BSI Page 456
Page 456
Salt!iron!
These two things are things that all the Central Plains empires in the past dynasties valued very much!
Especially salt.
Since the Warring States period, it has been owned by the imperial court and private traffic is not allowed.
Because this thing is directly linked to the comprehensive national strength!
And the countries of the Western Regions.
Due to being inland, there are only three ways to get a lot of salt!
One is to transport salt from the Central Plains to the Western Regions.
The second is to transport salt along the Silk Road from the west of Xiyu.
Third, it is naturally Qinghai Lake...
and so.
"So if you want to use salt to weaken the Western Regions, you must block all three roads!"
Ning Chen laughed out loud.
If there is no salt supplement, anyone will be weak and even sick!
"That's it."
"Without a large amount of salt supplementation, the national strength of the countries in the Western Regions will inevitably continue to weaken, and the combat effectiveness of the soldiers will definitely be greatly reduced!"
"After all, there is no salt to eat, no strength..."
The smile on His Highness King Chu's face was so obscure.
It seems to have seen the scene where the Western Regions were crippled in the future...!
Sanctions!
What Ning Chen will do next is to impose severe sanctions on the countries in the Western Regions!
In addition to making a big fuss about salt, there is another knife that will stab into the backs of the countries of the Western Regions!
That is, iron!
To be precise, it should be iron ore, and this iron ore is the root and foundation of all weapons in this world!
Once the Tang Empire cut off the three roads.
Not only could the salt not be transported to the Western Regions, but even the iron ore necessary for war could never be transported there!
And during the turmoil in the Western Regions for nearly a year before.
Every country in the Western Regions consumes a lot of weapons!
Now, everyone is in urgent need of supplementary ordnance equipment!
And what Ning Chen wanted to do.
It is to cut off their supply of iron ore, and let the countries of the Western Regions go to war with scrap metal!
"Since the iron ore sanctions have been mentioned, I might as well be more ruthless!"
"after all."
"Either don't do it, or do it absolutely, this is Ben Wang's life motto...!"
Ning Chen had a faint smile on his face.
Then he turned around straight away, walked into his study room, and picked up a pen to write on the rice paper!
"blacksmith"!
A piece of fine iron ore.
It needs to be extracted and tempered, and then tempered and processed to become a real ordnance equipment!
If the delivery of iron ore is broken.
The countries in the Western Regions may also mine on their own territory to supplement the shortage of iron ore.
but.
If they don't even have a blacksmith.
Then, even if Ning Chen gave them the iron ore, he wouldn't even ask for money.
The countries in the Western Regions can't create anything...!
Not to mention strong bows and crossbows, sharp knives and sharp swords.
I'm afraid I can't even make a shovel, iron plow, etc...!
After so many hands down.
I'm afraid that when the time comes, the countries in the Western Regions will have civil strife again, and they will fight each other with wooden sticks and stones...
Directly dream back to the original era!
"This king wants you to eat without salt and fight without iron!"
"However, speaking of the salt and iron, it seems that the interior of the Tang Dynasty needs to be rectified!"
"Salt smugglers are rampant now, and some even dare to smuggle and sell iron!"
"These people who have greatly damaged the interests of the country must be punished...!"
Ning Chen raised his hand and stroked his chin, muttering softly to himself.
No matter which dynasty, salt and iron are both the top priority of the country and a major part of fiscal revenue!
Because these two are necessary.
So just the salt tax and iron tax alone will collect a lot of tax money every year!
However, although the Tang Empire has been established for 11 years, it rarely has a stable day.
So the matter of the Yantie official camp has never been settled!
of course.
In addition to the reason for the unstable situation, there is another more important reason.
That is the smugglers who sell salt and iron in the country, and they all have a deep background!
On the surface, it is a businessman who is smuggling.
In fact, is it not the high-ranking officials of the imperial court and those powerful families who are smuggling? !
Just like Zuo Pu, the Shangshu of the Great Tang Empire, shoots Changsun Wuji, his hands are not clean...!
Except for him.
I don't know how many people and how many families use smuggling to make money!
"These guys, who are against the interests of the empire, will clean up you sooner or later!"
"The money you earn will always be returned!"
"If you pretended to be forceful, you will have to pay it back sooner or later..."
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The author says:
Chapter 502 Smuggling and selling salt and iron is really a heinous crime...! .
at dusk.
The blood-like setting sun is crumbling above the sky.
The fiery red light made the sky, the earth, and even everything covered in a light red gauze...
And under the light of the setting sun.
The Prince Chu's Mansion, which occupies a vast area, is becoming more and more dignified and magnificent after you discover it.
At this time, His Royal Highness King Chu was not in the palace.
In the west of Chang'an City, on the tower of the Golden Light Gate.
Ning Chen leaned against the battlements, looking at a convoy heading west in the distance, his face was dark and inexplicable...
"Wu Yue..."
"I hope you don't let me down, and don't let my plans go to waste!"
Ning Chen let out a deep breath, reached out and patted the green bricks on the city wall, making a slight sound.
When a few days ago.
After Ning Chen conveyed the meaning of the emperor like a warrior, the old man asked for orders to go to Tiannan in the court hall the next day!
This abrupt single-handed operation directly stunned all the courtiers.
And His Majesty the Emperor.
It also fully demonstrated his generous mind as the emperor, and he immediately nodded and agreed!
And unexpectedly, the samurai Zhen was appointed as the governor of the western border of Tiannan Road, and presided over the construction of the fortifications in the western border of Tiannan!
Besides.
The emperor seemed to be very happy, and ordered to reward the warriors with a bunch of good things!
This is simply outrageous...
But from Ning Chen's point of view, there is nothing surprising or puzzling about it.
after all.
Compared to myself, my uncle can be regarded as a kind person...
Of course, this kindness is only relative.
Under most circumstances, Li Erfei is not only not kind, but even worse than Ning Chen at certain times!
After a long time.
Chang'an City, Prince Chu's Mansion, Tianji Pavilion.
This time, not only the palace was expanded, but even the Tianji Pavilion was expanded a lot.
And on the west side of the palace, a five-story tower is still being built.
Prepare to store all kinds of secret files of Tianji Pavilion, as well as some files that are not too confidential.
As for true secrets.
From the beginning to the end, it is stored in the underground vault of Tianji Pavilion!
Except for a few people who went in to classify and archive.
In the whole world, only Emperor Li Er, Crown Prince Li Chengqian, and Ning Chen are eligible to enter!
Besides.
Anyone who dares to approach the secret vault, no matter who they are, if they resist, they will be killed immediately!
What's more, outside of the spies and killers of Tianji Pavilion.
There is also a large number of royal guards who were born in the battlefield...!
"There is also a dossier about domestic salt and iron smuggling and sales!"
"in addition."
"Bring over the dossiers of various officials and aristocratic families related to the smuggling of salt and iron!"
"I'm going to do some calculations and see who gets the knife later..."
surgery...
After a few days of deliberation.
Ning Chen suddenly felt that if he only used salt and iron to attack the countries of the Western Regions, it seemed a bit overkill...