Chapter 606: Where is my money?

Xie Yuan has never been to Runan either; he truly doesn't know what the Prince of Runan is like. These past few years, the first time he left Youzhou was to come to Chang'an. After a moment of silence, he chuckled: "Bai Li Jing has brought a bad influence; it's inevitable that the Bai Li clan's vassal branches have some ideas."

"Uncle, are you saying the Prince of Runan also harbors rebellious intentions?"

"Given the current situation, that chair in Jianzhang Palace—anyone surnamed Bai Li seems to have some ideas."

"Actually, that's not hard to guess?"

"Although the Taihe Emperor was at least the eldest son and had an imperial edict, although many raised rebel flags, ultimately no one succeeded. In the three hundred years of Great Jin, there has been no example of a feudal prince successfully rebelling. The Jiangxia Rebel King seized Chang'an unexpectedly and ascended the throne with force, giving those Bai Li vassal branches a glimmer of hope, but before they could dwell on it too much, the Northern Border forces marched south aggressively."

"Youzhou's troops are strong and its horses sturdy, making the Jiangxia Rebel King feel uneasy deep down; he harshly dealt with the opposing Gao clan and hastily ascended the throne, which inevitably left him somewhat flustered. But our Majesty is different—he righteously proclaimed the slogan of supporting the Jin court, quelled the Jiangxia Rebel King, and occupied Chang'an. He effortlessly suppressed the voices of popular opposition; no matter how noisy the south gets, His Majesty hears nothing and it's useless, for in Chang'an no one opposes his accession."

"He even summoned all the feudal lords of the realm and the neighboring states to attend his coronation ceremony. All of this has rekindled the ambitions of every feudal lord under heaven."

"Xie Tu suddenly chuckled, recalling the Great King's words: 'I could do it too.'"

"It's obvious that the Great King's success has stirred the Bai Li vassal branches' hearts endlessly—a typical case of overconfidence, thinking 'I could do it too.'"

"Has the Prince of Runan never heard of the Northern Border's Xuanjia Cavalry's reputation?"

"Things one hasn't seen with one's own eyes aren't necessarily true. It's also possible he's heard of it; isn't he sending his daughter to probe?"

"Aren't you afraid His Majesty, young and hot-headed, can't take this provocation and will immediately send troops to Runan?"

"So he sent the Princess Consort; if things get out of hand, she's just a willful, pampered young lady—if His Majesty insists on not letting up, he'll only lose face."

"So you've already prepared a temporary retreat?"

"It's also just our baseless speculation."

"The Great King also speculated about it upon his return—of course, such matters must come after counting silver."

"He returned to the palace, eagerly awaiting, and after a while Zhu Ti sent over a rough account. The Great King excitedly counted the digits: 'Units, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands? Two hundred thirty-two ten-thousands?!'"

"The Great King jumped up in excitement: 'My debts are settled?!'"

"Zhu Ti nodded: 'You need me to directly deposit it into your estate account……'"

"'No!' the Great King immediately interrupted, 'We agreed these silver would be used to stockpile grain; I have other plans for the debts. They can't be deposited into the estate—once they go in, they'd directly offset debts. First deposit them into our Northern Border money house. As for the additional grain, once it arrives, store it directly in the estate warehouse as emergency rations.'"

"After saying that, the Great King finally recalled the matter of the Runan Princess Consort, and asked Zhu Ti how much he knew about the Prince of Runan."

"I don't know the Prince of Runan personally, and I've never been to Runan either. But Runan territory has iron and silver mines, weapons and silver—any ideas wouldn't be surprising."

"The Great King suddenly stood up: 'I really didn't know that.'"

"There's not just one either. The people of Runan are prosperous but unassuming; the Prince of Runan must be very wealthy. According to the intelligence office's information, Runan territory nominally has only one silver mine and one iron mine, both under court control. In fact, the iron mines are at least two locations, with private mines held by the prince's mansion."

"Late that night, the Great King summoned Zhang Xu, who had served beside his father, and the latter said that Runan's silver and iron mines were discovered by the first-generation Prince of Runan when he was enfeoffed; although located in Runan's fief, they have always been under court administration."

"The Great King didn't care about those details: 'Never mind how many—aren't they mine now?!'"

"After some thought, he said: 'Tomorrow after court I want to meet the Runan Princess Consort—go call her.'"

"Zhang Xu breathed a sigh of relief: 'I will obey the order.'"

"After everyone had withdrawn, he pulled out a map again and studied it with Bai Ze. 'Runan is quite close to Chen State, I think its feng shui might not be great! Lord Bai Ze, what do you say?'"

"'I said you should go to sleep. Don't wake up tomorrow for court and then threaten to live or die, swearing to abdicate.'"

"Great King: ……"

"'Hmph… just that once……'"

"'You're just acting as emperor for a day, aren't you?'"

"Great King: ……"

"New dynasty, new atmosphere—what is the new atmosphere? All neglected affairs await revival, a pile of new work needs to be pushed forward again. The Great King gathered his energy and rose on time; after sitting and listening for a while, his head swelled, he decisively decided to continue in Chang'an the same work style he had in Youzhou."

"That is, do nothing substantive; for any task he doesn't want to do, he merely nods or shakes his head."

"He only exercises a single veto power, pushing all tasks requiring implementation aside—Xie Yuan is the first to suffer."

"Xie Yuan has gotten somewhat used to it, but the pampered Nine Ministers and senior officials find it unacceptable."

"Now the chief minister is Xie Yuan, the Grand Commander is Dong Fu, the Grand Secretary is Xue Lin'an, and two of the Three Dukes are not in Chang'an. With the new dynasty's many neglected affairs awaiting revival, there's a shortage of people to do the work—keeping them long-term in Youzhou is out of the question. Immediately someone suggested that since His Majesty has ascended the throne, we should merge with the Northern Border's petty court, letting the other two Dukes lead other officials to Chang'an."

"The Great King laughed it off and outright refused to engage with the topic."

"He wants to send every penny he earns back to Youzhou—how could he abandon his hometown? He still wants to go home for New Year!"

"'Drawing disaster eastward, he immediately brought up Runan: 'Grand Minister of Finance, where are you? Don't just busy yourself crying poverty all day—Your Majesty asks, with so many gold and silver mines in Great Jin, why is the treasury empty enough to let horses run? Is it because you've been embezzling?'"

"The Grand Minister of Finance nearly fell to the ground, opening his mouth to shout injustice."

"'The Great King leaned against the throne, chin resting on his hand, and said: 'Yesterday I went to the Floating Tower Pavilion auction—this is no secret. I noticed everyone spends money without hesitation, very generously, so why are my state and private treasuries completely empty? Even the Runan Princess Consort lavishly spent a thousand gold to win the 'River and Mountain Fan' and the 'Carp Dragon Sword.' Just hearing those names, I want them too—I've never even snatched them.'"

"'The hall was silent as a chicken, no one knowing where this incident would land. It doesn't look like mere poverty complaints; those two auction items' names sound suspicious.'"

"'Have you heard that Runan has silver and iron mines?'"

"'Your Majesty, Runan does have silver and iron mines.'"

"'Oh—no wonder the Runan Princess Consort is so wealthy and magnanimous!' the Great King wore an envious expression."

"'Officials: ……'"

"'Grand Minister of Finance, are these mines still under court control?'"

"'……Yes!'"

"'The Great King seemed easygoing: 'Fine, then tomorrow bring me the accounts of the gold, silver, iron, and copper mines within the realm from the past six months—I want to see them. Speaking of which, since last night I've been troubled! When I was the Prince of You, I noticed every feudal lord was wealthier than the Prince of You, which I could accept, and they faced no foreign tribe threat; but after I ascended the throne, I found these feudal lords wealthier than the court? This problem deserves deep thought—everyone go home and ponder why, then tell me tomorrow; let's disperse for today.'"

"'Having said that to himself, he lifted his leg and walked away.'"

"'After seeing him off, the elders in the room rose and looked at each other, 'No way—how does this youngster seem even harder to deal with than the previous one-two-three?!'"

"'Great King: Warning of a deadly topic~'"