Chapter 204 - 149: All the World’s Wealth Enters the Pot
Chapter 204: Chapter 149: All the World’s Wealth Enters the Pot
"What are the specific arrangements?" the head of the Xiao Clan asked softly.
It seemed she had taken Lu Yuan’s words to heart.
"You could grant titles to some of the Vassal Towns. For example, give them some grand-sounding honorifics. Right now, some of the territories occupied by the Vassal Towns have yet to be officially recognized by the imperial court, haven’t they?
Since the land is already in their hands anyway, you can just bestow it upon them directly.
However, you must choose to reward the Vassal Towns that still hold some loyalty to the court. As for the others, you don’t need to bother with them. Just let them be.
When that time comes, we won’t even have to dispatch troops. They’ll start suspecting one another, and they certainly won’t be as united as they were before. Once those cracks appear, the rest will be easy to manage."
The eyes of the Xiao Clan’s head lit up. After careful consideration, she felt the plan was indeed feasible.
Most importantly, it would come at no loss to the court, so it was worth a try.
Any single one of these Vassal Towns, taken on its own, posed no real threat to the court. The main problem was that they became troublesome when they banded together.
If they could be made to stop acting in unison, manipulating the situation would become much easier.
She nodded and said, "Alright. We’ll proceed with this plan for the Vassal Towns for now. As for the Shengman and the Ancient Barbarians, we’ll have to see how many resources the court can accumulate after spring begins.
Otherwise, we might not have enough to support a large-scale military campaign."
"Mm," Lu Yuan nodded.
In truth, the most important reason for his urgency was the threat from Dayong.
’Two years. I have to completely transform the Northern Barbarians within two years.’
’Otherwise, the consequences would be unthinkable.’
After the three of them chatted for a while longer, Lu Yuan took his leave.
As for Xiao Hua and her mother, they finally breathed a sigh of relief, having resolved the immediate crisis.
After returning to his residence, Lu Yuan still did not neglect his cultivation. He swallowed an Elixir and entered a state of Meditation.
The night passed uneventfully. Early the next morning...
Just as he walked out of the courtyard, Cai Chong came up to greet him. "Prince, I went to purchase land first thing this morning. However, the Government Office raised the price. At one hundred thousand taels of silver per mu, I was only able to purchase the six thousand mu of land surrounding the Academy Palace. But the court gifted us four thousand mu, so in the end, we obtained ten thousand mu."
"Mm, well done. Recruit more people and speed up the construction of the houses. Were there many people signing up today? Go post a notice. The gist of it is that because the price of land has gone up, the price of the houses in the Academy Palace will also increase tenfold.
For today, just sell them at the normal price." Hearing Lu Yuan’s words, Cai Chong opened his mouth, wanting to persuade his prince otherwise. But when he thought about the miracle Lu Yuan had just created, he clamped his mouth shut.
Instead, he said, "Even more people showed up today than yesterday. A large portion of them are gathered at the training grounds, watching the new students receive their imparted skills.
The sales office is packed with people wanting to buy houses. Even some of the wealthy merchants from our own Imperial City can’t resist the temptation. Once I hang up that notice, I expect even more people will come," Cai Chong said quickly.
Lu Yuan nodded and gestured for Cai Chong to leave.
He then began walking out of his residence. The Xiao matriarch and her daughter were heading to South City today, so he decided to go over as well and see how Wei Yong and the others were progressing with their training.
’Today is the day of skill impartation, a very important event for the Academy Palace. I can’t afford to be careless.’
With that, he led a troop of Beast Riders out of his residence and headed toward South City.
Meanwhile, in the Dayong Imperial Palace, the Yong Emperor, having just woken up, was stepping out of his sleeping chambers.
A Eunuch was waiting outside to report.
"Your Majesty, news has arrived from the Northern Barbarians."
The Yong Emperor’s brow furrowed. ’The Northern Barbarians again,’ he thought, but still said, "Come in."
The Eunuch entered the sleeping chambers cautiously, not daring to glance toward the bed. His Majesty’s favored concubine was still resting there.
"What is the news?"
"One of our Brocade Robe Envoy spies stationed in the Northern Barbarians just sent a sound transmission. He said that Lu Yuan’s houses in South City are suddenly selling extremely well. Wealthy merchants from all over the world have flocked there. Yesterday alone, he likely took in billions of taels of silver."