Since the Sui Dynasty, the canal was built, starting from Youzhou in the north, passing through Luoyang in the south, and ending at Suzhou and Hangzhou in the south. Most of the goods, regardless of the size of the country, were transported by water, but the land was less and less.

The Grand Canal is a major road in the north and south. There are countless ships on the canal every day. Although the Grand Canal has only been built for twenty years, in just twenty years, the canal transport has gradually become a climate.

The canal is thousands of miles long and passes through dozens of prefectures and counties. The northern section is the eastern capital of Luoyang. After passing through Jeju, Yangzhou is the center. Therefore, the most prosperous canal transportation is naturally Luoyang and Yangzhou.

In Yangzhou, boat trips rely on water to make a living, which is the main trunk of canal transportation. With the great prosperity of boat trips, boat trips gathered not only river boats, but also boatmen, and tens of thousands of hard-working porters who traveled to and from all over the country. Therefore, boat trips have a lot of power in Yangzhou, and it is understandable that Xianniang said this.

As for the Salt Gang, that's even more so.

"Since ancient times, the benefits of boiling salt are more important than those in the southeast, while Huainan is the most important."

Huainan was surrounded by sea. Since Liu Bi, the King of Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, had a sea of ​​salt and a salt field was created. With this land in Huainan, King Liu Bi of Wu dared to promote his army to go north and fight against the court, relying on the salt benefits to him.

Huainan Salt Field has been around for thousands of years. Although there are many salt-producing counties in the world, the salt quality is the best and the annual yield is Huainan.

The most important thing in the world is that there is no salt and iron.

Compared with iron, salt is more profitable. The profit of boiling salt may be accumulated ten thousand gold, and the profit may reach ten times. The saying "Wu boils water from the East China Sea to become salt to get rich, and the country can be rich" is by no means false.

At the beginning of the Western Han Dynasty, the national strength was exhausted, so since the Western Han Dynasty, due to the huge profits of salt, most of the salt industry has been in the government to enrich the national treasury. Since the third year of Kaihuang in the Sui Dynasty, the national treasury has been abundant, and the government has released the salt profit to the people, not to use the official business, nor to collect salt courses.

The Tang Dynasty was not long before it was established, and it was difficult for the people to compete for profit, which was not conducive to the stability of the southeast. Therefore, the Tang court followed the old rules of the Sui Dynasty, and did not involve salt affairs. The huge profits of salt trading were all over the hands of salt merchants. The wealth of salt merchants in Huainan was even better than the world, and even to the point where they could determine the stability of the southeast half.

Xianniang said that the Salt Gang was very powerful in Yangzhou, so it was naturally right.

"What Xian Niang said just now, what do you think?" Although Xian Niang was beautiful, Li Ke did not make him confused. After playing the song, Li Ke ordered someone to send Xian Niang back to the boat, and asked Wang Xuance beside him.

Wang Xuance said: "Although I am not from the southerner, I have traveled to the world before I even became an official in my early years. I have heard of the great power of the salt merchants in Yangzhou. The people must eat every day without salt. Salt is the foundation of the southeast. If salt is in chaos, the southeast will be in chaos. If the southeast is in chaos, the world will not be governed. Your Highness will go to Yangzhou and wait for the salt merchants to be careless."

Wang Xuance's words were obscure, but Li Ke still heard what he meant.

Li Ke asked, "According to Mr., is this king who wants me to retreat to those salt merchants?"

Although the salt merchants are not officials, they can determine local stability more than officials. Wang Xuance's meaning is nothing more than tolerant to the salt merchants in Yangzhou, so as not to cause turmoil in Yangzhou.

Wang Xuance replied: "Although Your Highness is now open to Yangzhou, according to Your Majesty's wishes, Your Highness has been in Yangzhou for at most three or five years. Your Highness's heart should be in the world, not the southeast corner, so why do you make trouble in order to compete for a long time?"

In Wang Xuance's view, if Li Ke has the intention to fight for the throne, then it would not be a long-term solution in Yangzhou.

In just a few years, Li Ke would rather try to subdue the salt merchants and compete with them for a shorter period of time. It would be better to have them together. On the one hand, it would ensure the stability of the Southeast and on the other hand, it would also add some power to himself. After all, no matter how strong the salt merchants are, Li Ke is the prince, and they would not dare to be arrogant on the surface.

Wang Xuance's best is the way of being erratic. Li Kezhi is not in Yangzhou. In Wang Xuance's view, the salt merchant naturally had nothing to do with him.

Wang Xuance's words were quite mature, and they were pertinent in terms of weighing interests, but Li Ke had his own thinking.

Li Ke did not agree with Wang Xuance's words, and then asked: "What about the canal transportation? What do you think canal transportation should be?"

The salt cannot be messed up, and the water transportation cannot be messed up. Today is different from the past. Nowadays, the north-south transportation and transfer of goods, such as food, grass, silk, etc., have already weighed both water and land. If the water transportation is messed up, the Jianghuai waterway will be messed up.

The grain and grass in Guanzhong are half of the Jianghuai River. When the Jianghuai River waterway is in chaos, there is even a danger of food loss in Guanzhong. Even Li Ke cannot afford such a consequence.

Wang Xuance thought for a while and said to Li Ke: "The transportation of canal is different from salt. The key to salt is cargo, and the key to canal is people. The transportation of canal canal canal canal ships today, in addition to those ships, more are porters on the docks. Although they are the people in the city, it is very difficult to gather tens of people together. If His Highness wants to deal with them, he should use the profits to defeat them one by one."

There are many boat trips in Yangzhou, dozens of sizes and sizes. When there are more boat trips and more people, the hearts will naturally become uneven. It is naturally not difficult to divide for the benefit of differentiation. Wang Xuance's words coincide with what Li Ke thought.

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Li Ke and Wang Xuance were thinking about the matter in Yangzhou, but on the other side, Xian Niang had already brought her maid back to her flower boat.

"My wife is so close to Li Ke just now, why didn't she take the opportunity to take his life?" Fang Yi returned to his flower boat and saw that Li Ke's boatman had left. Xian Niang's maid suddenly turned dark and asked Xian Niang in confusion.

The fairy lady turned around and looked at the maid, and asked dissatisfiedly: "Are you teaching me how to do things?"

When the maid saw the fairy girl getting angry, she hurriedly explained: "The maid doesn't dare. It's just that Li Ke's father has a grudge against his wife to kill her father. Li Ke is the son of his enemy. Why did the maid spare him just now?"

Xianniang said, "It was Li Shimin who killed my father, not Li Ke, so why bother rushing to kill him?"

Upon hearing this, the maid asked in confusion: "Li Ke is also a member of the Li Tang royal family. Is it not necessary for the wife to die?"

A hint of hatred flashed in the fairy girl's eyes, and she gritted her teeth and said, "It's, of course, I wish I could kill the entire Li family. But if he died now, Li Shimin would be furious. At that time, thoroughly investigate the whole country of Yangzhou and guard the heavy troops. Wouldn't my plan be defeated?"

The maid asked, "Does Madam really believe Zuo Youxian's words?"

Xianniang nodded and said, "The white rainbow penetrates the sun, and the disaster is in the southeast. As soon as the strange phenomenon appears, Li Ke will go south to the south. Isn't this a matter? Zuo Lao is a master of the age, so you should not neglect it."

After hearing Xianniang's words, the maid immediately understood and said to Xianniang: "So did the lady deliberately mention the Caohe and the Salt Gang to Li Ke?"

Xianniang nodded and said, "The Caoyun and the Salt Gang people have always been against me in Yangzhou, but their power is too great, and I can't move them. If I can use Li Ke's hands to deal with them this time, it would be the best."

The maid said, "Does my wife think Li Ke can get rid of the salt gang and the people from the canal transport?"

The fairy smiled, looking like a wise bead was holding it: "Whether Li Ke wins or Li Ke is defeated, when he and the salt gang and the people of the canal transport fight to the death, we will take action to reap profits. At that time, we will only cut off the canal transport and salt supply. The two Huaihe River will be in chaos, and the two Huai River will be in chaos, and our opportunity will come."
Chapter completed!