The Prodigal Son

After leaving the Imperial Study, Yan Li returned to the Crown Prince's residence.

As soon as Yan Li returned to the manor, he heard a gasp of surprise.

Upon hearing the servants bow to Yan Li, Crown Princess Si Long hurriedly and excitedly came forward, pulling Yan Li into the house with a beaming smile, saying, "Your Highness, please go and see!"

"What's making you so happy?"

Yan Li patted Si Long's hand, asking with great curiosity.

"Your Highness will understand once you see it."

Si Longchong blinked at him; his beautiful big eyes were almost crescent-shaped.

Led by Si Long, Yan Li entered the house.

In an instant, a golden light appeared before my eyes.

Two boxes of gold!

Two whole chests of gold!

Yan Li was stunned for a moment, then her face suddenly darkened, and she demanded sharply, "Who delivered it? Who gave you permission to accept it?"

"Your Highness has misunderstood!"

Si Long quickly explained with a smile, "This wasn't a bribe sent to Your Highness; I earned it myself!"

she……

Earned?

Yan Li stared at Si Long in astonishment, almost unable to believe her ears.

Coming to her senses, Yan Li frowned as she looked at Si Long. "This must cost at least tens of thousands of taels of gold, right? Where did you get so much gold?"

"Not tens of thousands of taels."

Si Long said with a smile, "The rest is all silver. In total, it's less than nine hundred thousand taels of silver."

Nine hundred thousand taels!

Yan Li's heart skipped a beat, her expression showing no improvement. "How exactly did you earn that?"

What business would the Crown Princess possibly know?

She was able to earn so much money; someone must have deliberately let her earn it!

"Your Highness!"

Seeing Yan Li's expression, Si Long immediately said in a pitiful tone, "Doesn't this concubine know Your Highness's temper? How could this concubine dare to accept other people's money? This is all money I earned selling pepper!"

"Hu... pepper?"

Yan Li's expression changed. "You've also stockpiled pepper?"

"Um."

Si Long nodded gently and pulled Yan Li to sit down. "I didn't originally intend to stockpile it. Last winter, didn't Your Highness say that this pepper has a strong aroma and also has the effect of dispelling cold?"

"The weather was cold then, and there were many people in the household, so I ordered someone to buy ten shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain, intending to distribute them as rewards to the people in the household at the end of the year..."

The price of pepper began to rise sharply last winter.

But it wasn't nearly as outrageous back then.

She bought it for two and a half taels of silver per catty, so it didn't cost her much money.

As a result, before the end of the year, the price of pepper had already risen to three and a half ounces per pound.

Later, when her younger brother Siyou came to see her, she casually mentioned the pepper to him.

Si You said at the time that the winters in Dayan were cold, so the price of pepper would definitely rise.

The siblings discussed it and decided to buy some pepper to stock up on, waiting for the price to rise before selling it. This way, they could earn some money for the household expenses and avoid living a tight life.

Then, she asked Siyou to buy two or three hundred shi (a unit of dry measure) for her and put them there.

After the New Year, the struggle between Yan Li and the former crown prince intensified, and she no longer had the mind to care about the pepper.

Later, Yan Li successfully became the Crown Prince, and many affairs of the household fell on her shoulders, so she forgot about the pepper matter.

She only remembered this when pepper prices started to skyrocket recently.

Yesterday, she heard that the price of pepper had risen to thirty-three taels per catty. She thought that Yan Li was the third child, and the number thirty-three was auspicious. In addition, she felt that the price of pepper should be rising to its peak soon, so she asked Si You to help her sell the pepper she had.

Speaking of this, Si Long felt another pang of heartache.

They sold it a day early, and the price of pepper went up by an ounce.

This means we've lost a lot of money.

When Si You delivered these two boxes of gold and silver, he complained that she had sold them too early!

Siyou also said that once autumn is over, winter will come.

At that time, the price of pepper will definitely continue to skyrocket.

At that time, it's entirely possible that a pound of pepper will be worth an ounce of gold!

Si Long was still talking, but Yan Li had no interest in listening anymore.

He suddenly realized why his father was unwilling to immediately suppress the price of pepper!

Father Emperor has probably also stockpiled a lot of pepper!

Finished!

If even the Emperor himself is leading the way in stockpiling pepper, what about the ministers in the court?

I wonder how many people have already staked their entire fortune on pepper!

Anyone who dares to forcibly suppress the price of pepper will inevitably become the public enemy of the entire court!

"Your Highness! Your Highness..."

Just then, Feng Shu's voice suddenly came from outside.

Yan Li shook her head and looked up at Feng Shu, who rushed in. "What happened? Why are you in such a hurry?"

Feng Shu stepped forward quickly, gave a simple bow, and hurriedly said, "I just received news that the Da Ning navy has passed Yanzhou and may now be in the Linzhou and Danzhou area."

What?

Yan Li suddenly stood up.

Has Da Ning really dispatched its navy?

Was my judgment wrong?

However, this doesn't seem like bad news.

The fact that Da Ning was willing to send its navy in such a roundabout way to contain Bei Qi shows that they were determined to fight Bei Qi to the death in Shuozhou!

This is also a good thing for the Great Yan!

Coming to his senses, Yan Li hurriedly asked, "How many troops does the Da Ning navy have?"

Feng Shu replied, "There are about eighty warships in total."

Eighty ships?

Excluding grain ships and horse ships, there should only be about 10,000 soldiers available for combat.

Well, if we're trying to contain them, around 10,000 people should be about right.

After all, Beiqi had no navy at all.

The Daning Navy can land at any time as long as they find a suitable place.

Yan Li pondered for a moment, then led Feng Shu outside.

Once outside, Yan Li asked, "You want to leak this information to Bei Qi?"

"right!"

Feng Shu nodded and said, "Beiqi has no navy. If we don't prepare in advance, the Da Ning navy will wreak havoc on their eastern flank and tie down a large number of Beiqi's troops!"

Don't underestimate this force.

Although this Ning army force was small in number, they went to the enemy's rear.

Just think about how Qin Yu used 10,000 cavalry to wreak havoc on the enemy's rear, and you'll know the power of the Ning Army.

Moreover, Beiqi had no fortified cities or strongholds to rely on in its rear.

Tens of thousands of cavalrymen stormed into the rear of Beiqi, which was a disaster for Beiqi!

"That's true."

Yan Li nodded slightly. "By the way, who is the commander of the Great Ning Navy?"

Feng Shu replied, "The naval commander is Fang Junji, who led the attack on Min Kingdom last year. They resupplyed in Yanzhou, exchanging a lot of grain and some fresh meat..."

"They're even exchanging meat? They certainly don't mistreat themselves..."

Yan Li chuckled to himself, but then suddenly paused, asking in confusion, "Exchange? What are they exchanging for grain and meat? Shouldn't they be buying? How can it be an exchange?"

What can they offer in exchange?

What can be placed on warships when a large army sets out on an expedition?

Surely they wouldn't trade armor, weapons, or warhorses for food and meat?

"The people below didn't mention that."

Upon hearing Yan Li's words, Feng Shu also sensed something was amiss and immediately said, "This humble subject will send someone to inquire further!"

"Hmm! We still need to ask about this."

Yan Li nodded and gave a brief explanation, then added, "It will take the Da Ning navy quite some time to circle around to Bei Qi. Let's observe the situation first and then see if we should inform Bei Qi of this news!"

"Alright!"

Feng Shu smiled and agreed.

The two states of Shuozhou and Zhenzhou should be at war soon.

Let's take a look at the battle situation in Beiqi and Daning first.

If Da Ning gains the upper hand, it will definitely inform Bei Qi of this news.

Conversely, there's no need for it!

Anyway, the more intense the battle between Da Ning and Bei Qi, the better!