Li Kuan wants to control the cotton cloth industry in Datang, but he has no intention of monopolizing the cotton market.

He also thought that everyone would continue to expand the cotton planting area in Hedong Province.

Therefore, the new textile machinery was soon introduced to the market.

As long as you give money, I will sell it to you!

Of course, a textile machine that costs less than two silver coins will sell you a hundred silver coins, and you can buy it or not.

In just a few days, the people who visited the cotton cloth workshop of the Chu Wangfu all gritted their teeth and paid for the equipment to be updated.

Of course, you can also buy one and go back and secretly imitate it.

The premise is that you are not afraid that the Datang Royal Patent Office will trouble you.

"Lord Wang, the sale of the loom alone has earned more than 20,000 yuan, which is faster than selling cotton cloth."

Wang Fugui reported to Li Kuan with a smile on his face the situation in the past few days.

"Our new weaving machines are more than eight times more efficient than traditional manual machines, and even improved versions that are about to be introduced can be sixteen times more efficient. As long as your brain is not flooded and you still want to start a cotton cloth business, it is impossible not to buy it. ”

Li Kuan didn't feel guilty about blackening the money of such a group of noble textile machinery.

It was regarded as a big dog and a big family, robbing the rich and helping the poor.

"Yes, now those people should have a headache what to do with the cotton cloth that has been made in their hands! You said that you should sell it at the same price as us, but if you lose a lot of money, you won't be able to sell it. Because the quality of their cotton cloth is significantly worse than ours. But they don't want to lower the price even lower than our selling price. ”

Wang Fugui thought of the tangled expressions of the other shopkeepers, and couldn't help but smile on his face.

"In this way, if you let the wind out, you will say that we are willing to buy the cotton cloth in their hands at a 10% discount on the market price, only for the next three days, and it will not wait for it to be outdated."

"Lord Wang, if they want to sell these cotton cloths normally, as long as they are nine percent off our selling price, or even eight percent off, we won't be able to make money when we buy them back like this."

Wang Fugui didn't know if Li Kuan's approach had other purposes, but from a business point of view, it was not a good business.

"Why can't you make money? The amount of cotton we grow is limited, but the demand for cotton cloth in this world is simply unlimited. Our limited cotton cloth can't meet these unlimited markets, so it's time to buy a batch of cotton cloth back. Anyway, no matter which cotton cloth is produced, in the eyes of the Japanese people, or the Goguryeo people in the north and south, it is a high-quality cloth. ”

Obviously, Li Kuan was going to ship these cotton cloths of uneven quality to be sold overseas.

Anyway, it is sold at the price of local linen, even if the quality of these cotton cloths is average, it can be regarded as a conscientious price.

"Huh? That's a great idea! The Kujo Nobuyuki was thinking about transporting a few more boatloads of cotton cloth back. ”

"Not only the Wa Kingdom, but also the East China Sea fishery can transport cotton cloth to Linyi, Zhancheng, Puluo and other places to sell, and then further promote cotton cloth to Tianzhu and Dashi, so that all the linen shops over there will go out of business!"

Don't say that the Lujia linen shop can't stop the impact of the low-priced cotton cloth of the Chu Palace, and the linen cloth of those overseas countries can't stand it even more.

In particular, Tianzhu and Dashi, which are large countries that produce linen.

Even flax was the first plant to spread in the area now controlled by the Great Food Empire.

hit the local economy, and was able to dump cotton cloth and open up the market for cotton cloth, even if it was to make less money, Li Kuan was very happy.

……

Xuanzheng Palace.

Li Zhong reported to Li Shimin what had happened in Chang'an City in the past few days.

"So, the worst person who was cheated this time was the Taiyuan Wang family?"

"Yes, because they are the fastest, they have already processed almost all the cotton into cotton cloth, and the cost is pressed there. With the purchase price given by His Royal Highness the King of Chu, the Taiyuan Wang family basically did not earn a penny from cotton planting to cotton cloth sales. As for the others, although most of them did not earn as much as last year, they did not lose money. In particular, some people who only sell cotton and do not participate in the production of cotton cloth make a lot of money. ”

"That's good, otherwise everyone will not be willing to plant cotton next year, and then Kuan'er will lose a lot because of a small loss. But then again, is it just a mechanical improvement that increases production efficiency by a factor of eight? ”

Although Li Shimin is a very wise emperor, he is not a "king who understands", and it is impossible to know everything.

"Your Majesty, that machine has completely subverted the method of cotton yarn weaving, it is said that the mechanical workshop of Guanshishan Academy has developed a spinning machine that directly improves the production efficiency by sixteen times, and now it has begun to be tried in the cotton cloth workshop of the Chu Wangfu."

When Li Zhong spoke, his heart was also full of admiration.

When it comes to creating miracles, no one can compare to His Royal Highness the King of Chu.

"Sixteen? In this way, Kuan'er sold cotton cloth so cheaply, in fact, in the end, he not only taught other competitors a lesson, but also made money himself? ”

Li Shimin suddenly regretted that he did not invest in the cotton cloth workshop of Chu Wangfu.

At that time, when Li Kuan promoted cotton planting, he gave Li Shimin a chance.

However, Li Shimin did not fancy such a small workshop at the beginning.

"It must be able to make money, and His Royal Highness the King of Chu not only taught the competitors of the Tang Dynasty a lesson, but also arranged for people to transport cotton cloth to various places in the Wa Kingdom and Nanyang, it is estimated that by the time of next year, the cotton cloth shops in the world will not be able to survive."

"It's not that exaggerated, in some remote places, people don't even know that there is such a thing as cotton cloth outside. However, if Kuan'er can sell cotton cloth overseas, it will solve the problem of cotton cloth consumption in Hedong Province to continue to expand cotton planting. ”

There are large areas of grassland in Hedong Province, and Li Kuan is ready to transform it into cotton fields.

This means that Datang's cotton output will continue to rise at that time.

If we don't expand the market, then everyone will definitely fight a price war, and no one will be able to make money.

Li Shimin naturally understands this truth.

"I heard that the great cannibals have almost monopolized all the linen business in the West, and even some places in the South Seas have great cannibal linen merchants; This time, if our Datang cotton cloth can directly defeat those linen merchants, it will be very beneficial for us to expand the influence of Nanyang. ”

The so-called influence, sometimes it is what I say, how much influence my things can bring to you.

It's like the Nordic countries of later generations, although they are very wealthy, but their influence is very limited.

But some poor countries, by virtue of their possession of other special weapons, have a decisive influence in the international arena.

"Nowadays, we have a lot of maritime merchants in Datang, and they contribute a lot of taxes to the imperial court every year, and the Baiqi Division can also consider arranging some spies overseas to grasp the situation in time. At the same time, it is time for the sailors to expand their scale, which is a powerful weapon to ensure our sea trade tax revenue. ”

The longer you have been an emperor, the more you will feel the benefits of abundant financial income.

This is also an important reason why Li Shimin acquiesced to Li Kuan's continuous improvement of the social status of merchants and craftsmen in the Tang Dynasty.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, the Hundred Horsemen Division has set up a stronghold in Puluo, and regular news is sent back every month; In the next step, we plan to continue to establish a new base in the west, and find out the situation of Tianzhu and Dashi. ”

Li Zhong has always been very reliable in doing things.

Otherwise, it would not have been possible to serve as the commander of the Hundred Cavalry Division by Li Shimin's side for so long.

"The last time I read "Datang Daily", there was a page on it dedicated to introducing overseas cultural scenery, saying that there were tens of millions of people in Tianzhu, which is not a small country. The most exaggerated thing is that the newspapers even said that every household there likes to store gold, and every temple has a gilded Buddha statue. The Baiqi Division must arrange more people to go to Tianzhu to find out the situation, and will be compared to a group of writers in the newspaper when the time comes. ”

Li Shimin is still quite satisfied with Li Zhong, but the development of Baiqi Division overseas is relatively slow, which is also an indisputable fact.

In the normal Central Plains Dynasty, the emperor didn't care about overseas affairs, and felt that he was the superior country of the Celestial Empire, as long as he took care of the things in front of him.

But Li Shimin is different, under the influence of Li Kuan, as well as the huge benefits brought by maritime trade, he is still very interested in overseas affairs.

On his royal table, a special globe was placed on the table, and Li Shimin studied it almost every day.

"This time, His Royal Highness the King of Chu arranged for people to sell cotton cloth overseas, and prepared to use cotton cloth as a new export weapon for our Datang, and his subordinates felt that this was a great opportunity for the Baiqi Division to develop overseas forces. As long as a special trade team is set up, ninety percent of the personnel in it are normal businessmen and associates, but mixed with one percent of our hundred horsemen. With the low price and excellent quality of cotton cloth, it will not take a few years to completely occupy the overseas market, and then the power of our Baiqi Division will naturally develop to all over the world. ”

Li Zhong's proposal made Li Shimin's eyes shine.

Although Li Shimin also knew that Li Kuan had made the Governor's Office of the City of Ships set a rule, all cotton cloth going to sea needed the consent of the City Ship Division.

But if the Hundred Horsemen want to do something, will anyone stop them?

This can not only solve the problem of funding for the Hundred Cavalry Division, but also solve the problem of intelligence gathering.

Li Shimin felt that there was a lot to be done.

"Li Zhong, the Baiqi Division can not only collect intelligence by developing trade overseas, but also form other trade teams like the Northwest Trade, and even set up a new dart bureau like the Shunfeng Dart Bureau, which is dedicated to escorting various merchants, and can easily collect intelligence from all over the frontier."

Li Shimin didn't know that such a simple sentence of his own led to the emergence of a very special business organization in Datang.

Let's say that they are state-owned enterprises, and the household department cannot control them.

Let's say that they are royal enterprises, but nominally they have nothing to do with it.

However, people can pass through all parts of Datang unimpeded, and they have become one of the few commercial organizations in Datang.

"The subordinates will arrange it immediately!"

This was obviously a matter of expanding the influence of the Hundred Cavalry Division, and Li Zhong naturally happily carried it out.

……

"Lang Jun, that Wang Fugui's attitude is very resolute, that is, nine percent off the market price, and he won't buy any more money; I also confirmed that he bought cotton cloth from other families, and he did it at this price. ”

Wang Feng stood in front of Wang Jie with a bitter face, his heart full of remorse.

If your own cotton hadn't been processed into cotton cloth so quickly, the loss would not have been so big.

In order to seize the market, he made various arrangements early.

As a result, he got himself into the pit.

"10% off the market price! This market price is completely up to them, and if they sell it at a 10% discount, let alone make money, we will even eat up the profits from cotton planting. ”

Wang Jie's face was very ugly, but there was nothing he could do.

"I think that Wang Fugui set such a purchase price, in fact, even if we are accurate to the processing cost, I know that according to this price, everyone is basically near the break-even point, so as not to have too much hatred for the Chu Palace. In addition, they pretend to be generous to sell new textile equipment to everyone, so that even if they are dissatisfied, they can't say it. ”

When Wang Feng said this, don't mention the pain in his heart.

The cotton cloth shops in the entire Chang'an City are now watching the jokes of the Taiyuan Wang.

With such an iconic shop standing there, everyone accepts the loss of the finished cotton cloth, and their hearts are much better.

I'm afraid of comparison.

If the people around you can't eat enough, then you will feel very happy if you can have a few bowls of rice to eat every day.

But if everyone eats lobster shark fin, then you eat braised pork every day, and you also feel tasteless.

"This Li Kuan, it's really unruly, where is there such a table lift? Isn't it good for him to sell cotton cloth at the same price as us? With their excellent quality, they can sell better than everyone else. Now that they are making such a low price, even if they can still make money, they won't be able to make much money. ”

At this time, Wang Jie hated Li Kuan very much.

However, he didn't dare to say anything in front of outsiders, for fear that the Chu Wangfu would not buy the finished products of their Wang Ji cotton cloth at that time, and even further engage in a price war, then his Wang Jie's little heart really couldn't stand it.

That Wang Fugui has already spoken, he suggested that most cotton growers should plant cotton obediently, as for the spinning workshop, just like the professional spinning and cotton cloth workshops, everyone should not do everything from cotton planting to cotton weaving, so the efficiency is not high at all. Division of labor and cooperation, so that everyone can really earn money. ”

"Humph! Then Wang Fugui asked us not to do everything, but what about their Chu Palace? This is only allowed by the state officials to set fires, and the people are not allowed to light lamps. I'm Taiyuan Wang, but I have to do it from beginning to end, and I must make products that do not belong to the cotton cloth of Chu Wangfu. ”

Wang Jie is still very confident in his family's heritage.

This time, just unnoticed for a moment, the horse stumbled.

As long as the Taiyuan Wang family is willing to arrange for the craftsmen in his family to continuously improve the textile process, he is confident that the cost will be reduced to the level of the Chu Wangfu.

After all, the craftsmen of the Taiyuan Wang clan are not as good as the treatment of the Chu Wangfu.

"Lang Jun, the Chu Wangfu has always been domineering, but this time, we can't agree to it. These cotton fabrics are difficult to sell in Datang. Especially after the "Datang Daily" and other newspapers that distribute the whole country, what happened in Chang'an City will spread to various state capitals in just a few days, and even if we urgently transport the goods to other states and counties for sale, it will be too late. ”

Wang Feng has a bit of vision and knows what decision to make at this time.

If you can't break it, you will suffer from it.

"Sell it, sell it! After the sale, you will go to the Datang Royal Bank to borrow 100,000 yuan, and I will use the money from their money to continue to expand our cotton planting area. Wait until next year to see if their Chu Wangfu can still be so arrogant! ”

Although Wang Jie was very unhappy, he still decided to sell with tears.

The mechanical workshop of Guanshishan Academy has successfully researched more advanced textile machines, and this news has been walked out intentionally or unintentionally.

Wang Jie was afraid that the cotton cloth shop in the Chu Wangfu would drop the price again, and he would really lose money at that time.

……

In the Penglai Palace, Li Zhi carefully fed the eldest grandson queen ginseng soup.

As Li Zhi, who has no sense of presence in the court, he has not had any impression in the past few years except for leaving everyone with the impression of filial piety.

However, in the eyes of students such as Guanshishan Academy, Li Zhi is a knowledgeable and talented prince.

Not only is he very proficient in arithmetic, but he is also proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and even the knowledge of physical science and medicine, which is more than that of ordinary students.

It can be said that Li Zhi has a very good reputation among the students of various academies in Chang'an City.

"A-Niang, after drinking this bowl of ginseng soup, you can eat another bite of matcha rice cake, this is the latest small snack developed in the second brother's house, and the bread new language has not yet started to be sold."

When Li Zhi was here with Empress Changsun, he usually wouldn't talk to her about any heavy topics.

It's nothing more than a chat about eating and drinking, and talking about interesting things outside.

"Ahem!" As soon as Empress Changsun drank a sip of ginseng soup, she spit out all her coughs, "Pheasant slave, A-Niang can't drink it." Now I don't have any appetite for anything, but it's you, one is thinner, and you have to eat more. You Aya is busy with state affairs, and there is no time to discipline you, A-Niang estimates that it won't last long, and in the future, you have to learn to take care of yourself. ”

Empress Changsun looked very open.

As early as six or seven years ago, she had already experienced a life-and-death cross.

However, her sons have always made her unable to let go.

Needless to say, Li Chengqian was impeached by the minister every once in a while, and Li Shimin, a father, was already very dissatisfied in his heart.

If it weren't for the persuasion and enlightenment of Empress Changsun, it is estimated that Li Shimin would have been unable to resist setting up another crown prince.

As for Li Tai, Empress Changsun was worried about the dispute between him and Li Chengqian, which made her feel the atmosphere before the Xuanwumen Change.

Empress Changsun absolutely does not want the Tang royal family to perform another story of Xuanwumen.

"A-Niang, you can recuperate with peace of mind, now all the Lang Zhong of the Guanshi Mountain Academy Medical College are very powerful, not only Doctor Sun has been sitting there, Lin Lang and others are also people with superb medical skills, and even the nest doctor of Tai Hospital is also extraordinary, you will definitely be fine."

Believe it or not, Li Zhi could only say some comforting words.

"Pheasant slave, you are too kind-hearted. Being in the royal family, if you are too kind, you will suffer! But there is one thing you did right, you are close to Kuan'er, and with him to protect you, there will be no big storms. However, on your uncle's side, you still have to move around more, and A-Niang has also mentioned it to him, so that he can take care of you more. ”

Empress Changsun is like this, obviously arranging the aftermath in advance.

In her opinion, Li Zhi, the youngest son, is a child who doesn't understand anything and needs to be protected.

As for whether Li Zhi really doesn't understand anything like she sees, probably only Li Zhi himself knows.

Well, maybe you have to add Li Kuan.

After all, in history, Li Zhi was able to become the emperor and successfully stayed on the throne for more than 30 years, and also brought the land area of the Tang Dynasty to the peak, which must have his merits.

Of course, under the influence of various dramas, many people in later generations had a bad impression of Li Zhi.

I feel that this is a mediocre and incompetent emperor.

However, imagine how he became the crown prince, is it really that he has not done any effort?

Even if he really didn't make any effort, he was hit by a pie, so how did an emperor who has no cronies in the court take back the power from the eldest grandson Wuji, who controls the power in the court?

Li Zhi is much smarter than everyone thinks.

Royal, few are real fools.

"Auntie, don't worry, I will go to my uncle's house every once in a while to listen to my uncle's teachings."

Don't look at the eldest grandson's family always suffering at the hands of Li Kuan, but this does not mean that the eldest grandson's influence in the Tang Dynasty is declining.

On the contrary, in the past few years, Changsun Wuji's power in the DPRK has actually been growing, and many officials are close associates of Changsun Wuji.

In the competition between Li Chengqian and Li Tai, why he seems to be more and more impatient, is because the eldest grandson Wuji no longer supports him obviously.

On the contrary, Li Tai often took the initiative to give gifts to his powerful uncle, wanting to get support.

However, the eldest grandson Wuji felt that Li Tai was a little difficult to control, and he did not show a very obvious intention to support Li Tai.

Anyway, both of them are the nephews of the eldest grandson Wuji, and no matter who becomes the emperor, they will not treat the eldest grandson family badly.

"That's good! You're going to ......"

Empress Changsun had just said half of her words when she was interrupted by a "coughing" sound.

I saw that she was pale and thin, and she no longer had that kind of peerless appearance.

"Auntie, lie down and rest for a while, I'll be with you by my side."

When Li Zhi saw the appearance of Empress Eldest Sun like this, his heart was also painful.

said that Li Zhi was filial, he was indeed really filial.

Li Shimin and his wife's love for him is also sincere, otherwise he would not have stayed in Daming Palace until now.

You must know that neither Li Chengqian nor Li Tai has this treatment.

is also a favored son, who can always accompany Li Shimin and Empress Changsun.

In this way, Li Zhi stayed in Penglai Hall every day, and during this period, Li Shimin and others would also come to visit Empress Changsun every day, and everyone would naturally see Li Zhi's benevolence and filial piety.

And when the first heavy snow in Chang'an City slowly arrived with the night, Empress Changsun finally ran out of oil and dried up.

When her personal palace maid, as usual, was carrying hot water and preparing to wash the eldest grandson empress who had just woken up, she found that there was no movement on the bed for a long time.

"Queen Mother, Queen Mother!"

With the frightened shouts of the palace maids, the eldest grandson of a generation of queens passed away peacefully.