The emperor is biased and wants to kill me, but you chickened out when the army is at the city gates

Who would have thought that the three great Confucian scholars of Beining City would be vying to become Qin Xuan's disciples?

Zhao Luoying, who was standing to the side, was completely dumbfounded. Are scholars really this terrifying when they get serious?

Qin Xuan was both amused and exasperated, and quickly helped all three of them up:

"When I was writing the calligraphy model, I made an extra copy, just in case there were any mistakes during the carving process. Now I'm giving it to you!"

"Thank you, Your Highness. Where is this book now?"

Zhuge Xuan was overjoyed and hurriedly asked.

"It's on my desk in the Prince's Palace council hall, with a blue leather cover."

Qin Xuan said.

"Very well, Your Majesty, I will go and observe and learn from you."

Zhuge Xuan bowed, and as soon as he turned around, he saw that Qiu Xingzhi and Cui Yu had already run away, leaving only their backs.

He reacted instantly, chasing after Qiu Xingzhi at his fastest speed ever, shouting angrily, "Qiu Xingzhi, you old scoundrel, how dare you lack martial ethics! You stop right there..."

"..."

Inside the workshop, Qin Xuan and Zhao Luoying looked at each other, then burst into laughter.

A few days later, in the capital of Daqi, at the residence of the Third Prince.

Qin Zhen was practicing his swordplay with one arm, sweating profusely.

Lately, he has not had an easy time, especially with the rise of the Fourth Prince, he has been vaguely sensing the loss of power.

Some of the court officials who had previously sided with him have now switched their allegiance to the fourth prince, Qin Yu.

"Qin Xuan, if you hadn't severed my arm that day, I wouldn't be in this state."

Qin Zhen slashed down fiercely with his sword, his eyes filled with resentment.

He understood that the Great Qi Empire would never allow a man with a missing arm to inherit the throne, even though he was still the most likely prince to inherit the throne.

But if you, Qin Xuan, can successfully force someone to abdicate, why can't I, Qin Zhen, do the same?

"Your Highness, good news! Great news!"

Suddenly, a familiar voice came from outside the courtyard. The person who came was his advisor, Yang Ziyan.

“Your Highness, Kim Jun-in, a wealthy merchant from Goryeo, is looking everywhere for honeycomb briquettes. I happened to know about this, so I secretly brought him into the palace.”

Yang Ziyan is tall and slender with high cheekbones. When he speaks, his face turns flushed with excitement, and his long, narrow eyes are particularly striking.

Qin Zhen frowned slightly and said, "Sir, it seems you've forgotten that Daqi has no way to produce honeycomb briquettes."

"Please forgive me, Your Highness. I just received an urgent report from Chu Feng an hour ago. Please take a look."

Yang Ziyan bowed and handed over a letter with both hands.

Qin Zhen was somewhat puzzled, but upon opening it, his breathing became rapid: "Is this really true?"

"Indeed! The urgent report was written by Gongsun Liao, so it cannot be wrong."

Gongsun Liao was the so-called leader. He was someone Yang Ziyan had personally promoted, so he was naturally trustworthy.

"This is simply divine intervention! Haha, as expected, the heavens have been kind to me!"

Qin Zhen roared excitedly, sweeping away the gloom and depression he had been feeling lately.

"Your Highness, Jin Junren has been in the capital for four or five days. He doesn't usually show himself, and his subordinates have been making large-scale purchases on his behalf."

"It is said that they have already purchased over 100,000 taels of tea and silk alone. I happen to be familiar with his trusted purchasing agent, and that's how I learned that they are also purchasing honeycomb briquettes at the same time."

"So when I received the urgent report, I was unable to report to you immediately. Instead, I went to invite this wealthy merchant from Goryeo. He is now waiting in the outer hall. Would Your Highness like to see him?"

Yang Ziyan finished speaking in one breath, looking at Qin Yu with some trepidation, after all, he had acted first and informed Qin Yu later.

But if it weren't for this, his talent wouldn't be able to shine through.

As expected, Qin Zhen wasn't angry. Instead, he laughed heartily and said, "Sir, you flatter me. Your decisiveness is exemplary; you are a model advisor. However, the matter of the honeycomb briquettes should have been reported to the court. If we..."

“Your Highness, I know that you want to use the secret recipe for honeycomb briquettes to gain the support of the court and the favor of His Majesty. But please forgive my boldness, the Fourth Prince now controls the salt warehouses and coal stoves. If we hand them over directly, I am afraid it will be a loss for us.”

Yang Ziyan reminded him.

Upon hearing this, Qin Zhen couldn't help but nod slightly.

The conflict between him and Qin Yu had become somewhat public. Emperor Qin Tian of the Great Qi Dynasty boasted of his ability to raise Gu poison and watched his two sons fight over it with amusement, without considering whether he himself was truly capable of controlling these two young but already wolfish wolves.

"As I suggest, Your Highness might as well contribute the secret formula after you have completed the deal with Kim Jun-in."

Yang Ziyan took a deep breath and boldly said, "Besides, Your Highness, this huge manor also needs the support of silver!"

With the secret recipe in hand, even if he eventually presented it to the imperial court, Qin Zhen could still secretly produce honeycomb briquettes and continuously amass wealth.

“Excellent, this plan is brilliant. Go and invite Jin Junren. I need to have a good talk with him.”

Qin Zhen made up his mind, his eyes filled with excitement.

On the other side, the Municipal Construction Supervision Bureau.

The fourth prince, Qin Yu, looked at the warehouse full of coal stoves, his face turning ashen.

In front of him, several minor officials from the Ministry of Works rolled on the ground, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

"It's been five whole days, and the Construction Supervision Bureau hasn't sold a single coal stove. What are you all doing?"

A cold glint flashed in Qin Yu's eyes, and his tone was extremely stern.

One of the minor officials, mustering his courage, replied in a trembling voice, "Your Highness, it's not that we haven't tried hard enough, but a group of merchants have appeared in the market offering free coal stoves with the purchase of honeycomb briquettes. Their coal stoves are all free, and they even bear the mark of Beining City. We simply can't sell them!"

The four major chambers of commerce had long heeded Qin Xuan's advice. They not only launched a campaign to give away coal stoves with the purchase of a certain number of honeycomb briquettes, but also hired a large number of storytellers to spread stories about the origin of coal stoves and how some people were poisoned by using off-brand coal stoves in various restaurants, inns and streets.

For a time, not only in the capital of Daqi, but also in other prefectures and counties, direct sales of coal stoves appeared.

"Damn Qin Xuan, how could he be so shameless!"

The fourth prince immediately thought of Qin Xuan. Only Qin Xuan in the whole world could have such schemes and financial resources.

"What about honeycomb briquettes? Why can't they be developed yet?" Qin demanded in a loud voice.

"The junior staff are already working hard on the research and development, and I believe it will be soon..."

Before the clerk could finish speaking, Qin Yu kicked him hard on the forehead, roaring furiously, "You said the same thing half a month ago! How long do you intend to deceive me?"

The poor clerk had no way to express his suffering and could only let the blood flow down his head as he pleaded, "Fourth Prince, please calm your anger. I will definitely speed things up."

"You bunch of useless trash, I..."

Just as Qin Yu was about to unleash a torrent of curses, a guard rushed in from outside the door, quickly approached him, and whispered, "Your Highness, the secret recipe for honeycomb briquettes has been leaked."

"Really? Who has it now?"

Qin Yu instantly became excited, grabbed the guard's hand, and asked, "Yang Li, how did you learn about this?"

Yang Li was Qin Yu's personal guard and also his confidant.

This person was not only highly skilled in martial arts, but also resourceful and wise. He had always followed Qin Yu and served as his right-hand man.

"My spy planted in the Third Prince's residence just reported that Chu Feng has successfully stolen the secret formula for honeycomb briquettes from Beining City. However, he doesn't plan to announce it immediately. Instead, he has arranged to meet with Kim Jun-in, a wealthy merchant from Goryeo, to discuss cooperation in private," Yang Li explained in a low voice.

A glint of light flashed in Qin Yu's eyes. He naturally knew about Kim Jun-in. Although this wealthy merchant from Goryeo was visiting the capital of Daqi for the first time, he had been making waves recently.

Because Kim Jun-in practically monopolized half of Kyoto's tea, silk, and porcelain trade, he was incredibly wealthy.

Even Qin Yu, a prince, would want to befriend such wealthy merchants.

"Third Brother has a clever plan; he's trying to make a quick buck behind the scenes!"

Qin Yu, with his meticulous mind, gave a cold smile: "Is there a way to obtain the secret formula?"

"Yes, but at a high cost."

Yang Li hesitated for a moment before speaking.