Deposed? I couldn't be happier! I wouldn't even be a dog to the crown prince.

Winters in Chang'an have always been difficult to endure.

The biting wind howled down the Qinling Mountains like countless icy blades, piercing people's collars and cuffs. In previous years at this time, ordinary people could only wrap themselves up like dumplings, wearing heavy, tattered cotton-padded coats, or even hemp clothes stuffed with catkins, huddled against the walls, shivering. As for those expensive fox furs and mink coats, those were the exclusive domain of the rich and powerful; ordinary people would feel cold just looking at them.

But this year, the West Market is as bustling as a boiling hot pot.

Under the golden signboard of "Royal Textile Shop," crowds thronged, making it impossible to move.

"Don't push! Line up! I'll get angry if anyone pushes!"

"Shopkeeper! Do you still have any of those 'sweaters'? Give me two! My wife is freezing!"

The shop doors were wide open, and a warm, cozy breeze, mixed with a faint, unfamiliar fragrance, wafted out. Behind the counter, rows of shelves were neatly arranged with clothes of various colors.

They are not as smooth and cold as silk, nor as rough and stiff as linen, but rather have a fuzzy, soft texture. Off-white, dark gray, and navy blue—the colors are not flashy, but they exude a warm and comforting feeling.

"It's here! New stock just arrived!"

The shop assistant rushed out carrying a stack of clothes, his voice booming, "His Highness the Crown Prince is so considerate of the people's plight! These wool sweaters are not only warm and breathable, but they feel as light as a cloud when you wear them! Most importantly—they're cheap!"

"Only fifty coins per piece!"

"boom--!"

The crowd erupted instantly.

Fifty coins?

These days, a decent linen garment costs at least a hundred coins, and if it's stuffed with new cotton, it'll be two or three hundred coins. This wool sweater, which looks classy and feels warm to the touch, is only fifty coins?

"I want one!"

"Give me three! The whole family wants them!"

An old man, his nose running from the cold, shakily pulled out a string of copper coins and bought a beige pullover sweater. He couldn't wait to put it on right then and there.

In that instant, the old man's cloudy eyes widened suddenly.

warm.

It's so damn warm!

The warmth seeped into my pores, not as stuffy as wearing a fur coat, but a gentle, enveloping feeling, like basking in the warm winter sun, or snuggling into a freshly dried quilt.

"A divine object! This is a divine object!"

The old man was so moved that tears streamed down his face. He touched his clothes with great delight, exclaiming, "With this treasure, I won't have to freeze this winter! Long live Your Highness!"

The people went crazy, and the buying frenzy almost overturned the counters.

Meanwhile, in the private rooms on the second floor, a group of foreign merchants with high-bridged noses and deep-set eyes were staring intently at the exciting scene downstairs, their eyes gleaming with greed.

They are experts.

Once they got their hands on it, they knew what it meant.

"Unbelievable... Absolutely unbelievable!"

A wealthy Persian merchant clutched a wool blanket, his beard trembling with excitement. "This feels even softer than our finest Persian carpets! And it's so lightweight and so warm!"

"In my hometown, nobles would trade an equal weight of gold for a fur coat that wouldn't shed in order to get through the winter. If we could transport that thing back home..."

"That's ten times... no, twenty times the profit!"

Another Sogdian merchant could no longer sit still. He suddenly stood up, grabbed the money bag on the table, and rushed downstairs.

"Shopkeeper! I want to place an order!"

"I'll take it all, no matter how much! I'll pay double... no, triple the price!"

"Me too! I'll pay with gold!"

"I'll trade you gems! Let me buy first!"

What began as a scene of ordinary people scrambling to buy things instantly transformed into a chaotic arena for international trade. Foreign merchants waved gold notes and jewels, as if they were grabbing tickets to paradise rather than clothes.

……

The Eastern Palace, Lizheng Hall.

Li Chengqian held a cup of hot tea in his hand, looking out the window at the faint noise coming from the direction of the West Market in the distance, and a "successful scheme" smile appeared on his lips.

"Did you see that?"

He said to the Azure Dragon beside him, who was doing the accounting, "This is called—dimensional reduction attack."

Qinglong put down his pen, looked at the alarming number on the ledger, and took a deep breath.

"Your Highness, I don't understand."

"We sell wool sweaters to ordinary people so cheaply, almost at cost price. But we sell the bulk of the profits to foreign merchants, this..."

"This is called the scissors difference."

Li Chengqian blew on the tea foam, his tone languid yet exuding an air of domineering control.

"The wool on the grasslands was sheared by a group of free laborers in our area, costing almost nothing. Once transported to the workshop, it was produced on an assembly line with extremely high efficiency."

"Selling to the people is for their livelihood, to make them remember the good of the Tang Dynasty and the good of me, the Crown Prince. It's a political calculation."

"As for selling it to foreign merchants..."

Li Chengqian sneered, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"That's for the harvest."

"We use the grass that grows on the grasslands, turn it into wool, then into clothes, and sell them at high prices to the Western Regions in exchange for their gold, spices, and warhorses."

"Then, we will use this gold to buy beef and mutton from the grasslands, to build a stronger army, and to manufacture more powerful cannons."

"The grassland people work for us, the people of the Western Regions give us money, and the people of the Tang Dynasty enjoy the benefits."

Li Chengqian extended two fingers, made a "scissors" gesture, and then sharply slashed them in the air.

"Snap!"

"With one snip of the scissors, more than just wool is cut off."

"It is the wealth of the entire grassland and the Western Regions."

"This is much faster and more civilized than just robbing them. Besides, they should thank us for giving them such good things."

Qinglong felt a chill run down his spine. Looking at his prince's harmless smiling face, he felt even more terrified than when facing Bai Qi, the god of death.

Is this the legendary... bloodless murder?

How can one harvest all the wealth in the world with just a pair of scissors?

……

Ganlu Temple.

Li Shimin paced anxiously inside the hall, his hands behind his back.

He has been restless these past few days.

Although the grasslands were pacified, he always felt that the "labor camp" was a bottomless pit. Hundreds of thousands of mouths to feed; just eating them every day would consume a mountain of food.

"Is this rebellious son reliable at all?"

Li Shimin muttered, "What if they end up losing all the national treasury's wealth and I have to clean up their mess?"

Just then.

Like a madman, Dai Zhou stumbled into the main hall, clutching several thick account books.

He ran so fast that his official hat was askew to his ears, and his face wore an extremely distorted expression that was both crying and laughing.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

"They've gone mad! Utterly mad!"

Li Shimin's heart skipped a beat, and his face instantly darkened.

"What's wrong? Has the wool mill gone bankrupt? Or have the Turks rebelled?"

"I knew it! That rebellious son's methods won't work! Quickly, issue the order..."

"No! It's not a deficit!"

Dai Zhou suddenly knelt on the ground, raised the account book high above his head, and spoke in a shrill voice like a rooster crowing.

"We made a fortune! We made a killing, Your Majesty!"

"Just now, the first batch of payments for goods at the Royal Textile Shop was received..."

Dai Zhou swallowed hard, then extended a trembling finger and gestured a number.

"A whole... 800,000 strings of cash!"

"And this is only the first batch! Merchants from the Western Regions have already paid a deposit of three million strings of cash and are lining up to take delivery!"

"Plus, there's the coal, ore, and canned beef and mutton transported back from the grasslands..."

"Your Majesty! This month, the national treasury's revenue has tripled! Tripled!"

boom--!

Li Shimin felt a buzzing in his head, as if a hundred thousand bees were having a meeting inside.

He stood frozen in place, looking at Dai Zhou's old face, which was beaming like a chrysanthemum, and then at the account book that seemed to be glowing.

three times?

A month?

He fought wars his whole life, always losing money but gaining publicity. He would argue with his ministers for ages over a few tens of thousands of strings of cash for military expenses.

But now...

That rebellious son only had some sheep sheared and some coal mined, yet he earned back several treasuries' worth of wealth?

"This...this..."

Li Shimin, with trembling hands, opened the account book.

Looking at those dizzying strings of numbers above, and at the notes saying "wool profit," "coal profit," and "canned food export profit"...

He suddenly realized that he had been a complete failure as an emperor.

"turn out to be……"

Li Shimin plopped down on the dragon throne, his eyes glazed over, muttering to himself.

"Can war really make money?"

"And... how can you earn so much?"

A profound sense of awe, as if "a new world had been opened," exploded in the heart of the First Emperor of All Time.

He suddenly realized that what that rebellious son was talking about—the "internal circulation" and the "economic harvest"—was... a truly brilliant idea!

"Quickly! Issue my decree!"

Li Shimin suddenly jumped up, the confusion in his eyes instantly turning into fanatical greed.

"Tell Chengqian! Don't be stingy! Expand the scale!"

"Let Huo Qubing advance further north! Even if it means feeding the fish in the North Sea, he must bring back as many men as possible for me!"

"My wool mill is short-staffed!"