Wen Wan entered the palace that day and asked the emperor for a special order. She wanted to add a scarce product to foreign trade. For example, Yun Brocade in tribute forging. In fact, the production quantity of Yunjin is very limited in a year. The emperor moved all the Yun brocade produced in the past two years to Wenwan's warehouse. So Wenwan wants to take out part of it and sell it abroad. The rarer the item, the higher the profit.
Wen Wan was on the road and bumped into Yan Qixuan who happened to be coming out of the study. He smiled and said hello: "Hello, fifth cousin."
Qi Xuan looked at Wen Wan, he didn¡¯t know why. Seeing Wen Wan's smiling face, he felt an indescribable depression in his heart. However, it was only a fleeting moment. "Hello, cousin. Is your cousin also here to see your father?"
Wen Wan smiled and said: "Well, if you have anything to do, please see the emperor's uncle."
Wen Wan saw the man behind Yan Qixuan, a man in an ivory white collar with vine patterns embroidered on it. Standing next to Yan Qixuan, who was wearing a luxurious brocade suit with a Qilin and Ruiyun pattern in golden threads, he looked in no way inferior.
Wen Wan looked at him, looking familiar.
"The princess is really a noble person who forgets things. You have forgotten that we have met more than once." The man's face was calm, but his eyes were very deep.
Wen Wan had already thought of this person and said with a smile, "Xu Zhongran, how can I forget you? It's hard for me to forget you when you refused Princess Fuling's marriage and used me as a note!" "There was a deep coldness in the gentle smile.
Xu Zhongran faced Wen Wan calmly, "Princess, everything I said is true."
Wen Wan said contemptuously, "Calculation is also called sincerity, but you have so much sincerity. Forget the past, I will never let you go next time. You should know. What are the consequences of offending me?" "Wenwan turned around and left.
Xu Zhongran looked at Wen Wan's back, his expression dark and unclear.
Wen Wan walked to the door of the royal study. The guards outside looked at Wen Wan and saluted respectfully. Wenwan asked the guard a few questions, but it sounded like no one was inside. Went in on his own.
Yan Qixuan and Xu Zhongran just watched Wen Wan walk in. There was surprise in Xu Zhongran's eyes. The imperial study was the place where the emperor worked. Go in without passing the message. This is no longer called Sheng Chong.
¡°I heard that it¡¯s one thing for an emperor to pamper a princess to the sky. But seeing it is another matter. Xu Zhongran couldn't help but sigh, "I didn't expect that the princess would be so blessed."
Yan Qixuan had regrets: "What is this? Imperial study room, Yanghe Hall. During the reign of the late emperor, she was like a no-man's land. This meeting is a piece of cake. Unfortunately, I can't understand her heart." What were you thinking? It was a waste of opportunity to be used by those women."
Xu Zhongran said calmly, "Fifth Master, Princess Wenwan would not marry you even without those women." Yan Qixuan asked strangely, how do you know.
"Because, a woman as proud as her cannot tolerate sharing a husband with others. And you, the prince, cannot possibly marry her." Xu Zhongran's words surprised Yan Qixuan. Wen Wan did say this.
"Then you don't have a chance. You haven't married a wife, and you haven't had a concubine. You are the most self-sufficient. So gentle. I should give you a chance." Yan Qixuan said with a smile.
"However, the princess is already wary of me. It's difficult to get her to give me a chance. At most, I only have a 50% chance." Xu Zhongran wanted to marry, but unfortunately he thought he had little chance. However, after waiting for so many years, he must work hard.
The emperor was reviewing the memorial, and when he heard footsteps, he knew that Wen Wan had come in. Put down the memorial. Chatted with Wen Wan for a while. After reading the list of goods listed by Wen Wan, he put it on the imperial desk.
Wen Wan thought for a moment. He still said: "Uncle Emperor, I want to buy a tea garden. Now that the market has just opened, the demand for tea will be greater and greater in the future. According to my estimate, in the next two years, the demand for tea will definitely increase several times. I have tea." By supplying it, we can save a lot of money and sell it domestically." Wenwan not only wants to buy tea gardens, but also develops her own tea gardens. Make quality tea. Of course, if possible, it would be best to encourage tea farmers to plant more tea trees.
The emperor probably knew Wen Wan better than Wen Wan herself: "It's all done."
Nodding gently, he took out the book and showed it to the emperor. She sent someone to look outside. Ten pieces of land have been chosen. The big one is 3,000 acres, and the small one is 1,600 acres. Once these lands were approved by the emperor, Wenwan allowed them to be cultivated into tea gardens.
After reading it, the emperor thought for a while and agreed to Wen Wan¡¯s purchase of land for a tea garden and his purchase of other tea gardens. But he disagreed with the imperial court's intervention to allow each province to build more tea gardens. The emperor was afraid of following the trend. Once the wind changed, the harvest would be ruined and there would be hidden dangers. So the emperor refused.
Wen Wan also felt that she was a little impatient and did not think as comprehensively as the emperor. ?Then he took out a map from his sleeve. Several provinces have been circled in red by Wen Wan. Among them, Jiangnan painted more. The emperor nodded in agreement.
After talking about Wen Wan, the emperor asked, "Wen Wan, do you think Xu Zhongran is suitable to be in the cavalry camp?"
Wen Wan¡¯s eyes widened and she was both laughing and crying. Whether Xu Zhongran was suitable or not had anything to do with her. Wen Wan simply shook her head, indicating that she would not participate. Because I don¡¯t understand it, I won¡¯t comment.
"The cavalry can only be established because of your strong financial support. You have the right to express your opinion." The emperor said with a smile. In fact, the emperor thought Xu Zhongran was good and intended to pair him with Wen Wan. That¡¯s why I asked this question.
Wen Wan immediately threw the ball back to the emperor, "Uncle the emperor, women are not allowed to participate in politics."
The emperor laughed after hearing this: "You are not allowed to do politics. You have done very little politics in recent years. Don't forget your title. How can you rejuvenate the country if you don't even know political affairs?"
Wen Wan murmured: "To rejuvenate the country, just let me work as a cow and a horse for you. Xu Zhongran is a talent, but I don't know if he is suitable for the cavalry camp. Uncle Emperor, you must not insert people into the cavalry camp randomly." . You must follow the rules. Don¡¯t just ask the prince to invite you today. Then don¡¯t organize it.¡±
The emperor laughed when he heard this: "Should it be like your Guangyuan Bank? No one is allowed in without passing the three checkpoints. The test is once every three months. Those who fail will be dismissed."
He said gently: "Don't you think this is good, uncle? It not only increases the employees' sense of responsibility. It also makes them aware of the crisis, so they will work harder. Since the cavalry battalion selects the best soldiers, give this Pressure is not good. Without competition, there is no progress.¡±
The emperor smiled, Wen Wan's thoughts were always further than others. After chatting with the emperor for a long time, there was a report from outside: "Your Majesty, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue asks for an audience with you." Yin En has already resigned from the position of the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Thinking about it, Wen Wan felt that Yin En was quite pitiful. Just because my son was confused, so many years of hard work were reduced to ashes. Retirement in advance.
The emperor talked to Wen Wan about government affairs again. Wen Wan heard that Lianghuai Salt Patrol had been involved in corruption and bribery, and had been escorted back to the capital. The emperor had a headache as to who should be sent. How to prevent this kind of phenomenon. I don¡¯t know how many officials have fallen to Jiangnan for this position. After passing through the emperor's hands, there were four.
Wen Wan is relatively familiar with this. When she first understood the tax structure of Daqi, she spent a lot of effort to understand it. There are four ways to obtain salt: sea salt, mineral salt, lake salt, and well salt. Nowadays, the production of salt is relatively small, but people cannot eat without salt, so there is a saying that salt is as valuable as gold.
Jiangnan is a salt-producing area. The salt merchants in Jiangnan were all very wealthy. Whenever there was a disaster in the court every year, Jiangnan was definitely the place to raise funds. That's where the focus is on fundraising.
Because Wen Wan has a thorough understanding, she also knows that there are two agencies that specialize in salt affairs, the ¡®Huaihe Salt Inspection Agency¡¯ and the ¡®Lianghuai Capital Salt Transportation Envoy Department¡¯. It is the real Feishui Yamen. Many officials in the DPRK and China had to go to the salt transport agency even after being demoted. Naturally, these two yamen are also the places with the most corrupt officials.
Wen Wan knows that if we want to completely solve this problem, we don't have to catch corrupt officials every day. Instead, we need to expand salt production so that Jiangnan will no longer be blessed by nature. This is the real way to put an end to it: "Uncle Emperor, I want to put an end to it. There is only one way."
The emperor¡¯s eyes lit up: ¡°What method?¡±
Wen Wan said: "First, vigorously develop salt fields. Sea salt is an inexhaustible natural resource. Second, there are also many saline-alkali lands in Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Shanxi, Sichuan and other places. Salt fields are being vigorously developed in these places. Order the craftsmen to improve the salt production process. With this two-pronged approach, I believe that as long as the production of salt increases significantly, the Huaixun Yanfu Yamen will no longer have the most corrupt officials."
The emperor looked at Wen Wan: "But technology doesn't just come up."
Wen Wan naturally knows: "Nothing comes to the meeting. As long as you give them time, they will do well."
The emperor nodded, and because of his gentle words, the emperor was indeed determined to reform the salt tax. Because of this, more than ten years later, Yangzhou salt merchants were no longer famous for their wealth. The censor no longer stares at the Jiangnan salt tax every day. Of course, these are all things for later.
Wen Wan thought for a while and then continued: "Uncle Emperor, I actually think that some tax systems are not reasonable. If possible, it is best to adjust them." Wen Wan gave the emperor several examples.
The emperor kept nodding his head listening to the gentle words, but tax reform is not that easy. The emperor took it to heart at this time. Wen Wan's consideration was more one-sided, while the emperor needed to consider everything comprehensively. So, if you really want to move, why not???Slowly perfect it, step by step.
After the two discussed political affairs, the emperor still had to deal with government affairs, so he said to Wen Wan: "Wen Wan, go back to Yongning Palace first and have lunch with your uncle." Wen Wan agreed obediently. (To be continued)