Chapter 183
After returning home, Fang Xuanling hesitated on whether to discuss the topic with his wife.
After Madam Lu heard the whole thing she was quite reluctant. Although she didn’t particularly like her nephew, she didn’t want to push him into marriage.
“My cousin though not particularly outstanding is still a member of the Lu family. How ccan we push him to marry a princess? Besides, even if you propose it, the Emperor might not agree. You’ll end up pleasing neither side.” Madam Lu then expressed her dissatisfaction with Li Yuanying. “If it were truly a good thing, Prince Teng wouldn’t have sought you out.”
Fang Xuanling fell silent, not daring enough to mention the boy’s constant slander to the Emperor, fearing that it would further fuel Lady Lu’s resentment.
The next day, the Emperor proactively inquired about Fang Xuanling’s conversation with his brother. Most people when they’ve been exposed about talking bad behind someone’s back, would proactively avoid the subject matter but not Li Yuanying. He is incredibly thick-skinned and even chase after the subject to talk to him.
Li Er is very interested in how Li Yuanying had persuaded Fang Xuanling.
Although Fang Xuanling hadn’t reached a conclusion with Lady Lu, he didn’t dare hide anything and updated the Emperor.
Yuanying’s greatest talent is his mouth; he can make even black seem white. After listening to everything, Li Er asked: “Minister Fang, what do you think?”
Hearing that he had to make a decision, Fang Xuanling’s expression turned somewhat bitter. He’s truly not good at making decisions, especially when he isn’t sure about the Emperor’s true thoughts.
After hesitating, he found a suitable excuse: “Since His Highness Prince Teng thinks so highly of them, this marriage should be a good match.”
“You trust him quite a bit.”
“The top scorers in both the Mingjing and Jinshi exams were all His Highness’s close friends, which shows that His Highness has an excellent eye for talent.”
At this point, Fang Xuanling actually sighed a little. Although Du He had been punished, in terms of future prospects, Du He is definitely better than Fang Jun. Back then, both sons were notorious playboys in Chang’an, but now Du He has improved, while his son remained unchanged!
The Emperor did not continue the conversation.
A few days later, the Emperor learned of the events between Gao Yang and Lu Zhaolin. Although the two children liked each other, they had not done anything inappropriate. Even exchange of documents were delivered to each other through Li Yuanying. Poor Li Yuanying was somewhat oblivious to love and was completely unaware of their subtle feelings.
Knowing that his daughter had not been abducted and that Li Yuanying had not knowingly violated any rules, Li Er’s mood improved somewhat.
Since Lu Zhaolin seemed suitable, betrothing Gao Yang to him was not out of the question.
But with Li Yuanying being so oblivious, the Emperor is now worried about letting his girls follow him out, lest his daughters get targeted again.
The Emperor stopped teasing Li Yuanying and told him his decision. Yuanying had no idea that in just a few days, the Emperor had thoroughly investigated everything. He only thinks that brother is now finally relaxed, and happily fawned over him for several days.
Since he had nothing to do while confined to the imperial palace, what was wrong with him running errands and massaging his brother’s shoulders?
So, although Li Yuanying didn’t leave the palace, the ministers saw him constantly hovering around the Emperor.
What a lackey!
No matter how much they couldn’t stand Li Yuanying, everyone could only grit their teeth silently. After all, the Emperor had drawn a wide boundary for his confinement, letting him run wild throughout the palace.
Before the New Year arrived, Yuanying who had been circling Li Er for over two months, finally had his first chance to leave the palace: to accompany the Emperor to Li Mountain for his birthday.
Although Cuiwei Palace was newly built, the hot springs at Li Mountain were more comfortable. The Emperor decided to spend his birthday there to enjoy a relaxing soak in the hot springs. Li Yuanying had been confined to the palace for almost three months, so Li Er dragged him along.
The year drew to a chaotic close.
For the Tang Empire, it was a peaceful year. But for Goryeo, it was anything but peaceful. And for Wo Country it was an even more turbulent year.
Prince Katsuragi plotted the assassination of Soga Iruka.
Emperor Kōgyoku abdicated.
The Soga clan which had enjoyed three generations of glory, finally exited the stage of history.
This change in power was won through fighting anf had created widespread chaos. Prince Katsuragi’s success in assassinating Soga Iruka boosted his reputation and Dai Ting received exceptional treatment.
This greatly facilitated Dai Ting’s plan.
The first thing he did was prepare a shipload of silver as a birthday gift for the Emperor from Li Yuanying.
This shipment is unremarkable in appearance so no one paid it much attention as it was shipped out. Yuanying got to know that Dai Ting is sending him something valuable and became curious.
“So much silver?!”
Upon closer inspection, the inventory even recorded some gold.
Real gold and silver!
Dai Ting had often brought back valuable items but never as impressive as real gold and silver. This is all pure, gleaming silver! Such a huge pile, as high as a small mountain, truly breathtaking!
Without hesitation, Yuanying immediately ordered the goods to be transported to the foot of Mount Li. The silver was carelessly wrapped and was transported unnoticed until the Imperial Guards during a routine inspection, uncovered it and were stunned: Had Prince Teng been illegally mining silver in Tengzhou?
The Imperial Guards immediately reported to the Emperor. Li Er was discussing matters with his ministers was surprised to hear that his younger brother arrived with cartloads of silver. They all went out to see what he was up to this time.
Yuanying was sulking. Why did they have to report this to his elder brother? This is a birthday surprise! Although he didn’t know exactly how much gold and silver is there, it filled so many carriages and looked quite impressive!
Now there is no more surprise!
The Emperor arrived at the side courtyard where the carriages were parked and saw Li Yuanying sulking like he was “extremely unhappy.” He is already of marriageable age, why is he still acting like a kid? It’s both worrying and frustrating.
Upon seeing Li Er, Yuanying jumped up and complain, “Brother, I wanted to surprise you, but they insisted on reporting it. Don’t blame me for not giving you a surprise on your birthday!”
“Where did you get so much gold and silver?” Judging from Li Yuanying’s excitement, it was clearly newly acquired, not something he had saved up in Tengzhou.
The mention of the gold and silver made Li Yuanying excited and he pulled Li Er aside to recount the things Dai Ting had briefly mentioned in his letter.
The key point being Dai Ting “accidentally” acquired a large silver mine in Wo Country. He was initially reluctant to buy land in there, given its distance from Tang and its status as a small island. Not the best place for property investment. However, the country was in turmoil and the local owner insisted on selling him the entire area, including the mountains and land. Dai Ting had no choice but to help them out of their predicament. To his surprise, he discovered a large silver mine within!
Because the people were displaced and suffering greatly from war, Dai Ting felt compassion for them and immediately selected a group of hardworking people to help mine the silver. The reason they were able to mine so much so quickly and refine it was because of these hardworking, struggling people who were trying to support their families!
The ease of silver mining and the low cost of labor greatly increased production. Seeing the silver accumulating and realizing the danger, Dai Ting secretly instructed his men to secretly transport the mined silver back.
The reason for doing this secretly is because the host country was in such a chaotic state that everyone hid their wealth! Even though Prince Katsuragi treated them with great courtesy, they couldn’t help but be wary.
Yuanying, in his own words, paraphrased Dai Ting’s brief description of “taking advantage of the chaos to seize a silver mine”. The Emperor remained expressionless, but the ministers were stunned by his shamelessness. Putting it like this, his deeds seem perfectly legitimate and righteous, even possessing a sliver of compassionate grandeur?!
But ultimately, wasn’t what he is doing simply taking advantage of the chaos to plunder valuable resources?!
This mine is in a foreign land so if Prince Teng had the capability to get it mined, no one in Tang could stop him. After all, it doesn’t belong to Tang, so no one in Tang would question it’s legibility.
Yuanying lifted the drab gray cloth covering each cart and the bright white color dazzling everyone’s eyes in the sunlight.
Yuanying explained his plan to Li Er: “I believe we should encourage our fleets to sail the seas. We should help those in need. If we find any mineral that Tang Empire can utilize, we should buy them back at fair prices. After all, mineral deposits take millions of years to form; once they’re used up, they’re gone. Unless absolutely necessary, we should avoid mining them, leaving more resources for future generations.”
The Emperor nodded, agreeing to the statement.
“However, we can’t let people go to sea on their own without permission, otherwise no one will know what they’re up to. Ships are different from ordinary small boats; they’re generally larger and less convenient to dock, requiring large, well-equipped wharves. In the future, we’ll build large wharves and set up customs offices in suitable locations. All goods entering and leaving will be inspected and subject to customs duties. No one can leave the sea without a permit issued by the customs! Since we’ll collect taxes, we must protect the people going to sea and prevent them from being bullied. Therefore, our naval forces must also be well-trained!” (Li Yuanying)
“The court has issued relevant decrees on these matters, but their implementation hasn’t been smooth.” (Li Er)
Not everyone is as fearless as Li Yuanying, unafraid of the vast ocean.
“At the beginning of the year, I moved to the seaside for a few months. I watched workers get up early to fish in the sea, so agile and nimble. Even though the seafood didn’t fetch a good price, they still worked diligently every day. Once you’re at the seaside, Your Majesty, you’ll understand. As the saying goes, ‘Those who live by the mountains eat from the mountains, those who live by the water eat from the water.’ Many who live by the sea make their living from the sea. They’ve been tossed about in the waves since birth; they’ve seen countless storms and huge waves, so they’re not afraid. What they lack is direction, a leader. If we give them direction, give them a leader, they can all roam the seas.” (Li Yuanying)
Li Er glared at him.
He was stopped many times before he was able to plan a trip to Mount Tai, yet this kid was playing everywhere, even trying his hand at sea.
When Li Yuanying saw Li Er garing at him, he understood. He had hit a nerve: brother wanted to go out and play but couldn’t!
To be honest, after being confined for three months Yuanying thinks this is not life for humans. His elder brother had seized the throne and is now bound to it, unable to enjoy his carefree and unrestrained life!
“Brother, I will present all these gold and silver to you when I celebrate your birthday.” This time, he wasn’t just presenting gold and silver but showing everyone that the world was vast and held immense treasures.
The wharf was completed. Once connected to the wide official road leading directly from Chang’an to Mount Tai, it would quickly become the Tang Dynasty’s premier trading port. With such convenient transportation and such enormous profits, how could they not be tempted? Those who had the opportunity to attend the Emperor’s birthday banquet were precisely the kind of people who would act on their impulses!
They possessed land and resources, manpower and wealth; even if they couldn’t muster a fleet themselves, acquiring three to five ships was no problem.
Those present were not fools; they immediately understood Yuanying’s implied meaning.
Previously, Wei Zheng and the others only thought Li Yuanying had many whimsical ideas but now they suddenly realized that his seemingly unrestrained ideas, when pieced together, resembled an incredibly intricate and powerful net!
With the seaport and connecting roads, the connection between Henan and Chang’an became even closer. Various regions would prioritize this route to minimize losses. Even those who hadn’t initially considered going out to sea would be tempted by the gold and silver presented, drawn to the “Treasure Island”!
Bringing back gold and silver after just a few days’ voyage seemed like a worthwhile investment, right?
Zhangsun Wuji is somewhat alarmed, his gaze towards Li Yuanying became increasingly serious.
Was Li Yuanying’s journey accidental or was it planned from the beginning? If it was planned, he probably isn’t as absurd and unruly as he appeared.
If his plan were to succeed, he would possess the largest seaport in Tang Dynasty, raking in a huge profit from customs duties alone each year.
Then, he would have soldiers, money, and the ability to import minerals! After his escapade and the ensuing commotion, the Emperor is not suspecting him at all!
Zhangsun Wuji felt it is necessary to give the Emperor another reminder.
Yuanying completely ignored the thoughts and continued boasting to the Emperor about Dai Ting’s capabilities. Next time, he would send Dai Ting to other places and have him bring back even more valuable goods.
The Emperor was in a good mood, so he let his younger brother sing praises about Dai Ting and boast about his own exceptional judgment. Of course, he thought Li Yuanying is talking nonsense. Looking at the people around Li Yuanying, he didn’t choose them based on talent or ability; but by appearance.
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Young Prince: Nonsense! After looking at their faces, I also checked their talents! (Pointing and gesturing)