Wei Yu never expected that after all the ti his father spent thinking, the only thing he could co up with was this one sentence!
What a waste of all his heartfelt effort.
However, Emperor Wei thought that what he said was quite weighty.
After all, he was talking to his own son, not a subject. He couldn’t say things like “if you ever do this again, I’ll have you executed” or “I’ll punish your entire family”…
The Emperor sighed inwardly, feeling that his temper, which had finally flared up, had once again beco gentle.
As expected, he was suited to being a benevolent ruler.
But what was the truth?
In fact, Emperor Wei was indeed the most gentle-tempered ruler in the history of the Wei Dynasty!
The founding emperor of Great Wei was a salt rchant who rose to power, a typical warlord with an ambition to dominate the world.
The emperors after him were either mighty military rulers who expanded the empire’s borders or wise and capable rulers focused on civil reforms. Thanks to these previous emperors, Great Wei was passed down from generation to generation, until it reached Emperor Wei.
Emperor Wei knew he wasn’t suited for military rule, so when he took the throne, he chose to rule with benevolence and civil governance.
But what was the result of his benevolent and trusting approach?
Forget it. So painful matters were better left unsaid.
If the Emperor hadn’t been so gentle, how could the people around him—those he trusted—be the type to say one thing to his face and sothing entirely different behind his back?
Although the Emperor did later tighten up, he only punished those who truly deserved it, because if he didn’t, it would threaten his throne and even the stability of the dynasty.
However, there were still many people, such as the Pri Minister, the Ministers, and even the Empress and Consorts, that the Emperor didn’t take action against.
He was truly angry, but he also couldn’t bring himself to be too harsh.
Between rulers and ministers, and between husband and wife, even without great rits, there was still shared toil, and they did have real achievents to their nas.
Even when lying, there had to be a reason, and when punishing soone, it was all the more necessary to find one.
Without a good reason, if you were to demote or dismiss soone, the censors would verbally attack you until you were utterly humiliated.
—
After warning Wei Yu, Emperor Wei asked him about the sugar issue.
“What thod do you have to refine white sugar?”
In response, Wei Yu asked his father, “Father, do you know what white sugar is extracted from?”
Of course, Emperor Wei knew.
“Zhe.”
He thought for a mont and then continued, “This is sothing that ca from Great Liang. Only Yizhou and Jiaozhou, which are adjacent to it, can cultivate it. When the founding Emperor sent people to plant it in other states, the yield was rather disappointing.”
Zhe refers to the jujube tree, which is related to sugarcane.
Wei Yu nodded and then asked his father about the white sugar yield in Yizhou.
The Emperor furrowed his brow. “I don’t know the specifics. I’ll call the Minister of Revenue.”
So, the Emperor sent Li Cheng to fetch the Minister of Revenue, not bothering to check if it was getting dark outside.
At that mont, the Minister of Revenue was at ho, drinking a little wine. When he suddenly heard that Director Li had co, saying the Emperor needed him in the palace for sothing, he quickly threw down his cup, dressed himself, and went to the palace.
“I, Qi Tishou, present myself before Your Majesty. Greetings to the Ninth Prince.”
Qi Tishou was a middle-aged man with a bit of a belly, looking quite prosperous. When Wei Yu saw him, he imdiately thought this man must be living a truly happy life.
[Look at that belly, so round, it’s the kind of “happy fat” people envy.]
Originally, Wei Yu was going to say sothing, but upon hearing Wei Yu’s thoughts, Emperor Wei instinctively looked at Qi Tishou’s belly.
Emperor Wei: …
He had to admit, it was quite round.
The Emperor gestured for him to rise and asked him about the white sugar yield.
As a minister, even if Qi Tishou was puzzled by the question, he answered honestly.
“Your Majesty, Yizhou produces a lot of zhe. In a good year, each mu yields about 3,500 to 4,000 jin, and it takes 15 jin of zhe to make 1 jin of white sugar. So, each mu would produce…”
Qi Tishou started calculating in his mind.
Wei Yu imdiately chid in: “233 to 267 jin.”
This number made Qi Tishou, who had already worked it out, surprised. He couldn’t help but raise a hand to Wei Yu in admiration, saying, “Your Highness is truly skilled. I’m not as good at calculations as you.”
Heh!
What’s the big deal?
Ever heard of a calculator?
Wei Yu smiled and said nothing.
“Only 200 jin of sugar per mu? The common folk can get more than 300 jin of millet per mu. If Yizhou faces a bad year, wouldn’t the people who grow zhe be starving to death?”
The Emperor furrowed his brow, deeply concerned about the extrely low yield of white sugar, and then looked at Wei Yu. “What thod do you have to increase the yield of white sugar?”
Wei Yu gave his father a “you’ve hit the jackpot” look, then explained to him the process of industrial sugar production.
First, it’s the machine to extract sugar water, followed by the li thod to make raw sugar, then evaporating to produce syrup, and then washing, separating, filtering, and decolorizing.
Qi Tishou, who was listening on the side, was stunned.
[What is the Ninth Prince talking about? What is this separating, filtering, and decolorizing? Making white sugar is so complicated? Wait, the Ninth Prince actually knows how to make sugar!!]
The Emperor’s ears were almost exploding from the noise.
Glancing at the excited Qi Tishou, Emperor Wei snorted inwardly.
Minister Qi really isn’t very steady—it’s just sugar! His son even knows how to fire glass and slt steel!
Great Wei is about to rise up and get filthy rich, alright?
Wei Yu had no idea what his father was thinking. Once he had said more or less everything he needed to, he stopped talking.
After all, it was already past alti. He was seriously starving, and if he didn’t get back to eat soon, he’d practically starve to death.
Wei Yu said, “Royal Father, how about I write everything down instead? Once I’ve finished, I can present it to you—what do you think?”
Having just gotten two excellent thods for saving and making money for the national treasury, the Emperor was in an exceptionally good mood and couldn’t help but say to Wei Yu, “You’ve rendered rit by offering these thods. If what you’ve said can truly be done, then I shall grant you one promise.”
As soon as he said this, before Wei Yu even reacted, the first person to respond was Qi Tishou—internally, at least:
[The court’s going to be in chaos again.]
Among the nine princes, the Eldest and Second Princes had previously been the ones most favored by the Emperor, so many court officials had placed their bets on one of the two becoming Crown Prince.
But the recent crackdown by the Emperor had made it very clear to everyone: His Majesty wasn’t old yet, and if they acted too aggressively, he would beco furious!
[Looks like His Majesty intends to support the Ninth Prince now. Making a promise like that in front of —does he want to side with the Ninth Prince? Tsk… But I’ve already pledged loyalty to the Eldest Prince…]
Qi Tishou was feeling anxious inside, though his face still wore a look of unwavering loyalty.
As for these princes getting tangled up with court officials, forming cliques and factions—Emperor Wei had heard plenty of that lately.
He even knew who was aligned with whom, whether in the open or behind closed doors, and what each of them had done for the princes in the past. He’d already had the commander of the Gray Guards, Huo Tingyu, investigate it all thoroughly.
Having heard so much, he had grown numb to it.
Still, the Emperor was rather interested in what Qi Tishou was thinking.
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