Kong Dechao naturally did not believe Li Shimin's words. In the eyes of their prominent Shandong family, this emperor had rarely spoken credibly.

But he didn't dare to refute it to his face, so he could only stammer and show that he was in a difficult position.

Li Shimin had seen countless people, and upon seeing this man's appearance, he knew that this man did not trust him.

If this were in Chang'an, even if he didn't have this person dragged out and beheaded, he would still order someone to drag him out and whip him hundreds of times to vent his anger.

But now that he's in Pyongyang and desperately needs these unscrupulous merchants to transport grain, he has no choice but to swallow his anger for the time being.

"I have instructed Li Jue to speak to you!"

Upon hearing the name "Li Jue," Kong Dechao's eyes lit up, and he quickly greeted him with a beaming smile.

"That's perfect! Now I can give my lord an explanation!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin snorted coldly, then angrily returned to the palace and headed straight for the palace where Li Jue was recuperating.

In Li Shimin's eyes, the so-called palace was nothing more than a larger house, and it couldn't compare to his Taiji Palace in Chang'an at all.

But in remote Pyongyang, he could only make do for the time being.

However, in order to allow Li Jue to recover properly, he still gave up the largest house in the palace.

Li Jue's injuries had almost healed, but when he saw Li Shimin sneak in, he quickly pretended to groan and moan.

"It hurts so much, waaaaah..."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin kicked the bed.

"Stop playing the victim in front of me!"

"Get up right now and tell your lackey to send over two hundred more ships full of grain!"

"Grandpa, it's such a small matter. You just need to give them a heads-up, and they'll take care of it for you. You don't need me to get involved, do you?"

"I……"

"I would like to say something, but they won't listen!"

Li Shimin was extremely frustrated. He never expected that he would have such a poor reputation in the eyes of the unscrupulous merchants in Shandong, even worse than this grandson!

Li Jue was also somewhat incredulous upon hearing this.

"They don't trust you?"

"snort!"

"They dare!"

The more stern and forceful Li Shimin appeared, the more outwardly fierce but inwardly weak he seemed.

Upon seeing this, Li Jue immediately understood that Li Er had just been rebuffed by others and was coming to him to vent his frustrations.

Therefore, I must never provoke this old man!

"Grandpa, please wait a moment, I'll be right there..."

Li Jue went out for a stroll and returned quickly, then said with a grin.

"Done!"

"Two hundred more ships carrying grain will arrive in half a month, and Pyongyang's food shortage crisis will be resolved immediately!"

"So fast?"

This time it was Li Shimin's turn to be incredulous. He, the emperor, couldn't handle it, yet Li Jue had managed to do it so easily.

"certainly!"

“My grandson already has business dealings with them. A large portion of the goods he looted in Goguryeo were to be distributed by them, so they were naturally willing to cooperate.”

What price did you offer them?

"The price is still the same!"

“My grandson’s original price was already quite high. One shi of grain could be exchanged for a sheepskin, which was enough for them to make several times the profit.”

"this……"

Li Shimin was speechless upon hearing this, thinking to himself that he hadn't been able to get things done even with double the price, but this bastard had managed to do it with just a sheepskin.

However, Goguryeo did have a lot of sheepskins because Goguryeo had a semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral production structure, with herders accounting for more than half of the population.

"good!"

"From now on, the officials in Shandong and Hebei will be under your management. You can recommend talented people to serve as officials in these two places!"

"ah?"

Li Jue never expected that Li Er would be so generous this time, giving him such a huge windfall!

etc!

Is this pie a trap?

"Grandpa, isn't this reward a bit too much?"

"Moreover, the appointment and removal of officials is the prerogative of the Ministry of Personnel and the Three Departments. Won't entrusting such an important matter to your grandson cause dissatisfaction among the officials?"

Li Shimin snorted coldly upon hearing this.

"I'm giving it to you, so accept it properly!"

"You didn't listen carefully to what I said! You only have the right to recommend, but whether or not to use them is still up to me!"

"Oh oh oh..."

Upon hearing this, Li Jue felt a chill run down his spine and slunk out of the palace.

Kong Dechao came from afar to deliver grain, so as the temporary landlord, he had to host a banquet to entertain him.

Li Jue actually disliked the Goguryeo royal palace because it was too cramped and confined, but the restaurants and teahouses in Pyongyang were even worse, practically comparable to pigsties.

Left with no other choice, he had to hold a banquet in the palace to entertain these friends who had come from afar.

Just as Li Jue was hosting a banquet, Li Shiji, who had been missing for several days, finally returned.

He led 5,000 men out of the city and traveled for three and a half days before finally reaching the bandits' lair and reclaiming the grain they had bought.

As for the thieves... those who could escape ran away, and those who couldn't were all wiped out by him.

This is Li Shiji's style of doing things: simple, efficient, and direct.

"Your Majesty, I have successfully carried out my mission and brought back all the grain that my eldest grandson had sold!"

"How many?"

"A full fifty thousand shi!"

"good!"

"Now Pyongyang will no longer have to worry about food shortages!"

"You may go and rest now. I will host a banquet for you another day!"

"another day?"

Li Shiji was stunned when he heard this. He had just been at the palace gate and saw people killing chickens and sheep. Wasn't this prepared to entertain him?

"Your Majesty, do you have other guests today?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin quickly waved his hand.

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!