Chapter 59 Where on earth would you find that many scholars for you to slaughter?

Fan Chengyuan was kept behind for no other reason than out of unease regarding those uncles with strong military forces.

"Every time I mention recalling my uncles, why does Chancellor Wang always obstruct it in every possible way?"

There was a time when he found the confinement of his uncles hard to bear, but nowadays he could not sleep peacefully for a single night, always feeling that the dragon throne beneath him was not quite stable.

He even deeply regretted not listening to Chancellor Wang's advice back then—taking advantage of his grandfather's passing to summon his uncles back—which had led to the difficult predicament he was in now.

"Perhaps Chancellor Wang has other plans?" Fan Chengyuan remarked impassively, subtly planting doubts in the young emperor's mind. "However, in this minister's view, there is no need to consult Chancellor Wang's wishes."

"Your Majesty misses your royal uncles and wishes to summon them back to the capital for a brief stay—this is a family matter. How could a mere subject be allowed to make irresponsible remarks?"

Once they are called back, confine them when appropriate, and let them "suddenly die" when the time comes.

Zhao Bo nodded repeatedly in agreement upon hearing this, and promptly asked Chancellor Wang—no, Fan Chancellor—to draft the imperial edict for him.

After drafting the edict, Fan Chengyuan promised to smuggle the young emperor out of the palace for some amusement in a few days, before respectfully withdrawing.

Yet the moment he turned around, a trace of mockery could not help flashing across the depths of his eyes.

How brilliant the founding emperor of the old Zhao house had been; it was a pity his descendants were far too mediocre. In the end, this realm would still have to be returned to its rightful owner.

When Li Yu received the letter, the affairs of the county had already been straightened out quite well.

In Wang Zhiqui's letter, besides the four words "remain calm and do not be impatient," there was also a line of small print: Zhang Wenhan was soon to be transferred as the Prefect of Dezhou.

Ning Zhao'an was already aware of Chancellor Wang's intentions by this time, and upon hearing this, she said, "If we are to attack Shuntian Prefecture, the very first barrier we must clear is this Dezhou Prefecture."

Chancellor Wang was preparing for the worst-case scenario and beginning to deploy for an even worse one.

Li Yu's gaze was profound. "Taking Dezhou Prefecture means gaining control of the Grand Canal's transport. Securing the transport of the Grand Canal is equivalent to cutting off the grain supplies sent to Shuntian from all regions."

The magistrates and prefects of the Dayong dynasty held no military power, and logically speaking, they did not directly manage the canal transport either. However, canal transport fell under the jurisdiction of the grain-management vice-prefects and assistant prefects.

Since these two officials were essentially the prefect's deputies, the prefect could actually intervene directly.

Ning Zhao'an continued, "Once Dezhou is secured, we proceed to Cangzhou, cross the river northward, then reach Tianjin, and finally arrive at our dynasty's largest granary—Tongzhou."

Upon reaching Tongzhou, one could gaze into the distance at the imperial city of Shuntian, and subsequently bring an army right to the gates of Shuntian.

"Wanting a peaceful replacement of the emperor is simply impossible." Li Yu looked at the map on the wall, his tone quite wistful. "I still have to find a way to draw Prince Lu's attention."

"Otherwise, how can I present the items that allow him to raise troops legally at such a crucial moment?"

He was merely a small county magistrate without military power, capable only of managing the administration of a single county. What should he do to make Prince Lu notice him?

He truly wondered what old Chancellor Wang had in mind.

With such an arduous task, why did he not think to assign it to Hang Jun, a fourth-rank prefect?

"I'm afraid someone is keeping a close eye on Prefect Hang's side," Tie Yi said softly. "I noticed that some people around Prefect Hang have rather strange looks in their eyes, carrying a hint of murderous intent in their every move."

Anyone capable of coming into contact with Prince Lu was likely surrounded by layers upon layers of informants.

Li Yu: "..."

So then?

How on earth was he supposed to attract Prince Lu's attention and secure a reasonably good impression?

Tie Yi thought for a moment before replying, "Under Prince Lu's command, there is a commander named Yang Gao, currently stationed at Mingshui Post. Isn't this right within the county magistrate's jurisdiction?"

If one could curry favor with this Commander Yang, wouldn't the magistrate have a chance to meet Prince Lu?

"Brilliant."

Who would have thought that the moment the words left his mouth, Li Yu would excitedly stand up and laugh heartily.

"How many of these rough soldiers have a clean background? If I investigate him and uncover wrongdoing, stopping him in the process, won't Prince Lu think I'm a good official?"

With that, he patted Tie Yi's shoulder, expressing with gratification that young people really had nimble brains.

Tie Yi: "..."

That was not what he meant at all!

Ning Zhao'an smiled without speaking, though she too felt that rather than flattering a rough soldier, putting on the facade of an upright official was far more attractive.

Half a month later, Li Yu indeed managed to find out that this fellow Yang Gao had privately opened the iron mine in Fu Village and secretly hauled the refined iron to the prefectural city every two months.

"Husband."

Holding back her husband, who was about to go make the arrests, Ning Zhao'an gently pressed her hand against the clothes he was about to change into and said, "Do you think those secretly refined irons might be destined for Prince Lu?"

Otherwise, how could a mere commander dare to smelt and transport such a vast amount of iron?

"I couldn't care less!" Li Yu's eyes rolled as he decided he could not let this opportunity slip by. "In any case, I'll just treat him as a smuggler."

Prince Lu could either tell him to mind his own business or give up the iron from Zhangqiu.

Going without the iron was out of the question, but if it was the former, perhaps he would get to see Prince Lu after all?

If Prince Lu was truly the one who ordered Yang Gao to do this, it showed that Prince Lu was unwilling to submit to others either, making his own task much easier to handle.

Hearing this, Ning Zhao'an could only tie his cloak properly for him, gently admonishing, "Rough soldiers are difficult to reason with. Husband must be careful."

Li Yu cupped his wife's face, kissed her, and left, naturally not forgetting to plant a kiss on their sleeping son as well, successfully earning a reciprocal kiss from his wife and a look of disgust from his child.

Thirty miles outside the Fu Village iron mine, Yang Gao led over thirty soldiers hauling five carts of iron toward the outskirts of the city, calculating inwardly that he needed to open a few more iron mines.

Just as he was pondering this, he saw the pitch-black surroundings suddenly illuminated by more than twenty torches. A shock went through his heart, but seeing that the leader was merely a newly appointed county magistrate, he relaxed again.

"Magistrate Li has quite the elegant leisure," he pressed the sword at his waist, while the soldiers behind him likewise gripped the hilts of their sidearms. "Not sleeping in the middle of the night, yet you come to block my grain carts?"

The iron was tightly and thickly wrapped; as long as Magistrate Li didn't act foolishly and insist on inspecting it, it wouldn't be discovered.

If it were discovered, the sword in his hand would help his master silence the witness.

Li Yu was also a man who valued his life, so naturally, he had no intention of stubbornly searching the carts.

"This magistrate is here to catch bandits. I never expected to run into Commander Yang by such coincidence."

"Grain can only be heading toward Mingshui Post. What is Commander Yang doing heading outside the city?"

He knew he wouldn't search the carts, but he wouldn't let this fellow leave the city either.

Yang Gao: "..."

He suspected this fellow knew something, but he had no proof.

He was tempted to kill this magistrate to end the trouble, but remembering Prince Lu's instruction not to stir up trouble for the time being—plus the fact that the other party had brought so many bailiffs today—he held back.

After weighing the pros and cons, Yang Gao released his grip on his sword hilt and smiled like a complete fool.

"It was so dark I couldn't clearly see the road. I'll take my brothers back right now."

It wasn't as if a day or two mattered; at worst, he would just deliver it tomorrow.

Who could have known that over the next half month, no matter when Yang Gao wanted to leave the city, he would run into Li Yu, and each time the opponent would claim he wasn't there to block him.

Either he claimed he was out to catch bandits, or he claimed he was bringing the bailiffs out for drills.

Not once did he inspect the contents of the carts, yet he would kindly inform Yang Gao that he had taken the wrong road and point him in the direction of his camp.

Sometimes he would even kindly escort him back, chatting and laughing under the moonlight the entire way, leaving Yang Gao's skin crawling with unease and anxious that his task wasn't being properly fulfilled.

In the span of half a month, Yang Gao was angered to the point of nearly vomiting blood. Unable to bear it any longer, he gave up on transporting the iron and went straight to Prince Lu's residence, thinking it better to simply give a slash with a knife and be done with it.

"Your Highness, that little bastard definitely knows something. This subordinate thinks it would be better to just bump him off. It was much better when Xiao Yuzhou was acting magistrate."

That man only cared about extorting money and meddled in nothing else, unlike this Li Yu who acted as if he had nothing better to do day in and day out except pester him.

Prince Lu was already plagued with annoyance over the imperial court's edict summoning him back to the capital; hearing his subordinate talk about killing people at every turn only irritated him to death.

"You're someone who has been on the battlefield, after all. How difficult can a county magistrate in his early twenties be? Killing people at every turn—just how many scholars are there in this world for you to slaughter?"

His imperial grandfather spoke of affection between uncle and nephew, yet his eldest nephew was in such a rush to summon him back—wasn't it blatantly obvious he wanted his life?

What was he supposed to do now?

Returning would undoubtedly lead to a grim end, while refusing to return would give the imperial court a pretext to arrest him for treason. Yet, at present, he possessed no justifiable reason to raise troops.