"Yes, yes, I've heard for a long time that Miss Yang is both beautiful and artistic, and her music is unparalleled. It's a pity that I haven't been lucky enough to meet her."

"Brother Zhao is generous, Master Chen will certainly not deny you face."

"I'm going to ask for Mr. Chen's blessing today."

"..."

There was a sound of encouragement in the box.

It seemed that if Chen Zhao didn't follow, everyone would not be able to eat well or drink well tonight, and would be in unbearable pain.

Chen Zhao smiled slightly and stood up slowly: "You have eaten and drank enough. If you are tired, I will say goodbye now."

After saying that, he turned around and left. He refused very firmly and did not give anyone a chance to persuade him again.

It's as if he wasn't the one who just exchanged glasses and called each other brother and sister.

Chen Zhao said goodbye to all the salt merchants and went outside. Chen Yang, who was with him, hurried over and asked, "Sir, where are we going?"

"Return to Yan Yushi Mansion!" Chen Zhao said calmly.

"Yes!" Chen Yang didn't say a word.

In the private room facing the window of the restaurant at the back, Zhao Haonan looked calm and his eyes were fixed on Chen Zhao's carriage. After thinking for a long time, he said: "It is indeed the seed of reading, which is hard to see through!"

The carriage passed along the streets of Yangzhou City and soon came to a large house.

Of course this is not the official government office of Yushi Yamen.

It is the residence of the Salt Patrol Censor.

After all, Yangzhou is a large and luxurious city, and the Salt Patrol Censor is of a low rank and has great power. Naturally, he cannot live in front of the Yamen and in the back like an ordinary seventh-rank official.

The Salt Patrol Censor was in charge of the entire salt road in the south of the Yangtze River, and was considered to be the fattest and most lucrative position in the world.

In view of the importance of this location, the imperial court allowed the construction of another censor's residence across the road from the back gate of the censor's office.

The Supreme Emperor abdicated and the current emperor Xiao De made the first personnel appointment after he succeeded to the throne. Lin Ruhai, the official of Lantai Temple, was appointed as the Yangzhou Salt Patrol Censor to take charge of the salt transportation in the Huaihe River. This was to give Xiao De, who was newly in power,

The German emperor raised money to gather power.

Someone in the previous dynasty said that the emperor will be the one with strong soldiers and horses.

Some people have also said that in order to hold the emperor's position firmly, he must have a sword in one hand and an official seal in the other.

But whether it is simply having strong soldiers and strong horses, or having swords and official seals, all of these are inseparable from money.

Only with money can you have the foundation to do things and the power to criticize Fang Qiu.

After all, being a soldier requires food, and being an official for thousands of miles is just for money.

That's why the emperor placed his confidants in this position.

Entering the house, all the way to the study door of Lin Ruhai in the back house.

Chen Zhao straightened his clothes and walked in after passing the message.

At this time, Lin Ruhai was processing official documents. Looking at his strong body and calm and contented demeanor, who could be like his wife who died of illness and himself died in just a few years?

"I'm satisfied with the banquet." Lin Ruhai asked with squinted eyes.

"Yangzhou salt merchants are very enthusiastic. It seems that they are very wary of your appointment."

Chen Zhao's tone was calm.

Lin Ruhai nodded and said: "His Majesty ordered me to take charge of salt affairs, which is to increase salt taxes and increase internal funds and treasury revenue. This naturally affects the interests of salt merchants, so they will inevitably spy on the situation. You have done a good job."

Chen Zhao smiled slightly: "It's just my job."

Lin Ruhai closed her eyes slightly, then opened her eyes after a moment and looked at Chen Zhao: "It seems that you are already quite familiar with the salt affairs. I am very pleased."

Haizhou produces Huai salt, but its distribution is in Yangzhou. More than two-thirds of the world consumes Huai salt. Every year, shiploads of salt go out, and shiploads of money come in. Salt merchants make money from generation to generation.

The money accumulated will become a wealth as great as the sky.

Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty started monopolizing salt and iron, the salt tax has been one of the fundamental taxes of the court. But now in the Xiaode period of the Zhou Dynasty, the world's population is increasing, and more and more people eat salt. But the salt tax

But they collected less and less. According to the rules, the annual quota of seven to eight million, with a 20% discount, only paid more than one million silver. The court sent people down to rectify it once and they could collect a little more, and then returned to the original status.

Naturally, the money earned from official salt and private salt sales and the salt tax withheld cannot be eaten by the salt merchants. The wealthy families hidden behind the court, the various yamen in the court, and the local salt transportation department came to inspect,

As for the civil and military officials in all fields, everyone has a share.

So much money was thrown away in exchange for convenience and favor. Over time, a huge and intimate relationship was built, covering all aspects.

In addition to officialdom, the same is true in the Jianghu and even among the sects. Everyone wants to make a fortune on salt. Not to mention the green forests and grass on land, water transportation is the world of sects. If they want to make money from salt, they naturally have to make money with salt.

Businessmen help each other, and the relationship is getting closer and closer.

By now, everyone is familiar with the job and has had a lot of experience. Many salt merchants maintain their own regiments to train bodyguards, or have close collusion with Jianghu Caomang. This is nothing new. After all, the knife handle belongs to them.

So when Emperor Xiaode first succeeded to the throne, the salt tax that year reached an astonishing 800,000 taels, which attracted the attention of the entire government and the public.

This was something that was going to be written down in the history books. From the emperor to the Ministry of Household Affairs, everyone felt disgraced, so no one had the courage to stop Emperor Xiaode from making such a strong appointment.

Why do salt taxes decrease as salt merchants get richer?

The wealth of salt merchants comes from their large-scale sales of private salt. As a result of the popularity of private salt, official salt cannot be sold.

The world's salt consumption is based on population, and the total number is just that much. If everyone buys private salt, the official salt will not make any money or collect taxes.

The whole world knows this. If we want to rectify the salt affairs, we must strengthen the court's control over the salt affairs.

For salt merchants, reorganizing salt affairs is tantamount to killing them.

Naturally, they wanted to inquire in every possible way and carefully investigate Lin Yushi's salt affairs plan.

This is also the right thing to do.

Lin Ruhai let out a long sigh, with firm eyes: "Hey, the country is in a difficult situation and the salt tax is difficult to collect. Your Majesty has been so kind to me. Naturally, I will die in repayment. No matter how these salt rats resist, I will do my best."

He had said so, and Chen Zhao of course followed suit: "My uncle is loyal to the country and sincere to the public. Chen Zhao should give his full assistance and don't dare to wait any longer."

"My nephew has great ambitions!" Lin Ruhai praised and said, "We have been here for three days, where do you think we should start?"

Chen Zhao smiled slightly: "My uncle is the Censor of the Salt Patrol. He has the Censor's Yamen and the Salt Patrol and Salt Agents in his hands. He has great power. But we are new officials after all. I'm afraid that the officials at all levels in the Censor's Yamen will

Soldiers, big and small, have been tortured by the salt merchants, so I think the first step is to rectify the yamen and consolidate the power in our hands."

"Yes." Lin Ruhai nodded, waved his hand and said, "You continue."

"For the Salt Patrol Censor, there are hundreds of officials at all levels in his hands, and it is unrealistic to replace them with his own people all at once, so he must seize the two most important positions."

"Oh? Those two positions?"

"One is the Salt Transport Governor. This official position is responsible for handling documents and transmitting government orders. He belongs to the confidant of the Salt Patrol Censor. This official position must be a close confidant of my uncle."

"The other one is the salt inspection officer. This position is responsible for training armored soldiers and patrolling the salt fields. It has a very important authority. It is the only armed force controlled by the Yushi Yamen and must not be controlled by others."

"Only by mastering these two positions, my uncle can rectify the salt affairs step by step and get money from the salt rats as directed."

Chen Zhao finished speaking calmly.

"Okay!" Lin Ruhai patted the table gently: "I don't want my nephew to have such knowledge before he reaches the weak crown. I know that you have been practicing martial arts since you were a child. Are you willing to help me take on the role of salt inspector?"

Yanding inspection belongs to the ninth rank, and the smallest one cannot be smaller than Zhizhiguan.

One advantage of this position is that you can resign at any time to take the scientific examination.

Chen Zhao's father was a scholar in the dynasty, and had been advising him on his advice since he was a child. Therefore, Chen Zhao also diligently read poetry and books, was familiar with classics, and had already passed the imperial examination.

"No problem, I will shake off all the salt rats."
Chapter completed!