Chapter 510 Sang Zhi leaves the palace without permission

If Xi Fengying returned to Xiyan, would he start a war against Beili? This was his biggest concern.

The Xiyan royal family is really a difficult existence. All the direct bloodlines of their clan are implicated, and there will be corresponding sensations if they die, so he has been imprisoned and dared not take action.

"Send someone secretly to follow Xiyan's troops all the way, and report immediately if they find anything unusual." Emperor Beili said in a deep voice.

"yes."

"Your Majesty, the wind is strong at the city gate. Let's go back to the palace first." Eunuch Li stepped forward and said.

"Um."

Emperor Beili turned around and suddenly found a line of carriages and horses carrying a large amount of goods coming from the city gate. Leading them seemed to be Li Mu, the leader of the imperial merchants he had appointed a few days ago.

"Go and take him with you."

Eunuch Li turned his head and nodded, "Yes."

Emperor Beili's eyes fell on the dozen or so carriages behind him. Thinking of the Gu family's property, he narrowed his eyes slightly. Business is really profitable. If so much money is used to recruit soldiers, the consequences will be disastrous.

If all of Beili's commerce were used to fill the treasury, Beili would undoubtedly become stronger.

"Your Majesty." Li Mu hurried over following Eunuch Li and knelt down to pay his respects.

"Get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Li Mu stood up.

"What kind of cargo is being transported down there?"

"Your Majesty, the cloth was shipped from Suizhou. Some was sent to the cloth shop, and some of the best material was sent to the palace."

"Well, how was the handover between you and Gu Shuo? Was there any disclosure in the accounts?" asked Emperor Beili.

"I just checked last year's account two days ago, and no disclosures were made in the accounts. I am also currently checking the accounts from the year before last. If there are any findings, I will report them to the Emperor immediately."

"There's no need to check the accounts from the year before last. I trust Gu Shuo. He's the most talented of the Gu family. He's made a lot of money in the two years since he started his business, and the national treasury is full." Emperor Beili praised him.

Li Mu lowered his eyes: "Yes."

"Li Mu, I have noticed you before. You are talented and smart, comparable to Gu Shuo. That's why I have chosen you to take over the Imperial Merchants. Do you have the confidence to expand the Imperial Merchants?" Emperor Beili stared at him and asked.

Li Mu was overjoyed and immediately knelt down: "I will do my utmost to expand the Imperial Merchants and will never let you down."

"Very good. I believe in your ability and that you will make Huangshang the largest merchant in Beili." The Emperor of Beili's eyes were bright, revealing his ambition.

Li Mu looked up and met the ambitious eyes of Emperor Beili. His heart skipped a beat. The emperor wanted to drive the Gu family out of its position as the largest merchant family.

"Are you confident?" Emperor Beili stared at him with sharp eyes.

Li Mu came back to his senses and said in a high voice: "I have confidence that the Royal Merchants will dominate Beili."

"Okay." Emperor Beili was very happy. "When that day comes, I will personally host a banquet to celebrate for you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Li Mu's emotions were ignited.

"Young man, just do what you want. I will support you."

"yes."

With the emperor's words, Li Mu was excited, and he understood what the emperor meant.

The imperial merchants have the emperor behind them, unlike those merchants. The world belongs to the royal family, and merchants must also be headed by the royal family.

Emperor Beili likes smart people and even more so people with tough means. The process is not important, what matters is that the result is satisfactory.

"Your Majesty, I discovered that Prince Nanyuan went to Shuijingtai to find Gu Shuo a few days ago, and the two seemed to be discussing business cooperation." Li Mu suddenly thought of this.

"Business cooperation with Nanyuan?"

"Yes, Gu Shuo seems to want to buy some seafood from Nanyuan. There's a disagreement over the price, so the deal hasn't been finalized yet."

"It seems that Gu Shuo resigned from the position of imperial merchant and wants to go into business. What profit can he make from entering the aquatic products market from Nanyuan? Do you know if there are any differences in pricing?" Emperor Beili narrowed his eyes slightly.

Gu Shuo is very smart in business. Nanyuan is very far away and the price of aquatic products in several countries is not high. Why would he set his sights on Nanyuan?

"Twenty copper coins for a pound of seafood. The Emperor of Nanyuan wanted to raise the price, so Gu Shuo gave up the deal. Prince Yu pestered him in every possible way, and finally Gu Shuo was willing to buy it at the price Nanyuan sold it at, on the premise that Prince Yu could make the decision. If Prince Yu couldn't make the decision, the deal would probably not be done." Li Mu recounted in detail what he had heard that day.

Emperor Beili stroked his beard and remained silent. Twenty copper coins per pound of seafood was already a sky-high price in Beili. Did Emperor Nanyuan still want to raise the price?

What is hidden in Nanyuan that gives the emperor the capital to raise the price?

It seems he needs to ask someone to investigate.

It seems that Gu Shuo's business is very big. He has only taken over the Royal Merchants for more than two years and has not received any share of the Gu family's property. Where does he get so much money to swallow Nanyuan in one go?

Moreover, the price is twenty copper coins per pound. The amount of Nanyuan's aquatic products produced in a year is innumerable, which means countless gold and silver!

Li Mu looked at the emperor's expression and thought he must be suspicious of Gu Shuo. He felt that it was impossible for Gu Shuo not to have amassed wealth since he had been in charge of the emperor for so long.

As long as the emperor sends someone to investigate, he will definitely be able to find something to hold against Gu Shuo.

After a long while, Emperor Beili asked, "Prince Yu has compromised on the price of seafood at eight copper coins per pound, right?"

"Yes."

"Go keep an eye on Gu Shuo. If he really takes on this deal, before the contract is signed, I'll ask you to snatch it away. You might be able to do it."

Li Mu was a little surprised. Shouldn't the emperor send someone to investigate whether Gu Shuo had accepted bribes?

"how?"

"No... I'm just curious why the Emperor also wants to cooperate with Nan Yuan."

"Gu Shuo never does business that loses money. It's impossible for him to want to take over Nanyuan's aquatic products for no reason. There must be a way to make money. I asked you to get involved so you can figure out the reason." Emperor Beili did not say it too bluntly.

Li Mu was also a smart man. He thought about it and nodded immediately: "I understand, but if Gu Shuo disagrees, does the emperor really want to acquire Nanyuan Aquatic Products?"

Emperor Beili pondered: "We will decide on this matter later."

"yes."

"You should step back first."

"I'll take my leave." Li Mu took a few steps back and turned to walk down the city wall.

Emperor Beili turned his head to look at the city below. It was good for the imperial merchants that the Gu family had dispersed their industries. There were not many smart people in the current generation of the Gu family. It was only a matter of time before the imperial merchants squeezed out the Gu family's industries.

Gu Shuo was the one who gave him the most headaches. In just two years, he had witnessed his talent, resigned from the Imperial Merchant, and immediately set his sights on Nan Yuan. It was too fast.

"Someone, go check how many properties Gu Shuo has under his name."

"yes."

"Let someone investigate the business between Nanyuan and Gu Shuo to find out what's going on." Emperor Beili was very worried.

"yes."

The guard left secretly.

The eyes of the Emperor of Beili were deep. Since the birthday banquet, strange things have happened frequently, and nothing has happened that makes him happy.

Under the city wall, in the tea stall.

Ye Qianning sat in the corner. She was very small and there were many people in the teahouse, so she could not be seen from outside because she was sitting in the corner.

(End of this chapter)