Chapter 212: Pity
The Fourth Prince was such a grown man, he just went out for a trip, how could he just die?
He was not a fragile child, he was a healthy adult!
Yao Zhi was speechless for a long time, shocked to the point of being speechless. After a while, she stuttered and asked, “How, how come he’s gone? Is it because of illness?”
But before they set off, Yao Zhiming had clearly just checked the Fourth Prince’s pulse.
Until now, Yao Zhi still holds out a glimmer of hope.
The Thirteenth Prince has now been escorted to the capital and will be executed soon. The Fourth Prince will also be buried soon. This matter itself is no secret.
After a moment of silence, Ye Shuo said, “Killed by Thirteenth Brother.”
Almost instantly, Yao Zhi felt a chill running through her bones.Behind the royal glamour, there is a darkness that others cannot fathom. Yao Zhi has seen too much of it these days.
Even though Yao Zhi had been in the martial arts world for many years and had seen many lives disappear before her eyes, she still found it hard to accept the news when she suddenly heard it.
Really… it was too sudden.
After a long while, Yao Zhi opened her mouth with some difficulty: “Has it always been like this?”
In fact, it has been like this from beginning to end.
But fortunately, Ye Shuo had been able to handle it in the past, so he said: “Not really…”
However, one’s own eyes and personal experience cannot deceive others.
Yao Zhi couldn’t imagine what kind of life he had led in the past twenty years.
Last time it was the crown prince, this time it’s the fourth prince, will it be his turn next time?
Ye Shuo seemed to see her worry and quickly said, “Don’t worry, I will protect myself.”
Ye Shuo’s goal was different from that of his other brothers. From the beginning to the end, he just wanted to live a good life, to be a leisurely prince and enjoy all the happiness in the world.
Ye Shuo does not have such great ambitions, nor such high pursuits, so he is relatively less dangerous.
“I am now a prince and I am favoured by my father. My brothers will not do anything to me.”
In the past, the crown prince was the emperor’s most beloved son, but what happened?
Because of Ye Shuo, Yao Zhi unconsciously understood so much.
The more he said this, the more worried Yao Zhi became, and she hesitated for a moment.
To be honest, the former Ninth Prince’s Mansion, now the Prince Rui’s Mansion, is completely different from what she had imagined. The Prince Rui’s Mansion is very clean, without so many messy things, and the servants are all very obedient. She has lived here for so long and has not seen any usurpation of power. It is not as complicated as she had imagined. The rejection in Yao Zhi’s heart gradually lessened.
Yao Zhi was in a dilemma: “If I leave, what if someone assassinates you?”
Ye Shuo answered without hesitation: “There are so many guards in the yard, ordinary people can’t get in at all.”
“Besides, it’s not like I don’t have any skills myself.”
Forget it, he has only just learned how to wield a sword skillfully.
Yao Zhi asked again: “What if someone poisoned you?”
Ye Shuo: “I am a prince, who dares?”
However, he was clearly worried about Ye Xun’s safety, and he specifically asked me to take care of him before leaving, which shows that such a thing is not impossible.
Every time Yao Zhi said something, Ye Shuo would refute her, and finally Yao Zhi became anxious.
But Ye Shuo seemed not to notice it and was still saying something.
“Don’t worry, I can do it alone.” In order to prove that what he said was true, Ye Shuo wanted to show her his recent training results on the spot.
“I have already learned everything you taught me. If you don’t believe me, just look.”
“You fool!” How could a person who usually looked quite smart suddenly become so stupid?
Yao Zhi was so angry that she pushed him out without mercy. In the end, she still felt that it was not enough, so Yao Zhi closed the door.
No matter how Ye Shuo shouted outside, she remained unmoved.
Ignoring the “knock knock knock” sounds outside, Yao Zhi bit her lower lip and finally put the packed bag back.
Yao Zhi decided not to leave.
Because I really don’t want him to die…
Ye Shuo outside was completely unaware and no one opened the door for a long time. About half an hour later, Ye Shuo left with drooping shoulders.
Yao Zhi secretly watched his back through the crack in the door, and couldn’t help but stomped her feet.
“Fool!”
Then, it was time to fight a war with Beiting.
Now that his father has spoken, the Sixth Prince will naturally try his best.
Especially after the rumour of appointing a crown prince came out, this was the first task his father entrusted to him, and he had to do it perfectly.
The Sixth Prince had no time to rest at all and immediately became busy after returning to Shangjing.
The Sixth Prince was not very proficient in matters of war, as his father would take care of everything. All he had to do was calculate the amount of silver he would need to spend and prepare food and fodder for the march.
These two things are easy to say, but difficult to do.
It was a huge undertaking to feed so many people. It also involved a series of steps, such as transportation, grain collection, and grain purchase. If any of these steps went wrong or the timing was not right, people would start dying within a few days.
Sometimes what determines the outcome of a war is not the strength of the two sides, but the logistical supply. If the logistical supply cannot keep up, the soldiers will have to fight on an empty stomach, and their strength and morale will inevitably decline, making it very difficult to win.
Although there are many educated people nowadays, there are very few who are good at maths. It is even more difficult to find someone with outstanding arithmetic skills.
The Sixth Prince searched all six ministries and finally found a perfect candidate in the Ministry of Revenue.
That person was originally just a minor official of the seventh rank. He was summoned to the Ministry of Revenue because of his unparalleled arithmetic ability. As long as the annual accounts passed through his hands, there would be no mistakes. He was also very good at telling real and fake account books, and knew the prices of all kinds of commodities in the market. Any watered-down account would not escape his eyes.
In addition, he also has his own calculation system, and only he can understand the Arabic numerals he talks about.
After the Sixth Prince found him, he set questions on the spot to test him.
The matter of war concerns the foundation of the country and must be handled with extreme caution. Therefore, the difficulty of the questions set by the Sixth Prince can be imagined.
The Sixth Prince originally thought that it would take him an hour to fully understand it. Given how complicated it was, one hour was already quite fast.
The Sixth Prince had even tried it himself, and it took him about three hours to completely solve it. But after all, he was not an accountant, so if he could complete it within an hour, the Sixth Prince would consider employing him.
However, what the Sixth Prince did not expect was that it did not take an hour at all. In even less than the time of an incense stick, the other party had already come up with the answer.
“If I have calculated correctly, the total cost will be 113,652 taels and 7 coins and 42 copper coins.”
The man was very respectful, but it shocked the Sixth Prince.
After several verifications, it was confirmed that the number was correct, but what the Sixth Prince didn’t understand was how he could add up so many fragmented numbers so quickly.
It was such a thick accounting book that the Sixth Prince had to waste a lot of paper to get the result, but he was able to get the result after just a glance at it. It was really shocking.
But what the Sixth Prince didn’t know was that some people were born with a keen sense of numbers, and with some training they could achieve mental arithmetic.
Not only was the young man good at mental arithmetic, he was also extremely good at using an abacus. No matter how huge the number was, if he couldn’t do mental arithmetic, an abacus would be enough.
And the money for food and fodder needed for the war was not even enough to require him to use an abacus.
The Sixth Prince made the decision without hesitation and immediately included him in the army.
Of course, to be on the safe side, the Sixth Prince only asked him to take charge of some simple tasks at the beginning, and let him get the hang of it slowly. If he can really play a role, his future will naturally be limitless.
The young man naturally knew that his chance to show himself had come.
In the past, young people felt disappointed that their seniors who graduated with them or graduated only two or three years earlier than them had already become outstanding people and were now doing well in the court.
The most powerful one among them had already started to manage the salt administration, while he was still just a minor official of the seventh rank. Such a gap between them made the young man too ashamed to face his two teachers. He was even more ashamed to admit where he graduated from and who his teacher was.
But he really had no other extraordinary abilities. If his teacher had not told him in the letter that arithmetic was a very important subject and told him not to give up, the young man would have just planned to become an accountant in the future.
Even when he was in the Ministry of Revenue, he was still doing the work of an accountant.
The young man had already accepted his fate, but this day finally came, and it proved that the teacher’s words were never wrong.
The young man let out a long breath and said, “I will obey your orders and will not let the Sixth Prince down.”
Seeing this, the Sixth Prince was naturally very satisfied.
However, Ye Shuo felt that this was not enough, Beiting was really going too far this time. Everything was caused by Beiting, so many lives were lost, and if he didn’t make them pay the price, Ye Shuo would find it hard to let go of the hatred in his heart.
Distilled liquor has huge profits. Over the years, Ye Shuo has accumulated a terrifying amount of wealth.
Not only was Ye Shuo prepared to take the lead immediately if the national treasury was in short supply, he also ordered several caravans to start dumping large amounts of liquor into Beiting, as if he would not stop until Beiting’s foundation was destroyed. In addition, the army in Lucheng had been trained for so long, and it was time to put it to use.
Ye Shuo also wanted to see what the scene would be like when an army that was well-fed and trained with modern special forces methods faced off against an ancient army. He hoped that he would not be disappointed.
Since Emperor Jingwen has made up his mind to teach Beiting a long lesson, the people under him will naturally be more efficient.
On the third day, the army was ready to go and divided into different batches, marching towards Beiting one after another.
Then, there were matters concerning the Queen and the Thirteenth Prince.
The Queen and the Thirteenth Prince colluded with Beiting and intended to overthrow the Great Zhou. They are truly despicable. Even the Queen’s status and the son of the Queen’s status cannot protect them.
During the morning court session, the king’s uncle lost control of himself and fell to the ground.