Li Kuan wanted to control the cotton cloth industry in Datang, but he had no intention of monopolizing the cotton cloth market.

He also thinks that everyone will continue to expand the cotton planting area in Hedong Province.

Therefore, new textile machinery was quickly launched on the market.

As long as you give me money, I'll sell it to you!

Of course, if a textile loom that costs less than two silver coins is sold to you for a hundred silver coins, it’s up to you whether you want to buy it or not.

In just a few days, everyone who visited the Chu Prince's cotton workshop gritted their teeth and spent money to upgrade the equipment.

Of course, you can also buy one and then secretly imitate it.

The premise is that you are not afraid that the Royal Patent Office of the Tang Dynasty will cause trouble for you.

"Your Majesty, I have earned more than 20,000 yuan from the sale of textile looms alone. This is much faster than selling cotton cloth."

Wang Fugui reported the past few days to Li Kuan with a smile on his face.

"The efficiency of our new textile machine is more than eight times that of traditional manual work. Even the improved version that will be launched soon can increase the efficiency by 16 times. As long as your brain is not flooded and you are still thinking about starting a cotton business, it is impossible not to buy it.

."

Li Kuan didn't feel any guilt in his heart for having embezzled the money of such a noble group of textile machinery.

Just treat it like a big dog and a big business, robbing the rich and giving to the poor.

"Yes, what those people should be having a headache about now is what to do with the cotton fabrics they have made! You said you can sell them at the same price as us. Not to mention losing a lot of money, they still can't sell them. Because theirs

The quality of cotton cloth is obviously worse than ours. But they are not willing to lower the price even lower than ours."

Wang Fugui couldn't help but smile as he thought of the troubled expressions of other shopkeepers.

"In this way, if you let the wind out, say that we are willing to buy the cotton cloth from them at 10% off the market price, only for the next three days, and we will not wait until it expires."

"Your Majesty, if they want to sell these cotton cloths normally, they will have to pay 10% off or even 20% off our selling price. We can't make any money by buying them back like this."

Wang Fugui was not sure whether Li Kuan's approach had any other purpose, but from a commercial point of view, it was not a good business.

"Why can't we make money? The amount of cotton we grow is limited, but the world's demand for cotton cloth is simply infinite. Our limited cotton cloth cannot satisfy these infinite markets, so we just buy a batch of cotton cloth.

Well. Anyway, no matter which company produces the cotton, in the eyes of the Japanese people, or the Goguryeo people of the north and south, it is a top-quality cloth."

Obviously, Li Kuan planned to transport these cotton cloths of varying quality overseas for sale.

Anyway, it is sold according to the price of local linen cloth. Even if the quality of these cotton cloths is average, it can be regarded as a conscientious price.

"Huh? That's a good idea! That Kujo Nobuyuki is thinking of transporting a few more ships of cotton back."

"Not only Japan, but also Donghai Fisheries can transport cotton cloth to Linyi, Champa, Puluozhong and other places for sale, and then further promote cotton cloth to Tianzhu and Dashi, causing all the linen shops there to close down!"

Not to mention that the Lu family linen shop could not withstand the impact of low-priced cotton from the Prince of Chu's palace, and the linen from overseas countries could not withstand it even more.

Especially Tianzhu and Dashi, which are big countries that produce linen.

Even plants like flax first spread in the areas now controlled by the Great Food Empire.

It would hit the local economy, dump cotton cloth, and open up the market for cotton cloth. Li Kuan would be very happy to do so even if he made less money.

…

Xuanzheng Hall.

Li Zhongyi reported to Li Shimin what had happened in Chang'an City in recent days.

"So, the Taiyuan Wang family is the one who got tricked the most this time?"

"Yes, because they are the fastest and have processed almost all the cotton into cotton cloth, so the cost is there. With the purchase price given by His Highness the King of Chu, the Wang family in Taiyuan has basically completed everything from cotton planting to cotton cloth sales.

Last year, they didn't make a penny. As for other families, although most of them didn't make as much as last year, they didn't lose money. Especially some families who only sold cotton and were not involved in the production of cotton cloth made a lot of money.

"

"That's good, otherwise no one will be willing to plant cotton next year, and then Kuan'er will lose a big deal in a small way. But then again, can the production efficiency increase eight times with just such a mechanical improvement?"

Although Li Shimin was a very wise emperor, he was not an "understanding king" and could not know everything.

"Your Majesty, that machine has completely overturned the method of cotton spinning. It is said that the mechanical workshop of Guanshishan Academy has developed a spinning machine that directly increases production efficiency by sixteen times. It has now been trialled in the cotton workshop of the Prince of Chu's Mansion.

Already."

When Li Zhong spoke, his heart was filled with admiration.

When it comes to creating miracles, no one can compare to His Highness the King of Chu.

"Sixteen times? So, Kuan'er sold cotton so cheaply that in the end he not only taught other competitors a lesson, but also made money himself?"

Li Shimin suddenly regretted not investing in the Chu Prince's Cotton Cloth Workshop.

At that time, when Li Kuan was promoting cotton cultivation, he gave Li Shimin a chance.

However, Li Shimin did not take a fancy to such a small workshop at first.

"It is definitely possible to make money, and His Highness the King of Chu not only taught the competitors of the Tang Dynasty a lesson, but also arranged for people to transport cotton cloth to Japan and Southeast Asia. It is estimated that by next year, all the cotton cloth in the world will be

The shop can no longer survive."

"It's not that exaggerated. In some remote places, people don't even know that cotton cloth exists outside. However, if Kuan'er can sell cotton cloth overseas, it will solve the cotton consumption problem of Hedong Road's continued expansion of cotton planting.

"

Li Kuandu planned to transform the vast grasslands on Hedong Road into cotton fields.

This means that Datang's cotton output will continue to rise by then.

If the market is not expanded, then everyone will definitely engage in a price war, and no one will make any money.

Li Shimin naturally understood this truth.

"I heard that cannibals have almost monopolized all the linen business in the West. There are even cannibal linen merchants in some places in Southeast Asia. If our cotton cloth from the Tang Dynasty can directly defeat those linen merchants this time, it will be very important for our expansion.

In terms of Nanyang’s influence, it is very beneficial.”

The so-called influence sometimes refers to the impact that my words and my things can have on you.

Just like the Nordic countries in later generations, although they are very wealthy, their influence is very limited.

However, some poor countries have a decisive influence in the world by virtue of possessing other special weapons.

"Nowadays, we have a large number of maritime merchants in the Tang Dynasty, and they contribute a lot of taxes to the court every year. Baiqisi can also consider arranging some spies overseas to grasp the situation in time. At the same time, it is time for the navy to expand its scale.

This is a powerful weapon to ensure our sea trade tax revenue."

The longer you are an emperor, the more you will feel the benefits of abundant financial income.

This is also an important reason why Li Shimin acquiesced to Li Kuan's continuous improvement of the social status of merchants and craftsmen in the Tang Dynasty.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured that Baiqisi has set up a stronghold in Puluo, and regular news will be sent back every month. Next, we plan to continue to establish new strongholds in the west, and the situation in Tianzhu and Dashi will also be reported.

Let’s find out.”

Li Zhong has always been very reliable in his work.

Otherwise, it would not have been possible for him to serve as the commander of Baiqisi beside Li Shimin for such a long time.

"The last time I looked at it, there was a section dedicated to introducing overseas cultural scenery. It was said that there are tens of millions of people in Zhu, which is not a small country. The most exaggerated thing is that the newspaper actually said that every household there likes to store gold, and every day

There are gold-plated Buddha statues in this temple. Baiqisi must arrange more manpower to go to Tianzhu to find out the situation, and he will be outdone by a group of newspaper writers."

Li Shimin is quite satisfied with Li Zhong, but Baiqisi's development overseas is relatively slow, which is an indisputable fact.

In a normal Central Plains dynasty, the emperor didn't care about overseas affairs. He felt that he was the emperor of heaven and that he only needed to take care of the things in front of him.

But Li Shimin was different. Under the influence of Li Kuan and the huge benefits brought by maritime trade, he was still very interested in overseas affairs.

On his royal desk, a special globe was placed on the table, and Li Shimin studied it almost every day.

"This time, His Royal Highness the King of Chu arranged for people to sell cotton cloth overseas, preparing to use cotton cloth as a new export weapon for our Tang Dynasty. His subordinates felt that this was a great opportunity for Baiqisi to develop overseas power. As long as a special trading team was established, there would be

Ninety percent of the staff are normal businessmen and clerks, but 10% of our staff are from Baiqisi. With the low price and excellent quality of cotton, we will be able to completely occupy the overseas market in a few years. By then, we at Baiqisi

The power has naturally spread to all parts of the world."

Li Zhong's proposal made Li Shimin's eyes light up.

Although Li Shimin also knew that Li Kuan asked the Shipping Governor's Office to set a rule that all cotton going to sea required the approval of the Shipping Department.

But if Baiqisi wants to do something, will anyone stop him?

This can not only solve the funding problem of Baiqisi, but also solve the problem of intelligence collection.

Li Shimin felt that there was much to be done.

"Li Zhong, Baiqisi can not only collect intelligence by developing trade overseas, but also form other trade teams like the northwest trade, or even set up a new escort agency like the Shunfeng Escort Agency to protect various merchants.

Escort makes it easy to collect intelligence from all over the border."

Li Shimin didn't know that his simple words would lead to the emergence of a very special business organization in Datang.

Let’s just say they are state-owned enterprises and the Ministry of Household Affairs has no control over them.

Let's say they are royal corporations, but they have no connection in name.

However, they were able to travel throughout the Tang Dynasty without any hindrance and became one of the few commercial organizations in the Tang Dynasty.

"My subordinates will make arrangements immediately!"

This was obviously a matter of expanding Baiqisi's influence, so Li Zhong naturally carried out it happily.

…

"Lang Jun, Wang Fugui's attitude is very resolute. Even if it is 10% off the market price, he will not buy it for even a penny more. I have also confirmed that when he buys other cotton cloths, he does buy them at this price."

Wang Feng stood in front of Wang Jie with a bitter look on his face, his heart filled with regret.

If our own cotton had not been processed into cotton cloth so quickly, the losses would not have been so great.
To be continued...