Aoyama

Chapter 253 The Prince's Thoughts

After going up to the third floor, Chen Ji knocked on the door gently.

The wooden door creaked open, and Xiaoman said happily, "The Master is back!"

As she spoke, she took out a handkerchief and brushed the dust off Chen Ji. The prince stood at the door, leaned forward slightly, and looked around the room silently.

There was a charcoal brazier burning in the room, a chessboard, snacks and candied fruits on the table, and Zhang Zheng and Zhang Xia were sitting cross-legged on the floor, whispering something.

Chen Ji walked into the room and said to Zhang Zheng and Zhang Xia, "Brother Zhang, Second Miss Zhang, the Crown Prince is here."

Zhang Zheng and Zhang Xia hurriedly stood up upon hearing this and bowed to the Crown Prince at the door: "Your Highness."

The prince smiled and waved his hand: "No need to be so polite. I just realized that it is quite hard for the four of you to squeeze into one room. So I prepared two more rooms for you so that you can live separately."

Zhang Zheng was stunned for a moment, and immediately refused: "Your Highness, it's fine for us to live here."

The prince was puzzled and asked, "You two are well-dressed and well-fed in Zhang's mansion on weekdays. Are you used to sleeping on the floor?"

Zhang Zheng said politely: "It's okay, it's okay. It's safer for us to stay together."

Li Xuan behind the prince said, "The Yulin Army will be on guard at night, so you don't have to worry about your safety."

Zhang Zheng said cheerfully, "So many Yulin troops failed to defend the Dusi Mansion."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in and out of the house fell silent.

Li Xuan wanted to refute, but he couldn't think of how to refute. Someone burned down the Dusi Mansion under the noses of the Yulin Army. This was a great shame and humiliation.

However, no one expected that Zhang Zheng would dare to tear off the Yulin Army's face and trample on it in front of so many people.

At this time, Zhang Xia quietly pulled Zhang Zheng's sleeve.

Zhang Xia smiled and said, "Thank you very much, Your Highness. My brother and I will move there right away."

Zhang Zheng was reluctant, but Zhang Xia dragged him out of the door forcefully.

The prince opened the door and let the two of them go out and downstairs.

On the stairs, Zhang Zheng complained quietly: "We live well there, why do we need to move?"

Zhang Xia was silent for a moment: "Chen Ji wants to join the East Palace, don't cause him trouble."

Zhang Zheng was even more confused: "He has the Chen family behind him. Even if the Chen family is unreliable, there are still our Zhang family and Xu family. If you want a future, why ask others for help? If you want to save the princess, the prince is a smooth talker and can't be trusted. Even if we expect the prince to grant amnesty after ascending the throne, it is still too early. Now that your majesty is in his prime, it is possible that he can live for another few decades..."

Zhang Xia shook his head slightly: "He is a stubborn person who values ​​friendship and loyalty. Now that the princess is under house arrest, he will definitely try every possible means."

Zhang Zheng sighed helplessly: "But we can't rush to seek medical treatment."

Zhang Xia stopped on the stairs and looked back at Zhang Zheng behind him: "Brother, if you were in trouble one day, what would you think if someone could do these things for you?"

Zhang Zheng was silent for a moment: "Forget it, I won't say anymore."

……

……

In front of the door of Room C, the prince said to Chen Ji in a gentle voice as if nothing had happened: "You have worked hard today, go to bed early."

Chen Ji bowed: "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness."

The prince led Chen Liqin and Li Xuan into the Tianzi Ding room. He sat at the Eight Immortals Table and asked solemnly, "How do you think we should solve the problem of food and fodder?"

Chen Liqin thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness, I will go to the border army camp tomorrow and persuade Hu Junxian to allocate some food. Your Highness is the crown prince of a country, and I believe he will not be as ignorant as Zhou You."

The prince tapped the table with his fingers, saying nothing.

Li Xuan poured him a cup of tea and said respectfully, "Your Highness, tomorrow I will send out the Yulin soldiers to find food and buy back all the food that has not been requisitioned. The Ministry of Revenue has allocated more than 3,000 taels of silver, which will be enough for emergency use."

The prince sighed, "Now the price of grain in Guyuan is likely to rise to the sky. Three thousand taels of silver is just a drop in the bucket. It can't support five hundred people."

Li Xuan whispered, "Let the soldiers of the Imperial Guards go to the porridge shed to get porridge. The food we buy should be enough for you and Lord Chen's family."

The prince shook his head: "This is not good. I should also share the joys and sorrows with the soldiers of the Imperial Guards."

Li Xuan quickly knelt on one knee and said, "You are a precious body, how can you go to the porridge stall to get porridge with the common people? If it gets out, it will damage the dignity of the royal family. If I let you fall to this, how can I return to the capital with dignity? It is better for you to be buried here, wrapped in your horse's hide."

The prince helped Li Xuan up and said, "Lord Li, when Taizu founded the country, he rose from humble beginnings. He ate from the same trough and slept with his generals and soldiers, worked day and night, and was ready for battle. How can I follow Taizu's example and undermine the dignity of the royal family? I have made up my mind, so please don't persuade me anymore." Li Xuan gritted his teeth and said, "Deputy Envoy Qi, bring the map. We will figure out where to find food!"

After a while, Qi Chenzhuo took out the map and spread it on the table. Li Xuan pointed at the map and said, "Tomorrow, the Azure Dragon Guard will search to the north, and the Black Tortoise Guard will search to the south..."

As he was speaking, he heard footsteps outside the door.

The prince stopped talking and listened quietly to the footsteps stopping in front of the door of the next door, Tianzi C room, and then someone gently opened the door and welcomed the visitor in.

There was no doubt that Zhang Xia and Zhang Zheng must have secretly returned to sleep on the floor.

Li Xuan and others looked at Chen Liqin together, and Chen Liqin's thick eyebrows were almost twisted together.

The prince smiled and said, "I heard people say that the Chen family and the Zhang family have always had different political views. It seems that they are all rumors? I think the Chen family and the Zhang family are very close."

Chen Liqin hurriedly explained: "Your Highness has misunderstood. Zhang Zhuo and I have different ideas and cannot work together."

"Oh?" The prince changed the subject and said, "I heard that Miss Zhang Er was a doctor of mathematics in the Imperial College and had a photographic memory. Is this rumor true?"

Chen Liqin said with emotion, "That's true. Miss Zhang is very smart and has a photographic memory. When she was in Luocheng, ordinary scholars were no match for her in debates. She is also good at counting accounts. It's a pity that she is a girl, otherwise it would be easy for her to win the first place in the state."

The prince asked curiously, "Master Chen and Master Zhang have been colleagues in Luocheng for three years. Have you ever thought of arranging a marriage between Master Zhang and Miss Zhang?"

Chen Liqin waved his hands repeatedly: "How can my Chen family be related to the Zhang family?"

The prince picked up the teacup, lowered his head and took a sip before saying softly, "Really? That's a pity. Although Lord Zhang is a bohemian, he has the talent of a great strategist, and the emperor values ​​him highly."

Chen Liqin was shocked.

The prince ignored his reaction and took out a pen and paper to write a letter and handed it to Li Xuan: "Send this letter to Mr. Liao, and ask him to go to Xianyang Prefecture and make sure to dispatch reinforcements. Whether we live or die, it is all entrusted to him."

"Yes," Li Xuan took the letter, turned and left.

……

……

In Room No. 3, Zhang Zheng sat cross-legged on the floor and complained, "We were living together peacefully, but the prince insisted on breaking us up. How ignorant."

Xiaoman rolled her eyes: "I thought my young master could finally sleep in the bed, but you come back again."

Zhang Zheng rolled his hands on the ground like a rolling knife: "How boring it is if no one is arguing with you!"

Zhang Xia ignored the two and turned to look at Chen Ji: "Did the granary in Guyuan City really burn down?"

Chen Ji nodded: "Yes."

Zhang Zheng sat up again and asked worriedly, "Are there any reinforcements?"

Chen Ji consoled him, "The border troops are not incompetent. Perhaps a senior official has quietly left Guyuan to ask for reinforcements... I think the crown prince will also do something."

Zhang Zheng sighed: "That will take more than half a month."

Chen Ji smiled and said, "Fortunately, Xiaoman bought a grain store in advance, and there are still 2,000 dan of grain hidden in the cellar, so we won't starve. Xiaoman, have you hidden the grain? Will it be searched by the border troops?"

Xiaoman thought for a moment and said, "If we hide it in the cellar at the wellhead, the border troops won't be able to find it. That place is very hidden and was originally used to hide smuggled goods."

Chen Ji praised, "Xiao Man is really good at doing business. If you want to get my aunt's property back in Beijing, I can let you manage it."

Xiaoman's eyes lit up: "Really?"

Zhang Zheng also gave a thumbs up: "Xiao Man is better than the group of people brought by the prince. They are now scratching their heads for food. If 500 Yu Lin soldiers starved to death in Guyuan City, it would be a huge joke."

Xiaoman groaned and became shy: "This is what my aunt taught me. She once said that doing business is about seizing opportunities. If you can see what will happen three days later, you can be a peddler; if you can see what will happen six months later, you can be a good businessman; if you can see the fate of a country, you can be a well-connected official and businessman... I just guessed what will happen a few days later, it's nothing."

Zhang Zheng looked at Chen Ji and asked, "Do you think the Yulin Army can get some food?"

Chen Ji shook his head: "It's difficult. Everyone knows how important food is now. If you are really hungry, a handful of food can be used as a piece of gold."

Xiao Man looked at Chen Ji and said, "Master, what should we do with that batch of food? We can't eat all of it. If we sell it in a few days, we can probably make more than ten times the profit."

Chen Ji looked out the window and saw that the fire in Guyuan City in the distance had not yet been extinguished, as if the war had spread from outside the city to inside.

He calmly replied: "No hurry, I have a great use for this batch of food."

(End of this chapter)