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

Back at the Prince's Mansion, recalling Shen Lang's cowardly behavior at Songhelou, Jiang Chong instantly felt that he had taken control of the situation.

In high spirits, he said to Yang Song, "You have to come to my aid for such a trivial matter? Look at the mess you've made!"

Yang Song realized that Jiang Chong's words contained no hint of blame, so he immediately chimed in, "That's right, with Your Highness taking charge, everything will naturally fall into place."

Jiang Chong picked up the purple clay teapot and took a sip of water: "By the way, go back and tell him to settle all the remaining payments at once."

Yang Song frowned: "Your Highness, this might not be appropriate..."

"What's wrong with that?" Jiang Chong retorted. "He's already acting like a coward, what are you afraid of? Just do as I say, let Luo Wu go with you. I don't believe he'll dare to make a move!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a guard immediately stood behind Jiang Chong.

Yang Song looked up and saw that the martial artist with a brown birthmark on his forehead was none other than Luo Wu, Jiang Chong's personal bodyguard.

"Tell Shen Lang that even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. No matter what he does outside, even if he pacifies the Wu Zhao Kingdom, in Shu, everything is decided by me."

Yang Song forced a smile and said with his head down, "Of course, the Prince has the final say in Shu, so what does Zhen... Shen Lang amount to?"

Then he looked at the arrogant Jiang Chong: "But Your Highness, I have heard that the process for goods procured by the palace must involve inspection and warehousing by the Imperial Household Department."

It's not that Shen Lang can get a certain amount of money just because he buys a lot. If it were that easy, wouldn't the prince be the one who suffers in the end if he didn't get the gold?

"In my humble opinion, this matter should not be taken too far. If the imperial court becomes angry and actually cancels the Shu brocade trade, the entire Shu region will be in trouble."

Jiang Chong pondered for a moment and nodded, finding some truth in it.

"Then warn Shen Lang again to handle things properly. As for this matter... never mind, let Luo Wu handle it."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Luo Wu loudly accepted the order, his face beaming with excitement at the prospect of teaching the Great Chu Emperor a lesson.

……

Inside the official residence, Shen Lang never expected that after returning from Songhelou and changing his clothes, the people from the Prince's Mansion would return, with a total of over a hundred people.

To his utter surprise, the royal guard named Luo Wu held a knife to his neck and gave him a very arrogant smile.

"Please forgive me, Duke Zhenguo. This was at the request of the Prince. He knows that you have made great military achievements. If he doesn't give you a warning, he's afraid he won't be able to keep you in check. Please forgive him."

After saying that, Luo Wu smiled and withdrew the sword from Shen Lang's shoulder.

Little did they know that if the blade had just lightly touched Shen Lang's skin, he would already be a corpse. They could only say that they escaped by sheer luck.

"Duke Zhenguo, the Prince instructed me to only tell you this once: the quantity of Shu brocade this time will be 60,000 bolts, as the Prince stated."

Everything will be handled according to this ledger. As for how you arrange things, that's not a matter for the Prince's residence to consider.

Everyone in the Prince's mansion just wants to get their hands on the full payment stipulated in the contract! Not a penny less, understand?

Shen Lang sneered, feigning difficulty: "I naturally understand Your Highness's feelings, but he should at least give me some clear direction. To insist on saying 60,000 when it's only 30,000 horses..."

If it were just a thousand or eight hundred horses missing, I could probably fool them, but this is a full thirty thousand! How am I supposed to make up an excuse?

"That's easy, you just need to bribe the people in the Imperial Household Department, and that will solve the problem."

Luo Wu gave Shen Lang an idea that couldn't be worse.

"After all, His Majesty can't possibly count the silk pieces one by one. As long as he makes an exception for the Imperial Household Department, it will be fine, won't it?"

Shen Lang helplessly shrugged: "If the people in the Imperial Household Department were so easy to bribe, I would probably be richer than a country by now."

Luo Wu's smile vanished: "Duke Zhenguo, the Prince has already given you a lot of face. You'd better not take advantage of it."

You are a hero renowned throughout the land, how could such a small matter stump you?

Shen Lang slowly put away his smile: "It's just an empty reputation, why bother mentioning it?"

Luo Wu immediately ordered two more wooden boxes to be brought over. Upon opening them, he found twelve beads of the same quality as those at Songhelou:

"The prince said this is for you to handle. Let me tell you, there's no one in the world you can't bribe. If you can't buy them, it's because the price offered isn't high enough."

The prince believes that as long as you're willing to spend money, there's nothing that can't be accomplished. Do you understand what that means?

Shen Lang sneered inwardly, but said on his face, "Your Highness's words were like a ray of sunshine clearing away the clouds, enlightening me completely. Alright, I know what to do now."

"I hope you really understand what to do! Don't let the prince urge you anymore. The prince said that once the payment is received, your share of the profits will naturally be given to you."

After saying that, Luo Wu stood up, waved his hand, and turned to leave Guan Xuan.

"interesting."

After watching Luo Wu leave, Shen Lang touched his neck and couldn't help but laugh.

"This is the first time in my life that someone has held a knife to my throat in front of me. You've got guts. I'll remember you."

……

As evening fell, Fa Xiaozhi and Zhen Yi learned of what had happened during the day and came together to the Xingyuan Guanxuan.

"Duke Zhenguo, I heard that people from the Prince's Mansion are causing you trouble. Are you alright?"

"Don't worry, I don't like to be taken advantage of. Sit down and let's talk."

Shen Lang waved his hand, gesturing for them to sit down.

"Xiaozhi, you've already made progress on the matter I asked you to investigate?"

"How could I, Fa, dare to neglect the matter entrusted to me by Zhenguo? Of course, I investigated it for you overnight."

Fa Xiaozhi handed over a land register.

"Duke Zhenguo, this year's cultivated land in Shu is mainly mulberry seedlings concentrated in southern Shu. As for Bazhou and Yizhou, grain production is still the priority."

Shen Lang glanced at it and looked at Fa Xiaozhi: "Is this land register accurate?"

"Hehehe."

Fa Xiaozhi chuckled mischievously, "Your Excellency Zhenguo is overthinking it. These are all records from the official registers of Shu, so how could they be inaccurate?"

Shen Lang leaned back strategically: "Official register? Looks like there's a civilian register too?"

Fa Xiaozhi chuckled and pulled out another register: "The Duke of Zhenguo is indeed farsighted. There is indeed an official register and a register of the people. The official register is just a piece of paper with data on it."

This register of the people contains the most accurate records, detailing everything from the amount of cultivated land and seasonal harvests to the crops planted—it is far more comprehensive than the official registers.

Shen Lang asked, "So, how many fields are currently planted with these mulberry seedlings?"

Fa Xiaozhi smiled slightly: "The official records show that the mulberry land in southern Sichuan is 1,701,224 mu, while the civilian records show more than 4,620,000 mu."

Shen Lang was taken aback: "The difference is really that big?"

Fa Xiaozhi: "That's for sure. Once the decree to convert rice paddies to mulberry fields is issued, who would still want to grow grain? You must know that mature mulberry fields can yield two harvests a year."

The profits are several times higher than those from growing crops, so farmers naturally don't want to cultivate crops anymore.

Aren't you afraid of running out of food?

"Does the Duke of Zhenguo think that farmers are unaware of the risks involved? In fact, farmers are more aware of the risks than anyone else."

However, compared to these invisible risks, they value immediate gains more.

Shen Lang nodded: "I understand, I'm terrified of being poor."

Fa Xiaozhi sighed, "The Duke of Zhenguo's insight is truly incisive. Everyone says that Shu County is a land of plenty, with fertile fields stretching for thousands of miles, and a prosperous and wealthy people."

But who could know that all of this was achieved with the sweat and blood of ordinary people? Farmers toil in the fields all year round, and when harvest season arrives...

After paying their grain taxes, they were still exploited by grain merchants in various places, and in the end, they could barely afford to have enough to eat.

Those who are truly wealthy are merely the powerful and wealthy living in grand mansions.

Zhen Yi also sighed: "Xiaozhi is right. Throughout history, the people have always suffered the most."

Among the four classes of people—scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—farmers held a very high social status, yet they had historically endured the most hardship.

Fa Xiaozhi: "Yes, it's really absurd to think about this world. Farmers can't even get enough to eat all year round, while those who build houses don't even have their own homes."

On the other hand, those who do nothing can get everything they want just by opening their hands, sigh…

As they said this, they both looked at Shen Lang, a hint of embarrassment in their eyes.

Shen Lang didn't respond. This problem couldn't be solved in a few words, and he wasn't the kind of idealist who would spout platitudes at the drop of a hat.

Rather than discussing such complex issues, he was more concerned with how to resolve the problem of the Shu region's lack of grain harvest.

His true purpose in changing rice paddies to mulberry fields was to cut off the Shu army's food supply.

"By the way, Xiaozhi, what price do grain merchants in Shu pay for grain?"

“In recent years, grain has been purchased for four shi of grain for one tael of silver, and then grain merchants sell it for two shi of rice and flour for one tael of silver.”

"That's it..."

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang touched his chin.

Suddenly, he looked at Zhen Yi: "Manager Zhen, could you please do something for me..."

Zhen Yi: "How can I be of service? Please give your instructions, Duke Zhenguo."

Shen Lang beckoned with his finger and whispered something in his ear.

"Please rest assured, Lord Zhenguo, I will certainly take care of it for you."

After hearing this, Zhen Yi got up and left the official residence.