Chapter 1001: Trading Big for Small

"King, I didn't dare to think about moving my fief to places like our Huaxia City or Lema City. I was just thinking, could I move my fief a little closer to the Western Development Group? I feel that if I move it there, I should be able to see my fief being developed before I die."

Baifeng switched legs and continued to cross them, shaking them slightly: "Oh, is that so? Moving to the Western Development Group, that's not impossible. It is indeed much closer than the location of your current fief. However, you also have to think about this: if you want to move, others might want to move too. If you move, I move, and everyone moves, then what is the point of me setting the fief locations for you all in the first place?"

"This... this..." Sanxin felt his face burning. He had finally managed to put aside his pride to beg Baifeng for this matter, only to be rejected like this, which made him feel quite ashamed. He finally understood what it felt like to lose face.

"However..."

That single word "however" let Sanxin know there was a turning point. He hurriedly raised his head. Baifeng shook his leg and said: "Changing fiefs is possible, but since land also has differences in value, you cannot use a low-value fief to trade for a high-value fief of the same size."

"As for the land around the Western Project now, I believe you also understand that its value is certainly getting higher and higher, as we continue to send people out to develop it, right?"

"And there is also the important position of the Western Development Group in future plans. I think the land value there might even be higher than here in Huaxia City. Do you agree with this or not?"

Sanxin had already understood the meaning behind Baifeng's words, so he stated his conditions directly: "King, I understand this, and I agree. In order to achieve parity of conditions and not threaten the interests of our Huaxia, I am willing to use my fiefs elsewhere to exchange for a smaller fief at the Western Development Group."

"And the exchange ratio?" Baifeng didn't leave Sanxin any room, insisting on pushing him to the limit.

Sanxin gritted his teeth: "Three to one. King, I am willing to pay a three-to-one price to exchange for a fief at the Western Development Group."

Baifeng immediately made the decision: "Excellent, that works. Just follow your idea. In any case, the land at the Western Development Group is vast enough. Since you nobles want it, then I will give it to you. Take your own fief documents and go to the Ministry of Revenue; they will exchange a fief for you at the Western Development Group."

"Thank you, King! Thank you, King!" Sanxin immediately knelt down and kowtowed to Baifeng. This time, Baifeng did not have anyone stop him. Sanxin was being too shrewd now; trading a fief that one didn't know when it would be developed for land near the future capital, even if it was only one-third the size, was a huge profit for him.

Seeing that Sanxin had nothing else, Baifeng chased him out. The uneaten dishes on the table were all cleared away; in any case, not a single leaf of vegetable would be wasted in the end.

At this moment, a servant said: "Master, two Marquises and four Counts just came here to find you, but after hearing that Prime Minister Sanxin was inside, they left, saying they wouldn't look for you anymore."

After hearing this, Baifeng didn't say much, only telling the servants to remember that from today on, except for Marquises, no other visitors are to be seen unless they are here for official business.

Indeed, many nobles had planned to see Baifeng at noon today, just to talk about their fief matters. Everyone wanted to secure enough benefits for themselves regarding the issue of their fiefs.

But when they arrived at the door wanting to enter, the servant said that Prime Minister Sanxin was already inside, and they knew they had no chance. However, this was also a good thing, because they didn't need to face Baifeng directly. If they had any questions, they could wait for Sanxin to come out and ask him. They believed Sanxin would be able to clarify all the issues.

And Sanxin had indeed resolved everything. His heart was excited but also extremely anxious, feeling that everything he thought of was within Baifeng's grasp, leaving him with no secrets at all. Perhaps everything was a way of keeping him in check.

But now, none of that mattered. His fief problem had been solved. As soon as he returned to his office, he began to draft the documents directly; there were too many things he needed to write now.

But before he could even sit comfortably, many people appeared at his office door. Sanxin knew what they were there for, but he still greeted them with a smile.

"Oh my, my Lords the Counts, why have you all come to find me so suddenly! Is there some major event?"

Zhu walked straight up, pressed Sanxin into his chair, then pulled up a chair for himself and sat next to Sanxin. Others searched for chairs, and those who couldn't find one just stood to the side, resting their hands on others' chairs.

Zhu stared fixedly at Sanxin: "I say, Sanxin, you went to see the King just now, right? Tell us, what's the situation?"

"What situation? I just went to see the King, why are you all like this? You can go see him yourselves."

Liangji said urgently from the side: "Enough, Prime Minister. Let's just be direct. At this juncture, what else could you be talking to the King about? Although you are the Prime Minister and your rank is higher than ours, we are all Counts, and we are all the same; there is no distinction of high or low."

"Now that there is no definite way to handle everyone's fiefs, doesn't it all depend on you? You must have already found out the truth, right?"

Sanxin didn't answer directly, but instead asked Zhu: "Your daughter Zhi is the wife of our Prince, couldn't you find out any news? Shouldn't you tell us first? After all, your relationship with the King should be the closest."

Zhu scratched his head: "I did ask, I had someone ask last night. But Zhi said she didn't know either, and she hadn't even heard the King mention fief matters before. So, I reckon the King came up with this plan suddenly this time, and no one knows about it. I just don't know if Yulong knows about this."

But after thinking for two seconds, Zhu shook his head again: "No, no, I feel that perhaps even Yulong doesn't know this news. Otherwise, how could Zhi not know anything at all? I couldn't get a single bit of news from Zhi, so I can't grasp what the situation is now."

"This matter came too suddenly, but it is so important. Sanxin, you should tell us now, what exactly is the situation? We are all very anxious."

Sanxin didn't manage to extract any news from Zhu, but given Zhu's head, he probably wouldn't think to hide it like that. Moreover, Zhu was considered relatively magnanimous and straightforward; he probably wouldn't hide such news, unless Zhi had specifically told him not to talk about it.