Chapter 689: Draw a Red Line

Chen Yan's lips moved, and he said wordlessly: "Can we at least have some idea? Officially, the Crown Prince owns a lot of assets, but the income that falls into his hands is pitifully low."

"Last time he even complained to me, saying that all the dirty and hard work was left to him, both people and effort; the Money Shop's profits were unattainable, and even the original revenues from Zui Xian Lou that should have gone to him were only a tiny fraction."

"The key is that many of these enterprises rely on his name; the staff are all drawn from his Eastern Palace, and he has to constantly worry about these matters......"

"Fine." Li Shimin's face showed no hint of embarrassment, and he said solemnly: "Child, holding too much money isn't good. As a father, I'll keep it for him; when he grows up he'll naturally have it."

"This is also to prevent him from having money and then can't help but spend lavishly. Do you understand?"

Chen Yan: "......"

Everyone: "......"

"Understood, understood." Chen Yan only felt like laughing, but didn't expose him: "Then you think, how should we decide this matter?"

"It can be settled; later I'll have someone send a secret letter back." Li Shimin wasn't really concerned about this; instead he was interested in Chen Yan's scheme:

"I recall you've had your eyes on the Tang Dynasty's wealthy merchants for more than a day or two; why? Want to harvest now?"

"That's not it." Chen Yan shook his head: "The reason I target this Shen Wanjun… aside from a small personal motive, it's mainly because I want to draw a red line!"

Li Shimin and Empress Changsun showed a strange expression, neither confirming nor denying.

Actually they thought, for Chen Yan the personal reasons are the main part.

They know this kid's revengeful nature all too well, let alone against black‑hearted merchants like Shen Wanjun?

Just a convenient elimination.

Originally eating with Sizi, Li Lizhi was quietly listening, when she suddenly sensed something, looked up and noticed her father's and mother's gazes at her were odd, and was instantly at a loss.

Only Li Tai and Gao Yang understood this.

Li Shimin clicked his tongue in amazement: "Fine, speak. Today I want to see what kind of rainbow fart you can unleash."

"Right, send someone to tidy up the things so as not to delay the upcoming itinerary!"

With that, several maids and female officials respectfully withdrew.

Chen Yan cleared his throat: "As everyone knows, our Tang Dynasty is vast and abundant; natural disasters occur frequently across the lands, only they're not that severe."

"And whenever this happens, merchants always jump out to profit from the nation's calamities; grain merchants are the most eager among them."

"I previously mentioned to you that part of the Money Shop's function is to control the national grain price, but clearly with its current scale it cannot fully achieve that."

"Therefore, before the Money Shop can fully control grain prices, my plan is to draw a red line, aiming to wipe out these background‑less black‑heart grain merchants in one net, punish them with the harshest penalties under the rules, let the world see our resolve, and tell everyone that grain price is the red line—cross it and you die!"

"With the help of Bad People, the Money Shop, and Great Tang Daily, once we obtain evidence we can suppress all possible risks."

"Moreover, we can quickly fill the state treasury in a short time, thereby supporting our longer‑term layout."

Li Shimin looked at him deeply, grasped the key point in Chen Yan's words, and said intriguingly: "Background‑less grain merchants......"

"What about those with background?"

"Never mind them!" Chen Yan said without hesitation: "Having background versus having none is a matter of heaven versus earth!"

"The two cannot be measured together."

"Conversely, the risks they can generate differ by heavens and earth."

"Because the greatest evil in the world is protection under power; we cannot change that now, after all everything we do must start from Tang stability."

"If we move against grain merchants shielded by power, then risk and reward become completely disproportionate."

Li Shimin stroked his chin, murmuring: "The greatest evil in the world is protection under power......"

Pondering, Li Shimin fell silent.

"That really pierces the essence of evil in one sentence."

The next moment, Li Tai raised a question: "Zi Anxiong, is your consideration improper?"

"If a grain merchant lacks power protection, I think he cannot become great, nor worth your attention."

"Take Shen Wanjun as an example; is he a big grain merchant? Of course he is; he has reached where he is. If you say no one backs him, I absolutely don't believe it."

"And some small grain merchants without backing can't inflate grain prices; at most they just sip the broth behind someone like Shen Wanjun."

"Such people are not worth cleaning up; they don't achieve the purpose of drawing the red line for a blood sacrifice."

"If we were to move against Shen Wanjun, wouldn't he still have power protection behind him?"

Chen Yan looked somewhat puzzled by Li Tai's question, showing an expression as if looking at a fool.

He truly wondered whether Li Tai had blown himself up with explosives or cannons, recalling that Li Tai used to be keen on such matters.

Could it be that Li Tai's mind is now all about scientific research?

Gao Yang, with a disdainful look, said: "Can you stop talking? Can't you keep your mouth shut while eating?"

"What they call power protection clearly requires sufficiently weighty backers; otherwise why would it be worth my husband and Ah Ye's fear, worrying about too high a risk?"

"Could it be that behind Shen Wanjun is merely a local official's protection, or other low‑rank officials, with no complex forces behind? Would you care?"

Li Tai: "......"

He scratched his head, looked at the odd expressions on Chen Yan and Li Shimin, gave a nervous laugh, and said nothing more.

Li Shimin then said: "Alright, think over what to do, then I'll write to Ke Ming and the others, and also have Cheng Qian handle all these matters."

"Since we need to investigate, investigate thoroughly; after all your Money Shop has long had its eyes on these wealthy merchants, I trust you already have some plan."

Chen Yan was stunned; he really hadn't expected Li Shimin to go this far, as if everything were being handed over to Li Chengqian.

"Is this test too much?"

"....... Forget it, never mind, these are Li Shimin's decisions, I just give suggestions."

"Then shall we leave today, heading to Tongguan?"

"Hmm, I plan to go straight to Luoyang; we won't linger in Huazhou or Tongguan. Once we reach Luoyang, we'll stay a few days."

"......"