amaotonovel Chapter 833 Is the imperial court too lenient towards the gentry and merchants?
Chapter 833 Is the imperial court too lenient towards the gentry and merchants?
Zhu Biao genuinely didn't want Li Shanchang to witness firsthand what it meant to cook someone alive.
After all, it was a scene of people being cooked on the spot, which was extremely gruesome even to watch from a distance with binoculars. Moreover, Li Shanchang was already over sixty years old. If he were to witness such a horrific scene of people being cooked, what if he couldn't bear it? Who would then be left to handle the mess in the court?
Zhu Biao's advice, however, did not have a positive effect; instead, it aroused Li Shanchang's competitive spirit.
Li Shanchang took a few steps forward, walked to Yang Shaofeng's side, snatched the binoculars from Yang Shaofeng's hand, and snorted, "I'd like to see what the Prince Consort is up to."
"Oh, Japanese pirates."
"Are those Japanese pirates surrounded by envoys and merchants from other vassal states?"
"What are those short, scrawny guys scooping out of the pot?"
"people?!"
After figuring out what was going on with the short, stocky creatures on the beach, Li Shanchang put down his binoculars, unconsciously twitched his nose, and said, "They're a bit far away, otherwise we could smell the meat."
Yang Shaofeng unconsciously swallowed, suppressing the urge to vomit, and exchanged a glance with Zhu Biao.
This guy is a complete idiot.
Not to be offended.
Li Shanchang glanced at Yang Shaofeng and Zhu Biao, and sneered, "Back then, I also fought alongside the emperor to conquer the world. I've seen countless dead people on the battlefield, and I've seen many who died even more tragically than this. Do you expect me to vomit sour water for something as trivial as cooking people?"
Is it merely cooking people?
In a split second, Yang Shaofeng decided to follow his heart.
"Those short, ugly men were Japanese pirates sent by Kanamero from Japan."
Yang Shaofeng chuckled twice and said, "I told the Japanese envoy to handle it himself, but I never expected them to choose such a cruel and inhumane method."
Li Shanchang glanced directly at Yang Shaofeng.
So he's calling himself his nephew?
It's no longer the time to use "this official" or "this subordinate" all the time.
Tsk.
I'm actually not quite used to it.
While secretly cursing in his heart, Li Shanchang said, "The Japanese have always been human in appearance but beast in heart, so it is not surprising that they have committed such evil deeds."
Yang Shaofeng chuckled twice more, and Li Shanchang continued to ask, "And what about those envoys and merchants from vassal states?"
Before Yang Shaofeng could answer, Zhu Biao interjected, "Those envoys and merchants, my brother-in-law said they haven't been behaving themselves lately and need to be taught a lesson, so he sent them to see what happens to the Japanese pirates."
Yang Shaofeng was furious.
You black sesame dumpling! It was a decision we both made together to crack down on the vassal merchants, but now you're trying to shift the blame onto me.
Li Shanchang glanced at Zhu Biao almost imperceptibly, then stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "The foreign merchants certainly need to be taught a lesson, but the Prince Consort's slap was loud enough. I wonder if the dates prepared for them are sweet enough?"
Yang Shaofeng laughed immediately: "Of course, it'll be sweet."
"The price of a warhorse has increased from ten taels of silver to twelve taels, a rise of 20%."
"Moreover, there is no limit to the price of high-quality warhorses. I plan to select a few outstanding ones, and I can even offer a thousand taels of silver for each exceptionally good warhorse."
"In addition, controls on items such as swords and bows and arrows will be gradually relaxed, allowing them to purchase them in large quantities."
"And for glass products, we'll increase production this time and then lower the price for them next time."
"In short, these dates are sweet and not sour at all."
Li Shanchang glanced directly at Yang Shaofeng.
The phrase "warhorse, ten taels of silver" together creates a strangely beautiful effect.
Moreover, what they received were warhorses, and what they gave away were precious banknotes.
To put it bluntly, that piece of paper money was something the Ming Dynasty acknowledged as money, but otherwise considered worthless. It was so rough that it might not even be suitable for wiping your butt.
wrong.
What good would it do to buy warhorses with real money?
He dared to sell a white porcelain plate for several taels of silver at the Dengzhou market. Even if the price of warhorses were higher and he paid real silver, the end result would only be firing two more kilns.
As for relaxing controls on swords and bows, that's just pure nonsense to fool idiots.
It's fortunate that I know the inside story, otherwise I would have been fooled by you, Yang the Madman!
You think I don't know?
While inwardly complaining, Li Shanchang looked at Yang Shaofeng and asked, "Has the drilling machine at Dengzhou University increased its output?"
Yang Shaofeng chuckled dryly once again and said, "Prime Minister Li has such keen insight that nothing can be hidden from him."
Zhu Biao glanced at Yang Shaofeng sideways.
That's a bit too much.
You've never treated my dad or me like this!
Li Shanchang stroked his beard and smiled, then asked, "What about glass products? Is it because there are too many workshops that they are mostly sold to foreign merchants?"
Ok?
Why does Old Wolf single out glass?
Seeing Yang Shaofeng's bewildered expression, Li Shanchang snorted and said, "Does the Prince Consort know how much a set of glass teaware from the South costs?"
"Fifty strings of cash, please!"
"But do you know what I saw in the home of an ordinary family in Laiyang?"
"Glass teaware!"
"Shouldn't Your Highness explain to this old man why there's such a big price difference between the North and the South?"
As Li Shanchang finished speaking, Yang Shaofeng was completely stunned.
No.
You old wolf, do you want to hear what you're saying?
The glass workshops in the south were neither built nor operated by me. Glass teaware in the south is expensive. Go find the merchants in the south. Why are you asking me?
Yang Shaofeng was displeased and couldn't help but roll his eyes, saying sarcastically, "Isn't it because you, Prime Minister Li, have been too lenient with the gentry, merchants, and workshop owners, allowing them to reap huge profits and plunder the people?"
As soon as Yang Shaofeng finished speaking, Zhu Biao's heart skipped a beat, and he thought to himself, "Oh no!"
Many people dare to confront Li Shanchang, but no one dares to confront him directly like my brother-in-law, especially in a sarcastic and mocking way!
Even Yang Xian, who had a grudge against Li Shanchang and was determined to bring him down, never dared to speak sarcastically to Li Shanchang's face.
My brother-in-law is so brave!
Li Shanchang was stunned by Yang Shaofeng's words.
Yang Shaofeng's statement doesn't seem to make any mistakes.
The glass products in the market are all supplied by glass workshops in Shandong, and the price is entirely up to Yang the Madman.
Glass products in the south are mostly produced in glass workshops in the south, and the prices are determined by the merchants in the south themselves.
After all, the border markets had no control over the pricing of private merchants, and the prefect of Dengzhou had no control over the merchants of Zhili.
So, it is true that the imperial court was too lenient towards the gentry and merchants in the south?