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

As Shen Lang began to gather merchants from Shu, Li Ye ordered a convoy of grain transported from Langzhong to slowly enter the Dongzhou military camp.

At this moment, the soldiers in the Dongzhou camp had just run out of rations, and the arrival of new rations effectively boosted their morale.

Outside the Dongzhou camp, Li Ye watched as carts of grain drove into the camp gate, and the weight in his heart finally lifted: "In this way, the morale of the Dongzhou camp has been temporarily stabilized."

Jingkong sighed, "Lord Li, this is not a solution. This time we only have 80,000 shi of military rations to feed more than 300,000 people. How long can that last?"

Li Ye shook his head wearily: "We can only take it one day at a time right now."

After a moment's hesitation, Jingkong mustered his courage and said, "Lord Li, I have something to say, but I don't know if I should."

Li Ye remained silent.

Jingkong: "Lord Li, even I, a wandering monk, can see the current situation in the Great Chu clearly. How could you not know?"

Continuing to rely on the Prince will lead nowhere. Why not simply make peace with the Duke of Zhenguo and bring the Li family back to court? Isn't that your greatest wish in life?

Li Ye glared at him: "Don't talk nonsense! The prince has treated me with the greatest kindness, and now that the prince's power is in turmoil, how can I abandon him?"

Jingkong: "But this world already belongs to the Empress. Even if you exhaust all your efforts and try to change it with just a piece of Shu, you won't succeed."

This humble monk has heard that the Empress has issued a decree in her directly controlled territories exempting those serving in the military from forced labor and abolishing the corvée labor service.

This alone garnered the hearts and minds of the people to the Empress, and the trend of the Chu state central government collecting money became unstoppable.

Why should Lord Li try to stop this irreversible tide for the sake of a mere Prince of Shu?

Li Ye gave a wry smile: "Has the Empress truly taken control of everything? I doubt it. Shu is located in the southwest, with rugged mountain roads."

Even if the prince cannot wage war to conquer the world, he can still establish his own regime here. Even though the empress's power is currently unassailable,

"Then we'll wait until the future. When the State of Chu declines again, we'll surely rise again, march out of the Qinling Mountains, take Guanzhong, and seize the world in one fell swoop."

"I'm afraid it will be difficult." Jingkong did not agree with Li Ye's words. "Lord Li, don't say such self-deceiving things. Ask yourself honestly, do you even believe what you just said?"

Li Ye remained silent.

"Lord Li, please heed my advice. Even if it's for the sake of the lives of millions of people in Shu, have a proper talk with the Duke of Zhenguo."

Jingkong had spent many years with Li Ye and knew his personality very well.

With his abilities, it's not impossible for him to return to the court.

But Li Ye was also a very sentimental person. Jiang Chong had been kind to him, so how could he bear to abandon him at such a time?

In the past, Jingkong would not have advised against it. After all, at the beginning of the Empress's reign, the cession of three prefectures and the payment of annual tribute to Northern Yan were indelible stains, and the court situation was very unstable. The Empress was at risk of being forced to abdicate at any time.

At that time, Jiang Chong was the most likely to seize the divine artifact and become the ruler of Chu, while Li Ye would be able to return to the court smoothly.

But now, the situation has changed so suddenly that no one has had time to react.

Continuing to follow Jiang Chong would inevitably lead to a deadly endeavor.

Even Jingkong foresaw this prospect, so how could Li Ye not see it?

but……

Li Ye waved his hand: "Alright, Jingkong, I know what I'm doing. Don't try to persuade me anymore. Let's focus on the bigger picture first."

"Let's put other matters aside for now. By the way, have Yi Wancheng and the others distributed the grain?"

“No.” Jingkong shook his head. “Ever since you ordered them to distribute grain, Yi Wancheng and the others have remained silent.”

Li Ye's face darkened: "These profit-driven bastards don't have a single thought of sharing the burdens of the Prince's Mansion. Don't they know..."

Once the Prince's Mansion loses power, will their businesses be affected, and will the major families in Sichuan also be implicated?

They seem to have forgotten that all these years, they've been able to run rampant in Sichuan only under the protection of the Prince's mansion!

Li Ye vented his frustrations, then fell silent.

The problem still needs to be solved.

Right now, we still need the support of these wealthy households to stabilize the military and civilians of Shu County. Otherwise, if the food supplies of the Dongzhou camp run out in a month and we can't get new food, the problem will be much bigger.

"Back at the manor, I need to speak with Yi Wancheng again."

"My lord, Yi Wancheng is a man who won't do anything without a profit. If you ask him to distribute grain, he'll probably ask for an exorbitant amount."

"The Yi family is just a fallen aristocratic family. Now, its facade is entirely maintained by business. It may seem large, but its foundation is shallow and it cannot withstand any setbacks."

Whatever conditions he proposes, I will agree to them. But I'd like to see if Yi Wancheng will dare to ask for those conditions again after we get past this hurdle.

A fierce glint appeared in Li Ye's eyes.

Out of consideration for the Prince's Mansion, he didn't want to push things too far.

But if things really come to a dead end, he will not hesitate to draw his butcher's knife and slaughter these merchants like fat sheep.

Throughout the long course of history, regardless of the dynasty or the reign of any emperor, merchants have always played a special and subtle role.

On the surface, they maintained a seemingly harmonious relationship with the government during a time of peace and prosperity.

But in reality, this relationship is like something built on thin ice, and it could break at any moment.

On ordinary days, merchants work diligently in their respective fields, accumulating wealth through trade and commercial activities.

However, when the dynasty faces major changes or needs to take large-scale actions, such as the outbreak of war, the arrival of natural disasters, or the implementation of a policy that consumes huge amounts of money, these merchants who were originally seemingly glamorous immediately become "fat sheep" in the eyes of the government.

At such times, the government's first thought is to ask merchants for money and grain.

For those who are wealthy and know how to assess the situation, if they can meet the government's demands in a timely manner, they may be able to temporarily save their lives, property, and assets.

However, if anyone dares to refuse or is unable to bear this heavy financial burden, then what awaits them is the government's vicious betrayal.

Local authorities would not hesitate to arrest and imprison these disobedient merchants on various fabricated charges, and swiftly confiscate all their property and deposit it into the government treasury.

Moreover, these once-prominent merchants and their families would be reduced to the lowest social class of slavery, losing their freedom and dignity and living a life worse than death.

Li Ye already harbored murderous intent towards Yi Wancheng and his group of merchants; he was just waiting to see how they would respond upon their next meeting.

On the other hand, Shen Lang remained calm after learning that Li Ye had transferred grain from Langzhong.

Fa Xiaozhi, who came to report, was rather anxious.

"My Lord Zhenguo, are you still able to sit still? The morale that the Dongzhou camp worked so hard to build up has been ruined by Li Ye."

"Isn't this a good thing?" Shen Lang waved his folding fan. "Xiaozhi, you don't want to see the Dongzhou camp suffer from a war due to food shortages, which will harm the people of Shu."

I, Shen Lang, know I am ruthless and cruel, but I am unwilling to see Shu fall into the same situation as Wu, relying on manor policies to weather the crisis.

If we were to do that, I wouldn't be able to explain it to His Majesty, and the entire plan to convert rice paddies to mulberry fields would be meaningless.

What His Majesty desires is a stable Shu Commandery, not a southwest plagued by famine and endless war.