Chapter 339

Great King announced at the next day's court meeting that he had been deceived... please, the good news of Xie Yuan arrived, and everyone in the hall felt a sense of relief.

The Xie clan, ah, are the foremost prestigious family of the Great Jin.

His arrival is a living signboard.

Especially the Chancellor and the Grand Tutor; the Grand Tutor's gaze toward the Great King was truly warmer than spring breeze, until the Great King said he would personally write a letter to the Xiongnu!

Personally?!

The Chancellor and the Grand Tutor together recalled those 'works' he had written for Emperor Ningde.

The Grand Tutor spoke first, saying this kind of work shouldn't burden the Great King; he can do it in his stead.

So why write the letter, then?

The Great King still loves doing this work himself, but it doesn't matter if someone else takes it.

"Just the day before yesterday, at Dragon Head we captured a group of Xiongnu who intended to assassinate His Majesty; it's said among them was the son of the Xiongnu Chanyu. Wei Ke interrogated them and said it was the Chanyu's third son, Lian Xi, so His Majesty must demand an explanation from the Xiongnu!"

"Assassination?"

The old men in the back who had been zoning out all woke up!

Everyone quickly sized up the Great King; seeing him lively and vigorous, they assumed the attempt had failed.

Then the Great King continued: "They're utterly wicked, seizing some draft oxen and adding their own horses, dousing them with oil and setting them ablaze to charge into the bustling market, all to bind His Majesty! All these losses His Majesty will charge to the Xiongnu!"

The Grand Tutor let out a breath of relief: "Fortunately, Your Highness enjoys heavenly protection; the Xiongnu's scheming has thus far come to nothing."

Great King: "They succeeded! His Majesty was carried off to the bandits' lair, but before they could move him, Ling Yin and Chang Li rescued him back."

Haven't you seen that the Wei Middle Commander hasn't come today? He was slashed in the leg by the Xiongnu and now limps!

His Majesty will not let this matter slide easily!

His Majesty was kidnapped on his own turf—can he hold his head high? Can you?

"We subjects are ashamed!"

Yesterday, when he returned, no one brought it up; they thought everything had gone smoothly, with nothing wrong. The two old men exchanged a glance—"awesome!"

Great King especially referred to the nonsensical edicts Bai Li Jin usually sent over, saying: "Then let the Grand Tutor write it! First, His Majesty will pay two million taels as compensation for shock; second, let the Xiongnu come to explain this matter to His Majesty—if the explanation is unsatisfactory, His Majesty will station troops at Shuofang Pass!"

His Majesty had carefully considered the two million taels—too little and he wouldn't agree, too much and the Xiongnu might refuse.

Lian Xi is the third son, not the eldest. His Majesty reasons by analogy—he too is the third son, and his father used to buy him candy figurines, so the Xiongnu Chanyu's funds for his third son are likely limited. As for the two million taels, His Majesty just took that amount as reparations from Chang'an; the Xiongnu should be able to come up with it… right?

Upon hearing about stationing troops at Shuofang Pass, the Grand Tutor jumped in alarm, and the Chancellor hurriedly asked His Majesty whether he truly intended to do this or was merely threatening the Xiongnu.

The king shot him a resentful look: "You think I don't really want to go? We're out of military funds!" The western expedition had drained everything.

Finances were hopeless; he had squeezed the Xianbei and the Zhu Ti caravan side for a decent profit, yet those big‑headed kings were still hoarding grain.

The king's grain stores were nearly exhausted by this western campaign—aside from what was eaten, a large amount had also been shifted to the Duke of Dongdu and Tang Qian. The undertaking grew bigger, with more mouths to feed; the king is a hoarder at heart, uneasy without stockpiled grain.

An army of over 200,000 is not easy to sustain.

Without those profit‑siphoning checkpoint projects dragging on, the king would surely worry himself to death.

These kings shouldn't dwell too much; overthinking only vexes them. He fixed his gaze on the Minister of Revenue—formerly Zhang Si'nong, now this old man handling the finances.

The burden shouldn't fall on the king alone!

Zhang Si'nong hadn't imagined the war would reach him so swiftly; he had no choice but to step forward and plead guilty.

"Your chance to apologize is limited, Zhang Si'nong—cherish it! I want to see progress, I want to see silver. Do you understand?"

Zhang Si'nong recalled the fate of the former Minister of Works, his legs nearly giving way—yet the Chancellor saved him.

The Chancellor asked the king whether he had discovered how these people had entered the northern border.

The king snapped: "They came from Fanyang. I thought they hadn't had time to seize Fanyang, but it had already fallen. It's a pity—no matter how much salt they looted, it's useless; they can't haul it back to the Xiongnu."

At the mention of salt, Zhang Si'nong's eyes lit up.

Salt—isn't that just silver?

"Your Highness, the Fanyang commandery's Chang'an was also given to the Xiongnu—are we…?" "Take it back?"

He understood his meaning, Your Majesty—do you think the king has forgotten?

"I didn't send troops directly to Fanyang because I thought it hadn't yet changed hands, and the reports said everything was normal there. I never expected a Xiongnu detachment to have already slipped through. Now most of the surviving Xiongnu in the west are in my hands—nothing to fear. Still, we must notify all border checkpoints of this as a warning."

If a unit of about a hundred actually slipped silently through the checkpoint into the northern lands, the king would truly be furious.

Zhang Tu stepped forward to take the blame, then proceeded to inform the garrisons everywhere of their duties.

This still hasn't hit the main point; Zhang Si'nong grew anxious: "Your Highness, are we just giving up on Fanyang? All the north's salt comes from Fanyang." Is the finances saved?

The king really didn't care: "I have my own salt fields in Liaodong, even larger than Fanyang's. Do you think Youzhou is still buying salt to eat? Do you think my military provisions come from where?"

Liaodong Commandery has salt fields!

Everyone in the hall was practically bowing low before the king—how old is he? He secretly set up salt fields overseas without a sound! This certainly didn't happen in a day or two; they're already producing salt.

Seeing the expressions below, the king kindly explained: "All the world's salt profits are in the Jin family's hands, including the Fanyang salt fields. I spared Fanyang out of respect for Bai Li Heng's face."

The Grand Tutor's racing heart finally settled—thank goodness.

Not picking up money isn't the king's style—just fearing a bigger demon later.

All right, this time it finally makes sense.