Chapter 56: The Qin Prince’s Estate Undergoes Industrial Upgrading, Ye Xun’s Strategy Against the King of Wu

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In the hall, Ling'er brought Wei Feng a cup of tea and placed it before him.

Wei Feng looked toward Ye Xun and said after a moment's thought, “The Medical Sage failed to awaken His Majesty today, so the Three Departments and Six Ministries convened an assembly. From now on, Father and Nan Gong Ye, the Right Vice Minister, will jointly oversee the affairs of state, while military matters will be placed entirely in the hands of Grand General Lu Jiuyuan and the Ministry of War.”

“During this period before the New Year, they need only keep the government under control and ensure that no major disturbances arise.”

“But a nation cannot remain without a sovereign for even a single day. The powerful ministers of the Three Departments and Six Ministries have agreed to use this period before the New Year as an assessment. Every imperial prince has been included among the candidates. If His Majesty has still not awakened by then—”

“They will choose from among the princes the one who has performed best during this period. He will temporarily assume the position of Crown Prince and govern the realm as regent. Everything else will be decided after His Majesty regains consciousness.”

Ye Xun nodded slightly.

Anyone with sense could see the truth.

This was no temporary appointment as Crown Prince, nor was it merely provisional regency. It was plainly a selection of Great Xia’s next heir.

With the Xia Emperor unconscious and the Crown Prince governing in his stead, everyone understood how much power that position carried.

Wei Feng continued, “Your Highness, this matter is extremely disadvantageous to you. Most of the ministers originally opposed your participation. After all, you were only recently stripped of your position as Crown Prince, and His Majesty was assassinated at the Prince of Qin’s residence.”

“Fortunately, Father withstood the pressure, and several ministers from the Western Pass faction supported you. In the end, we secured your right to participate. However, you still cannot enter the palace. That means you cannot attend court or take part in the administration of state affairs.”

“This will be highly detrimental to your record of achievements.”

Ye Xun’s inability to attend court meant that he would have no access to information firsthand.

If the other princes presented solutions directly before the court and won the support of the ministers, Ye Xun could do nothing but watch.

“It is of no consequence.” Ye Xun merely nodded. “If I cannot attend court, then so be it. Matters that can be resolved in court are ultimately nothing more than minor affairs.”

“If something concerns the welfare of the nation and its people, it will not be settled casually in court.”

To earn great achievements, one had to accomplish great things.

Yet Great Xia’s political situation was stable at present, and no major crisis was likely to arise.

But one month from now, once word spread that the Xia Emperor remained unconscious and Great Xia had neither emperor nor Crown Prince to lead it, the surrounding nations would certainly begin to stir.

Even the Five Great Clans and Four Royal Houses within Great Xia would make their own moves.

Therefore, during this month, Ye Xun had to lay the basic foundations for what was to come.

As for the trivial disputes of the court, there was no need to concern himself with them.

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There was one other major matter.

That was to destroy Ye Tao.

Seeing how calm and composed Ye Xun remained, Wei Feng was not the least bit flustered. On the contrary, he was delighted.

If Ye Xun could not withstand even this minor disturbance, helping him ascend to the position of Crown Prince would have been exceedingly difficult.

Ye Xun lowered his eyes and said in a deep voice, “Cousin, I have two things to accomplish now. First, I need money. Second, I need to destroy Ye Tao. Do you have any good suggestions?”

Wei Feng paused slightly. He had not expected Ye Xun to be so direct.

But he liked it.

He liked the ruthless edge in Ye Xun.

After pondering for a moment, Wei Feng replied, “Money will not be a problem. I intend to purchase the residences beside the Prince of Qin’s estate and convert them into workshops. One section will produce wine, while another will manufacture soap. We will then station heavily armed guards there.”

“Once we increase production of the soap and wine, we will contact several imperial merchants to purchase the goods. We will handle sales in the capital, while they will be responsible for the other regions.”

The Duke of State Pacifying’s household already possessed several businesses.

Thus Wei Feng spoke of commerce with ease. Moreover, as the heir to the ducal house, he knew no small number of wealthy merchants.

However, the Duke of State Pacifying’s household owned only a few small, struggling enterprises that could never amount to much.

The wine and soap created by Ye Xun were entirely different.

Both products were monopolies.

No one in the world besides Ye Xun could produce them.

The soap was one thing.

But when it came to the wine, Wei Feng could say without exaggeration that the great imperial merchants would eventually fight each other over it.

Wine of such potency could be sold not only throughout Great Xia, but even exported to every nation under heaven.

Wei Feng therefore had complete confidence in the potential of the soap and strong liquor.

If they wished to accomplish anything, money was indispensable.

As far as Wei Feng knew, two of the Five Great Clans of Great Xia had already openly agreed to provide financial support to the Fourth Prince, Ye Chen.

At present, Ye Chen was therefore the most powerful of all the princes.

The struggle for the throne relied on strength, but what it truly tested was one’s background. Without powerful support, one would eventually become nothing more than a stepping stone for others.

Listening to Wei Feng, Ye Xun—

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Ye Xun slowly said, “Cousin, you are right. I had originally intended to establish a trading company myself, but now that I think about it, that would be too hasty. We do not have the means to transport our goods to other regions.”

“Nevertheless, the workshop must be expanded as quickly as possible, and we should begin negotiations with the other imperial merchants. We will have many uses for money in the days ahead.”

Wei Feng nodded. “Your Highness, rest assured. The workshop will be expanded within five days, and I will have several trading-house managers invited to the estate.”

Although Ye Xun was an imperial prince, every trade had its own rules.

In Great Xia’s commercial world, Ye Xun was a complete newcomer.

He did not even possess the river or overland routes needed to transport goods elsewhere.

If he intruded upon another merchant’s profits, there might be no trouble in the capital. In other regions, however, no one could say what might happen.

To cut off another person’s livelihood was tantamount to killing his parents. Such people would fight to the death.

So, for now, cooperating with other trading houses was the wiser choice.

And the profits would not necessarily be smaller.

Those trading houses already possessed stable markets and reliable transportation networks.

“Very well.” Ye Xun lifted his cup and took a small sip. “What about Ye Tao? He has tried several times to have me killed. If I do not destroy him, anyone will think they can trample on me.”

He spoke with utter nonchalance.

It was almost as though the person he intended to destroy were not an imperial prince, but some stray cat or dog.

Wei Feng replied, “Your Highness, rest assured. After what happened today, the King of Wu’s standing in the eyes of many ministers has fallen sharply.”

“Truthfully, he has always thought far too highly of himself. He does not realize that every official in the court has seen through his schemes. When he first approached Father, Father had no choice but to comply.”

“His greatest trump card is nothing more than Vice Minister of Revenue Liu Guangxun and the others.”

“I have also heard that he intends to move against Shangguan Panshi, the Minister of Revenue, and replace him with Liu Guangxun. But that is nothing more than a fool’s fantasy.”

“We can turn his scheme against him and remove those claws of his.”

“By doing so, we will help Minister Shangguan while weakening the King of Wu’s faction.”

“Once all his claws have been arrested, can he possibly claim that he has no connection to them?”

Wei Feng was an intelligent man.

He would never employ the crude and reckless methods favored by Ye Tao.

At their level, anyone who wished to bring down another would certainly find a perfectly legitimate reason.

Not one of Liu Guangxun’s associates was clean.

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