Chapter 171: Can you still not believe in the wisdom of the old immortal? (asking for monthly votes)
Time flies, and it is already mid-July.

Seeing that the fishing industry was becoming more and more prosperous, those who were idle in Dengzhou and could go out to sea basically rented boats from the Governor's Office.

After returning from the sea, they would throw the fish back home and let their wives, the elderly, or children to pick out the fish's internal organs and pickle and dry the salted fish.

Fish entrails are also meat, and are good stuff.

The Governor's Office did not collect fish viscera, and no one was willing to throw away these good things, so they simply washed them in the river and went home to make fish viscera soup.

Fish maw and fish intestines, when pickled with salt and made into sauce, become a classic dish - fish maw.

For more than a month, the whole Dengzhou has been filled with a lingering fishy smell.

The Crown Princess Su Yi was pregnant and could not stand the fishy smell. She would vomit as soon as she smelled it.

In desperation, Li Chengqian had to take her back to Luoyang.

Fortunately, the pregnancy is not too late, and with Sun Simiao's pregnancy-maintaining medicine, I can withstand the travel.

Over the past month, people throughout Dengzhou have made a lot of money. Not only fishing, but salt drying is also an industry with a lot of income.

The people of Dengzhou were walking on the streets, and there were obviously more smiles on their faces.

But unlike the leisurely pace of Chang'an, the people of Dengzhou walked at a brisk pace, and it was obvious that they had important business to attend to.

There is no other way but to go home to dry salt, to pick out fish intestines, or to feed livestock.

It is obviously impossible to finish all the fish intestines by eating them alone.

At the suggestion of the Governor's Office, the people used the leftover fish entrails as feed to the chickens and ducks they raised at home.

As a result, the chickens and ducks have grown much fatter and stronger than before, and they lay more eggs.

Although there were more chicken and duck eggs than usual, every household had them and they couldn't be sold, so they just kept them for themselves.

These new and novel things that were almost impossible to eat in the past have now entered the dinner plates of thousands of households.

Even during the Zhenguan Reign, not everyone could afford to eat, let alone going to a lower state like this one.

It’s like a miracle that I can now eat meat every meal.

The officials of Dengzhou recalled the promise Li Xiang had made in public several months ago that the people of Dengzhou would be able to eat meat soup. They also recalled the secret ridicule in their hearts and felt ashamed.

The people were grateful to the Governor's Office and Prince Li Xiang of Hengshan from the bottom of their hearts.

No one doubted that it was Li Xiang who helped them live a good life.

Someone even secretly built a shrine for Li Xiang, and the villagers would go to worship Li Xiang whenever they had nothing to do.

Of course Li Xiang knew about this, but he didn't know what to say. He just commented sharply that the fat baby didn't look like me at all.

There are also new programs in the restaurants in Chang'an City.

When the first batch of salted fish and dried oysters arrived, Cheng Chubi had people hang up a board outside to emphasize that they were Dengzhou seafood brought by people sent by the Prince of Hengshan.

After spending a long time in the restaurant, everyone became familiar with Cheng Chubi. They no longer called him Mr. Cheng Sanzi in a distant way as before, but directly called him Cheng Sanlang.

Cheng Chubi was also happy about this, since he didn't have any idol baggage anyway.

"Cheng Sanlang! What are these dried oysters?"

A middle-aged man below asked.

When Cheng Chubi heard someone asking this question, he suddenly became interested.

"Speaking of dried oysters, we have to mention a person." He kept it a secret.

"Who?"

"Who is it? Could it be the Prince of Hengshan County?"

Seeing Cheng Chubi shaking his head, everyone shouted, "Sanlang, stop keeping us in suspense and just tell us directly!"

"It's Sun Simiao, Master Sun!" Cheng Chubi shouted loudly when he saw that the emotions had almost reached a climax.

"Master Sun? What does Master Sun have to do with this?" everyone asked curiously.

"Master Sun said, this oyster..." Cheng Chubi deliberately dragged out his voice: "This oyster is a good thing for men! It is a man's quiver!"

"Quiver?" Everyone immediately became interested.

"This thing is a magical aphrodisiac!" said Cheng Chubi.

When people heard about aphrodisiac, they were all excited.

"Is it really that magical?"

As the saying goes, all human beings are the same. No matter where people are from, they can't help themselves when they hear about aphrodisiacs.

Look at those European guys, they can even eat mummies.

How did truffles become so expensive? It was because Napoleon ate them and got a son.

"Even if I lied to you, would Master Sun lie to you in a place like this?" Cheng Chubi shouted.

After hearing the name Master Sun, no one doubted the truth anymore.

"Give me one! With garlic!" everyone said.

"Hey, there's this new type of salted fish, they're all sea fish--" Cheng Chubi said again: "Master Sun said that sea fish are rich in all kinds of good things that our human body needs! They can make us smarter, have better memory, and also... well, they can make us less likely to get sick!"

"Okay! Then give me another serving of fried mixed fish!"

The benefits of sea fish and oysters quickly spread throughout Chang'an City.

The people of Chang'an flocked to the restaurant. In addition to eating in the restaurant, they also shopped at the market next to the restaurant.

A pound of salted fish, only 20 cents? Buy, buy, buy! If you don't buy, you're not a human being!

What? This prawn is so big?! Buy it! This is a good thing!

Dried oysters are very expensive, costing several strings of cash for one pound. But when it comes to aphrodisiacs, that’s nothing!

In order to take other regions into consideration, not too much sea cargo is shipped into each city.

Every time sea fish and oysters were transported from Dengzhou to Chang'an, they would be quickly sold out.

People in Chang'an are not short of money. After all, there are so many dignitaries here that a brick can knock them down.

What’s more, these sea fish and oysters are fresh items that are not available inland, so they will definitely be popular for a while.

In all the major cities of the Tang Dynasty, there were vendors selling sea fish.

Especially in the important towns along the canal, as soon as the Dengzhou cargo ships docked, all the seafood was sold out.

After all, Master Sun said that the seafood from Dengzhou was delicious after he ate it.

As we all know, in the Tang Dynasty you can not trust others, but you cannot not trust Master Sun.

This is an old immortal who has lived for more than a hundred years. How can you not believe in the wisdom of the old immortal? In addition to these important towns, under the instruction of Li Xiang, the caravan is taking the major towns as the backbone and trying to extend to every corner of the Tang Dynasty like tree roots.

The main purpose is to expand a wider market.

Wherever you go, the seafood produced in Dengzhou will cause a craze.

After all, the Tang Dynasty lacked salt, and Dengzhou salt and salted fish filled this gap.

Especially salted fish, which can be eaten as meat and used as salt, and most importantly, it is very cheap...

A wave of "Dengzhou fever" is sweeping every corner of the Tang Dynasty.

The families that were brought together by Li Xiang, including the Eastern Palace, the Prince of Wei's Palace, the Prince of Jin's Palace, and the various dukes, especially the Duke of Zhao's Palace and the Duke of Liang's Palace where Princess Changle and Princess Gaoyang were located, had actually formed a tendency to stick together due to the close connection of the caravan.

What is the Tang Dynasty Caravan Complex?

As a result, Li Chengqian's position became more stable. After all, even the Prince of Wei and the Prince of Jin, the only two princes who could compete with him for the throne, boarded his chariot...

Although others may not know, this is the fact.

Princess Gaoyang Li Shu, as the leader of the caravan, is now making a fortune and is like the richest lady in the Tang Dynasty.

Whenever Fang Yiai goes out now, he walks with a crab step, acting like a big shot, and tells everyone he meets that his wife is so great.

It is his blessing to marry such a capable wife.

But at the same time, he did not forget Li Xiang, and even wrote two letters to Li Su, asking her to help him and Li Xiang.

Li Shu did not abandon this foolish husband, but now was not the right time, so she just briefly mentioned it to Li Xiang.

Chang'an's popularity remains high. Not only Chang'an, but also Luoyang has been swept up in a wave of oyster and marine fish crazes.

Even Li Shimin's dining table had Dengzhou salted fish and garlic oysters.

On the one hand, it’s effective, and on the other hand, it’s really delicious.

But Li Shimin only ate salted fish a few times and then stopped. After all, people with high blood pressure cannot eat too many high-salt foods.

After eating oysters, Lao Li patronized Concubine Xu Hui's place when he had nothing to do, which caused Xiao Yu and Fang Xuanling to repeatedly advise him that sex is like a knife that scrapes bones, so Your Majesty, please take it easy...

Li Shimin could only grunt in response, thinking to himself, I've already filled my quiver with arrows, you can't just let me hold it in, right?
At the same time, Lao Li also became interested in Dengzhou.

Of course, he also knew that Gao Yang had made a lot of money and was now the richest woman in the Tang Dynasty. He couldn't help but develop a strong curiosity about Dengzhou.

Although Li Xiang was appointed as the governor of Dengzhou, it was just a title given to him to train the navy. No one really expected this grandson to achieve any achievements in government affairs.

After all, everyone in the Tang Dynasty knew that Dengzhou was a saline-alkali land where even birds wouldn't shit. What could they do there?

When they first heard about Li Xiang's reforms in Dengzhou, such as drying salt, they just laughed it off. Although Li Xiang was allowed to make moves there, they did not think much about it and gave the green light with the attitude of taking care of the enthusiasm of young people.

Unexpectedly, he really came up with some tricks.

Li Tai and Li Zhi would write to him whenever they had nothing to do, and when they wrote to him, they would describe the changes in Dengzhou in detail.

Seeing that Dengzhou was almost the same in every letter from his two eldest sons, Li Shimin couldn't help but become more curious.

What has Dengzhou become now? How can it make so much money and let the people live a good life at the same time?

While feeling satisfied, Li Shimin also had a bold idea.

Anyway, now that Li Chengqian is back, there is someone in charge in Luoyang.

He wanted to take people to see how his eldest grandson did it, and also to make him famous.

Let everyone in the world know that such an outstanding child is my, Li Shimin’s good grandson!
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that he should go and take a look, so he told Fang Xuanling and Xiao Yu about it and discussed with them whether they should go to Dengzhou.

As the regent, Fang Xuanling naturally could not go, but after all, Princess Gaoyang also had a part in this cause. In addition, Li Xiang took good care of their family, so he would not object for both moral and logical reasons.

Not to mention Xiao Yu, as Li Xiang's teacher, he expressed strong support.

Since the two important ministers had agreed, Li Shimin made up his mind to take half of the court team to Dengzhou to take a look.

On the one hand, it is to learn the advanced experience of Dengzhou in getting rich, and on the other hand, it is to bring fame to the great Sun Yang.

The main reason is... Lao Li really misses his eldest grandson after not seeing him for half a year!

Even though he often sent people to deliver letters back and forth, Lao Li still missed Li Xiang so much that he wished he could carry Li Xiang on his shoulders and swing around.

Dengzhou was prosperous, which not only attracted the attention of Li Shimin, but also naturally attracted the attention of businessmen.

Such a large salt-producing area is also rich in salted fish. Who wouldn’t be tempted?
The merchants who came here smelling the smell of salted fish hit a wall in Dengzhou City.

The reason was that the people did not trust them and only believed in the Dengzhou Governor's Office, which could consistently purchase their fish and salt.

On the other hand, the prices offered by merchants do not satisfy the people, which is one of the reasons.

After learning about the merchants' offers, the people had a new understanding of the Dengzhou Governor's Office's care for them.

Only the Dengzhou Military Governor's Office and the Prince of Hengshan truly care about the common people!
There was really no other way, and the businessmen were unwilling to miss such a good opportunity to make money, so they set their sights on the Dengzhou Governor's Mansion.

After asking for an audience with Feng Qing, the Chief Clerk of Dengzhou Military Governor's Office, he was told by Feng Qing that the business of Dengzhou Military Governor's Office had been completely monopolized by Princess Gaoyang.

But no one knows Princess Gaoyang’s connections!
Fortunately, Feng Qing was responsible. After leaving them alone for two days, he said that Princess Gaoyang agreed to meet them.

The merchants were overjoyed. As long as they could meet Princess Gaoyang, everything would be fine.

Of course they knew that the caravan organized by Prince Hengshan was managed by Princess Gaoyang.

Princess Gaoyang transported cheap Tang Dynasty goods to the grassland, and then exchanged them for valuable things such as cattle and sheep from the grassland - and the grassland people were willing to do so.

Even if they have to bleed a little, they will accept it. As long as they can have a drink of soup, it is better than anything else.

With the merchants' anticipation, they finally made it to the next day.

In the Governor's Mansion, they finally met Princess Gaoyang.

"I am here to see you, Princess."

Merchants are merchants after all. In this era of inequality among the four classes of people, they can only salute Li Su in a proper manner.

Li Shu did not intend to raise their status. After all, Li Xiang had reminded him of this.

"Stand up." She glanced at the group of people and said to the attendant in the governor's mansion, "Take a seat."

The merchants thanked him sincerely and then sat on the stools handed to them by the servants.

"I already know why you're here." Li Su put down the teacup in his hand, paused for a moment, and continued, "It's just that the imperial caravan is now enough to consume Dengzhou's output. If you also want to get a piece of it, of course there is no problem, but... I don't know what kind of sincerity you can give."

The businessmen were all shocked.

She is a princess after all...

Even though they were prepared to be severely beaten, they still didn't expect Princess Gaoyang to be so difficult to deal with.

(Three more updates delivered!)
(End of this chapter)