Chapter 568

"Husband, these are meat sandwiches I made myself. Taste them and see if they are delicious?"

Smelling the aroma of the meat, Qin Mu felt a bit hungry.

He picked up a meat sandwich and took a bite.

"Hmm, delicious!"

For these two words of evaluation, Li Xueyan had been busy all morning.

Must find a way to suck them dry! (Please subscribe!)

Braised pork, kneading dough, and baking pancakes.

However, being able to hear the words 'delicious' from Qin Mu's mouth made everything worth it!

Qin Mu finished one meat sandwich and wiped his hands.

He asked casually.

"Why do I only see you today?"

In the past, as long as he was not busy with official business, there would always be a few women coming to surround him.

Today, there was only Li Xueyan, which was indeed a bit unusual.

Li Xueyan sat sideways beside Qin Mu, extending a pair of small fists to gently help him pound his legs.

Hearing Qin Mu ask, she answered leisurely.

"The Empress Mother took Changle and Meiniang out shopping. This is Meiniang's first time in Chang'an, and she hasn't seen the prosperity of the East and West Markets yet."

The East and West Markets were the two most prosperous commercial streets in Chang'an City, and even the whole world.

Every day, the tea, porcelain, and silk flowing out of these two streets were of huge value.

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If one were to say the starting point of the Silk Road was in Chang'an, it would be better to say the starting point of the Silk Road was in the East and West Markets!

Women are born to love shopping.

This was also understandable.

Qin Mu turned his head to look at Li Xueyan.

"Why didn't you go with them?"

Li Xueyan's pretty face flushed red.

Her expression was enchanting and full of charm.

"I thought that staying in the palace would allow me to accompany my husband more."

Oh.

Qin Mu responded indifferently, but his heart was actually warm.

Being able to sacrifice her own shopping time to stay here and accompany him—this kind of woman was very rare, whether in ancient or modern times.

As they were talking, Zhangsun Wugou, Changle, and Wu Meiniang suddenly returned.

They all surrounded Qin Mu.

Changle had a quick tongue and was the first to complain.

"Brother-in-law, you should manage them. With such good weather, the East and West Markets are actually not open. They say the world is not peaceful, so they are suspending business."

The shops were not open?

If it were said that it was not peaceful, that would have been when they were fighting.

Now that the war was over, it was a time of reconstruction; where would it not be peaceful?

Qin Mu turned his gaze to Zhangsun Wugou.

Zhangsun Wugou was more stable, and her narration was clearer.

"Mu'er, the shops in the East and West Markets are mostly controlled by aristocratic families. Ever since our Great Qin occupied Chang'an City, they have not opened their doors.

I heard from some soldiers patrolling the streets that they often see them transporting large quantities of goods out of Chang'an and heading east."

Aristocratic families!

Since entering Chang'an, Qin Mu had not yet had time to find trouble with them.

Now, they were throwing themselves onto the blade.

"Call Shen Wansan to see me!"

A small eunuch hurried off to deliver the message.

At this time, Wei Zhongxian entered from outside the hall.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, this servant led men to ambush at Shangyang Temple last night. There were indeed assassins who came to assassinate Xuanzang in the middle of the night, and they have been killed by this servant. But this assassin was not Master Bianji."

Master Bianji was indeed shrewd.

When assassinating Xuanzang, he did not show himself.

However, this was also within Qin Mu's expectations.

Qin Mu waved his hand.

"Master Bianji failed in one strike and must have fled far away. There is no need to worry about this matter anymore."

"This servant obeys the decree!"

Wei Zhongxian said he obeyed the decree, but he still looked somewhat resentful.

After all, he had let Master Bianji escape earlier, and he had been holding his breath, wanting to catch Master Bianji and wash away his previous shame.

Unfortunately, he had not been able to achieve it.

Soon, Shen Wansan hurried over.

"Your Majesty, what important matter do you have for calling this subject?"

"Do you understand the situation in the East and West Markets?"

This time, Qin Mu intended to use Shen Wansan to deal with the aristocratic families.

With his merchant nature, he had probably already figured out the situation in the East and West Markets before even arriving in Chang'an.

The shops on these two commercial streets would all be Shen Wansan's opponents.

As soon as Shen Wansan heard this, he knew his opportunity had come.

(cjfa) A smile appeared on his face unconsciously.

"Your Majesty, the forces in the East and West Markets can be roughly divided into three groups.

One group is the local aristocratic families of Chang'an, represented by the Wei and Du clans.

The second group is the Longyou warlords, represented by the imperial relatives of the Li clan.

As for the third group, they were originally the Shandong magnates: the Fan Yanglu clan, the Hedong Pei clan, the Longcheng Wang clan, and the Qinghe Cui clan.

This subject has already figured out clearly how many shops these forces have in Chang'an, what businesses they operate, how much inventory they have, and the situation of their sources of goods."

Shen Wansan's words shocked Zhangsun Wugou and Li Xueyan.

They had lived in Chang'an before and did not know so many inside stories.

Especially Zhangsun Wugou, who was once the Empress of the Tang Dynasty and had participated in the strategy of moving Shandong magnates to the Guanzhong region.

She was far less clear about it than Shen Wansan.

This person was indeed a commercial genius!

Qin Mu was very satisfied with Shen Wansan's homework.

Before he assigned the task, he had already put in so much effort.

"How much chance of winning do you have against them?"

How much chance of winning?

This question directly shocked Zhangsun Wugou.

She could not help but interject.

"Mu'er, are you going to go to war with so many aristocratic families at the same time? This move must never be taken!"

Changle and Wu Meiniang did not understand the situation; they looked left and right, not knowing why the Empress would lose her composure like this.

Li Xueyan knew a little, but not deeply.

Qin Mu raised his eyelids.

"Why not?"

Zhangsun Wugou's expression was cautious.

"These aristocratic families have all accumulated wealth for at least a hundred years. The wealth of each family is probably no less than a national treasury. Great clans like the Chang'an Wei clan and the Fan Yanglu clan cannot even be compared to the national treasury. Even if Shen Wansan is a commercial genius, competing with one family is fine, but going to war with so many aristocratic families at the same time is no different from digging one's own grave!"

When all was said and done, Zhangsun Wugou was worried that the financial power of the Great Qin national treasury could not compare to those aristocratic families. ===== CHAPTER 570 =====

When it comes down to it, Empress Zhangsun was simply worried that the financial resources of the Great Qin treasury could not compare to those of the noble clans.