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

Li Shen's words, "Sell for 100 strings of cash, buy back for 110 strings of cash," left Wang Xuance quite puzzled. Wasn't this a losing proposition?

So, who's really outsmarting whom?

Li Shen, however, remained completely calm:

"Xuan Ce, do you think they only traded once?"

They would initially ship out small quantities to give the gentry a taste of success, which would encourage them to push the price of spices even higher.

Once the price reaches the level desired by the established families, they will sell off their spices in large quantities.

Whether they sold to aristocratic families or wealthy merchants, they would make a fortune.

Because no matter what, people will assume that our Prince Ji's Mansion is still involved in the acquisition.

"So, the powerful families won't sell at the price they agreed on; they'll sell ahead of schedule, right?"

Wang Xuance understood the meaning behind this.

Li Shen nodded:

"Actually, they didn't need to discuss any price at all. They just needed to tell the gentry that they had already ordered the spices."

The gentry would take it seriously, thinking that no matter the price, the noble families would wait for the spices to arrive before selling them.

What they didn't expect was that the aristocratic families would sell their spices ahead of time.

If I am not mistaken, this noble family must have stockpiled a large amount of spices.

They had at least several hundred thousand strings of cash, and when the price rose, those several hundred thousand strings of cash immediately turned into millions of strings of cash.

Their estimated cost for stockpiling it was only 100,000 strings of cash, or even less, meaning a 90% profit margin.

Li Shen did the calculations himself and couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.

The spices that the aristocratic families stockpiled were certainly not as expensive as they are now; they must have been stockpiled when they were cheaper in the past.

It's worth at least several hundred thousand strings of cash now, and if it doubles in value, it would be over a million strings of cash. That's a 90% profit margin, much better than what I'd make myself.

"Your Highness, do you think their plan will succeed? It sounds too simple to me."

After listening, Wang Xuance felt that it was very crude and far from the strategy of Prince Ji's mansion.

"No, this is not simple. They have also included the Prince Ji's Mansion in their scheme, using the Prince Ji's Mansion's acquisition of spices to complete their plan."

As long as the Prince Ji's mansion continues to purchase spices, everyone will think that the Prince Ji's mansion will cover for them.

Xuan Ce: Sometimes, a method that seems crude may not necessarily have a bad effect.

Moreover, I believe they are not so simple; perhaps they have a hidden plan.

If it were me, I would definitely have someone impersonate a merchant from the Western Regions to meet with them, demonstrate my strength, and gain their trust before proposing to order spices.

Tell them there are too many spices, so they need to pay 20% upfront and sign a contract.

Twenty percent of one million guan is two hundred thousand guan. If they could raise three or four million guan, they could collect a deposit of six or seven hundred thousand guan.

Signing a contract can also be a trap. Make sure to write down the specific quantity and price clearly, and offer a penalty of ten times the deposit for breach of contract.

When the price of spices drops in about six months, we'll send them over again. If they refuse, we'll sue them and make them pay us compensation.

Hahaha, I am truly a modern-day Zhuge Liang! I've come up with such a brilliant plan!

As Li Shen spoke, he smiled smugly to himself, surprised that he actually had some talent and could come up with such a plan.

He suddenly had an urge to seek cooperation with established families.

This method could definitely swindle a lot of money, but unfortunately he can't use it. He can't use this method to swindle those rich kids, can he?

Those spoiled brats' fathers would probably tear down the gates of his Prince Ji's mansion, wouldn't they?

It is even more unacceptable to use it among merchants, as it might lead to the ruin of a merchant's family and the confiscation of his wealth by his father.

His father said that day that no matter what he did, he must not harm the common people, because they were all subjects of the Li family.

"Your Highness is truly a genius of unparalleled talent. I admire you greatly," Wang Xuance said sincerely.

"Xuan Ce, do you think the aristocratic families would buy this plan if I sold it to them?" Li Shen suddenly asked, rubbing his chin.

"..." Wang Xuance was speechless. The Spice Plan was aimed at the aristocratic families, and now you're even offering them advice.

"Your Highness, you mustn't! This would go against our plan, and if His Majesty finds out..."

There was no other way; Wang Xuance had to try to dissuade this money-grubbing prince.

"Ahem, well... I was just saying it casually, just saying it casually, please don't let my father know."

Li Shen quickly coughed twice, dismissing the idea.

"Your Highness, what about our plan? It seems that the powerful families no longer want to fight us."

Wang Xuance quickly changed the subject.

"Yes, that's a bit tricky. The powerful families are implementing their own plans, so our plans are just a formality to them."

They will never fall into our trap.

"Sigh, this is really a headache. Who would have thought that with spices so cheap, these aristocratic families could still hoard so many?"

Li Shen sighed, pondering how to help next. The powerful families seemed to have deviated from his predictions.

They've stopped playing with me, and the traps I set are completely ineffective.

"Your Highness, why don't we find out where their spices are and send someone to burn them?"

Wang Xuance recalled the last time he participated in the Ascension Chamber of Commerce event, wasn't it all about burning incense?

But Li Shen shook his head:

“That’s not right, Xuan Ce. It’s not difficult to burn their spices, but that would break the rules of the game.”

This is unacceptable to the nobles, the royal family, the crown prince, and His Majesty.

This could easily create a situation where everyone feels insecure.

His Majesty will surely blame us then, and it won't be as simple as just a spanking.

We're all in the same circle; we can't let our aristocratic background make us a target of public criticism.

Li Shen directly rejected Wang Xuance's plan; sometimes you can't just do whatever you want.

Li Shen is not afraid of powerful families or aristocratic clans, but doing so will make nobles and relatives wary.

This would make the emperor and crown prince even more wary, since the heavens are round and the earth is square, and there are rules everywhere.

“But Your Highness, we have already done so.” Wang Xuance, being an official, was not familiar with the rules of the upper class.

Although he had followed Li Shen for many years, he had only learned the ways of being an official.

“This time is different. We can only do this once in Xizhou. This means that Wang Wencheng’s matter is over.”

From now on, I can no longer use Wang Wencheng's matter as an excuse to retaliate indiscriminately.

Why didn't the aristocratic families and nobles pursue the matter?

Besides His Majesty's intervention, it's also because they are in the wrong and they fear that if the matter continues to be pursued, I will become even more insane.

That's why they let bygones be bygones; suffering this loss shows they've lost.

If I were to fall from grace because of Wang Wencheng, I would be doomed just as badly. But since I have not fallen, they will have to bear my wrath.

But this kind of thing can be done, but not again.

(Three minutes left)