Chapter 88: Uncle and Nephew

"Slow down, Imperial Uncle, don't choke, have some Wine."

In the Yan Prince Mansion, within a pavilion by the lotus pond in the East Courtyard, Zhao Xu and Prince Chun sat facing each other.

At this moment, Prince Chun was wolfing down the food spread across the table.

"Fragrant, it is truly fragrant." Prince Chun held a roasted chicken in his hand, his mouth covered in grease.

During those few days in the desolate village, he had eaten poorly and slept poorly, suffering every hardship.

As soon as he arrived in Yancheng, he had Zhao Xu prepare a sumptuous meal for him.

Although the chicken, fish, meat, and eggs laid out on this table were not as exquisite or as fresh as those in Jingshi, he found them delicious right now.

"Mm-mm, drink, drink, ah..." Prince Chun picked up his wine cup and drained it in one gulp, then let out a satisfied sigh.

"Worthy Nephew, I must say, the Wine you brew is truly excellent. It has sold like crazy in Jingshi. I, your Imperial Uncle, even hoarded a thousand jars. Now, when I entertain guests, if I don't bring out this Wine, I really have no face." Prince Chun gnawed on a piece of roasted chicken and glanced around. "Speaking of which, you sell ice and you sell Wine, you've earned quite a bit of Silver. You should renovate this Prince Mansion; you cannot lose the dignity of the Imperial Clan."

Zhao Xu smiled. "Although I have earned quite a bit of Silver, my expenses as your nephew are also great. Yan Commandery can be said to be destitute, and the Prince Mansion, in order to win over the hearts of the people, collects only light taxes. It can be said that all the expenditures of Yan Commandery are covered by the Prince Mansion."

Prince Chun nodded. "It is indeed not easy for you, Worthy Nephew. However, if you did not have such magnanimity, it would indeed be difficult to gain a firm foothold in Yan Commandery. Regarding this, the Emperor also agrees."

The Yan Wang's measures in Yan Commandery had now spread to Jingshi.

Regarding the Yan Wang's method of spending Silver to buy land from the Rich Clans, many people thought he was a fool.

But in his view, it was precisely this foolishness that saved the Yan Wang.

"Oh? Is that so?" Zhao Xu felt a sense of relief in his heart.

However, it was within reason that Zhao Heng would approve of him doing this; after all, every monarch hopes that all land under heaven belongs to the King.

And the ones who were likely unhappy were the powerful clans in the Imperial Court.

Because this method would undoubtedly weaken their power.

"Mm, this is what the Emperor said himself, though it is a bit costly in Silver." Prince Chun laughed. "However, with your intelligence and talent, Worthy Nephew, you seem to have already solved this matter. On the road here, I heard many merchants talking about the Yan Commandery Trading Firm; otherwise, I wouldn't have had a sudden inspiration to have someone send a letter to the firm."

"Your nephew only has some small cleverness. However, while business goods are important, connections are equally important; otherwise, this business cannot continue. Therefore, I hope that after you return to Jingshi, Imperial Uncle, you can take extra care of your nephew's business."

"Easily done, easily done. You saved my life, so I can certainly help with this small favor. Whoever dares to cause trouble for your people in Jingshi, just have your people come find me." Prince Chun patted his chest.

Hearing this, Zhao Xu raised his wine cup. "Then many thanks, Imperial Uncle."

The two drank a few more cups together, and Prince Chun was finally full.

At this time, he remembered the main business of this trip. "Qiusheng said you have already seen the Imperial Edict. There are only two matters for this trip: first, you have rendered meritorious service in beheading the Northern Di, so the Emperor specially permits you to expand the Prince's Personal Army to thirty thousand men."

"The second matter is the military supply list. This year, the Imperial Court has removed that 'Blood-Replenishing Pill' from the military supplies and replaced it with your Secret Medicine. It totals eight hundred thousand taels of Silver. You are to send the goods to Yanguan now; once the goods arrive, the Imperial Court's Silver will arrive shortly thereafter."

"Eight hundred thousand taels." Zhao Xu exclaimed inwardly, feeling a surge of excitement.

This was a military supply order; as long as his medicine gained recognition, this business would be stable.

From now on, whenever the Imperial Court needed it, they would send him Silver.

And the cost of Allicin could be said to be extremely low; it was practically a business with a ten-thousand-fold profit.

Most importantly, this opened a door for him leading to military supply trade.

He could sell medicine this time, and in the future, he might be able to sell other things.

"This is naturally no problem. Your nephew has already ordered a batch to be prepared, and I will have it sent to Yanguan today," Zhao Xu said.

Prince Chun nodded. "That is perfect, I shall accompany this batch of goods."

"

"Why is Imperial Uncle leaving in such a hurry? Could it be that your nephew's hospitality was lacking?" Hearing that Prince Chun wanted to leave as soon as he arrived, Zhao Xu looked puzzled.

Prince Chun wore a bitter expression. "This time, the Emperor insisted that I make this trip; it was truly not my wish. Now I just want to get things settled and hurry back to Jingshi to enjoy myself."

Zhao Xu was suddenly left speechless; it turned out the rumors about this Imperial Uncle were not false at all.

He said, "Since that is the case, your nephew will not detain you, Imperial Uncle."

Prince Chun nodded. "Remember to send more men to protect me on the way to Yanguan; this Yanzhou is too dangerous."

Zhao Xu was amused and exasperated. He called over a servant and ordered him to go to the North Camp and tell Lv Chang to bring one thousand men to escort Prince Chun.

Hearing this, Prince Chun nodded with satisfaction. "That Lv Chang is not bad; he is a fierce general."

Then, pausing, he said, "But is it really unnecessary to tell the Emperor about the Zhang Family colluding with the Northern Di this time?"

"It is unnecessary. Song Ya is already dead, and there is no proof. Moreover, your nephew does not want to alert the enemy," Zhao Xu said.

On the way back, he had already thought of a countermeasure.

If the Zhang Family wanted to collude with the Northern Di to get rid of him, then he would use this opportunity to set a trap, let the Northern Di suffer losses, and incidentally finish off the Zhang Family.

"Mm, in that case, take care of yourself, Worthy Nephew." Prince Chun cupped his hands.

In the afternoon.

The Secret Medicine to be sent to Yanguan was ready, and Zhao Xu escorted Prince Chun to the North Gate.

He watched as Prince Chun departed.

"This time, Song Ya kidnapped Prince Chun, but ended up doing a favor for His Highness." The officials of Yan Commandery and Zhao Xu had come out together to see him off.

Seeing Prince Chun's figure disappear, Xu Lie laughed.

Zhao Xu shook his head. "You are overthinking it. Prince Chun's attitude is merely the Emperor's attitude. If there were a conflict of interest, he would not care that I saved his life this time."

"The Imperial Clan is the most heartless; so it is true." Liu Fu sighed slightly.

He was well-versed in the past and present, so he naturally understood the bloody affairs of the Imperial Clan in history.

Chang Wei had kept a cold face from beginning to end. After the other officials dispersed, he said, "Your Highness, let this subordinate take men to raid the Zhang Family. Such wolf-hearted, ungrateful people who collude with the enemy—what is the use of keeping them?"

He hated traitors who colluded with foreign enemies the most.

Upon learning of Zhang Kang's plan, he had been so angry he nearly jumped.

Liu Fu was always calculating and was much more composed than Chang Wei.

He said, "No wonder Zhang Kang pretended to be loyal; it was a delaying tactic. This person is indeed deep in his schemes. However, moving against the Zhang Family at this time will inevitably alert the enemy and might instead cause the Northern Di to change their plans. It would be better to dig a pit right here and let them jump into it."

Zhao Xu nodded. Liu Fu's thinking was consistent with his own most of the time.

"We shall accompany the Zhang Family in playing this charade for another two months."

Turning to Chang Wei, he said, "The Emperor has permitted this Prince to expand the Personal Army to thirty thousand men, and with two months remaining, there is enough time for recruitment and training; you are to set about this immediately."

Upon hearing this, the anger on Chang Wei's face instantly transformed into wild joy, "Hehe, that is wonderful, this general will go post the notices right away."

With a heavy cupping of his fists, he turned and left.

Liu Fu and Zhao Xu exchanged a glance, both revealing expressions of helplessness.