I am Li Shen and Li Shimin, the free kings of the Tang Dynasty

"What did you say?" Li Shenteng sat up suddenly.

"Spices are also their specialty? How come all the valuable things belong to them?

Now tell me, what else is not a specialty of the Kingdom of Daqin? "

One thing is said to be someone else's specialty, and another thing is said to be someone else's specialty.

Li Shen was angry because all the things he had in his hands became other people's specialties.

Then what specialties of the Tang Dynasty are not suitable for them?

Seeing that Prince Ji was angry, Wang Hongfu quickly explained:

“Your Highness, merchants from the Kingdom of Daqin came to the Tang Dynasty, mainly dealing in gold and silver jewelry, pearls, agates, jewelry, jade, spices, and colored glaze.

In addition, they also brought many precious medicinal materials, ivory, gold sand, minerals, dyes, honey, yellow wax, furs and wood, sugar, etc.

"So many? And ore and wood fuel?

"They transported the timber all the way from the Arab world, and they still have to pay for it, right?"

Li Shen asked in surprise, the Arabs are involved in too many businesses.

"Your Highness, there are only some gold and silver jewelry, gemstones, and spices and glass stones brought from the Arab world."

"What about the others?"

"Your Highness, the others are specialties that the Arabs exchanged with other countries from coastal ports.

For example, minerals, dyes, and sugar were exchanged from India.

Ivory and gold were exchanged for grain in Kunlun.

The same is true for honey and wax, which come from all over the place.”

Wang Hongfu explained.

Li Shencai suddenly realized that he was a middleman.

I was wondering why there were so many industries, it turns out most of them were exchanged along the way.

"I see. I thought all of these were their assets. If that's the case, then the strength of the Arabs is too terrifying."

Li Shen teased.

"Yes, Your Majesty, most of these are from the Arabs, and a few are from Persia.

They have been active in various countries between the Arabs and the Tang Dynasty, constantly exchanging what they need.

Finally, they took away silk, porcelain, and a large amount of gold and silver from the Tang Dynasty."

"Wait, gold and silver, didn't they sell gold and silver to the Tang Dynasty? Why did they bring gold and silver back?"

Hearing this, Li Shen asked in confusion.

“Your Majesty, what they took back was our gold and silver, such as gold and silver bars.

What they brought were jewelry made of gold, silver and gems, which were finely crafted and glittering.

The value is far greater than gold and silver bricks by several times. "

Wang Hongfu explained.

"How is that possible? Doesn't our boutique also produce gold and silver accessories? Both the workmanship and the style are constantly updated.

Are the gold and silver jewelry of the Arabs so good?"

Li Shen was even more surprised after hearing Wang Hongfu's explanation.

How could Boutique Pavilion let go of the jewelry business? This is a highly profitable industry and one of the industries that earns aristocrats money.

The jewelry workshop follows Li Shen's operating model and based on the folk customs and culture of the Tang Dynasty, constantly improves styles and develops new designs.

Li Shen promised all the craftsmen in the jewelry workshop that as long as the accessories they developed sold well, Li Shen would give them corresponding rewards.

Under this reward mechanism, the craftsmen in the jewelry workshop all performed beyond their capabilities, and Li Shen felt that the jewelry they designed was very high-end.

But when Li Shen heard Wang Hongfu say that the gold and silver jewelry of the Arab world were selling well, he became a little angry.

"Your Highness, our accessories are all in the style of our Tang Dynasty, while the jewelry of the Arabs has an exotic feel.

The nobles like this feeling of being different.

This is not only true for jewelry, but also for blankets and leather products from the Western Regions.

Didn’t the prince say that it was enough? The foreign monks can chant sutras.”

“Bullshit!!”

Li Shen shouted angrily.

“What kind of bullshit foreign monks can chant sutras? They are just fawning on foreigners.

If the things in the Western Regions are truly rare treasures and the craftsmanship is better than that of our Tang Dynasty, then there is nothing wrong with buying them.

Not only that, we also need to learn well from others.

But their materials and workmanship are not as good as ours, they just have the name of being made abroad.

The nobles went crazy in pursuit of it, which was fawning on foreigners and forgetting their roots.

We must take care of this kind of thing, otherwise all our Tang Dynasty products will become second-rate or third-rate.

Their foreign stuff has all become first-rate treasures, so doesn't that mean our Tang Dynasty is inferior to them?

How can merchants from the Tang Dynasty go out to do business? Our products will be classified as second-class goods and cannot be sold at a high price.”

Everyone could see that Prince Ji was really angry.

Prince Ji has always been a leading figure in the business community of the Tang Dynasty, and every move of Prince Ji's mansion will affect the direction of the business community of the Tang Dynasty.

Prince Ji has also been working hard to set rules for the Tang Dynasty's business community so that merchants can make money.

Today, the nobles of the Tang Dynasty actually admire the goods from the Western Regions and other countries so much. This is not a good thing for the merchants of the Tang Dynasty.

"Your Highness is right. I agree with you. If we are really inferior to others in skills, we will admit defeat.

Then we work hard to study their technology, learn from their strengths and overcome our weaknesses, and strive to surpass them.

But just because they are exotic and come from the Western barbarians, they are highly sought after.

Such people are just seeking fame and reputation.”

Wang Hongfu was the first to come out and agree. He was also a businessman. It didn't matter if he couldn't compete with others. He would work hard to catch up.

But simply because of the word "Western Regions", in order to highlight their own uniqueness, they deliberately belittled the high-quality products of the Tang Dynasty.

Such a person is despicable.

"Hmph, let's teach these fame seekers a lesson."

Li Shen snorted.

"My Lord, what are you going to do?

Please don't make a big fuss about it, or I'm afraid Your Majesty will blame you again."

As the chief historian of the royal palace, Wang Xuance always kept his responsibilities in mind.

"Haha, if the matter is not made into a big deal, how can these people learn their lesson? If the matter is not made into a big deal, then what fun will it be?"

Li Shen sneered.

"What is your Majesty going to do?"

Wang Hongfu asked.

“This is simple, don’t they think that the customs of the Western Regions are superior?

Then I will let them know that the things of the barbarians are only fit for servants.

Dayuer, did you throw away the Western Region blanket you took off in the sun room?"

Li Shen looked at Lan Yuer and asked.

"My Lord, the princess still has those blankets from the Western Regions. She said they were just dirty from stepping on them, so she asked the maid to wash them. It would be a pity to throw them away.

Such precious blankets are usually spread in the main room in other palaces, but only in my Prince Ji’s Palace would we spread the blankets on the ground outside and let people step on them at will.

The princess meant that after washing it, even if the prince doesn’t use it, he can give it to the servants as a reward. In fact, the concubines can also use it.”

Lan Yuer replied softly. Li Shen really had to ask Lan Yuer about this matter.

Although Lan Yu'er was Li Shen's concubine, she was also a female official in the inner house of Prince Ji's Mansion, only one level lower than Shitou, the chief steward.

Lan Yu'er was responsible for managing all matters big and small in the inner house, because Li Shen was taken care of by Lan Yu'er since he was a child.

Lan Yu'er knew all of Li Shen's habits and daily life very well, so she felt more at ease letting Lan Yu'er arrange things for Li Shen.