In fact, even if Li Xiang didn't say anything, Mr. Cui Sanye and Cui Yuncheng had made up their minds that they had to find a place to keep Cui Yunzhu. At least they couldn't let him out for the next few days. This guy was a talker and had a very good relationship with his father-in-law's family. So if Li Xiang wanted to watch this guy, it would save them both a lot of trouble.
"Second Uncle... Yuncheng..."
Cui Yunzhu wanted to catch up, but two black-armored warriors stood in front of him. This guy was usually quite skilled in martial arts, but the pressure brought to him by these two black-armored warriors made him realize immediately that he was no match for them.
"Since Lord Cui is here, please stay a few more days with me. Although this is just a farm, the master bedroom is very luxurious. Whether it's food, drink, or even the most beautiful girls, I can find them for you. Just relax for a few days and ask for leave from the government office."
Li Xiang said with a smile, "Even your family agrees. How could you possibly rebel?" Furthermore, the farm is heavily guarded. They're using slaves and prisoners of war to prevent them from escaping. They plan to escape every month, but so far no one has managed to escape. Can you be more formidable than them?
"In that case, please excuse me, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Cui Yunzhu has been in the officialdom for so many years. Seeing that he cannot change anything, he can only stay there honestly.
In fact, he stayed in this place to explain to his wife. If he didn't stay here, the couple would probably become enemies in the future. Now he only knew that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had detained him. If his wife pursued the matter, could he still run to the East Palace to find Li Xiang?
"We're all friends, how can this be considered a big deal? Listen up, everyone. Take good care of Master Cui these next two days. If Master Cui loses even a hair, I'll tear you all into pieces. No matter what Master Cui asks for, we must satisfy it if we can, and we'll find a way to satisfy it if we can't..."
Li Xiang gave instructions to his men, and they all listened obediently. If Cui Yunzhu had heard these words normally, he might have been happy in his heart, but now the smile on his face was uglier than crying.
After finishing this matter, Li Xiang was in a very good mood, but on the way back, Li Xiang had been thinking about a problem. According to the original plan, if he attacked the price of salt and lowered the price of salt, then all the major families would suffer.
In itself, this is nothing, and this is also the plan made before, but now no one knows what Li Xiang is thinking in his mind, and his eyes drift across the imperial city in the north intentionally or unintentionally.
Should he obey the emperor or seek personal gain?
If they listened to the emperor, then this matter would be relatively simple. They could just take over the Cui family's salt and arrange for large quantities of refined salt to be shipped. The cost of salt production for each household was there, and Li Xiang's salt was much better quality than theirs, so they could only offer a lower price than Li Xiang.
Of course, we must learn a lesson this time. We cannot put our salt on the market so easily. We should create public opinion across the country so that most people know the price of our salt.
There is better salt at a lower price, so the major families will definitely not be able to sell the salt.
This would force them to lower their prices, and they might even end up spending more than they earn. They had already invested a lot of money in the salt permit auction, and now they couldn't even get their money back. The emperor's attack had really hit them in the weakest spot.
If the emperor and I are a family, then there is nothing wrong with this action and I have to do it. But the emperor is often causing trouble for me now, which makes me feel helpless. Take this crown prince for example, I fought for it myself.
Li Xiang also had another idea in his mind, which was to use this opportunity to negotiate with the major families and ask them to take out a large part of their assets. We will pretend that the salt incident never happened, and you can do whatever you want. Although this blow is a bit harsh, at least it will not make them disappear into ashes.
With the major families restraining Li Shimin, Li Shimin will not cause trouble for us. We still have to devote a certain amount of energy to keeping an eye on the major families. But if we strike the major families so hard that they can't raise their heads, Li Shimin's attention may turn to us.
Looking at the entire history of the Zhenguan period, at the beginning it was Li Chengqian and Li Tai fighting, and later it was Li Tai and Li Ke fighting. If it weren't for Li Shimin's instigation, the brothers might not have ended up like this.
"Your Highness, this is Miss Changsun's carriage."
When Li Xiang was thinking about the problem, he suddenly heard the report from his subordinates. It turned out to be his cousin's mother's carriage.
Changsun Pingting gave Li Xiang a lot of help in the early days of his business, and has always cared about Li Xiang very much, so Li Xiang has to give her the necessary respect. Even though he is now the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, Li Xiang still bends down obediently, dismounts, and then pays respect to Changsun Pingting.
"Where are you going? You're sweating all over! Get in the car. I want to go to the East Palace too..."
While speaking, Changsun Pingting took out her handkerchief and wiped Li Xiang's sweat. She was truly a qualified aunt.
Speaking of it, the fate of Miss Changsun is really bumpy. Logically, her father is Changsun Wuji, who is powerful in the court. Her husband's family should also be a first-class family. Unfortunately, her husband had just passed away when she was engaged, so she had to cancel the engagement.
I am the eldest daughter of the Changsun family, but because of this incident, no dignitaries in Chang'an City came to propose marriage to me, and Changsun Wuji was unwilling to arrange a small bureaucrat for his daughter, so this matter was delayed.
"Did my aunt go to the East Palace to look for me?"
Usually, Changsun Pingting does not go to the Eastern Palace, mainly because she and Li Chengqian do not get along well. Although they are cousins who grew up together, their ways of doing things are completely different, so their personal relationship is not good.
"Of course I'm going to find you. I heard that you weren't doing very well with the salt business, and I was worried that you might be feeling depressed, so I planned to find a chance to take you to see Miss Cheng."
After hearing about the affairs of the major families, Changsun Pingting was worried that Li Xiang would not be able to get over this hurdle. After all, young people are full of vigor, and the arrangements have been made for so long. If Li Xiang is tricked by the major families, his mood will inevitably be hurt. So she wanted to take this opportunity to take Li Xiang for a walk outside the city and have a chance encounter with Cheng Luan.