hsntnovel Chapter 2812 The Situation in Liaodong.
Chapter 2812 The Situation in Liaodong.
"Old Wang, although we are confident of winning with our white rice, you should still send someone to keep an eye on the market. If anyone else is selling white rice like us, we can ignore them."
But if they claim to be selling white rice from Liaodong, make a note of it for me, and have the merchants' association investigate.
If it is found to be false, a case of false advertising deceiving consumers, they should be made to pay a fine and their profits confiscated.
If they disagree, report them to the authorities and they will be dealt with severely according to the law.
After some thought, Li Shen still felt that the market environment should be improved; the business environment had been so good in recent years.
But there will always be some businessmen who want to take shortcuts. Speculation is one thing, but fraud is a crime.
"Yes, Your Highness, I will send someone to keep an eye on things." Wang Hongfu immediately accepted the order.
"Hmm... Well then, since we're going to investigate, let's investigate together. The Chamber of Commerce will issue a notice to rectify the market environment starting today."
The Chamber of Commerce has begun to accept reports and will arrange for its inspection teams to conduct random checks on the quality of goods among the retailers on an irregular basis.
If anyone is found to be engaging in false advertising, selling goods that do not match the description, or committing fraud, a warning and fine will be issued if the circumstances are not serious.
Those whose actions are serious will be handed over to the authorities and punished according to the laws of the Tang Dynasty.
The message was sent to our branches across the country so that all members of Datang would know.
Anyone who disagrees can immediately withdraw from the Chamber of Commerce. Of course, you should then send someone to report them to the authorities for investigation.
The chamber of commerce must establish a system that, based on the existing chamber of commerce system, increases penalties for the retail industry.
However, it shouldn't be too large; we must adhere to the law and proceed gradually, step by step.
Li Shen poured out all his thoughts in one breath, explaining that the current chamber of commerce is a non-governmental organization.
The fact that it could operate so smoothly was all because of his presence. His iron-fisted approach instilled fear in the members, and everyone strictly adhered to the rules.
This is very different from the merchant guilds of the past; they are not as loosely organized.
Li Shen actually wanted to establish a comprehensive management department.
Wang Hongfu hurriedly went to his desk and wrote down everything Li Shen had said. This was a major operation, and he didn't know how many merchants would be doomed.
"Your Highness, I have something else to report." Wang Hongfu returned to his seat after finishing writing.
"explain."
"Your Highness, the messenger sent to Baekje to gather information has returned. Baekje has indeed begun cultivating beans."
Especially in the area near Silla, according to our investigation, about 40% of Baekje's land was planted with beans.
Two years ago, Silla traded grain for all the soybeans; this year, Baekje will probably grow even more soybeans.
After listening to the prince's words, Silla indeed exchanged grain for much cheaper grain without much price increase.
Wang Hongfu recounted the information he had gathered.
"No wonder," Li Shen suddenly realized.
"No wonder Silla suffered a famine last year and had no food; it turns out they replaced grain with soybeans."
"Your Highness is right. After Silla replaced soybeans a thousand years ago, it signed planting contracts with the people of Baekje."
Last year, Silla suffered a natural disaster, resulting in a halved harvest, leaving them with no food to fulfill their promise.
However, the people of Baekje refused to comply. In order to avoid famine, Baekje stationed troops to argue its case, forcing Silla to honor the contract.
This led to a nationwide famine. Wang Hongfu sighed, realizing that he had originally intended to trick Baekje, but Silla had ended up being tricked instead.
"I see. Jin Chunqiu is not being honest; he didn't tell me the truth."
Li Shen's eyes were deep, and his face was filled with a mocking smile.
“Your Highness, the Silla envoys certainly wouldn’t dare tell you the truth. Given Your Highness’s prestige, they fear they will pay an even greater price if they do.”
Wang Xuance said.
"Prince Ji still doesn't understand his own reputation," Wang Xuance sighed inwardly. Prince Ji's infamy was notorious and had long been known throughout the land.
Those are all ruthless people who would devour others without spitting out their bones.
He didn't tell the truth and was swindled out of two million strings of cash. The millet was sold for twenty coins a dou, but Prince Ji sold it for sixty coins a dou.
If this were to be revealed, even the Prince of Ji would have to sell it for one string of cash per bushel.
"Yes, you are right. However, Silla has a lot of soybeans. It seems I need to find some time to talk to Kim Chun-chu."
Li Shen frowned. He had mentioned the idea of pressing soybeans for oil to Jin Chunqiu before, precisely so that they would implement the grain plan.
However, he was just talking nonsense at the time, and Jin Chunqiu actually believed him and swallowed a lot of soybeans.
This means they want to negotiate the price with themselves.
"Your Highness, the three kingdoms of Silla, Baekje, and Goguryeo are now at peace, each secretly developing and recuperating."
Despite occupying half of Goguryeo's territory to the north, King Bokjeong still maintained a peaceful relationship with Yeon Gaesomun.
Your Majesty believes they have sensed that our Great Tang Dynasty seems intent on taking action against them.
Wang Xuance then introduced the situation in Liaodong to Li Shen.
The four factions of the Three Kingdoms have now begun a truce.
Li Shen nodded after hearing this:
"Yes, it's normal that they noticed. Even if they did, what could they do? We're just a tiny country; how could we possibly compare ourselves to the sun and moon?"
The reason why our Tang Dynasty did not attack them, despite its strong and well-equipped army, is because I advised Your Majesty not to cause too many casualties.
Otherwise, if we had simply marched north, we would have crushed them long ago.
"I want to show them that even without a massive army pressing in, I can still cause them chaos and unrest."
While Li Shen might not have the military strength to launch a direct attack, it would be incredibly easy for him to use his capitalist power to disrupt the economy of Silla and Baekje.
Their annual tax revenue is less than what I earn in a year, so how can they compete with me?
That's not how you fight a war.
"Then, Your Highness, should we use some methods to make them fight so that we can reap the benefits?" Wang Hongfu asked.
"No need yet, His Majesty and I still have business to do with them. Xuan Ce, inform the Straw Hat Pirates to continue the blockade of their coastline."
All edible foods were prohibited from entering Silla, Baekje, and Goguryeo.
The rest doesn't matter; we can even earn some money to increase our national strength.
Li Shen shook his head. Dealing with them wasn't a rush; he needed to make some money first.
If they are unlucky and suffer two more years of great famine, the Tang Dynasty will not even need to intervene; they will perish simply by blocking their food supply.
The method is simple, yet very practical.
"Yes, I will send someone to inform them immediately upon my return."
Wang Xuance accepted the order.
"Old Wang, the business of the Ji Prince's Mansion is growing bigger and bigger, and there are many places that need to be taken care of. You can entrust some things to Pei Mingli to manage."
Your only responsibility is to oversee and carry out the tasks assigned to you by the King.
We will continue to cultivate management talent like the manager, and the personnel will be selected from the Huangzhuang Academy.
They were all servants of the Prince's estate, loyal to the Prince's estate, and trustworthy.
Not everyone can pass the imperial examinations; I, the king, will also find a way for them to make a living.
Li Shen explained earnestly.