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

Over the years, Lu Dingniang has been managing the finances of the Prince Ji's mansion, while Li Shen has been a hands-off manager.

Aside from coming up with money-making ideas, Li Shenyi doesn't interfere in anything else.

As long as nothing goes wrong, Li Shen will enjoy himself.

He only cares about the results, not the process; he just needs to know whether he made money this year and how much he made.

At this moment, Li Shen lay in Lu Dingniang's arms, letting Lu Dingniang massage his head, while Wu Meiniang massaged Li Shen's feet.

Chunxiang and Dongmei massaged Li Shen's thighs, while Liu Ruyan brewed tea for him. The only one who was free was Su Xiaoxiao.

Even Lan Yu'er was massaging Li Shen's arm.

Anyone who didn't know better would think Li Shen was paralyzed from the eyebrows down.

"We can buy deer, but forget about ginseng. We shouldn't expect to make money from these things; they'll be harvested eventually."

See if they have any other local specialties. Oh, and tell them to keep an eye out for something that looks like an ear growing on that tree over there; it's black and edible.

We'll also buy the mushrooms we dry, but they'll have to sort and process them.

When we return, I will tell them which one I want.

Li Shen suddenly remembered wood ear mushrooms and hazel mushrooms from Northeast China; those were good stuff, but incredibly expensive.

Although Li Shen couldn't say he recognized all mushrooms, he did recognize the dog-urine mushroom and the hazel mushroom.

Moreover, mushrooms grow very quickly and will appear after rain.

If we can get our hands on this, we're sure to be able to sell it for a good price. After all, it's a rare commodity, and with some promotion, it'll definitely be another way to make money.

If we sell it for several strings of cash per pound, wouldn't we make a fortune?

As for ginseng, Li Shen didn't intend to make a lot of money from it. It wasn't about ecological balance; the main reason was that if he kept harvesting it like this, it wouldn't be long before it was all gone.

It's better to gather them slowly yourself and keep them for your own use.

After hearing Li Shen's words, Lu Dingniang nodded.

"Then let's do as you say, my lord. Next year, let Manager Wang buy more deer antlers to sell, as well as the two things you mentioned."

In business matters, Li Shen always had the final say; whatever Li Shen said went.

Over the years, not a single thing Li Shen said has resulted in a loss.

"Hmm." Li Shen squinted and hummed in response, waiting for Lu Dingniang to continue.

"My lord, what about the theft that I told you about in the workshop? Didn't I say we should have the carriage company help with security?"

"What? Another problem?" Li Shen opened his eyes. Lu Dingniang had told him about this when he came back last time to treat his father's illness.

We hired people from the world's number one car dealership to guard our workshop. They were all from the Imperial Guard, so there shouldn't be any problems.

Lu Dingniang shook her head:

"I didn't hear anything about it. Nothing like that has happened since then. However, I did mention it to my mother."

The Empress Dowager said that having people from the carriage company serve as guards was not a long-term solution.

The Prince Ji's mansion already has 3,600 guards, and now the guards in the various workshops together number more than 1,200.

With a guard force of nearly five thousand people, the mother said that such a force would easily be criticized and suspected.

"Since nothing has happened for so long, shouldn't we remove the guards and leave only the craftsmen in the workshop to watch over things?"

After Lu Dingniang finished speaking, she waited for Li Shen's response. Li Shen, however, fell into deep thought.

His businesses mainly consist of formulas, and each of them is a treasure trove. If someone were to take them away, they would definitely amass a large amount of wealth in a short period of time.

Li Shen could only think of aristocratic families as the people who stole the formula, because they were the ones who had a grudge against him and who had a great influence on him.

He knew there were too many guards now, but there was nothing he could do; every place was important.

Lu Dingniang was unaware that she had a guard organization of over two thousand people in Xizhou; otherwise, she would have been even more worried.

Five thousand men plus two thousand over there, that makes seven thousand men, enough for a small-scale battle.

And there are also people from the First Automobile Works, which number in the tens of thousands.

In addition, Li Shen also has two pirate crews at sea, totaling several thousand men, and five thousand slave soldiers from the Tang Dynasty's Never-Sleeping City in Japan.

Thinking about it, he has nearly 20,000 armed men under his command. No wonder he doesn't have enough money to spend. How can he possibly support so many people?

Feeding the people and feeding the army are two different things.

After thinking for a long time, Li Shen finally spoke:

“What you say is quite right, madam. This is indeed somewhat inappropriate, but there is nothing we can do about it right now.”

We need to come up with a solution. There's no way to guard against thieves for a thousand days if you're a thief for a thousand days.

However, I don't have any good ideas right now. I'll ask my father during the New Year to see if he has any suggestions.

Li Shen planned to consult his father, who surely didn't want to see the aristocratic families rise again. Since he didn't want to see it, he would do his part.

"That's very good. Mother Consort is also worried about the young master." Consort Lu Ding nodded.

Next, Lu Dingniang began to report to Li Shen on the various events that had occurred at the Prince Ji's residence over the past year, with a focus on the various industries.

In fact, Wang Hongfu had already told him all these things, but Li Shen still listened with great interest.

My sweet little wife has turned into a strong woman, and the domineering female CEO has fallen in love with me, who suffers from kidney deficiency.

Lu Dingniang spoke for a while before she finished, and Li Shen touched Lu Dingniang's small hand:

"My lady, you've worked so hard. Don't overwork yourself. Let the servants do it."

"Since you have entrusted the Prince Ji’s mansion to me, I will naturally do my best. This year, I have investigated and dealt with seven managers who embezzled the mansion’s money, totaling more than 10,000 strings of cash."

If I don't do it myself, the Prince's mansion will likely suffer even greater losses.

Lu Dingniang said earnestly.

"How come someone is embezzling money from the Prince's mansion again?" Li Shen asked curiously. Wasn't this a case that had just been closed after a self-investigation?

He has already had Wang Hongfu issue a notice, so why are people still defying the warning?

“Yes, they’re all in the south, quite far from Chang’an,” Lu Dingniang nodded.

"Sigh, it seems they still harbor a sliver of hope, thinking that the emperor is far away and the prince's mansion won't be able to find them."

Li Shen sighed. He was puzzled. Everyone else who transmigrated had a group of loyal subordinates, so why were there still people trying to steal his money?

Doesn't he have any personal charisma at all? He should at least have some domineering aura.

"Your Highness need not take it to heart. This is actually quite normal. Money can be a temptation. The Ji Prince's Mansion has branches all over the country and its wealth is enormous. These managers are all from poor backgrounds, so it's inevitable that they would be tempted by greed."

Seeing Li Shen sigh, Wu Meiniang comforted him from the side.

"They have served me for so many years, and I have treated them well, paying them more wages than the county magistrate. Why would they still embezzle?"

Li Shen was genuinely puzzled.