Daily Intelligence: From Water Snake to Jinghe Dragon King

Chapter 64: Salt and Goods Alliance
People in this era mature early.

When Li Yuanji was only ten years old, he had already slept with a maid and was addicted to wine and sex.

Li Shimin was only thirteen or fourteen years old, but he had already become a prominent figure and was able to stand on his own for the Li family. However, despite this,

Facing Liu Qingsi's shaking snake core and the shocking words he blurted out, Li Shimin's face suddenly changed.

"Brother Liu, please don't say such treasonous words. The Li family has been loyal for generations, and they are related to the Yang family. How could you ignore your duties as a subject and covet your cousin's kingdom?"

"The loyal and good members of the Li family would never dare to commit such a treasonous act!"

"laugh--"

Liu Qing suddenly smiled: "Brother Li, there are only you and me here. If you express your loyalty, Yang Guang may not be able to hear it."

After sneering, he paused for a moment, then shook his three-inch snake core again: "Your Li family wants to be loyal and righteous, but will Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty allow you to be loyal and righteous?"

"Right now, Yang Guang is trapped on his way to conquer Goguryeo, and there's a rebellion going on. He has no time to care about your Li family. If he has time, he will definitely target your Li family again!"

"The true loyal ones are the ones who died!"

Liu Qingsi spat out the most vicious words, tearing through Li Shimin's disguise like a knife.

Li Shimin's face turned extremely embarrassed, his expression changing for a while, and finally he sighed: "How could my Li family not know?"

"I'm sure Brother Liu has noticed that the Li family, from top to bottom, is relaxed on the outside but tight-knit on the inside. They've been raising swordsmen and showing kindness to the villagers, and they've already made some preparations."

Liu Qing's eyes lit up, and he continued to persuade her, "Since that's the case, why not take advantage of this opportunity when Yang Guang is trapped in Liaodong and raise the flag to rebel against the Sui Dynasty?"

"With the strength and connections accumulated by your Li family over generations, once you raise the flag, heroes across the world will surely respond."

Li Shimin gave a bitter laugh: "To be honest with you, Brother Liu, I have tried to persuade my father in this way, but he refused!"

"My father is the head of the family. If he doesn't agree, even if Shimin wants to, there's nothing he can do."

"Father is still thinking about the position Yang Guang gave him to stay in Taiyuan, hehe——"

Li Shimin was very dissatisfied, and his words were filled with resentment. Seeing this, Liu Qing was secretly happy.

You are not like your father and are dissatisfied with him. That's good. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to kill your brother and imprison your father in the future. Since there is already a rift between us, let me add fuel to the fire.

"Brother Li, you seem quite ambitious, but your father and brother don't understand. So, why don't you ask for permission to stay in Chang'an while your father and brother go to Taiyuan to take up their posts?"

"Without your father and brother's restraint, Brother Li, you can show your talents and realize your ambitions."

Li Shimin frowned and looked straight at Liu Qing. Liu Qing smiled but did not avoid his gaze, showing his sincerity.

After a while, Li Shimin finally spoke: "Brother Liu, what you said seems to be provocative. As the second son of the Li family, how can I ignore my father and brothers and set up my own family?"

Liu Qing said bluntly, "When we were offering sacrifices to our ancestors, there was a surprise attack by assassins. Do you remember, Shimin?"

Li Shimin's face instantly turned pale. How could he not remember that he risked his life to cover his father's retreat, but his father escaped with his elder brother, regardless of his own life or death?
Every time I think of it at night, it feels like a poisonous snake gnawing at my heart.

Li Shimin took a deep breath and asked, "If I stay in Chang'an and don't go to Taiyuan with my father and brother, how can Brother Liu help me?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Qing burst into laughter, but the laughter was mixed with the noise of the snake core, which was quite cold.

Liu Qing wiped his mouth with his hand, took out a pinch of salt and handed it to Li Shimin.

"This is the salt I made from the Snake Pond. Brother Li, what do you think of it?"

Li Shimin's eyes suddenly lit up. He took the salt and smacked it in his mouth. The saltiness instantly tilted the corner of his mouth, but his expression was one of surprise and delight. Salt and iron have always been important tools of state, affecting the people and benefiting future generations. They can also be traded throughout the world, earning huge fortunes, which can be used to support swordsmen, equip weapons, befriend the powerful, or reassure the people.

It can be said that after Liu Qing took out the salt, he was giving Li Shimin a generous amount of money to start his career, making it possible for his ambitions to be realized.

After a long period of excitement, Li Shimin finally asked in a trembling voice, "Brother Liu, is it true that this salt was boiled from the Snake Pond?"

Liu Qing nodded proudly.

“How much can be supplied?”

"Liu belongs to the Snake Pond. The salt we boil is divided into three grades. The one I just gave you is the best grade. There is also the medium grade, which is slightly inferior, and the low grade, which is more suitable for ordinary people.

"Brother Li, as much of this third-grade salt as you need, Liu's Snake Pond can supply it!"

What a joke! There is a hundred-foot-high cliff to the north of Snake Pond, and it is covered with rock salt, probably no less than 10,000 tons.

Even if the rock salt in the Snake Pond Cliff is exhausted, there is no way that rock salt cannot be found in the vast Qinling Mountains, so Liu Qing did not boast in vain.

Li Shimin's eyes flickered, and his heart was in turmoil. It took a long time for him to calm down: "Brother Liu is a rare treasure, why do you only care about Shimin?"

"I've said it before, you and I are entangled in karma, and a good relationship has already been formed. When I help Brother Li, I am also helping myself!"

"Okay, since Brother Liu is so frank, Shimin won't hide it either. Shimin will definitely hunt this deer of the Great Sui Dynasty. I am grateful for Brother Liu's kindness. In the future, whenever you ask for it, Shimin will do his bidding."

Liu Qing looked at Li Shimin steadily and said, "I will help Shimin realize his ambitions. When his name is known throughout the world, I have nothing else to ask for except that Shimin should be granted a title by imperial decree!"

Li Shimin nodded solemnly, stretched out his palm, and struck Liu Qing three times to swear an oath.

Afterwards, the man and the demon discussed in detail the specific cooperation matters of the Salt Merchants Alliance, among which Liu Qing would provide more funding and Shimin would provide less.
There was no other reason. It was because Li Shimin had not yet become successful, so Liu Qing invested in advance.

The only reward was that Liu Qing took into consideration that the newborn monsters in Snake Pond had just escaped from ignorance and spoke and behaved like savages, so he asked Li Shimin to choose a teacher to come to Snake Pond to teach the river monsters.

Li Shimin naturally agreed and said that he would wait until his father and brother went to Taiyuan and then choose a suitable person to come to Shetan.

Afterwards, the man and the demon parted ways in the rain, both in great joy.

For Liu Qing, investing in Li Shimin early on was for him to become the emperor in the future and give him the title of legitimate heir.

The emperor of the world can make the alien god flourish with just one word, and its efficiency is far higher than that of Liu Qing who worked hard to earn incense silver.

Moreover, the ordination granted to human emperors is no less legitimate than that granted by the Emperor of Heaven.

At the beginning, when facing Xia Kexing's explanation of Shinto, Liu Qing once said that the freedom of being deified by incense is not as good as the freedom and unconstrainedness of being deified by power.
However, he is still just a small demon, and even the position of a god is out of reach. It is too early to consider the pros and cons of power and incense.

Just like taking the civil service exam in later generations, you have to get ashore first, and then consider whether you will be free and live a long and carefree life.

Li Shimin left in the rain holding an umbrella, and Liu Qing twisted his body like a snake towards the snake pond.

Half an hour later, Liu Qing returned to Snake Pond, but it was already dark.

As soon as they arrived at the snake pond, the white snake swam over quickly, wagging its tail happily: "Sisi, Master, you are finally back."

The white snake was close to Liu Qing, with joy in its eyes. Liu Qing also smiled and rubbed the white snake's head with his magical hands.

Suddenly, he thought of something and said, "White Snake, you have transformed into a spirit and refined your horizontal bones, but you still don't have a name. Why don't you give one to me, Master?"

(End of this chapter)