"Have you all seen the Fine Salt produced by the craftsmen in my residence?" Zhu Ying asked with a smile, his gaze falling on Yu Xin and the two officials from the Salt Tax Office and Transport Office.
At Zhu Ying's words,
Yu Xin and the two officials wore expressions of reverence.
"His Highness the Imperial Grandson excels in both civil and martial matters, and is even more skilled in refining techniques."
"This Fine Salt is entirely free of impurities. It is countless times purer than even the refined salt from the salt refining office." Yu Xin immediately replied.
"From today onward,"
"I will hand the method for refining Fine Salt over to the refining office," Zhu Ying said solemnly.
"May I ask, Your Highness the Imperial Grandson,"
"after this Fine Salt is refined, how should its price be set?"
"Should it be several times more expensive than refined salt?" Yu Xin asked tentatively.
In this age,
only wealthy households, officials, and nobles could afford refined salt. Ordinary people ate Coarse Salt, which contained countless impurities and could scarcely even be called real salt.
Refined salt was different. It contained far fewer impurities, but it was also many times more expensive than Coarse Salt, beyond the reach of ordinary households.
"Once refined, Fine Salt shall be sold at twice the price of common Coarse Salt," Zhu Ying said slowly.
As soon as he said this,
everyone in the hall stared at Zhu Ying in astonishment. Clearly, they had not expected it.
"Your Highness,"
"Coarse Salt is sold cheaply among the people because it is mainly meant to sustain livelihoods. If such superior Fine Salt is only twice as expensive as Coarse Salt, will the court suffer losses?"
"The salt tax is a major source of revenue for the imperial treasury,"