Start Being a Vassal King Today - Chapter 13

[Chapter 13 The Big Picture]

Grand Plan After walking around the large connected courtyards, Zhao Xu made a decision.

The current palace is too small to accommodate too many things.

But the addition of the three yards is not small.

He can completely place the small government office to be established in the palace.

the most important is.

The silver brought by the ice making technique obviously couldn’t meet his needs for building the fief.

As for how much profit the southward selling of ice can bring is still unknown.

After all, the ice-making method is too easy to leak. Before the technology is leaked, each company can make back their capital, and a little profit would be good.

If the Wangfu wants to have a continuous and rich income, it has to rely on other lucrative goods that are difficult to copy technology.

And if he wanted to trial-produce these things, he naturally had to have a place.

Similarly, the safest place is the palace.

Xu Lie sent guards as ordered.

Zhao Xu returned to the palace and waited in the living room of the middle courtyard.

Not long after, three young men entered the palace.

“I’m Dong An, I’m Yang He, I’m Lu Chang, see Your Highness.” The

three young men bowed and saluted.

“Excuse me.” Zhao Xuxu hesitated.

Among the three, Dong An is short, fat and white, wearing a blue silk brocade robe.

Yang He is tall and thin, wearing a yellow brocade suit.

Lu Chang was of medium height, very strong, and was dressed in a purple robe.

“Your Highness, according to the royal palace’s kind invitation, my father should come in person, but my father thinks that in the next few days, he will be about the same age as His Highness, and it will be easier to talk, so that His Highness won’t get bored with them.” Dong An explained.

“When Your Highness sent someone here, I was at Dong’s house. The Yang family in this yard gave out some money, so I came boldly. I hope His Highness will not blame you.” Yang He added.

Lu Chang seemed to be more interested in Xu Lie who was beside Zhao Xu in military uniform.

After the two finished talking, they looked at Zhao Xu.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” Zhao Xu asked his servant to watch the seats for the three of them.

And let the servants serve tea.

He knew what the three families of Dong Yang and Lu were thinking, and they just wanted to use the convenience of talking among the young people so that the children in the family could get acquainted with Zhao Xu.

It’s more productive than having them show up.

After taking a sip of tea, Zhao Xu didn’t make any detours.

“Inviting everyone to come today is actually just for a simple matter, that is, the courtyards on both sides of the palace. The king is willing to buy it back at the original price. How about it?” The

three of them looked at each other.

Dong An laughed and said, “It turns out that this is the matter. I can decide to give the courtyard to the palace without taking any money.”

Yang He and Lu Chang also nodded, “We are the same.”

When King Yan first arrived in Yan County, they naturally didn’t think much of it. A crazy Yan King, that’s why he dared to buy the courtyards on both sides of the palace.

At that time, they didn’t spend much silver, and the total of the three families was only more than 8,000 taels.

Now that King Yan has returned to normal, how dare they use these two courtyards, it is better to send them out as a favor.

“This is so embarrassing.” Zhao Xu pretended to give way, but he was happy in his heart.

It seems that these three families have now made up their minds to establish a good relationship with the Wangfu.

In this way, his strategy of attracting and disintegrating the powerful clan in Yan County will be no problem.

“Hey, Your Highness, please accept it, otherwise we will feel uneasy.” Dong An was very talkative, and immediately showed an intimate gesture.

“It’s the same with me.” Lu Chang echoed.

Yang He nodded.

Zhao Xu showed a smile on his face, he didn’t expect to solve the matter so easily.

The four of them sat facing each other, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

At this time, Dong An suggested, “Let the servants go back and get the title deed of the yard. It’s almost noon now, the long summer is long, and it’s extremely boring. I don’t know if His Highness wants to go to the Jinlin Pond in Beicheng to cool off.”

Zhao Xu wanted to refuse.

But when I think about it, since I came to Yan County, I don’t know a little about Yan City, so I should go out for a walk, otherwise I will become a boudoir and resentful woman.

Moreover, in the past few days, he has become increasingly pessimistic about the situation in Yan County.

The three families of Zhang, Huang and Du are powerful, and the prefect of Yan County comes from the Zhang family, not to mention.

The general sentence in charge of the arrest and prison in Yan County came from the Huang family.

What’s more, the captain of the three thousand soldiers in Yan County is the Du family.

It’s no wonder that these three families despised and hated Prince Yan’s Mansion so much.

If there is no Yanwang Mansion, they are the local emperors of Yanjun.

Therefore, in this case, it is even more necessary for him to win over the three families of Dong Yang and Lu, and as far as he knows, these three families in Yan County can be regarded as white lotus flowers compared to the Zhang family.

“Okay, this king has exactly that intention.” Zhao Xu stood up.

When the three of them heard this, they all became excited.

In fact, they had no choice but to risk offending the three families of Zhang, Huang and Du to get close to the Yan Palace.

Originally, although there was a huge disparity in the power among the noble families in Yan County, the difference was not too much.

Although everyone has blushed because of fighting for profit, they have not yet reached the point of endless death.

But since Zhang Kang, Zhang Qian’s younger brother, married a concubine from the Yuan family in Fanyang County, Yanzhou, Yan County has changed.

This Yanzhou Yuan family is not a small wealthy family like them.

Except for the state shepherd of Yanzhou who belonged to the Yuan family, there were five prefects in the seven counties of Yanzhou who were either from the Yuan family or were followers of the Yuan family.

In addition, the direct descendants of the Yuan family served as officials and generals in the capital and the Dasong Army.

Therefore, with the support of the Yuan family, the Zhang family was in full swing, and together with the Huang family and the Du family, they easily won the power of Yan County.

Since then, they have competed with them in all aspects and suppressed them, with the intention of annexing their wealth.

Before King Yan came, they could only watch helplessly as their own interests were damaged, and they had no choice but to do anything.

But now, King Yan has returned to normal, and they have found hope of safeguarding their own interests.

A group of people left the palace and went to the street.

The scenery of Yancheng came oncoming.

Among the seven counties in Yanzhou, Yan County is the poorest.

It is bordered by Yanshan Mountains in the north, Fanyang County in the south, and partly facing the sea in the southeast.

It is roughly equivalent to the combined area of eastern Chengde, Hebei and western Tangshan in contemporary Hebei.

Walking through Yancheng, wherever Zhao Xu looked, what he saw was desolation.

On the main street in the middle of Yan County, most of the common people carrying goods and selling goods are thin and thin, and every rib in the chest can be seen clearly.

The clothes are also similar to those of the people who came to the territory of the palace that day. They can’t even be called clothes, but rags.

On their faces, there is no smile, but suffering is written all over them.

This is the living situation of the people in the ancient times of war and chaos.

In this era of low productivity and material scarcity, it is not easy to survive.

The three of Dong An followed Zhao Xu, talking and laughing wantonly, not caring about the seriousness in Zhao Xu’s eyes.

It seems to be commonplace for all this.

After a long walk, turn left again across a street.

At this time, Yancheng, which is full of gray tones, suddenly becomes colorful and alive again.

“Your Highness, the Golden Scale Pond is here.” Dong An pointed to a long lake in front of him.

At this time, the sun was just right, and pieces of golden light were sprinkled on the water.

When the breeze blows, the surface of the lake looks like golden scales.

On both sides of Jinlin Pond, green willows line the shade, and the attics of Zhulan Biwa are connected one after another, and there are faint singing voices from inside from time to time.

In the lake, the painted boats are swaying leisurely, and while the bead curtains are shaking, there are women in red and green clothes drinking with the wealthy sons.

“The people in Yan County are eating dirt, but the rich people in Yan County are singing and dancing.” The strong contrast between before and after made Zhao Xu feel like he ate a fly.

His fief must not be a playground for the few.

As the King of Yan, he must be worthy of his people, otherwise what is the difference between him and these powerful families?

To realize this grand plan, he must take control of Yan County as soon as possible and plan the fief according to his own ideas.

But the prerequisite for controlling Yan County is that he must have a powerful army and at the same time have huge wealth for construction.

“Silver, it’s still silver.”

Zhao Xu thought for a while, and an idea for making money popped up again. This idea is slightly more complicated than ice making, but it is more profitable.

(end of this chapter)