At the beginning, his wife came to him, and he became rich by selling kidney treasures.

Facing the arrival of Princess Wen Yan, Ren Hao did not even pay his respects, and even said without raising his head: "More people means faster results, and it will also help relieve your brother's worries."

Li Shiji and Shen He were about to bow to Princess Wen Yan, but were stopped by Wen Yan's wave of her hand.

After all, the administrative Nangong was not a place for the princess to go, and she had sneaked here, so naturally she didn't need to perform any formalities.

Ren Hao looked at the officials, who looked as if they had never seen a beautiful woman before, and whose eyes were about to pop out. He immediately patted the administrative table and said, "Don't look at them. These are women you will never get in your lifetime. Hurry up and work."

"Ah, yes..."

Under Ren Hao's urging, the officials came back to their senses and continued copying, but even so they couldn't help but sneak a peek.

……

While Ren Hao was busy with the affairs of the four departments of the Ministry of Revenue, Peng Wen had already brought a group of envoys to Yue Yang in Xiangguan.

The so-called Xiangguan is a city pass that uses the Xiangjiang River as a moat.

There are Shangguan Jinghe, Zhongguan Yueyang, and Xiaguan Xianning.

Once you cross the Xiangjiang River, you will reach the fiefdom of King Linnan.

Before the Han Dynasty, all of Xiang, regardless of north or south, was collectively called Chu. However, in the early years of the founding of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Taizu conferred titles of kingship on his princes and gave the southern land to the fourth prince Liu Pi, with the Xiang River as the boundary. From then on, Chu was divided into two and renamed Xiang.

Liu Pi's initial title was not King of Linnan, but King of Xiangnan.

The King of Xiangnan developed Xiangnan for two generations and occupied a large tract of land in Linnan. Since then, he was renamed the King of Linnan.

"Prime Minister Peng, the King of Nan has sent people to pick us up. After crossing the Xiangjiang River, we can return to Nansha City." An envoy said to Peng Wen, and pointed to a large ship that was approaching the shore.

"Ah, how can I face the King of the South when I go back?" Peng Wen sighed. Not only did he fail to complete Liu Hao's task of changing the land and enfeoffment of the country, but he also lost the foundation of Linnan's establishment because of his blind arrogance.

"It really seems like God is not blessing Linnan, but helping Wei Han to continue its national prosperity!!!" Peng Wen shouted to the sky unwillingly.

He had assisted King Linnan for more than twenty years without any failure, but he did not expect that he would suffer such a huge setback in the end and be defeated by a newcomer who had just entered the court. He was really unwilling to accept this.

"Prime Minister Peng, victory and defeat are commonplace. Although we lost this time, we will still have a chance next time."

"Yes, Mr. Peng, don't blame yourself."

The envoys all tried to comfort Peng Wen, fearing that he would jump into the Xiang River if he became depressed.

On the way back, Peng Wen wanted to commit suicide many times, and then asked the envoys to go back and lie that it was the Han Dynasty that killed him. He wanted to use this method to fulfill the King of Linnan's long-cherished wish to become emperor.

Fortunately, the envoys kept a close eye on Peng Wen and tried to persuade and comfort him along the way, which prevented Peng Wen from committing suicide.

"If the King of the South misses this opportunity to become emperor, I'm afraid he will never have another chance in the future. That man is definitely not an ordinary person." Peng Wen sighed and suddenly drew his sword, wanting to commit suicide in the Xiangjiang River to thank the King of the South.

"Prime Minister Peng, you absolutely cannot do this!!!"

Just then, a loud shout suddenly came from the bow of the ship.

I saw a fat man wrapped in a blue brocade robe jumping from the bow to the shore even though the boat had not yet stopped.

The person who stopped Peng Wen from committing suicide was King Linnan Liu Hao.

When Liu Hao learned from the envoy's letter that Peng Wen failed and wanted to commit suicide to fulfill his dream of becoming emperor, he was not angry but very moved.

In order to prevent Peng Wen from committing suicide by slashing his own throat in the Xiang River, King Linnan personally took a boat to greet Peng Wen.

Faced with Liu Hao jumping off the boat, the envoys knelt on the ground to welcome him.

Seeing that King Linnan Liu Hao came to greet him personally, Peng Wen knelt on the ground in shame and dared not raise his head.

"I failed to complete the King of the South's request, and I was careless and lost the foundation of Linnan."

"I am too ashamed to see the King of the South again. Please allow me to die in his service to you." Peng Wen bowed his head and knelt on the ground to plead.

"Prime Minister Peng has devoted his life to me. If I let Prime Minister Peng commit suicide by slashing his throat in the Xiang River and proclaiming himself emperor, how will people in the world view me?"

"I would rather not be the emperor than have Prime Minister Peng commit suicide."

"Prime Minister Peng is my important minister, my teacher, and even more my friend." Liu Hao helped Peng Wen up, then took off his brocade robe and wrapped it around Peng Wen's old and frail body to isolate him from the dampness of the Xiangjiang River.

"Nan...King Nan..." Peng Wen burst into tears and cried loudly.

"Prime Minister Peng, please come back to Nansha City with me. I have prepared a banquet for Prime Minister Peng and the other envoys." Liu Hao smiled and patted Peng Wen's hand, his fat face full of kindness.

Peng Wen looked at the surging Xiangjiang River and said reluctantly, "I am afraid that if I return to Nansha this time, you, the King of Nan, will never have the chance to become emperor again. When the time comes, you, the King of Nan, will have to hand over ten steel smelters, 500,000 people, and rice embryos to the Han Dynasty."

"This is truly destroying the foundation of Linnan and prolonging the Han Dynasty's last breath."

"Since Prime Minister Peng wants to die in Han to fulfill the long-cherished wish of the King of the South, please agree to help Prime Minister Peng. In this way, the King of the South can take this opportunity to become the emperor and does not have to acknowledge the bet."

"At the same time, the King of the South also attacked Han territory on the pretext that Prime Minister Peng had died in Han territory. The unification of the world is just around the corner."

A middle-aged man who got off the boat gave Liu Hao some advice.

"Shen Liang, you are so outrageous!!!"

"Prime Minister Peng has devoted all his energy to me and Linnan. Even if I sacrifice my entire country's life, I would rather not become emperor on Prime Minister Peng's corpse." Liu Hao scolded the man, and then helped Peng Wen get on the boat.

Seeing that Liu Hao had made up his mind, Shen Liang could only sigh and shake his head.

King Linnan Liu Hao is good in every way except that he is too kind-hearted to become emperor.

Liu Hao returned to Nansha City to rest for a few days. After Peng Wen's emotions stabilized and his body recovered, he summoned all the ministers to select ten steel craftsmen, migrate 500,000 Linnan residents to the Central Plains, and send rice embryos to the Han Dynasty.

Peng Wen’s suggestion was to pass off inferior products as good ones in order to reduce Linnan’s maximum losses.

Craftsmen must be young, because young craftsmen’s skills are not as sophisticated as old craftsmen. Even though the Han Dynasty had steel smelting technology, it was not the best.

The residents must be mainly women, the sick, the disabled, the elderly and the young who are unable to work. Rice embryo seeds must be secondary, making it impossible to grow rice in the Central Plains.

All the ministers nodded in agreement and all agreed with Peng Wen's proposal.

But Liu Hao shook his head and rejected it directly.

Since Peng Wen lost the bet with Ren Hao, he should just accept the defeat and there is no need to pass off inferior goods as good ones and make the emperor think that they cannot afford to lose.

All of these ten craftsmen must be skilled, and the 500,000 residents must be mainly strong men and women. As for the rice embryo seeds, they must be carefully selected, the kind that can be harvested as soon as they are planted.