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

"Your Majesty, I have made a discovery over the years."

"Discovery? What discovery?"

Hearing Wang Hongfu say that he had made a discovery, Li Shen asked curiously.

Wang Hongfu organized his words and said:

"Your Majesty, in recent years, I have discovered that these merchants seem to have become much smarter.

The operation of shops is no longer limited to the previous model of just shouting.

We will start to organize some activities, yes, those are the activities and benefits that the prince mentioned.

Many merchants have begun to learn the business model of our Ji Wangfu, such as discounts, memberships and so on.

There are also some smart ones who can learn from this and make appropriate changes to their own products based on the activities of our Ji Wang Mansion.

Nowadays, the East Market and the West Market are very lively, with all kinds of slogans posted in front of the doors. "

Wang Hongfu just remembered his discovery when he heard Prince Ji say that merchants are now smart and difficult to cheat.

In fact, if you don't pay attention, you won't notice this kind of thing, because the changes have been happening little by little over the years.

It didn't change suddenly; everyone was changing subtly.

"Oh? There is such a thing?"

Li Shen was also a little surprised after hearing this. He hadn't been to the market for a long time, mainly because it was too troublesome for him to go out.

If you don't bring anyone with you, you're afraid of being assassinated. If you bring someone with you, you have to clean the streets and ordinary people have to stay away.

This made it very boring for Li Shen to go shopping alone.

Over time, Li Shen seldom went shopping.

"Yes, my Lord, I discovered it by chance, just like...

Yes, it’s like enlightenment.”

Wang Hongfu thought for a long time and finally found an appropriate word.

"Enlightened? Haha, you used that word.

But this is good. It improves service quality and is also good for the people. Only when there is competition can there be development.

But please note that vicious competition is not allowed and will be punished if discovered.

You can discuss this with others and add it to the rules of the Chamber of Commerce, and also publish an announcement within the Chamber of Commerce.

Send out the penalties and terms for malicious competition so that they all know about it.

Don’t say we didn’t warn them.”

Li Shen guessed that this might be due to the influence of his own Ji Wang Mansion.

People tend to think by inertia, but when someone breaks the rules and gets a lot of benefits, some people will try to learn from their predecessors how to break the rules.

This situation is all too familiar to Li Shen, a time traveler.

It is possible to break the traditional business model, give appropriate concessions to customers, and increase customer flow.

As long as the competition is not malicious, everything is within control.

Li Shen was thinking again whether he should send them an egg or something to give them a hint.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I will convene a meeting to discuss this as soon as I return."

While Li Shen was thinking, Wang Hongfu bowed and accepted the order.

The current No. 1 Chamber of Commerce in the Tang Dynasty is no longer the small-scale business it once was.

There are departments specifically responsible for market research and market supervision departments to discover and solve problems anytime and anywhere.

Modify the loopholes in the Chamber of Commerce's rules and regulations, and set up a special department to liaise with the imperial court to deal with corruption and extortion.

If any place persecutes merchants, the Chamber of Commerce branch will report it and directly communicate with the central government to get to the bottom of it.

Many local officials have complained about this, believing that the chamber of commerce has too much power and affects them.

But there is no way, because the Chamber of Commerce has a strong backing.

There are more than a hundred vice presidents, and you don’t have to go to complain. You can just go home and get things done.

If the matter cannot be settled, Prince Ji can even bring the case to the emperor's attention. Who can afford to offend him?

Except for some self-righteous county officials who occasionally wanted benefits, no officials above the state level dared to do so.

The Chamber of Commerce is not scary, and they don’t care about it. There were so many Chambers of Commerce in the Tang Dynasty before, and every one of them had to respect them.

But the people behind the Tang Dynasty Chamber of Commerce are too terrifying. There are a lot of dukes and even a few princes, not to mention that big evil ghost Ji Wangshen.

Therefore, the First Chamber of Commerce of the Tang Dynasty has now become a very powerful force, and can even be called a behemoth in the Tang Dynasty.

Everyone in the court knew that the No. 1 Chamber of Commerce in the Tang Dynasty belonged to the royal family, otherwise they would have failed in their countless impeachments over the years to replace it.

Your Majesty didn't even bother to listen, and the prince just threw out a sentence, "I can't do anything about it."

I don't know how many ministers admired His Majesty. They thought that the royal family's move was really a brilliant one.

Send Prince Ji to control the entire business world of the Tang Dynasty and take control of all the merchants in the Tang Dynasty.

This would strangle the economic lifeline of everyone and make the wealthy and powerful families feel like a thorn in their side.

"Your Majesty, you should be cautious in dealing with business. There is a reason why merchants have been suppressed since ancient times.

It is the nature of businessmen to pursue profits. If they are not strictly supervised, it may cause trouble. "

Wang Xuance reminded him at this time that he was a scholar and naturally read history books.

Merchants are profit-driven, profit-seeking, and unkind when rich. These are the labels that literati give to merchants.

Their social status is low, even lower than that of ordinary people.

But Li Shen doesn't think so:

"Xuan Ce, I know your concerns. Merchants are profit-driven.

But it is undeniable that businessmen are an indispensable part of a strong country. They can enrich a country and bring a better life to the people.

Xuan Ce, I think I once told you that there is no distinction between high and low, whether they are scholars, farmers, merchants, or soldiers.

Who in this world is not profit-seeking? Aren’t the prime ministers in the court profit-seeking too?

When the imperial court recruits officials, there will still be corrupt officials, and there will still be people who oppress the people.

A year as a clean magistrate can earn you 100,000 taels of silver.

When they become bad, they are even more terrifying than businessmen.

You must remember that knights use force to disrupt prohibitions, while Confucian scholars use literature to disrupt laws.

Both of them can subvert our Tang Dynasty. Throughout history, have you ever heard of merchants leading rebellions?

Not all the flag bearers were civil or military men, but the majority were civil men.

So, Xuan Ce, you don't have to think too much, as long as we manage strictly and don't pose a threat to the Tang Dynasty, that's fine."

If the Tang Dynasty wanted to develop the economy, scholars, farmers, merchants, and soldiers were indispensable. How could the Tang Dynasty develop its economy without merchants?

Without economy, how can people live a good life?

Li Shen was not surprised by Wang Xuance's thoughts. He was influenced by Confucianism and had a very bad impression of businessmen.

In Li Shen's view, as long as supervision is strict, there will be no capitalists.

Among the merchants in the Tang Dynasty, who can be bad?

If he encounters any signs of capital, Li Shen will wipe them out without hesitation. There are not so many restrictions in feudal society.

It would be too easy for a prince like me to crush a businessman to death.

No matter how much money you have, your property can still be confiscated and your entire family can be exterminated.

So what about Shen Wansan? Did he have a good ending?

In the Tang Dynasty, no matter how rich you are, you cannot compete with Li Shen, a top aristocrat.

(I looked up some information and searched the Internet, and there really is no case of merchants raising the flag of rebellion.

Is it because I didn't check it completely? Please help.)