Tang Dynasty: Taking the Empress Dowager to a brothel, Father Emperor, what a coincidence!

"What? Say it again!"

Inside the Ganlu Hall, Li Shimin slammed his hand on the imperial desk and roared with a livid face.

Wang De knelt on the ground and repeated what he had just said.

"Your Majesty, the Hundred Cavalry Division has just sent an urgent report. His Highness the Crown Prince has posted a red notice in the West Market, stating that whoever spends the most money at the merchants' guild will receive a special privilege."

"You can have lunch with Princess Chang Le, with the Emperor Emeritus personally accompanying you..."

"Outrageous! Absurd!"

Li Shimin was so angry that his hair almost stood on end.

A few days ago in the Taiji Hall, this rebellious son, in order to prevent Chang Le from marrying Gao Lixing, led more than a dozen princes to force the palace, repeatedly saying that the royal family could not sell their daughters.

What now?

He turned around and put his own sister on a signboard to have dinner with a bunch of money-grubbing businessmen?

What is this called? This is called double standards.

"This little beast has utterly disgraced my face, the face of the Tang Dynasty imperial family."

Li Shimin picked up the horsewhip hanging on the wall and walked outside.

"Prepare the carriage for the Eastern Palace. Today, I will skin that rebellious son alive."

......

The Eastern Palace.

Li Shimin led a troop of imperial guards, their menacing aura palpable, to the gate.

Just as the guards at the gate were about to bow, Li Shimin barged in.

"Li Chengqian! Get out here right now!"

Li Shimin, holding a riding whip, stormed angrily into the front yard.

Li Shimin suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Wang De, who was following behind, couldn't brake in time and crashed into Li Shimin's back.

"Your Majesty! What's wrong...?"

Wang De peeked out from behind Li Shimin, and before he could finish speaking, he was so shocked that his mouth dropped open.

There wasn't even a place to put your feet in the entire front courtyard of the East Palace.

The ground was covered with copper coins and flying tickets.

There were also boxes of gold and silver ingots.

Changsun Chong, Cheng Chumo, Fang Yi'ai, and their group were sitting in a pile of money, counting it.

Changsun Chong, holding a handful of flying tickets, shouted:

"Zhang Dafu, a salt merchant from Jiangnan, has added 50,000 strings of cash. He is currently at the top of the list. Quickly write this down."

Cheng Chumo muttered:

"I've got it. Damn, these businessmen are really rich. They don't even blink at 50,000 strings of cash."

Li Shimin stood at the gate of the courtyard, his head buzzing.

In all his years as emperor, even when the national treasury was at its fullest, he had never seen so much cash piled up directly in the courtyard.

The visual impact is absolutely devastating.

"Father is here?"

Li Chengqian strolled over from the corridor carrying a plate of sliced ​​fruits.

He casually picked up a piece of cantaloupe and stuffed it into his mouth, while looking at the horsewhip in Li Shimin's hand.

"Who is Father Emperor going to punish? Cheng Chumo, have you caused trouble again?"

Cheng Chumo was startled and quickly stood up.

Li Shimin pointed to the money filling the courtyard and began to speak.

"This...this money..."

"Oh, this is all the income from this morning."

Li Chengqian handed the fruit platter to Xiao Shunzi.

"Not much, just over a million strings of cash. There are still several hundred thousand strings on the way, and the carriages can't transport them all."

More than a million strings of cash?

Li Shimin gasped.

How much money did this kid actually make?

"Don't try to fool me."

"I ask you, is that red notice you posted in the West Market genuine? Are you going to send Chang Le to dine with those merchants?"

Li Shimin grew angrier the more he spoke.

"A few days ago you absolutely refused to let Chang Le get married, and now for this stinking money, you're even willing to abandon the dignity of the royal family? I'll beat you to death today, you unfilial son."

Li Shimin raised his whip to strike.

Li Chengqian didn't even flinch, but stepped forward to meet the whip head-on and said:

"If Father wants to hit me, I will accept it. But I feel this beating is unjust."

Li Shimin stopped what he was doing and snorted coldly:

"Injustice? You're selling off a Tang Dynasty princess, and you still have the nerve to cry foul?"

"Who said I sold my sister?"

Li Chengqian pulled over a chair, sat down, and then pointed to the stone bench next to him.

"Father, please sit down and let me explain."

Li Shimin sat down on the stone bench with a dark expression:

"I'd like to hear what kind of nonsense you can come up with."

Li Chengqian pointed to the mountain of money in the courtyard and asked:

"Father, why do you think these merchants are going crazy sending us money? Is it really just for those few cotton coats and kitchen knives?"

Li Shimin did not respond.

"They are aiming for upward social mobility."

Li Chengqian tapped on the stone table.

"The Tang Dynasty valued agriculture and suppressed commerce. No matter how rich a merchant was, his social status was low. They dreamed of having some connection with the royal family."

Your subject invoked the name of Chang Le, with the Emperor Emeritus accompanying him. What is this called? This is called royal endorsement.

The emperor thought of the merchant who had spent hundreds of thousands of strings of cash to win the top spot and then entered the Da'an Palace.

Chang Le and the retired emperor, separated by a screen, casually offered him a cup of tea.

After this merchant leaves, who would dare to touch him?

With this protective shield, will he still need to be beholden to powerful families? Will he still need to curry favor with those old foxes like Cui Min?

Li Shimin was stunned.

His mind was preoccupied with the loss of royal dignity, and he didn't think about it any deeper.

Now, after being manipulated by Li Chengqian, he suddenly realized that this matter was not simple.

"My son's move not only made money out of their pockets, but also drew the hearts of merchants across the land away from the aristocratic families and directly to the royal family."

Why were powerful families able to control the trade routes in Luoyang? Because those merchants who sailed and transported goods all relied on these powerful families for their livelihood.

Now I have given them a direct path to the heavens; as long as they spend money, they can obtain the protection of the royal family.

After this meal, the family's influence in the business world collapsed by half.

"Father, you traded a meal eaten behind a screen for over a million strings of cash in military expenses, plus the dismantling of the aristocratic families' business alliances. Was this a bad deal?"

Li Shimin remained silent.

What this kid said makes perfect sense.

When Chang Le went to Da'an Palace for a meal, it was to accompany the retired emperor in fulfilling his filial duty.

The merchant was just an extra, kneeling down to eat scraps.

What did the royal family lose? Nothing.

But in return, they received a substantial sum of millions and won the hearts of merchants from all over the world.

"But......"

Li Shimin still felt somewhat awkward.

"This won't sound good if word gets out. You know what those censors are all about."

"A censor?"

Li Chengqian scoffed.

"If any official dares to utter a word, Father will ask them whether they will pay the wages and provisions for the Liaodong army, and whether they will fill the hole in the national treasury."

If they can come up with one million strings of cash, I will immediately remove the red notice.

If they can't produce it, they should just shut up.

Li Shimin was so choked up that he couldn't say a word.

Wei Zheng and his group were so poor that even if they were sold off, they couldn't scrape together 100,000 strings of cash.

Looking at the mountain of money in the courtyard, Li Shimin's anger had long since vanished.

He coughed twice.

"Well done! Your method may be extreme, but your intentions are good."

For the sake of the Tang Dynasty's stability and prosperity, it's only a temporary measure to make Chang Le suffer a little.

Li Shimin's attitude made a complete 180-degree turn.

"However, since this money was earned under the guise of the royal family, the national treasury is quite strained lately..."

Before Li Shimin could finish speaking, Li Chengqian interrupted him.

"Father, rest assured, I have already made arrangements."

Li Chengqian waved to his eldest grandson, Chong.

Changsun Chong quickly ran over carrying a small wooden box.

Li Chengqian took the box and pushed it in front of Li Shimin.

"Here are 300,000 strings of cash. Father, take them; consider them your private savings as a tribute."

As for the national treasury, I will have Minister of Revenue Tang Jian come and take away 500,000 strings of cash later.

The remaining money must be saved to buy grain and iron in Liaodong.

"You're such a sensible child."

Li Shimin tucked the box into his robes.

"Alright, since you have a complete plan, I won't ask any more questions. Keep an eye on the West Market and make sure nothing goes wrong."

Li Shimin stood up, patted Li Chengqian on the shoulder, and looked like a loving father.

"Your subject respectfully sees off your father, the Emperor."

Li Chengqian smiled and cupped his hands in greeting.

Li Shimin, accompanied by Wang De, walked out of the East Palace gate with satisfaction.

I hadn't gone far when a cold wind blew by.

Li Shimin stopped, looked down at the horsewhip he was still clutching in his hand, and then touched the wooden box full of official documents in his arms.

He turned to Wang De, frowned, and asked:

"Wang De".

"This servant is here."

"What was I doing coming to the Eastern Palace with my whip just now?"

Wang De was stunned, scratched his head and said:

"Your Majesty...it seems you've come to slap His Highness the Crown Prince. To say he's disgraced the royal family..."

Li Shimin slapped his thigh.

Yes! I'm here to beat people up.

How did the fight turn into a money-making scheme?

This rebellious son managed to confuse me with just a few words.