Upon arriving at Besha City, Wu Yefan and his group were led off the dock.
The old boatman respectfully said to Li Shimin, "Your Majesty, these villains—"
Li Shimin glanced at the bound bandits and then casually stated, "Send them on their way right here, and serve as a warning to others!"
This was Besha City, the preferred place to fence stolen goods for any kind of bandit who had plundered large shipments.
On the docks, both fishermen and merchants watched with curiosity as Wu Yefan and the others, tied up like rice dumplings, wondered what had happened.
Soon, Wang Xuance provided the answer.
Pointing to the line of Wu Yefan and the others, he addressed the gathered citizens, "These individuals have been lawless at sea, plundering merchant caravans. Today, their heads will be offered to the sea!"
"This will also serve as a warning to those hidden rats. Do not think that a stroke of luck means you will be lucky forever!"
"No matter who you are, before you act, first consider if your neck is strong enough!"
After speaking, he roared at the special forces members, "Kill!"
The special forces members drew the short sabers at their waists, raised them high, and instantly swung them towards the necks of Wu Yefan and the others.
*Clang~*
With a crisp sound, their heads were severed, and they fell onto the docks. An endless stream of blood pooled together, flowing into the sea and attracting countless fish and shrimp.
After the execution, Li Shimin and his party bid farewell to the Feng Family Merchant Fleet and headed towards Besha City in the distance.
After they left, everyone surrounded the old boatman, curiously asking about the cause of the incident.
Li Shimin had not revealed his identity, and they had no idea who these people were. However, since the bandits were brought down from the Feng Family Merchant Fleet's ship, asking him was definitely the right move.
Li Shimin paid no mind to their actions; he had already entered Besha City with Fang Er and others.
Countless merchants traveled here, and in terms of liveliness, it was no less than the Shenyang market.
"Porcelain~ Fine porcelain~~"
"Tea bricks, one hundred chests arrived~ Please, everyone~"
"Drunk Immortal Brew from Chang'an's Drunken Immortal Tower has arrived! Hurry if you want any!"
"Furs from the Tiangang Department! The finest furs!"
"Mountain goods from the old forest, our firm has it all. Come in and take a look if you need anything~"
~~~~
Along the way, shopkeepers stood outside their establishments, actively soliciting customers. Hearing someone nearby hawking Drunk Immortal Brew, Fang Er couldn't help but pause.
Good heavens, Drunk Immortal Brew had never been sold in large wholesale quantities to the public. How much effort did these people go through to get the liquor here?
"Your Majesty, shall we go in and take a look?"
He wanted to see if the liquor was indeed from his own establishment, lest someone tarnish his reputation.
Li Shimin looked at the bustling street and replied indifferently, "Since there's nothing else to do, let's go in and have a look!"
The banner hanging outside the shop that was shouting about selling Drunk Immortal Brew had a large character "杂" (zá - miscellaneous) dancing in the wind, signifying that it was a general store.
As they entered, everyone looked at Fang Er in unison.
Looking at the interior furnishings, Fang Er was stunned. "Good grief, this is exactly like the layout of the shop where I sell tobacco and alcohol in Chang'an."
"What's going on?"
The shelves were stocked with Drunk Immortal Brew, Erguotou, and Mendunlu!
Not only that, but there were also whole jars of lollipops and small blue pills. This looked exactly like one of their own branches.
But why didn't he know anything about it?
"Shopkeeper, did you buy these goods from Chang'an?"
Fang Er curiously asked the old man behind the counter.
The old man hurried out from behind the counter and greeted them with a smile.
"Hahahaha, esteemed sirs, what do you need? It's not me bragging, but our proprietor spent a great deal of money to transport these goods from Chang'an."
"Let alone anything else, this Drunk Immortal Brew alone is something that even Shenyang can't get!"
This was not untrue. Drunk Immortal Brew was indeed only sold at the Drunken Immortal Tower in Chang'an. Compared to Erguotou and Mendunlu, its alcohol content was slightly lower, making it popular with a wider audience than the other two spirits.
However, after Fang Er had successively unlocked several types of white spirits, his desire to make money from Drunk Immortal Brew had waned considerably.
After all, with so many profitable businesses, there was no need to snatch food from the mouths of the common people.
Hearing the old man's words, it seemed they had indeed bought them from Chang'an and then transported them to Besha City for sale, rather than Ma Fei having opened branches. Fang Er then pointed to the items on the shelves and inquired about their prices one by one.
This inquiry shocked Li Xiaogong and the others.
"Damn it, the prices they're charging are more than three times what they are in Chang'an!"
A single lollipop cost only ten copper coins in Chang'an, but here it was sold for fifty copper coins each!
"This is truly ruthless!"
"Grandpas are from Chang'an, and the prices of these things there are much lower than yours."
"You're selling them so expensively, will anyone buy them?"
Li Xiaogong even felt a twinge of pain for Fang Er; how much money was being lost!
"Hahahaha, to tell you the truth, don't consider our prices too high. Everything in our shop will be sold out within five days at most!"
"You say Chang'an is cheaper, and we won't argue with you, but that's thousands of miles away, isn't it?"
"Are you still expecting these common folk to travel all that way to Chang'an to buy a lollipop? Please, don't joke."
The old shopkeeper chuckled as he spoke.
Upon hearing this, Li Xiaogong was instantly speechless. The logic was sound, but it still felt like these fellows were too greedy.
Fang Er was indifferent. Merchants don't move without profit. After transporting goods for thousands of miles, it was only natural to make some money.
Just then, the old shopkeeper looked at the pedestrians coming and going outside the shop and sighed.
"One must say, the Duke of Shenyang is truly remarkable! Look at this!"
"With droughts rampant across the Central Plains, he actually came up with the idea of using seafood to relieve the suffering of the populace. Originally, the fishermen here were so poor they couldn't even get enough to eat."
"But now, they are buying it at one copper coin per jin without limit. Fishermen who go out to sea for a day can easily earn several hundred copper coins."
"After selling their fish, they come to our shop to buy two ounces of liquor and buy a couple of candies for their wives and children. This is hardly what a disaster year looks like."
"Even the prosperous times passed down by the elders are no more than this!"
Changle, standing beside him, blinked her eyes and looked at Fang Er. She didn't understand much, but she knew that this old man was praising her brother-in-law.
Li Shimin and Fang Xuanling were stunned. Others might not know, but they were aware that the dried fish Fang Er provided to the Ministry of Revenue was only one copper coin per jin!
Now, they were buying fresh fish from fishermen at one copper coin per jin. This was clearly a loss of money on every purchase!
"The catch from the fishing boats is enough, why are you still buying from the fishermen?"
Li Shimin asked Fang Er curiously.
Fang Er smiled gently and then explained, "These fishermen rely on the sea for a living. Only by letting them taste the benefits will there be a continuous influx of people heading out to sea."
"Competition fosters progress. When they go fishing, they need to buy boats and nets."
"This can encourage artisans to improve their craftsmanship with greater dedication, as only by offering quality and affordable products can business truly flourish."
"When the artisans' lives improve, more people will join their ranks. This is invaluable to the Great Tang, wouldn't you agree?"