Chapter 45: Changed Tune
Prefect Li had no choice but to accept the loss, only resenting the useless assassins sent by Prince Yu. He grudgingly agreed to open trade rights for the border city, but the road couldn’t be repaired in a short time.
King Li generously stated that it would be fine as long as it was repaired within three months.
This matter not only spread throughout Yanzhou but also throughout all sixteen prefectures of Yandi within a few days.
Everyone knew that King Li had been attacked by an assassin in the border city, and this assassin was sent by Prefect Li.
King Li was magnanimous and did not pursue Prefect Li’s responsibility, only asking for a road to be built and trade rights for the border city.
Prefect Li was so angry he almost vomited blood. Was this still considered magnanimous? He clearly hadn’t done anything, merely allowed it to happen.
What the common people talked about most was King Li’s personal seal, “Li, the Boundless King.”
Haha, what was wrong with this King Li’s brain to give himself such a personal seal?
Yan Shiyi publicly mocked King Li for being brainless and uneducated, saying he was “Strong and Invincible,” not “Limitless Wrath.”
He had truly given up on himself. After being Crown Prince for over a decade, one misstep led to his demotion, and now he was doing such absurd things.
Hilariously, even young masters like Yan Shiyi were very curious about what the personal seal looked like.
Some busybodies even went to Prefect Li’s house, wanting to see King Li’s personal seal.
Prefect Li was so angry he puffed out his beard and glared. It was difficult to be an official in the sixteen prefectures of Yandi; the local gentry simply didn’t respect you, an official appointed by the Imperial Court.
The more they couldn’t see it, the more they wanted to. Soon, someone thought of a method: “Let’s write a letter to King Li. If he replies, he’ll use his personal seal, won’t he?”
As for what to write, it was difficult. They were afraid of leaving any handle. Smart people immediately thought of something: “Let’s send him an invitation!”
He certainly wouldn’t come, but according to etiquette, if you couldn’t attend, you should at least send a reply, and that reply would naturally use the personal seal.
Yan Shiyi pushed Young Master Zheng, saying, “I heard your grandfather has moved his bed. Shouldn’t you send an invitation to King Li?”
Young Master Zheng fanned himself and said, “My family is related to Prince Yu. How can I send an invitation to King Li?”
The others all smiled without speaking. The Zheng family was related to the Gu family. He used to always mention his family’s connection to the Crown Prince, but now it had become a connection to Prince Yu, which was quite laughable.
At this time, Jinsui was still unaware that his personal seal had piqued the interest of the idle young masters of Yanzhou.
She was busy watching the Crazy Daves sow potatoes. Sweet potatoes and tomatoes were still seedlings. The potatoes had already sprouted eyes, so Jinsui taught them to cut the potatoes into pieces at the sprout eyes and then roll them in wood ash.
After planting the potatoes, Jinsui went to look at the tomato seedlings. It was strange; they were all grown from seedlings at the same time, yet Niu Da’s seedlings grew the best.
Jinsui asked him how he grew them. He chattered a lot, and Captain Liu awkwardly translated:
“Just be good to the seeds, treat them like family.”
This was too vague. Who could understand?
Jinsui asked again. Captain Liu not only didn’t translate but also scolded Dave, saying he shouldn’t talk nonsense in front of the Prince.
Now Jinsui was truly curious and asked Hei Hu, “What did he say?”
Hei Hu directly said, “He said to treat the seedlings like the wife in bed, be gentle, and the wife will be happy.”
Hei Hu scratched his head. “How are these vegetable seeds like wives?”
Jinsui was completely speechless. She gave up on asking about the planting method of the Crazy Daves, whose minds were full of yellow waste, and turned to look at the ‘ox’ plowing the field.
That is, our Commander Huo. He was pulling the plow rope with his uninjured arm, walking vigorously in front, his face pale and lips cracked.
Compared to the common people in Luocheng who were forced to dig stones by bandits, at least no one was whipping him from behind.
Jinsui waved him over and asked with a smile, “Now tell everyone, who am I?”
Commander Huo glared at her weakly and said, “You are not King Li at all!”
Hei Hu and the others burst into laughter. Jinsui clapped her hands and said, “Indeed, you have backbone! Then plow ten more mu of land!”
Commander Huo shouted from behind, “One day, I will expose your true face!”
Jinsui loudly encouraged, “Keep it up! Lord Niu.”
The Crazy Daves ran over and chattered. Hei Hu laughed and said, “Not your family name, you are surnamed Niu, he is truly an ox.”
When Han Xing and his group returned from Yanzhou City, Jinsui convened a meeting.
“Good news, our border city has opened for trade!”
Jinsui finished excitedly but found that no one reacted much. Wei Assistant Secretary was the first to show support, lifting his dislocated arm and saying:
“That’s great! Thanks to the Prince, for bringing such great fortune to our border city.”
Cheng Assistant Secretary sneered sleepily and said, “Trade is open, but what do we have to sell? We can’t even feed ourselves.”
Jinsui smiled and said, “You can’t say that. Opening trade promotes economic development, and only then can our border city become prosperous.
We don’t have anything to sell now, but we will soon.”
With tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and potatoes grown, and with the treasures from her space, what would she worry about not having to sell!
Cheng Assistant Secretary reminded, “Instead of thinking about business, Your Highness should arrange the schedule for clearing the river mud as soon as possible. It snows in September in the border city, and it will be difficult to clear it then.”
Jinsui nodded, “Tomorrow, I will personally lead people to clear it.”
This was the task of the Border Soldiers Army. Even with her present, if it wasn’t completed, Prefect Li would have a reason not to pay the salaries on time.
She then asked Han Xing to talk about the reaction in the city when the four assassin corpses were sent to Yanzhou City.
Hearing that Prefect Li was so angry he puffed out his beard and glared, everyone felt refreshed.
When they heard that people in the city were discussing “Li, the Boundless King,” Wei Assistant Secretary’s face turned dark, but Jinsui burst into laughter.
Hei Hu brought several invitations. Jinsui opened them and saw they were all from people she didn’t know. Some invited her to a tea party, some to a flower viewing, and some to an archery and horseback riding event.
Jinsui asked curiously, “Are the people of Yanzhou so idle? And don’t they dislike me? Why are they inviting me?”
Wei Assistant Secretary was very excited, “Your Highness, you must seize this opportunity to befriend the gentry families of Yandi, so that Your Highness can recruit talented people in Yandi.”
Cheng Yu, as if habitually mocking his colleague, snorted upon hearing this.
This made Wei Assistant Secretary angry and embarrassed. He pointed at Cheng Yu and said:
“Cheng Assistant Secretary, what did I say wrong? Your Highness asked a question, and you didn’t answer, but are being sarcastic here.”
Cheng Yu didn’t look at him and turned to ask Jinsui, “Will Your Highness go?”
Jinsui threw the invitations on the table, “No.”
Wei Assistant Secretary anxiously clutched his teeth and wanted to persuade her further, but heard Cheng Yu laugh and say:
“These people are not sincerely inviting Your Highness at all. Why should Your Highness condescend? They just want Your Highness to reply to their invitations.”
Wei Assistant Secretary didn’t believe it, “Why would they want Your Highness to reply? They clearly want to befriend Your Highness.”
Cheng Assistant Secretary laughed heartily, “Naturally, they want to see ‘Li, the Boundless King’ with their own eyes!”
Jinsui was extremely speechless, viewing these Yanzhou young masters as later-generation, wealthy idlers who only watched entertainment online.
It was just an unusual personal seal, and they were so curious!
A flash of inspiration struck her. She thought about the border city opening for trade and what she could sell.
Just then, Han Xing apologized on behalf of a subordinate:
“Your Highness, Zhao Wen accidentally lost the textbook you gave him when he went to Yanzhou City with his subordinate. He wishes for Your Highness to bestow another copy.”
The so-called textbook was the “Thirty-Six Stratagems” that Jinsui had printed in her space. She thought that like the Art of War, the Thirty-Six Stratagems already existed.
She didn’t expect that while this era had the Art of War, there was no compiled book of the Thirty-Six Stratagems.
When Wei Assistant Secretary saw it, he was very excited and volunteered to teach the soldiers to read this military strategy book thoroughly.
Cheng Yu was also interested, but he preferred to read it himself while drinking rather than teaching students.
Jinsui smiled and said, “Since the textbook was lost, he will be punished by copying it. It will also help him practice his calligraphy.”
None of them expected that the textbook Zhao Wen accidentally lost was picked up by Yan Shiyi, who was watching the excitement.
What piqued his curiosity was the printed text. Even though he was well-traveled, he had never seen such a font.
As for the text itself, he glanced at it and assumed it was a new book from Chang’an. He disliked reading and didn’t look further.
When he took it home to show his elder brother as a novelty, he said, “Brother, look, King Li really has the leisure time to teach the border soldiers to read.”
