Chapter 3: I'm Having Too Hard a Time

"Your Highness, please have your meal."

Luan'er placed two bowls of red date porridge on the table and stood by to serve.

Her eyes, however, darted toward the porridge in the bowls, and she swallowed her saliva.

With Zhang Han and his trusted henchmen taken down, the atmosphere in the Prince's Mansion changed in an instant.

Yan Wang had recovered from his illness; who would dare to commit insubordination now?

It had become a habit for Feng'er and Luan'er to look after Zhao Xu, and remembering he had not yet eaten breakfast, Luan'er had gone to have the kitchen prepare some.

"His Highness has just recovered from a serious illness; did the kitchen not prepare anything better?"

Feng'er looked at the two simple bowls of red date porridge on the table, her pretty face full of dissatisfaction.

Under normal circumstances, she would not have said anything, as she was well aware that the Prince's Mansion was strapped for cash.

But Yan Wang had finally recovered, and he really ought to eat something hearty to nourish his body.

"There is nothing else. The kitchen said the mansion only has rice and red dates left, and even the rice is running low. They even asked when they would be given Silver to buy more rice," Luan'er said with a bitter expression.

Feng'er sighed, and fearing that Zhao Xu might blame Luan'er, she began to explain the situation in Yan Commandery.

"The Northern Di Cavalry pillage every year. The commoners are killed or abducted, and the grain they save up for the year is often snatched away completely. They suffer from hunger and cold, living in unspeakable misery."

"The Rich Clans of Yan Commandery, instead of helping the people, take advantage of the crisis. They use a few steamed buns or two or three bowls of porridge to lure starving commoners into trading their land, reducing them to dependents, servants, and slaves to till the fields for them."

Zhao Xu nodded.

Before the age of thirteen, Zhao Xu had received a formal Imperial Clan education.

The scholar responsible for his tutoring at the time had spoken to him about this.

This situation was not just an issue for one province or commandery, but a problem the entire Great Song was currently facing.

Due to historical reasons in this world, the influence of local Rich Clans within the Central Plains dynasties was deeply rooted.

Those with lesser influence controlled the power of a county or commandery, such as the current Rich Clans of Yan Commandery.

Those with greater influence controlled the power of an entire province or even several, such as the current Eight Great Influential Clans of the Great Song.

During the peak of the dynasty, the Imperial Clan could still suppress these Rich Clans, and they would obey the rule of the Imperial Court.

But as the Imperial Clan weakened and lost control over the various provinces and commanderies, they began to show signs of forming their own separatist regimes, standing on equal footing with the Imperial Clan.

At the founding of the Great Song, having learned the lesson of the previous dynasty's fall due to local Rich Clan forces, the state placed great importance on strengthening the Imperial Clan and implemented a system of enfeoffment specifically to counter the Rich Clans.

This was the reason for the Great Song's two hundred years of national longevity; otherwise, it likely would not have lasted a century.

However, the strength of the Imperial Clan was constantly consumed in the struggle against foreign tribes, and as one side waned and the other waxed, this balance was eventually broken.

And because Yanzhou, where he was located, was on the border—far from the Emperor and plagued by war—the local Rich Clans regarded the Imperial Clan as nothing.

To strengthen their own power, they also did everything in their power to squeeze the commoners.

"Is the Prince's Mansion also unable to collect taxes?" Zhao Xu pondered for a moment and asked.

"How did Your Highness know?" Feng'er was slightly surprised.

"The commoners have nothing to eat and cannot afford to pay taxes, while the Rich Clans have money. Since the officials of Yan Commandery all come from the Rich Clans, they naturally collude with one another to evade and avoid taxes." Zhao Xu stirred the porridge in his bowl unconsciously.

The historical trajectories of the two worlds were different, but human nature remained the same.

"Sigh, that is indeed the case. For these past three months, the Prince's Mansion has been using the Silver brought from Jinling," Feng'er shook her head gently.

"It's not just that," Luan'er added timidly. "To force the commoners to sell their land, the Rich Clans of Yan Commandery deliberately drive up the price of rice, so that even those who could originally afford to eat can no longer do so. They force them to sell their land, and our Prince's Mansion has also been affected. If this continues, we won't even have rice to eat."

In the memories Zhao Xu possessed, after arriving in Yan Commandery, the people in the Prince's Mansion had gradually become gaunt and sallow.

It was likely related to the mansion's lack of funds.

With no taxes coming in, there was naturally no money, and even if there were some tax money, it had to pass through the hands of the Yan Commandery officials first,

eventually reaching Zhang Han.

And that bastard Zhang Han would certainly line his own pockets; he would never leave any for the Prince's Mansion.

"Liu Fu, bring me the Account Book of the Prince's Mansion."

Zhao Xu finished the rice porridge, deciding to take over the affairs of the mansion.

If Yan Commandery continued to develop like this, aside from the Western Liang, the Northern Di, and the local Rich Clans, he feared the commoners would also rise in rebellion.

By then, he would only be able to lie down and wait for death.

Liu Fu left for a while and returned with an elderly man with greying hair.

This was Qin Zhangfang of the Prince's Mansion.

"Your Highness, I was also coerced by Zhang Han. Please spare my life, Your Highness, please spare my life..."

With Zhang Han detained, the news had spread throughout the mansion, and the old accountant naturally understood who was in charge now.

"As long as you confess honestly, this Prince will spare your life." Zhao Xu approached the old accountant.

These minor figures were just people doing their jobs; naturally, they did whatever Zhang Han told them to do, so there was no need to kill them all.

"Yes, Your Highness." Qin Zhangfang tremblingly held up the Account Book and flipped through it page by page for Zhao Xu to see.

Seeing that Zhao Xu's words were truly those of a sane person, he dared not deceive him further.

"In the three months since arriving in Yan Commandery, the Prince's Mansion has received a total of fifty taels of tax Silver from the Yan Commandery Government Office, all of which were taken away by Zhang Han under the pretext of renovating the Prince's Mansion."

"The three thousand mu of fertile land belonging to the Prince's Mansion were sold off by Zhang Han on the grounds that the mansion was strapped for cash. Each mu was sold for one qian of Silver, and this money was also taken by Zhang Han," the old accountant said.

"What!" Zhao Xu nearly fainted upon hearing this.

These three thousand mu of fertile land were his private property, allocated to him according to Imperial Clan statutes when he was enfeoffed in Yan Commandery.

The purpose was so that even without a single cent of tax revenue, the Prince's Mansion could live comfortably on the rent from these three thousand mu of land.

Zhang Han had actually sold them off, and at such a low price—he wondered how much of a kickback that bastard had taken.

"Is Zhang Han dead? If not, wake him up and beat him severely." Zhao Xu felt like killing someone.

"Right, beat him severely." Liu Fu pointed at two of the servants.

The two servants rolled up their sleeves and went off.

Zhao Xu still felt a heartache.

With no taxes and no fertile land left, it was equivalent to the Prince's Mansion having no income at all; how was he to support everyone from top to bottom?

After cursing, he looked hopefully at the old accountant and asked, "How much Silver does the Prince's Mansion currently have?"

"Less than forty taels. With the price of rice being so high now, if we use it sparingly, it will only last the Prince's Mansion another five or six days." The old accountant dared not speak a falsehood.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xu plopped down into his seat.

These forty-odd taels would be fine for one person, as in the Great Song, one tael of Silver was enough for an ordinary family to live on for a month.

But his Prince's Mansion had servants, house staff, and Staff Officers who all needed to eat and be paid their stipends.

Besides that, there were also the more than one hundred guards who had followed him from Jingshi.

These few dozen taels of Silver were simply not enough for anything.

What was even more fatal was that the Prince's Mansion had no income; now, money only went out and none came in.

It was no wonder Luan'er had been eyeing the two bowls of porridge with such longing.

If things went on like this, he would have to dismiss his servants, and he wouldn't even be able to afford a big bowl of dirt to eat.

With a long sigh, Zhao Xu told the old accountant to return.

He paced out of the bedchamber, gazing at the courtyard walls, roofs, and verandas of the Prince's Mansion, which were in a state of utter disrepair due to years of neglect.

He frowned and began to ponder deeply.

Clearly, the situation he was currently in was quite dire.

He could not count on the Rich Clans of Yan Commandery.

These bastards didn't even care about the Imperial Clan, so why would they pay any mind to him, an Imperial Prince who had lost his power and influence? If he starved to death, it would suit them even better.

If he wanted to control Yan Commandery, he had to rely on the common people of Yan Commandery; they were the foundation of the commandery.

However, wanting to win the hearts of these people could not be done just by talking.

After all, in their eyes, he was no different from the Rich Clans of Yan Commandery who exploited them.

Only by letting them have land to farm and food to eat could he gain their support.

To achieve this, the prerequisite was that the Prince's Mansion had to have land to distribute to them; after all, in ancient times, land was the lifeblood of the common people.

But at present, the land was in the hands of the Rich Clans of Yan Commandery; this seemed to be a vicious cycle.

And the only way to break this vicious cycle was to fight fire with fire: the Prince's Mansion would purchase a large amount of farmland, let the common people become dependent on the Prince's Mansion, and he would become the largest Rich Clan in Yan Commandery.

Once his wings were fully grown, he would then completely control Yan Commandery, eliminate the forces that defied him, and take full control.

"Silver!"

Zhao Xu had a preliminary plan in his heart; no matter what he did, he first needed a large amount of Silver.

He looked up at the scorching sun of the sixth month, the intense heat making him feel a wave of restlessness.

Suddenly, a method that could make the Rich Clans of Yan Commandery willingly hand over their Silver to him popped into his mind.

And all he would use was a little bit of Chemistry knowledge.