Chapter Nine: Profits

Li Chengqian stared blankly at the wine stains on the table, feeling a vague sense of awe and confusion. For this truly mirrored the routes to the Western Regions depicted on the map.

He wondered what exactly Zhao Mu was up to—could it be that he intended for the Crown Prince to personally collect taxes at these sixteen checkpoints?

Lost in thought, Li Chengqian saw Zhao Mu casually sketch the outline of Chang’an, placing a mark on the West Market. “If we can reduce these tax checkpoints from sixteen to eight,” Zhao Mu said, “the profits of caravans coming from the Western Regions would at least triple!”

“In that case, the various states of the Western Regions would send their merchant caravans to Chang’an like mad. The volume of trade at the West Market would surely increase day by day.”

“Consequently, the tax revenue would naturally rise accordingly, by at least fifty percent more than before!”

“By my rough calculations, that fifty percent increase in just one year’s revenue would be enough for Your Majesty to build a dozen or more palatial retreats across the realm.”

“May I ask, Your Highness,” Zhao Mu smiled faintly and looked up at the stunned Li Chengqian, “does this achievement compare to the merit of Prince Wei compiling the ‘Geographical Records’?”

From their previous conversation, Zhao Mu clearly understood Li Chengqian’s greatest concerns and who his most dreaded rival was. This proposal, therefore, was a precise remedy.

Indeed, Li Chengqian initially found the idea unbelievable. But when Zhao Mu compared this to Prince Wei’s work, he made up his mind.

Yet…

Li Chengqian hesitated slightly, looking at Zhao Mu with some unease. “Brother Zhao, you may not know, but I… have never involved myself with matters of revenue. I am not like Prince Wei, who understands the ways of merchants.”

“That’s all the more reason to act before Prince Wei!” Zhao Mu suddenly clasped his hands and earnestly advised, “Time is of the essence. At tomorrow’s morning court, Your Highness should petition His Majesty to reopen the Hexi trading post!”

“The reasoning is clear—these past years have been rife with disasters across the provinces; the imperial treasury is stretched thin, and even the capital has been flooded with countless displaced people.”

“Your Highness can use this as justification to reopen the trading post, reform the merchant taxes, and increase the court’s revenue, thus relieving His Majesty’s burdens!”

No sooner had Zhao Mu finished speaking than a sudden thunderclap exploded outside the window!

The rain instantly poured down in torrents.

Raindrops pelted the roof with a loud patter, causing chaos among those hurriedly seeking shelter within the Heavenly and Earth Courtyard.

Li Chengqian’s eyes flickered nervously. “Brother Zhao, if this plan fails…”

“Whether it succeeds or not depends on whether Your Highness dares to gamble!” Zhao Mu did not evade the gaze this time; instead, he locked eyes with Li Chengqian and lowered his voice solemnly, “If this succeeds, Your Highness can restore the dignity of the Eastern Palace tomorrow!”

Those words, like the thunder rolling through the sky, ignited a fierce flame within Li Chengqian’s chest.

This burning passion was one he knew well.

But since his fall from horseback and subsequent injury, he had not felt it at all.

“Brother Zhao!” Li Chengqian could not restrain himself and grasped Zhao Mu’s arm tightly.

“I will follow your plan and place my bet!”

***

The moment those words left his mouth, the intricately carved wooden window suddenly slammed open, pushed by a fierce wind!

A cold gust swept in along with the storm outside, extinguishing all the candle flames.

The room, known as Chamber One, was plunged into darkness.

Amid the gloom, Zhao Mu caught a glimpse of a dark corner of a garment flickering in the hallway’s light.

Black silk?

The pattern resembled the brocade worn by Li Chengqian’s attendants in the Eastern Palace, bearing the same style.

The Great Ming Palace.

Thunder still occasionally rumbled overhead, but the rain was easing.

The palace gutters were dripping past midnight.

Yet Li Shimin sat alone in the Ganlu Hall.

Before him lay secret memorials recently submitted by the Bureau of Imperial Cavalry.

But Li Shimin’s gaze was fixed instead on the calligraphy beside them, bearing the words “My Heart Wanders.”

After some time, a strange look flashed in his eyes, and the corners of his mouth twitched.

“I wonder what kind of person this Zhao Mu really is, to have so influenced that young man Gaoming to wager the position of Crown Prince on this gamble?”

“But… could halving the tariffs really increase West Market’s tax revenue by fifty percent?”

Having read the secret memorials from the Bureau of Imperial Cavalry, Li Shimin was indeed as well-informed as Zhao Mu had claimed. He knew every detail of the subsequent talks in the Heavenly and Earth Courtyard after he and Zhangsun Wuji had departed.

Putting other things aside, Li Shimin’s heart stirred slightly over Zhao Mu’s proposal.

It must be understood that the tariffs collected along the Tang dynasty’s frontier were essentially tolls, calculated by the number of carts and horses, not by the value of goods.

But merchant taxes were different.

In fact, the Tang dynasty exempted its own people from merchant taxes, levying only tolls.

Yet the Tang was the supreme ruler of all under heaven, and all nations came to pay tribute.

The caravans trading in Chang’an were endless.

At the West Market, foreign merchants nearly made up a tenth of the city’s Han population.

It was unthinkable to treat these visiting merchants the same as native subjects.

What of the dignity of the empire’s own people?

The merchant taxes imposed on foreign traders in the West Market were indeed heavy.

Otherwise, how could the court afford to exempt its own citizens from such taxes?

That explained why these foreign merchants competed so eagerly to come—such profits were immense!

Merely the West Market’s merchant taxes accounted for almost a twentieth of the court’s total revenue. If they rose by fifty percent…

Just imagining it made Li Shimin’s heart itch with anticipation.

Since the founding of the dynasty, the court had been short of funds year after year.

In the early years of the Zhenguan era, disasters were unceasing, both man-made and natural, draining vast sums to plug the gaps.

Otherwise, lives would be lost to fill those holes.

Unbeknownst to many, even families of senior ministers starved during those years.

All because the court could not muster enough funds for disaster relief, relying instead on the unity of officials and common folk.

Li Shimin had tasted the bitterness of scarcity.

Even Empress Zhangsun’s skirts were so short they dared not brush the ground.

A fifty percent increase in West Market’s merchant taxes!

He almost wished to issue an edict that very night to implement Zhao Mu’s plan.

After much inner struggle, Li Shimin finally restrained himself.

“Gaoming, I’m giving you this opportunity.”

“Let’s see what you can do in court tomorrow!”

As Li Shimin calmed his racing heart, his thoughts turned again to the audacious and astonishing youth Zhao Mu.

“To see through my use of Qingque to temper the Crown Prince, and to pierce the truth that Zhangsun Wuji supports the Eastern Palace for his family’s ambitions—this boy is no ordinary talent!”

“I thought it ended there, but unexpectedly, he presented another brilliant scheme…”

“Who exactly is this extraordinary figure? How have we never known such a prodigy existed in our Great Tang?”

Li Shimin’s curiosity deepened as he pondered Zhao Mu’s origins.