Chapter 92: Each Has His Own Plans

Cai State and the Great Xia State are now like a pair of brothers; after dealing with the Prime Minister, they proceed to handle the related people. From generals to the Prime Minister’s butlers, and so on, everyone is being dealt with.

However, the situation is quite different. The Great Xia Emperor’s handling of the Prime Minister is actually part of a political struggle. The Emperor wants to reestablish the Crown Prince, and at this critical moment, the best way to reassert his authority is to use the Prime Minister as a scapegoat. In contrast, the struggle in Cai State is purely a power struggle between influential officials.

Moreover, although the Prime Minister of the Great Xia has been imprisoned, his life is not in danger, and neither is his family. They may just suffer a little public ridicule. On the other hand, the Prime Minister of Cai State is in a different situation; the lives of his entire family are in jeopardy.

On the other hand, the Great Xia State is already in turmoil; it’s no longer a case of a building about to collapse, but rather it’s already in the process of crumbling. Meanwhile, the domestic fight over the heir to the throne is still ongoing.

In contrast, Cai State is flourishing.

Additionally, with the Great Xia as a tempting prize, several neighboring countries are gearing up, all eager to take a bite.

For the time being, a storm is brewing within tens of thousands of miles around the Great Xia, with it as the center.

And within the Great Xia, various local separatist forces are also preparing to act, understanding that the time to ‘defend the king’ is imminent.

In Baofeng County, located in the northwest of Great Xia, this area is under the actual control of the eldest prince. It’s a vast county, approximately over 800 miles in circumference, much stronger compared to Anyang, which only covers about 50 miles. With a county of 800 miles, the foundation to establish a state is already in place.

Outside the eldest prince’s residence, the eldest prince, along with his officials, is bidding farewell to Li Wei.

The imperial decree has been delivered. After Li Wei returns, he is to oversee the construction of the royal tomb. Additionally, there is another decree announcing the removal of the eldest prince’s position as crown prince, and the second prince will be appointed as the new crown prince.

The eldest prince, holding Li Wei’s hand, spoke with a tone of sentiment, “General Li, I wish you a safe journey.”

Li Wei sighed, “Your Highness, take care. I will come back to visit when I have time.”

After Li Wei finished speaking and was about to turn around, the eldest prince still held onto his hand and did not let go. “General Li, we’ve known each other for several years after all. Before you leave, Xia Xu has a small request. This…”

Li Wei sighed inwardly, “Your Highness, please feel free to say it.”

“I want 200,000 sets of bearings and 300 jin of sea silk to prepare for the army’s counterattack against Cai State. General Li, could you help pass on this message?”

Li Wei’s heart tightened. The eldest prince’s intentions were clear; this talk of a counterattack on Cai State was probably just a pretext for building up his own military strength.

However, this was not a request that could be refused. After thinking it over, Li Wei finally responded honestly, “Your Highness, I will certainly pass on the message. But as for how things will turn out, I cannot be sure. My younger brother is the one who handles commercial matters.”

The eldest prince immediately smiled, “No problem, no problem. Just delivering the message is enough. Additionally, I’ve prepared a few gifts. Could I trouble General Li to take them to my sister, Xia Qingqing?”

Li Wei suddenly realized. So the prince had gone in circles with his words—passing the message to Li Xian was just incidental; his true intention was to achieve his goal through Xia Qingqing!

But once words are spoken, they can’t be taken back. Li Wei could only accept the gifts and, along with his hundred or so personal soldiers, depart.

After Li Wei left, the eldest prince narrowed his eyes, and a cold gleam seemed to flash in them. It was unclear what he was thinking.

“Your Highness, let’s head back. We still have many things to attend to.” Standing beside the eldest prince was Yuan Cai, the elder brother of Yuan Zhao. With Li Wei gone, Yuan Cai was secretly quite pleased.

The eldest prince gazed into the distance for a long time before finally withdrawing his gaze. He then looked at Yuan Cai and asked, “Yuan Cai, do you think Li Xian will really sell us 200,000 sets of bearings and 300 jin of sea silk?”

“He will, Your Highness,” Yuan Cai replied confidently. “From what I’ve observed, although Li Xian has changed somewhat, he’s still deeply engrossed in his strange ideas of strengthening the nation through industry and commerce, and remains fixated on the concept of the market.

As long as we express willingness to open Baofeng County’s market, Li Xian will undoubtedly rush to us.

Moreover, with the princess’s help, it’s a sure thing.”

“Mm!” The First Prince finally nodded confidently. From beginning to end, no one mentioned the so-called matter of changing the Crown Prince.

In fact, for the First Prince and for the current political situation of the Great Xia Kingdom, as long as he controls Baofeng County, whether or not he holds the title of Crown Prince is no longer important!

As for Li Wei, after leaving the First Prince, he sped up his pace. He traveled non-stop and, in just two days, rushed back to Wuyang, where he met the frowning Li Yulong.

“Father, I’m back!” Li Wei shouted as soon as he entered the house.

“What’s with all the shouting!” Li Yulong was still troubled. “Hurry over here and take charge of the construction of the imperial mausoleum.”

“Isn’t the construction of the imperial mausoleum easy? Can it be harder than leading troops into battle?”

“See for yourself.” Li Yulong pulled Li Wei over, then went off to the side to drink tea, acting like a hands-off manager. It seems that this hands-off style of Li Xian also runs in the family.

Li Wei, without caring about the dust covering him, immediately leaned over the desk to take a look. As soon as he did, he began to cry out in shock. “What? The Emperor isn’t contributing a single penny and wants our family to pay? Not only pay, but also provide labor! The mausoleum can’t be too shabby; it has to be grander and more magnificent than any of the previous imperial mausoleums in the Great Xia Kingdom!

And what’s with this strange requirement? The construction of the mausoleum should avoid the use of magic as much as possible?

Oh, and there’s another requirement: His Majesty the Emperor has already entered the state of ‘Five Declines of Heaven and Man,’ and his life can only last at most three more years, so we must complete the mausoleum within two years?

This is absolutely impossible! I remember that it usually takes over ten, even dozens of years to build an imperial mausoleum!”

Li Yulong quietly listened to Li Wei finish before slowly speaking. “You forgot one more condition. In order to build the mausoleum without using magic, we will need to recruit a large number of laborers.”

Li Wei was stunned. “Laborers? Where in the current Great Xia Kingdom are we going to find laborers! Even if we manage to recruit enough, we don’t have enough food for them. Father, it’s impossible to finish building this mausoleum! Why didn’t you just refuse it in the first place!”

“Refuse? You say it so easily. Actually, this is the Emperor’s way of protecting our Li family; hmm, it’s also a form of constraint!”

Li Wei was bewildered. “Father, your words are too profound. I don’t understand.”

“If you don’t understand, then never mind. Just remember that building the mausoleum is a good thing. Why didn’t His Majesty allocate funds for us? Simply put, it’s because he wants us to spend money to buy peace!”

“I still don’t understand…” Li Wei said, feeling awkward.

Li Yulong let out a long sigh. “Second son, just continue being a general. Don’t get involved in political matters.”

Li Wei was not convinced. “I’ll go ask Third Brother; he probably doesn’t understand either.”

Li Yulong waved his hand. “Go ahead, go to Anyang and find your third brother. If you want to build the mausoleum, you’ll really need his support. Who would’ve thought, in just a year and a half, he managed to turn things around so much.”

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