Chapter 665: Early July

Early July, the scorching summer was drawing to a close, and autumn was arriving with the passage of time.

Arriving even earlier were the cool breezes of early morning and evening.

At this moment, inside the Minister of Revenue's hall.

Just off duty, Chen Yan leaned back in his chair, cradling a ledger in his hands and studying it carefully.

Beside him, Kang Chong, who had officially become Minister of Works, sat quietly waiting.

In recent months, since Chen Yan retrieved the fine salt from Li Shimin and, with Li Shimin's permission, coordinated the ministries—especially the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue—to launch a full‑scale mining of salt deposits and produce fine salt.

Moreover, Chen Yan did not plan to open his own shop; instead, he directly used the Government channels that had gradually taken hold throughout the Tang Dynasty and in every prefecture and county to sell the salt.

The result was unsurprising: with an extremely low price and the dual endorsement of the Government and Money Shops, fine salt, once released, was immediately coveted by the people of the Tang Dynasty.

The profit from the first batch of fine salt had already emerged.

Chen Yan stared at the figure on the back of the ledger—1,420,000 strings—and frowned.

Honestly, the number was a bit beyond his expectation, because it represented the total profit after deducting all labor, transportation, manufacturing, and other costs.

From the full rollout of fine salt to now—just a single month—yielding over a million strings of profit, it seemed off in every respect.

"Sir, are you dissatisfied with this profit?"

Kang Chong noticed Chen Yan frowning slightly as he turned to the last page, and therefore asked.

Chen Yan shook his head: "It's not dissatisfaction; it's just a bit beyond my expectation."

"Given the amount of fine salt we released this month, I wouldn't be surprised if selling it all fetched over two million strings in profit."

"Only..." he said, tapping the numbers in the ledger, "look at these figures; we allocated fine salt based on the population of each prefecture and county."

"Logically, the amount we gave should have been enough for each prefecture and county to sell for two months, enough for everyone locally to eat for two months."

"But now, in just a single month, the fine salt we allocated to each prefecture and county is almost sold out."

"You say... were these salts bought by the common folk or by merchants?"

Kang Chong murmured, "Sir, you mean... someone is trying to profit by reselling fine salt?"

Chen Yan replied lightly, "Within the Tang Dynasty, arbitraging fine salt can't make money; after all, we've fixed its price and even publicized it through the Great Tang Daily, so the price of fine salt is uniform across the entire Tang Dynasty and known to all."

"With such a massive amount of fine salt being bought, besides foreign merchants, there are probably also our own Tang merchants operating abroad."

"Of course, we can't rule out that some common folk, fearing future shortages, have hoarded a bit."

"In short, this profit is definitely wrong; if the Ministry of Works keeps releasing newly produced fine salt and next month it's sold out again, the prefectures and counties below will press your ministry for restocks."

"Then, we can basically confirm that someone intends to resell fine salt to foreign realms."

Kang Chong pondered for a moment and said, "Sir, why don't we set regulations on this?"

"Limit each household or family to purchasing only a certain amount of fine salt per month. That way, we can ensure the people have enough to eat while preventing the salt from flowing outward."

"Additionally, it would keep the ledger profit stable, avoiding month‑to‑month spikes; what do you think?"

"Not at all," Chen Yan rejected Kang Chong's suggestion.

The latter was startled and asked, "Sir, why is that?"

Chen Yan retorted, "Let me ask you: does the Tang Dynasty still lack salt now?"

Kang Chong replied immediately, "Of course not!"

"Having mastered your salt‑making method, theoretically the Tang Dynasty will never lack salt again."

"If the Government doesn't raise prices or impose a salt tax, the people everywhere will be able to afford salt."

"Since salt isn't lacking, why block its circulation outward?" Chen Yan asked again.

Kang Chong was suddenly at a loss for words.

Upon reflection, it did seem logical.

In the past, not to mention these salts as white as snow and as fine as sand, even coarse white salt was a top tribute from various nations—a luxury among luxuries.

Now, the advent of the salt‑making method has completely shattered that situation.

It not only ends salt scarcity in the Tang Dynasty but also turns former luxuries into commonplace items.

However, for now this phenomenon is limited to the Tang Dynasty.

In foreign realms, fine salt remains a luxury.

Unless those reselling merchants transport fine salt there on a large scale.

Of course, bringing fine salt over would also profit them, since their salt is priced transparently.

The only problem is...

Allowing fine salt to flow out—could it have adverse effects on the Tang Dynasty...?

It seemed he guessed Kang Chong's worry; Chen Yan set the ledger down and calmly said, "Kang Chong, I have a question for you."

"Sir, please speak."

"Has this world ever lacked salt?"

As the question was posed, Kang Chong fell silent.

Has this world ever lacked salt?

That's a good question.

Does the Tang Dynasty lack salt now?

Of course not.

But before Chen Yan presented the salt‑making method, was salt lacking?

The answer is no.

The world has never been without salt.

Yet, as mentioned earlier, salt is a luxury, especially fine salt.

The reason people felt a shortage is that they could never afford salt before.

The price of salt is too high; the previous salt tax was even higher.

The common people just can't afford it.

The reason we now say there's no salt shortage is simply because Chen Yan forcibly unified the price of fine salt, bringing this luxury down to a level everyone can afford.

That's all there is to it.

"I think you already have the answer in your heart." Chen Yan smiled, lay back in the rocking chair, closed his eyes slightly, and spoke softly.

"Not only is the Tang Dynasty not lacking salt, but in fact those countries outside the Tang that appear to lack salt due to their geography are essentially not lacking either."

"We've heard since childhood about how many people around us have starved to death, yet we've hardly heard of anyone dying from lack of salt."

"It's not that salt isn't important; on the contrary, salt is a necessary substance for human survival...... but, as for salt...... everyone actually has a way to obtain it."

"If you can't afford salt, can you not afford nitrate salt? Preserved salt? Plant ash water? Pickle brine and animal blood?"

"In short, preventing fine salt from flowing out is basically meaningless."

"We might as well look for something usable in this area to gain more benefits for ourselves."

"For example...... tariffs."

"......"