Li Jue naturally wouldn't accept Yan Lide's 100,000 strings of cash. Not only would he not accept the money, he would also give Yan Lide 10% of the profits.
Of course, he did this not because he was afraid of Yan Lide, but because he was afraid that the old man would be unhappy and then mess up his brother's marriage.
In Li Jue's mind, building a mausoleum was a highly profitable business.
Just the thought of being buried alongside the emperor would drive the wealthy families of Chang'an mad!
Chang'an.
After Li Jue left, the entire city of Chang'an seemed much quieter.
The once bustling Qujiang Pool is now deserted. The East and West Markets, usually teeming with traffic, are now sparsely populated, resembling a scene from the apocalypse.
The changes on the streets of Chang'an quickly caught Xiao Yu's attention.
There's nothing he can do; this old man still relies on those food stalls to fill his stomach every day.
Seeing that there were fewer and fewer food stalls, and even many workshops had stopped operating, Xiao Yu could only put on his thick cotton-padded coat and go to chat with Li Er.
Li Er looked at the bright sun outside, then at his own thin summer clothes, and asked with a puzzled expression.
"Is Minister Xiao ill?"
Xiao Yu shook his head upon hearing this.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I am in very good health!"
This time it was Li Er's turn to be dumbfounded, and he immediately asked.
"Since Minister Xiao is not ill, why are you dressed so warmly? Do you feel cold?"
Xiao Yu had been waiting for these words, and immediately began to complain to Li Er.
"Doesn't Your Majesty find Chang'an quite cold lately?"
"Is it cold?"
"Minister Xiao, what exactly are you trying to say in riddles?"
"If Your Majesty is not busy, please come with me for a visit to Qujiang Pool!"
Li Er had been cooped up in the palace for two months, and when he heard about visiting Qujiang Pool, he immediately became interested.
"OK!"
"I will bring along the concubines from the palace to accompany me..."
Xiao Yu curled her lip upon hearing this, finding Li Er's behavior of never forgetting to bring women along no matter what he did utterly despicable.
Before long, Li Er led more than a dozen concubines to Qujiang Pool in a grand procession.
Upon seeing the deserted state of Qujiang Pool, Li Er immediately lost his temper and summoned Yuchi Fan, giving him a severe scolding.
"Didn't I tell you? I want to share the joy with the people and I forbid driving away tourists!"
Upon hearing this, Yuchi Fan quickly offered an explanation.
"Your Majesty, I did exactly as you instructed; I didn't disperse the crowd at all!"
"Then why are there so few people at Qujiang Pool?"
"this……"
Yuchi Fan stammered and couldn't speak. In fact, if he hadn't had the Hundred Cavalrymen pretend to be tourists, the scene His Majesty might have seen would have been even more desolate.
"Your Majesty, perhaps it's the busy farming season?"
Upon hearing this, Li Er was so angry that he jumped up and down.
"It's only early summer, where's the busy farming season?"
Seeing that things were going well, Xiao Yu stepped forward with a smile.
“Your Majesty, this matter is indeed not General Yuchi’s fault. In fact, since the eldest grandson left the capital, the streets of Chang’an have become much quieter, and even Qujiang Pool has been deserted.”
"oh?"
Li Er was very surprised to hear this. Although his expulsion of Li Jue was only a temporary measure, he couldn't understand what Li Jue's existence had to do with the prosperity of Chang'an.
"Minister Xiao, isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?"
"I admit that Li Jue is indeed very talented in business, but surely he doesn't have such a great influence?"
"Your Majesty, this matter is difficult to say..."
"Although the desolation of the streets of Chang'an was not caused by the eldest grandson, the fact that the eldest grandson was expelled without cause has greatly shocked the merchants of Chang'an!"
"Because the eldest grandson's support for commerce is evident to all, in recent years, with the help of the eldest grandson, commerce in Chang'an has been exceptionally prosperous."
"At this time, the eldest grandson was expelled, and the other merchants, feeling sorry for their own kind, must have been disheartened."
As the saying goes, it is easy to find a thousand soldiers, but difficult to find a general.
“With the eldest grandson gone, they have lost their pillar of support. Without their pillar of support, they naturally don’t know what to do.”
"this……"
Li Shimin remained silent for a while after hearing Xiao Yu's words. Then he looked at the deserted Qujiang Pool and the Furong Garden not far away, and sighed inwardly.
"I understand. You mean the merchants of Chang'an have lost their confidence..."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yu quickly offered a compliment.
"Your Majesty is absolutely right. The most important thing in commerce is confidence. Once merchants lose their confidence in making money, they will naturally back down."
Li Shimin immediately lost interest in sightseeing, leaving more than a dozen concubines at Qujiang Pool, and took a carriage to stroll around the East and West Markets.
Although Li Shimin had anticipated this, he was still taken aback when he saw the deserted East and West Markets.
How did it turn out like this!
Does the Tang Dynasty not have Li Jue, this rebellious grandson, to make a living?
Even now, Li Shimin still doesn't realize Li Jue's importance. He even thinks that Li Jue is deliberately making things difficult for him, trying to make him back down and bring him back from his hometown.
However, Li Shimin was notorious for being stubborn and unyielding.
"Hmph!"
"I refuse to believe that my Chang'an cannot prosper!"
"By imperial decree, all shops must open for business!"
Upon hearing this, Yuchi Fan hurriedly agreed, while Xiao Yu smiled without saying a word, waiting to see Li Shimin make a fool of himself.
He realized that His Majesty had no understanding of economics at all.
Sure enough, all the shops opened as scheduled the next day, but the streets were still very deserted.
This puzzled Li Shimin greatly, so he immediately asked Xiao Yu, who was standing nearby, for advice.
Xiao Yu knew the answer, but he couldn't be bothered to pay attention to Li Er.
"Your Majesty, I am not knowledgeable in economics either. If Your Majesty really wishes to ask, why not summon your eldest grandson back and have him explain it to you?"
"he?"
Li Shimin curled his lip in disdain. This matter was no longer about whether or not to summon Li Jue, but about his dignity as the emperor.
"Since you don't understand, then I'll find someone who does!"
If we were to say who in the Tang Dynasty understood economics best, it would probably be Li Jue or Changsun Wuji.
After all, Changsun Wuji's family controlled two of the most profitable businesses: salt and iron.
In the early Tang Dynasty, there was no monopoly on salt and iron; basically, whoever had money could do these two businesses.
Even so, those who could engage in the salt and iron trade were either very rich or powerful, and had nothing to do with ordinary people.
Many salt wells were even controlled by members of the Li Tang imperial family.
"Auxiliary machine, haven't you noticed that Chang'an Street is much quieter?"
Changsun Wuji naturally noticed, but since his family dealt in large-scale business, he didn't care about the retail industry in Chang'an.
"Your Majesty, it's not that deserted, is it? There are still quite a few merchant caravans coming and going outside the city."
Li Shimin sighed upon hearing this.
"Outside the city is outside the city, and inside the city is inside the city."
"The city is so deserted now, where do you expect me to put my face?!"
"Well..."
"Does Your Majesty wish to restore the liveliness of Chang'an?"
"certainly!"
"Otherwise, why would I have come to see you?"
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