Chapter 440: The Third Prince Is Rebelling
Translator: Henyee Translations | Editor: Henyee Translations
When he heard that Chernan came to visit again, the Crown Prince planned to send him away, but Prime Minister Yan, who happened to be a guest in the Crown Prince’s residence, stopped him.
“It’s not like there’s no turning point in the matter of dehydrated vegetables.”
“The Imperial Capital doesn’t lack vegetables. Great Xia doesn’t lack vegetables, but it lacks some places.” ππ―π’π’πππππ¬π³ππ©.πππ
“The rarer something is, the more precious it is.”
After all, he had been taught by many masters for so many years. The Crown Prince was not too stupid. He instantly understood what his grandfather meant.
Prime Minister Yan reminded him again, “Besides, your father should be feeling sorry for the iron mines that were returned.”
The Crown Prince understood immediately and reported good news to the Emperor the next day.
“Father, the Xiongnu people are willing to use iron ore to buy a large number of the Yan Family’s dehydrated vegetables!”
The Emperor was overjoyed and praised the Crown Prince fiercely.
Chernan felt that he had solved the food problem that had troubled them for many years for the people of Xiongnu. He was also very smug.
Although it was just a small vegetable, without it, there were so many problems that it made one’s hair stand on end. Who could understand the pain of squatting in the snow for an hour naked on a snowy day? Their legs were f*cking numb when they stood up!
“Not to mention that we still have reserves, even if we don’t have iron ore, as long as the mineral source is there, it will be inexhaustible.”
“But these vegetables are different. You think it’s a loss for me to exchange iron ore for them, but don’t you think that as long as you can take these things back to study, it’s a one-time deal?”
“Are we stupid? Of course not. With so many dehydrated vegetables bought back, can’t we develop the method ourselves?”
“Don’t tell me that you’re not envious of Great Xia’s military rations. Think further. If we can also produce the fast food that Great Xia’s soldiers eat in the future, won’t we be like tigers with wings when we attack the Imperial Capital in the future?”
Both sides felt that it was a win-win situation. Only Xiaoxiao smiled and did not say anything.
Not long after the Yan Family’s dehydrated vegetables were exchanged for the iron ore that Great Xia almost missed, the Emperor of Great Xia announced againβ
“The Genius Doctor Valley and the Imperial Hospital will collaborate to launch patent medicine that is convenient to store and has obvious medicinal effects.”
Among these medicines, there were ointments and pills. They had miraculous effects on the corresponding illness from typhoid to cough.
Most importantly, it was cheap!
It saved them the complicated cooking and processing steps. They were ready to use and the amount of medicine was precise. Even an illiterate family would not make a mistake after taking a look at the illustrated instructions.
Wasn’t this much more humane than “cooking three bowls of water into a bowl”?
At first, when the patent medicine was first released, the commoners were skeptical. However, when someone broke out in a cold sweat the day before to buy the medicine and went to work in high spirits on the third day, the true effect immediately spread like wildfire.
Good wine was not afraid of being hidden in the alley. Good medicine was not afraid of no one using it.
Anyway, Chernan was very enticed.
For a moment, he did not know if he was right to come to Great Xia. He did not seem to have learned anything useful and was only thinking about shopping!
The official envoys tried their best to avoid the second prince’s gaze, but the latter pressed on their shoulders and forced their eyes to meet.
“Second Prince! We don’t have money! Didn’t we use the iron ores we transported to buy dehydrated vegetables?”
Chernan wiped the saliva on his face. “There’s a lot of reserves over the years…”
The Emperor had been in a very good mood recently.
Great Xia’s territory expanded, and they did not lose a single piece of iron ore. Xiongnu even planned to exchange more iron ore for their patent medicine. He had a feeling that Great Xia would welcome a golden age in his hands!
The only flaw was that the two plots of land that Xiongnu offered as tribute were too poor.
The reason why crops could not be planted in the city ahead was because the soil quality was not good. However, the place where Xiongnu paid tribute was different. There was not even a decent piece of land there. As far as the eye could see, it was really empty.
At this moment, Imperial Censor Zuo requested to see him and said that he had something important to report.
As soon as he arrived, he said mysteriously, “Don’t you find it strange, Your Majesty? Xiongnu’s request is clearly unreasonable. Why did Lu Chen agree?”
The Emperor was actually also puzzled. Lu Chen should understand what those iron ores meant. Not only did they represent the dignity of Great Xia, but they were also an important prerequisite to ensure that Xiongnu would not be able to cause trouble for the time being.
Lu Chen did not have the ability to predict the future, so he naturally did not know that the Crown Prince would exchange dehydrated vegetables for iron ore. It was also impossible for him to predict that Xiongnu would take a fancy to the patent medicine produced by the Genius Doctor Valley.
Since that was the case, why did he agree?
Seeing that the Emperor was starting to think, Imperial Censor Zuo took the opportunity to say, “I know that genius doctor Gongsun knows the Xiao Family, but no matter how familiar he is or how confident he is, it’s impossible for him to know the Second Prince of Xiongnu’s actions like the back of his hand, right?”
“Unless…”
The Emperor glanced at him. “Unless what?”
Imperial Censor Zuo looked around mysteriously. “I accidentally found out that Lu Chen originally planned to be firm and never agreed to Xiongnu’s unreasonable request. He changed his mind because someone persuaded him.”
Indeed, Lu Chen had scolded the Xiongnu envoys until they were worse than animals in the early stages of the negotiation. If he had not relented, the Xiongnu envoys’ requests would have been useless.
The Emperor asked, “Who?”
Imperial Censor Zuo wanted to say something but hesitated. “I don’t dare to say.”
The Emperor looked at him coldly. “Don’t give me that. If you don’t dare to say it, why are you here today? Do you believe that I’ll hit you?”
Imperial Censor Zuo felt embarrassed, but he knew when to stop. He stopped pretending and took out something from his clothes.
“It’s the Third Prince.”
“In addition, I also obtained this letter by accident.”
The Emperor let Eunuch De take it. “Imperial Censor Zuo has done a lot of things ‘unintentionally’.”
Imperial Censor Zuo felt goosebumps on his back. “Actually, someone couldn’t stand the Third Prince’s actions and took the initiative to denounce him.”
It was a piece of cake to find a soldier who was dissatisfied with the Third Prince in such a huge military camp. As for letters…
The Emperor read quickly. “It’s a letter from Chernan and Rong Yan?”
The letter said to ask Rong Yan to help them. Otherwise, they would forget about helping him fight for the throne.
This matter had severely violated the Emperor’s taboo.
The princes could fight and be unconvinced with each other, but they could not collude with outsiders! Especially Xiongnu, who had a blood feud with Great Xia!
Imperial Censor Zuo said angrily, “He colluded with foreign enemies and coveted the throne. The Third Prince is rebelling!”
Perhaps because he felt that these words were not important enough, Imperial Censor Zuo continued, “I heard that the Third Prince received food support many times when he attacked Xiongnu. He said that that person only wanted to contribute to Great Xia and was unwilling to leave his name.”
“What a joke. How can there be so many kind-hearted people in the world? That’s food that can supply the entire border camp. Is this something ordinary citizens can casually take out?”
“It can be seen that the Third Prince is already prepared! Who would have thought that the Third Prince, who seems to have been obedient all these years, is the most scheming person?”
Did he mean that Rong Yan had been secretly storing food for “needs”?
Although the Emperor also felt that the rations did not come from a kind person, his guess was different from Imperial Censor Zuo’s..