Chapter 637: New Year's Wish

The Great King sent Eagle Riders to meet the King of Hengshan on one side, and on the other side sent a letter to the Duke of the Eastern Capital, ordering him to mobilize 30,000 troops to Hengshan, and at the same time formally put the grain procurement and attack on Chu on the agenda.

Once the cavalry moves, ten thousand taels of gold is definitely not an exaggeration.

To save on rations, the Great King did not plan to use the supply battalion's personnel to transport this grain southward; transporting grain by foot means eating while marching, and the Great King simply cannot afford the cost.

He came up with a way to save grain: when the time comes, he will have Zhu Ti escort a caravan as cover, using his warehouse to transfer this grain, the Taotie Pouch, to Hengshan.

Once the matter is settled, the Great King has no distractions, leaving only the task of securing grain.

He wandered around the Purple Forbidden Palace for another day; on the twenty-third of the twelfth month, the Great King appeared at the Hall of Bright Light court assembly.

The city folk of Chang'an had long been assigned by Xie Yuan to work in offices outside; today they finally entered the interior of the Purple Forbidden Palace.

The crowd followed an attendant to a magnificent hall, all thinking this was the main hall, each marveling inwardly. Having heard that the North Border Prince's Mansion existed long ago, they found it hard to believe that the Prince of the North Border, with such scale and style, had no other ideas.

Someone who understood court affairs gave it more thought and said, 'No way! This person, back when he was still the King of You, had already built a new mansion on the frontier and even submitted a memorial to the former emperor saying he wanted to personally guard the nation's gate!'

When they thought about how old Bai Li Jing was back then, they suddenly understood. It turns out Marquis Wei Ting really does have big ambitions! This is not a mansion built according to feudal lords' standards; it is clearly the Wei family raising this great-grandson from childhood to be an emperor.

In the far southwest, Marquis Wei Ting is surely sneezing nonstop.

They were admiring the grandeur of the main hall when they were told it was merely the Hall of Bright Light used for ordinary feasts and guests. 'The main hall is cordoned off for construction; I hear they also plan to build a Heaven Street straight across the lake.'

Officials: ……

Upon entering the inner hall, the officials, already thoroughly shocked by the past few days' sights and sounds, still couldn't help but be stunned.

The Young Emperor is indeed living a good life in Youzhou!

However, as soon as the court assembly began, with the Great King appearing accompanied by his inseparable follower bug Xiong Xiong, the assembly fell completely into the Great King's own rhythm.

Even before, in the Establishing Chapter Palace he was hard to deal with, and now that it's his home turf he feels even harder to handle. Moreover, he thinks that if they dare to oppose him, the giant bear beside the throne will erupt and slap the outspoken officials away with a single palm!

Xie Yuan pretended not to see the Great King's attendant, calmly mentioning the policy and attitude toward the Wusun. The Great King repeatedly said he would support the Wusun in protecting their own interests; as soon as he finished speaking, he had Xie Tu put this in the newspaper: 'Focus on describing the weapons produced by our Armory Bureau, etc., but don't be too obvious—give a subtle plug—then send some of this issue to Shanyang Pass for sale, and sell some in the Western Regions.' He feared that other countries in the Western Regions would otherwise remain unaware.

Xie Tu: ……

"Your servant will obey the order."

When these words were spoken, others didn't understand, but Xie Yuan sensed it and realized this person harbored ill intentions.

After the court assembly ended, only a few old officials from Youzhou remained; he directly asked, 'Your Majesty, do you want the Western Regions to rise up? Or are you worried that when we attack Chu, the Western Regions might make a move?'

"That's about right. I want to fabricate a big news story so that the Western Regions know the Wusun are making progress, and to create some Wusun threat theory."

Seeing Grand Tutor Xu still looking confused, the Great King spoke frankly: 'I want to spark an arms race among the neighboring states. We are too poor, the grain shortage is too great, selling other things is too slow, I can wait, but the ambitious little Chu cannot. Our Armory Bureau has stockpiled plenty of weapons over the past three years; the cavalry has no use for them, so we need a destination to avoid waste.' The Great King had realized that selling anything is slower than selling weapons.

Grand Tutor Xu grew more worried: 'Your Majesty, is this move perhaps too risky? Over the years the Western Regions' states have had no major conflicts among themselves, always united; if they took the weapons and turned their guns on us, after all, with the tribute system, to them Your Majesty is nothing less than a sword hanging over their heads.'

"Even if they tried to chop me, they couldn't! No conflict is fine; I can help stir up a bit~"

Three senior officials: ……

It seems this person has made up their mind.

The Great King had already moved on to the next topic: 'For the New Year's banquet at the Hall of Bright Light, let's invite a few more people…' He said this, and Xie Yuan, relying on intuition, began to be wary; sure enough, the next moment the Great King said: 'Let's widely invite the scholar-officials and wealthy merchants to join the festivities.'

Xue Lin'an and Xu Zhi hadn't witnessed the Great King's feat in Chang'an; they only felt it was strange, while Xie Yuan was anxious. He had high expectations for the Great King, and felt that repeatedly doing such things would affect the Great King's image in the historical records.

"……Must it be this way?"

The Great King began to act bashful: 'Wouldn't it be better not to just seize it outright? I am also a civilized person~'

Xie Yuan: ……

He snapped: 'Your Majesty, don't you think these tricks are getting old?'

The Great King sincerely shook his head: 'No, I don't feel that way! As long as it works, it's fine. Sir, sometimes being too concerned with face will delay things! I currently have no thoughts; I only want to hang Bai Li Qi on the walls of Wuling City—this is my New Year's wish.'

Xie Yuan: ……

"Isn't that a very plain New Year's wish?"

Three workers: ……

When the three left, the Great King nevertheless called out to Xie Yuan again.

"How come, Your Majesty, can today's imperial edict be submitted early?"

The Great King immediately retreated strategically: 'No, no! I just wanted to ask, sir, do you want to know my other two New Year's wishes?'

Xie Yuan was speechless: 'Your Majesty, please go on.' Knowing the Great King as he does, he won't be able to leave without hearing the rest.

"You know I like my older sister more than anyone in this world; she's now of age, yet there's still no suitable prince consort for her, and I am deeply worried!"

Upon hearing this, Xie Yuan really wasn't good at such matters, and feeling sorry for the Great King's lack of capable elders nearby, still young but having to worry about his sister's lifelong affair. He was about to say he'd go ask his older sister-in-law, the Xie clan's matriarch in Youzhou, when the Great King continued: 'My second favorite is Xie Tu; he doesn't seem young either, sir, does your family have anyone suitable? Could you share some experience with me~'

The Great King's starry eyes·JPG

Xie Yuan: ……Even if he were stupid, he would now understand.