The thirty-sixth section of the crazy Tang businessmen

  "It won't be, because at this time the horses are not strong and the sheep are not fat. They will have to wait until August to send troops. It's precisely because of this that the emperor will ascend to the throne ahead of time, which means we'll have enough time to consolidate our national strength and fight a decisive battle against the Turks, and we're sure to win! What Li Jing fears is not defeat, but a narrow victory."

  Li Yuanxing took out a classical Chinese version of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and placed it on the table: "If my brother wants books, you should at least keep one for yourself. I have an idea - those Turks must eat too, where do they get their food from? Will they raid our grain stores?"

  "Grain storehouse? Does Wulang have a plan?" Li Jing's interest was piqued, and his kneeling body straightened up slightly.

  Li Yuanxing sat cross-legged on the ground, his kneeling posture as if he was being punished.

  "Leave the grain depot for them, add poison or croton powder will do!" Li Yuanxing said his own plan.

  Li Jing burst out laughing: "Wulang, this plan may work against mountain bandits, but it won't work against a large army. There are three difficulties: first, the Turks will come with 200,000 troops; second, we'll need a lot of mung beans; and third, the army's food will be tested for poison!"

  Li Jing said it very simply, and Li Yuanxing also understood it clearly.

  Killing one or two hundred thousand people would not solve the fundamental problem for an army of two million. This is where the crux lies.

  They talked about the Romance of the Three Kingdoms again, and Li Jing picked up the book once more, flipping through it while discussing the tactics inside with Li Yuanxing. The two really did have their hearts set on finding a solution to deal with the Turks from this book.

  When Li Jing read to Chang Ban Po, he raised his head and glanced at Li Yuanxing.

  "Is there a flower on my face?" Li Yuanxing asked with a smile.

  "I know why you gave the knife to Shu Bao, Shu Bao is just like Zhao Yun Zhao Zilong in this book!" Li Jing's words hit Li Yuanxing's heart, Li Yuanxing loved The Romance of the Three Kingdoms extremely, and once they started talking about it, there was no end.

  The soldiers just thought it was a prince and a minister discussing military affairs, and no one dared to disturb them.

  But who would have thought that Li Yuanxing was excitedly discussing the Romance of the Three Kingdoms with Li Jing for a whole day, and hardly said a few words about the real military situation.

  That night, Li Yuanxing returned to his own Qinwang Fu, where a seemingly young eunuch greeted him at the gate.

  When he saw Li Yuanxing, he made a thousand bows: "Your Highness returns to the palace, I am a palace selection, please give me a name!"

  "I don't quite understand the naming, if the name I said doesn't follow the rules, you tell me. Just call me Zheng He!"

  "Thank you, Your Highness, for bestowing a name!" Zheng He knelt in gratitude.

  What's proper or improper, what Commander Zheng says is proper. What this name is called, the palace won't even bother to manage it.

  Accompanying Li Yuanxing to the inner courtyard, the Wang mansion still doesn't have a mistress, everything is being taken care of by Zheng He.

  "Your Highness, the stewards of the Cui, Lu and Wang families have all come to ask me about what kind of woman you like." Li Yuanxing stopped in his tracks upon hearing this, originally thinking that such a trivial matter wasn't worth bothering with. But then he thought again, it's not right either, this concerns his own future happiness after all.

  Zheng He waited on the side, even if selling information could make some small money, but first and foremost Qin Wang was the one he was loyal to.

  Li Yuanxing thought about the beauty standards of the Tang Dynasty, and it was said that the Tang people liked plump beauties, but he himself had not seen many fat noblewomen. At this time, Zheng He spoke again: "This time, several families have secretly indicated that there are several 14- to 16-year-old marriageable women in their homes, and there will definitely be one that Your Highness likes!"

  Fourteen to sixteen years old, Li Yuanxing was shocked, isn't this too young?

  It's like I'm a weird uncle deceiving kids into watching goldfish.

  Li Yuanxing smiled and waved his hand lightly: "I don't like it too rich, a little thinner is better. For them, this one is enough, you said too much, it seems that our Qin Wangfu is too concerned about this matter. Since you can be sent over, you should understand, the king wants to comfort these big families!"

  "Yes!" Zheng He nodded respectfully.

  Qiu Xiang's two maids did not enter Chang'an City, the two serving here were selected from the palace. Zheng He said that they were also personally selected by Empress Longsun herself.

  "Should I send some gifts to your sister-in-law?" Li Yuanxing asked Zheng He.

  Zheng He shook his head: "Recently, it's better for Your Highness not to send gifts. The last gift from Your Highness brought some minor troubles to the Empress, and those noblewomen came to visit one after another, hoping to get a share from the Empress. Fortunately, the Empress had given them away to other imperial consorts beforehand. If there were a few more pieces, the Empress would definitely be bothered by those women!"

  "Alright, all right!"

  A clever, independent-thinking and loyal eunuch is absolutely a good helper for an emperor.

  "Tomorrow, the merchants will host a banquet for me, you accompany me!" Li Yuanxing said and waved his hand to indicate that Zheng He could leave. After dismissing two new maidservants to rest, Li Yuanxing became depressed instead. In this Tang Dynasty, there really is no nightlife at all, even the streets are closed at night.

  It seems that the nobles of the Great Tang Dynasty were busy making people at night for a reason.

  Li Yuanxing couldn't sleep, sat cross-legged at his desk practicing calligraphy, it seems that some chairs need to be made.

  The next day, they returned to the Swallow Tower.

  At dawn, the attendants of the Swallow Tower all put on new clothes, swept the streets and wiped the entire Swallow Tower clean. The merchants gathered at the Swallow Tower early in the morning, each wearing their best clothes to make a good impression in front of the new Qin king.

  People of the Tang Dynasty typically ate two meals a day, with the first meal around 10:00 am and the second at 4:00 pm. Many people went to bed after 6:00 pm, while officials would have something to eat and drink when they got up in the early morning, otherwise they would be starving by the time of the imperial court gathering. Of course, wealthy families also had midnight snacks.

  But ordinary families just have two meals.

  Li Yuanxing had been eating according to his own schedule while in Qinwangzhuang, three meals a day.

  The chefs just thought Qin Wang was used to this habit, so they didn't tell Li Yuanxing how ordinary people eat.

  Li Yuanxing thought it was just lunch around twelve o'clock, but who would have thought that Zheng He came at around nine o'clock in the morning, saying that all the merchants were already at Yan Guilou, and it would be time to start the banquet in less than half an hour. King Qin, you should get ready, this is a formal occasion, of course, you need to wear your royal robes.

  This is really troublesome, this clothes is very troublesome.

  Li Yuanxing believed that it was impossible for him to put on this complicated garment by himself, he couldn't even figure out what buttons went where, let alone the multiple layers inside and out.

  Two maids spent a whole quarter of an hour just helping Li Yuanxing get dressed.

  When it came to hair, Li Yuanxing really didn't want to bother, so he simply took a hair tie and tied his hair up.

  Li Yuanxing had medium-length hair at the time, and for such a long time, he had never combed his hair. It had been over a month now, and it was already possible to tie his hair back with a hairband.

  "Your Highness should wear the crown!" Zheng He advised.

  As a prince, it is very important to have the necessary demeanor. Li Yuanxing's hair was too short, which would be considered medium length for modern men. However, in the Tang Dynasty, it was too short, so short that if he needed to wear a crown, he had to tie it on his head with silk thread, which Li Yuanxing had done once.

  On the day Li Er ascended to the throne.

  There's only one feeling, pain, unbearable pain. Not to mention that thing is quite heavy, even pulling hair is very painful.

  "No way!" Li Yuanxing directly refused.

  "Your Highness, the historians will surely..." Zheng He was cut off by Li Yuanxing: "No more nonsense!"

  Seeing Li Yuanxing looking unhappy, Zheng He also didn't dare to say more and retreated with his head down. And Li Yuanxing looked at the crown that symbolized his status and picked it up again, holding the ribbon in his hand.

  When they arrived at the Swallow Tower, they happened to meet Gao Jian and Gao Shi. After seeing Li Yuanxing holding his hat in his hand, he was stunned. Li Yuanxing pointed to his own head, and that half-long hair was scattered on his head, as if it was really impossible to make a bun on his head to wear the hat.

  These were all minor matters, and Li Yuanxing naturally wouldn't make a fuss. He bowed to Li Yuanxing according to etiquette, and Li Yuanxing stretched out his hand to support him: "Don't treat Ben Wang as the king, it's somewhat unaccustomed for seniors to bow to juniors." After speaking, Li Yuanxing made the simplest of bows: "This is enough."

  Gao Jian smiled and nodded his head slightly.

  As for Li Yuanxing, this star lord from heaven, the officials close to Emperor Taizong of Tang were all very fearful.

  In the Yan Gui Lou, several high-ranking officials were waiting at the entrance. When they saw Li Yuanxing appear, they all stared in surprise. Li Yuanxing smiled and said: "Don't stare at my head or discuss my hair. Today I'm wearing a crown, don't give those imperial historians a chance to bother me."

  A few very obvious jokes also warned these businessmen not to talk nonsense and let everyone's tense heart relax.

  Li Yuanxing was welcomed to the second floor and naturally sat in the most honorable position, while Gao Jian sat next to him.

  Zheng He stood aside and let the merchants pay their respects to King Qin, then spoke on behalf of Li Yuanxing: "His Majesty King Qin has ordered that we first serve dishes for everyone to share and drink together."

  Eating is a small matter, these businessmen have all eaten before they came.

  Let's not mention that they have worries, no one knows what Li Yuanxing wants to do. Moreover, eating in front of a high-ranking prince is also depressing. The boss of Yan Guilou is kind-hearted, the dishes are all exquisite small plates, but the quantity is not much.

  Li Yuanxing tasted every dish and thought that the food in the Tang Dynasty was absolutely green, but the craftsmanship was a bit poor. It should be worse than the level of craftsmanship and spices. However, these are minor matters. When the common people have money, there will naturally be countless people studying how to eat well, dress well, and play well.

  The wine of Datang is also drunk for a few cups, light but very fragrant and flavorful.

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