Chapter 70: Ma Zhou's Memorial

After finishing their discussion, Ma Zhou did not immediately submit a memorial to the throne. Instead, he first organized and refined the points he and Li Tai had agreed upon, especially since the matter concerned how the imperial court levied taxes. Ma Zhou did not dare to be careless in the slightest.

As time passed, because there was insufficient time to transport Jiedi Khan to Chang'an before the Grand Court Assembly, Emperor Taizong issued an imperial decree ordering Jiedi to be detained in Luoyang first. They would wait until Li Jing led his victorious army back before presenting the captives together at the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

Thus, the Grand Court Assembly proceeded as normal. People danced, chanted praises of longevity, and overall, the assembly looked less like a rigorous and solemn meeting and more like a gathering of myriad demons dancing wildly across the imperial hall.

Both Li Tai and Li Crown Prince Li Chengqian attended this Grand Court Assembly. This was the first time the two of them stood together at a court assembly, positioned precisely on the left and the right, standing at the very front of the civil and military officials in their capacities as imperial princes.

The only slight difference was that Li Chengqian stood there by birthright as the Crown Prince.

Meanwhile, Li Tai stood there by virtue of his merits, having successfully resolved the disaster victims' crisis.

Li Tai and Li Chengqian exchanged a glance, though no one could tell if sparks of lightning flashed between their gazes.

Regardless, due to the defeat of the Turks, everyone from Emperor Taizong down to the lowest civil and military officials clearly understood that no matter how poor the harvest might be next year, they at least would not need to worry about being bullied by foreign tribes.

Fang Xuanling, serving as the Left Servant of the Department of State Affairs, delivered a brief summary of the achievements made over the past year and outlined prospects for the new year.

Following that, Emperor Taizong summoned several officials to inquire about the year's results, a routine part of the Grand Court Assembly's proceedings.

For many minor officials who might not even get a single chance to see Emperor Taizong in a year, if they were lucky enough to be summoned by him and answered exceptionally well, they might just experience a meteoric rise and leave the Emperor with a fine impression.

Finally, amidst the chaotic salutations of the assembled officials, the Grand Court Assembly came to an end.

Upon returning to the Prince of Yue's Manor, Li Tai pulled out his brush and began to recall Fang Xuanling's words, for those remarks concerned the future development of the Great Tang.

Standing nearby, Baihe watched Li Tai and could not help saying, "Your Highness, you have just returned from the Grand Court Assembly, why not change out of this ceremonial attire first? Wearing such heavy garments is terribly inconvenient!"

Indeed, what was worn at the Grand Court Assembly could hardly be called ordinary court dress; it was formal ceremonial attire.

It was generally worn only once a year, and a complete set of an imperial prince's ceremonial robes weighed at least a dozen catties, making it quite uncomfortable.

While speaking, Baihe deftly helped Li Tai change, and Li Tai soon slipped into the more comfortable casual wear usually worn within the Prince of Yue's Manor.

Having finished these tasks, Baihe approached Li Tai's desk and quietly began to grind ink, evoking the poetic charm of a red-sleeved companion adding fragrance to one's study.

Watching Baihe grind the ink to perfection, Li Tai asked, "Baihe, would you like to manage external affairs?"

"Could it be that this maid has done something wrong? This maid only wishes to follow the Prince of Yue!" Baihe's expression changed instantly upon hearing Li Tai's words.

"Very well..." Li Tai nodded in understanding and said, "Go and fetch Peacock. I have matters for her!"

"As you command!" Baihe hurriedly agreed and left.

Watching Baihe depart, Li Tai sighed softly. He was somewhat short-handed after all!

Compared to becoming a powerful, authority-wielding career woman, Baihe was better suited to being a meticulous little secretary who could spot omissions and fill gaps by his side.

In truth, Baihe came from a scholarly family background and handled miscellaneous chores around him flawlessly, clearly possessing fine capabilities.

Yet, as a woman of this era, she still instinctively relied on men rather than seizing every opportunity to grasp power.

This left Li Tai quite helpless, for what he truly needed were functional working tools!

"I suppose I can only continue searching for suitable candidates!" Li Tai took a deep breath, shifted his gaze to a sheet of blank white paper, picked up his brush, and began to write, focusing primarily on summarizing Fang Xuanling's outlook and review from the Grand Court Assembly.

"Judging from Chancellor Fang's words today, with the crushing defeat of the Turks and the easing of external pressures on the Great Tang, the state has begun to adjust its governance strategy. At least starting this year, more resources will be devoted internally rather than toward external conquests.

Furthermore, having suffered consecutive disasters over the past few years, the Great Tang is in need of a period of recuperation to restore its national strength.

In other words, the political keynote of the Zhenguan era going forward should be to eliminate extravagance and reduce expenditures, lighten corvée labor and taxation, and select capable and virtuous officials.

Throughout the Zhenguan era, the reason the Great Tang was able to rapidly restore its national strength after enduring consecutive disasters and clashes with the Turks was precisely because of lighter corvée and taxation.

Such a method of non-action in governance is most suitable at the founding of a nation. At least until the Tuyuhun prove short-sighted, the Great Tang will usher in a fairly long period of peace. This point is quite crucial.

However, not just the Great Tang, even I need time to lay my plans and truly bring out the full utility of the agricultural academy!"

Li Tai took a deep breath. "These next few years are exceptionally precious to me as well!"

"Your Highness!" Just as Li Tai was deep in thought, a knock sounded on the door, and Baihe announced, "Peacock has arrived!"

"Let her in," Li Tai replied calmly, and soon Peacock walked into the room.

Meanwhile, Baihe returned to stand behind Li Tai, resuming her task of grinding ink without showing the slightest ripple of emotion at Peacock's arrival.

"Greetings to the Prince of Yue!" Upon seeing Li Tai, Peacock wore a slightly flustered expression and hastily bowed in salute.

Li Tai nodded and said to Peacock, "You have managed the grand shops remarkably well. In a few more days, Binwang should come looking for you. At that time, he will hand over the coal industry into your care. You must prepare yourself!"

"Handed over to me?!" Peacock looked dazed upon hearing this, never expecting she would be put in charge of such an enterprise.

Li Tai continued, "I will provide you with the direction for industrial planning; you only need to execute the plans I lay out!"

"As you command!" Hearing Li Tai's words, Peacock let out a sigh of relief, her confidence instantly restored.

Compared to the court's evaluation of Li Tai merely as a capable official, everyone under his command fully recognized his talent for strategic planning and layout.

At least in their view, the flourishing prosperity of Gaoling as a whole owed a massive debt of gratitude to Li Tai's blueprint.

"Baihe, go fetch the map of Guanzhong!" Li Tai instructed.

"Understood, Your Highness!" Hearing this, Baihe quickly fetched a rolled-up map.

Li Tai took the map and unfolded it. It was a map of Guanzhong, with the most detailed sections being the various tributaries of the Wei River.

Li Tai said to Peacock, "After you take over the coal industry, you must focus your efforts mainly in two directions:

First, taking the Wei River as the lifeline, establish a complete industrial chain system where coal mining and primary processing form the first step, processing coal products in Gaoling forms the second step, and finally transporting all coal products across the entire Guanzhong region via the Wei River."

"If we do that, the cost of coal will become extremely high, won't it? What profit is there for us to make?" Peacock asked with a frown.

"Sometimes geographical location is even more important than the place of mineral origin. Moreover, you must remember that what we are selling is not just coal, but standards!" Li Tai said calmly. "You only need to build this system to perfection."

"Understood!" Although she did not fully understand, Peacock complied nonetheless.

Looking at Peacock, Li Tai continued, "Secondly, establish a laboratory to conduct comprehensive research into the properties of coal.

This research is primarily aimed at accumulating and understanding the fundamental properties of coal, such as burning at higher temperatures, burning for longer periods, and how it can fuse with iron to produce steel, and so on.

Do not fear spending money; pour funds specifically into hiring people to research every single piece of information about coal, regardless of whether it seems useful or not!

This substance is our foundation; we need to know everything about it!"

"This subordinate understands!" Hearing these words, Peacock immediately accepted the task.

At this point, Li Tai seemed to recall something else and added, "When the grand shops enter a stable period, you can gradually let go of them.

They were merely tools used to revitalize Gaoling, and Gaoling no longer needs the grand shops to lay further bricks and tiles.

However, keep a firm grip on the textile business. You can try investing funds into improving machinery to increase weaving efficiency.

Yet, the most important thing is to find ways to secure more raw materials for silk and fabric.

After all, once weaving efficiency is improved, the raw materials you currently control will certainly not be enough!"

"The raw materials for textiles are basically controlled by the aristocratic families of Guandong. Meddling rashly might provoke their misunderstandings!" Peacock said with a bitter smile.

To be frank, in this era without sufficient channels, doing business across prefectures or even circuits was exceedingly difficult.

Even with the Prince of Yue standing behind her, Li Tai's influence did not extend an inch outside of Guanzhong.

As for raw materials, they were invariably monopolized by powerful noble houses. Even if Peacock wanted to intervene, given the intricate local networks of connections, bypassing the noble houses to purchase directly from the common people was virtually impossible.

Li Tai said calmly, "I know. Competing in the same racetrack is extremely difficult, so let us cross boundaries instead!

I developed a substance called Baidiezi, which can also be considered a kind of textile. Baihe even used it to weave a garment for Princess Changle.

Unfortunately, this textile is demanding on water, land, and sunlight; planting it in Guanzhong would occupy too much land meant for food crops.

You can try sending people to Lingzhou, Fengzhou, or Yongzhou along the Yellow River, or to Qinzhou in the upper reaches of the Wei River, to find some land for trial cultivation.

Only when you possess your own raw materials can you truly have a foundation to stand on.

Otherwise, regarding your textile industry, to say nothing of others, even Zheng Fengzhi could easily cut you off!"

Cold sweat broke out across Peacock's back as she listened to Li Tai. She hurriedly said, "This maid will certainly handle this matter properly!"

"Very well! You may withdraw," Li Tai told her. "There is no need to be overly anxious; take your time. We still have time!"

Not daring to say more, Peacock quickly took her leave.

After all, for Peacock, once a direction was found, she certainly possessed the capability to thoroughly execute the task.

Following Peacock's departure, Li Tai sank into deep contemplation.

"It is too demanding on geographical advantages, and trying to plant it in the Chinese heartland competes with food crops. It would be better to cultivate it in Longxi, or even present it to the army as military supplies when we campaign against the Tuyuhun.

Most importantly, once Tuyuhun is subdued, we must plant it in regions like Xinjiang and Qinghai. Tied together by economic interests, the relationship between the borderlands and the Central Plains will grow closer.

By then, even if I do not promote it, I imagine the imperial court will actively do so!

Let us drop this as a stray move for now."

Li Tai took a deep breath. After the An Lushan Rebellion, the Great Tang resolutely abandoned the Western Regions, and a very important reason was that the Western Regions did not yield sufficient benefits.

As long as the value was high enough, Li Tai believed that not to mention the Western Regions originally being Chinese territory, even if they were not, every effort would be made to assimilate them rather than abandoning them at the first sign of trouble.

However, once this crop formed a certain scale and everyone understood its value, the emperor would naturally promote it actively without requiring Li Tai to worry.

Compared to that, coal was different. Although China had begun using coal very early on, it had never truly been valued.

To put it simply, for substances like salt, iron, and tea, once their uses were discovered, taxes were promptly levied and state monopolies established.

Yet as for coal, despite large-scale mining, it was merely regarded as a simple fuel, much like firewood.

Therefore, Li Tai wanted to integrate the entire coal industry as much as possible, driving its development through scale and industrialization.

To be honest, both Emperor Taizong and Fang Xuanling had witnessed Li Tai's actions in consolidating the coal industry.

Yet neither of them cared, because in their eyes, coal was ultimately nothing more than a fuel used for burning things.

It was neither grain nor clothing, serving at best as a material for winter heating, and there was no harm in Li Tai monopolizing it.

Even if some problem arose and coal could not be used, wood could still be used to burn things; there were plenty of alternatives to coal.

Under such circumstances, they simply let Li Tai integrate the coal industry as he pleased.

After all, once Li Tai completed the integration, whenever the court decided to levy coal taxes in the future, they could simply collect it directly from Li Tai.

For those privately operated illegal coal pits, the court couldn't even collect taxes from them anyway!

Following the Grand Court Assembly, peaceful days passed one by one as everyone awaited Li Jing's triumphant return and the presentation of captives at the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

Right at that moment, Ma Zhou's memorial, *On Water Transport*, was submitted to the imperial court, instantly sparking widespread discussion and debate across the court.

Using the Gaoling Wharf as an example, Ma Zhou detailed the abundant profits brought by the flourishing of wharves.

Yet in the process, due to the lack of specific management rules and regulations from the imperial court, shipping and navigation proceeded without restraint, easily facilitating the transportation of contraband, while this circulation simultaneously drove further commercial development.

However, the most crucial point was that water transport itself consumed a massive amount of labor, yet these laborers paid no taxes.

This invisibly weakened the national strength of the imperial court.

Therefore, Ma Zhou argued that taxes needed to be levied on an industry that consumed vast labor while generating wealth.

Such taxation was not intended to suppress the industry, but rather to grant it recognition, much like the imperial court's recognition of farmers.

Because Ma Zhou was considered part of the Prince of Yue's inner circle, his sudden submission of such a memorial sent a ripple of tension throughout the entire court.

Especially those imperial censors who had constantly bitten at Li Tai’s heels; upon seeing this memorial, they fell eerie silent, and everyone's gaze turned toward Li Chengqian.

Feeling the gazes of the crowd, Li Chengqian thought silently to himself, "Why are you all looking at me? I didn't instigate this!"