Chapter 29: The Resurgence of the Killing Heart

  King Qi's words were stern and commanding, leaving Xia Liu no room for excuses. He had to think of a solution seriously.

  What method can quickly make money, make a lot of money? Enough to compensate for the funding shortage caused by the suspension of imperial appropriations, what a huge amount it is! Besides stealing and robbing, what good way is there?

  What's the point of making inventions? In an era without the Patent Protection Law, the only way to make money from inventions is if they have such high technological content that others can't imitate them. Otherwise, unless you set up a small workshop and hire two or three trusted people to keep an eye on things under your nose, once mass production starts, forget about keeping secrets. What kind of invention could I possibly come up with in this era that would make people scramble to buy it? Let me think...

  Xia Jiong suddenly broke out in a cold sweat on his forehead, and after thinking for half a day, he vaguely remembered that those who made a fortune in this era were mostly Jin merchants and Hui merchants. They became rich and accumulated wealth by relying on geographical advantages and government policies to sell salt, transport goods, and engage in ticketing. In the end, it was all about having a keen sense of smell and taking advantage of policy benefits. But if I had the ability to get Zhu Yuanzhang to adjust national policies for me, what would I be doing standing here? Besides, even those wealthy Jin merchants and Hui merchants who were rich enough to rival nations accumulated their wealth over several generations. Getting rich overnight? Unless I won the lottery...

  Wait!

  Xia Jie's eyes lit up, lottery! Ah, yes, is there anything that makes money faster than this? This is a risk-free and guaranteed good business!

  "Have you figured it out?" asked King Qi, immediately asking after seeing his expression.

  Xia Xing excitedly said: "Yes, Your Highness, I've thought of a plan. We can organize a lottery!"

  "Lottery?" Prince Qi furrowed his brow and said, "What is this 'lottery' you speak of? Explain it to me slowly."

  King Qi lay down on the bed, and Shu Gonggong hurried over to prop up his body. Xia Bian carefully explained the principles and operation of the lottery to King Qi, who listened with a cold hum, then said disdainfully: "What's so ingenious about this idea? Isn't it just 'drawing lots for profit'? No way, this method absolutely won't work."

  "What's the benefit of drawing lots?"

  "Really? Young master hasn't heard of 'drawing lots to decide'? So this method is really something you came up with yourself? If that's the case, then young master truly has a quick wit."

  He turned around to look at King Qi, seeing that King Qi did not object, and then carefully introduced the concept to Xia Xun. Xia Xun listened with great astonishment, thinking he had cleverly come up with a money-making scheme that would make him the father of lotteries in the future. Little did he know that ancient people were not foolish, and it turned out that someone had already played lottery during the Yuan Dynasty.

  In the Yuan Dynasty, monks, nuns and Taoists had a lottery, but at that time it was not called a lottery, it was called "drawing lots for profit". When temples needed to build large buildings such as halls and towers, they required a lot of funds. Clever monks invented the "lottery", preparing dozens of extremely enticing valuable items as prizes, entrusting powerful patrons to sell marked tickets, then holding a public draw. This method was once very popular.

  But in essence, this is still gambling. Even the Mongol government, which did not thoroughly inherit Han Chinese traditions and Confucian culture, could not withstand strong condemnation from all levels of society, and eventually terminated this activity under the pretext of suspected gambling. Zhu Yuanzhang, a staunch supporter of ancient ritual systems and legal systems, hated most the idea of getting something for nothing, and even ordinary gambling activities were within his scope of resolute crackdown. You want to run a "lottery" in the Ming Dynasty? Truly, you don't know how to write the word "death".

  Moreover, the main reason why issuing lottery tickets was firmly prohibited by the ruling class is that once you organize a lottery, it is difficult to prohibit large gatherings of tens of thousands of people. Such massive crowds are too dangerous and are not allowed in any feudal society. The King of Qi vetoed this method mainly for this reason. The impeachment of the wind officials, the condemnation of the court and the wilderness, he can ignore, if something really happens, there is also the long history of the Wang Fu to take on, the job of the Wang Fu is the same as that of the king's minister, in fact it is a scapegoat for the king's crimes, a professional black pot holder.

  However, the crime of treason is an exception! If the prince himself commits treason or causes others to commit treason due to his own fault, that is an unforgivable sin. Even if he is a royal son, he must bear primary responsibility.

  The king's face suddenly fell, and he said displeased: "Yang Xu, I thought you were clever, so I entrusted you with important things. Now you can only come up with such a trivial solution?"

  Xia Xun let out a sigh and had no choice but to force himself to mention the second method that General Feng had mentioned. He left a margin of safety, thinking that among the three methods, this one was the least harmful. If Qi Wang did not adopt it, at most he would be scolded for being absurd, but it would not provoke Qi Wang's great anger and kick him out of the palace.

  King of Qi, Zhu Mei, listened and slightly shifted his body, gently patting his knee, and began to ponder.

  Xia Fu muttered to herself: "Strange, why isn't he angry at all?"

  Zhu Yan hesitated for a moment, raised his palm and stopped, then suddenly swung it in the air and said decisively: "Good idea, let's do it this way!"

  Xia Yu was taken aback, and Zhu Que asked instead, "What? Is there a problem?"

  "Oh, no... nothing's wrong."

  King Qi smiled and said: "This method is indeed feasible."

  He got out of bed, walked slowly, stroked his beard and said: "Selling animal tendons, cowhide, raw and cooked iron, should be profitable, but... it's still slow, at least two months can't see a profit, can't relieve the thirst under my eyes. This method can be used, but I have to think of a way to solve the current difficulties, a faster way to make money, do you have any good ideas?

  If he was just asking for advice, Xia Yu would have shaken his head and said no more. The problem was that the King of Qi's eyes were piercing, and although his words seemed to be inquiring, the expression on his face had already made it clear that "you can't think of a way, so you must solve it for me" with an air of arrogance. Xia Yu gritted his teeth and could only bring up again what Feng Zongtai had taught him about expanding the palace and using it to extort money from the locals. He thought to himself: "This is causing trouble for the people, cleverly setting up excuses to exploit the local area, and damaging the reputation of the palace. This time, Your Majesty should be furious!"

  He didn't want to, but King heard it and burst out laughing, praising him uncontrollably: "Wonderful! Good idea, really good idea, haha, I wonder how you came up with this, this method is extremely clever!"

  Xia Liu listened with a stunned expression, and after a long while, he composed himself and cautiously reminded: "Your Highness, this method can indeed fill the treasury of the Wang Mansion and solve the current urgent need. However... expanding the Wang Mansion and occupying civilian residences will inevitably lead to public discontent, which would greatly harm Your Highness's reputation."

  He glanced at the king's face and said, "Selling cowhide, animal tendons, and raw iron is even more unacceptable by national law. If the wind and constable officials find out, I'm afraid it will be very detrimental to Your Majesty. Although these methods can generate profits, whether they are feasible, I think there is still much room for discussion..."

  "Hey, what's wrong with that."

  King of Qi, Zhu Mei, disagreed: "This world is mine, the Zhu family's. This Qingzhou Prefecture was given to me by my imperial father as a fiefdom. The mountains and rivers, the countless common people here, all belong to me. I want them to show some filial piety, what's wrong with that? Those officials and wealthy merchants all have families, property, and permanent assets. If I want them to be filial for once or twice, would they dare rebel?"

  King Zhen said with a smile, "Let's talk about the transportation of cowhide and iron. The imperial court has regulations to control it, fearing that someone will buy these materials to cast weapons and rebel. Would I dare to do such a rebellious thing? Even if I make money, won't I use it locally? Don't I spend money buying stone, wood, paint, and bricks? Won't I pay for hiring craftsmen and workers? Taking from the local area and using it in the local area, what's wrong with that? Your idea is good, let's do it this way."

  Xia Yu heard this and couldn't help but laugh and cry, thinking that the King of Qi was unaware of the pros and cons, so he tried to enlighten him. But unexpectedly, the King of Qi wasn't ignorant of the pros and cons, but rather arrogant and lawless, not caring about the consequences at all. In the eyes of the King of Qi, the country was his family, and his family was the country. Since the world belonged to them, whatever he wanted to use or however he wanted to use it, was naturally justified. What laws? Those were set up for the subjects, who cares about that?

  It's also because Xia Yu doesn't know what other princes have done, so he underestimated the awakening of King Qi. King Zhu of Guo seized people's fields, invaded public taxes, killed innocent people, hid fugitives, and when his long history Yu Ting advised him, he was killed on horseback with a fabricated crime; King Zhu of Jin surrounded a village with military horses one day, slaughtered more than 200 innocent villagers, and often fed vicious dogs to bite people for fun, which is simply a beast. King Zhu of Min killed officials and civilians, privately collected official seals and letters, and acted openly and aboveboard. Compared to the deeds of these brothers, King Qi Zhu is still good.

  Actually, the nine sons of Zhu Yuanzhang were all different and it can't be said that each of them was a scoundrel. For example, the King of Yan and the King of Ning guarded their territories and borders without offending the people, and in their fiefs they loved and protected the common folk; The King of Shu, Zhu Zhen, was known as the "Scholar of Shu", he was filial, friendly, kind and gentle, a humble gentleman who never disturbed the people. When he learned that there were scholars in his fief whose families were poor, he would use his own salary to help them; Another example is the King of Qing, Zhu Zhen Tian, who was naturally intelligent and diligent in his studies, not only did he write excellent calligraphy, but also vigorously promoted culture, collecting and compiling many classical articles within his fief. The King of Zhou, Zhu Huang, was also a wise king who took good care of his people, now he is gathering scholars to taste all kinds of herbs, preparing to compile all edible wild plants into a book to benefit the world, once completed, this will be a monumental work in the history of Chinese botany.

  Unfortunately, King Qi Zhu was not as arrogant as those few bastard kings, but he was absolutely not a virtuous king either. Morality and law could not restrain him. The reason why he did not commit great evil was that he neither had the psychology of his brother kings who killed people for no reason nor had the factors that required him to be evil. Now that this vassal king was trapped by Qian, he gladly accepted Xia Zuo's plan, which was reasonable.

  The Jin Yiwei understood this prince all too well, every step of the plan had already taken into account the reactions that Prince Qi Zhu Yu should have had. Xia Liu's role was just to lead him to the executioner's platform.

  Xia Fu saw that the King of Qi liked "receiving remonstrances" so much, and he didn't dare to mention the suggestion of opening a gold mine again. Opening a gold mine would require building a team to protect it, which could be a big or small matter. If Zhu Yuanzhang were still in power, it wouldn't be a problem, but if Jianwen took over, this would be a treasonous crime handed to him on a silver platter. Fortunately, the King of Qi was still immersed in the joy of solving the difficult problem and didn't have the appetite to continue asking for more money-making tricks.

  King Qi Xing hastily instructed Shu Gonggong: "Xiao Shuzi, inform the Construction Department to immediately expand the new site of the Wangfu, and relocate all the households within the enclosed area. Let the people from the Construction Department quietly spread the word that if anyone doesn't want their house demolished, hehe..."

  Master Shu nodded his head and smiled: "I understand, I understand..."

  Xia Fu saw the seam and quickly bid farewell to King Qi, who turned his head and said: "You go, oh, by the way! Regarding the purchase and sale of cowhide beast tendons, raw and cooked iron materials, you should start immediately, where to buy, where to sell, and come up with a plan as soon as possible. If there is a need for me to make an appearance, tell Xiao Shu Zi."

  "Yes, I'll take my leave."

  Xia Xian hastily left the Wang Fu, met up with female bodyguard Peng Niang and several family members outside, and immediately rushed back to the mansion. He then summoned Xiao Guan Shi, who brought a large stack of account books to his study. The two of them whispered and discussed for a while, after which Xiao Guan Shi left with a smile, but left all the account books in Xia Xian's study.

  That evening, Feng Jianxiao came again, and Xia Xun hastily went out to greet him. The two of them entered the study room in harmony, but as soon as the door closed, Feng Xihui's face sank, and he asked bluntly: "I taught you three strategies, why didn't you reveal them all to Prince Qi?"

  "Sir, what did you say?"

  Feng Xihui's eyes gleamed with a fierce light, and he said coldly: "Why do you pretend to be clever and offer the 'pick up the lucky chance' plan? Why don't you directly say the three methods I taught you?"

  Xia Fu was startled: "They indeed have eyes and ears in the Wang Mansion, fortunately I didn't make a move prematurely."

  "Think carefully, at that time, besides Shu Gonggong, there were seven or eight small Huangmen attending in the palace. Shu Gonggong was the person who managed finances for Prince Qi. If he was one of Feng Xihui's party, then Xia Jun wouldn't have needed to offer his plan. He could have simply spoken through Shu Gonggong's mouth, so this person can be ruled out. Therefore, the informant must be among those seven or eight small Huangmen. This person's position is limited, and after being bought off by Feng Xihui, he could only play a role in leaking information."

  In his heart, Xia Jun analyzed and said to Feng Xihui: "Your Excellency please forgive me, I didn't mean to take matters into my own hands. It's just that I'm worried that directly presenting your plan will arouse the suspicion of Prince Qi, and once 'Drawing Lots for Profit' is held, with thousands of people participating, it will be a grand affair, impossible to keep under wraps, and Prince Qi won't possibly accept this suggestion."

  Feng Xihui's expression eased slightly, and he said: "Hmph, you also know how to use tactics? From now on, don't show off your little cleverness... Fishing isn't done this way. Even if you were being cautious, why didn't you present the plan to open up the mine and extract gold? What's the reason for that?"

  "This one..."

  Xia Chuo hesitated for a moment, and Feng Xihui's eyes had already narrowed coldly, two cold lights condensed into lines, staring at him sternly. Xia Chuo shrank back, timidly saying: "Your Excellency please forgive me, I...I was just..."

  "What's that?"

  Feng Xihui took a step closer, his hands behind his back. Xia Jiu hastily retreated two steps, bumping into the desk with the small of his back. The stack of account books on the desk, which had been precariously balanced, came crashing down with a loud "clatter". Xia Jiu stammered out an explanation: "The profit from selling iron tools and leather straps may be substantial... but it's still not as lucrative as mining for gold."

  Two plans were presented together, and the little people would be arranged to transport iron utensils and animal skins. My men are not in Qingzhou, and most of the money will have to be spent. So... so when mining for gold, I can get fewer shares, and the benefits... the benefits will inevitably be taken away by others. Therefore... therefore, I did not immediately present this plan, and after returning, I let Xiao Guanshi settle accounts with the little people, see how much living money could be borrowed, thinking of first accumulating capital, then... then...

  Feng Xihui looked at the stack of account books that had fallen to the ground, and the murderous aura in his eyes immediately disappeared. So that's it, this makes sense. Thinking again, if Xia Yu really could make a big profit from mining and get more money, wouldn't he still have to give it to himself for dowry? Feng Xihui immediately turned his anger into joy, and said with a smile: "Hmmm, you do know how to seize opportunities, okay, you want to take some benefits from this, that's not impossible. However, you must quickly raise funds, time can't be too long, the idea of mining for gold must be presented as soon as possible, otherwise, I won't be able to explain it to my superiors."

  "Right!"

  Xia Jiang hurriedly agreed and then briefed Feng Zongqi on the matter of quickly contacting suppliers and buyers as instructed by Qi Wang. Feng Zongqi naturally already knew about this, but since the plan wasn't his idea, he didn't know the specific details and would have to ask that mysterious person for guidance. So after listening, he didn't ask many questions, just nodded and said: "I understand, I'll arrange these matters as soon as possible, and notify you once there's a clear direction."

  When Xia Yu sent him away, it was already the beginning of the night with bright lights.

  Look at Feng Zongqi's distant back, and look again at the crescent moon in the sky. Xia Xun's killing intent rose secretly in his heart: "Feng Zongqi has other ears and eyes in the Wang Mansion, I think it won't work to deceive both sides. He is pressing step by step, forcing me into a trap. If I don't save myself now, it will be too late to regret. Feng Zongqi, you must be eliminated quickly!"