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

Li Shimin was a reasonable man. After hearing Wang De's words, he thought for a moment and nodded.

Indeed, this reason is somewhat far-fetched. If that rebellious son were to rebel, even he, the emperor, would be somewhat afraid.

It's still unknown what kind of trouble Li Shen will cause.

It's very likely they'll write about him in the newspapers and publish it, which would be incredibly embarrassing.

He believed that Li Shen was fully capable of having that kind of courage.

"Alright then, let's let him off the hook for now and find another opportunity later."

"Your Majesty, there's more here," Wang De said, letting out a sigh of relief and pointing to the newspaper.

"What else?" Li Shimin was too lazy to look anymore and asked directly.

"Your Majesty, the white rice from Prince Ji's residence has already begun to be sold. One hundred coins per dou of white rice, and a bag of five dou costs five hundred coins."

They even gave it two very nice names: Pearl Rice and Crystal Rice.

It was said that eating this rice could prolong life, so almost all the nobles in Chang'an bought it, and the merchants in Chang'an also followed suit.

I heard they sold three thousand bags yesterday.

"Three thousand bags? He really sold them for one hundred coins per dou?" Li Shimin was somewhat surprised and immediately picked up the newspaper to start searching.

Li Shen did indeed say that his white rice cost 100 coins per dou (a unit of dry measure), and Li Shimin initially thought Li Shen was joking, but unexpectedly, he actually sold it.

Moreover, they sold 3,000 bags a day, with each bag containing five dou (a unit of dry measure), totaling 15,000 dou. One dou cost 100 wen (a unit of currency) and 1,500 guan (a unit of cash).

Li Shimin calculated in his mind that the cost was no more than thirty coins, because Li Shen had exchanged it for millet.

Ultimately, Li Shimin arrived at a conclusion: 1,500 strings of cash. After deducting transportation costs, labor costs, and so on, Li Shen could earn 800 to 900 strings of cash.

Over a year, that adds up to hundreds of thousands of strings of cash.

Upon hearing this result, Li Shimin was immediately unsettled. Could selling rice really be so profitable?

"Are you sure he sold three thousand bags a day?" Li Shimin asked, searching for information.

"Your Majesty, this is correct; it was the shopkeeper who said it himself."

The reason we sold 3,000 bags is because there were only 3,000 bags available.

It seems that they haven't finished sewing the bags for storing rice yet, and they've been rushing to finish them these past two days.

This old servant even sent someone to the clothing workshop at Prince Ji's residence to inquire, and it was indeed the case; the embroiderers there had been working day and night these past few days to make bags.

Wang De nodded with great certainty. He had investigated everything thoroughly; His Majesty was very interested in the news concerning Prince Ji and could not afford to be careless.

"Found it." Li Shimin saw another newspaper with half a page dedicated to welcoming rice from Liaodong, the hometown of ginseng, to Chang'an.

Below, it's written in large characters: "The place where ginseng is grown, have you ever eaten the white rice grown there?"

Ginseng rice is a type of rice that only the wealthy can afford.

The advertising slogans alone filled almost half a page, followed by the main text.

Li Shen's consistent style was to start by telling a story: Liaodong is known for its ginseng, a land of outstanding people and abundant resources, and someone discovered that rice had appeared where ginseng grew.

Then some people ate the rice and lived to be a hundred years old.

Li Shimin, on the other hand, was thoroughly enjoying the story. Li Shen, the author of the Xindaozhe novel, was indeed skilled at writing legends; the story was captivating and engaging.

"Heh, this tenth prince thinks everyone is a fool," Li Shimin commented as he watched.

“Your Majesty, why do you say that? This old servant does find this white rice to be truly miraculous,” Wang De immediately inquired.

"Can eating white rice prolong life? Look at how many long-lived people there were in Goguryeo."

Do you think their people eat better than the people of my Great Tang?

Don't forget, in the past, the people of Goguryeo struggled to even have enough to eat, let alone have so much white rice.

Li Shimin asked.

"But it is also clearly written here that the nonagenarian lived to such an old age by eating white rice."

Wang De pointed to the newspaper.

"How can this be called white rice? Didn't you see it written here? It's grain grown in Liaodong Road."

It also says that all the octogenarians have been eating grain from Liaodong Road since they were young.

Isn't that obvious? Didn't the elderly people of our Great Tang Dynasty grow up eating our own grain? What does that have to do with white rice?

Lao Shi just wanted outsiders to speculate and associate it with Bai Mi.

Don't forget, he only started planting rice in the last few years.

Li Shimin analyzed Li Shen very clearly and thoroughly.

"I see, I almost believed it." Wang De looked enlightened.

"Hmph, this kid is indeed cunning. He always resorts to underhanded methods. Can't he just do business honestly?"

Li Shimin snorted, his face full of disappointment.

"Hehe, Your Majesty, Prince Ji said, 'No merchant is without guile, and you can't make money if you have a conscience.'"

Wang De chuckled.

"What nonsense is this? Merchants should be honest and trustworthy. If everyone were like him, wouldn't the world be in chaos?"

The reason why agriculture has been valued more than commerce throughout history is precisely because people are afraid there will be too many people like him.

Li Shimin said angrily.

"Your Majesty, Prince Ji only used some minor tricks and earned money from the nobles. Ordinary people would not be willing to buy such expensive white rice."

"A bag of five bushels costs five hundred coins." Wang De sighed. Prince Ji often said that he should make money from the rich, and now it seemed that was really true.

He dared to sell rice, which cost thirty coins a dou (a unit of dry measure), for one hundred coins a dou, and it was still selling so well. One has to admit that Prince Ji was cunning.

"Wang De, do you think these nobles are stupid? Why are they still buying such expensive white rice?"

Five bushels of rice wouldn't last long; in a month, it would probably take three or five bags, or even more, costing several strings of cash.

Li Shimin asked, somewhat puzzled, because he didn't believe that if he could see it, others couldn't.

If that's the case, wouldn't the Tang Dynasty be finished?

If you can't even see this, how can you govern the country? Those nobles are the pillars and key officials in the court.

If everyone were this stupid, the Tang Dynasty would have been overthrown.

"Your Majesty, this old servant doesn't know. It costs several strings of cash a month just to eat white rice. It's really quite unbelievable."

But they bought it anyway, and it seems that only they and His Highness Prince Ji can answer this question.

This old servant cannot see the intricacies of it.

Wang De shook his head, indicating that he didn't know what these people were thinking either.

Many officials below them only receive a few strings of cash a month, so they certainly can't afford to eat that.

Those who can afford to eat this are definitely either rich or noble.

"I must admit, the Tenth Prince is indeed very capable in the business world." Li Shimin nodded in agreement. Although he was the emperor, capable of governing a country.

But sometimes there are things he still doesn't understand, especially things related to Li Shen. Only at the very end can he understand them.

Just then, footsteps came from downstairs, and a eunuch ran up, entered the glass room, and bowed.

"Your Majesty, Prince Ji is requesting an audience outside the palace."

(Yesterday's vote was bad, so they had to redo it today.)