Seeing the figure of his eleventh son disappear outside the hall, Li Shimin squinted his eyes and asked leisurely: "After one year, three hundred overturns per month, the price will only be the same?"
With a slight smile, Fang Xuanling put down the tea cup in his hand, nodded and said: "Your Majesty, I believe in King Han. Since he promised, he will definitely be able to do it!"
"Oh? Fang Aiqing has so much confidence in him? Is it because of the marriage between King Han and your daughter?"
Li Shimin raised his eyebrows slightly and asked curiously. As the second brother, he didn't have that much confidence in his younger brother. At this moment, he had been wondering if the boy was just trying to find an excuse to not get involved.
Chao, I didn’t expect Fang Xuanling to have such confidence in Li Yuanjia.
After pondering for a while, Fang Xuanling smiled bitterly and said: "Your Majesty, although I do think highly of King Han because of my daughter's marriage, but... if I want to have confidence in this matter, it is because of what King Han has done before.
Achievements! Haha, let’s not mention Quyuanli. The Tang Dynasty benefited a lot from this. Even the thirteen incense, white paper and tea leaves produced by the Han Palace should not be underestimated. What other people can do it?
of?"
As she said this, Fang Xuanling was also secretly cursing in her heart.
He only has confidence because of the marriage between King Han and his daughter? What about your Majesty the Emperor?
Li Yuanjia had clearly said before that it would take fifty carpenters and fifty handymen, and three hundred trucks a month would be turned over for only the same amount of money per truck, but when the emperor finally made the decision, it turned out to be fifty carpenters and one.
One hundred handymen, two hundred and fifty overturns a month, and the King of Han will be given two guan of money for each one...
If the emperor didn't feel sorry for his brother, he would have seen a ghost!
But one thing Fang Xuanling told the truth is that he really has confidence in King Li Yuanjia of Han. Although his future son-in-law "does not seek advancement," in Lao Fang's eyes, he has already done a lot as a prince.
Okay, and the talent in those craftsmanship things is even more amazing!
But after listening to his words, Li Shimin was a little confused: "Fang Aiqing, I understand the benefits of those white papers made by Shiyi Lang's house. They are cheap and better than the fine ones from Li's Paper Factory...
But how useful are thirteen incense and tea leaves?"
For the emperor, whether it was thirteen incense or tea, it was nothing more than a pleasure.
Especially the land that Li Yuanjia sent people to buy in the south was specifically used to grow tea trees. He did not hesitate to send people there every year to buy tea leaves, fry them and send them all the way back to Chang'an...
Li Shimin didn't understand, what was the use of that thing besides drinking?
"this……"
After hesitating for a moment, Fang Xuanling said sternly: "Your Majesty, the Thirteen Incenses are indeed just for rhetoric, but the Thirteen Incenses that King Han shipped from Luzhou were sold for a huge sum of money...
…”
"Ahem! Ahem!"
When he heard this, Li Shimin's face darkened and he coughed twice subconsciously.
"..."
Fang Xuanling immediately understood what the emperor meant, and his face suddenly became a little embarrassed, and he quickly made up for it: "Although others asked the king for those thirteen incense, they also gave the work... the cost of the work, and
Your Majesty has also paid the customs tax faithfully! Now there are six or seven companies in Chang'an City doing thirteen incense business, and the tax paid every month is over a thousand guan!"
"Ah? So many?"
After hearing what Fang Xuanling said this time, Li Shimin was a little surprised.
"Yes, Your Majesty, just a little more!"
Nodding, Fang Xuanling sighed: "There are many rich people in Chang'an, so the monthly sales volume is naturally not low. Moreover, those spices are already valuable, and they are even more expensive after being made into Thirteen Incense... Even Thirteen Incense is no longer available.
It’s a rare thing, but it still costs one tael!”
"Gui Gui? Now only Gui Gui one or two?"
After hearing the number said by Fang Xuanling, Li Shimin's expression became weird again. He remembered that the thirteen incense that that boy Li Yuanjia sold to others seemed to be five sticks and one liang, right? How long has it been?
Already lost one tael of money?
"...Yes, Your Majesty."
Fang Xuanling also felt a little speechless, smiled dryly and nodded.
The dignified Prince of the Tang Dynasty lowered his face to do business, and he did it so shrewdly, which made Li Yuanjia's second brother and future father-in-law feel a little ashamed and helpless.
So after Li Shimin nodded, he immediately changed the subject: "Fang Aiqing, I won't mention the thirteen incense! Is the tea you just mentioned useful for other purposes besides drinking?"
"According to what the king said, it is indeed true!"
Taking a deep breath, Fang Xuanling's expression immediately became serious: "Your Majesty, by chance, the king once said that they are the nomads in the north... Well, the king calls barbarians who are engaged in herding and not farming.
To be a nomadic people means to have no fixed place of residence and to wander around in all directions.”
Smiling slightly, Li Shimin nodded: "Haha, this statement is quite appropriate. So, the Turks and Tubo people are both nomadic people?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Nodding, Fang Xuanling continued: "Your Majesty said that people must eat a variety of foods to live in this world. If you only eat meat, vegetables or grain, you will be very easy to get sick. Nomadic people do not cultivate the grassland.
There are no vegetables or berries on the table, so all we eat on weekdays is meat and dairy products..."
"Um?"
When he heard this, Li Shimin's thoughts changed and his eyes slowly widened.
After a pause, Fang Xuanling continued: "According to what the king said, tea is rich in... ahem, in short, there are some things that the nomads who usually only eat meat, milk and other things need very much! And!
The fried tea made by Prince Han's Palace is not perishable and can be stored for a long time. In the future, it will definitely bring countless benefits to the Tang Dynasty, just like salt and iron..."
When he heard this, how could Li Shimin hold back? After a moment, he stood up: "Fang Aiqing, are you serious about this?!"
"Your Majesty, I don't know!"
Fang Xuanling answered calmly, quickly pouring cold water on the excited Li Shimin.
"I don't know?"
"Yes, I don't know!"
Nodding, Fang Xuanling took a deep breath and said: "Actually, even King Han himself is just a guess, saying that these things are all from some books... However, I think there is still some truth in what the king said.
It makes sense. Regardless of whether the Turks or Tubo people are prone to some diseases that we Tang people are not prone to, I have found someone to verify this."
"Well, guess..."
"Even if it's just a guess, it's worth a try!"
Narrowing his eyes slightly, Fang Xuanling said in a deep voice: "The king said that after the roasted tea is sent to Chang'an this year, he will give some to the court to try, and take it to the north to trade with our neighbors..."