hsntnovel Chapter 2653 He smiled.
Chapter 2653 He smiled.
One person saying it's good doesn't necessarily mean it's good, but if a hundred people say it's good, then you have to think about whether it's really good.
This whispered advice from her pillow completely unsettled Li Shimin.
All those present were their spouses, and apart from Consort Wei who remained silent, everyone offered their opinions on Li Shen, more or less.
Overwhelmingly positive reviews.
If Li Shen were present, he would surely be very pleased; the gifts he had given over the years had indeed paid off.
This has always been the case; the strongest wind is the whispered advice from one's pillow.
"This... Guanyinbi, I was just saying it casually."
Seeing Empress Zhangsun smile without saying a word, even the mighty Emperor Li Shimin couldn't help but feel embarrassed.
He could kill without blinking an eye on the battlefield, but at home, facing his own women, Li Shimin was not so ruthless.
He was especially affectionate towards Empress Zhangsun.
"Hehe, Erlang, I'm just telling the truth. Think about how many meritorious things Shen'er has done over the years."
An ordinary person could have been granted a high-ranking official position.
But Shen'er was almost never rewarded, and he never mentioned it.
The roads built in His Majesty's name alone stretch for thousands of miles, and the cost is countless.
Erlang should treat Shen'er better.
Empress Zhangsun smiled. These people had all received favors from Li Shen, and as the head of the harem, how could she not know?
However, she did not stop them. She knew that life in the harem was not easy, and that Li Shen sending them some things would make their lives a little better.
Every year, a large number of jewelry pieces were sent over, and after Empress Zhangsun made her selections, she would distribute them to other people to choose from.
As for Consort Wei, she didn't need it at all; Li Shen gave it to her separately.
"Alas, Guanyinbi is right, the tenth prince has indeed rendered great service to the court." Li Shimin sighed, but then changed the subject:
"But that's no excuse for him to swindle money from me."
"What? Shen'er lied to you again, Erlang?" Empress Zhangsun was extremely surprised. How long had they been in the study?
With several princes around, how dare Li Shen openly deceive people?
"Otherwise, why would I be so angry?" Li Shimin said matter-of-factly.
"How could this be?" Empress Zhangsun asked with some doubt. Surely Li Shen wouldn't be so audacious?
"Guanyinbi, do you remember at the beginning of the year when I took out a million strings of cash to do medicinal herb business with him in Cuiwei Palace?"
Li Shimin finally felt a little more confident.
Empress Zhangsun nodded. Of course she remembered it; it was the money she had sent, one million strings of cash.
They said they were going to partner up to do business selling donkey-hide gelatin.
"Didn't we already give him the money? Did we lose money?" Empress Zhangsun asked.
Upon hearing this, Li Shimin sat up abruptly, filled with righteous indignation, and said:
"It's not just about losing money; this unfilial son actually tried to swindle another million strings of cash from me."
He just said the business is up and running, everything is on track, and it will only take two years to recoup the costs, after which annual dividends of three to five hundred thousand strings of cash will be no problem.
"Isn't this good?" Empress Zhangsun asked.
"What good is that! He said that the cash flow is broken and the business cannot operate normally, so he needs to add more money."
He said that he and I would each contribute another million strings of cash so that we could start the business again; otherwise, the initial investment of one hundred strings of cash would be lost and there would be no way to get it back.
Li Shimin's blood boils whenever this is mentioned.
"Oh no, how could this be? Doesn't that mean we've lost a million strings of cash for nothing?"
"Since that's the case, we might as well do as Shen'er suggests and contribute another million strings of cash, otherwise the previous million strings will be gone."
Upon hearing Li Shimin's words, Empress Zhangsun was greatly alarmed and hurriedly replied.
That's a million strings of cash, no small sum. Even though the imperial treasury is wealthy now, a million strings of cash is still a huge amount.
Having experienced the hardship of having less than ten thousand strings of cash in the imperial treasury, Empress Zhangsun knew better than anyone how precious one million strings of cash were.
This money could allow the imperial harem to squander for twenty years.
“Guanyinbi, if you invest in it, you will fall into this rebellious son’s trap. He is using the one million strings of cash he gave me to lure me into investing another one million strings of cash.”
"Then you'll keep those two million strings of cash for yourself. That's the good son you speak of," Li Shimin said excitedly.
"How could this be? Why would Shen'er do such a thing? Erlang, is there some misunderstanding?" Empress Zhangsun asked incredulously.
She thought Li Shen wouldn't be so bold, would he? That's a million-guan amount. Hasn't he learned his lesson from the four million-guan incident last time?
Li Shimin snorted coldly:
"Hmph, of course he would. It's not like he hasn't done it before."
Hearing Li Shimin say this, Empress Zhangsun became somewhat curious:
"How did Erlang discover it?"
"Because he smiled." Li Shimin put it simply: it was because Li Shen smiled.
"He laughed?" The crowd asked, puzzled.
Seeing that no one understood, Li Shimin immediately explained what had just happened to Empress Zhangsun and the others.
After deciding to go to the ice and snow world with Li Shen, Li Shimin chatted with his sons for a while.
Unexpectedly, Li Shen, who had been lying down, suddenly sat up and said to Li Shimin:
“Father, I have something I want to report to you.”
Li Shimin was somewhat surprised to hear this, and wondering what else Li Shen wanted to say, he said:
"tell me the story."
Li Shen solemnly cupped his hands in a salute and began to speak:
"Your Majesty, I have something to report to you. It is about our collaboration at the beginning of the year to produce donkey-hide gelatin."
The workshop has been completed this year, and young donkeys have been purchased from various places and are being raised at the Prince Ji's mansion's breeding farm.
They also purchased adult donkeys from all over the Tang Dynasty and have already started production.
Based on current prices, the cost can be recovered within two years, followed by annual dividends of approximately 500,000 guan.
"Hehe, very good, Tenth Prince, you did a good job. You finally did not disappoint me."
Li Shimin was very happy at this moment. It was already good that he could receive dividends after two years of investing one million strings of cash.
Moreover, they can receive 500,000 strings of cash a year.
But just as he was feeling happy, Li Shen's expression suddenly changed, and he said with some melancholy:
"But... please forgive me, Father. It was all my fault for making a mistake in my plan, which is why we are facing some difficulties now."
Li Shimin was taken aback. "What's the difficulty?"
Li Shen sighed:
"Alas, Father, because we acquired too many young donkeys, our cash flow has dried up, and we are unable to operate normally."
The workshop didn't even have the money to hire craftsmen, let alone doctors to make medicine.
After much thought, I decided that it would be better for Father and me to each invest one million strings of cash as operating costs, so that the workshop could start production as soon as possible and we could recoup our investment quickly.
Otherwise, the money invested in the early stages will likely be lost forever.
"Invest another million strings of cash?" Li Shimin was taken aback when he heard Li Shen's explanation.
Then he stared at Li Shen's face, trying to find out if what Li Shen said was true.