The Lone Star of the Tang Dynasty

It turned out that they were immersed in the beautiful idea and ignored the cruelty of reality: If Li Changge was forcibly dragged to Chang'an to display his talents at this moment, wouldn't it put him in danger? Thinking of this, Wei Zheng and the others gasped, secretly glad that Li Changge was calm-headed.

"What Childe said is extremely true!" Wei Zheng echoed, "Those families are indeed vicious, we must ensure Childe's safety, and we must not let anyone know that this plan is from Childe's hand." "

Li Er patted his chest with palpitations, and looked regretful: "Childe is thoughtful, which makes us deeply ashamed. Alas, if the son can become an official, how happy should the people of Datang be...... However, for the sake of social peace and the happiness of the people, Gongzi would rather give up fame and fortune, and this open-mindedness really makes us admire. "

Li Changge couldn't help but laugh out loud when he heard Li Er's emotion: "Are you thinking too much? Are you really Your Majesty not knowing anything? Besides, he has both upright ministers like Wei Zheng and sages like Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui around him, so they can't think of this kind of strategy?"

When Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng, and Du Ruhui heard this, they looked at each other, and felt helpless in their hearts: Your Highness, your remarks are simply pushing us into embarrassment! Although you can be praised as a masterpiece on other occasions, when these words come out of your mouth, it really makes people laugh and cry!

Li Changge continued: "To tell you the truth, I'm not interested in being a prime minister, and now it's quite nice to be a rich man at ease, do a little business, earn some pocket money, and live a more comfortable life." He closed his eyes and tasted a sip of fruit tea, unaware that his words had touched the brains of Li Er and the others.

Li Er exchanged a knowing look with the ministers, and decided to put aside the idea of persuading Li Changge to join the government for the time being, and instead consider other rich rewards so that he could enjoy life in peace away from the political whirlpool. Since fame and fortune are like floating clouds to him, then give him a vast fertile land, a gorgeous mansion, and beautiful maids, these will not arouse the vigilance of the family lords.

When Li Changge called Mian'er to arrange lunch, the aroma of hot pot came to the nostrils, and everyone couldn't help but light up, and the haze in their hearts was swept away.

Not to mention the major matters in their hearts, as well as the food, everyone is dancing with their eyebrows, and their joy is beyond words, not to mention how happy they are.

Li Changge's bravery and wisdom stirred up ripples in everyone's hearts.

If it weren't for His Highness's strategic planning and thoughtfulness, His Majesty would face the contradictions and entanglements between the major families, I am afraid that this state celebration would have fallen into an irreconcilable stalemate.

Li Changge's skillful intervention and resolution of disputes have invisibly saved many innocent lives and avoided the ...... countless families from being torn apart due to war

...... during the banquet

Wei Zheng savored a slice of potatoes on his plate, and he was amazed by the wonder of its cooking, "This potato is cooked sweet and delicious, with rich spices and spicy seasoning, it can be called a delicacy in the world." Gongzi can introduce high-yield crops such as potatoes and sweet potatoes to Datang, which is really the well-being of the people of Datang, just like the arrival of a saint. "

Hearing this, Li Changge smiled heartily and responded humbly: "It's a trivial matter, why worry about it." I'm going to show you more innovative farming techniques in the future. "

Just when the feast was in full swing......

Du Ruhui's expression tightened, as if he suddenly remembered something imminent.

"Childe, there is another important matter that plagues the imperial court, maybe you can also help. "

He said earnestly, "Recently, the imperial court issued an edict to hold the imperial examination throughout the country, which was supposed to recruit talents, but it did not want to cause another crisis - since the edict was issued, the price of books and paper across the country has soared like a wild horse. Nowadays, many poor families and young students who are interested in learning are suffering from the fact that they cannot afford to buy or study books, which not only hinders their path to study, but also adds a layer of public resentment to the imperial examination system that originally benefited the people. "

When Li Er, Wei Zheng and other important ministers heard this, their faces were solemn and they frowned. Although this matter is not as disgusting as the intrigue between the powerful and powerful in the DPRK and China, if it is not resolved in time, it will surely shake the country's foundation in the long run and have far-reaching consequences.

Faced with this problem, Li Changge did not show the slightest panic, but smiled indifferently and said confidently: "This phenomenon is actually not complicated. As far as I know, the price of an ordinary book on the market is about three taels of silver, and considering the cost of paper and printing, there must be a big man with deep pockets behind it to manipulate the market, and it may even be that some family takes advantage of its monopoly position to profit from it. As long as this family that controls the paper market moves a little, the price of books will fluctuate wildly across the country. I would like to confirm that this price increase is happening at the same time across the country?".

After hearing this, Du Ruhui nodded vigorously and agreed: "That's right! Paper prices have risen almost simultaneously across the country!"

He added with admiration in his eyes: "Childe's insight is really impressive. However, even if you are a childe, it will be difficult to find a way to solve such problems rooted in interest groups, right?"

Wei Zheng's words were like cold water pouring on his face, and the original look of hope on the faces of Fang Xuanling, Li Er, Du Ruhui and others suddenly dissipated a lot, and was replaced by a heavier expression, as if a boulder was pressed on their hearts.

They know very well that the black hand behind the soaring price of books and paper is the Qinghe Cui family, a family that controls the lifeblood of the Datang paper and printing industry.

Wei Zheng once strongly persuaded Li Er to adopt a soft policy towards the Cui family, not out of weakness, but out of helplessness based on the actual predicament.

When he threw himself into Wagangzhai and helped Li Shimin create a prosperous era of Zhenguan, wasn't it to break the old forces and establish a new order?

However, in this key industry related to cultural inheritance and people's livelihood education, in the face of the Cui family's almost absolute right to speak, even if the martial arts are as strong as Li Er, it is inevitable that there is a kind of powerful grievance.

The wind of price increase seems to be the owner's arbitrary move, but in fact, the Cui family uses industrial advantages to wantonly manipulate the market, which makes Li Er and others feel helpless.

To fight such a monopoly, unless hundreds or thousands of the same workshops can be copied in an instant, it is enough to compete with Cui's pricing power, so that it can no longer easily manipulate market prices. But this is obviously impossible, and even if there are enough financial resources to build a workshop, it is difficult for the artisan resources to expand rapidly in a short period of time.

Just when everyone fell silent, almost deciding that there was no way to solve this matter.

Li Changge smiled leisurely and broke the heaviness.

"What's so difficult?" His relaxed tone made Li Er, Wei Zheng, Du Ruhui and others all stunned, their eyes focused on him, and they even forgot to chew the hot food in their mouths, and they didn't even realize that the hot soup was burning their mouths.

Li Changge laughed loudly and said bluntly: "This so-called monopoly is nothing but a disease of scabies. "

Subsequently, he proposed two coping strategies.

Article 1 amends the Tang Law to stipulate that when any family or group owns more than 60% of the shares of a certain industry, it must pay several times the regular high tax. However, although this law can economically restrain the excessive expansion of the family, it is too targeted because it may affect the interests of many families, and in an agriculture-based society, large-scale adjustment of commercial regulations may cause unnecessary turmoil and misunderstanding, which is not conducive to the long-term stability of the country.

The second plan is even more bold and radical: "Build a new paper industry system." "

Hearing the word "industry", everyone looked at each other and was full of doubts.