Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

Time flies, and it's already late September.

Thanks to well-developed water conservancy projects and the widespread availability of fertilizers, the Great Chu region enjoyed another bumper harvest.

It was at this time that Ye Mo and Shen Lang, on the emperor's orders, went to Shu and arrived at the Shu Prefecture to read out the emperor's will.

"By imperial decree, Prince Jiang Chong has served diligently and responsibly during his tenure in Shu, and his merits are highly commendable. Effective immediately, he shall be conferred the title of Prince of Shu!"

Ye Mo read the imperial edict aloud to the public, glancing at Jiang Chong, who was kneeling on the ground listening to the decree.

He then held the imperial edict in one hand and with both hands flat in front of him.

"Your Majesty, I thank you!"

Although he was granted the title of Prince, Jiang Chong felt very uncomfortable.

After all, he felt that kneeling before his sister was an immense humiliation.

Upon receiving the imperial edict, Ye Mo hurriedly said, "Your Highness, please rise immediately."

After Jiang Chong stood up, he cupped his hands to Ye Mo and said, "Prime Minister Ye, your arrival from afar truly brings honor to my humble palace. Please take a seat, Prime Minister Ye."

"Yes, Your Highness, you're too kind."

Ye Xiang bowed casually and, guided by Jiang Chong, entered the main hall of the Prince's Mansion.

As for Shen Lang, who was also a envoy, he was completely ignored by Jiang Chong.

But Shen Lang didn't care and followed the two into the main hall of the Prince's Mansion.

After everyone was seated, Jiang Chong ordered tea and pastries to be brought over, and said to Ye Mo with a respectful expression, "Prime Minister Ye, when I left the capital to guard this place years ago..."

I still vividly remember Prime Minister Ye's earnest teachings, and I am overjoyed to see him again.

Jiang Chong really wanted to win over Ye Mo.

After all, Ye Mo's connections and influence are exactly what Jiang Chong currently lacks.

Moreover, bringing Ye Mo to one's side would be of great help in the future uprising.

Ye Mo replied with a smile, "It is my honor to have Your Highness remember me. To be honest, before I came here, the Empress Dowager repeatedly instructed me to get closer to the Prince."

"Mother, how is he? I haven't seen you for several years."

"Your Highness, please rest assured, the Empress Dowager is well. By the way, this is a letter from His Majesty to this old minister concerning the Empress Dowager. Please open it yourself, Your Highness."

Ye Mo handed the letter written by Ji Yuxi to Jiang Chong.

Shen Lang sat on the guest chair, preoccupied with sliding the lid of his teacup, seemingly uninterested in the scene before him.

Jiang Chong took the letter, opened it, glanced at it, and frowned.

"One hundred thousand bolts of Shu brocade? This..."

He looked at Ye Mo, puzzled.

"Prime Minister Ye, this is..."

Ye Mo smiled and said, "Your Highness must have heard that the Great Chu issued the Shu Brocade Decree in August, stating that from now on, the upper class..."

Whether they were kings, generals, or noble families, they were required to wear Shu silk brocade in public to showcase the grandeur of the new dynasty.

From now on, the palace will only purchase silk brocade from Shu (Sichuan). These 100,000 bolts of low-grade Shu brocade will mainly be used to alter court robes.

These five thousand bolts of fine Shu brocade are naturally intended by His Majesty to expand the imperial treasury and reward meritorious officials.

"I see."

Jiang Chong had naturally heard about the news that the State of Chu had suddenly implemented the Shu Brocade Order, but when such a large order was placed in front of him, he was still somewhat at a loss.

Shu brocade has extremely high requirements for weaving and embroidery. A high-quality piece of Shu brocade requires a senior weaver to spend a month to complete, and it cannot be done by others.

Especially the patterns and designs; not a single mistake can be made, otherwise all the previous efforts will be in vain.

This is also the reason why Shu brocade is so expensive.

However, the usually frugal Empress suddenly spent a million gold coins to purchase Shu brocade, and Jiang Chong was not able to figure out what she was up to for a moment.

"Your Highness, you look hesitant. Is there some trouble?"

Ye Mo's words pulled Jiang Chong back to reality from his thoughts.

"President Ye, please don't be offended. I was just a little taken aback by receiving such a large sum of money."

"Haha, it's not really Your Highness's fault. This old minister was caught off guard when he learned that Your Majesty suddenly wanted to order so much Shu brocade."

But now that I think about it, it seems His Majesty is intentionally trying to get closer to His Highness!

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chong immediately smiled and said, "Your Majesty trusts me so much, as your subject, I naturally must repay you."

Since this is a requirement of the royal family, I will make the decision: one bolt of inferior Shu brocade will be worth six taels of gold, while one bolt of superior Shu brocade will be worth one hundred taels of gold.

He had carefully calculated that a piece of low-grade Shu brocade would take about ten days to complete, and the cost of raw silk and labor would be about one tael of gold.

Each piece of Shu brocade yields a net profit of five taels of gold, which is a full 500,000 taels. If the gold is taken to Weizang for exchange, it can be exchanged at a ratio of 1:15, which translates to a full 7.5 million taels of silver.

As for top-quality Shu brocade, the cost of one bolt is controlled at ten taels of gold, with a net profit of ninety taels of gold. Five thousand bolts would amount to a net profit of forty-five hundred thousand taels of gold.

Just by selling Shu brocade, one can earn tens of millions of taels of silver!

"In that case, Your Highness, I thank you on behalf of Your Majesty."

As Ye Mo spoke, he took out another purchase order from his pocket.

"Prime Minister Ye, what is this?"

"Your Highness, this is an order from a silk merchant in Jiangnan. Currently, the court favors Shu brocade, and it will not purchase silk from any other region in Jiangnan."

Therefore, silk merchants from all over the country have entrusted this old minister to deliver their orders to Your Highness, hoping that Your Highness can relieve their urgent needs.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chong frowned, but still opened it and took a look.

"What? Five hundred thousand horses!"

Upon seeing this, Jiang Chong almost jumped off his chair.

"What's wrong, Your Highness?" Ye Mo asked curiously.

Jiang Chong's hands trembled slightly as he held the order: "Prime Minister Ye, how come there are so many orders all of a sudden? I'm afraid my Shu region is..."

"Is there some difficulty in Shu?" Ye Mo interrupted Jiang Chong's next words in an instant. "Your Highness, this is an immense treasure, bestowed upon you by His Majesty."

Jiang Chong was speechless.

He took another closer look at the order, and seeing the total of 500,000 horses, he felt his hands trembling.

Ye Mo sneered inwardly, then continued, "These are just the big orders; there are also some smaller businesses trying to take advantage of the situation and make a quick buck."

By the way, the generals in the north, upon learning of the issuance of the Shu brocade edict, also intended to purchase some Shu brocade so they could report to the capital at the end of the following year.

Based on our estimates, at least another 100,000 horsepower orders will be delivered to Sichuan by the end of this year.

"Your Highness, this is a considerable profit! I urge you to seize this opportunity. Before long, Sichuan silk will replace the silk industry of Jiangnan."

Jiang Chongren was completely stunned. He had never expected such a huge blow to his head.

To answer or not to answer?

If they didn't accept it, they would be extremely unwilling to let such a large sum of money slip through their fingers. How much salt, iron, and military supplies could they possibly purchase?

Let's accept it. With the existing mulberry fields in Sichuan, it's unlikely that we can complete these orders on time.

This put him in a dilemma.

At this moment, Shen Lang, who had been silent all along, spoke up: "Could it be that Your Highness's territory cannot produce such a large quantity of Shu silk?"

If that's the case, then I can only return and report to Your Majesty.

The silk weaving industry in Sichuan is not as prosperous as rumored. It would be better to restore the silk workshops in Jiangnan, and these orders can be cancelled to avoid putting Your Highness in a difficult position.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chong raised an eyebrow, met Shen Lang's calm gaze, and asked, "And who are you?"

Ye Mo immediately stood up and explained, "Your Highness, this is the current Emperor's son-in-law, Duke Shen Lang, who is also your relative."

"Oh, I've heard so much about you."

Jiang Chong didn't care at all and casually cupped his hands in greeting.

"I have heard about the Duke of Zhenguo's great feat of recovering Chang'an, driving out the Qiang and Hu tribes, and recently annexing the Wu region. My sister has truly found a good husband."

"Your Highness has given you the compliment."

Shen Lang paid no attention to his sarcastic tone.

"His Majesty has entrusted me with full authority over this Shu brocade trade. I must thoroughly investigate the scale of silk weaving in Shu before deciding whether to continue cooperating with Shu."

One sentence instantly made the atmosphere in the hall tense.