Golden Branch

Zheng Chi quickly became friends with Lu Jialan.

The two agreed to continue playing after school, chatting and laughing while planning for the upcoming day off.

Zheng Chi's laughter became noticeably louder.

He deliberately looked at Wang Heng several times.

It seems to be saying: Wang Jiu, you see, you don’t know how to appreciate my kindness, there are others who will play with me.

Wang Heng: ...As long as you're happy! Since you already have Lu Jialan, you can't bother me anymore!

Wang Mian’s eyes flashed with excitement:…Oh wow, it turns out there were fake sisters in ancient times too.

Tsk tsk, she could smell the strong plastic smell between Zheng Chi and Lu Jialan even through several desks.

"Jiu Niang, it's rained a lot recently, so there are a lot of snails in the fields. I'll make you some spicy stir-fried snails."

"It's a pity there's no crayfish, that's a summer staple and a delicacy."

Wang Mian didn't want to see a group of elementary school students being hypocritical, so he pulled Wang Heng aside to discuss food.

"Escargot? Lobster?"

"Yes! They are all raised in farmland and by the river."

Snails are a local ingredient, but crayfish are not.

Wang Mian's fleet was out for a year or two and didn't go very far.

Wang Mian estimated that the farthest they could reach was some small islands in the South China Sea.

The New World is too far away!

It was the first time for the fleet to go out on a long voyage. There were no nautical charts, no guidance on weather, direction, etc. It was a blessing to be able to return safely.

Moreover, the fleet also reaped a lot of rewards from the many small islands in the South China Sea.

Not only did they accidentally discover some new crops (or substitutes), but they also obtained valuable goods such as spices, gold, and gems.

It is estimated that even the largest shareholders of the fleet, Princess Qi and Concubine Jiang, did not expect that there were savage-like indigenous people on that remote and desolate island.

These indigenous people are uncivilized, but they occupy excellent resources.

Gold, ivory, gems, wood, spices... If the fleet had not had too few people on board and the space in the treasure ship's cargo hold was limited, this trip alone would have allowed several major shareholders to earn wealth that could rival a country.

Even so, the fleet greatly enriched the two princesses' small treasury, allowing Wang Mian, the smallest shareholder, to achieve financial freedom.

In the eyes of others, Wang Mian might still be a peasant girl of humble origin who could only serve as a little follower to Wang Heng.

In fact, the wealth she possesses is even more than what a small family has accumulated over decades!

The fleet will return and rest for a period of time.

Wang Mian will also continue to make plans and prepare for the next ocean voyage.

In addition, there is the matter of the new city.

"...Amian, my mother replied. She said that the new city is a major matter for the court and involves too many things."

If one wants to gain benefits from building a new city, the emperor and the Yang royal family are the biggest bosses.

The top nobles could only follow behind them and share a little of the benefits.

"During this period, major events have occurred frequently in the capital, and the Prince Qi's Mansion should not be too high-profile!"

Wang Heng lowered her voice and whispered in Wang Mian's ear.

In fact, there was no need for Concubine Jiang to write a letter to explain, because Zheng Yi had already told Wang Heng about the changes in the capital.

Wang Heng is already nine years old and is no longer a naive child.

Even if you are a little "stupid", you should at least understand some of the situations in Beijing.

Wang Heng: …I don’t really want to understand! I just want to be a silly, fat girl who loves to eat.

However, since Zheng Yi had said it, Wang Heng couldn't just not understand it all.

She only had a vague understanding of it, and then relayed it to Wang Mian "verbatim".

Wang Mian's eyes flickered: "...Dear, I understand! The struggle for the throne! A standard practice for royal families throughout the dynasties."

After all, she was a time-traveling girl who grew up watching the Nine Dragons fight for the throne. Even if she didn't have the political skills of those bigwigs in the court, she still had basic common sense.

In the battle for the throne, those who jump out first are often cannon fodder.

The real bosses, such as the fourth uncle, are the ones who "develop in a low-key and sneaky way", and then they can win in the end.

Yang Chong, the King of Qi, had such brilliant achievements in the first half of his life that no one would believe him if he tried to play the fool now.

The Prince of Qi's Palace can only keep a low profile as much as possible and avoid getting involved in too many conflicts of interest except for official government affairs.

After all, compared with the whole world, a small new capital is nothing.

Wang Mian understood after a quick thought.

The Qi Wang Mansion was wise, and the two women, the Qi Wang Concubine and the Concubine Jiang, were not blinded by the huge profits.

“…Okay! That’s fine!”

Alas, I can no longer enjoy the benefits of the new capital.

Although Wang Mian understood, he still couldn't help feeling disappointed.

She has even made a plan for the development of the new city.

Wang Heng felt sorry for Wang Mian's depressed look. After a moment's thought, she said, "A Mian, don't be discouraged."

"Mother also said that after the new city is built, a temporary palace will also be built. By then, we can think of some ways to plan something."

Wang Mian's eyes lit up. Yes, if I can't eat the meat, I can at least drink some soup.

Well, let her think about it.

New capital, Chang'an!

There is a Tangquan Palace in Chang'an.

At this time, Mount Li should still be a barren mountain and wasteland.

Even if the land price is not cheap, it will not be too high, so you can buy it in advance.

Wang Mian's spirit, which had just been depressed, was lifted up again.

plan!

She's going to make a new plan!

Haha, buy large tracts of forests and wait for hot springs to be dug out. Then, with the guidance of the "backers" from top to bottom, even if it is not possible to build a hot spring palace for the time being, it can be turned into a hot spring resort.

By then, with a large amount of land in the hot springs, she can still make a lot of money!

Bang!

In Wang Mian's eyes, golden ingots glittered with golden light again.

When Wang Heng saw this, she couldn't help but smile.

Amian is the most interesting. Whenever business or money is mentioned, her eyes seem to sparkle with golden light.

……

After June, we entered July.

Yizhou has entered the rainy season and the Yi River has entered the flood season.

Yang Rui patrolled the river more cautiously.

The flood season has arrived, and if we don't take precautions in advance, the Yi River is very likely to flood.

In order to smoothly get through the flood season, Yang Rui took many measures.

But he did not stop investigating the hidden households and fields——

Why stop?

After only half a month of investigation, he had cleared thousands of acres of riverbanks and tens of thousands of acres of fertile farmland upstream.

These will become Yang Rui's capital in Yizhou.

Not to mention, there are hundreds of hidden households and some so-called "refugees".

Yang Rui re-registered the people, dispersed them and sent laborers to work in various sections of the riverbank.

As for those powerful families who maliciously resisted the order of King Qi, Yang Rui was not polite at all. He fined them and confiscated their property.

The accumulation of some families for decades or even hundreds of years, including gold, silver, population, etc., all went into the hands of the Prince of Qi's Mansion.

Yang Rui was not greedy, or rather, this little bit of wealth was not enough to catch the eye of the Prince of Qi.

He used all the confiscated silver, money, and supplies to dredge and manage the river.

Lou Yu followed closely and watched coldly. He found that Yang Rui was not only gentle and generous, but also ruthless.

Moreover, Yang Rui's thunder attack was not blind or reckless, he was very strategic.

Instead of eliminating all the powerful families and other local forces at once, they attacked some and won over others.

These powerful families have never been a monolithic entity.

Without outsiders, the local tyrants would fight among themselves.

With Yang Rui as their unified enemy, all the powerful families temporarily put aside their grudges and united against the outside world.

However, when Yang Rui came up with the strategy of "divide and rule", the temporary alliance of the powerful families collapsed in an instant.

Yes, an open conspiracy!

Yang Rui's attempts to win over and attack others are all obvious.

The wealthy families also knew that Yang Rui's "partial attack" was only temporary.

His ultimate goal was to completely eliminate all forces on both sides of the Yi River.

It’s just a matter of order and timing.

But everyone has a lucky mentality.

Even though they knew Yang Rui's plan, the wealthy families still couldn't help but fall for it.

When Yang Rui attacked some powerful families, the other families, instead of grieving and living together, turned into vultures, following Yang Rui and scrambling frantically for the remnants left by Yang Rui.

Lou Yu watched quietly the whole time.

Without resorting to sinister tactics such as frame-up and slander, one can still break the so-called alliance and complete one's own plan!

"Prince, will such a drastic measure cause a backlash?"

During the breaks in his quiet study, Lou Yu would occasionally ask questions.

Yang Rui did indeed "divide and rule" and defeated the powerful families on both sides of the Yi River.

However, among these people, there are always some who will do anything desperate.

If it rebounds, they and their group may be in danger.

"meeting!"

Contrary to Lou Yu's expectations, Yang Rui actually nodded directly. "If I launch a thunderous attack, they might wait and see at first, trying to fish in troubled waters. However, when my plan touches upon their interests, they will desperately resist."

Looking at the broad river, Yang Rui said slowly: "The Yi River also has 'water bandits'."

Yang Rui emphasized the pronunciation of the word "water bandit".

匪？

not necessarily!

It could even be an official.

Yang Rui's gaze crossed the river and surrendered Yizhou City.

Since he arrived in Yizhou, several important officials including the governor and the chief secretary of Yizhou have not made any moves except for the first time paying their respects.

They seemed to be dead, allowing Yang Rui to do whatever he wanted in Yizhou and other places.

On the surface, it seems to be indulgence.

In fact, it is not a kind of "disrespect" -

Yang Rui was the crown prince of Qi, and Yizhou was the fief of Qi.

As an official of Yizhou, even if he was not Yang Rui's servant, he should be respectful and obedient to Yang Rui.

Yang Rui was so busy at the river bank that he had no time to rest, but the governor, the chief secretary and others did not think of taking the initiative to share the burden.

Their seemingly neutral "sitting back and watching" had actually meant they had already made a choice - in the King of Qi's fiefdom, not siding with the King of Qi's faction was treason!

The attitudes of the provincial governor, the chief secretary, and others also made Yang Rui's heart ring with alarm bells.

Since you don't choose to follow the King of Qi, you may become the King of Qi's enemy.

Once the officials of the governor's office took off their official uniforms, they instantly became "bandits".

They must have connections with the real pirates.

At a critical moment, the soldiers and bandits colluded with each other, working together from inside and outside... Yang Rui and his group were in danger.

"Pass the order down and keep a close eye on the governor's office and other government offices."

"As for Yizhou and other places, the files on water bandits in recent years also need to be re-examined..."

Yang Rui predicted that there would be a "bandit problem", so he naturally had to prepare in advance and attack first.

Are there pirates?

剿！

……

Governor's Mansion.

The governor of Yizhou, Wang Lin's immediate superior, was surnamed Li and had no connection with the aristocratic Li family.

He came from a poor family and studied hard for half his life. He entered the officialdom in his thirties and served as an official for nearly twenty years before he became the chief official of a state.

He is almost sixty years old and will probably retire as governor.

Without the possibility of promotion, Governor Li was left lying flat.

At least, on the surface, this old official with white hair and beard doesn't care about anything. He only knows how to appreciate flowers, drink tea, pet cats and dogs every day.

Governor Li was not interested in government affairs and was only greedy for money and property.

After Wang Lin became the Chief Secretary, he came to visit for the first time and spent ten thousand strings of cash to buy a pot of orchid that was said to be extremely rare from Governor Li. After that, Wang Lin became the real person in charge of Yizhou.

Governor Li was a particular person. He accepted the money. Oh, no, it was because he found out that Wang Lin was a "flower lover" who loved growing orchids like him, so he felt particularly confident in him.

Governor Li handed over all of Yizhou's taxes, population, land, commerce, etc. to Wang Lin.

Wang Lin sneered inwardly: ...After all, he comes from a poor family and has a short vision.

However, even though Wang Lin laughed at Li, he also understood Li Zhishi.

There is no hope of promotion, and this is already my second term.

There is only two or three years left, and there is no other way except to make a lot of money.

He likes money and can get things done after taking it. Even if Wang Lin looks down on such a boss, he will still admit that he is a good boss.

Wang Lin is not short of money, what he lacks is power, the desire to control everything and the sense of accomplishment.

He and Governor Li complemented each other, and both were very satisfied with each other.

However, at this moment, Governor Li, who was considered by Wang Lin to be greedy and without ambition, was leaning against the window.

There was a desk under his arm and a letter in his hand.

Governor Li's eyes, which had always been cloudy, were now shining with brilliance.

"Our prince is truly a man who doesn't reveal his true identity."

"He looks gentle and refined on weekdays, but when he gets into action, he's absolutely ruthless."

"Suppress the bandits? Haha, on the one hand, they are making a big fuss about clearing out the hidden households and fields, and on the other hand, they are also trying to eliminate the water bandits."

"Prince Qi is underestimating our Yizhou..."

He did not take the wealthy families of Yizhou seriously, and certainly did not take him, Li, seriously.

Yes, he is indeed old and will soon retire.

But the old horse also has the ambition to run a thousand miles.

As Governor Li's term of office drew to a close, his resentment grew stronger.

He struggled for decades and finally became a governor, changing his family's fortunes.

His children and grandchildren were still young, and he still wanted to go to Beijing, join the Secretariat, make decisions on state affairs, and leave his name in history.

Unfortunately, he was unlucky and did not meet a mentor who appreciated his talents.

He had the talent to govern the country, but was forgotten in the small city of Yizhou.

He was unwilling to give up, as he still had too many ambitions.

Fortunately, God was not completely blind, and he received a letter from a nobleman in the capital.

Maybe he can give it a try.

There is no need for him to do anything, he just needs to continue to be an "old fool" and turn a blind eye.

Even if the incident happened, he was almost sixty years old. If he admitted to dereliction of duty, he would only be dismissed from office and fined. He would not lose his life or implicate his entire family.

But if he succeeds, his lifelong ambition will come true!

"...The pirates in Yizhou may not be as rampant as those in the southern border, but they are still capable of killing people."

And he is the biggest pirate in Yizhou!!