Daishan Secret Realm governed twelve counties.
The Imperial Estate allocated by the Ministry of Agriculture was located in Dingling County.
When Fang Heng and his party arrived in Dingling County,
the county magistrate of Dingling County and all the officials beneath him had already been waiting for a long time.
"Welcome, Your Highness!"
"Welcome, honored envoy!"
Magistrate Chen and the other Dingling County officials were respectful, even somewhat humble.
They looked exactly like colonial officials facing officials from the motherland, naturally a head shorter than them.
"This humble official has already prepared a welcoming banquet. I invite Your Highness to grace us with your presence..."
Before Magistrate Chen could finish, Fang Heng frowned and waved a hand.
"There is no need for a welcoming banquet. Take us to the Imperial Estate first."
"Uh—"
A flicker of astonishment crossed Magistrate Chen's face, followed by an awkward expression.
"Your Highness, the welcoming banquet was prepared for you by the county's prominent households. They have all already arrived..."
Fang Heng looked coldly at Magistrate Chen and snorted through his nose.
"Magistrate Chen, did you not understand what I said?"
The sharp bark of a question instantly frightened Magistrate Chen into a cold sweat.
This prince acted with thunderous decisiveness. He was not someone easy to deal with.
Magistrate Chen gave a bitter smile inwardly, but he did not dare defy Fang Heng's orders.
He personally led Fang Heng and the others toward the Imperial Estate.
The Imperial Estate lay west of Dingling County town and covered fifty thousand mu.
"How many tenant farmers did the Imperial Estate originally have?" Fang Heng asked.
"Reporting to Your Highness, there were a total of two thousand, two hundred and fifty-three." Magistrate Chen had come prepared and recited the answer as smoothly as if he knew it by heart.
"The Imperial Estate was replanted with Sacred Emperor Rice, destroying their crops. Were they compensated?"
"Your Highness, they were compensated. Five taels per person."
"Bring me the account books. I will have people examine them."
Hearing this, Magistrate Chen felt certain.
This Ninth Prince could not tolerate even a grain of sand in his eyes. He could not be underestimated.
Fortunately, not knowing the Ninth Prince's temperament, he had not tampered with the compensation.
Had he lined his own pockets, he would have been finished today.
Magistrate Chen gave a meaningful look, and the registrar quickly presented the Imperial Estate's account books.
After accepting the books, Fang Heng did not look through them. Instead, he said blandly,
"By my imperial father's command, I have been tasked with planting Sacred Emperor Rice. The burden is heavy, with a thousand threads and ten thousand affairs to manage."
Hearing Fang Heng issue an order to leave, Magistrate Chen flatteringly said,
"Your Highness possesses the bearing of a dragon and the grace of a phoenix. You will surely succeed as soon as you mount the horse."
"This humble official shall not disturb Your Highness any longer."
After Magistrate Chen and his men left, Xiao Luoyu walked to Fang Heng's side and asked softly,
"Are you really not going to the welcoming banquet?"
"Would that not be too disrespectful?"
Fang Heng shook his head without concern. "There is no need. They merely want to get the moon first from a tower near the water."
"They are only the county's gentry. I have no intention of indulging them."
What welcoming banquet?
Fang Heng saw through it at a glance.
They merely wanted to attach themselves to him so they could fiddle with the Sacred Emperor Rice yields.
They only needed to make a small amount of Sacred Emperor Rice disappear to let Dingling County's great households eat until their brains were fat and their guts swollen.
"Sacred Emperor Rice is a matter of great importance. We must also set up an array within the Imperial Estate..."
"Reporting to Your Highness, His Majesty has already instructed this old servant to bring the array plate for the Myriad Manifestations Reversion Array."
Fang Heng froze for a moment, then said,
"Excellent!"
"Father has indeed considered everything thoroughly."
"Lord Jian, I will leave the Myriad Manifestations Reversion Array to you."
"Understood, Your Highness."
Jian Bingyang took the array plate and began setting up the array.
As for Fang Heng, things were no easier on his end.
Planting Sacred Emperor Rice across all fifty thousand mu was no simple task.
The Sacred Emperor Rice needed to be planted by the Imperial Estate's original tenant farmers.
It also required the Spirit Farmers of Evergreen Temple to regulate wind and rain.
Only with both working together could things truly get on the right track.
Amid this tangle of countless affairs, Fang Heng's first order was to send a transfer decree to the Ministry of Personnel.
He transferred Tian Sheng from the Seed Selection Department to the Ministry of Agriculture.
The next day.
Tian Sheng arrived at the Dingling County Imperial Estate, covered in dust from his journey.
When he saw Fang Heng, tears filled his eyes, as though he had met parents he had not seen for decades.
Of course, only Tian Sheng himself knew how much of the excitement on his face was genuine.
"Tian Sheng, I have transferred you to the Ministry of Agriculture. Do you bear any resentment in your heart?"
"How could this humble official harbor any resentment?"
"I have long wished to come to the Ministry of Agriculture and serve Your Highness like a dog or horse."
Those words came from Tian Sheng's heart.
Though the position of Seed Selection Department director came with plenty of lucrative opportunities, how could it compare to following the Ninth Prince before and behind his saddle?
The former was wealth. The latter was a future.
Tian Sheng understood far too clearly which mattered more.
For a tiny sesame-seed official like him, with no background whatsoever, being given a chance to cling to a prince's thigh—if he failed to seize it, heaven would strike him with thunder and lightning.
"It reassures me that you possess such fighting spirit."
"Teach the tenant farmers of the Imperial Estate the methods for planting Sacred Emperor Rice."
"This humble official obeys. I will certainly not fail Your Highness's trust."
Filled with vigor, Tian Sheng went to teach the tenant farmers how to plant Sacred Emperor Rice.
Fang Heng was very satisfied. This was exactly the kind of workhorse king he needed.
A workhorse king willing to grind himself to the bone in order to climb upward.
Over the following days, the Ministry of Agriculture gradually got on track, and the burden on Fang Heng's shoulders eased considerably.
City of Life and Death.
Within the City of Life and Death, there were many more people purchasing military treatises.
Moreover, every last one of them was seeking unique copies of military treatises.
As for where they came from, as long as one was not blind, everyone from top to bottom in the City of Life and Death knew perfectly well.
Some gambling houses had even opened betting pools on which prince Shang Hongye would ultimately choose.
The Second Prince had the highest odds.
The Crown Prince followed closely behind.
Why did the Second Prince have the highest odds?
Simply because the Crown Prince already had a Crown Princess.
For a heaven's favored daughter like Shang Hongye, it was hard to imagine that she would become someone's lesser wife.
The Second Prince, on the other hand, had a secondary consort, but the position of principal consort was still vacant.
This was the Second Prince's greatest advantage.
The stalls purchasing unique military treatises had been set up for several days.
Unfortunately, they had come up empty-handed.
Some people had come to sell military treatises, but none were unique copies.
Others had even tried to swindle and deceive them, only to be seen through by these retainers of the princely estates.
"Take a look at this military treatise."
A bull-headed man spoke in a lowered voice.
Song Heng, a retainer of the Third Prince, accepted the jade slip and swept its contents with his divine sense.
At once, the expression beneath his mask bloomed with joy.
His overwhelming ecstasy seemed to take substance and flow from his pupils.
"Art of War by Sun Tzu."
A military treatise he had never seen before.
It was absolutely a unique copy of a military treatise.
His fortunes had finally turned. He had not failed the Third Prince's trust.
They, the retainers of the princely estates, had all witnessed Liu Qi, the Crown Prince's retainer, and his recent good fortune.
From a peripheral figure in the Eastern Palace, he had leapt in a single bound to become a favored guest of the Crown Prince, constantly attending at his side.
Such treatment could only be called soaring straight to the blue clouds.
After reading the first section of the Art of War by Sun Tzu, Song Heng seemed already to see the scene of his own meteoric rise.
"Two curios."
"Deal!"
Upon hearing the offer of two curios, Fang Heng did not haggle and agreed immediately.
Purple Green Bell
Profound Fire Claw
These two curios were of average quality, considered entry-level curios.
Compared individually with a fine item like the Heavenly Thunder Token, they fell far short.
After accepting the two curios, Fang Heng lowered his voice and said to Song Heng,
"Do you know how many curios Liu Qi used when he purchased a military treatise?"
"Was it not two?"
Song Heng froze for a moment, then quickly reacted.
Could there be something fishy here?
"Heh heh!"
"Liu Qi used only one curio to acquire that military treatise."
"Quite a few people witnessed the transaction that day. If you do not believe me, you can go ask them."
So that was how it was!
That Liu Qi was truly cunning.
Though he had not gone to verify it, Song Heng already believed seven or eight parts out of ten of what Fang Heng said.
"Many thanks for your guidance, sir."
"A small token of thanks. Please do not reject it."
Song Heng gave Fang Heng a storage bag containing one hundred soul pearls.
Fang Heng nodded slightly. This man knew the way of the world.
Honestly, Fang Heng did not think much of a hundred soul pearls.
His goal was to make military treatises inflate.
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