"Yan Zhuang, do you have talents around you who are good at management?" Li Hong suddenly asked.

He is very short of money now, and Datang now has two trade routes that are very profitable, the first is the Silk Road to the Western Regions, Datang's silk and porcelain, as well as tea, etc., are very popular in the Western Regions, and when the embroidered spring knife is mass-produced, he does not mind selling the horizontal knife replaced by the army to these countries.

The second is the sea route to Dongying, Fusang and Goryeo, Baekje and Silla, Goryeo, Baekje and Silla are now fighting against the Tang Dynasty, and at this time, isn't it the time to make a fortune in Goryeo and Baekje and Silla? Not to mention that there is also a gold-producing Dongying Fuso.

Therefore, it was decided to take the path of trading to make money. It's just that what he lacks now is a good businessman.

Shinong, businessmen, and businessmen have always been at the bottom of the list in all dynasties, and the Tang Dynasty is no exception. Therefore, when Yan Zhuang heard the prince ask, he asked quite puzzled, "Does Your Highness need a good hand in business?" Do you think..."

"If you want to set up the intelligence system of the East Palace, train the secret guards, and study the movable type printing and make the embroidered spring knife mass-produced, this requires money, and you know very well how much money the East Palace has at its disposal now, if we don't make money through trade routes, do we also have to embezzle the treasury taxes?" Li Hong said with a serious expression.

Although he is a prince and is deeply favored by Gaozong, his annual income is still limited, and the amount of money and food allocated by Gaozong to the East Palace is very fixed, so this money is not enough to support the things he has to do now. Not to mention that there are many, many things he has to do in the future, just relying on the little money and food allocated by Gaozong to the East Palace, I am afraid that many of his plans will be stillborn, so the only way is to open up his own channels of making money, so that the East Palace has its own small treasury.

"What is Your Highness going to run?" Yan Zhuang asked cautiously.

"The things that were distributed to the countries of the Western Regions were silk, porcelain, tea, salt and iron, etc., and the grain and medicinal materials that were sold to Goryeo, Silla, and Baekje were traded. Li Hong said roughly.

However, he already has a list in his heart, but the time is not yet yet, and the time is not yet ripe, and it is not easy to make it public.

After Yan Zhuang heard Li Hong's answer, his face suddenly turned pale, and he saw that he tried his best to stabilize his mind, pondered for a while, and then said, "Your Highness, the Tang Dynasty is fighting against Goryeo, Baekje, and Silla in Liaodong, and Dongying Fusang is involved in it, wanting to help Silla restore the country. At this time, we are not suitable to sell grain and medicinal materials to Liaodong, right? ”

Although Yan Zhuang did not speak thoroughly, he could dump military supplies such as grain and medicinal herbs to enemy countries, which was an act of financing the enemy, and even if Li Hong was the crown prince, he would be impeached by the imperial history. Li Hong had long known that Yan Zhuang would have this kind of worry, so he smiled faintly and said, "You can rest assured of this, when the time comes, you will be free to make up your mind." ”

Yan Zhuang saw that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said so surely, and wanted to dissuade him again, but when he saw the Prince's resolute gaze, he didn't say anything. After thinking for a moment, he spoke, "Your Highness, there is indeed no such person around the minister, but we just found such a person, we want to form a caravan and form a fleet to go to sea, not to mention spending a huge amount of money, I am afraid that we will not be able to make a profit in a short time, but if we find a few caravans in Chang'an City to do business in the Western Regions and a fleet to ship goods to Fusang in the east, it is not difficult to take them for our own use." ”

As soon as Yan Zhuang said this, Li Hong also realized how problematic his idea was just now.

Indeed, if he wants to build a caravan and a fleet from scratch, I am afraid that he does not have so much money, and even if he has money, he will not be able to make a profit in a short time, and he will not be able to pay for the huge expenses of the East Palace at that time.

And he found that Yan Zhuang's method was good, which not only avoided asking him to spend a lot of money to set up caravans and fleets, but also avoided the disadvantages of not being able to make a profit in the short term. To put it bluntly, Yan Zhuang's method was to subdue a few caravans for his use and establish a team of imperial merchants who made money specifically for him.

Li Hong pondered for a moment, felt that this method was feasible and safe, and said, "Okay, then this matter will be left to you." Remember, look for someone who is a little stronger and has a good management. Also, the caravan personnel must not be too mixed and not reveal too much information about Lone to them. ”

The reason why he handed over this matter to Yan Zhuang was that in addition to Yan Zhuang being at ease in doing this matter, he also wanted to compensate Yan Zhuang.

Because Yan Zhuang has been setting up the East Palace secret guard and intelligence system for six years, he has no merit and hard work, and suddenly he is deprived of his power in this regard, and it will not be balanced on anyone.

Now let Yan Zhuang be responsible for forming the imperial merchant team, which can be regarded as a kind of compensation to Yan Zhuang.

"Your Highness, rest assured, the minister knows what to do." Yan Zhuang bowed down and said, the joy in his eyes flashed, because it made Yan Zhuang clear that the prince handed over such an important matter to him, which meant that his position in the prince's heart had not changed.

"Hmmm! You are still very relieved to be lonely! Li Hong nodded slightly and said.

After that, he was silent, and his mind was caught up in the reorganization of the Dark Guard. Because now that the problem of money has been solved, it is urgent to rebuild the secret guard and intelligence system!

As for how to set up a secret guard and intelligence system belonging to the East Palace, Li Hong already had an idea in his heart, that is, he wanted to imitate the Jinyi Guard, the secret service agency of the Lighting Dynasty, and establish his own Yulin Guard. And in the Yulin Guard he formed, he was going to set up two subsistors in the north and south. Among them, let Nanzhen Fusi be responsible for the law and discipline, military discipline and training of the Yulin Guard. Beizhen Fusi passed on intelligence investigations, arrests and assassinations, interrogations, etc. At the same time, he also wanted to set up an edict prison in Yu Linwei, so that Yu Linwei had the power to arrest, torture, and execute some important criminals.

Li Hong knew that the establishment of Yulinwei would be no good for Datang, only bad, because Yulinwei was a spy agency after all, and once it officially became a spy agency of Datang, it would definitely exist independently of the current three provinces and six departments and nine temples and five prisons of Datang.

Then, in the future, if Yu Linwei is used by some powerful ministers, it will definitely become a tool for him to control the government and supervise the courtiers.

But now is a special period, the person he has to deal with is the Empress Wu, and the enemy hidden in the shadows, there is no way out, so he can only do this.

Yan Zhuang saw that the prince was in deep thought, and was about to say goodbye and leave.

Li Hong suddenly said, "Yan Zhuang, if you go and pass the word to Yu Xunyan, you will say that you want to see him." ”

Yan Zhuang couldn't help but be shocked when he heard that the prince was going to see Yu Chi Xunyan, because he knew that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was preparing to use Yu Chi Xunyan to take charge of the secret guard of the East Palace, although he was a little bitter in his heart, he didn't have too much resentment, after all, his ability in this area was limited, so he bowed down and withdrew from the study.