How could Li Yunxing not know the impact of the alcohol prohibition?

Countless kings throughout the ages have tried to implement the "alcohol ban", and there are also countless implementers of this system: Dayu, Liu Bei, Emperor Wu of the Han... They all tried to promulgate their laws to all parts of the world in order to achieve the goal.

The purpose of repealing Prohibition.

In the end, they all ended in failure.

Fundamentally, there are two reasons.

First, the supervision of alcohol prohibition requires huge labor costs. From high-ranking officials to civilians, to implement a comprehensive ban on alcohol requires a large amount of manpower, material and financial resources, but the original intention of alcohol prohibition is lost.

The second reason is because wine seems to be just for entertainment, but if you really want to talk about it, it is more valuable than gold, silver and jewelry.

Just like in some areas now, many businesses even use wine directly as currency!

This has also led to the prosperity of wine culture, and the breadth of the interest chain involved behind it is beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

And if there is not enough deterrence, how can we deter those local snakes?

As a result, most of the prohibition laws were put on hold as soon as they were implemented because the opposition was too strong.

"Your Highness, the issue of prohibition on alcohol is very involved. I think you need to think twice before implementing it."

"At that time, some neutral ministers in the court will be given a push to make them stand with Liu Zaifu. His Highness, the gain will outweigh the loss."

Li Yunxing nodded and did not deny Lian Zhan's statement.

"Nowadays, most of the people in Wu Dynasty make their own wine. If we can make a breakthrough in wine, we will definitely gain a lot." Lian Zhan continued.

Although Lian Zhan did not say this explicitly, it already hinted to Li Yunxing that if he wanted to promote the prohibition of alcohol, if he relied on force to suppress it, it might cause backlash.

But if the government can provide better wine-making technology and change the wine-making process to be exclusively for the government, the root cause of the problem may be solved.

After all, wine is something only the rich can enjoy.

"You have reminded me." Li Yunxing smiled.

Lian Zhan was slightly relieved when he saw this.

The wine consumed by the Wu Dynasty today is mostly crude wine, which is expensive but has extremely low yield and uneven quality.

The main reason is that the method of making "jiuqu" in the Wu Dynasty has not yet been formed. Although millet, millet, beam, and rice can all be used to make wine, the wines brewed from different grains are very different.

If improvements can be made to the koji, it will not only affect the taste, but also increase the value.

"It is said that a drop of this fragrant wine is worth a fortune in the eyes of the government. From my perspective, this is indeed the case."

"If the brewing is changed to a government-run operation, the quantity of wine can be controlled, and the court can collect part of the tax from it."

"Those businessmen seek profit and avoid disadvantage. If the wine tax is too high, they will naturally reduce the quantity of wine. In this way, it can be regarded as a disguised ban on alcohol."

"The most important thing is that these wine taxes are actually plundering the wealth of the rich."

Li Yunxing smiled, and after saying this, he looked at Lian Zhan: "What do you think?"

"Your Highness is wise." Lian Zhan said respectfully.

He knew Li Yunxing's intentions in his heart.

It is necessary to break the old system while maintaining the new rules. This kind of thing cannot be accomplished in a day or two.

Li Yunxing wanted to implement an alcohol prohibition in the short term. The best way was to make alcohol the same as salt and iron, and change it to a government-run order and prohibit private sales.

"Just Your Highness, what does this wool mean?"

"Hahaha." Li Yunxing laughed loudly and said: "Gather wool to earn military expenses."

Lian Zhan nodded as if he understood. The prince's occasional words really made him confused.

"I will leave this matter to Yang Tinghe later. He comes from a business background and must have his own ideas on how to handle this kind of matter."

"Don't you leave this matter to the young master?"

"Young Master is a mixed bag. I can't catch even Ning Hanyu now. He's as slippery as a loach."

"If this matter is handed over to the young government, it will be a small matter for them to extract profits and water from it, but it will be a big deal if they act in a shady manner and cause public complaints."

"I will not entrust important matters to him before I find out the inside story of the young master."

Lian Zhan nodded, what Li Yunxing said did make sense.

The Shaofu was the largest court institution in the Wu Dynasty and had the widest scope, and the jurisdiction of the Shaofu was not in the hands of the royal family.

The Shaofu was nominally under the direct control of the royal family, but in fact it was divided among several aristocratic families, and each family was responsible for annual salary, land rent, food and salary and other expenditures.

For example, Ning Hanyu mentioned by Li Yunxing before.

He seems to be just a low-ranking trade supervisor, but the Ning family is also a well-known wealthy businessman in the capital.

It is true that businessmen are not allowed to engage in politics, so Ning Hanyu was trained to be an authority.

Nowadays, he is also a famous figure in the capital, and even Li Yunxing can do nothing about him.

If it weren't for Li Yunxing's special status, he might not even be able to touch the door of the Ning family.

"The next thing is that I came to see General Lian today about how to transport food back to the capital."

"Your Highness, are you talking about the batch of grain seized from the grain merchant Shen Wanguan?"

Li Yunxing nodded, "That's right."

"For the food and grass in Yizhou, I have sent Censor Jiangshan of Xiuyi to lead people there. It will take about half a month to return to the capital."

Lian Zhan thought for a moment, "Yizhou is remote, but its hinterland has beautiful mountains and clear waters and is known as the land of abundance. Gong Yekang is also a slippery man. These grains and grass must be able to be safely sent back to the capital."

"Yes. Even if Gong Yekang had other intentions, he would not do it so blatantly."

The issue of grain and grass is of great importance. This mere 300,000 shi of grain is not enough to make Gong Yekang turn against the imperial court.

"Then His Highness the Crown Prince is worried about Yangzhou?" Lian Zhan suddenly frowned.

"That's right." Li Yunxing nodded, "Yangzhou is far away from us, and the granary is also quite secretive, so there is no guarantee that thieves will covet it."

Lian Zhan was silent after hearing this. This is indeed a problem.

Li Yunxing added: "Shen Wanguan stored grain and grass in Danyang County on the bank of the Yangtze River. If we take the land route, it may take nearly 2 months to send it from Danyang to the capital Chang'an."

"But if we take the water route, we have to transport the grain and grass to the counties along the Yellow River first. The two thousand miles behind the Yellow River are under Qin Zhongyi's jurisdiction. This is also very dangerous."

This is what Li Yunxing is worried about. It seems that this batch of grain and grass in Yangzhou has wolves in front and tigers in back.

Previously, Li Yunxing sent someone to deliver Qin Sheng's body to the Northeast Camp, but Qin Zhongyi remained silent.

It has not been reported to the court, and there has been no movement.

It was precisely because of this that Li Yunxing felt that the other party was secretly planning a bigger conspiracy.
Chapter completed!