Chapter 68

The Great King gave an order; Zhu Ti immediately sped up, and the grain and cloth shops behind Wanxiang City opened first.

The day before, notices were posted in Youzhou City and the surrounding counties, reading:

The Great King had just been enfeoffed to Youzhou, and coincidentally there was drought and poor harvest; he deeply felt the livelihood of Youzhou people was hard, and at the start of the new year he launched a subsidized grain and cloth purchase at the Shengping Grain Shop and Shengping Cloth Shop on Zhuque Avenue to help Youzhou residents get through winter.

Each Youzhou household with a household register could go to those two shops and, at two-tenths of the market price, purchase limited amounts: one dan of rice, one bolt of cloth, and two rolls of refined cotton.

The Great King helped the people get through winter; he hopes that next spring everyone will work hard to reclaim land and plant sweet potatoes and potatoes to rely on their own hands to survive. He diverted the court's tribute grain from the south to subsidize the people, hoping everyone will cherish his sincere love for the people.

Youzhou does not support idle people; this is only this once, not to be repeated. The Great King is young and lacks the ability to always support everyone.

Once posted, all of Youzhou celebrated the New Year early.

Upon hearing that a literate person had read the notice, people in the street knelt and wept loudly, kowtowing toward the You Prince's Mansion to the north.

Those posting the notices inside Youzhou City were not officials or soldiers, but the newly trained clerks on Zhuque Avenue.

"I heard that the prince's mansion's food is all sent by the Emperor of Chang'an; with a poor autumn harvest the prince was exempted from one‑tenth of tax, but by the time it reaches him there's nothing left! The prince still has soldiers to support, and the Emperor sent people to give him a little. This is roughly what the notice says, but the Emperor isn't only the prince's son—he can't keep supporting just him. We folks of Youzhou need to show some spirit!"

"Yeah, how did the prince, so young, end up assigned to Youzhou?"

"It's not easy for the prince!"

A chorus of sighs rose; the people also felt that the prince's assignment to Youzhou was very unfortunate.

By this point, the prince's popularity in Youzhou was at its peak.

Others don't know, but in fact Your Majesty currently has plenty of grain and cloth stores; how much to sell he and Zhu Ti have discussed, a subsidy of one stone of rice per household—if planned well, it should barely get through this harsh winter; next spring, when all things revive, if we work hard to reclaim land and plant more sweet potatoes and potatoes, we should be able to ease this disaster year.

Your Majesty never thought of giving things away for free; even a symbolic fee must be collected—just as Bai Yang and the others never stopped emphasizing to Your Majesty, Your Majesty also realized that it would be foolish to support the people for nothing, and the future troubles would be endless.

Take him, for example—his father had relieved him earlier, yet he still doesn't want to pay the tribute. The reason is simple: he feels that the great capital of Everlasting Peace doesn't lack this one mouthful of his, you know.

The common folk are the same.

Rescue the urgent, not the poor.

Your Majesty stood with arms akimbo, humph! Another day of being lenient with oneself~

The next day at court, Minister Xue asked Your Majesty whether you had considered what His Majesty would think if this matter were to reach Everlasting Peace.

Your Majesty looked innocent and naive, saying, "Wouldn't my father be overjoyed for me? I, Your Highness, love the people as my own children!"

A little child saying he loves the people as his own children…… Anyway, Grand Tutor Xu lifted his sleeve and tugged at it, struggling not to laugh.

Minister Xue was indeed proud of Your Majesty, but this matter sits right here, and as the head of officials he still has to speak up.

"Your Highness, does Secluded Prefecture still owe tribute to the court? If His Majesty asks about it?" Twelve thousand households, each paying one stone of rice—that's no small amount.

Your Majesty, a bachelor, said: "If asked, it's just borrowing. Otherwise, where would the money come from?" This place of Secluded Prefecture—scrape the land three times and you still won't find anything; he merely wants to scrape money and fame, which is pure delusion.

His affairs have many things that can't be explained clearly; Your Majesty isn't unworried, he's just decided to let it go.

"I, Your Highness, can't keep borrowing from Father alone—I'm still filial!" Father hearing it might not necessarily thank me.

Minister Xue: ……

"Your Highness possesses virtue, a blessing for Secluded Prefecture. Minister, I have nothing else to ask."

Your Majesty waved his hand impatiently, "Dismissed!"

Zhao Bao wiped the sweat from his forehead, "Great, another day of getting by through bluffing." May the Star Lord bless us!

At year's end, the busiest place in Secluded Prefecture was Vermilion Bird Avenue; the grain shop and cloth store bore the same name, and outside hung a large flag bearing the character 'Secluded', so anyone could see it was one establishment—this was the official store set up by the Prince of Secluded himself.

At the height of Secluded Prefecture's bustle, the first batch of wealthy merchants irradiated by Bai Li Heng's Brocade Carp finally arrived in Secluded Prefecture.

The host of the Brocade Pavilion, the Zheng family, are famous wealthy merchants of Established Health; the Zheng family is related by marriage to a certain marquis's residence, and the marquis's heir, following the marquis's heir to the Second Prince's fish‑watching banquet, came back raving nonstop about the Brocade Carp, the glass fish tank, and the underwater delicate scenery.

The literati and refined scholars of Everlasting Peace City even exalted that plain ink wash to the heavens—how so? Some said plain ink wash was worth a fortune, yet others rushed up to scold him as vulgar, feeling that measuring it with money insulted its profound Zen meaning and graceful form.

Brocade Carp was on the rise in Everlasting Peace City; anyone of stature there had heard of it, and the Zheng family was the first to act.

They gathered information from various sources and learned that the Second Prince had brought the Brocade Carp back from Secluded Prefecture; the family head immediately planned to send someone to Secluded Prefecture.

The profit from Brocade Carp is immeasurable.

Zheng Fang led his caravan on a long, arduous journey and finally reached the gates of Secluded Prefecture City; in midwinter, having braced himself for eating dirt along the way, he was still shocked by how dilapidated Secluded Prefecture City was.

Such a run‑down place having the Brocade Carp and glass fish tanks that were all the rage in Everlasting Peace? Unlikely……

Could the information be wrong? And why are so many people leaving the city?

Further north lies the border; in midwinter, what are these commoners up to?

His attendant stopped a commoner to ask, and the man said: "Everyone's rushing to buy the subsidized grain at Your Majesty's grain shop! If we wait a bit longer we'll have to queue at the city gate—who knew the sales would start at dawn today! I've got to go…"

The attendant, dazed, asked two more commoners in ragged clothes holding torn sacks, and finally got the information he wanted.

The attendant came back with a bewildered expression and reported: "They say the Prince of Secluded no longer resides in Secluded Prefecture City, just as the rumors in Everlasting Peace City claim—this Highness has built a new palace not far from the frontier and is personally guarding Secluded Prefecture City."

Zheng Fang didn't know what to say—was it because the boy is young and ignorant, or because they have great ambitions? It's hard to judge.

Then what? What are they doing out of the city? Why are their numbers still growing?

Your Highness, they say Secluded Prefecture is suffering a great drought, the commoners can't get by, the Prince of Secluded, out of kindness, has prepared winter‑subsidy grain to sell them cheaply… and apparently also cloth!

Zheng Fang reckoned that this spectacle of the entire populace pouring out was worth a look, so he decided to go see for himself what the Prince of Secluded was up to.

Unsure whether the aid is for Secluded Prefecture City alone or the whole prefecture.

Who is the mother's family of the Prince of Secluded again? Marquis Wei Ting? That powerful?!

The Zheng family are merely wealthy merchants; Your Majesty's daily memorials crying poverty never reached their ears. Even Bai Li Heng, who wasn't close to his younger brother, wouldn't spread such royal embarrassment.