The Prodigal Son of Zhenguan

"Mr. Pei, please sit down." Li Shimin gestured to Pei Ji to sit on the stone bench opposite him.

"Ah." Pei Ji nodded in response, and cautiously came to the opposite side of Li Shimin and sat down.

"I have been waiting for Mr. Pei for a long time." Li Shimin said, "I have also been looking at the scenery outside for a long time."

"It is the guilty minister who made Your Majesty wait for a long time."

Li Shimin smiled and shook his head.

"Although the scenery is beautiful, it lacks some human feelings, which makes people feel unhappy. I wonder if Mr. Pei also feels this way." Li Shimin had a faint smile on his face.

Pei Ji has been in the court for many years. When he was exiled, no former colleague came to see him off. How can it not make people feel disappointed?

In the past, the Pei family mansion was also crowded with people.

Now the monkeys scatter when the tree falls. The tea has gone cold before the people have left.

Pei Ji smiled with his head down.

"It's human nature to seek benefits and avoid harm. There are not many people in this world who can restrain their instincts." Pei Ji responded calmly.

"Mr. Pei's father was from the Pei family in Hedong." Li Shimin said calmly: "When it comes to Mr. Pei's generation, he was born in Puzhou, so his hometown became Puzhou, right?"

"That's right." Pei Ji said: "Therefore, even if the old minister falls to this point, the Hedong Pei family will not show up. Your Majesty can rest assured about this."

"I have nothing to worry about. As long as the ministers in the court are for the sake of the Tang Dynasty, I am assured." Li Shimin smiled: "I remember that Mr. Pei's hometown, Puzhou, Fenzhou Prefecture, is a salt-producing area."

There are 18 salt ponds in the Tang Dynasty, and the main salt-producing areas are two ponds, Puzhou Salt Pond and Hedong Salt Pond.

These two places are related to the Pei family.

When Pei Ji heard Li Shimin talking about the salt pond, he understood. It turned out to be because of this.

The Hundred Cavalry Division searched the underground secret room of the Pei family mansion. They must have sent all the letters and account books in it to the palace. Your Majesty has already seen it.

The most profitable business of the Pei family does not rely on the family's fragmented industries or the several farms under their control.

It is the salt pond in Puzhou.

Your Majesty wants to take back the right to operate salt and iron, which cannot be avoided by the Pei family.

Even the iron mines that were originally awarded to the Changsun family have been taken back.

It was Changsun Wuji who took the initiative to send it back. As for what happened here, whether Changsun Wuji was willing to take the initiative to send it back, it is unknown.

Your Majesty's meaning is very clear, that is, the court should operate salt and iron, and the interests originally in the hands of the aristocratic families should be gradually taken back by the court.

However, if the court forcibly takes it back, it is likely to make a big deal and make the court unstable.

This time, the Pei family has been caught in a trap.

Pei Ji sat on a stone bench, thinking about it.

He did not expect that this incident would lead to the court's plan to take back the salt and iron business rights.

Is it possible that His Majesty has been eyeing the Pei family for a long time, not just starting this year?

As a result, two things this year directly made His Majesty kill the Pei family...

Pei Ji was thinking a lot.

It is a disaster, and it is inevitable.

"Yes, my hometown does produce salt." Pei Ji could only respond.

"Yes." Li Shimin nodded: "The Pei family is in Puzhou, and they also have a salt industry."

"Yes." Pei Ji continued to respond: "I have also heard that the court wants to take back the salt and iron business rights."

"What do you think of this, Mr. Pei?" Li Shimin asked.

"From the perspective of the court, it is good for the court, but it is not friendly to the noble families. This is the most important part of the interests of the noble families. If the court wants to take back the power just like this, it is tantamount to digging up their roots."

The noble families with bells and drums want to maintain themselves, not just by letting the children of the family study and become officials.

Even studying and becoming an official requires money.

Not to mention the hundreds of servants in the house, and maintaining their own lives, all require money, and huge amounts of money.

The noble families live together in clans, and there are very few people like Pei Ji who are separated from the Hedong Pei family.

Living together in clans, an entire noble family, just the clan members, at least there are hundreds.

How many slaves do hundreds of masters need to serve?

How much is the daily expenditure to maintain such a family?

The noble families have accumulated foundations, and their wealth is still growing.

What do they rely on?

The industries under his control, land, manors, shops, and various businesses.

But the most profitable one is the salt industry.

Because this is something that everyone cannot do without, a necessity, it must have huge profits.

"If your majesty forces this, the court will be in turmoil and the situation in the Tang Dynasty will be unstable." Pei Ji said the truth.

Li Shimin nodded seriously.

"PeiYou are right, sir." Li Shimin smiled, as if this problem did not give him much of a headache.

Now he has a list in his hand, which is also divided according to the letters found in Pei Ji's home.

The families behind these people all hold salt and iron businesses.

"Your Majesty." Pei Ji got up from the stone bench and knelt in front of Li Shimin: "I am willing to hand over the salt pond iron mine operated by my family, and beg for God's grace to spare my son's lawyer's life."

"I ordered the Hundred Cavalry Division to search the Pei family. Do you think it is just a Pei family mansion?" Li Shimin's cold words directly pierced Pei Ji's heart.

"Pei Gong, I have left room for you. Lawyer Pei is your son, but you have other sons. I only dismissed you from your official position, but I still keep your title for you. "Li Shimin said calmly, "You are still the Duke of Wei. A hundred years after you die, I will allow your son to inherit your title."

"I did not kill all of your Pei family."

Pei Ji knelt on the ground.

"Mr. Pei, you and I never thought that we would come to this day. We used to have a relationship. In the chaotic times at the end of the Sui Dynasty, I planned to raise an army, but I didn't dare to tell my father directly at that time. I had to speak through Mr. Pei."

"Does Mr. Pei still remember Gao Binlian, the magistrate of Longshan County?"

Pei Ji raised his head, nodded and said, "I remember that when I was in Taiyuan, Gao Binlian gambled with me and lost a million yuan to me. Gao Binlian was your man."

Li Shimin smiled, as if he was also thinking back to the past.

"In that situation, only Mr. Pei could persuade the emperor to make up his mind. "

"The emperor had no way to retreat at the beginning. After all, the palace maids of Jinyang Palace were already serving the emperor. If the matter was leaked, it would be a capital crime." Pei Ji's face also showed some reminiscence.

"Mr. Pei has the merit of following the dragon. When the uprising started, he offered food, armor, and weapons." Li Shimin said slowly: "These, whether it is the emperor or I, we still remember."