Green Mountain
Chapter 312 - 252, Thoughts of the Crown Prince

Chapter 312: 252, Thoughts of the Crown Prince

In front of Tianzi Room C, Chen Ji gently rapped on the door with his knuckles.

The wooden door creaked open, and Xiao Man exclaimed with joy: "The young master has returned!"

As she spoke, she fetched a cloth to dust off the ash on Chen Ji’s body. The Crown Prince stood at the doorway, slightly leaning out to quietly inspect the room’s flooring and the curtains that separated the inner chambers.

Inside the room, a charcoal brazier was lit, a chessboard and some sweets and preserved fruits were placed on the table. Zhang Zheng and Zhang Xia were sitting on one of the floor mats, quietly muttering something to each other.

Chen Liqin hesitated multiple times, wanting to speak. He wanted to comment on the inappropriate appearance, but momentarily couldn’t find the words to start.

Chen Ji entered the room, addressing Zhang Zheng and Zhang Xia, "Brother Zhang, Second Miss Zhang, the Crown Prince is here."

On hearing this, Zhang Zheng and Zhang Xia quickly stood up and performed a ceremonious bow to the Crown Prince at the doorway: "Your Highness, the Crown Prince."

The Crown Prince waved his hand with a smile: "No need for such formalities. I only just found out that the four of you are staying in one room, which must be difficult. So, I’ve prepared two more rooms with the Diazi designation so you can live separately."

Zhang Zheng hesitated for a moment before declining: "Your Highness, we are quite content here."

The Crown Prince asked perplexedly, "You both live luxuriously at the Zhang Mansion normally; how could you be accustomed to sleeping on floor mats?"

Zhang Zheng politely replied, "It’s not a problem at all, it feels safer being together. With two extra guest rooms, we can accommodate more soldiers from the Yulin Army."

Behind the Crown Prince, Li Xuan said: "With the Yulin Army standing guard at night, everyone need not worry about their safety."

Zhang Zheng cheerfully responded: "So many Yulin soldiers, yet they couldn’t even protect the Governor’s Mansion."

Upon hearing this, there was a sudden silence both inside and outside the room.

Li Xuan wanted to retort, but couldn’t think of a proper comeback. The Governor’s Mansion being destroyed under the watch of the Yulin Army was a great disgrace.

However, no one expected Zhang Zheng to dare, in front of so many people, shame the Yulin Army so fiercely and trample their reputation.

At this moment, Zhang Xia softly tugged at Zhang Zheng’s sleeve.

Zhang Xia said with a smile, "Then we thank Your Highness. My brother and I will move there right away."

Reluctantly, Zhang Zheng went out, pulled along by the insistent Zhang Xia.

The Crown Prince stepped aside to let the siblings leave the room and go downstairs.

Descending the stairs, Zhang Zheng quietly complained: "We were perfectly fine staying there, why change places?"

After a brief silence, Zhang Xia said: "Chen Ji wants to get closer to the Crown Prince, brother, don’t make it difficult for him."

Zhang Zheng was even more puzzled: "With the support of the Chen family, and even if the Chen family cannot be relied upon, there’s still us, the Zhang family, and the Xu family. He has enough backing for his future, why does he need to seek favors from others?"

Zhang Xia slightly shook her head: "It’s not for his own future."

Zhang Zheng was puzzled: "Then what is it for, did he tell you?"

Zhang Xia thought for a moment: "He didn’t say, but I can guess what he’s planning."

Zhang Zheng’s eyes shifted: "No matter, the floor mats are still in the room. We can sneak back later."

In front of Tianzi Room C, as if nothing had happened, the Crown Prince said to Chen Ji in a gentle voice: "You’ve worked hard today, rest early."

Chen Ji bowed: "Thank you, Your Highness, for your concern."

The Crown Prince led Chen Liqin and Li Xuan into Tianzi Room D. Sitting beside the square table, he asked solemnly: "Gentlemen, how do you think we should solve the difficulty with the food supplies?"

Chen Liqin pondered for a moment: "Your Highness, I will visit the Border Army Camp tomorrow and definitely persuade Hu Junxian to allocate some food to us. Your Highness, as the Crown Prince of our nation, and with Hu Junxian being a scholar, I believe he won’t act like Zhou You, ignorant of the gravity of the situation."

The Crown Prince tapped his fingers on the table, noncommittally.

Li Xuan poured him a cup of tea and respectfully said: "Your Highness, tomorrow I will dispatch the Yulin Army to find and purchase any uncollected grains. The Ministry of Revenue has allocated us an emergency fund of over 3,000 taels of silver, which should help to some extent."

The Crown Prince sighed: "Currently, the price of grain in Guyuan could skyrocket to unreasonable levels, and 3,000 taels of silver will merely be a drop in the bucket."

Li Xuan spoke softly: "Let the soldiers of the Yulin Army get porridge from the porridge stalls. The grains we buy should be enough to provide for You and Mr. Chen’s families."

The Crown Prince hesitated: "That doesn’t seem right. I should share the hardship with the soldiers of the Yulin Army."

Li Xuan quickly knelt on one knee: "Your esteemed self should not demean the dignity of the royal family by standing in line at a porridge stall with commoners. If your image were so tarnished, how could I, your humble servant, face returning to the capital? I’d rather be buried here, shrouded in horsehide."

Chen Liqin also rose and bowed: "Your Highness, my family and I will queue with the Yulin soldiers for porridge, but under no circumstances should you undermine the dignity of the royal family."

The Crown Prince helped Li Xuan to his feet: "Lord Li, why speak such harsh words? I will abide by your arrangements."

After a moment, Qi Zhenzhuo unfolded a map on the table, and Li Xuan pointed at the map and said, "Tomorrow, we need to visit all the grain shops in the city to see if they have any food hidden..."

The Crown Prince suddenly asked, "Gentlemen, do you think Guyuan City, now cut off from food supplies, can still be held? How long will it take for Taiyuan Prefecture to realize Guyuan is besieged?"

Li Xuan answered, "At most fifteen days. After the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival, if Taiyuan Prefecture doesn’t see any merchants coming and going, they will become suspicious. At that time, it will take only fifteen days for the troops from Taiyuan Prefecture to come to our aid, and we only have to hold out for a month."

The Crown Prince breathed a slight sigh of relief: "Then there is still hope."

While they were talking, footsteps were heard outside the door.

The Crown Prince halted his speech and listened quietly as the footsteps stopped in front of the next room, Tianzi Room C, and then someone gently opened the door and ushered the visitor in.

Li Xuan and the others turned to look at Chen Liqin, and the Crown Prince said with a smile, "I previously heard that the Chen family and the Zhang Family have always been politically at odds, it seems that was just a rumor. The Chen family values reputation greatly, yet I did not expect them to go along so well with Lord Zhang."

Chen Liqin hurriedly explained, "I am in no way colluding with Zhang Zhuo."

"Oh?" the Crown Prince changed his tone, "I heard that Second Miss Zhang once served as a Doctor of Book and Mathematics at the Imperial Academy and has the ability to remember everything she reads. Is that true?"

Chen Liqin responded nostalgicly, "That is indeed true. Second Miss Zhang is clever and has an impeccable memory. Back in Luocheng City, ordinary literati and scholars were no match for her during debates on scriptures, and she is also adept at bookkeeping. It’s a pity she is a woman; otherwise, she would easily win the title of top scorer of a province."

The Crown Prince curiously asked, "Mr. Chen, having worked alongside Lord Zhang in Luocheng City for three years, have you never thought about arranging a marriage with Second Miss Zhang?"

Chen Liqin waved his hands repeatedly, "How could my Chen family get involved with the Zhang family?"

The Crown Prince, lifting his tea cup, gently sipped and quietly said, "Is that so? That’s too bad then. Although Lord Zhang is somewhat frivolous, he has the talent for strategizing, and my father holds him in high regard."

...

...

Inside Tianzi Room C, Zhang Zheng sprawled on the floor complaining, "We were living just fine together, but the Crown Prince had to split us up, how inconsiderate."

Xiao Man rolled her eyes, "I was thinking that our young master could finally sleep on a bed, but then you came back."

Zhang Zheng flopped onto the floor like jelly, "No one wants to bicker with you, how boring!"

Zhang Xia ignored both, turning his head to look at Ji, "Did Guyuan City’s granary really burn down?"

Ji nodded, "Yes."

Zhang Zheng sat up again, worried, "When will the reinforcements arrive?"

Ji shook his head, "It’s hard to say."

Zhang Xia calculated, "After the Lantern Festival, wouldn’t Taiyuan Prefecture notice the absence of merchants and grow suspicious?"

Ji was silent for a moment, "If I were the Great Commander of the Jing Dynasty Heavenly Strategy Army, I would definitely send soldiers disguised as merchants to Taiyuan Prefecture to report safety, delaying their suspicion by a day could increase our chances of success."

Zhang Zheng’s eyes widened, "Doesn’t that mean we won’t have reinforcements for a month?"

Ji reassured, "The border army is not incompetent; a Grand Official might have already left Guyuan clandestinely to report to Taiyuan Prefecture. If successful, the officer could arrive at Taiyuan Prefecture within ten days."

Zhang Zheng sighed, "That still means guarding for almost half a month."

Ji smiled, "Luckily, Xiao Man bought a granary in advance, which still has two thousand stones of grain hidden in the cellar. We won’t starve. Xiao Man, are those grains well hidden? Could they be discovered by the border army?"

Xiao Man pondered, "They are hidden in a well’s cellar, the border army shouldn’t be able to find it. That place is very concealed, originally used for hiding smuggled goods."

Ji praised, "Xiao Man is really good at doing business. If we can take back the properties your Aunt has in the capital, you should manage them."

Xiao Man’s eyes sparkled, "Really?"

Zhang Zheng also gave a thumbs up, "Xiao Man is better than the large group of people the Crown Prince brought along. They are now scratching their heads over the food situation. If five hundred Yulin Army soldiers starve to death in Guyuan City, it would be a huge embarrassment."

Xiao Man laughed shyly, "This is all taught by my Aunt; she used to say, to run a business is to seize the opportunity. If you can foresee three days ahead, you could be a petty trader; if half a year ahead, then a decent merchant; if you could foresee the fate of a country, then you can be a well-connected merchant... I just guessed a few days ahead, it’s nothing much."

Zhang Zheng looked at Chen Ji, "Do you think the Yulin Army can manage to get food?"

Chen Ji shook his head, "Difficult, currently everyone knows how important food is; a handful of grain can be worth a piece of gold."

Xiao Man looked at Ji, "Master, how should we handle this batch of grains? We cannot eat that much by ourselves, and if we wait a few days to sell them, we might make more than ten times the profit."

Chen Ji looked out the window, where the great fire inside Guyuan City had not yet extinguished, seeming as if the battle had moved from outside to inside the city walls.

He calmly replied, "No rush, this batch of grains has an important use. Let us go out tomorrow and check on the grain market."

In this chaotic world, ordinary things of minimal worth could value more than gold, and extravagantly expensive items are neglected by everyone, such as ginseng.

Since incorporating Jing Dynasty’s Ice Flow, Ji had not yet found a suitable opportunity to convert his silver into his cultivation realm, but now the opportunity had finally arrived.