Li Shimin's eyes lit up. That's right, if they can't afford it, then marry off daughters! If one isn't enough, then a whole nest! wap.kanshuwu.net
"Boy, is this business feasible? I'll birth daughters and you'll build ships. Name your price!"
"You want me to have a few for Fang Xin? I have no objections whatsoever!"
Fang Er took out two packets of peanuts from his pocket and stuffed them into Li Shimin's hands. "Hehehehe, here, have some. I suddenly remembered I have some arrangements to make."
Without another word, he ran directly towards the cockpit.
"I can't stay here any longer. If this continues, the twenty-four meritorious officials of the Lingyan Pavilion, no, it's twenty-three now."
"Good heavens! If this keeps up, the twenty-three meritorious officials of the Lingyan Pavilion will beat me to a pulp!"
"If I take away all of Lao Li's daughters, who will the second sons of their families marry?"
Chai Lingwu looked at Li Shimin, then at the departing Fang Er, and naturally chose to follow his brother-in-law. "A bunch of old fogies, boring!"
Li Shimin and the other two exchanged glances, then burst into hearty laughter.
The ship hadn't gone far from the harbor when it passed another ship. Judging by the waterline, it was clearly also full.
"Whoa~~ Another one!"
Li Shimin and the other two on deck were astonished to find that there wasn't just one fishing boat!
Although the sea was vast, shipping lanes couldn't be randomly navigated. The route they were taking now had been detected by the sonar and radar from the yacht.
Therefore, for the next half day, Li Shimin and the other two were continuously shocked.
"Damn it! Another one!"
"There's more!"
"My god, when will it end!"
"This is already ten!"
"Forget it, I'm not counting anymore. Who knows how many this kid has."
Li Shimin's exclamations continued one after another. Looking at the ships that passed by and returned to port, and the occasional boats fishing, his shock turned into numbness.
This kid was too formidable; he needed to find a way to win him over.
For men, it was nothing more than money, power, and women.
Money was out of the question; he was richer than the national treasury.
Power-wise, the only thing higher would be Duke or Prince, and the dukes had already pledged allegiance to him. He couldn't just directly grant them princely titles, could he?
That wouldn't be appropriate!
That left only women.
With this thought, he looked at Li Ji with a friendly expression and said, "Duke Ma, how about letting your daughter be a concubine to Fang Er?"
Li Ji gave a wry smile. "Your Majesty, I would if I could, but my daughter is already married. Has Your Majesty forgotten?"
Li Shimin then looked at Li Xiaogong. "Ninth, I recall your daughter isn't married yet, right?"
Li Xiaogong also showed a helpless expression. "Your Majesty, please don't make things difficult for me. That boy isn't greedy for women. As far as I know, the four maids that the Chai family brought as dowry are still virgins!"
Li Shimin: "......"
"How about we drug that kid? I heard the medicine he sells in his shop is quite potent."
Li Xiaogong and Li Ji were speechless. "You heard?"
Ever since those little pills became available in Chang'an, several concubines in the palace had gotten pregnant. In the last two months, several palace maids were also rumored to have gotten pregnant. And he tells me he heard?
"Your Majesty, the daughters of several old brothers are in Shenyang. Have you seen anyone get close to Fang Er?"
"If we use this method, will this kid get angry afterward?"
"He dares! Just do as I say. When we get to Shenyang, you drug him! Ten or eight pills at once, and call over the daughters of Fu Ji and Lao Qiao. Have them perform dances while drinking. I don't believe this kid can resist!"
"If he gets angry afterward, hehehehehe, let's see if Wuji and the others don't beat him to death!"
Li Shimin propped his chin, laying out his battle plan in a few words.
"Little rascal, let's see you try to jump!"
Li Ji and Li Xiaogong exchanged glances and couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat for Fang Er.
"Kid, you're on your own!"
"Brother, I can't help you anymore!"
Fang Er, in the cockpit, was completely unaware that a trap had been set, waiting for him to fall into it.
The ship gradually reached the fishing area. Sea gulls circled in the sky. Lu Fei asked Fang Er for instructions.
"Duke, there's a school of fish ahead. Should we cast the net?"
Fang Er shook his head. "Not yet. Today, casting and retrieving the net must be done by His Majesty!"
He then continued to Chai Lingwu, "Second brother, go tell His Majesty, and then tell the boatmen to be careful and serve him well, so that His Majesty isn't dragged into the sea by the net."
"Got it!"
Upon hearing this, Chai Lingwu, with a cigarette in his mouth, walked out of the cabin, found Li Shimin and the other two on deck, explained the situation, and then led them to the stern.
He explained to the boatmen how to operate the machine. After confirming that Li Shimin understood, he picked up the walkie-talkie to communicate with Fang Er.
"Brother, preparations are complete. Shall we cast the net?"
Fang Er looked at the splashes on the sea surface ahead, signaled Lu Fei to slow down the ship, and then replied to Chai Lingwu via walkie-talkie.
"We can cast the net."
Chai Lingwu received the notification, clipped the walkie-talkie back to his waist, and smiled at Li Shimin.
"Your Majesty, we can cast the net now."
"Hahahaha, let's see how many fish I can catch with this net!"
Li Shimin laughed and pulled the crane's switch.
Amidst the creaking sound, the crane's hook, pulling the bottom of the fishing net, slowly moved towards the stern. When it reached the slanted slope at the stern, Li Shimin pulled another switch.
The hook released, and the giant fishing net, weighed down by the heavy lead sinkers at its bottom, slid into the sea along the slope, gradually pulling the net body down.
After it was completely submerged, the net mouth was opened by the current, like a super-sized sack, waiting for the fish to enter.
"Is that it?"
After finishing, Li Shimin asked the boatmen.
"Replying to Your Majesty, all that's left is to wait to retrieve the net," the boatman replied nervously, standing beside him.
"I actually have the chance to teach His Majesty how to cast a net myself. Hehe, when I rest later, I must brag to the other boatmen. This bragging right will last a lifetime! When I'm old, I can still boast to my grandson that my grandfather taught His Majesty how to fish! It's so exciting to think about!"
For the boatmen, the waiting period was the most leisurely.
But for Li Shimin, it was quite agonizing.
In less than five minutes, he took out a cigarette, lit it, and offered it to a boatman nearby.
"Here, have a puff."
"Um, how long will this take?"
The boatman hurriedly and flattered accepted it. "Your Majesty, please don't worry. According to my humble experience, we can retrieve the net in at most a quarter of an hour."
"With so many seabirds here, it means there are schools of small fish below. Where there are small fish, there are big fish."
"Oh, and our nets on this ship only catch big fish, not small ones. The Duke said this is called sustainable development. The small ones must be left for future generations."
Li Shimin nodded at this and after pondering for a moment, suddenly slapped his thigh and praised.
"Hmm, sustainable development, excellent! This saying is great!"
"Duke Ma, you must remember this well. When we return to court, remind me. This term must be published in the newspaper, and it must be the front-page headline. In the future, the Great Tang must also follow the path of sustainable development."
"No matter what we do, it must be like this fishing, not cutting off the path for our descendants!"
"Your Majesty is wise!"
Li Xiaogong and Li Ji immediately offered their flattery.
The surrounding boatmen didn't quite understand, but the fact that His Majesty wanted to publish the Duke's words in the newspaper was a big deal. What did this mean? It meant that His Majesty recognized the Duke's words.
There was no doubt about it, they all joined in the praise!
"Your Majesty is wise!"
"Your Majesty is wise!"
"Your Majesty is wise!"