If you traveled back to ancient times, while others ate Guanyin clay, you would actually have giant

"I came across a corpse on the road that had been completely devoured by wild beasts, and this is what I found on the corpse."

The other party handed a dagger to Zhou Wu, who took it and examined it closely. There was a strange pattern at the end of the hilt.

If this person came specifically to inquire about salt, then he must be from the capital. Since he is from the capital, why not just ask the Crown Prince? Zhou Wu immediately sent someone to deliver the dagger to the capital and then waited for a reply.

However, things weren't idle at their own base either.

"Niu Er".

"exist."

"Strengthen the guard at the salt fields. Something happened on Hussein's side, and the salt business has probably been exposed. However, the other side should not know about our salt fields yet, so you must make sure that the salt fields are not exposed."

"Yes."

Everyone thought the secret of salt couldn't be kept forever, but it could be kept secret for a while. Unexpectedly, it was exposed immediately upon release. The methods of the aristocratic families made everyone feel terrified for the first time.

. . . .

The capital city, the Crown Prince's residence.

"This symbol looks familiar to me."

The prince already knows that the salt has been discovered, but fortunately the saltworks have not yet been exposed.

"Your Highness, regarding the salt issue, who are we most worried about knowing?"

The speaker was Qu Yongnian, the top strategist under Crown Prince Li Junren.

“Naturally, they are from a prominent family.”

"Then why doesn't Your Highness investigate the aristocratic families?"

"Yes, Yongnian, I'm leaving this matter to you."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Qu Yongnian was originally just a down-on-his-luck scholar who had taken the imperial examination twice but failed both times. His best result was only a Xiucai (a lower-level scholar). However, Qu Yongnian was different from other candidates. Other candidates either complained about their fate or continued to wait for the next exam, but Qu Yongnian took a different approach.

In his view, the purpose of taking the imperial examination was to become an official. The imperial examination was held every three years, and he had already wasted six years. He did not believe that he could pass the next imperial examination, so he set his sights on his retainers.

Initially, retainers generally referred to advisors serving the princes. However, as time went on, many of the empire's top officials also used various means, such as students, disciples, and factions, to cultivate and develop their own power.

However, Qu Yongnian did not bow down to anyone else and went directly to the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince was impressed by his talent and took him as a staff member. Qu Yongnian did have some talent. During several major crises in the Crown Prince's residence, he stepped forward and handled the matters properly, and soon became a favorite of Li Junren.

Qu Yongnian knew immediately that the pattern came from a prominent family in the capital. He had seen the pattern before, but he did not tell the Crown Prince immediately because it did not conform to the style of acting in the best interests of the people.

After leaving the Crown Prince's residence, Qu Yongnian went directly to a secluded restaurant. He went straight to a private room on the second floor, indicating that he was a regular customer. The restaurant owner didn't ask any questions and simply brought him a pot of wine and two small dishes before taking him inside.

"Check which family this pattern belongs to?"

Qu Yongnian quietly gave the shopkeeper the pattern he had made in advance, and the shopkeeper accepted it without saying a word. Afterwards, Qu Yongnian drank alone until an hour later before leaving.

The next day, he returned to the restaurant and entered the same private room. As the waiter served the food and drinks, he secretly slipped Qu Yongnian a note. Qu Yongnian took it but didn't open it immediately. He simply slipped it into his sleeve and began to eat and drink.

After finishing their meal and drinks, it was getting late. Qu Yongnian returned home, closed the door, lit a candle, and took out the note.

"land."

The note contained only one character, but it was enough to convey a lot: of the eight great families in the capital, only the Lu family was truly powerful.

Qu Yongnian placed the note directly on the candle until it turned to ashes, then turned off the light and rested. Despite his young age, Qu Yongnian possessed a composure that was completely out of character for his age. Even knowing that the other party was from a prestigious family, he was not afraid at all.

The next morning, Qu Yongnian arrived at the Crown Prince's residence as usual to report for duty. He did not take the initiative to see the Crown Prince, but waited until the Crown Prince got up, washed up, and had breakfast before slowly going to see him.

However, when Qu Yongnian saw the Crown Prince, he showed a completely different face, panting heavily, with a worried and slightly frightened expression.

"Your Highness, we've found out. The other party is... is..."

"Who is it? Tell me quickly!"

"It's the Lu family."

When the Crown Prince heard that it was the Lu family, he was shocked. The Lu family monopolized the salt supply in the entire Great Dragon Kingdom, and he should have guessed it long ago.

"This is a real problem. Alright, Yongnian, thank you for your hard work."

"Your Highness, this is all I should do. I just don't know how Your Highness should deal with this next."

“I will go to the palace immediately to discuss this with my father.”

In fact, Qu Yongnian already had an idea in mind, but he wasn't in a hurry. He wanted to wait until the Crown Prince and the Emperor were at their wits' end before offering his advice, so that they would think highly of him. It must be said that although Qu Yongnian was talented, he was also quite cunning.

. . . . . .

royal palace.

"As expected, it's the Lu family. I guessed it long ago; this matter is inextricably linked to the Lu family."

As the saying goes, experience is the best teacher, and Li Tiancheng was indeed more capable than Li Junren.

"Father, what should we do now? The Lu family will absolutely not allow anyone to interfere in the salt business."

Although Li Tiancheng had long guessed that the Lu family was behind this, what could he do? He still couldn't come up with a good solution. After all, the relationships between powerful families were always complicated. If he dealt with one family, the others would unite against him.

Li Junren and Li Tiancheng discussed the matter for a whole day in the palace, but they couldn't come up with a good solution.

When they returned to the Crown Prince's residence, they found that Qu Yongnian was still there.

"Yongnian, what's the matter?"

"Knowing that Your Highness is troubled by the Lu family's affairs, as the Crown Prince's advisor, Yongnian should naturally share the Crown Prince's burdens."

"Do you have any good ideas?"

"This servant does indeed have some humble opinions; Your Highness may wish to hear them."

"Yongnian, sit down and talk."

"I think we can make use of the people's strength."

How can we utilize the power of the people?

“Your Highness, every year during famines, aristocratic families have large quantities of grain, but instead of helping the people in dire straits, they raise prices and take advantage of the situation. Why don’t we turn the tables on them?”

"Yongnian, how do you plan to turn the tables on them?"

Li Junren became increasingly curious. For some reason, he had a feeling that Qu Yongnian's method should work.

"First, spread rumors in the capital, find any excuse, say that the price of salt will rise. This will inevitably cause the people to scramble for salt. According to the way the aristocratic families do things, the price of salt will definitely rise after the scramble. Then we spread another message, saying that a huge salt mine has been discovered in a certain place, enough for the Great Dragon to use for decades, and the government intends to lower the price of salt. At that time, the aristocratic families will definitely not follow suit and lower the price. Then we find someone to incite the people to storm the Lu family."