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"The government also issued an order banning the sale of salt,"
"This batch of goods has fallen into the hands of a scoundrel."
"Even a lowly person wouldn't dare break the law,"
"But I've run out of all the money I had left during this time,"
"My elderly mother is waiting for me to eat at home."
"I heard the officers and soldiers are all here today,"
"That's why I thought of secretly selling some salt,"
"Get some money for my mother to eat."
Ren Liang retorted, "That's utter nonsense!"
“Smuggling salt used to be illegal,”
"And they even said they wouldn't dare break the law."
The man argued, "In times of peace, there are plenty of people selling salt."
"The constables also turn a blind eye,"
"I'm just a nobody trying to make a living,"
"If they crack down hard, I'll still have my mother to take care of me,"
"I would never do such a thing."
Zhao Yuan laughed and asked, "How many days will it take you to sell all your salt?"
The man thought for a moment and said, "Salt sells well."
"The imperial court won't allow sales during this period,"
"The salt in people's homes should have run out by now."
"If the imperial court doesn't arrest him,"
"They sold out in two or three days."
Chapter 1824 The Salt Merchant
Zhao Yuan turned to Ren Liang and said,
"This salt is now all in the hands of my people,"
"Ren Gong, could you perhaps make an exception for a few days?"
"Let them sell this salt,"
"Anyway, this money won't flow to Western Xia."
Ren Liang nodded and said, "I also considered this issue at the time."
"They were allowed to sell for three days before being banned."
"It seems this man has smuggled a lot of salt."
The man protested, "After the magistrate posted the notice..."
"Everyone was scrambling to participate."
"The people were all thinking about fleeing, and nobody wanted to buy more,"
"Even if I wanted to sell, I couldn't."
"Several merchants bought salt, but they drove the price down very low,"
"It's better to scatter them into the river than sell them to them."
Ren Liang said helplessly, "This humble official has no other choice."
"If we let them sell it slowly,"
“Those unscrupulous merchants will then smuggle even more salt from Western Xia.”
Zhao Yuan nodded and said, "It's already quite generous of you, Lord Ren, to allow them to sell for three days."
"I just didn't expect there would be businessmen who were planning to profit from the national crisis."
"They must be planning to resell them at a higher price later,"
"Or transport them to the mainland."
"Have someone investigate which merchants were driving down the price of the salt,"
"The government confiscated everything."
"Distribute it to the people in the city."
Ren Liang hadn't paid attention to the salt collector at first.
Upon hearing King Liang's instructions, he hurriedly replied,
"This humble official has failed in his duty; I beg King Liang to punish me."
Zhao Yuan smiled and said, "Those few days, Lord Ren must have been busy appeasing the people."
"Those merchants didn't affect the common people either,"
"It's normal that Ren Gong didn't notice. What crime has he committed?"
"Ren Gong, what do you think of this man's situation?"
Ren Liang wasn't inflexible, and nodded in agreement.
"After the government posted the notice, no one should go to Western Xia to smuggle salt anymore,"
"We can open it for another three days,"
"Let them sell their stockpiled salt."
"How should this person be punished for offending the Prince of Liang?"
"Please give your instructions, King Liang."
Zhao Yuan also knew that Ren Liang had no intention of punishing this person.
Otherwise, there would be no need to ask him how to punish him.
In full view of the public,
He was also unable to punish this man.
If Ren Liang really wanted to punish this person,
I definitely won't bring this up.
After he leaves, Ren Liang will punish this person.
At that time, people will start to talk about it.
They would only say that Ren Liang killed someone to curry favor with the King of Liang.
King Liang was completely unaware of this matter.
The Way of Being an Official
It means being willing to take the blame for your superiors.
Of course, one cannot take the blame that could be fatal.
This insignificance
But it can also help to appease the boss's scapegoat.
They'll be scrambling to carry it.
Is this person guilty?
Yes, for whatever reason.
Offending the King of Liang is a sin.
Zhao Yuan thought for a moment: "Considering your initial intention was to support your elderly mother,"
"I will pardon you and let you go back."
When the man heard Zhao Yuan say that he was innocent,
He hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Thank you for your great kindness, Prince Liang."
Zhao Yuan laughed and said, "The Great Liang only kneels to its ancestors and parents."
"Get up, sell the salt,"
"Take good care of your elderly mother."
The man kowtowed three times.
Get up and move aside.
Zhao Yuan nodded to the man.
He then spurred his horse and headed towards the government office.
The man watched Zhao Yuan leave.
He couldn't help but excitedly shout, "Long live the King of Liang!"
The people on both sides,
Seeing how much the King of Liang cares for the people,
They all joined in the shouting, their voices echoing throughout the city.
Ren Liang heard the shouts behind him,
This also subtly praises Zhao Yuan's shrewdness.
A sudden event,
However, Zhao Yuan reaped considerable rewards.
After today,
The story of King Liang's love for the people will spread throughout the Northwest.
Zhao Yuan agreed to this matter.
However, it had almost no impact on the overall situation.
The Western Xia launched an invasion with an army of 400,000.
It seems the salt-making workers have all gone to war.
Even though the Western Xia Dynasty was still producing salt...
However, the border troops would certainly be heavily guarded.
Salt merchants were also unable to bring in much salt.
Winning public support over something insignificant
How could such a King Liang be a mere warrior?
Of course, it's also possible that King Liang was simply acting out of love for his people.
If that's the case...
That would be a blessing for all the people of the world.
The people behind them didn't know what had happened.
But hearing the people in front shouting,
Then they all joined in the shouting.
Arrived at the government office,
Only then did I find peace and quiet.
Ren Liang had already prepared a banquet in the side hall.