Du Ruhui cheated Li Shimin again
Du Ruhui is currently feeling extremely restless in his heart!
After successfully extorting the emperor's treasury once, he is now completely addicted to this feeling.
What in the world could be more exciting than extorting the emperor?
From what His Majesty just said, it seems that the treasury is going to receive some more silver and money?
Logically speaking, Xiao Zhang's shop has just started operating, so it shouldn't be that fast. Could it be that His Majesty has found another way to make money?
Does that mean he should extort another sum?
Li Shimin, at this moment, was looking at these top-notch, intelligent people in front of him, and they all had a completely puzzled expression.
He was thoroughly amused!
He now understood why Xiao Zhang liked to tease him, the feeling was truly great!
Seeing that everyone was looking at him with eager eyes, Li Shimin knew that he had successfully teased them.
"Well, I plan to select a reputable and powerful merchant from every industry in the Tang Dynasty and give them the title 'Imperial Supplier of the Tang Dynasty.' For example, the wrought iron shop of Fujijia can be named 'Imperial Supplier of the Tang Dynasty Ironware'."
Huh?
Changsun Wuji was stunned. Was this a good thing?
Was this compensation for himself? Or was there some twist he didn't know about? After all, His Majesty had just mentioned that he was going to make some money for the treasury.
So, Changsun Wuji cautiously asked,
"Your Majesty, what kind of price must my iron business pay to receive the title of 'Imperial Supplier of the Tang Dynasty'?"
It must be said that this conversation was like a comic dialogue, and it needed a good foil to be exciting. Changsun Wuji was doing a good job, he would have to be rewarded more in the future.
Li Shimin nodded and said unabashedly in front of everyone,
"With this title, the merchant can naturally sell more goods. Therefore, I will charge a small fee per household per year. It is not reasonable, right?"
After speaking, he looked at everyone with a sinister expression, as if saying,
"If you oppose me, I will make your life difficult."
There was not a single fool among those who were able to sit in this position. His Majesty had already made it clear, and if they opposed him now, they would be taking money out of his pocket.
So, do you think that Emperor Li Shimin, who had been kept awake for half a month due to the treasury issue, would not scold them if he became angry?
So, several high-ranking officials of the court answered in unison like well-behaved babies,
"It's not excessive, it's appropriate!"
As Li Shimin's closest confidant, Changsun Wuji quickly added a sentence to defend Li Shimin,
"Your Majesty is using the royal name to guarantee merchants, so it is natural to collect some silver."
Li Shimin's eyes brightened. His assistant was indeed his trusted person and understood his thoughts.
"Not bad, Assistant Changsun is right. The Li family's royal name cannot be taken lightly. Therefore, in the future, there will be a bidding process for merchants in each industry every year. Only the strong and capable ones can win the title of the Tang Dynasty's Royal Merchant."
Changsun Wuji's heart sank. He thought he had secured the title for his iron workshop, but now he had to compete for it?
He knew there were several wealthy clans in Guanzhong who were even richer than his family and also dealt in iron. When the bidding started, it would be a fierce battle for real money.
Although he was the richest among these officials, his expenses were also high, and he could not compare with those long-established noble families.
This made him a bit resentful. Why didn't Your Majesty take care of him? He was not only the Duke of Zhao but also the Minister of Personnel and Your Majesty's brother-in-law.
But before he could complain, Li Shimin's next words made Changsun Wuji despair completely.
"Of course, this alone is not reliable. To prevent these merchants from using the royal name to cheat and swindle, I also need to collect a deposit from each merchant."
" If any citizen is harmed by these merchants, they can report it to the government, and the government will deduct money from this deposit to compensate the citizen once it is confirmed!"
Changsun Wuji was speechless. He already had a premonition that his treasury, which was originally filled with copper coins, would be emptied by then.
On the other hand, Du Ruhui's eyes were getting brighter and brighter. Your Majesty's words meant that there would be a lot of silver flowing in.
When was a better time to cheat than now?
He had dared to cheat when Li Shimin was poor, let alone now that he had plenty of money. There was no need to say anything more. He quickly took action.
Du Ruhui smiled and said,
"I would like to congratulate Your Majesty on your abundant financial resources. With this method, Your Majesty and the Empress no longer have to worry about the expenses in the palace. It's really something to be happy about!"
Li Shimin nodded in satisfaction. It seemed that Du Ruhui was not always heartless. He learned how to speak kind words when he was with Wuji. He had to continue to maintain this.
However, his happiness did not last for even a minute. Du Ruhui finally revealed his fangs and began to cheat.
"Your Majesty, the matter of commercial taxes requires time for discussion and formulation, but the Northern border requires money urgently. The military's preparation and reorganization also require expenses. Your method is effective and quick. Can we borrow some to support the Ministry of War?"
Li Shimin had to exert great effort to restrain himself from grabbing a knife and killing this heartless man!
What's going on? You can't stand to see a few coins in my pocket, can you? I just got a trick from Xiao Zhang, and I'm waiting for the palace to have a few easy days too.
But before I even got my hands on it, this Du Heizi had his eyes on it.
It seems that the feeling that Du Heizi wasn't so heartless just now was completely wrong. This guy is a big blackheart with black blood coming out of his heart, liver, spleen, and kidneys.
Li Shimin wouldn't let someone deceive his money with just a few words. He said with a sour face,
"Keming, this is the money I got from the royal name. The palace is also in dire need of money. I just allocated 5,000 guan to the Ministry of War from the internal treasury. Be frugal with it."
Li Shimin wasn't unaware of the situation, but he understood that Du Heizi had no bottom line. As long as he promised easily, he would definitely go along with it. Who knew how much would be lost in the end.
Du Ruhui didn't care and continued to smile and say,
"Your Majesty, leaving aside the urgent military affairs, after you collect the deposit, the government will have to handle the people's petitions, and the Ministry of Revenue will have to send someone to supervise the operation of the merchants. Each department will have to put in effort for this."
Li Shimin frowned. Du Heizi really found a good reason!
However, if you don't let me live well, I won't let you live well either. Li Shimin thought for a moment and made a decision.
"Since that's the case, take out 20% from this batch of money and allocate it to the Ministry of Revenue. Keming, go find Dai Zhou for the money!"