Chapter 730

The Great King flew into a rage after hearing this—how dare these people not learn a lesson from the Du clan of Long Peace?!

Have I been too easy‑going lately?!

He then realized that this line of thinking was the odd one out. The aristocracy has lived this way since the previous dynasty, controlling eighty‑to‑ninety percent of the wealth, monopolizing the bureaucracy, and even the imperial authority has to yield three‑tenths to them.

Every powerful clan in the south boasts a vast manor, seizing all the fertile land with mountains and water, retaining countless retainers and followers, essentially a miniature kingdom. How many walled forts has he seen with his own eyes!

Are the people of Glorious Elegant not even more reverent and fearful of the Wang clan than the emperor of Long Peace? The King of Glorious Elegant, even on his own fief, is merely an empty title, and he still has to watch the Wang clan's facial expression.

The Great King thought of this, and his anger gradually subsided.

Being anxious is useless, being angry is useless.

Originally, the Du clan didn't think they were wrong; they just felt unlucky to have run into him.

The Du clan truly had no way to contend with his martial prowess.

Now, if they were commoners, why wouldn't they dare?

The Great King single‑handedly pulled Youzhou back from the brink of starvation death, and within a year—no one dying of hunger—people have already broken ground on his achievements!

Even the outskirts of Youzhou are like this—what about the faraway places he cannot see?

These people took over others' already‑cultivated fertile fields; presumably, there are clear policies for reclaiming new land, and they lack even formal deeds, so they hesitate to act. Otherwise, the Great King doubts anything would be left.

Fine.

Very fine.

The Great King suppressed his anger and again asked the old man, "What did the noble person exchange for his family's good fields, and which house is that noble from?"

That old man began to look down on him, unable to hold back his bitter feelings and spoke up; now that the Great King is inquiring in such detail, he suddenly became wary, starting to hem and haw, unwilling to elaborate.

He feared that disaster would come from his mouth—he could not afford to offend anyone.

The Great King didn't make things difficult for him; that fellow straightened up and stretched.

"Such a profit‑free trade also piques my interest," said the young master.

He entered the cool pavilion and announced: "We're not going to the Pacify Sea Palace today."

Wei Chen had grown accustomed to the Great King's comings and goings like the wind, asking: "Where then?"

"I hear that the lord‑owned fields outside the city can be taken for free and made one's own, with only a casual reward to send them off. Such a good thing couldn't leave out the young master—let's get some too."

Wei Chen: ……Alright. Someone else has stepped on the Great King's tail again.

Liang Bin, sincere: "……Is this, is this not too improper?"

The Great King was displeased: "On what grounds can others take it but we cannot? Is my status as young master insufficient?!"

Liang Bin: ……More than enough.

Wei Chen pressed the Great King onto a small stool and lowered his voice to ask what was going on.

"…So, while they can freely seize land, the young master cannot." The Great King briefly explained, then revealed his plan; the three idlers today went to find a good plot near the mountain ridge to occupy!

Wei Chen, who had previously teamed up with the Great King to deal with the Du clan, perked up at the news and eagerly asked: "We don't know any details yet—should we send someone to scout first? Otherwise, what status would we use to stake out land, to overpower them?"

The Great King couldn't wait; he intended to finish this today in a rush. Any further delay would keep him awake tonight.

As soon as Wei Chen finished speaking, the Great King turned his gaze to Liang Bin, who nearly sprang up from the rickety stool at the tea stall.

"Don't look at me—I'm scared!"

The Great King retorted, "Anyone daring to do this outside Youzhou certainly isn't a third‑rate family; without their backing they'd have gone farther afield. But no matter how high, none surpasses your family—your status as Duke of the Eastern Capital is high enough, and you're well known in Youzhou. Do you know what fame is?"

Anyway, your family is suitable. Just keep being yourself, and we two will be your assistants—how about that? Is it impressive enough?

Liang Bin nearly cried in front of him, "What kind of impressiveness is this?"

He hurriedly yielded and begged the Great King: "This really won't do! If this gets out, the common folk will hear half‑rumors and spread all sorts of gossip, ruining the family's reputation—my father will truly break my leg! Please, young master, save my leg! If anything happens to me in Youzhou, my father won't investigate; he'll just blame me for not running away."

"I'll help you explain," ~

"I'm afraid there won't be a chance to explain before my leg is already broken…" Based on past experience, when his father gets angry he won't give him a chance to argue—he'll strike first and talk later.

The Great King clicked his tongue—he wasn't insisting on the Liang family exclusively.

"Let's count from the start—Xie Chancellor… never mind. The teacher knows we're using his banner to cause trouble; later, the essay he has to recite might be changed to eighty‑thousand characters."

Liang Er lamented, "You make this quite clear, don't you?"

The Great King followed the lead of the three dukes, "Got it! Dong Fu, ah! Heck, he's just himself; posing as a family member later makes it easy to clear his name—just say he's single with no dependents and it's explained."

The two were helping Dong Fu apply wax when the Great King quickly hammered out the decision: "That's settled— which of you two wants to be the Grand Commander's heir?"

"Liang Brother!"

"Wei Brother!"

Wei Er and Liang Er spoke in unison, brotherly affection and younger‑brother respect, each vying to give the other the chance to be the protagonist.

The Great King grew displeased: "After the Du clan incident, the whole of Long Peace has started guarding against someone my age; it affects my later outings—how could I hand this opportunity over to you two?"

The Great King casually pointed at Wei Chen: "Uncle, you don't have a hobby of breaking legs, do you? No problem—if you break it, I'll help you set it, and we'll become cousins‑in‑law."

Wei Chen: ……

Liang Er instantly picked up a fan to fan the freshly baked 'Grand Commander's Heir', wearing a fawning grin as he guided: "Master Dong, this way please."

The old man, regretting his talkativeness, saw the three of them gather, argue awhile, then happily pay and leave; he let out a deep sigh of relief.

The guards stationed along the route to the Pacify Sea Palace were still waiting for the Great King to set out, but they discovered nearby that the three had mounted and taken opposite forks. The guards, bewildered, adjusted without comment, and Liang Er, looking back and seeing no sign of the guards, grew anxious again.

"Pulling off this sort of thing without a grand entourage—does a mighty formation make it realistic? We're just three people; won't we suffer a loss?" He thought taking a couple hits wouldn't matter, but if any ruffian brushed against the Great King, his leg wouldn't be safe either!

Wei Shen didn't worry about that, "This is Youzhou; no one who could make our Third Young Master Wei suffer a loss has been born yet."

The king ignored those two; he had already swiftly entered his role, now observing the fields along the way, studying which plot to seize.