When Modun was escorting Princess Changle back to the palace with a carriage full of rare treasures from the Western Regions, before he could leave, he was caught by Pound, who had been waiting for him.
"Merton! His Majesty invites you in! "Pande looked at Merton with a smile that was not a smile.
Mo Dun felt helpless when he heard that. Li Shimin never gave Mo Dun a good look every time he saw him. Mo Dun was still a little scared when he saw Li Shimin.
When Meton arrived at Taiji Palace, he saw that Dai Zhou and Li Shimin were already waiting. When they saw Meton, their faces turned cold. "I heard that Mo Jiu spent money like gold in Xi City. How unrestrained!"
Meton was a prodigal son. He did not spend his own money, but the silk from the imperial court. No wonder Li Shimin's face turned black.
Meton laughed. "Your Majesty has wronged the Minister. The Minister's money is not for spending, but to obtain a large amount of information for the Tang dynasty."
Since Meton dared to spend this batch of silk, he had already thought of a countermeasure.
Li Shimin snorted. "Then I would like to hear how your glib tongue inverts black and white."
"Reporting to Your Majesty, compared to the envoys from the Chamberlain of Dependencies, the information that these barbarian merchants unwittingly revealed is the truest. This humble subject has carefully investigated this trip to the Western Market and obtained two pieces of news, one good and one bad." Moton kept things in suspense.
Unfortunately, Li Shimin and Dai Zhou did not respond. They watched Meton act and direct it himself.
Meton quickly said awkwardly, "The good news is that the Minister sold the silk from the Weaving Bureau in Xi City. It was immediately sought after by the barbarian merchants. This shows that there is still a market for the silk from the Weaving Bureau."
Dai Zhou heaved a sigh of relief and finally couldn't help but ask, "What's the bad news?"
Meton said regretfully, "It's a pity that these barbarian merchants have limited financial resources and transportation capabilities. They simply can't digest this batch of silk. Therefore, the method of selling this batch of silk to the countries of the Western Regions and the barbarian merchants of the Western Regions is simply not feasible."
Silk was a luxury item even in the Tang dynasty, let alone in the Western Regions, Persia, Arabia, and other countries. Only the nobility and nobility could afford it. Although it was expensive, very few people could afford it.
Li Shimin and Dai Zhou's faces immediately darkened. This was far from what they had expected.
"How much cotton is planted this year?" Li Shimin asked with a frown.
"It has already reached three thousand mu! So far, we've already harvested 400,000 jin of seeded cotton. "Meton lowered his head. Now, the Mo's Village was mainly responsible for planting cotton. Of course, Meton knew the situation of cotton best. Under the meticulous care of the Mo's Village regardless of the cost, the yield of cotton per mu directly broke through the 100 jin mark. It was a bumper harvest.
"In other words, we'll plant even more cotton next year!" Li Shimin asked seriously.
Meton nodded and said, "At least twenty times."
Li Shimin sucked in a breath of cold air. At this rate, cotton would definitely bloom all over the Tang dynasty within a few years. There really wasn't much time left for silk.
"Why don't we lower the price and attract the barbarian merchants to buy more silk?" Dai Zhou also said worriedly.
Meton shook his head and said, "No, the barbarian merchants have limited transportation capabilities. Even if we lower the price, they won't be able to transport much. On the contrary, it will damage the profits of the Tang dynasty."
Li Shimin nodded. The profits of silk were too great. How could the Tang dynasty let it go so easily?
"Since the barbarian merchants can travel thousands of miles to the Tang dynasty, then can the Tang dynasty also form caravans to the countries of the Western Regions?" Li Shimin asked. If the Tang dynasty sent a large number of caravans to sell silk, then there would definitely be no need to worry about the amount of silk.
"Your Majesty, this is certainly feasible, but it's just a drop in the bucket. Moreover, there are many desert bandits on the Silk Road. Most of the Tang dynasty's merchants are law-abiding citizens. I'm afraid it will be difficult for them to move. If … "
Meton didn't continue. His meaning was obvious. If the Tang dynasty's caravans wanted to use the Silk Road, then they would have to get the support of the imperial court and even arm these caravans. The status of the Tang dynasty's merchants was low. If these merchants were suddenly armed, even Li Shimin wouldn't be able to make a decision for the time being.
Li Shimin immediately became angry. He stared at Merton with an unfriendly gaze and said, "So, you've wasted all your silk, and now there's nothing you can do!"
Meton sighed in his heart. He immediately knew that if he didn't come up with something useful, he wouldn't be able to get through today.
Meton bowed and said, "Your Majesty, do you know about the Surveillance City?"
Li Shimin was suddenly at a loss. Dai Zhou suddenly understood and said, "Is Mo Jiu talking about the former Minister of Civil Affairs, Pei Ju, His Excellency Pei? During the previous dynasty, His Excellency Pei set up a Surveillance City in Zhangye. Barbarian merchants from the Western Regions flocked to Zhangye, causing Zhangye to become an important town in the Northwest."
Li Shimin finally understood and said, "You're talking about re-establishing the Surveillance City in Zhangye!"
Meton nodded and said, "Not just Zhangye. The Minister believes that Surveillance City can be set up at any border with other countries to exchange goods with other countries."
"Set up a Surveillance City! Do you think you can sell the silk like this? "Li Shimin looked at Merton with a scrutinizing gaze.
Meton shook his head and said, "These Surveillance City naturally won't be able to digest so much silk from the imperial court. However, this is only the first step."
"The first step?" Li Shimin and Dai Zhou looked at Meton expectantly.
Meton nodded and said, "The second step is that these Surveillance City can only be settled with one type of currency, and that is silk!"
Li Shimin and Dai Zhou looked at each other, not understanding the meaning of Meton's words. In the Tang dynasty, silk could be used as money!
Meton explained, "The Minister discovered in Xi City that there are a total of three types of currency on the Silk Road. One is the Persian silver coin, the other is the Kaiyuan Tongbao of the Tang dynasty, and the third is silk. Now, the Tang dynasty only needs to remove the other two types of currency, and the sales of silk will definitely skyrocket. Of course, for the sake of the reputation of the Tang dynasty, this batch of silk had better be the best silk from the Weaving Bureau."
The biggest advantage of using silk as currency was that it would not depreciate. Moreover, it was recognized as a hard currency on the Silk Road. This was where Meton's confidence came from.
"Wonderful!" Dai Zhou was suddenly enlightened. He only wanted Meton to sell this batch of silk, but Meton actually took a different approach. He actually treated silk as both a commodity and a currency.
"What's the difference?" Li Shimin was suddenly confused and puzzled.
Meton showed a trace of confidence and said, "Your Majesty, when ordinary people like us want to buy things, we have to prepare a lot of money in advance. Therefore, as long as the barbarian merchants want to trade with the Tang dynasty, they have to get their hands on silk. This way, a large amount of silk will be hoarded in the hands of the barbarian merchants in preparation to buy goods from the Tang dynasty. In this way, does Your Majesty still have to worry about the origin of the silk from the Weaving Bureau?"
Li Shimin's eyes suddenly lit up. He actually understood the principle in an instant. This was just like the treasure trove of a rich man in the countryside. It must be full of copper coins. At this moment, Meton was just changing the copper coins into silk.
Meton continued, "Not only that, in the future, when the merchants of the Tang dynasty purchase goods from other countries, they will also pay in silk. Moreover, the currencies of the countries in the Western Regions are not interconnected at all. The quality of gold and silver is also different. However, the silk from the Weaving Bureau is very valuable and easy to transport. If all the transactions on the Silk Road are settled in silk, then according to this calculation, Your Majesty's silk may not be enough!"
This was the way Meton thought that if the Tang dynasty wanted to obtain the greatest benefits from the Silk Road, that was, to establish a silk system of the Tang dynasty.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
