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

Li Junren and Qu Yongnian discussed matters at the Crown Prince's residence until late at night. Li Junren granted Qu Yongnian permission to stay overnight at the Crown Prince's residence, which made Qu Yongnian extremely happy. It seemed that, apart from Zhou Wu, he was the second person to be allowed to stay overnight at the Crown Prince's residence.

Li Junren entered the palace early in the morning to meet the emperor and relayed all the matters he had discussed with Qu Yongnian the previous night to Li Tiancheng.

"Although this matter involves some risks, it is the best solution at present."

Li Tiancheng largely agreed with the plan. Although there were some risks, nothing in the world is 100% certain, and risks can be reduced through human intervention.

"Father, what do you mean?"

"I think it's feasible, but to prevent the Lu family from resorting to desperate measures, we need to make some arrangements. Father, please proceed according to the plan."

"Yes."

After receiving Li Tiancheng's approval, the Crown Prince returned to his residence to discuss the details with Qu Yongnian, and then prepared to take action when the opportunity arose.

. . . . . .

royal palace.

"Summon Duke Gu to the palace for a meeting."

"promise."

This time, the target is a powerful family, so Li Tiancheng is extremely careful in choosing the right people. He cannot afford to be careless in the slightest. Duke Gu himself has no relation to any powerful family, is the father of the Crown Princess, and is also Li Tiancheng's brother who has risked his life for him. Therefore, he is the most suitable person for this operation.

"See Your Majesty."

“We brothers haven’t had a chat in a long time, have a drink with me today.”

Although Li Tiancheng was about to talk to Gu Xinyuan about dealing with the aristocratic families, he was suddenly moved when he saw the wrinkles at the corners of Gu Xinyuan's eyes.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Gu Xinyuan was also reminded of the brotherhood they had built together when they first conquered the world by Li Tiancheng. The brothers who used to drink and make merry together were now high above the world as the Emperor of the Great Dragon. While he was happy for his brother, it also meant that the two of them could never sit on the grass and drink and make merry as they used to.

Li Tiancheng deliberately dismissed those around him to give the two brothers enough space and to facilitate their discussion of serious matters.

"Your Majesty, this old minister has been waiting for this cup of wine for many years."

The two toasted each other, drinking several jars of wine and reminiscing about the past.

"Your Majesty has summoned this old minister today; please give your orders."

Although Gu Xinyuan was a military general and usually quite carefree, he wasn't stupid. After catching up, he knew it was time to get down to business.

"I am preparing to take action against the Lu family."

Upon hearing the name of the Lu family, Gu Xinyuan's expression suddenly turned serious.

"Is Your Majesty confident?"

"Xinyuan, rest assured, this matter has been carefully planned. Although we cannot eradicate it completely, we will at least cripple the Lu family. However, we need someone like you to stabilize the situation."

Li Tiancheng then revealed the entire plan, but he was surprised by something else.

"Your Majesty, do you mean that Zhou Wu of Niujia Town invented a method for making salt from seawater, producing salt that is as white as snow, and that there is as much salt as you need? Wouldn't that greatly reduce the price of salt in the future?"

"Yes, that's exactly right. The Lu family will definitely try to sabotage things, so this stumbling block must be removed."

Gu Xinyuan truly lived up to his reputation as Li Tiancheng's sworn brother. He understood Li Tiancheng best. Although Li Tiancheng's actions against the Lu family were ultimately for the sake of salt, they were not aimed at seizing control of the salt industry. Rather, it was because of Zhou Wu's seawater salt production method that he was confident he could drive down the price of salt, making it affordable for the people of Dalong and eliminating it from being a luxury.

"Your Majesty, please make the arrangements. I, Gu Xinyuan, am still capable of fighting."

Gu Xinyuan initially followed Li Tiancheng because he was moved by the blueprint for the future that Li Tiancheng wanted to build a capital city where the people could eat their fill, stay warm and well-clothed, and not be oppressed by the government or insulted by foreign tribes. Even now that Li Tiancheng has become the emperor, he is still working towards that goal, and Gu Xinyuan is still willing to serve him.

"Xin Yuan, if we disregard the influence of aristocratic families, how many troops can the capital truly control?"

Gu Xinyuan knew that His Majesty was serious this time, so he quickly started to make plans in his mind.

"Your Majesty, there are a total of 80,000 troops in the capital. The largest force is the Capital Guard, numbering 50,000, which is responsible for the city's defense and cannot be mobilized. The remaining 8,000 are the Imperial Guards, responsible for protecting the capital and cannot be moved. The remaining 20,000 or so are all Imperial Guards and garrisons, each commanded by its own captain. I estimate that only the 5,000 Imperial Guards can be mobilized. As for the 10,000 or so men from the twelve garrisons, Your Majesty will have to be careful."

"Who is the head of the Twelve Garrisons?"

"It's Lu Heyu."

Lu Heyu, a member of the Lu family, one of the eight great families in the capital, controls 9,600 soldiers in the twelve garrisons of the capital. He is considered a considerable force in the capital. The Lu family and the Lu family are both among the eight great families and have a marriage alliance. Therefore, Gu Xinyuan is not sure about Lu Heyu's attitude.

"Five thousand men are too few. Although the Twelve Guards are mostly composed of sons of powerful and wealthy families, and their combat strength is far inferior to that of the Imperial Guards, the difference in numbers between the two sides is too great. I'm afraid that the Imperial Guards alone will not be able to control the situation."

It's unlikely that the people of the Twelve Guards will rebel, but they will inevitably be coerced. In that case, not only will they be unable to deal with the Lu family, but they will also be forced to reach some unequal terms with the aristocratic families under pressure, which would be a loss for them.

"If we mobilize the surrounding troops, the powerful families will definitely know in advance, and our plans will fall through."

Gu Xinyuan knew the powerful families too well; their eyes and ears were everywhere around the capital.

"By the way, doesn't Zhou Wu have three thousand Qingyang soldiers? They were all recruited from the border regions and have absolutely no connection with any aristocratic families, so you can use them with peace of mind."

"Yes, when the time comes, let them take a boat to the dock and stay on the boat until the situation stabilizes."

“Good, Xinyuan, take my documents and tell Zhou Wu.”

"promise."

The plan has been drawn up, and the troops have been arranged. Now we just need to wait for the Crown Prince to start his performance.

. . . . . .

Rumors suddenly spread throughout the capital.

"I heard that a plague has broken out in Dazi, killing countless cattle, sheep and people. The plague has already begun to spread south and will soon reach the capital."

"What? A plague? What are we going to do?"

"I heard from the old immortal of Wanshou Palace that salt can prevent plague, but I don't know if it's true or not."

"Who cares if it's real or fake, I'll just buy it first."

"That makes sense. Buying it won't prevent the disease, but it won't stop us from cooking."

"Yes, let's go buy salt, or it'll all be gone."

In just two days, a rush to buy salt swept through the capital. As expected, the Lu family seized the opportunity and began to raise prices, with the price of salt increasing tenfold.

"What do you mean it's increased tenfold? You can't make money like this without any conscience!"

"Yes, this is for saving lives, we can't do this."