The substitute prince: Reported the emperor's brother at the beginning

Zeng Rou is no longer as afraid of Ning Yi as she was before.

Even though Zeng Rou was talking too much now, it was still for Ning Yi's consideration.

I was worried that I would be scolded by His Highness, but who knew he would actually laugh.

Ning Yi said with a smile: "Rou'er, you are right to remind me."

"That's right." Ning Yi stood up and said, "Since they are unwilling to sell, then let them make the mine belong to this prince. Let's go."

He just walked out of the room.

This time, in addition to Qin Haifeng and several skilled guards, the little girl Zeng Rou also followed him out dressed as a maid.

Zeng Rou is now Ning Yi's secretary, and many things need her to handle.

Arriving at Zuixian Garden, the shopkeeper said with a flattering smile, "Your Highness, it's been a while since you've been here in person."

Usually, Ning Yi would ask his men to come to the shopkeeper to ask for information, or the important information would be delivered by the shopkeeper himself.

Ning Yi sat down, Qin Haifeng stood behind him, and the little girl Zeng Rou brought the pen and ink in front of her.

Her task was to record important matters at any time according to Ning Yi's instructions.

Ning Yi took a sip of tea and said calmly, "Do you know how many iron mines there are in Beijing?"

"Iron mine?" The shopkeeper was stunned for a moment, then immediately bowed and said, "Of course I know."

"Your Highness, there are four families near the capital: the Dongfang family, the Fang family, the Xiao family, and the Zhao family. They all contract all the large and small iron mines within a hundred miles of the capital."

"Let's see the news."

As soon as Ning Yi gave the order, the shopkeeper immediately sent someone to get the information of the owners of these iron mines.

Several people stood quietly by, only Ning Yi sat there. After looking through it for a while, he said with a sigh, "Not bad."

"I didn't expect that there are so many forces behind these iron mines."

These families not only control the iron mines, but also the nearby coal mines, copper mines, aluminum mines, and even tin mines.

Ning Yi pointed at the Dongfang family and tapped the table: "Who is behind this Dongfang family?"

The shopkeeper bowed and said, "Your Highness, it is now certain that the Queen is behind the Dongfang family."

"The Queen." Ning Yi narrowed his eyes. Isn't this Queen the second prince's biological mother?

The queen is the daughter of the Dongfang family, which is a very large family in the Dawu Kingdom. There are officials, soldiers, and many businessmen among them.

A truly aristocratic family, with a queen and a prince, naturally has a higher threshold.

Ning Yi said calmly: "No wonder it is so huge, involving so many industries."

"It's clear that they've sent a lot of weapons and equipment to the Second Prince."

The Dongfang family is the second prince's grandfather's family. Judging from the information we have received so far, they have manufactured a lot of weapons and equipment for the second prince's large army.

Come to think of it, considering the Second Prince’s status and backing.

It is not easy to gather tens of thousands of elite soldiers, especially under the nose of Emperor Wu.

Even if he was the crown prince and wanted to equip tens of thousands of troops, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works would not dare to give it to him openly.

Only the few hundred guards in his Eastern Palace were equipped by the Imperial Guards in the palace.

For the rest, only my mother’s family would provide such strong support.

"Oh, the Dongfang family's assets are really enviable." Ning Yi sighed helplessly.

The Dongfang family's industries are too broad. If the Dongfang family is raided, only the industries in the capital will be left. It will be easy for them to arm tens of thousands of troops in a short period of time.

The shopkeeper asked carefully, "Your Highness, may I collect some more evidence of the Dongfang family's crimes for you?"

Ning Yi shook his head slightly: "Now is not the time to touch the Dongfang family, don't worry about it for now, just keep an eye on it."

The Dongfang family is not so easy to mess with.

Judging from the information we have received so far, the Dongfang family's influence is too widespread.

Even Emperor Wu would probably be wary. If the Dongfang family is angered, they might actually dare to lead a large army in rebellion and push the prince to the throne.

Besides, now is not the time to settle accounts with the Second Prince. There is no need to drag the Second Prince, who is just watching the show, to the opposite side.

Ning Yi looked at the Xiao family and asked, "Where is the Xiao family?"

The shopkeeper smiled confidently and said, "Your Highness, this Xiao family is simple. It is the Fourth Prince who supports them."

"And the Xiao family has a complete range of businesses, including iron mines, coal mines, ironworks, and weapons weaving workshops. It's said that they have only been quietly established in recent years."

Ning Yi knocked on the table. Behind the Xiao family was the Fourth Prince.

This guy couldn't sit still a few years ago and started to secretly tinker with these things.

"How is the current investigation into the Fourth Prince's military strength?"

The shopkeeper had someone bring out another account book and placed it in front of Ning Yi: "Your Highness, here is the Fourth Prince's military situation."

Ning Yi opened it and exclaimed, "Not bad, I didn't expect this loser to do so much behind the scenes. No wonder he's so arrogant."

According to records, the Fourth Prince not only has about 5,000 troops hiding in the capital, but also has them hiding there.

Three thousand soldiers were kept in various mansions as servants and trained every few days.

Thousands of soldiers were kept in his own mansion, serving as guards and servants.

There are also hundreds of servants in the Prime Minister's Mansion, who are also invisible to outsiders.

There are also two nominal escort agencies and some nominal gangs of hooligans in the west of the city.

They were all the Fourth Prince's men. This guy kept sending people to the capital. Each of them looked like an ordinary servant, or a member of an escort agency.

But they all have weapons and armor hidden, and anyone wearing armor and holding weapons at any time is a soldier.

This does not include the troops outside the city. The two Beijing camps with a total of 20,000 soldiers have already surrendered to him.

Just spend all the monthly military pay on their support.

In the east direction of the canal, within an area of more than 200 miles, there are more than 20,000 boatmen gangs, which turned out to be the army he secretly raised.

The Intelligence Department continues to dig deeper and gain deeper insights.

The Fourth Prince has almost reached a military force of 50,000.

The Xiao family is the important source of weapons and equipment for the Fourth Prince's army.

After Ning Yi pondered over it, he finally made up his mind: "Find a way to quietly reveal the Xiao family's situation to the Second Prince."

"Hmm?" The shopkeeper asked in confusion, "Your Highness, why did you tell him about it?"

Not only the shopkeeper was confused, but even Zeng Rou beside him and Qin Haifeng behind him were confused.

Ning Yi sneered: "The Second Prince has been a yellow bird for so long, let him be a mantis this time."

The reason why he told this to the Second Prince was that he believed that the Second Prince, who loved watching the show the most, would like to see the two of them fighting with each other, and he only needed to wait for the old emperor to die and ascend the throne smoothly.

If the Second Prince knew that the Fourth Prince was secretly running such a one-stop weapons and armor manufacturing factory, he would definitely be unable to sit still.