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

Salt and iron have always been highly profitable industries, controlled by powerful families and strictly managed by the imperial court.

During the Zhenguan era, salt cost 30 wen per dou, which was already the cheapest price in all dynasties.

This was because the imperial court intended to control it.

The cheapest price was only twenty coins per dou, but in recent years there has been some inflation, so the price has increased by ten coins.

Salt is a daily necessity and an essential commodity, which is why salt merchants make so much money.

Li Chengqian could not imagine how much wealth he could gain if Li Shen sold all his salt.

"Brother, I will not allow salt to enter the Tang Dynasty at the moment. I plan to start shipping salt by sea next year and transport it westward to the Western Regions to take a look."

I believe we should be able to make a fortune, especially with Silla, Baekje, Goguryeo, and most importantly, Japan.

Li Shen revealed his plan, which he had just decided upon. He suddenly realized that he had so much salt, so why not sell it?

"By the way, how are your grain deals with Silla going?"

At this moment, Li Shimin suddenly remembered that Li Shen had sold grain to Silla.

"Reporting to Father, the grain has already been transported; it's all old grain from the previous imperial court."

Li Shen replied.

"You must have made a fortune this time," Li Shimin said, narrowing his eyes. This matter was originally intended to be handled by the imperial court, but due to concerns about its image, it was later entrusted to Li Shen.

The main reason was that the imperial court wanted to save face and couldn't ask for a high price; Li Shen immediately asked for double the price.

They also bought grain from the imperial court at retail prices, so the imperial court made a lot of money.

“Father, I haven’t received a single penny yet. I promised them two years to pay me back, and this is only the first year.”

Li Shen quickly clarified, "Good heavens, my old man is really omnipresent; his eyes turned red when he heard about money."

"Hehe, look at how cautious you are. I was just asking casually."

"When do you think we should make our move against the three kingdoms of Liaodong? It's been two years already; with the Tang Dynasty's military strength, we could easily conquer all three."

Li Shimin laughed awkwardly twice and changed the subject.

"Father, why are we in such a hurry to conquer them? Isn't it better to exploit them as we are now?"

If we occupy them, they will become the people of my Great Tang. How will we make money off them then?

Moreover, they haven't been driven to the brink of despair yet; even if we occupy them, rebellions will continue unabated.

Look how peaceful Liaodong is now. The people there are deeply grateful to our Great Tang Dynasty. They won't leave even if we let them go at will.

The son thinks we shouldn't rush to attack them, and we can even relax our efforts and let them fight amongst themselves.

When war rages on, corpses litter the fields, and people are displaced, wouldn't it be better for our Great Tang to lead its righteous army straight in and rescue the people from their suffering?

Li Shen knew his father was anxious because he was getting old and feared he wouldn't live to see that day.

However, Li Shen felt that they should not be too hasty. People only know the value of food when they are hungry, and they only know how to cherish life after suffering.

If we were to attack now, they would perceive the Tang Dynasty as an invader, and their hearts would surely be filled with rebellion.

It would be better to wait until they are on the verge of starvation, then let the Tang Dynasty descend as their savior, making them grateful.

When the time comes, the land will be seized from the wealthy and distributed to the common people. The people will live in peace and prosperity, and the Tang Dynasty will not have to contribute anything. It's a win-win situation.

Upon hearing Li Shen's words, Li Shimin and Li Chengqian fell into deep thought. After a long while, Li Shimin finally raised his head and sighed.

"Sigh... What the Tenth Prince said makes sense. I was a bit too hasty. In that case, let's proceed according to the Tenth Prince's plan."

This will also reduce casualties among our Tang soldiers.

"Yes, I understand," Li Chengqian quickly replied.

Li Shimin then looked at Li Shen and smiled:

"Looks like I'm going to make you rich again. If you take any action against the Three Kingdoms, I'll take a share. Don't worry, I'll invest where it's necessary."

"Ah? This..." Li Shen regretted it. He had said too much. He should have kept quiet and made a fortune.

"What? It's not like I'm not paying. You don't want to take me with you?" Li Shimin said angrily when he saw Li Shen's hesitant look.

"No, no, I just wanted to say that there aren't any opportunities to make money right now, so Aye might have to wait a while longer."

Li Shen quickly waved his hand.

"It's alright, just think of me. If you abandon me to make your own fortune, hmph, I haven't even entered your treasury yet."

Li Shimin snorted twice and made a threat.

"Father, don't worry, I will never forget you if I have the chance."

Li Shen patted his chest and assured him.

Li Shimin nodded in satisfaction and continued drinking his tea. Li Chengqian, who was standing to the side, saw his father and younger brother secretly exchanging pleasantries again and felt quite envious.

He really wanted to play with them, but they wouldn't include him.

“Father, Songtsen Gampo will arrive in Chang’an today. A courtyard has been arranged for him, and people have been assigned to protect him.”

Li Chengqian reports.

"Well, that's good. I will personally attend the banquet tomorrow and invite the envoys from various countries as well. I will confer upon Songtsen Gampo the title of Prince of the Western Sea on the spot, to show the boundless grace of our Celestial Empire."

Li Shimin had planned this all along. Tibet had never recognized the Tang Dynasty as its suzerain state before, and now that Songtsen Gampo had come to the Tang Dynasty, they should naturally be aware of this.

The public investiture was a declaration to the world, signifying that Tibet would henceforth be a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty.

Songtsen Gampo will also be ranked first in the future.

"Yes, I have already made all the arrangements." Li Chengqian accepted the order. It was clear that the two had already discussed this matter.

Li Shen ate the pastries and drank the tea on the table, without offering any opinion on the matter.

Some things are political, and if he doesn't understand them, he won't say anything. The most valuable thing about a person is self-awareness.

Anyway, even if he's a prince, he's still a rank lower than me. I'm a prince, and I'm his son.

"Very well, I am very satisfied with today's events. But you two must not be complacent, for many things are not as simple as you imagine."

Which minister who has reached that position is not a cunning and shrewd old man?

Take Tang Jian, for example. Do you think he was supporting you? He was supporting 16 million strings of cash.

These people are afraid that the Tenth Prince won't pay them next year, which is why they've all stood up to support you. A mere Vice Minister is insignificant to them.

Li Shimin then gave his two sons a final lecture, fearing that they might become arrogant and complacent after this incident, especially the tenth son.

Li Shimin was genuinely afraid that Li Shen would become arrogant and do something outrageous again.

"Yes, thank you for your teachings, Father." Li Chengqian was very proper and immediately bowed.

However, Li Shen became quite arrogant. He felt that he had handled things brilliantly today, achieving his goal with minimal cost.

Even the old bastard Sun Wuji suffered a loss at my hands. Doesn't he know how to be proud?