Chapter 4: The Contempt of the Rich Clans

"Liu Fu, take this prince's written order and invite the Rich Clans of Yan Commandery over."

Zhao Xu returned to the bedchamber, and Feng'er and Luan'er brought over the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.

As the saying goes, to take something first, one must first give something.

At present, his fist was not as big as the Rich Clans of Yan Commandery; meeting them head-on would not work.

After all, in this chaotic, desolate borderland, they had a hundred ways to make him meet an untimely death.

Therefore, on the surface, he still needed to feign a good relationship with them to lull them into complacency.

Of course, his most important goal was to swindle the wealth they had plundered from Yan Commandery out of their pockets.

At the same time, this was also a test; he wanted to see the attitudes of the different Rich Clans in Yan Commandery toward him, so as to win some over and divide others.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Liu Fu waited to the side.

Once Zhao Xu had finished writing, Feng'er went to the front courtyard gatehouse to retrieve the Seal of the Yan Prince, which had been usurped by Zhang Han, and stamped it onto the written order.

Seeing that Zhao Xu's handwriting was beautiful, all three of them wore expressions of joy.

That Zhao Xu could do this meant he had truly recovered.

Zhao Xu was also very satisfied with his own handwriting; this was merely a physical memory from the Ninth Prince that he had inherited.

Taking the written order, Liu Fu turned to leave.

At this moment, a burst of fighting sounds suddenly came from outside the Prince Mansion.

Zhao Xu's heart tightened; Zhang Han had just been imprisoned, and yet someone had already attacked the gates. It must be that someone inside the mansion had colluded with those outside and leaked the news.

They wanted to take advantage of his unstable footing to regain control over him.

After all, the world knew he was a Mad King; as long as they imprisoned him again, even if he were not mad, they could continue to claim to the outside world that he was.

Thereby continuing to issue orders in the name of the Prince Mansion.

"Your Highness..."

Luan'er was the most timid and was instinctively afraid when encountering such things; her hand could not help but rest on Zhao Xu's arm, while Feng'er stood with her hands on her hips, her willow-leaf brows arched in anger.

"You stay here; this prince will be back shortly." Zhao Xu's expression was solemn as he gently held Luan'er's hand; the smooth, soft sensation made his heart flutter.

At this moment, a sudden surge of passion rose in his heart.

He was standing on his own fief, and he was holding the hand of his Beauty.

Since he had come to this world, he must protect all of this!

He clenched his fist.

He led Liu Fu and over ten servants as he walked toward the outside.

He was someone who had already died once, so what was there to fear? Even dying again was better than being imprisoned in the bedchamber.

Otherwise, what meaning would such a life have?

Liu Fu and the servants exchanged glances.

All of them had made the resolution to follow Zhao Xu; for them, wealth and glory lay in this.

If they chose correctly, the Yan Wang would surely treat them generously in the future, so despite the danger, they still went.

The Yan Prince Mansion was not large; it could be said to be both small and dilapidated.

For a proper Prince Mansion, it was no more than fifty meters from front to back; the group reached the main gate of the mansion in just a few steps.

They saw a group of servants in green clothes wielding blades and swords, entangled in a fight with the mansion guards; over ten servants and guards had fallen to the ground.

"Whose servants are you? Such dog-boldness, daring to trespass into the Prince Mansion!"

A commander clad in iron-brown Armor stood at the forefront.

"We come under the orders of the Prince's Tutor Zhang; someone in the mansion is secretly harming the Yan Wang, and we have come to rescue him. If you are sensible, move aside, or else you will be charged with the crime of rebellion!" a lead servant shouted.

"Nonsense! This prince is here. Zhang Han has committed treason and has already been captured by this prince. If you do not retreat now, you shall be executed for insurrection!" Zhao Xu shouted loudly.

"The Yan Wang!"

The commander turned his head to see it was Zhao Xu and exclaimed in surprise.

Upon hearing this, the fighting servants exchanged glances.

The lead servant said, "The Yan Wang has already taken control of the mansion. I fear our small numbers cannot break in for the moment. It will be troublesome once the mansion's reinforcements arrive. Take the wounded and retreat, lest we be captured and leave behind evidence."

"Agreed."

Having said this, the servants hoisted the wounded and retreated while covering one another.

The commander hesitated for a moment and did not order a pursuit.

There were not many guards on duty at the front of the Prince Mansion to begin with, and over ten were injured; if he pursued them now, he feared falling for their trick of luring the tiger away from the mountain, which would leave the mansion in danger.

After glaring at the fleeing servants for a while, he went to check on the injuries of the guards. As if suddenly remembering something, he sheathed his sword and strode toward Zhao Xu.

"This person is called Chang Wei."

Zhao Xu found information about this person in his memories.

He was the Commander of the guards chosen for him by the Emperor Zhao Heng from the Imperial Guard, responsible for commanding the one hundred guards of the Prince Mansion.

From the time Feng'er used Chang Wei to threaten him when she was being bullied by Zhang Han, it seemed this person was not on the same side as Zhang Han, which made him feel somewhat fortunate.

It was precisely because he had figured this out that he decided to act boldly.

"Greetings, Your Highness."

Arriving before Zhao Xu, Chang Wei cupped his fists heavily, his Armor emitting a clinking sound of metal striking metal.

"Rise."

Zhao Xu's gaze was still on the fleeing servants.

These people were clearly servants and slaves raised by the Rich Clans.

The Rich Clans of Yan Commandery were actually this rampant, daring to collude with the Prince's Tutor to deal with him.

From this, one can see their contempt for the Yan Prince Mansion.

"I heard Your Highness's madness had been cured; it seems that is true now." After saluting, Chang Wei looked Zhao Xu up and down, his tone indifferent.

According to regulations, guards are not permitted to enter the Prince Mansion without orders.

Therefore, he had only just learned that the Yan Wang's madness had healed itself.

"That is indeed the case." Zhao Xu frowned.

This Commander of the guards had a very cold expression, unlike Feng'er and Luan'er who were happy.

But that was to be expected; from Jingshi all the way to Yan Commandery, he had no interaction with this Commander.

Zhang Han communicated with him about everything.

"Congratulations, Your Highness. However, since Your Highness has recovered, could you pay us our three months of salary? The soldiers are famished and so hungry they cannot even lift their swords; otherwise, how could these petty thieves have injured them?" Chang Wei cupped his hands again.

He knew he shouldn't bring up such matters at a time like this, but he truly could not help it.

Whether Zhao Xu was mad or not was irrelevant to him; he simply did not want to watch his brothers go hungry while protecting the Yan Prince Mansion any longer.

His temper had always been this way—straightforward and explosive—and he did not know how to flatter, so he had never been liked by his superiors in the Imperial Guard.

That was why he had been schemed against, recommended to the Emperor, and assigned to the Yan Wang.

Coming to Yan Commandery was not his own wish.

But since he had come, he could only resign himself to his fate, hoping to resist the Northern Di and fulfill his ambitions as a man.

What he had not expected was that after arriving at the fief, let alone fighting the Northern Di, he and the guards had not received a single coin of salary for three consecutive months.

They had all brought their families along with them.

Now, every household was struggling to make ends meet.

In the past, whenever he asked Zhang Han about the salary, Zhang Han would use it to manipulate him, wanting him to be completely submissive in all things.

He naturally refused, and thereafter, Zhang Han kept making excuses.

Now that he saw Zhao Xu, coupled with the fact that many guards were injured, his explosive temper could no longer be contained.

"Salary?"

Zhao Xu recalled at this moment that there was no record in the Account Book of these guards having been paid their salaries for these three months.

This money had apparently been swallowed by Zhang Han.

"To tell you the truth, your salaries have all been embezzled by Zhang Han, and there is no Silver left in the Mansion's accounts." Zhao Xu sighed helplessly.

As soon as these words were spoken, Chang Wei and the guards were like cats whose tails had been stepped on, and many guards gathered around.

They were already resentful because their pay had been withheld.

Now, having been injured while protecting the Mansion, the Yan Wang's claim that the Mansion had no Silver left made their hearts go completely cold.

"We risk our lives to protect Your Highness, yet Your Highness is truly a stingy miser who won't part with a single hair."

"No Silver? You're lying!"

"This damn job isn't worth doing anyway."

"..."

The guards were agitated and indignant, and Chang Wei was even more furious.

In the Imperial Guard, he had heard and seen generals and nobles in the imperial court engaging in corruption and graft, withholding the soldiers' military pay.

He had long since lost any good feelings for the powerful and influential of the Great Song.

He instinctively assumed Zhao Xu was no different from them, so he said sternly:

"Your Highness, do not joke. With such a large family estate, the Mansion cannot even pay our salaries? Is it that Your Highness is just like Zhang Han, simply unwilling to part with the Silver?"

Zhao Xu thought to himself that it was bad.

As the saying goes, soldiers fight for food; throughout history, mutinies caused by withheld military pay were everywhere.

If the guards rebelled, he would lose his only source of strength.

Therefore, he had to stabilize the guards immediately.

"Give this Prince three days; even if I have to sell the Mansion, I will pay your salaries," Zhao Xu said decisively.

When interrogating the old accountant, the old accountant said that Zhang Han had secretly transported the embezzled Silver back to Jingshi a few days ago.

Therefore, the Mansion really only had a few dozen taels of Silver left right now, making it impossible to pay the salaries.

And these few dozen taels of Silver still had to be used for the plans he was devising.

Now, his only hope was that his plans would succeed.

"Fine, this general will wait three more days," Chang Wei cupped his hands. "Your Highness, the soldiers are not greedy people. Today, they also risked their lives to protect Your Highness; I hope Your Highness will not let us feel disheartened."

Zhao Xu looked at the guards groaning on the ground, feeling a wave of guilt in his heart.

Even with their pay withheld, these guards still fought so desperately; they were all upright men.

"This Prince keeps his word." Zhao Xu's expression was solemn; he was definitely not trying to fool Chang Wei.

Putting himself in their shoes, if he wanted to earn the respect of these guards, he had to act the part.

Chang Wei nodded and told the guards to disperse.

Zhao Xu then gave a look to Liu Fu.

Liu Fu understood and took the written order to invite the Rich Clans of Yan Commandery, arriving first at the Zhang Family residence.

"The Yan Wang's madness has been cured?"

At this moment, in the Zhang Family's garden, three middle-aged men were tasting tea and chatting.

After Liu Fu stated his purpose, the man sitting in the seat of honor showed a look of feigned surprise.

He was the Head of the Family of the Zhang Family, the number one Rich Clan of Yan Commandery, Zhang Qian.

"Please tell Your Highness that I am feeling unwell and fear I cannot go in person; I will send servants from the residence to pay a visit this afternoon." Zhang Qian gently blew on the hot water in his teacup.

The smile on Liu Fu's face froze and then smoothed out.

Before coming, he had already anticipated this would be the case.

The contempt the Rich Clans of Yan Commandery hold for the Yan Prince Mansion is rumored even among the common people.

Since the founding of Great Song over two hundred years ago, Yan Commandery has always been the world of the Rich Clans of Yan Commandery; the Rich Clans control all affairs, large and small, in the commandery here.

Now that an Yan Wang has suddenly arrived, wanting to stand above them and take away their power, they are naturally unhappy.

Moreover, Yanzhou is currently in a state of chaos, and the common people have no choice but to rely on the Rich Clans of Yan Commandery to defend against the incursions of the Northern Di, which has exacerbated the decline of the Imperial Clan's authority.

"I will report this truthfully to His Highness." Liu Fu did not say much more and turned to leave.

"Wait, just say that the Huang Family and the Du Family cannot go either; servants will be sent instead." The other two middle-aged men revealed mocking smiles.

Liu Fu snorted coldly in his heart and walked straight away.

He knew clearly that the Zhang Family, Du Family, and Huang Family of Yan Commandery were in-laws and were all birds of a feather.

"Heh heh, the mad Yan Wang thinks that just because he is better, he can command us? What a joke." After Liu Fu left, Zhang Qian sneered.

The Head of the Family of the Huang Family, Huang Yu, echoed, "Exactly. His mother's family was merely a humble household, without power or influence. Even when he wasn't mad, he wasn't favored by the Emperor. It is said that in the palace, because his mother's family background was lowly, he was often bullied by other Imperial Princes and even crawled through the crotch of another Imperial Prince, hahahaha..."

"Truly laughable. He is likely the most base Imperial Prince since the founding of Great Song." The Head of the Family of the Du Family, Du Ming, was full of disdain on his face.

"Hmph, so at the very least, he should have some self-awareness. Nowadays, which of the officials in Yan Commandery does not come from our few families? If he were sensible, he should be the one coming to pay us a visit; otherwise, he shouldn't think about staying in Yan Commandery."

"Hahahaha, indeed. But it's a pity, how did this madness heal itself? What business does he have looking for us?"

"It must be about the farmland. That Zhang Han sold all the mansion's farmland to us; I'm afraid the mansion will soon be unable to put food on the table, hahahaha..." Zhang Qian laughed loudly.

Huang Yu and Du Ming laughed in unison.

"Then there is nothing to worry about. We are engaged in fair trade and haven't broken the law; he can't do anything to us. If he really is not sensible, at worst we can spend some Silver to find some desperate scoundrels and kill him."

"Oh, right, our people have withdrawn. That Chang Wei is quite capable of fighting; we missed the opportunity, otherwise we would have definitely let this Yan Wang be imprisoned until he died."

He ran around for the whole morning.

At noon, Liu Fu returned to the mansion full of anger.

He told Zhao Xu about the situation.

After Liu Fu left, Zhao Xu went to the gatehouse.

This was the place where Zhang Han handled government affairs.

Here, he browsed through many official documents and gained a basic understanding of the mansion and Yan Commandery.

"Your Highness, these Rich Clans of Yan Commandery are too detestable." Liu Fu complained.

He was originally a poor scholar whose elderly mother was seriously ill and had no money for treatment, so he sold himself to the mansion in exchange for a few taels of broken Silver to buy medicine.

Because he deeply understood the hardships of the common people, he had no good feelings toward the Rich Clans to begin with.

This trip had made him furious.

"Sit down and rest, you're covered in sweat." Zhao Xu's expression was as usual.

Liu Fu felt a warmth in his heart, but he did not sit down; Zhao Xu's friendliness made him feel flattered.

After all, he had always been ordered around in the mansion before.

"This is the reason I asked you to invite the Rich Clans of Yan Commandery: to roughly figure out who is an enemy and who can be won over." Zhao Xu said while closing the Household Register of Yan Commandery.

He knew very well that the mansion was currently weak and the Rich Clans of Yan Commandery were powerful.

He deeply hated the Rich Clans of Yan Commandery for bullying him, but he had no power to deal with them at the moment and could only plan slowly.

So, just as the great man said, he had to unite all forces that could be united to deal with the true enemy.

Relying on the common people of Yan Commandery was correct, but he also needed to win over the usable forces among the Rich Clans to strengthen his own power.

Liu Fu had read books and was a clever person, so he understood instantly.

The Rich Clans of Yan Commandery could not be of one mind; they often fought like dogs for profit, after all, where there are people, there is conflict.

Those in the Rich Clans who had the upper hand would naturally look down on the mansion, while those who had the lower hand would naturally think of using the mansion to suppress their opponents.

In this way, the mansion could win over some Rich Clans to resist another part of the Rich Clans.

Thinking of this, Liu Fu showed a look of admiration.

The Yan Wang had not only recovered from his madness, but now also displayed the intelligence that an Imperial Prince should have.

He admitted that knocking out that servant had an element of gambling, but clearly, he had bet correctly.

This Yan Wang was not a stupid person.