Time Travel: I am the idle king Li Shen and Li Shimin in the Tang Dynasty

"Hahahaha." Li Shen burst into laughter as soon as the two agreed.

He raised his glass to the two of them and said:

"Come, let me toast to our cooperation, Uncles."

Li Boyi and Li Fengci also happily raised their glasses.

"Thank you, Prince Ji, for taking us along."

The three of them drank from their cups together. After Li Shen put down his cup, he said:

“Uncles, since this is a collaboration, there are some things I need to make clear beforehand to avoid any unpleasantness later on.”

"Nephew, please speak freely," the two said with a smile.

"Cooperation is fine, but everything must be arranged by my nephew. We must do as my nephew says, and we must do it."

The business world is like a battlefield. If you miss a business opportunity, you will lose everything. My nephew has invested a lot of money, and if he loses, he will suffer heavy losses.

"I hope my two uncles can understand," Li Shen said solemnly to them.

"Of course, don't worry. You are in complete control of your cooperation with us, and we will do our best to fulfill your arrangements."

Li Fengci nodded. In his view, what arrangements could there be? It was simply a matter of collecting the spices and handing them over to the Prince Ji's residence. It was that simple.

“Yes, we’ll do whatever you say.” Li Boyi nodded in agreement.

"Alright, that's the first point. The second point is that you must understand trade secrets. What I tell you must not be told to outsiders, otherwise someone else will gain the upper hand, and we won't even get a share."

Li Shen then made a second request.

Li Boyi and his companion naturally wouldn't object to this; these were the most basic requirements. Even if they didn't understand business, they knew that they couldn't tell others about opportunities to make money.

"Don't worry, we will keep our mouths shut and will not say a word to any outsiders."

The two immediately assured each other.

Li Shen's face showed a satisfied expression.

"That's good. After the New Year, I will send someone to invite you two uncles to come to our residence for a detailed discussion. I will definitely not let you down."

"Then it's a deal." The two of them were so happy they couldn't stop smiling.

The others present looked on with envy at the result, thinking that following Prince Ji meant good fortune.

"Prince Ji, do you think the spice business is really that profitable?"

At this moment, a prince from the imperial clan inquired.

Li Shen didn't recognize this person, but he knew that he was of the same generation as his father.

Li Shen looked around, then whispered:

"Uncle, I won't lie to you, the spice business is definitely a sure thing. Now, not only in Chang'an, but also in the countryside, many people in the Tang Dynasty have started to eat spices."

According to my nephew's investigation, there were more and more merchants in the Tang Dynasty, and there were at least a million wealthy merchants.

They could afford to eat one or two strings of spices.

This goes without saying, especially in the capital city.

Think about it, with such a large number of buyers, no amount of spices can possibly be enough; the price is bound to rise further.

Li Shen's words made the others fall into deep thought. The Tang Dynasty had indeed become wealthy, especially the number of merchants, which had increased several times over.

Moreover, spices are indeed scarce nowadays, and scarcity drives up prices, so buying some and selling them would definitely not result in a loss.

However, someone raised a question:

“Your Highness, what’s the use of just buying? We can only make money if someone sells.”

The current scarcity of spices in the Tang Dynasty is precisely because there is no one to sell them.

Li Shen smiled slightly:

"Uncles and elders, do you know why merchants have been suppressed since ancient times? It's because these people are willing to do anything for profit."

They even dared to take risks.

With spices so scarce and expensive these days, I'm sure someone will travel to the Western Regions next year.

"But didn't they say the roads to the Western Regions are impassable?" someone immediately asked.

Li Shen answered calmly:

"I'm talking about sea freight. In recent years, I've noticed that many businessmen have started using sea freight, traveling westward along the coastal waters of the south."

After passing through many small countries, they finally arrived at the Western Regions.

They can sell our Tang Dynasty's silk, porcelain, and other specialties along the way, and we can also purchase some rare and exotic items from them.

They can either be sold to the Western Regions or kept to be sold back in Chang'an.

These merchants could easily have gone to the Western Regions to purchase spices and then transported them back to the Tang Dynasty.

"But I've heard that the sea is extremely dangerous, and one could easily end up drowning at sea with no trace of their body."

Li Daozong spoke first.

That's why I say that merchants are willing to take risks for profit.

I once told the people in the Chamber of Commerce that the ocean holds both great terrors and great opportunities.

Uncle Wang, you should know that the bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish!

Li Shen's words once again prompted deep thought, especially when paired with his serious expression.

The ocean holds both great terrors and great opportunities. Is it really as Prince Ji says, that maritime transport is so profitable?

But they heard that many merchants who went to sea never returned.

The sea is extremely dangerous and unpredictable; if something goes wrong, the victim is never found.

"How does Prince Ji know so much? Have you ever been to sea?" a member of the royal family asked curiously.

Li Shen gently shook his head:

"Alas, it's a pity I've never been to sea; that's something I regret."

However, I know this because my Prince Ji's mansion has a maritime merchant fleet that leaves every autumn and returns the following autumn.

Each time they returned, they were laden with goods, which was much more convenient than traveling to the Western Regions by land, and they could transport more goods than by land.

A round trip would easily yield hundreds of thousands of strings of cash in profit.

"A round trip, hundreds of thousands of strings of cash!!" Everyone was surprised; wasn't that a bit too much?

How many merchants in the entire Tang Dynasty could earn hundreds of thousands of strings of cash a year?

"Don't be surprised, uncles and elders. How much you can earn depends on your financial resources. The products sold by my Prince Ji's Mansion are all unique, so the prices are naturally much higher."

The items they acquired were all rare and precious treasures, which were also quite valuable when they were brought back to sell.

Ordinary merchants are lucky to have tens of thousands of strings of cash.

Seeing everyone's surprise, Li Shen explained. Running a trade route still depends on one's own financial resources; everyone is making the same trip,

You'll definitely earn different profits selling porcelain and pottery.

Li Shen's tea, wine, soap, and other products were all unique. Naturally, they would fetch a much higher price when sold in the Western Regions.

"Tens of thousands of strings of cash a year is not a small amount. How many people in the Tang Dynasty can earn tens of thousands of strings of cash?" Li Shen's words were disheartening.

Many of these nobles lived off their stipends, and their luxurious lifestyles, with plenty of meat and fish at every meal, were more than enough to sustain them.

But if we're talking about spoiled brats like Li Shen, their salaries certainly wouldn't be enough.

At that moment, everyone at the table became excited, considering whether they should also get involved in the shipping business.

Listening to Prince Ji's advice to engage in maritime trade seems like a sure way to make a fortune.

"Uncles and elders, if you have such ideas, you might as well give it a try. However, if you want to travel by sea, the first thing to solve is the problem of ships."

Ships at sea are different from those on rivers; our large ships probably won't be able to reach the open ocean.