hsntnovel Chapter 2678 Thinking about the problem from a different angle
Chapter 2678 Thinking about the problem from a different angle
Li Shen replied with a smile:
"In the early stages, we didn't ship any goods, hoping to confuse them by making the price fluctuate."
This is called a feint, creating a false impression for them. I believe that the more the Prince Ji's Mansion lowers its prices, the more those speculators will drive them up.
Some people argue just for the sake of arguing.
The more he lowers the price, the more they think the price of spices will rise. Li Shen doesn't understand capital, but he understands contemporary netizens.
The more the authorities explain that there is no need to hoard goods, the more people feel they should hoard them. They always feel that the authorities are trying to harm or deceive them.
Many people are born suspicious and suffer from paranoia.
He had grudges against the aristocratic families and the imperial relatives, so Li Shen threw them a smokescreen to keep them from knowing his true purpose.
"Your Highness is indeed brilliant! What a brilliant plan! I admire Your Highness to the point of prostration. Even if Zhuge Liang were alive, he would not be as good as Your Highness."
Wang Hongfu stood up and bowed deeply, his expression particularly sincere, his admiration evident in his words.
"Hahaha, keep it low-key, keep it low-key." Li Shen laughed heartily.
"Your Highness, the noble families and powerful clans have always been wary of us. We should be extra careful in this matter, otherwise we may very well fail at the last minute."
Therefore, I believe it would be best to allow this time to pass more freely, and not to rush things, lest we alert the enemy.
Wang Xuance offered his advice. He didn't know much about the ways of merchants, but that didn't prevent him from making a judgment on the whole matter.
The Prince Ji's Mansion has repeatedly targeted them over the years, making them extremely nervous. They are terrified at the slightest sign of trouble from the Prince Ji's Mansion.
"Yes, what you said is exactly what I was thinking." Li Shen nodded in agreement. He was indeed not so easily fooled now.
This is like the story of the boy who cried wolf.
He looked at Wang Hongfu:
"Did you hear me? Don't rush things. We need to proceed step by step, steadily and surely. This might be our last plan."
After this incident, it will be extremely difficult to set a trap for them again, so this time we must make them bleed a little.
"But you don't need to worry. My Prince Ji's Mansion hasn't made any major moves in recent years, so they might not be that vigilant. Just be careful."
"Yes, Your Highness, I will certainly do as Your Highness requests." Wang Hongfu bowed again.
Li Shen picked up the notebook again to see if there were any other important things. He flipped through several pages, and although there were writings on them, none of them were anything important.
For example, he wrote down the details of when Li Zhi made things difficult for him, and when his father beat him, so that he could use them to seek revenge in the future.
"Huh?" Li Shen turned over and paused, then looked up and glared at Wang Hongfu, making Wang Hongfu feel uneasy.
"Your Highness, is there anything else you require?"
"Wang Hongfu, why haven't we found the head manager of Xizhou Prefecture yet? I've already arranged the managers for each workshop there, but without a unified manager, efficiency will suffer."
His notebook clearly stated that there was no head manager in Xizhou.
"Your Highness, I am already searching with all my might," Wang Hongfu hurriedly reported.
"You've been searching for a year and still haven't found him? He's just a manager in Xizhou, is it really that difficult?" Li Shen said angrily.
"Your Highness, there really isn't a good candidate." Wang Hongfu looked aggrieved; he was genuinely afraid.
The events in Xizhou not only had a very negative impact on the Prince Ji's mansion, but also cast a deep shadow on his mind.
This made him hesitant to send anyone over, fearing a repeat of what happened with Wang Wencheng.
This is like someone who's been bitten by a snake for ten years and is now afraid of even a rope; he needs to find someone who is absolutely foolproof.
In truth, what he hoped for most was that Prince Ji would send someone there himself, so that if anything went wrong, it wouldn't be his problem.
"Bullshit! You're just trying to shirk responsibility. My Prince Ji's mansion has tens of thousands of employees, and we can't even choose a good manager? This is outrageous!"
Li Shen immediately saw through Wang Hongfu's little scheme.
"Your Highness, please calm your anger. I know I was wrong, please punish me." Wang Hongfu quickly admitted his mistake.
"Your Highness, Manager Wang's caution is not wrong. After all, Xizhou is outside the pass, and the situation there is complicated."
The distance to Chang'an was far, and news traveled very slowly.
Therefore, we must be very careful in choosing the head manager. Wang Wencheng's case has already served as a warning to us.
If someone were to use the same trick again, even with His Majesty's protection, the Prince would likely face severe punishment.
Just then, Wang Xuance spoke up to defend Wang Hongfu.
After Wang Xuance said this, Li Shen was no longer as angry as before, and his tone softened:
"This matter must be handled promptly. The affairs of Xizhou are of paramount importance to the Ji Prince's Mansion and are part of the Ji Prince's Mansion's five-year plan."
This matter concerns whether the entire population of the Tang Dynasty will have cotton-padded clothes to wear.
The people's lives are better now, but every year people still freeze to death. Hearing this, my heart aches; all the people of this world are subjects of my Li family.”
Li Shen spoke with a heavy tone. He had learned from chatting with Li Chengqian that people in the north freeze to death in their homes every winter.
This saddened Li Shen somewhat.
Although he is not a great philanthropist, since he has the ability to make a difference, he is willing to do so.
"Your Highness is very righteous. I will certainly not let you down and will do my best to find a suitable candidate." Wang Hongfu was somewhat moved by what was said. His prince was very kind to the people.
As a prince, being able to empathize with the people's plight is something not everyone can do.
"Your Highness, the people are freezing to death mostly because their houses are old and dilapidated, and they have no firewood to keep warm."
In my opinion, perhaps we should start from these two aspects and see if we can improve the situation.
Pei Mingli, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke.
Li Shen was taken aback for a moment, then slapped his thigh:
"Yes, how come I didn't think of that?" Li Shen suddenly realized that he had been too stubborn.
He always believed that as long as people had cotton-padded clothes to wear, they would not suffer from the cold, and the problem of food and clothing for the people would be solved.
However, he overlooked the issue of heating, and the large number of people who froze to death did so because they had no heating.
“Your Highness, what Consultant Pei said is absolutely right. If the people had a way to keep warm in winter, many fewer people would freeze to death.”
Wang Xuance also largely agreed with Pei Mingli's statement.
"If that's the case, why don't the people keep warm? If they can't afford charcoal, can't they at least cut firewood?"
Li Shen was somewhat puzzled.
"Your Highness, the imperial court has issued an order that trees must not be cut down at will. Those caught doing so will be sentenced to imprisonment at the very least, and exiled at the worst."
Besides, if you want to chop firewood, you have to go to a very far place. Your Highness, do you see any trees near Chang'an?
In order to protect trees from being indiscriminately cut down, the imperial court had long ago issued a ban, which was implemented in accordance with the law.
And there aren't many mountains in the north; in many places, the view is unobstructed. Where would they go to cut firewood then?
Wang Xuance, well-versed in the law, gave Li Shen a brief introduction to the Tang Dynasty's natural protection laws.
(Why is people's memory getting worse?)