Regarding the issue of buying land with money, Wei Yu argued with his father for quite a while.

During this “while,” he moved from serious reasoning to playing the victim, crying out for pity, and finally resorted to throwing a tantrum, refusing to listen.

No matter what the old man said, Wei Yu ignored him, repeatedly demanding money.

After all, if he actually listened to his father and followed his reasoning, he might find that when it came time to ask for the money, a few traitorous agreements might have been made along the way—who knew how many rights would have been signed away in the process?

Being an emperor, one had to be crafty.

Wei Yu wasn’t about to let his father enslave him!

In the end, due to Wei Yu’s shameless stubbornness, Emperor Wei had no choice but to compromise.

He agreed to give Wei Yu five thousand taels to buy land.

Eh?

Wei Yu was taken aback for a moment, surprised that his father agreed so quickly. He glanced at him suspiciously, but after thinking it over, he decided not to ask.

Wei Yu was afraid that if he asked, his father might set some shameless condition.

Emperor Wei ignored Wei Yu’s suspicions and just motioned for him to continue with what he had been saying earlier.

“Ah, this.”

When it came to business, Wei Yu became serious. He told his father the entire story about He An.

“…This is the situation, Father. I’ve already promised He An that I would give him justice, so what do you think?”

Seeing his father’s serious expression, Wei Yu’s voice unconsciously softened.

Such officials, who were corrupt and colluded with bandits, trampling on people’s lives for their own gain, his father, an emperor, should be furious to know that he had appointed such a person.

Sure enough, after a few seconds of silence, Emperor Wei slammed the memorial in his hand.

“I thought the administration in Jiaozhou was better than in Yizhou. It seems they’re all the same! Useless trash everywhere!”

Wei Yu said nothing, just stood silently, watching his father vent.

But the old man had excellent control over his emotions. After muttering a few harsh words, he fell silent, tapping his right hand rhythmically on the armrest of the chair.

After waiting for a while, Wei Yu suddenly heard his father speak.

“A few days ago, I ordered your second brother to go to Jiaozhou…”

To Jiaozhou!

Wei Yu froze for a moment, recalling the conversation with his second brother earlier. So he was going on a business trip to Jiaozhou—what a coincidence.

Emperor Wei paused, turned to look at him, and said, “Your second brother will be going to Jiaozhou tomorrow. I’ll have someone call him over, and you can tell him about the situation in Ji Prefecture, so he knows what’s going on.”

Wei Yu was a bit curious, “Father, why are you sending second brother to Jiaozhou?”

Emperor Wei didn’t hide anything from Wei Yu. After all, he had devised the sugar plan himself and wasn’t worried about Wei Yu spilling the beans.

“Jiaozhou and Yizhou are the only places with Zhe. I’m sending your second brother to Jiaozhou to lower the price of sugar.”

Sending second brother to lower sugar prices?

Wei Yu blinked, slowly questioning this in his mind.

From Wei Yu’s understanding of his second brother, he was a scheming fox with a sweet smile, capable of sweet-talking anyone. He thought it was appropriate to send him for negotiations or diplomacy, but managing something like controlling prices and economic trade? That would be better left to his fourth brother.

Emperor Wei could hear Wei Yu’s inner musings.

He glanced at Wei Yu but didn’t offer any explanation.

Indeed, sending second brother was not the best choice, but for the current political landscape, sending him away from the capital was the best way to curb the influence of the Prime Minister’s faction…

As for the eldest son, most of his power in the Ministry of Revenue had already been removed, and Emperor Wei had already planned to transfer him to the Ministry of War.

The money bag was important; Great Wei was about to see a flow of wealth, and it couldn’t be controlled by others—especially not by his own sons!

—

The Second Prince was summoned to the Yangxin Palace by Li Cheng.

As soon as he entered, Emperor Wei asked Wei Yu to explain the situation in Ji Prefecture.

After listening, the Second Prince fell silent.

He furrowed his brow, thought for a moment, and then asked Emperor Wei.

“Father, the collusion between the officials and bandits in Ji Prefecture is so severe. It’s likely the same in other counties of Jiaozhou. I may not be able to complete your order immediately. I must first deal with these chaotic situations.”

To handle this, simply going with a group wouldn’t be enough; military force would be necessary.

Emperor Wei understood his second son’s meaning and said, “I will issue an imperial decree and give the tiger tally to Du Rulin. You two can command the military in Jiaozhou if necessary to suppress any rebels.”

The Second Prince immediately accepted the order, “Yes, Father, I understand.”

Emperor Wei continued, “This mission is difficult. You must not only investigate whether the Jiaozhou officials are clean, but also eliminate the mountain bandits there, give the people justice, and ensure that the people of Yizhou don’t learn the real purpose of your mission. You must be very careful.”

The Second Prince’s expression turned serious. “Father, don’t worry. I will be cautious and not disappoint you.”

“Good. There’s no need to hurry on this. The most important thing is to get the job done.”

Emperor Wei wrote an imperial decree, handed it to the Second Prince, and told him to prepare for tomorrow’s journey.

After the Second Prince left, Wei Yu, who had been standing by as a silent observer, also prepared to leave.

“Stop.”

Wei Yu halted.

He glanced at his father, wondering what else he had to say.

Emperor Wei said, “Tomorrow, Pei Zhi will be discussing the forging of steel and the re-manufacturing of military weapons in the court. You should pay attention and stay sharp.”

Wei Yu:?

He was confused. He didn’t understand what Pei Zhi had to do with him.

Emperor Wei glanced at him. “Isn’t the idea of forging steel yours? Pei Qing’s people finally figured it out and created the new weapons. Now he’s bringing up the issue of re-manufacturing the military equipment. Shouldn’t you contribute?”

“But I’m just a low-ranking official!”

Wei Yu felt his father was joking. “I’m not from the Ministry of Works! Pei Zhi’s proposal to re-manufacture military equipment will offend many people. How much will it cost? The Ministry of Revenue is already poor. Re-manufacturing military equipment would cost hundreds of thousands of taels. Are we going to let the other departments starve?”

Re-manufacturing military equipment was a huge project. While some people could make a profit from it, the biggest share went to the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War.

Moreover, it was peacetime. Aside from occasional minor skirmishes on the northern border with the northern Hu, the entire Great Wei was at peace.

Re-manufacturing military equipment? It wasn’t really necessary.

Most civil officials wouldn’t want to spend such a large sum of money, as it would mean there was less left for their own departments.

Emperor Wei remained unmoved and reminded him, “You are a Minister of the Military Affairs, so the re-manufacturing of military equipment is related to the Ministry of War. As a Minister, it’s your duty to participate in this matter.”

Nonsense!

He was a Minister of the Military Affairs for reviewing and approving military documents, not for jumping into things between the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War!

Wei Yu thought to himself that his father just wanted him to step up and be a target!