In fact, the prominent families in Hebei and Shandong never expected to make money by doing business with Li Jue.
Their cooperation and support for Li Jue were solely to pave the way for the next few decades.
After all, they were completely discredited by Li Shimin. No matter how they behaved, this emperor who rose to power through conquest would never give them a second glance.
In contrast, Li Jue was different.
First of all, it was already common knowledge in the court and among the people that Li Jue was a popular candidate for the crown prince.
Furthermore, Li Jue is currently just an ordinary grandson of the emperor and has not received formal investiture from His Majesty. Therefore, betting on him now would be extremely profitable.
Secondly, Li Jue respected his teachers and was known for his benevolence and righteousness.
Don't underestimate the importance of reputation. Someone who can have a reputation for benevolence and righteousness at such a young age must have excellent character.
As the saying goes, you can tell what a person will be like at three years old, let alone Li Jue who is almost twelve.
Li Jue's ability to gain a reputation for benevolence and righteousness proves that he will not be ungrateful in the future!
Finally, and most importantly, Li Jue was the eldest son of the legitimate heir, the most orthodox eldest grandson of the Tang Dynasty.
The prominent families in Shandong and Hebei were almost all Confucian scholars, and they placed great importance on the primogeniture system.
In fact, the reason they were able to break with Li Shimin was largely because their support for Li Jiancheng had aroused Li Shimin's dissatisfaction.
Based on the above three points, why would they care about the little money they make in business?
Therefore, when Li Jue proposed to distribute 20% of the profits to the soldiers who died or were wounded, they did not hesitate at all and immediately agreed.
Li Jue had thought he would have to use a lot of persuasion, but he didn't expect these seemingly profit-driven merchants to be so understanding.
"On behalf of the fallen soldiers, I thank you all for your generosity!"
"Although the profits this time are thin, I will not let you suffer losses. His Majesty just granted me the right to recommend officials from Hebei and Shandong."
"As you all know, I was born in the Eastern Palace and grew up in Qianzhou. I am not familiar with the local customs and culture of Hebei and Shandong."
"You are all outstanding individuals from Shandong and Hebei. If you have any suitable candidates, please recommend them to me. I will then recommend them to the imperial court after I have assessed their qualifications!"
Li Jue spoke with a guilty conscience, but Kong Dechao and the others were shocked, especially Changsun Wuji, whose eyes widened in surprise!
Oh no!
His Majesty has entrusted the appointment and removal of officials in Hebei and Shandong to his eldest grandson!
Changsun Wuji knew the workings of the imperial court best. Generally speaking, officials who could be recommended would be appointed, unless they were of very poor character or had a bad reputation.
Furthermore, Li Jue does not know any virtuous and talented people in Hebei and Shandong, so does Your Majesty know any?
Aren't the officials appointed by His Majesty all recommended by his subordinates?
Therefore, this power of recommendation is very important. The fact that His Majesty could bestow it as a reward on Li Jue alone means that he intended to hand over Hebei and Shandong to Li Jue!
Kong Dechao was incredibly excited and couldn't wait to fly back to Shandong to tell his elder brother Kong Delun the good news.
If what the eldest grandson said is true, then the Kong family's opportunity has arrived!
Although Kong Dechao was just an unknown merchant in Pyongyang, once he returned to Shandong, he would be a 33rd-generation descendant of Confucius!
Kong Dechao was like this, and the other merchants who followed him were roughly the same in status, almost all of them were illegitimate sons of various families, or sons of minor branches of the family.
Upon hearing this news, they were all incredibly excited and immediately left their seats to kneel on the ground.
"We, the humble people, thank the eldest grandson for his great kindness!"
"If our eldest grandson can recommend our lord, we are willing to offer up all the profits from this venture!"
Upon hearing this, Li Jue quickly offered an explanation.
"Listen carefully, everyone. I only have the right to recommend, not the right to appoint."
Everyone laughed upon hearing this.
"Same!"
"With the eldest grandson making the recommendation, can His Majesty possibly refute it?"
Li Jue rolled his eyes upon hearing this.
"That's hard to say!"
"I got a good beating from His Majesty just a few days ago. If it weren't for you all bringing the grain, I think I would have gotten a few more beatings from him..."
"The eldest grandson is too modest!"
"As the saying goes, the deeper the love, the harsher the criticism. His Majesty has too high expectations for you, which is why he is so strict with you..."
"I hope so..."
"But let me make it clear from the beginning, I am only responsible for making the recommendation, and I cannot guarantee whether it will be successful."
"Therefore, we will do our business as usual. Even if the recommendation is successful in the end, I will not take advantage of you in any way!"
"Oh, by the way, stop focusing on your own patriarchs and recommend a few more outstanding members of the clan!"
"We know, hehehe..."
"Eldest grandson, when will you and His Majesty depart for the capital?"
"Well..."
Just as Li Jue was hesitating, Su Dingfang, who was standing to the side, immediately shouted.
"Hey!"
"This is a matter of great military importance, how dare you spy on military intelligence!"
Upon hearing this, everyone turned pale and immediately kowtowed repeatedly to beg for forgiveness.
"Please forgive us, eldest grandson. We had no intention of spying on military intelligence. We only wished that Your Highness would pass through Bixiang on your return journey and that we could properly entertain you..."
Li Jue naturally knew their intentions, and in fact, he was never worried that these people would betray him or the Tang Dynasty.
After all, Goguryeo could only offer a small price, far less than what they could offer themselves.
"Don't panic, I know you mean no harm."
"But as Su Dingfang said, this is a military secret and cannot be disclosed."
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