Beside Li Er, Zhangsun Wuji also cast a puzzled gaze.
"Your Majesty, this is called a cotton coat. It's used to keep out the cold…"
"With this, we'll definitely be able to beat the Turks to tears!”
" Your Majesty, please take a look. You can wear it too…"
Seeing Li Er, Cheng Yaojin excitedly took the cotton coat over and pretended to put it on Li Er to try.
What was this?
Li Er pretended to be stunned. Such a dirty thing…?
But out of curiosity, Li Er didn't refuse. There was no one else here anyway.
"Why is it so thick…Hmm? It seemed quite warm…Wait! What did you just say?"
"Protect against the cold?"
"This thing is called a cotton coat? Where did you get it?"
Not long after Li Er put on his cotton coat, he felt his entire body sweating.
There was a heater in the royal study, so it wasn't cold to begin with. In just a few minutes, Li Er was sweating all over.
Fang Xuanling quickly stepped forward and helped Li Er take off his cotton coat. He said happily,"Your Majesty, this item is called a cotton-padded jacket. This time, State Duke Lu, State Duke Yi, and I went to Liangzhou to gather information…"
Very soon, Fang Xuanling recounted his encounter with Li Ye.
Of course, the matter of the three of them having a big meal at the Bright Moon Pavilion was naturally omitted.
As he listened to Fang Xuanling, Li Er's eyes grew brighter and brighter. He stared at the cotton coat in Cheng Yaojin's hand!
"Cotton-padded clothes…cotton-padded clothes…this is simply a divine item bestowed by the heavens!”
At that time, the Great Tang had not popularized the concept of cotton.
At this time, the scientific name of cotton was " white stack ". It was temporarily used as an ornamental plant by a few people in the north and the Central Plains.
The large-scale planting and utilization of cotton was in the Song Dynasty, when textile products were produced.
Why?
Because the region rich in cotton was in Southeast Asia, there was a country called Nanzhao.
"Five thousand strings for one?"
"Isn't this a little too expensive?"
After hearing the price, Li Er's eyes widened.
Good heavens, if this were to be given to the entire army, the entire Great Tang's treasury would be emptied!
"Your Majesty," Fang Xuanling said with a wry smile,"in my opinion, we must take this cotton coat to gain the upper hand in this battle. Otherwise, we will miss this opportunity, or the Turks will pass through a difficult period, and the war will fall into a stalemate again."”
There was one more thing he didn't say. If he didn't buy it, these cotton clothes would very likely end up in the hands of the Turks!
At that time…
Fang Xuanling didn't dare to imagine the outcome.
Li Er frowned.
He was simply too moved by the cotton-padded jacket. It was not as calm as his expression.
But…one piece would cost five thousand strings, so ten thousand pieces…would be fifty million strings!
According to Fang Xuanling's original plan, there should be such money in the national treasury.
But…
"Qiao, ahem, do you know this merchant from the Western Regions? Can it be cheaper? The treasury has been a little tight recently…"
Li Er coughed dryly and looked at Fang Xuanling expectantly.
" Your Majesty, I can't do anything about this…" Fang Xuanling said bitterly.
Although he had only met Li Ye once, Fang Xuanling could roughly tell what was going on.
Bargaining?
What a joke!
If he hadn't boasted and promised to help Little Brother contact the business network of Chang 'an City, he might not have gotten these cotton-padded clothes!
"…Then why don't you three go and discuss it again and put it on credit?”Li Er asked again.
This cotton-padded jacket really couldn't be missed!
At this moment, Zhangsun Wuji, who had been staring at the cotton coat for a long time, suddenly said,""Your Majesty, according to my judgment, this cotton coat is not worth 5,000 strings!”
"This is just an item to keep out the cold. The merchant from the Western Regions must have learned of the war between the Great Tang and the Turks and raised the price to make a huge profit!”
Zhangsun Wuji, who had sharp eyes, seemed to have figured it out in an instant.
"You, Zhangsun Wuji, what do you mean? Are you saying that this old man and that merchant deceived His Majesty together?”
Hearing this, Fang Xuanling was instantly enraged.
This unlucky hammer Zhangsun Wuji, why did he have to bring up the matter?
Li Er's expression also changed, but he didn't suspect Fang Xuanling. Instead, he said,"There is indeed this possibility. Even if it's clothes that can keep out the cold, 5,000 strings is too ridiculous. I don't doubt the character of the Prime Minister, but this Western Region merchant is definitely suspected of profiteering.”
Hearing Li Er's words, Fang Xuanling looked helpless.""Your Majesty, there's nothing we can do about it. He's a merchant from the Western Regions, and I've only managed to get 10,000 pieces after much effort.”
"They also said that if Chang 'an doesn't have any sales, the Turks will definitely be in urgent need of such things!”
"If we give this coat to the Turks, can we still win this battle?”
Fang Xuanling had no choice but to tell Li Ye everything.
In an instant, everyone in the royal study fell silent.
"Profiteering is despicable, so we don't have to talk about morality. Your Majesty, this old minister has an idea.”
Zhangsun Wuji chuckled and said.
Also, thank you for the tip from GJ!
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