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

Hearing Shen Lang say this, Fa Xiaozhi felt a rare sense of shame: "The Duke of Zhenguo puts the overall situation first, which really makes me feel ashamed."

Shen Lang waved his hand: "Don't rush to flatter him. If His Majesty's consolidation of power goes smoothly this time, that would be excellent, saving me the trouble of worrying and effort."

I'm afraid they'll push me to the brink, forcing me to take extreme measures.

Fa Xiaozhi nodded: "The Duke of Zhenguo is right. No plan can be perfect. Unexpected events and risks are inevitable."

"Therefore, before the Duke entered Shu, he had already transferred Wu Jie's troops to Jingzhou to stand by, just waiting for an order, and the entire division could set off for Shu."

"The Duke of Zhenguo is a man of profound wisdom and foresight; I can only admire him. As for any situation I could have foreseen..."

The Duke of Zhenguo had all known about this beforehand; they were truly prepared but defenseless. Given this disparity, how could Jiang Chong not be defeated?

"He's starting to flatter again, acting like a filial son."

Shen Lang pointed at Fa Xiaozhi, both amused and exasperated, while the latter greeted him with a smile.

"Now, let's see what choice Li Ye makes."

……

At the Yi family residence, Li Ye and Yi Wancheng took their seats as host and guest, but neither of them spoke first after the tea was served.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Li Ye finally couldn't help but ask, "Patriarch Yi, what exactly do you mean by this?"

Yi Wancheng: "I don't understand what you're saying, sir. Just say what you have to say."

"Do you still remember what I said to you some time ago?"

"How could I possibly forget even a single word of Lord Li's words?"

"Then why haven't I seen a single grain of rice delivered to the Dongzhou camp so far?"

Upon hearing this, a barely perceptible glint flashed deep in Yi Wancheng's eyes.

How dare Li Ye bring this up?

The Prince's Mansion offered no compensation to the merchants, yet forced them to donate their rice to the Dongzhou military camp to make up for their losses.

Anyone would be upset in this situation.

Now Li Ye actually dares to come to my door and question me with such a self-righteous attitude?

Yi Wancheng immediately responded without giving him a pleasant look, saying, "I have not forgotten your instructions for a moment, sir."

The merchants felt that the army had made mistakes, yet they were being asked to contribute grain to cover them up, without any benefit to themselves. They were unwilling to be taken advantage of.

Li Ye: "So, does Patriarch Yi mean he's unwilling to donate grain to stabilize morale?"

Yi Wancheng sneered: "My lord, the money and grain of my Yi family don't come from thin air. Do you think I would be willing to give up millions of shi of grain for nothing?"

To be honest, given Lord Li's forceful attitude, merchants from Sichuan will probably have to think twice before cooperating with the Prince's Mansion in the future.

Li Ye's forehead veins throbbed slightly as he tried to suppress his urge to explode, and he calmly said, "Then tell me, what will it take for you to release the grain?"

Yi Wancheng: "It's very simple. There are two options. The first option is to exchange money for goods. The amount of money the Prince's Mansion pays is the amount of grain I will release. It's fair and just."

Li Ye asked, "So how much money are you planning to spend on grain?"

"I don't want much, just five taels of silver per stone of grain!"

"Yi Wancheng!"

Upon hearing such arrogant words, Li Ye slammed his fist on the table and stood up.

"Are you trying to extort the Prince's mansion with such grain prices?"

Yi Wancheng laughed and said, "Lord Li, please don't get agitated. We merchants are after profit, and right now, all the new grain in Sichuan is being bought up by merchants from other places."

No new rice is available in the grain stores in Sichuan.

In addition, the prices offered by foreign merchants for grain are so low that they are squeezing out our local grain shops to the point of bankruptcy.

The only way to make up for this loss is through you, sir.

Li Ye angrily said, "Yi Wancheng, I really didn't expect you to be so shameless. The prince has treated you very well, yet you treat him like this?"

“Your Highness has treated me well, so how could I have treated Your Highness poorly? Last year, when Dongzhou was building a new road, it was my Yi Wancheng who was the first to donate 300,000 taels of silver in response to the Prince’s call.”

"Two years ago, when we were raising funds for water conservancy, it was I, Yi Wancheng, who contributed 200,000 taels of silver."

"The renovation and expansion of the Prince's Mansion was also orchestrated by me, Yi Wancheng!"

"May I ask, Lord Li, is this what you mean by 'not treating others unfairly'?"

Li Ye sneered: "Yi Wancheng, which of your actions didn't involve profiting from it all?"

You did indeed contribute 300,000 taels to the road construction, but you used this as a basis to raise a full 500,000 taels from the public for the same purpose, profiting at least 200,000 taels from it.

Furthermore, you fund the construction of water conservancy projects, yet you require all farmers to pay annual water fees in order to recoup their investment and make a profit.

Furthermore, the materials used for the renovation and expansion of the Prince's Mansion were all provided by your Yi family. I don't need to reveal how much profit you made from it.

Think about it yourself. How have you treated the prince? Ask yourself that question!

Yi Wancheng didn't see anything wrong with it: "I can make money because I saw the business opportunity. As long as I can get things done for the Prince,..."

Gaining his approval is enough; the prince doesn't care about anything else. Why are you worrying about it, Lord Li?

"One shi of grain costs five taels of silver. If you're willing to buy, prepare the silver within three days to complete the transaction. Otherwise, there's no point in discussing it!"

His attitude was very tough, giving Li Ye no room for maneuver whatsoever.

Li Ye: "The Prince's Mansion does not have that much silver right now. The price of five taels of silver per shi is absolutely unacceptable."

Yi Wancheng sneered: "Then you can go buy grain from those foreign merchants. Their rice is cheaper, twenty coins a dou, which is cheaper than the price we pay for it. Go ahead and buy it!"

Li Ye was so angry that he trembled with fear, wishing he could just slap him to death.

How could he not know the price of rice sold by those grain merchants? He had even considered taking the opportunity to buy up that rice to supplement the army's rations.

However, the grain was supplied in limited quantities, and preferential treatment was only given to military and civilian personnel in the area where the grain was sold; everything was based on the place of household registration.

The idea of ​​buying at a low price was unrealistic from the start.

Yi Wancheng dared to offer high prices to grain merchants because he knew their specific situation.

Because, apart from Yi Wancheng and his group, Li Ye had no way to buy food from anywhere else.

"What about the second option?"

Li Ye wasted no more time and went straight to the second option.

"I want 70% of the profits from this year's Shu brocade production in the weaving workshop."

When Yi Wancheng said this, even though Li Ye was already prepared, he was still stunned.

"As expected, you came here for the weaving workshop. You've been eyeing the Shu brocade trade orders this year, haven't you? Ever since you learned that the imperial court was buying up silk, you've been watching it closely?"

"There's no way around it. The profits from Shu brocade are just too huge. I'm a businessman, and it would be self-deception to say I'm not envious. So, sir, can you make a decision for the prince?"

Yi Wancheng glanced at Li Ye sideways, looking like he had him cornered.

"Seventy percent of the quota, that means the weaving workshop will be working for your Yi family for the entire year. Do you think that's possible?"

"Since we can't reach an agreement, then Lord Li, please leave. After all, if word gets back to the Prince that such a major event as the burning of the Dongzhou granary has been discovered, what do you think will happen?"

Li Ye clenched his fists, feeling utterly disgusted by Yi Wancheng's undisguised malice.

Since that's the case, he has no psychological burden anymore.

"Alright, I promise you. I will draft the receipts and send the ledgers later."

Upon hearing this, Yi Wancheng immediately beamed with joy: "That's right, Lord Li, please have some tea."