Tang Dynasty: Starting at Xuanwu Gate, this prince is better off not being one.

"Is the life of even the people of Jinyang this miserable now?"

It wasn't that Li Yu was "lamenting the hardships of the people's lives," but rather that the people of Jinyang during this period in history, while unable to live without worrying about food and clothing, were able to barely maintain their basic needs.

Therefore, Li Yu never understood why, in Jinyang, the ancestral home of the royal family, a good person from the Green Robe family would have to sell their children.

"Young master, you may not know this, but although our Great Zhou has pacified most of the Central Plains, Henan and Hebei are still unstable."

At this point, Steward Chen looked around and, finding no one else nearby, continued, "This old servant has heard His Highness say that we need a large amount of military supplies every year to pacify Henan and Hebei. Where do these things come from? Aren't they all exchanged for money and grain? If we need more money and grain, the people will naturally suffer."

"So, my dear young master, let alone Jinyang, even the people of Chang'an are still starving!"

"Ugh!"

After listening to Butler Chen's words, Li Yu sighed.

Historically, during this period, Dou Jiande and Wang Shichong were already defeated by Li Er in the fourth year of Wude. Even though the Tang Dynasty was still facing raids from foreign tribes on the borders and counterattacks from the remaining separatist forces, the Central Plains were generally considered to be relatively stable.

The current Zhou Dynasty is in a different situation. Not only does it have to study how to unify the Central Plains, but it also has to be wary of the Eastern Turks in the north and the Tuyuhun in the northwest. It is truly surrounded by enemies on all sides.

In such a situation, it is indeed very difficult for ordinary people to live a good life.

After thinking for a moment, Li Yu reached for his waist and found it empty. So he turned his evil hand towards Li Chengqian, who was walking alongside him.

After taking two gold ingots from Li Chengqian's sleeve, Li Yu handed them to Steward Chen and instructed him, "Send one of these two gold ingots to Green Robe's house, and keep the other for yourself as a reward for your hard work. Once you deliver me to the Prince of Qin's residence, have someone take care of it."

"Remember! Make sure it's delivered to them. If I find out who has embezzled the gold, chop off the hand that touched it. If both hands have been touched, chop off both hands!"

The words were spoken generously, but they put Butler Chen in a difficult position.

Seeing that Old Chen hadn't spoken for a long time, Li Yu asked, "What's wrong? Did I do something wrong?"

"Um...Young Master, this old servant has something to say, but I'm not sure if I should..."

"Speak freely." Li Yu was also very curious, after all, he didn't understand everything enough and his control over people's hearts was not good enough, so he really wanted to know where he was going wrong.

"This old servant has also had two years of schooling and knows the saying, 'A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime.' One ingot of gold is worth fifty strings of cash! Enough for that family to live comfortably for twenty years!"

"Young master, you are a kind man and do not understand the wickedness of people's hearts. If we send the gold over like this, the green-clothed family will probably be in big trouble before they even have a chance to spend it."

Butler Chen's words sent a chill down Li Yu's spine.

Yes! Not to mention in ancient times, even in later generations, if you paraded around with such a large piece of gold, people would covet it.

When the hell did I become so stupid? Is it because my body shrank, and my thoughts became childish too?

Damn it! They almost killed that girl in green and her whole family!

Recalling the scene when the little girl bravely stood in front of him when they first met Sun Simiao, Li Yu felt extremely guilty.

"Old Chen! Do you have any way to get them to accept the money and then spend it safely?"

Butler Chen shook his head. Although he could hear the disappointment in Li Yu's tone, there was nothing he could do.

"What's so difficult about that? Why don't you just send two of your guards to protect them?" Li Chengqian was puzzled by Li Yu's complicated ideas, so he gave what he thought was the best suggestion.

"Uh..." Li Yu glanced at Li Chengqian. If this guy becomes the crown prince in the future, who knows how many stupid things he will do that will bring disaster to the country and the people.

"What? Is there something wrong with my method?" Seeing Li Yu's strange expression, Li Chengqian scratched his head in confusion.

Li Yu was too lazy to explain, so he gestured to Steward Chen, who was secretly laughing, to explain to Li Chengqian.

Having received instructions from his young master, Old Chen racked his brains several times to recall the second widow in the neighboring village who had found a new lover, before finally stopping his smile and explaining, "Your Highness, if it's about protecting them, then your method is naturally perfect. But my young master wants them to live a normal life. If you do it this way, I doubt any other families will associate with them, and they themselves won't feel comfortable either."

Hearing his solution rejected, Li Chengqian wasn't angry. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Then..."

"Got it! Then send two people to protect us secretly!"

Just as he was about to suggest sending someone to protect him secretly, Li Yu beat him to it. Li Chengqian felt like a goose with its neck being choked.

"That's what I was going to say too!" he said, quite indignantly.

"What's the rush? I haven't finished speaking yet!"

Li Yu pursed his lips and continued, "Old Chen and the others, go back and find me a few cooks. They have to be smart and quick learners. I want them to learn something from me."

"After some time, I will write another letter. Then you can help me find someone who can read and understand drawings to translate it for them."

"Yes, ma'am! Leave it to this old servant!" Steward Chen agreed with a smile, inwardly sighing that this family had been worried about their young master's foolishness, but now their lord no longer had to worry about who would inherit the title.

Upon hearing the word "cook," Li Chengqian leaned closer.

Having witnessed Li Yu's culinary skills firsthand in the Qinling Mountains, where he could make meat so delicious with just a pinch of salt, his eyes lit up when he heard that Li Yu was about to cook again.

"You want to teach the cook how to cook? Could you also teach my cook?"

Li Chengqian leaned closer, covered his mouth with his hand, and whispered, "I had the cook make the lamb leg you made last time, but it's nowhere near as good as yours. Even with all the salt you gave me, it still didn't taste very good..."

"Of course!" Li Yu would never tell Li Chengqian that he had used all the wild honey he found in the mountains to roast meat.

Ignoring what Li Yu was laughing about, Li Chengqian asked eagerly, "Is it any good? Just teach my cook, or I'll have him become your cook's apprentice!"

"No!"

Li Yu denied it, saying, "I'm counting on these things to make a fortune! You know, my Zhao Wang Mansion is a large and powerful family..."

"Shut up! You're so petty!"

Li Chengqian was so angry that his face turned red: "Your Zhao Prince's Mansion, including the officials, only has a little over eight hundred people at most, while my Qin Prince's Mansion has more than two thousand people, and I haven't seen my father learn to be a merchant to earn money to support the family!"

"Mind your own business! And don't blame me for not including you when I'm making money. Here's the deal! The three of you can invest, and the profit sharing will depend on the returns!"

"Invest?" the three exclaimed in unison.

Li Yu patted his chest confidently and said, "That's right! Only profits, no losses! Any losses are on me!"

.........