Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

“Your Excellency, I have a question I would like to ask you to answer.” Zhang Haoran, who had always been a nobody in the court, suddenly spoke up.

"Lord Zhang, please feel free to ask whatever questions you may have," the Left Censor-in-Chief said, though he didn't know what the man meant.

"This humble official would like to ask Your Excellency, what is the purpose of the existence of the imperial clan?"

"Naturally, it's to maintain the stability of the royal family."

"Yes, Your Excellency is right. The imperial clan exists to stabilize the dynasty. But the first duty of a member of the imperial clan is to be loyal to the royal family and the court, and to pay tribute to the court every year. However, after receiving the late emperor's decree to establish an heir, Prince Ding'an not only disobeyed, but also attempted to use the emperor's lineage as an excuse to cover up his wolfish ambitions. He tried to overthrow the court and take the throne. Your Excellency, are these actions befitting a member of the imperial clan?"

After saying that, he let out a long sigh of relief and took out a piece of paper from his sleeve pocket and presented it to the reader.

"Moreover, in recent years, he has reported droughts or floods to the court every year. I have checked the archives; last year, the Prince of Ding'an's fiefdom also reported a locust plague, using this method to get the court to exempt him from annual tribute. However, in the southern provinces, within the Prince of Ding'an's jurisdiction, no matter what kind of disaster occurs, the Prince of Ding'an has never exempted the people from taxes. Not only does he not exempt them, but he also adds many blatant and exorbitant taxes, squeezing the people's hard-earned money." At this point, he stared at the ministers who advocated a policy of appeasement and asked, word by word.

"Gentlemen, do you know where the wealth that the Prince of Ding'an plundered from the people has gone?"

After the question was asked, the hall fell silent.

Without waiting for their reply, Zhang Haoran continued...

“All the people’s hard-earned money was used by the Prince of Ding’an to recruit soldiers and make weapons.”

"Your Excellency, why would a prince of the imperial clan build such a strong and well-equipped army?"

After he finished speaking, the court fell into a deathly silence. The ministers who had been arguing for various reasons also fell silent. Xia Yu, disguised as a eunuch and standing on the wall, couldn't help but cheer for her future uncle-in-law.

While others focused their discussions on the emperor's lineage, the authenticity of the edict, and the reasons for Prince Ding'an's uprising, Zhang Haoran presented irrefutable facts to prove their point. Prince Ding'an's uprising was driven by wolfish ambition and had been premeditated for a long time. He wanted to overthrow the court and seize power. Needless to say, his years of lying about disasters to evade tribute and his powerful army were the best evidence.

The paper Zhang Haoran had just presented was, after being reviewed by the young emperor and empress dowager, returned by the eunuchs and circulated among the ministers. When they saw the enormous sum, their hearts trembled. The Prince of Ding'an was incredibly audacious…

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, what Lord Zhang said is absolutely right. Prince Ding'an is attempting to overthrow the court, and we should strike him down hard without leniency. If we truly follow the appeasement policy suggested by Lord Ding and the others, wouldn't the other princes in the fiefdoms follow suit? At that point, our Great Huai will be in complete chaos. I am willing to lead troops to Jialing Pass to quell Prince An's rebellion." Jiang Pingda knelt in the main hall, pleading with the Emperor and Empress Dowager.

“Uncle, please rise first. We can discuss this matter again,” Zhou Luo said to Jiang Pingda. After speaking, he turned his gaze to Shen Jingheng, who had not uttered a single word since attending court today.

"Grand Tutor, what is your opinion on this matter?"

"Your Majesty, what Lord Jiang said makes sense. We should send reinforcements to Jialing Pass to quell the rebellion of Prince An. However, it will take several days to procure the provisions, and it may be difficult to deliver the provisions to Jialing Pass within ten days."

Shen Jingheng's words plunged the hall into silence once more. Yes, let's put aside the question of whether to fight or not; the front lines aren't short of manpower, but rather, they're desperately short of supplies.

"Regarding the issue of provisions, do any of you ministers have a solution?" Zhou Luo's youthful voice rang out in the hall.

"Your Majesty, now that the wheat harvest is just over, why not transfer grain from Zhongzhou Prefecture, which is closest to Jialing Pass, to alleviate the predicament of Jialing Pass for the time being?" Kang Xinming, the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner, stepped forward from his entourage and offered his advice to the Emperor.

"Lord Kang's method might be feasible," Shen Jingheng said, seconding the suggestion before the Emperor could ask further.

“Alright, then let’s do as Lord Kang says, and transfer grain from Zhongzhou Prefecture to Jialing Pass. The specific arrangements will be made by the Grand Tutor.” Zhou Luo had just ascended to the throne when he encountered such a situation. In the court, he relied on Shen Jingheng the most.

"Your humble servant obeys the decree."

"Your Majesty..." Jiang Pingda wanted to continue talking about leading troops to quell the rebellion, but he was interrupted by a "report" from outside.

"Urgent military report from the front..." Outside the main hall, an even more disheveled junior officer was helped into the hall by two imperial guards. He was covered in wounds and could no longer walk on his own. Xia Yu could tell at a glance that he had reached his limit and was on the verge of death.

"Your Majesty... Jialing Pass is besieged... huff... huff... General... General..." The young general who came to deliver the message spoke softer and softer, and it was clear that he was about to die.

"Imperial Physician! Quickly, summon the Imperial Physician!" Shen Jingxun strode over, felt the young general's pulse, and found it weak and his body burning hot, indicating that his injuries were extremely serious. He immediately shouted to the people outside.

But it would take time for the imperial physician to arrive, and this person was clearly not going to make it.

"What's going on at Jialing Pass? Tell me quickly!" an impatient official shouted at the young officer.

Just as things were getting chaotic in the main hall, a clear, sharp voice suddenly rang out from behind.

"Everyone get out of the way."

That's a woman's voice! How could there be a woman in this hall? Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a little eunuch flitting across the wall towards them.

Seeing that everyone was still stunned, the man shouted again.

"Get out of the way, I can save him."

"Princess Wenfu?"

Clearly, some people have already recognized that the little eunuch flying over is none other than Princess Wenfu, newly appointed by the late emperor.

"Make way, make way! The princess can save people!" Murong Fu suddenly spoke up, helping Xia Yu to move the people surrounding the young general aside and clear the space.

He was the one who escorted the delegation to the Moko border. At the negotiation site, he personally witnessed Xia Yu swiftly seize the Japanese spy. Anyone with a brain wouldn't think that was just agility; he knew then that this young girl named Xia Xia possessed martial arts skills, and quite formidable ones at that. Now, watching her fly down from the cliff, Murong Fu inwardly sighed, "Her lightness skill is truly extraordinary!"