The Great Tang's Number One Smuggler, with Li Er as My Partner!

In the winter of the fourth year of Zhenguan, Lu Guanyu, the young owner of a tavern in Chang'an's West Market, is shipping jar after jar of strong liquor to the Turkic grasslands.

He has no idea that his regular customer, “Old Li,” is none other than Li Shimin, emperor of the Great Tang.

Their partnership in smuggling liquor gives Li Shimin a glimpse of the young man's extraordinary business acumen and strategic vision. Strong liquor weakens the Turks' fighting strength; sugar wins the wealth of Tibet. Every one of Lu Guanyu's business ventures happens to align with the empire's grand strategy for expanding its influence in every direction.

The Eastern Turks are subdued in a single campaign, and the imperial treasury is suddenly flush with cash from a share of the smuggling profits.

Li Shimin decides to keep this “money tree” close, but gradually realizes that Lu Guanyu seeks far more than wealth and status. He wants to modernize his estate, train its residents to do business, establish a new kind of school, and even send the Crown Prince and Prince Wei for “labor reform”...

The emperor's attempts to win him over, the Hu courtesan's affection, and the entire court's civil and military officials, all brought by the emperor to Lu Family Estate for “business talks” and “training.” A Great Tang quietly reshaped by commerce and infrastructure is about to unfold...