Chapter 13: Grand Plan

"Since they are all courtyards of the Prince Mansion, then take them back. Send someone to the Dong Family and the Lv Family and say that this Prince requests their presence."

After walking a circle around the connected large courtyards, Zhao Xu made a decision.

The current Prince Mansion is too small to hold too many things.

But the three courtyards added together are not small.

He can completely house the small Government Office he is about to establish within the Prince Mansion.

Most importantly.

The Silver brought by the Ice-Making Technique is clearly unable to satisfy his needs for developing the fief.

As for how much profit selling ice in the south will actually bring, that is also an unknown.

After all, the Ice-Making Method is too easy to leak; before the technology leaks, it will be good enough if each family can earn back their capital and make a small profit.

If the Prince Mansion wants to have a continuous and abundant income, it must rely on other goods that are highly profitable and difficult to replicate.

And if he wants to trial-produce these things, he naturally needs a place.

Likewise, the safest place is still the Prince Mansion.

Xu Lie followed orders and dispatched guards.

Zhao Xu returned to the Prince Mansion and waited in the middle courtyard guest hall.

Before long, three young men entered the Prince Mansion.

"I am Dong An, I am Yang He, I am Lv Chang, paying respects to Your Highness."

The three young men bowed and saluted.

"No need for formalities," Zhao Xu said with a gesture of support.

Among the three, Dong An was short, plump, and fair, wearing a green silk brocade robe.

Yang He was tall and thin, wearing a yellow brocade garment.

Lv Chang was of medium height, looked very sturdy, and wore a purple robe.

"Your Highness, logically, since the Prince Mansion extended a warm invitation, our fathers should have come in person. However, our fathers thought that since we are about the same age as Your Highness, it would be easier to talk, so as to avoid boring Your Highness," Dong An explained.

"When Your Highness sent someone, I happened to be at the Dong Family. The Yang Family contributed some Silver for this courtyard, so I took the liberty to come. I hope Your Highness will not blame me," Yang He added.

Lv Chang, however, seemed more interested in the armored Xu Lie by Zhao Xu's side.

Only after the two finished speaking did he look at Zhao Xu.

"No matter, no matter," Zhao Xu had the servants offer seats to the three.

He also had the maids serve tea.

He knew the intentions of the Dong, Yang, and Lv families; it was nothing more than wanting to use the convenience of young people talking to each other to let their family descendants get familiar with Zhao Xu.

This is more effective than them coming forward themselves.

After taking a sip of tea, Zhao Xu did not beat around the bush.

"Inviting you all here today is actually just for a simple matter, and that is the courtyards on both sides of the Prince Mansion. This Prince wishes to redeem them at the original price. How about it?"

The three looked at each other upon hearing this.

Dong An smiled, "So it is this matter. I can make the decision to give the courtyard to the Prince Mansion, without taking a single penny."

Yang He and Lv Chang also nodded, "We are the same."

When the Yan Wang first arrived in Yan Commandery, they naturally would not value a mad Yan Wang, which is why they dared to buy the courtyards on both sides of the Prince Mansion.

At that time, they did not spend much Silver; the three families combined only spent a little over eight thousand taels.

Now that the Yan Wang has returned to normal, how would they dare to use these two courtyards? It is better to do a favor and give them away.

"That is so embarrassing," Zhao Xu feigned refusal, while inwardly he was happy.

It seems these three families have now made up their minds to build a good relationship with the Prince Mansion.

This way, his strategy of winning over and dividing the Rich Clans of Yan Commandery will have no problems.

"Oh, Your Highness, please must accept it, otherwise we will feel uneasy," Dong An was very good at talking and immediately showed an intimate posture.

"I am the same," Lv Chang echoed.

Yang He nodded.

Zhao Xu smiled, not expecting to resolve this matter so easily.

The four sat opposite each other, the atmosphere harmonious.

Dong An then suggested, "As for the land deeds for the courtyards, I will have a servant go back to get them now. It is already near noon, and the long summer is long and exceptionally boring. I wonder if Your Highness is interested in going to the Golden Scale Pond in the North City to escape the heat."

Zhao Xu originally wanted to refuse.

But thinking about it, he has been in Yan Commandery until now and has no understanding of Yancheng at all. He should go out and look around, otherwise, wouldn't he become a lonely woman in the boudoir?

Moreover, these past few days, he has become increasingly pessimistic about the situation in Yan Commandery.

The Zhang, Huang, and Du families have immense power, not to mention that the Yan Commandery Commandery Governor comes from the Zhang Family.

The Assistant Prefect responsible for arrests and criminal cases in Yan Commandery comes from the Huang Family.

Even worse, the Captain of the three thousand County Soldiers of Yan Commandery is a member of the Du Family.

It is no wonder these three families despise and hate the Yan Prince Mansion so much.

If there were no Yan Prince Mansion, they would be the local emperors of Yan Commandery.

Therefore, in this situation, it is even more necessary for him to win over the Dong, Yang, and Lv families. According to his understanding, these three families can be considered "white lotus flowers" compared to the Zhang Family faction in Yan Commandery.

"Good, this Prince has exactly that intention," Zhao Xu stood up.

Upon hearing this, the three became excited.

In fact, they were forced to risk offending the Zhang, Huang, and Du families to get close to the Yan Prince Mansion.

Originally, although there was a disparity in power among the Rich Clans of Yan Commandery, it was not too great.

Although everyone had turned red in the face due to competing for profit, it had not reached the point of life-and-death.

However, ever since Zhang Kang, the younger brother of Zhang Qian, married a daughter of a concubine from the Yuan Family of Fanyang Commandery in Yanzhou, Yan Commandery changed.

This Yuan Family of Yanzhou is not like these small Rich Clans.

Besides the Prefect of Yanzhou being a member of the Yuan Family, five of the seven Commandery Governors in Yanzhou are either members of the Yuan Family or their retainers.

Furthermore, direct descendants of the Yuan Family serve as officials and generals in Jingshi and the Great Song military.

Therefore, with the support of the Yuan Family, the Zhang Family suddenly rose to the height of power, easily seizing control of Yan Commandery alongside the Huang Family and the Du Family.

Since then, they have competed for profit with them in every aspect, suppressed them, and have had every intention of swallowing up their wealth.

Before Yan Wang arrived, they could only watch helplessly as their own interests were damaged, with no way to stop it.

But now, Yan Wang has recovered to normal, and they have found hope in protecting their own interests.

The group left the Prince's Mansion and stepped onto the main street.

The scenery of Yancheng rushed to meet them.

Among the seven commanderies of Yanzhou, Yan Commandery is the poorest one.

To the north, it borders the Yanshan Mountains; to the south is Fanyang Commandery; and in the southeast, a portion of the area faces the sea.

It is roughly equivalent to the combined area of the eastern part of Chengde and the western part of Tangshan in the contemporary Hebei region.

Walking through Yancheng, wherever Zhao Xu looked, he saw only desolation.

On the main street in the middle of Yan Commandery, the commoners carrying goods to sell were mostly thin and gaunt, with every rib on their chests clearly visible.

Their clothes were similar to those of the commoners who came to the Prince's Mansion to receive land that day; one could not even call them clothes, but rather strips of rags.

On their faces, there were no smiles, only expressions filled with suffering.

This is the living condition of the commoners during the chaotic times of war in ancient days.

In an era of such low productivity and material scarcity, simply staying alive is already no easy feat.

Dong An and the other two followed by Zhao Xu's side, laughing and talking wantonly, none of them noticing the gravity in Zhao Xu's eyes.

They seemed accustomed to all of this.

After walking a long distance, they turned left onto another street.

At this moment, the drab, gray-toned Yancheng suddenly became colorful and vibrant.

"Your Highness, we have arrived at Golden Scale Pond." Dong An pointed toward a long, curved lake ahead.

At this time, the sunlight was just right, scattering patches of golden radiance across the water's surface.

A light breeze blew, and the surface of the lake truly resembled patches of golden scales.

On both banks of Golden Scale Pond, green willows provided shade, and pavilions with vermilion railings and green tiles stood one after another, from which faint singing could be heard from time to time.

On the lake, painted pleasure boats drifted leisurely, and through the swaying pearl curtains, one could vaguely see women in red and green attire drinking with young masters from Rich Clans.

"The commoners of Yan Commandery are eating dirt, while the Rich Clans of Yan Commandery are singing and dancing." The stark contrast made Zhao Xu feel as if he had swallowed a fly.

His fief must never be a playground for a select few.

As Yan Wang, he must be worthy of his subjects; otherwise, how would he be any different from these Rich Clans?

To realize this grand plan, he must take control of Yan Commandery as soon as possible and plan his fief according to his own ideas.

But the prerequisite for controlling Yan Commandery is that he must have a formidable army and, at the same time, possess massive wealth to carry out construction.

"Silver, it is still silver."

Zhao Xu pondered slightly, and a money-making idea popped up; this idea was slightly more complex than the Ice-Making Technique, but it was far more lucrative.