Fourth Prince's Thoughts, the Players' Wishful Thinking

The Fifth Prince in Python Robes walked with a square gait, his face upright, exuding a serious and dignified demeanor.

He quickened his pace, with his attendants following closely behind.

At this moment, the Old Daoist Tiansheng flicked his whisk, signaling the guards to stop.

He turned to look at the person who had come, and couldn't help but smile slightly.

"So it's the Fourth Prince. May I ask what brings you here, Fourth Prince?"

"Daoist Master Tiansheng, why did you kill these three virtuous men?" the Fourth Prince asked in return.

"Sages? Hah, these three trespassed into the Forbidden City with malicious intent. How can the Fourth Prince call them sages?" The Old Daoist Tiansheng shook his head.

Gao Linzhi thought to himself, "It seems that the Imperial Observatory and the royal family are not on good terms."

He did know that the current dynasty originated from the Imperial Observatory.

"Yes, how can Your Highness call them virtuous men?" a guard leader added.

It was clearly flattery directed at the Old Daoist Tiansheng man.

Gao Linzhi glanced at the Fourth Prince and saw that the prince's expression had changed.

He thought to himself, "This guy isn't ruthless enough. He even dares to contradict a mere guard leader."

Such things usually only happen at the end of a dynasty, or to princes who are out of favor.

Unfavored princes were often bullied by the chief eunuch and the favored concubines.

This kind of thing happened quite often during the Great Ming.

Although it was highly improper, things were far more outrageous than imagined.

The mother of the Ming Dynasty carpenter emperor was one of those who were bullied.

Gao Linzhi naturally knew that none of these royal family members were easy to deal with.

The Fourth Prince barely suppressed his anger, and after hearing this, he patiently advised:

"They are out there helping refugees, saving countless lives. Can't they be called virtuous men?"

"Isn't this an act of kindness? Even I am ashamed of my own lack of such kindness."

"Let them go."

The Old Daoist Tiansheng smiled upon hearing this.

"Haha, Your Highness, you're mistaken."

"These guys, every single one of them, will only do things for personal gain."

"They are not like you, who truly care about the disaster victims."

How can these people be compared to you?

The other guards couldn't help but shake their heads as well.

In short, that's how it is.

It looks like all three players are destined to be resurrected.

In any case, the Old Daoist Tiansheng would never admit that the three of them were sages.

"Their care for refugees is nothing but a pretext for their ulterior motives," the Old Daoist Tiansheng reminded them again.

"As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. The fact that they are taking care of the refugees shows that they do have a heart for the people here."

"Anyway, it's better than those officials who hold positions without doing their jobs, right?" the Fourth Prince said somewhat insincerely.

"Alright, alright, I won't argue with the Fourth Prince. I just want to say one thing: reality isn't that simple. You should think it over carefully," the Old Daoist Tiansheng said meaningfully.

The Fourth Prince insisted, "Let's leave it at that for now. Hand over their people to me."

"I'm afraid it's not a good idea to hand this person over to you?"

"After all, these people are blatantly trying to steal the Heaven's Heart Stone from here."

"This is in full view of everyone."

"And they even injured the Imperial Guards."

"This is a rebellious mouth, how can I possibly be lenient with him?" the Old Daoist Tiansheng retorted.

"It seems you want me to ask the Emperor for permission?" The Fourth Prince had no choice but to resort to his trump card.

"Fine, since you've put it that way, I have nothing more to say."

"You can take him with you." The Old Daoist Tiansheng shook his head.

He naturally knew why the Fourth Prince had saved these players.

He simply wants the players' help in his bid for the Crown Prince position.

It must be said that the players are quite skilled.

First, it can bring a large amount of resources from another world.

Despite its many limitations, it is at least a great logistical treasure.

The Fourth Prince then had his attendants lead the three players back to his palace.

The Fourth Prince's Mansion is located in the southwest corner of the Imperial City.

On a street called "Ten Kings Residence".

Nine princes vied for the throne, but ten princes were actually involved.

This main street of Ten Kings Residence is magnificent and spotless.

You can also see some sewer drains and their covers.

In short, it's already very modern.

The only downside is that there are very few people walking on the streets.

Some of the shops along the street had only a few customers.

Even a large tavern that should have been a gathering place for people turned out to be like that.

This is clearly not normal.

A very small number of people were able to realize that something was wrong, but they simply pretended to be oblivious and continued on their way.

Gao Linzhi could naturally sense it as well.

But he felt that this was probably because the Ten Kings wanted to avoid suspicion and didn't want too many people here.

To avoid being accused by the emperor of plotting against his father and seizing the throne.

And so, Gao Linzhi followed them stealthily all the way.

He found this approach ridiculous.

After all, this is an extraordinary world.

Even if one obtains the throne, what then?

Unless the throne is related to a matter of power.

With this throne, one can fully utilize their strength, much like a sharpshooter equipped with a gun.

The gun is the throne, and the sharpshooter is the one who seizes the throne.

Only when the two are combined can their Unparalleled potential be unleashed.

And at this time.

The old Daoist priest Tianxin glanced at the place where Gao Linzhi was from afar.

But he didn't say anything.

The existence of Gao Linzhi was not revealed either.

Clearly, he wanted to teach this usually unyielding Fourth Prince a lesson.

The old Daoist priest wanted the prince to know that he couldn't do without their Imperial Observatory.

It has to be said.

Gao Linzhi discovered that in this world, Royal Authority was far less secure than they had imagined.

And so, the Fourth Prince led these people along the streets of Ten Kings Residence.

They arrived at a large mansion in the middle.

The mansion was decorated very solemnly, with nothing exceeding the bounds of propriety.

It was quite different from other mansions, which were somewhat whimsical.

From the stone lions at the entrance to the nails on the gate, the maximum height of the trees in the house, the maximum number of artificial hills, and which buildings in the house are habitable... all these are subject to strict regulations.

Firstly, it was for the sake of etiquette and law; secondly, it was to prevent people from looking down and spying on the inner workings of the imperial city.

Moreover, all Fourth Prince's Mansion complied, while none of the other families were able to fully comply.

Inside the hall.

The Fourth Prince asked the three people to sit down.

He asked sincerely, "May I ask what brings you gentlemen from afar to this imperial city?"

At that moment, the three of them exchanged a glance.

One of them said, "Thank you, Your Highness, for saving our lives."

"We came here just for that stone."

"As you've probably seen, this stone is quite important to us."

"Are you talking about the stone enshrined in the Forbidden City?" the Fourth Prince asked, shaking his head.

"Do you intend to use it to protect your heart, to safeguard your spirit and soul?"

"Is that so, Your Highness also aware of that stone?" they said, though a sense of unease lingered in their hearts.

If the prince finds out, how will they get their hands on this stone in the future?

This thing is very valuable.

That would make things very bad.

After thinking about this, everyone felt unwilling.

One of them then went on to say to the Fourth Prince:

"Your Highness, could you please help us obtain it?"

"If we can obtain it, we will certainly give Your Highness a sufficient reward."

The Fourth Prince immediately smiled.

"No need for payment, but I can certainly get you that stone."

"I only hope that you all can lend me a hand."

At this moment, Player 1 suddenly exclaimed excitedly:

"It seems the Fourth Prince wants to help us. Then let us help you seize the throne."

The Fourth Prince was immediately startled.

He smiled slightly, "No problem, no problem at all. You all really are very outspoken."

"That's not my intention at all. I just want everyone's help to make the court better, reform some of the corrupt practices, ensure that the people are well-fed and clothed, and enable the court to solve more problems."

At this moment, the three players nodded slightly.

Just look at this Fourth Prince, who said, "We must ensure that the people have enough to eat and wear, and that the children can go to school."

If the other side can truly do that, then the people will no longer suffer from poverty and hardship, and will never again be ignorant.

That would be the greatest merit.

Everyone found it amusing, but no one refuted him.

After all, the other party really did save them.

Player Three said, "Alright, in that case, we'll lend you a hand."

"But we must make it clear to the public that we support your bid for the throne."

The Fourth Prince frowned upon hearing this.

He found that these players really didn't think before they spoke.

He speaks off the cuff.

No wonder so few princes and ministers truly engage in deep interactions with these players.

Of course, they don't know this yet. When they realize that "trouble comes from the mouth," it also means that the family is on the decline.

"There are some things that absolutely cannot be said; if they are, the entire family will be executed."

If people like them were in a real dynasty, the situation would be ten times worse.

If they weren't players, without the ability to log off or escape, they would have been slaughtered countless times already.

The opponent's strength is indeed formidable.

Gao Linzhi, meanwhile, had been secretly watching them from behind.

At the same time, Gao Linzhi also knew that the Heaven's Heart Stone could not be taken away directly.

And at this time...

The Fourth Prince finally informed the three of the relevant news:

"That stone hasn't fully formed yet; consuming it directly would be dangerous."

"It needs to be made possible by offering sacrifices to 499 more powerful beings."

"So that's how it is! It seems we've been tricked!"

"Damn it, could it be that we were one of those people back then?"

After a fit of impotent rage, the three of them said together to the prince:

"Your Highness, is there anything we can do to serve you?"

At this moment, the Fourth Prince shook his head and said, "Before we speak, let's all have some delicious food first."

"This is the chef we hired; he comes from some damp island."

"After eating a pot of cabbage and tofu hot pot, he couldn't help but think that it would taste even better if he used chili peppers from his hometown."

"Then he went to buy chili peppers and even planted them on Capital Island."

No one knew what the Fourth Prince meant by those words.

"Fourth Prince, what do you mean by that?"

"Cabbage, tofu, and chili peppers—these are all delicious foods. People should be content, instead of constantly complaining, grumbling, and blaming others, never looking for the cause within themselves."

"Please speak plainly, Your Highness."

"It's very simple. The imperial court is currently preparing for the bottleneck period two years from now."

"We'll be receiving a lot of goods then."

The construction of many ships requires a large sum of money.

Because it can get you the same thing in return.

This large sum of money was mainly used for various Rare Tier materials.

"Gold, in particular, is what the imperial court needs most."

"Strange, what does the imperial court need so much gold for?"

"Yes, if the imperial court needs money, it can simply print its own Treasury Note."

A player ahead of me said sarcastically.

That's what he said, but the Fourth Prince didn't seem to notice the sarcasm in his words.

The Fourth Prince simply stated, "The imperial court will need a large quantity of high-quality timber at that time."

"With the funds allocated by the imperial court, only Ordinary Sea Ship can be built at most, which are simply insufficient to cross the vast ocean."

"And the technology for building flying boats was controlled by the Imperial Observatory."

"They simply won't tell us."

At this moment, someone suddenly said, "Strange, aren't you the Sky Wolf Dynasty? Isn't your dynasty and your royal family the most powerful?"

"You couldn't even control an Imperial Observatory?"

At this moment, the Fourth Prince sighed.

"The biggest problem with the royal family is that it's difficult for the second generation to make progress."

"Many people are only thinking about getting by and are content with any benefits; they never think about how to make money."

"And those ministers who were summoned to the capital are not of one mind with the royal family."

"They should have been behind our royal family."

"However, while we could only select reliable talents from within the royal family, they sent their own secret agents into the examination hall."

"In this way, they can select the talents they want from all over the world."

"Therefore, the Imperial Observatory has more powerful individuals than we do."

The three nodded, seemingly lost in thought.

He understood that the Imperial Observatory must have its own preventative measures.

Then, the Fourth Prince told them the details of the previous imperial voyages to collect tribute.

The three then began to calculate and organize how many resources had been consumed at that time.

The consumption of various Rare Tier Minerals amounted to tens of tons.

In addition to labor and timber, the quantities were countless.

"How much silver and how many materials do you need? We can find a way to raise them for you."

"However, to get these things, you have to give the right amount of benefit," one player said.

"That's true, but the imperial court's deficit is too great; they have no money now."

"If the imperial court has no money, it can only send princes to search for funds everywhere," the Fourth Prince said, shaking his head.

At this moment, a player laughed and said, "As far as I know, your dynasty is sitting on a gold mine and still clamoring that you haven't found any gold."

"For example, mines, talented people, skills, or magic—these things can all be exchanged for money."

The other two eagerly added their suggestions.

Upon hearing this, the Fourth Prince was both alarmed and delighted.

"I see! Your words are truly enlightening!" he sighed.

At this point, one player couldn't wait to ask, "When do you think the mines, technology resources, and other such items will be put up for auction?"

The Fourth Prince shook his head. "There are many different perspectives on this matter; we need to discuss it further."

Gao Linzhi couldn't help but shake his head upon hearing this.

These three people aren't players; they're clearly sharks.

At the slightest hint of blood, they would rush over from several kilometers away.