The green river surface is as flat as a mirror, reflecting the willow branches on both sides swaying. The gloomy gray sky seems to have an unexpected autumn rain at any time.

A dragon boat broke through the water, and the water splashed on both sides of the shore, but the deck on the boat was still motionless. When the fishing boats and merchant ships on the water saw the red dragon boat, they quickly avoided the side and looked at the boat with awe.

"Zhang Han was in Luo, and saw the autumn wind blowing, and thought about the water shield soup and sea bass sashimi in Wuzhong, saying: Life is so expensive, how can you be restrained from your officialdom for thousands of miles to get a title!"

Hou Xuanyan stood in front of the mast with his hands on his back and said slowly that it was August of the golden autumn, and it was the time when the bass in Jiangnan was fat. After fighting in Liaodong for so long, he missed the scenery of Jiangnan a little.

"What's the difficulty of eating fish in the prince? The emperor asked someone to go to the river to catch a few. We won't stop drunk."

The voice of his speech was rough and heroic, accompanied by free and easy laughter, which was Li Haoxian, Duke of Qi.

As the curtain was lifted up, a middle-aged man dressed in a long robe and a square scarf walked out and smiled as he walked: "The Duke of Qi only knows the truth but not the reason. The prince is talking about fish, but he just uses allusions to express his heart and feels homesickness."

Lee Haoxian curled her lips and said, "That's exactly what I mean. I'm just talking to you to joke, I want you to talk too much."

Jiang Jianxun was not upset and said with a smile: "It turns out that Duke Qi had known for a long time, that was just talking too much."

Hou Xuanyan expanded his chest, and the wind blowing towards him cheered up. He asked, "Where are we?"

A personal soldier crossed his hands and said, "Go back to the prince, Yangzhou is ahead."

"Yangzhou? Yangzhou is a good place. Unfortunately, the city was slaughtered by Duoduo. Five years have passed, and I don't know how it has recovered... Forget it, since the great cause has been completed, why not go to Yangzhou to inspect and see if the Yangzhou city is still as beautiful as it used to be."

Hou Xuanyan returned from Liaodong victoriously. Because he had no military force, he didn't have to go to the sea anymore, and went south from Peking through the canal. He passed by Yangzhou and wanted to go to the city to see that the news on the ship could not be passed on. When he arrived at the Yangzhou port, the nearby officials did not have time to greet him.

The ship came down and most of the court was worth half of the weight. Hou Xuanyan, Li Haoxian, Du Yinxi, Zheng Zunqian and Jiang Jianxun got off the ship one after another. The people next to them were patrolling, and they were all watching with their toes on the side.

Hundreds of personal soldiers led the way, and the group walked to the port, and the personal soldiers took off their horses from the dragon boat. This caused a stir in the crowd. This was a big and inconspicuous ship, which actually transported so many horses.

When they arrived at the edge of Yangzhou City, the personal soldiers explained their identities to the soldiers guarding the city. The soldiers rushed to the city to report. Hou Xuanyan and others had already rode into Yangzhou City. Wherever they could, were all merchants and wide and tidy streets. Hawkers, shops, and crowds of people were talking about the prosperity of this place.

Yangzhou is located on the main canal transportation route. As long as there are suitable conditions, it is easy to rise again.

Hou Xuanyan was not particularly surprised. He looked at the prosperous scenery around him and just nodded secretly. It seemed that the prefect here was quite qualified.

After walking for a while, he was intercepted by officials from all walks of life in Yangzhou who were rushing to the bridge. The prefect of Yangzhou Liao Jingqing was the first batch of May encyclopedia. He did a good job in Gaoyou, Yangzhou and had been promoted to the prefecture here. This promotion speed could be seen after the war that was in chaos. It would be almost impossible to be in a peaceful and prosperous era.

Liao Jingqing and a group of officials clasped their fists on the side of the road and said, "I don't know if the prince is here, and I'm not here to welcome you."

After hearing what the prefect said, the people around him realized that this outrageous official was actually the regent of the current dynasty, and became even more excited.

Hou Xuanyan looked around and saw that the place was filled with many new faces from other places. There were countless wealthy merchants and giants who had developed canal transportation in Yangzhou. The vacant spaces after being slaughtered were quickly filled, which is also an important reason why it can reappear prosperity.

"I returned to the court and passed by here, and came to inspect it. Yangzhou has recovered quite well. This is your credit, and I will remember it in my heart."

The officials in Yangzhou were overjoyed. This kind of praise was the least valuable, but it depends on who said it. Since it was spoken by the prince, the career path of those of them would be much smoother.

Liao Jingqing said happily: "Prince, the lower official has already held a banquet in the mansion. I wonder if the prince is willing to give him a favor."

Hou Xuanyan had a bad appetite on the boat and ate a bowl of porridge in the morning. Soon after the rising sun rose, he became hungry. He didn't give in to this and said, "It's just right, lead the way, remember to cook a sea bass to eat."

Liao Jingqing just said it casually, but unexpectedly invited Hou Xuanyan. In the surprise, he quickly asked the minor officials beside him to go back to the house to make arrangements.

Liao Jingqing's mansion is not far from the city gate. He, a militant official, did not take root here. He had just been transferred here and had not had time to buy a property. He just brought his family and settled in the eastern suburbs of Yangzhou.

After arriving here, Hou Xuanyan was shocked to find that this was really a small courtyard, which seemed very small than a corner of his palace.

Some flowers and plants were planted in the center of the yard, but most of them had withered at this time, and only the chrysanthemums were blooming in full bloom.

There is a round table in the courtyard, a few dishes and a pot of new wine are placed sparsely.

Hou Xuanyan not only looked at him with admiration, but was appointed as a prefect in a place like Yangzhou, and he could get endless money into the account with a little stretch. If this person was not a cunning family, he would definitely be a clean official.

After a smile, Hou Xuan sat down at the table and said, "I didn't expect that the prefect Liao was still a clean official, and he actually lived such an elegant and simple life."

Liao Jingqing quickly said, "The prince is joking. The senior official is just too short to take office. Now his salary is rich. The senior official is going to save some money and will buy a big house in Yangzhou in a few years. After resigning in the future, he will come to Yangzhou to retire."

After a while, Mrs. Liao came out to pay homage to the prince with her children. Mrs. Liao's eyes were dodging, as if she was very afraid. Hou Xuanyan only thought she was a woman in the boudoir and had never seen so many guests, so she didn't care.

Hou Xuanyan looked at both the siblings and the introverted look, lowered his head and blushed and did not dare to look at him, especially the youngest son of the Liao family, whose face turned red and hid behind his sister. Such a family should have a good family tradition, not like a domineering official child. Therefore, he looked at Liao Jingqing even more and pointed at his young son and said, "I look like this kid is five or six years old. How can I be so afraid of being a man? A real man should be proud. Liao Jingqing, put a pair of chopsticks for your son, pour a glass, and have a drink with me."

"The prince is joking, Ying'er will take your brother back."

The girl took her younger brother back to the inner courtyard, and Hou Xuanyan laughed and said, "Haha, I'm just kidding him, are you afraid that I will take your son badly."

Li Haoxian said with a slight interest: "Magistrate Liao looks like a scholar, unlike me, who is different from military men. My son was able to drink with me when he was five years old. This kid was drunk and wanted to worship me. He was beaten to ten days and could not get out of bed."

Everyone burst into laughter. A servant in the mansion came up with a pot of roasted fish. Hou Xuan was hungry and raised his chopsticks and wanted to eat it first.

"Ah!" Hou Xuanyan's face turned cold and cursed: "What's the thing? Why is it so bland? How can you eat it?"

Li Haoxian also took a bite, but it was indeed not a bit salty. He cursed and said, "Master Liao, you said you were the one who hosted the banquet, and we didn't come by ourselves. Who should we make these things for?"

Liao Jingqing looked upright and said with a fist: "Prince, the salt merchants in Lianghuai were hereditary monopoly and raised the price of salt. Yangzhou and Huai'an were all rich people. They monopolized the salt inlet and gathered countless wealth. It was pitiful that the people in Lianghuai were on the pile of salt, but could not eat cooked salt. The officials dared to give advice, hoping that the prince would cancel the hereditary monopoly of salt merchants and help the people who were salted."

Hou Xuanyan picked up the wine, took a sip, then picked a cold dish and ate a few bites to fight hunger. He left Liao Jingqing, who was risking his life to make a fuss, and was very embarrassed.

"I said what you are good about. If you have something to do, I will deal with it as appropriate. I will naturally take it as I can. Isn't it a pity to have a good meal? Just take it down and cook it again. I'm already hungry." Seeing the food on the table, Hou Xuanyan was so angry that he was very familiar with the matter of salt induction.

The so-called salt-drying people cannot eat salt is purely to fool themselves. Of course, salt merchants monopolize the hereditary and seize the local finances.

This prefect is not as harmless as it seems. In order to get the salt merchant to dismiss, this kid is willing to deceive himself and is very brave.

However, his original intention should be good. If he could reap the benefits of the salt merchants to the court, it would be a considerable income. He could also take the opportunity to lower the salt price and reduce the cost of buying salt for the people.

During the Wanli period, Yuan Shizhen discussed the price of salt for water merchants, that is, the price of salt transporters purchasing salt. It is said that before the Wanli Principle, "each salt was 570 kilograms, sold to water merchants, and took three taels and two cents straight, which was the price."

But this is just the purchase price of the salt merchant. If the transportation cost, risks, the cost of intermediate resale, the profit of merchants, etc. are included, the retail price of salt in different places, namely the salt price of salt stores and shops, will be different.

During the Jiajing period, Zhu Tingli recorded in the "Salt Administration" that the salt price in Huguang in the early days of Jiajing was three to four cents per kilogram of silver. By the eighth year of Jiajing, "When Huguang and Jiangxi were sold for one cent and five cents per kilogram of silver, and one cent and two cents per kilogram of silver in Nanjing." The price fluctuated greatly.

It is impossible for the people of Yangzhou to be rich and cannot afford to eat salt, but buying salt is indeed an important expense. As for remote people, they can hardly afford to eat salt without buying private salt, so they really cannot afford to eat salt.

Hou Xuanyan stared at Liao Jingqing, which scared him so much that he broke out in a cold sweat. Although he was devoted to serving the country and the people, he was deceiving the prince.

Feeling the bad intentions in Hou Xuanyan's eyes, Liao Jingqing felt a little regretful for a moment. He would have been unwise to do so before he knew about it, and he made clear advice.

"Governing the country is a big thing. Looking at the overall situation, it is most taboo to use your tricks to be clever, otherwise you will lose your grudges. From this point of view, although you are a good official, your vision and mind are not enough to be strong in the temple." As Hou Xuan spoke, Liao Jingqing was no longer afraid, but just lowered his head and was scolded.

"This person is not allowed to be promoted within five years, and he will try to sharpen his personality. He can be very particular about his work, but as a person, he must be generous and powerful. Yangzhou is a talented person. You practice here for five years. After five years, you will come to Jinling to find me. I will see if I have made any progress and then decide whether to use you."

Mrs. Liao in the room stroked her chest, and a big stone finally landed on the ground. Her master told the servants who were cooking not to put salt. She thought she was a banquet for some colleagues, but the emperor's father, the regent. Mrs. Liao was almost scared to death. Now she heard that she had not dealt with her master outside, so she felt relieved.

Her heart was relieved, and Liao Jingqing felt so miserable. She thought she had figured out the temper of the Regent and said it honestly, but who knew it would be exposed.

Hou Xuanyan really knew salt induced too much. When the shipping was blocked by Zheng Zhilong, most of his money came from salt merchants. He killed several salt merchants in Huai'an. The Northern Expedition Army had spent a whole year and still had surplus. How could Hou Xuanyan not study this kind of financial pillar?

To be honest, he didn't hate Liao Jingqing. This official might be a little careful, but what he saw along the way was in line with his motives. Hou Xuanyan believed that this was a capable official with some minor thoughts.

Hou Xuanyan gave him five years to hope that he could make progress, and it is time to deal with the salt-induced problem he raised.

At the beginning, Hou Xuanyan could only acquiesce the hereditary monopoly of the salt merchants, relying on their extraordinary ability to make money to accumulate the army for himself.

Now that the court is rich in finance and is working hard to benefit the people, the salt merchants have become an extremely disharmonious existence.

Some industries are indeed not suitable for private sectors. Hou Xuanyan thinks that this kind of issue that concerns people's livelihood is better in the hands of the court.

"As a salt merchant, it may be more suitable for the imperial court."

"How does the imperial court do business?" Du Yinxi asked frowned. As a traditional official, his concept is still ranked among scholars, farmers, industry and commerce.

"Now factories all over the country are like mushrooms after a rain. Our court can also set up factories, just like an arsenal or a dock. Recruiting people to dry salt, organizing transportation and sales, lowering the price of salt, so that people can eat salt. For example, in the southwest, we can be transported by the court, and the price difference can be smoothed out. Let the people in the southwest buy salt at the same price." Hou Xuanyan talked happily, and Liao Jingqing was ashamed to find that the prince had already planned. If he had a temporary idea, he would definitely not have said it in detail.

Although Li Haoxian didn't understand, he also knew that the prince wanted to remove the hereditary monopoly of the salt merchants. He interrupted: "The salt merchants in the Northern Expedition have made great efforts. If they remove their iron rice bowls, wouldn't it be a bit unkind?"

"They can invest and pay dividends with salt intake!"
Chapter completed!