Shuozhou City.
After the initial panic, Li Zhi gradually adapted to the rhythm of this border town.
Not only did he stop going up to the city wall every day to comfort the soldiers, he also didn't care much about when the city gates closed.
Li Zhi's policy of non-interference unexpectedly led to the prosperity of Shuozhou.
Shuozhou was located at the border between the Tang Dynasty and the grasslands, and many merchants from the grasslands came to trade every day. Now that the city gates were closed for a longer period, they had more time to bargain with the Tang people, or simply stay in the city.
The vast majority of foreign merchants were very law-abiding, and they followed the rules of the Tang Dynasty.
However, trade has always been based on fairness and justice. Once one party gains a dominant position, it will inevitably dominate the distribution of profits.
The same was true for the Tang Dynasty.
The Tang people's valiant fighting on the frontier led to a general expansion of their power.
When dealing with foreign merchants, they showed them not only no basic respect, but they treated them almost as less than human beings.
For example, some people try to trade a few pounds of salt for a sheep. Others try to trade a mediocre bow for a horse or a cow...
It should be noted that the two horns of this bull alone are enough to make several fine bows.
But that's just how domineering Tang Dynasty merchants were.
If the Hu people do not return the goods, they will call on their friends and relatives, or even summon the government officials to uphold justice.
The government officials were all Tang people, so naturally they sided with the Tang people.
Over time, the Hu merchants also learned a way to deal with it: they would exchange defective products for other goods...
However, some foreign merchants took the high road, specifically cooperating with nobles of the Tang Dynasty.
For example, Hu Ketu.
Huketu himself didn't know which ethnic group he belonged to, or rather, no one on the grasslands could figure it out. They could only follow the customs of the grasslands and give them the general name of "Nine Surnames Mixed Hu".
Although Huktu came from a poor background, he was very intelligent from a young age. After witnessing how his elders made a lot of money through trade, he resolved to become the richest merchant on the grassland.
Hu Ketu knew that he couldn't make money by small-scale operations, so after arriving in Shuozhou City, he stayed in the largest inn and did nothing all day but listen to merchants from all over the country talking about strange and unusual things.
"Have you heard? His Highness the Crown Prince is desperate for money and actually ordered his subordinates to embezzle funds meant for the construction of the Eastern Palace. His Majesty the Emperor of Tang discovered this and exiled him to Shuozhou to guard the city..."
"Is the Crown Prince very poor?"
Huktu realized that this was very important news.
You should know that the most important person in the entire Shuozhou City right now is the Crown Prince. If he could get in touch with the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, his business would definitely flourish!
"Brother, the Crown Prince is the heir apparent of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty is rich beyond measure. How could he, as the Crown Prince, be short of money?"
"What do you know? The crown prince of the Tang Dynasty is different from the princes of our grasslands. The princes of the grasslands all have their own tribes and cattle and sheep, but the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, apart from an Eastern Palace, has to pay for even an extra bowl of mutton soup himself..."
"Moreover, the crown prince of the Central Plains is in greater danger; he could be killed at any moment. If the crown prince doesn't amass wealth to win over the people, how can he sleep soundly?"
"Oh oh oh..."
Seeing that the conversation had gone on long enough, Hu Ketu immediately began to plan how to make contact with the Crown Prince.
In fact, it wasn't difficult for him to get in touch with the Crown Prince.
Because he had already found out that this Tang Dynasty crown prince was very delicate and needed to eat fresh vegetables every day.
Where do the vegetables come from in Shuozhou? They have to be transported from Chang'an, a long distance away.
This would require a large number of camel caravans and horse-drawn carriages.
His caravan happened to be handling part of this business, and he used this opportunity to get closer to the Crown Prince.
That very day, Hu Ketu ordered several carts of fresh vegetables to be prepared and personally drove them to the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, who was residing in the City Lord's Mansion.
In order to win the favor of the crown prince, he also spent a lot of money to buy a lot of fruit from the south.
Sure enough, Li Zhi was immediately captivated by the fruit, praising it repeatedly and casually asking a question.
"Who presented this item?"
"Your Highness, he is a merchant from the Western Regions..."
"A foreign merchant?"
Upon hearing that the other party was a merchant, Li Zhi immediately showed a look of disdain on his face.
Because of Li Jue, Li Zhi disliked all merchants.
However, feeling obligated to accept gifts and favors, he still gave the other party a chance to meet him.
"Go and arrange for him to be taken to the reception area and have some tea."
"promise!"
While his subordinates were busy with this matter, Li Zhi turned back to his bedroom and, with the help of his maids, changed into a light blue casual outfit.
From the moment he entered the city lord's mansion, Hu Ketu couldn't help but look around.
It wasn't that Huketu was unsophisticated; he was quite prestigious among the Western Regions kingdoms, having visited the palaces of both Kang and Shi.
The reason he was looking at the city lord's mansion was simply to assess the wealth of the Tang Dynasty's crown prince.
Hu Ketu glanced at the mansion and immediately noticed its poverty. The paint was peeling and tattered everywhere, and there wasn't even a single valuable decoration.
It seems the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty was indeed very poor...
Li Zhi lingered for a long time before finally emerging. When he saw that Hu Ketu didn't have the strong smell of mutton that was typical of foreign merchants, his brows relaxed a little.
In addition, Hu Ketu was not old, about the same age as himself, which made him like him even more.
"Are you Hu Ketu, the one who presented the fruits from Lingnan?"
"promise!"
"I'm grateful that you remember my name..."
Li Zhi responded coldly upon hearing this.
"Whatever reward you desire, as long as it's within my power, I will grant it to you!"
"I……"
Hu Ketu was taken aback when he heard this, but when he saw the undisguised arrogance on Li Zhi's face, he still forced himself to speak.
"Your Highness, you misunderstand. I have only done my humble best and do not seek any reward from Your Highness!"
"don't want?"
Upon hearing this, Li Zhi sized up Hu Ketu and, seeing that the other party did not seem to be faking it, sat down with a smile.
"I often hear my father say that the most expensive things in this world appear for free, but you will have to pay a much higher price in the future."
"What is Mr. Hu Ketu plotting?"
"Your Highness, I only wish to become your servant, to be the one who gathers cattle, sheep, and rare treasures for you on the grasslands!"
"oh?"
Li Zhi was a very intelligent man, and upon hearing this, he immediately understood Hu Ketu's intention.
In fact, he had been observing Shuozhou City these past few days, and the daily transaction volume within the city alone exceeded tens of thousands of strings of cash. If he could monopolize the trade here, wouldn't that mean at least several million strings of cash in transaction volume and hundreds of thousands of strings of cash in net income every year?
But how should we do it?
If I send someone to do it myself, someone will surely find fault with it and report it to my father.
But if he didn't send someone to do it, watching those lowly merchants pocket the gleaming gold coins felt like a knife had been plunged into his heart...
"you?"
Can I trust you?
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