"Brother-in-law, is there another treasure from the Western Regions that has appeared? Or is there another exotic technique?" Li Zhi asked excitedly. He knew that every time Moton went to the Western Regions, he had never returned empty-handed.
Meton shook his head and waved his hand. Tie An, who had been following behind, hurried over in a carriage. He opened the carriage and revealed a carriage full of exquisite silk.
Meton laughed and said, "Our mission today is to spend all the silk in this carriage!"
"A carriage of silk!"
"So much?"
Everyone was dumbfounded as they looked at the cart full of silk. It was worth a lot!
"There's no need for that! If word gets out, we'll be criticized by the imperial court again! "Princess Changle quickly shook her head.
"They say I'm a prodigal!" Meton said angrily.
Princess Changle covered her mouth and laughed. She rolled her eyes at Meton. She knew his own reputation. If word got out that Modun had spent a whole carriage of silk in Xi City for her, it might even reach the imperial court the next day. She didn't want the whole of Chang 'an to know that Modun had spent a lot of money to make a beauty smile. She still had a lingering fear from the last time she became famous.
Meton laughed and said, "Don't worry. I'm not a prodigal this time. I'm just following orders to spend the silk."
"This is silk from the Weaving Bureau!" Li Chengqian's sharp eyes saw the origin of the silk and exclaimed.
"The Weaving Bureau!"
Princess Changle had been in the palace for a long time and was naturally familiar with the silk produced by the Weaving Bureau. She could not help but look at it in surprise. It was indeed silk with the Weaving Bureau's mark.
"How did you get this silk!" Princess Changle exclaimed. Logically speaking, silk was not in circulation in the market.
Moton said proudly, "Minister Dai has entrusted me with the task of selling silk from the imperial court to the kingdoms of the Western Regions. Today, I've brought a cart of silk just to test the waters. The real deal is still to come."
Everyone was enlightened! Princess Changle could not help but reveal a trace of excitement. Which woman in the world did not like to buy, buy, and buy? Even the Eldest Princess was no exception.
"This carpet is not bad!" Princess Changle instantly went into shopping mode. She picked up a Persian carpet and could not put it down.
"Miss, you have good taste. This is the most expensive carpet in Persia. Only the nobles can enjoy it!"
To the side, a Persian merchant spoke in half-baked Mandarin, praising Princess Changle's foresight.
"I'll buy it!" Meton waved his hand.
"A total of ten taels of silver!" The Persian merchant could not help but exclaim..
Modun smiled and said, "We don't have any silver, but I don't know if we can use it to pay the bill!"
Moton waved his hand, and Tie An immediately presented him with an exquisite piece of silk.
"This is the best silk!" The Persian merchant's eyes instantly lit up. He looked at the exquisite silk in front of him as if he had found a treasure. The merchants who traveled thousands of miles to the Tang Dynasty only had one goal, and that was silk. As long as they could successfully transport the silk back, they would immediately reap a hundredfold profit. The Silk Road was littered with corpses. It was this high profit that attracted wave after wave of merchants to travel thousands of miles to the Tang Dynasty.
Meton smiled. The silk from the Weaving Bureau was the best in the world. Naturally, these merchants would not miss out on it.
One was excited by the prospect, while the other was generous. The transaction was quickly completed.
When Princess Changle walked out of the shop with the Persian carpet, Li Chengqian looked at the transaction and could not help but ponder.
"Brother Gao Ming, can you see anything?" Meton asked.
Li Chengqian frowned. "Logically speaking, the price of this silk should not be enough to cover the price of the Persian carpet. Why is this Persian merchant willing to do it?"
Throughout the transaction, Meton did not force the merchant to buy or sell. They also did not reveal their identities. However, this unequal transaction went unexpectedly smoothly.
Meton explained, "Brother Gao Ming, you only see the price of the carpet in the Tang Dynasty. You do not know that in Persia, the carpet is just like silk. Although it is expensive, it is not unattainable. There are many rich people everywhere. Silk, through the hands of these merchants, reaches the far west. Its price is as heavy as gold!"
"Silk is as heavy as gold!" Li Chengqian could not help but hold his breath. There was so much silk in the Tang Dynasty. Wouldn't the price be …
"The rarer something is, the more precious it is. Brother Gao Ming, you only see the price of the silk, but you do not see that less than one in a hundred of these merchants can reach the far west from the Tang Dynasty. This is also one of the reasons why silk is so expensive in the far west!" Meton explained.
"Then can we sell the silk directly to the far west and earn the difference ourselves?" Li Chengqian said with a rush of excitement. If it could be done, then the benefits that the Tang Dynasty could reap were too great. He could not help but be tempted.
"I believe that one day, this goal can be realized. However, the Tang Dynasty cannot do without these merchants. What we need to do now is to strive for as much benefits for the Tang Dynasty as possible on the Silk Road," Meton said solemnly.
Li Chengqian pondered. Only then did he carefully watch Meton's every transaction.
"This jewelry is very beautiful!" Princess Changle exclaimed.
"I'll buy it!" Meton did not hesitate and offered a bolt of silk.
"This is not bad either!"
"I'll buy it!"
…
In a short while, Princess Changle had a bountiful harvest. Even Jin Yang and Li Zhi bought a lot of good things. As Meton spent money like gold in Xi City, the entire Xi City was soon in an uproar.
"So it's Merton!" Many merchants in Chang 'an City heard the news and rushed over. They only realized when they saw Meton.
During the Western Regions Grand Festival last year, Meton spent money like gold, which left a deep impression on many merchants. Meton missed the Western Regions Grand Festival this year because he was far away in Tuyuhun, causing many merchants to feel regretful. They did not expect that Meton would come to Xi City at this time and start his prodigal mode again.
"There aren't many good things this year!" Meton said regretfully as he raised his head to look at the merchants.
The leader of the merchants was Meton's old friend, Tie Wu. Tie Wu said in shame, "Marquis, I trust that the books and knowledge you want have already spread throughout the Western Regions. However, going from the Tang dynasty to the Abbasid Caliphate is not something that can be done in a year or two. Marquis, you only need to wait for a few years. You definitely won't be disappointed. As soon as there is news, this one will immediately inform the Mo Estate."
When the merchants who had just arrived in the Tang dynasty heard that even sheepskin scrolls and seeds could be sold for the price of gems, they were filled with regret. Who would have thought that these unremarkable items would be worth far more than the goods they had brought?
Meton nodded. He naturally knew that this matter could not be rushed. The bait had already been cast, and all he could do now was wait for the fish to take the bait.
"Since this Marquis doesn't have what this Marquis wants, then take out your best items for this young lady to choose from. I won't forget about your silk," Meton said.
Tie Wu immediately stood up and called out, "Take out all your treasures for this beautiful young lady to choose from!"
The news of Meton and Princess Changle was no secret. The Hu merchants who were active in the Western Regions naturally knew that the woman at Meton's side could only be Princess Changle, but none of them pointed this out.
Upon hearing that the prodigal Meton had come to the Western Markets, the entire market was thrown into an uproar. Countless treasures that had never been heard of before were immediately offered up for Changle to choose from.
The entire cart of silk disappeared at a visible rate, and in exchange, it was filled to the brim with treasures of the Western Regions. At the same time, Meton's understanding of the Silk Road deepened.
"The current Silk Road's volume of transport is still too little!" Meton sighed. Compared to the large-scale trade between the various countries in his previous life, the current Silk Road relied solely on the transport of camel caravans. Not only was the volume of transport small, but the cycle was also long. It was simply not enough to support the large-scale silk trade.
If the Tang dynasty wanted to resell large amounts of silk, it would be nearly impossible. Dai Zhou's mission was not that easy to complete.
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