hsntnovel Chapter 2738 Sold to the Imperial Court
Chapter 2738 Sold to the Imperial Court
Srivijaya was located on the southern shore of the Strait of Malacca, controlling the entire Strait of Malacca, and was a powerful maritime nation.
Its geographical location is extremely advantageous, making it a strategic location that military strategists would fight over.
Of course, this powerful nation refers to the smaller neighboring countries; to Li Shen's pirate crew, they are like chickens and dogs.
Li Shen always regarded them as natives; the pirate crew was well-equipped, and dealing with them was simple.
Li Shen's original idea was to build a base in Malacca, where there are many ships coming and going, which can be used as a port city to make money.
Zhao Laosi didn't ask the Prince Ji's mansion for money; instead, he directly captured natives on the island and made them work. Li Shen didn't object when he found out.
Anyway, they're not arresting people from the Tang Dynasty.
Therefore, Li Shen's city did not cost the Prince Ji's mansion any money.
But Li Shen is a very shrewd person.
He's the kind of person who gets tattoos all over his hemorrhoids; if he removes them, he can take the civil service exam, and if he's released, he can make his way in the world.
He's also a cunning and wicked person. When standing on the rooftop looking down, if there are few people, he'll pretend to jump; if there are many people, he'll urinate.
How could someone like that willingly give away their belongings?
"Then what does Your Highness mean?"
Wang Xuance knew Prince Ji's character all too well; he wouldn't do anything without personal gain.
As expected, Li Shen spoke without hesitation:
“Sell it to the imperial court. In a few days, once my backside has healed, I will go to the palace and report to His Majesty on the matter of the troops stationed in the southern countries and this matter.”
"We'll ask His Majesty for a good price then."
Li Shen believed his father would be interested; if troops were stationed in a small southern country, Malacca would provide a perfect balance between the north and south.
It can be used for both offense and defense, and will have a unique advantage in attacking small southern countries in the future.
"Has Your Highness considered the possibility that Srivijaya might disagree?"
Wang Xuance reminded him.
Li Shen laughed after hearing this:
"Disagree? Do they think my Tang Dynasty is easier to talk to than the pirate crew?"
If they disagree, then let the pirates run rampant. Don't blame us for not warning them if something happens then.
Once Srivijaya is resolved, that place will be ours.
"You only need to convey my will to Zhao Laosi, and I trust he knows what to do, and will do it very well."
Li Shen didn't explain anything, but Wang Xuance knew what Zhao Laosi would do.
"Your subject obeys." Wang Xuance nodded.
"Alright, that's all. You all go about your business these days. I need to rest and recuperate."
The matter was settled, and Li Shen waved his hand.
Wang Xuance stood up, bowed, and took his leave.
In the days that followed, Li Shen stayed at home to recover from his injuries, and the officials in Chang'an City all knew about what had happened in Ice and Snow City that day.
Prince Ji and Prince Jin angered His Majesty, and both of them were severely beaten.
Many people were secretly pleased when they learned that Prince Ji had been beaten, thinking that Prince Ji had finally gotten his comeuppance.
The imperial court was also undergoing changes. Starting from the Imperial Academy, everyone identified themselves as citizens of the Great Tang Empire, and this was then passed on to the literati through brothels and pleasure boats.
The Imperial College was the benchmark. Don't be fooled by those literati who spent their days composing poems; their biggest dream was to enter the Imperial College and take the imperial examinations.
Those who could go to the Imperial Academy, apart from princes and nobles, were all outstanding individuals. Who would associate with these scholars? They would all befriend officials; this was called upward socializing.
With the guidance of the Imperial College, the matter is slowly developing.
In addition, the newspapers published stories for three consecutive days about the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty's concern for the people, including donating books and pens to underprivileged students.
They even forced the Prince Ji's residence to sponsor the students who passed the exams. I heard that Prince Ji cried at home for several days.
There's nothing major happening among the common people, except that I heard two princes from the royal family opened a shop in the industrial park, specializing in buying spices.
Everyone with a modicum of influence knows these two men: Li Boyi, the Prince of Longxi, and Li Fengci, the Prince of Bohai. These two utterly dissolute princes actually opened a shop together.
There are rumors that Prince Ji is supporting these two people, but this has not been confirmed by either party.
Then, rumors began to circulate that a large quantity of spices would soon arrive in the Tang Dynasty, and the price would drop to the same level as before, or even lower.
These rumors circulated throughout the streets and alleys of Chang'an, as well as in the East and West Markets and the industrial parks outside the city.
This caused panic among many merchants who had spices, and some even began to sell them off.
The price offered by Prince Ji's Mansion caused widespread panic in the market, as Prince Ji's acquisition price had already dropped by 30%.
As is well known, the Prince Ji's Mansion was a major consumer of spices in the entire Tang Dynasty and a trendsetter in the business world.
If the Prince Ji's mansion has lowered its prices, then the price of spices will most likely come down as well.
Then some people started selling their spices.
~~~~~~~
In the study of the Prince of Wei's residence, Li Tai sat by the brazier, looking at a painting in front of him.
"Your Highness, Chief Secretary Du has arrived."
A servant's voice came from outside the door announcing something.
"Let him in," Li Tai said softly.
A short while later, the door opened and Du Chuke walked in.
"Your subject pays respects to Your Highness." Du Chuke bowed.
Upon hearing the sound, Li Tai turned his gaze away from the painting and looked at Du Chuke.
"sit down."
"Thank you, Your Highness." Du Chuke bowed and sat down.
"How's the investigation going?" Li Tai poured a cup of tea and handed it over.
"Your Highness, the investigation is almost complete," Du Chuke replied, taking the teacup.
"Oh? Don't say anything yet. Let me guess. Those rumors outside were probably spread by the Tenth Prince, weren't they?"
Li Tai smiled.
Du Chuke nodded:
"Your Highness is indeed a brilliant strategist. The news circulating in Chang'an and the industrial parks outside the city about the price of spices is indeed related to the Prince Ji's residence."
Your servant sent people to investigate and discovered that there was a group of people deliberately spreading rumors in Chang'an, especially in the East and West Markets.
Some merchants and nobles began to sell their spices.
"If I'm not mistaken, they sold the spices to that Xixiangji shop, the one run by my two good-for-nothing uncles, right?"
Li Tai spoke up again, making his guess.
Du Chuke nodded again:
"Your Highness is wise. Just as Your Highness thought, most of the merchants and nobles sold their goods to Xixiangji, which was opened by the two princes."
Because west Xiang Ji is now offering the highest price, which is fifteen times the original price.
Some merchants, unaware of the information, sold it to others; this was a minority.
"Sigh, it seems that the tenth prince is really going to make a move on spices. He didn't lie during the Yuanzheng era. He said he would suppress the price of spices because his Prince Ji's mansion uses too much of them."
Li Tai sighed. He thought Li Shen was joking, but he didn't expect it to be true, and it came so quickly.
"Your Highness, the Ji Prince's Mansion's strategy of feigning one move while secretly making another is truly ingenious. They are driving down the price on one side while having someone else buy it up on the other. It's a brilliant plan."
Du Chuke couldn't help but sigh.
(January 12, 2026, 04:49:33: Good morning! Good morning! I have to get up early tomorrow too.)
"All of you may leave; I am going to sleep."