the previous year. The past years are generally the same as the previous year, with limited increases and decreases. As for the surplus, this Xiao Wang does not know. Yan Shangshu has
I should know more about the household department than Xiao Wang." The amount of the treasury remaining is a secret of the court. Although Li Xian is a prince, he also doesn't know it. He just knows that the treasury is not too rich in general.
However, Li Xian doesn't care much about how much money is left in the treasury now. Li Xian has other plans for the cost of regulating the river. Therefore, he knows that Yan Liben has no good intentions in raising this issue, but Li Xian still
Answered very easily.
"His Royal Highness is able to know the income of the year. He is a thoughtful person, and I admire him." Yan Liben sarcastically said to Li Xian, which meant that Li Xian was uneasy about his position as prince and was really ambitious. As soon as he said this, Li Xian
His expression immediately changed, and he glared at Yan Liben with a sullen look. He was about to explode, but he didn't dare to be too presumptuous in the court. He was so angry that his neck became thicker. If eyes could kill, just
I was afraid that Yan Liben would have died tens of millions of times, but unfortunately Yan Liben didn't accept his trick at all, and didn't care whether Li Xian was angry or not. He continued unhurriedly: "Last year's harvest was huge, and the imperial court was slightly
The surplus is actually 700,000 guan, which is the highest in history. The national treasury now has a total of 12 million guan. After deducting the expected expenditure for this year, the amount that can be mobilized is less than 1 million guan. I really don’t know that Your Highness
Where does the mentioned tens of millions of dollars come from? Please enlighten me, Your Highness."
"Yan Shangshu is loyal to his duties, and Xiao Wang is also impressed by it." Li Xian was extremely uncomfortable by Yan Liben's previous words. Even though he knew that this was not the time to care about his superiority, he still couldn't help but retorted, alluding to Yan Liben. To seek refuge with the prince was really beneath the dignity of an important minister in the court, but he counterattacked quickly. Unfortunately, Yan Liben was very good at cultivating qi and was not moved by Li Xian's words at all. There was no expression on his flat face, he was just quiet. Standing quietly, patiently waiting for Li Xian to give a reasonable explanation, it made Li Xian feel like he was punched in the air. It was natural to be annoyed, but at this moment Li Xian was again Yan Liben had no choice but to grit his teeth secretly and continued with a hint of anger, "Xiao Wang never said that he would transfer silver from the treasury. I'm afraid Yan Shangshu misheard it. It is true that water transportation costs a lot, but what happened To protect the safety of Sheji, we must work hard. If we do it slowly for ten years, we will not worry that the national treasury will not be enough. It is a pity that water far away cannot quench the thirst of people nearby. Today, the food shortage in Guanzhong is worth millions. I am afraid that famine will arise, so I will do it in four years. Although it is difficult, it can solve the urgent need. The little king does not dare to shrink from the difficulty, and he should make plans to do his best!"
"I would like to hear the details." Li Xian said impassionedly, but unfortunately Yan Liben didn't respond at all. As soon as Li Xian finished speaking, he asked a question, making it clear that he didn't believe that Li Xian could do it out of thin air. Make money.
"Father, I have several strategies to collect water transportation needs without using the national treasury. Please make a decision." After being entangled by Yan Liben for so long, Li Xian finally woke up - Yan Liben was a guy looking for trouble. No matter how much nonsense he talks, it will be in vain. Instead of fighting with him, it is better to go directly to Gaozong to make the decision. Then, without even looking at Yan Liben, he turned around and bowed to Gaozong loudly. Report.
"Oh? Xian'er has any clever ideas? Come and tell me." Emperor Gaozong was obviously very happy to see Li Xian bickering with the officials of the prince's line. Just as he was enjoying himself, he suddenly heard what Li Xian said about something. He immediately became interested in the wonderful way to make money. He raised his hand with a smile and asked with great interest.
"Father, it is clear that nowadays, not only Guanzhong is suffering from food shortages, but also the entire northwest and north. Even so, the brewing trend is becoming increasingly popular everywhere, and the food consumed is huge. There are many people who have ruined their jobs due to alcoholism. In Japan, the late emperor issued several edicts to ban alcohol. However, alcohol was very profitable, and illegal brewing was banned repeatedly. However, things went to waste. I thought that since alcohol was difficult to ban, it would be better to unify it under one organization, named: Wine Division. Issuing a liquor license is a certificate of production. Those who do not have a liquor license are illegally brewing. They should be severely fined and even have their homes confiscated. The state monopoly bureaus can issue a fixed number of licenses and update them every year. The one with the highest price will get it every year. There should be millions of strings for river construction. This is one of them. The second is that my father issued an edict a few months ago, ordering businessmen not to ride horses. This is indeed a good policy to emphasize agriculture and suppress business, but now business travelers It is really difficult to make a living selling goods without carriages and horses. I think it would be better if we could open up the Internet. We could have a monopoly bureau selling carriage and horse license plates, which would not only allow merchants to travel conveniently, but also allow them to contribute to river construction. , why not do it? This is just a humble thing, I hope my father will investigate it in detail." Li Xian took a deep breath and talked non-stop. After saying this, he talked for several minutes. For a long time, all the courtiers were heard frowning, and before Li Xian could finish his words, the buzzing of private discussions became loud again.
The wine department is not an innovation at all. There has been a precedent for selling salt and iron for a long time. Since Guan Zhong implemented the "official mountain and sea" system in the Spring and Autumn Period, salt and iron belonged to the government during most of the stable periods of the dynasty.
The same is true for the Tang Dynasty when it comes to specializing in products. The Salt and Iron Department under Sinong Temple is the permanent organization in charge of the national salt and iron monopoly. Logically speaking, even one more wine department is not a big deal. It can only control the situation.
It just made the wine on the market more expensive, but in fact it was not that simple. It was for no other reason than that most of the winemaking establishments during this period were in the hands of wealthy families.
For example, the largest breweries are all owned by aristocratic families in the capital, and all the courtiers in the palace are more or less involved with the breweries. If Li Xian's words are followed, the interests of the wealthy families will surely be affected.
Suffering heavy losses, it is obvious that as soon as Li Xian's regulations came out, it was like a thunder in the ground, which shocked all the courtiers to the point of confusion, and everyone was in a rage.
No surprise there.
"Your Majesty, I think these two policies of His Highness Prince Lu seem reasonable, but they are actually quite different. Firstly, competing with the people for profit is a taboo in the court. Secondly, businessmen and industrialists must not ride horses to emphasize agriculture and suppress commerce. If
If you spend money to buy a license and you can ride a horse, isn't it just a disguised way of making money? Your Majesty's original intention will be lost, and you will be criticized by the world. It is really a big mistake and it will never be feasible. I hope your Majesty will learn from it!" Li Xian did not want to pay attention to Yan Liben!
, but Yan Liben had no intention of giving up. He immediately raised his voice and objected without waiting for Gaozong to express his stance.
"Your Majesty, what Yan Shangshu said is true, and I second my opinion."
"Your Majesty, the original intention of managing water transportation is to stabilize the country. If it is at the expense of disturbing the people, it is putting the cart before the horse and it is definitely not feasible!"
"Your Majesty, I think that although His Royal Highness King Lu has the heart to serve the country, her experience is only shallow. Although her intention is good, the means are not appropriate, so she should act with caution."
As soon as Yan Liben finished speaking, Liu Daoxiang and other senior officials on the prince's side stood up one after another, either directly refuting Li Xian's suggestion, or pretending to be kind and excusing Li Xian on the grounds of lack of experience. After a fuss,
Many neutral officials who were afraid that Emperor Gaozong would approve Li Xian's proposal also expressed their opinions, almost unanimously opposing Li Xian's suggestion. This one-sided situation was extremely pessimistic for Li Xian.