Chapter 52: Let’s Just Build a School Then

The Estate of the Prince of Wei

Today, Prince Li Tai hosted a banquet for several officials from the aristocratic clans. Cui Renzhi was among them, representing the Cui family, and locust dishes were served at the table. Li Tai took a bite of a locust, drank a sip of wine, and said to the men, "Say what you will about my tenth brother, his ability to make money is truly admirable. He can literally turn stone into gold. Look at these locusts; they were once considered a natural disaster, and the common people turned pale at the mere mention of them, fearing them like fierce floods and wild beasts. But look at them now. These locusts can even generate a profit. This time, he saved the imperial court a massive amount of money and grain, while Li Shen himself made a fortune, and many who followed his lead profited handsomely as well."

"His Highness speaks wisely," said Du Chuke, Li Tai’s chief strategist. "The Prince of Ji certainly possesses a remarkable talent for commerce. If Your Highness can win him over, he will undoubtedly become a powerful asset, greatly aiding Your Highness in achieving your grand ambitions for the future."

"Hmph, I see it as mere petty craft," Cui Renzhi retorted, revealing the stance of the Cui family. "Li Shen is greedy for wealth and will never amount to anything significant in the future. With the support of the aristocratic clans, why should Your Highness worry about failing to accomplish your goals? Besides, Li Shen and our clan already have bad blood. Working together is impossible."

"Cui Yushi need not react so strongly," Li Tai placated him. "The Tenth Brother merely snatched away the wine business from the Cui family. If he is willing to assist me, I can simply have him share the brewing techniques with you. However, it seems to me that the Tenth Brother is growing very close to the Crown Prince, so he may not necessarily be willing to help me."

Wei Ting, who also served concurrently as an official in the Prince of Wei’s mansion and acted as one of his strategists, chimed in. He had heard Consort Wei mention that the Emperor had previously wanted Li Shen to enter the Eastern Palace, only to be rejected by him. "Your Highness, the Prince of Ji is actually not all that close to the Crown Prince. Back then, the Crown Prince only got involved because we were scheming to steal his techniques, which infuriated the Prince of Ji and led him to send fifty thousand strings of copper coins to the Crown Prince as a gesture. Since then, we have heard of no further contact between them. Moreover, I am told the Prince of Ji has already made it clear to His Majesty that he wishes to remain an idle prince and has no desire to become entangled in these affairs."

"The Prince of Ji's single policy regarding the imperial examinations has already posed a threat to our aristocratic clans," analyzed Wang Weiqu, another censor. "And if he continues to do business, he will inevitably clash with us. The reason he hasn't made any major moves yet is likely because he hasn't been able to leave the palace much. But he is already making preparations. He has bought up almost everything in the southern part of Chang'an city, including those mountain forests. He must have something grand planned, but he cannot execute it yet simply because he is confined to the palace for long periods."

"Lord Wang is right," Cui Renzhi agreed. "This Prince of Ji, Li Shen, will undoubtedly clash with our aristocratic clans in the future. But for now, since he remains secluded deep within the palace, we cannot get a hold of any leverage against him. We can only let him be for the time being. As for trying to win him over, that is utterly out of the question."

"Very well, let us not dwell on the Prince of Ji for now; he has little impact on our affairs, and in the future, he will likely be sent straight to his fiefdom," Wei Ting said. "Our priority right now is to discuss solidifying the position of His Highness the Prince of Wei. The Crown Prince's position is secure, and his temperament has changed. Even though we frequently impeach him, they are all trivial matters that cannot shake him in the slightest. Furthermore, the Crown Prince is now recruiting many scholars from humble backgrounds into the Chongwen Pavilion. These people will become the Crown Prince's blades in the future."

As a member of the Wei family, Wei Ting owed his entry into the official court largely to Consort Wei. Since Li Shen was his distant nephew, he certainly did not want these people bad-mouthing him. Li Shen growing powerful would have zero negative impact on the Wei family and might even turn out to be a useful asset.

***

In September, thanks to the capturing efforts of the common people, the locust plague had passed, and normal life resumed. Some villagers still went out to the outskirts to catch them, but they could only harvest a few pounds a day, and the locust trade essentially ground to a halt. The price of locust dishes at the Flavor Pavilion had doubled. As the saying goes, rarity makes things precious, and Li Shen didn't have much stock left either.

Over the past month, Li Shen had compiled all the traditional Chinese delicacies from his memory into a book. Most of them were focused on preparation methods and flavor profiles, as he didn't know the exact chemical compositions, but he certainly knew the primary ingredients. In his previous life, Li Shen had been in his thirties, having traveled far and wide. As a business owner of some standing, he had seen quite a bit of the world, and he still remembered a considerable number of dishes. Added to that was the fact that in his past life, he could scroll through dozens of short videos daily teaching cooking techniques, life hacks, and the like. Ever since his transmigration, the only true benefit he felt he possessed was an exceptionally clear memory of his past life, allowing him to recall many things that should have long since been forgotten. Li Shen had heard that foreign studies suggested that at the exact moment of death, a person's entire life flashes before their eyes like a movie. Li Shen felt that might actually be true.

During this past month, Li Shen had passed down several recipes to the chefs, telling them to figure it out themselves and use whatever ingredients they needed without fear of wasting money. Thus, after more than a month of experimentation, the chefs had basically met Li Shen's standards.

Having nothing to do today, Li Shen took a carriage to the Greater Imperial Manor. The Greater Imperial Manor was completely transformed now. The villagers all looked healthy and ruddy, beaming with joy, and bowed respectfully whenever they saw Li Shen coming. Li Shen was a good master; their current good lives were entirely due to him treating them well. Out of the twenty mu of hereditary land allotted to them, Li Shen only took a ten percent share in rent, and for his private farmland, the annual rent was capped at fifty percent. Previously, when farming for the imperial family, the rent was eighty percent. Do not assume fifty percent was high; as people attached to Li Shen's fiefdom, they were exempt from taxes and free from annual corvée labor. In those days, corvée labor not only came without wages, but laborers also had to bring their own food. Therefore, fiefdom tenants typically gave eighty percent in rent, kept twenty percent for themselves, and paid no taxes—still far better than working as tenant farmers for ordinary landlords.

During festivals, Li Shen also distributed rice and meat to the village. Moreover, he had built workshops in the village and opened coal mines, which employed a large amount of local labor, paying five hundred copper cash a month while providing meals. The neighboring manors were filled with envy, and many families wanted to marry their daughters off to the Greater and Lesser Imperial Manors. This year, several local families had taken brides from other villages, and Li Shen had even sent two strings of copper coins to each family as a wedding gift.

Therefore, Li Shen meant a great deal to them, and they were deeply grateful. Of course, this wasn't charity without return. If Li Shen were to leave the palace in the future, the manor's guards would essentially be selected from this fiefdom, and they would protect him with all their might. If Li Shen were to die, the fiefdom would be repossessed, their good days would come to an end, and even their descendants would suffer.

Li Shen walked through the village. The roads had been paved with crushed stones hauled from the mining area, which were laid down and then packed tight with sandy soil to fill the gaps. Seeing the happy expressions of the villagers along the way, Li Shen felt a swell of pride. However, the village houses were still mud-brick dwellings, which Li Shen felt fell short of ideal; they needed proper housing. He figured brick-firing was entirely feasible, and a primitive version of cement should be doable as well. Li Shen roughly understood the principles, and he had money. If it failed once, he'd try ten times; if ten times, a hundred times. He refused to believe he couldn't succeed.

Just as he was pondering this, a group of children raced past him in a blur, almost colliding with Li Shen and drawing a round of scolding from the adults. Li Shen watched the retreating children, paused in thought, and said, "This won't do."

"What won't do, Your Highness?" asked Stone, his attendant.

"I mean these children. They shouldn't be running wild like this; they should be studying."

"Your Highness, studying in the city is too expensive, and there is no village school here," Wang Hongfu replied.

"If there isn't one, why don't we build one?"

"Build one?"