The Frontier Prince: Starting From Scratch - Chapter 3 - It's Really Tough

“Your Highness, please have your meal.”

Luan’er placed two bowls of red date porridge on the table, standing by attentively. Her eyes couldn’t help but linger on the porridge, and she swallowed hard.

Feng’er and Luan’er had grown accustomed to taking care of Zhao Xu, and remembering he hadn’t had breakfast yet, Luan’er went to the kitchen to prepare something.

“Your Highness has just recovered from a serious illness, didn’t the kitchen prepare anything better?”

Feng’er looked at the simple two bowls of red date porridge on the table, her pretty face full of dissatisfaction. Normally, she wouldn’t say anything, as she knew the Prince’s Mansion was strapped for resources. But since Prince Yan had finally recovered, he should be eating something more nourishing to regain his strength.

“There’s nothing else. The kitchen said the mansion only has rice and red dates left, and even the rice is running low. They asked when they would receive silver to buy more rice,” Luan’er said with a bitter expression.

Feng’er sighed, worried Zhao Xu might blame Luan’er, and began to explain the situation in Yan Prefecture.

“Beidi cavalry raids every year, killing and abducting the people, and the year’s stockpiled grain is often completely plundered, leaving the people starving and freezing, suffering greatly.”

“The regional magnates in Yan Prefecture not only fail to help the people but take advantage of the situation. They use a few buns and bowls of porridge to tempt the starving people into exchanging their land, turning them into vassals and slaves to farm their fields.”

Zhao Xu nodded. Before he turned thirteen, Zhao Xu had received formal court education. The imperial tutor who taught him had explained this situation was not unique to one province or prefecture but was a problem faced by the entire Dasong Dynasty.

Due to historical reasons, the local forces within the central plains were deeply entrenched. Smaller forces, known as regional magnates, controlled the power of counties and prefectures, like the current magnates in Yan Prefecture. Larger forces controlled the power of entire provinces or even multiple provinces, becoming powerful clans.

During the dynasty’s peak, the imperial family could suppress these clans, and they would comply with the court’s rule. But as the imperial family’s power waned, their control over the provinces and prefectures weakened, leading these clans to gradually form their own territories, challenging the imperial family.

When Dasong was founded, it learned from the previous dynasty’s downfall due to powerful clans, so it emphasized strengthening the royal family, allowing the princes to be enfeoffed to counter the magnates. This led to Dasong’s over two hundred years of stability; otherwise, it might not have lasted a century.

However, in recent years, the imperial family’s strength has been continuously depleted in battles against foreign tribes, and this balance has been broken. Yan Province, being on the border, far from the emperor’s reach, and plagued by chaos, sees the magnates disregarding the imperial family.

To strengthen their power, they exploit the people to the fullest.

“Is the mansion’s tax revenue also not coming in?” Zhao Xu pondered for a moment and asked.

“How did Your Highness know?” Feng’er was slightly surprised.

“The people are too impoverished to pay taxes, while the magnates have money. The officials in Yan Prefecture are all from these magnates, so they naturally collude to evade taxes,” Zhao Xu said, stirring the porridge in his bowl.

The historical trajectories of the two worlds might differ, but human nature remains the same.

“Indeed, for the past three months, the mansion has been using silver brought from Jinling,” Feng’er said, shaking her head lightly.

“Not only that, the magnates in Yan Prefecture deliberately raise the price of rice to force the people to sell their land to them, making even those who could eat unable to do so, forcing them to sell their land. Our mansion is also affected, and if this continues, we won’t even have rice to eat,” Luan’er timidly added.

In Zhao Xu’s memories, after arriving in Yan Prefecture, the people in the Prince’s Mansion gradually became gaunt and sallow. It was likely related to the mansion’s financial difficulties. With taxes not being collected, there was naturally no money. Even if there were some tax silver, it had to pass through the hands of Yan Prefecture officials, ultimately ending up with Zhang Han. And that scoundrel Zhang Han would surely line his own pockets, leaving nothing for the mansion.

“Liu Fu, bring the account book of the Prince’s Mansion.”

After finishing his red date porridge, Zhao Xu decided to take charge of the mansion’s affairs. If Yan Prefecture continued down this path, besides Xiliang, Beidi, and the local regional magnates, even the common people might rise up in revolt. By then, he would be left with no choice but to wait for his demise.

Liu Fu left for a while and returned with an elderly man whose hair was partly gray. This was Accountant Qin of the Prince’s Mansion.

“Your Highness, I was also forced by Zhang Han. Please spare my life, Your Highness, spare my life…”

With Zhang Han detained, the news spread throughout the mansion, and this old accountant naturally understood who was in charge now.

“As long as you confess honestly, I will spare your life.” Zhao Xu approached the old accountant. These minor figures were merely following orders; naturally, they did whatever Zhang Han instructed them to do, so there was no need to pursue them relentlessly.

“Yes, Your Highness.” Accountant Qin nervously flipped through the account book page by page for Zhao Xu to see. Seeing Zhao Xu’s straightforward demeanor, he dared not deceive.

“In the three months since arriving in Yan Prefecture, the mansion received a total of fifty taels¹ of tax silver from the Yan Prefecture government office, all taken by Zhang Han under the guise of renovating the mansion.”

“The mansion’s three thousand mu² of fertile land was sold by Zhang Han under the pretext of needing silver due to the mansion’s financial difficulties, each mu sold for 1 qian³ of silver, and this money was also taken by Zhang Han,” the old accountant explained.

“What!” Zhao Xu nearly fainted upon hearing this. These three thousand mu of fertile land were allocated to him as private property according to imperial family protocol when he left for Yan Prefecture. The idea was that even without any taxes, the mansion could comfortably rely on the rent from these three thousand mu of fertile land. Zhang Han had actually sold them off, and at such a low price, who knows how much kickback that scoundrel pocketed.

“Has Zhang Han woken up yet? If he has, beat him severely,” Zhao Xu felt murderous. Selling the imperial family’s land was a capital offense in itself.

“Yes, beat him severely,” Liu Fu immediately pointed out two servants to carry out the order.

Zhao Xu still felt the sting of loss. With no taxes and no fertile land, the mansion essentially had no income to support everyone. After venting his anger, he looked hopefully at the old accountant and asked, “How much silver does the mansion currently have?”

“Less than forty taels. With the current high price of rice, even if we use it sparingly, it will only last the mansion five or six more days,” the old accountant replied truthfully.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xu slumped into a seat. These forty taels might suffice for one person, as in the Dasong Dynasty, one tael of silver was enough for a common household to live for a month. But his mansion had maids, servants, advisors, all needing food and wages. Besides that, there were the hundred guards who had followed him from the capital to protect him. These forty taels of silver were hardly enough to do anything.

The situation was dire; the Prince’s Mansion had lost its income and was now only spending without earning. No wonder Luan’er was eyeing those two bowls of porridge with such longing. If things continued this way, Zhao Xu would have to dismiss the servants, and even eating dirt wouldn’t fill a large bowl.

With a heavy sigh, Zhao Xu sent the old accountant away. He paced out of the bedchamber, gazing at the dilapidated courtyard walls, roofs, and corridors of the Prince’s Mansion, all worn down by years of neglect. He frowned, deep in thought.

Clearly, his current circumstances were quite grim. He couldn’t rely on the regional magnates of Yan Prefecture. These scoundrels didn’t even respect the imperial family, let alone a powerless and destitute prince like him. They’d be happier if he starved to death.

To gain control of Yan Prefecture, he needed the support of its people, for they were the foundation of the prefecture. However, winning their allegiance wasn’t something that could be achieved with mere words. In their eyes, he was no different from those regional magnates who exploited them.

The only way to gain their support was to ensure they had land to cultivate and food to eat. But to accomplish this, the Prince’s Mansion needed land to distribute to them, as land was the lifeblood of the people in ancient times. Yet, the land was currently in the hands of the regional magnates, creating a seemingly endless cycle.

The only way to break this cycle was to fight fire with fire: the Prince’s Mansion needed to acquire vast tracts of land, making the people dependent on it, and thereby becoming the largest magnate in Yan Prefecture. Once his power was consolidated, he could then fully control the prefecture, eliminate opposing forces, and establish his dominance.

“Silver!” Zhao Xu had the beginnings of a plan. No matter what he did, he first needed a substantial amount of silver. He looked up at the blazing June sun, its scorching rays making him feel a wave of heat.

Suddenly, an idea popped into his mind-a way to make the regional magnates willingly hand over their silver. And all it required was a bit of simple chemistry knowledge.

Footnote:

1. Tael(两):A traditional Chinese unit of weight for silver, approximately 37.5 grams. Also used as a monetary unit.
2. Mu(亩): A traditional Chinese unit of area, equivalent to about 0.067 hectares or 666.7 square meters.
3. Qian(钱): A smaller monetary unit in imperial China, where 1 tael = 10 qian.