I am engaged in construction in Datang

Li Shimin asked: "What if someone finds a way to mine their own salt mines instead of mining the salt lake of Tuyuhun?"

"Brother, the salt we pick up for free is cheaper than mining salt mines. Moreover, Tuyuhun has plenty of sunlight. We can build salt fields there and purify the salt. The efficiency will be much higher than it is now. After they purify the salt, they can sell it on the way back, and the caravan's expenses will be covered. When we return to our own territory, all the salt we sell will be pure profit!"

"But, if people all over the world have enough salt, the price of salt will drop, and the imperial tax revenue will be reduced by half. Is this... okay?"

"Brother, I guess the imperial court's annual tax revenue is about 3000 million strings of cash." Li Yin drank tea. This was too poor. It was not as much as what a noble family buried in the ground. "Brother, why don't you guess, what is the net profit of a pound of first-class tea?"

Li Shimin was shocked. The taxation was indeed as his sister-in-law had said. His sister-in-law was amazing.

Li Shimin knew about the grading of tea. The third-grade tea from Liuweizhai cost 500 coins per pound, while the first-grade tea could be sold for two or three strings of coins.

The profit must be at least five hundred coins, right?

"Sister-in-law thought it was eight hundred coins." Empress Chang Sun said. This was the largest number she could think of.

Li Yin smiled but said nothing and continued drinking tea.

First-grade tea is actually a small bud on the tip of the tree, but this kind of tree can be planted in large quantities. The expensive thing about that kind of ungraded special tea is the tree itself.

Seeing that Li Yin didn't say anything, Li Shimin was uncertain: "Could it be one string of money?"

"Brother, tea pickers can pick 4 to 5 kilograms of new tea a day. The price of each kilogram of new tea is 5 cents. 4 to 5 kilograms of new tea can produce one kilogram of tea leaves. The processing cost of each kilogram of tea is almost zero, only the transportation cost." After Li Yin finished speaking, she stopped talking and left Li Shimin to digest it alone.

The wages are not low. Now the wages of women in Chang'an city are only 2 or 30 wen a day, while it is normal for women in other remote areas to earn ten wen a day.

The profit per catty was more than two strings of cash. If he calculated it as two strings of cash, selling 100 catties would mean 200 strings of cash. He knew that the wealthy officials in the court only bought in batches of ten to twenty catties, not to mention the traveling merchants, especially those who went to the Western Regions.

"Sister, if the tea is not sold in limited quantities..."

"Brother, we don't have that many tea trees!" Li Yin was helpless. The productivity was not good. Not only tea trees, but she also wanted to sell sugar, but there was not enough sugarcane: "If we sell without limit, the profit from tea alone can be tens of thousands of strings of cash. If we take 50% of the tax, it will be tens of thousands of strings of cash."

Wanguan is indeed insignificant among 3000 million guan, but, it's just a tea!

Li Shimin could no longer see the hot pot, but only a string of copper coins. Empress Changsun was cooking vegetables on the side, and he ate whatever she fed him.

"Brother, the profit from tea is not high." Li Yin said. She had not yet started selling soaps, ointments, perfumes, glassware, mirrors, jacquard silk, and other things in large quantities, and some of them had not been made in time. "There are other highly profitable things. I plan to sell them to foreign barbarians so that the court does not have to rely on salt taxes."

For example, they were sold to Turks, Tubo, and Tianzhu...

"Sister, if everyone goes to plant tea trees, then grain production will decrease, grain prices will rise, and people will have nothing to eat. What should we do?" Li Shimin was still worried. The control of salt and iron was not just a matter of taxation. The two could also regulate the production of crops.

"Making wine consumes grain. My little sister has a recipe for making fine wine that is dozens of times more delicious than today's wine. Banning alcohol is not feasible. It is better to cooperate with wine merchants. Only wine shops that have obtained imperial seals can make wine. We provide the recipes and technology, and they produce. Wine has huge profits and is a luxury product, so the tax is different from other commodities. Wine shops pay taxes, half in silver and half in new grain. When the imperial court has more grain and grain is expensive on the market, we will release grain. When grain is cheap, we will buy it at a high price."

Li Yin continued, "In this case, the wine shops must find a way to ensure that there is enough food. They will certainly send people to vigorously open up wasteland, otherwise they will not be able to pay the grain tax. In addition, when foreign merchants come to our Tang Dynasty to buy luxury goods, such as soap, silk, ceramics, tea, etc., they must first pay grain to obtain the purchasing qualification, and then they can use grain, horses, cattle, sheep, gold, silver, and crop seeds to exchange for items. Different breeds of pigs and spices are also required. Other things are not accepted. The jewelry, night pearls, corals, etc. in their hands can be obtained by Zhuangzi, but the value is not high, the acquisition channels are complicated, and the profit is low."

At this time, the west was in chaos and the Arabs were aggressive. They later established a huge Islamic empire.

As long as she provides some church-related things, she won't be afraid that people over there won't pay.

As for the Turks and Tubo, if they want tea, wine and food, they will exchange them with cattle, sheep and horses, and nothing else will be accepted!

"Brother, you don't have to worry about the enemy army getting a lot of salt. Salt alone is not enough for a war." Li Yin asked the villagers to bring a few large boxes, one of which was filled with soap. "Brother, do you remember what I said, soap can kill bacteria?"

He opened the others and found rock sugar, alcohol, meat floss, and matches. "Brother, alcohol disinfects and kills bacteria, soap prevents disease, rock sugar replenishes strength, meat floss improves food, and matches are convenient for making fire. These workshops are working overtime to produce them, and they are not sold! The lives of the soldiers are more important than victory."

"Sister... for your brother..."

After calming down, Li Shimin took a deep breath and said, "Sister, this way, salt can be produced vigorously."

Li Shimin listened to Li Yin's words. He was not in a hurry to fight. He wanted to raise his people first. When the army became strong, would he still need to sacrifice his life?

"From now on, every business transaction in the farm will have to be managed by my brother, and it will be 20% and 80% as before." Li Yin calculated that when cooperating with wealthy families in the future, the profits would be taxed first, and the remaining net profit would be split 50% and 50% respectively. The 50% that belonged to the farm would be split 20% and 80% with his brother.

She is only responsible for providing technology, and she gets 10% of the profits. Is there anything better than this?

"Sister, is the paper used to make candied haws going to be mass-produced?" Li Shimin finally remembered the purpose of his visit today.

"It's tiring to cooperate with the paper-selling company instead of working alone." Li Yin knew very well that the village was small and it was not a good idea to hold everything in one's hands. The people would not benefit from it. If they distributed the money, the village would make money and the people would also benefit.

"Then go ahead and do your job without worry, sister. I'll take care of everything." Li Shimin said. He gets 40% of the net profit and doesn't have to worry about anything. The partner will be responsible for the manpower and other things. He feels relieved!

They smiled at each other and toasted.

After the meal, Li Shimin and others prepared their horses to leave. Xincheng and Sizi were still in the palace, as was a seven-year-old little clingy kid. These three needed to be left alone, and Empress Changsun was worried.

On the carriage.

Li Shimin's eyes were red and his expression was conflicted.

After discussing politics around the fire with his sister, he wanted to laugh out loud.

But after hearing his sister's instructions after dinner, he felt a little sad again. He looked at Empress Changsun with resentment.

Empress Changsun pursed her lips and smiled secretly.