kvmb Chapter 469 He Dares Not Gamble
Chapter 469 He Dares Not Gamble
In desperation, the wise king came up with an idea: "Are those grains still there?"
Yongqing County was short of food, so he used food to pay for silver.
Regardless of whether the food is good or bad.
He bought it for 100,000 taels, so it has to be worth 100,000 taels of silver.
"To cut our losses, I sold the grain." Zhang Weiping pointed to the wooden box: "All the 40,000 taels of silver notes are in this box."
"Of the 100,000 taels of silver, only 40,000 taels remain." The wise prince, having failed in his calculations, said helplessly, "Where am I supposed to get the remaining 70,000 taels of silver?"
As a prince, he wouldn't be unable to come up with 100,000 taels of silver.
They had invested all the profits they made in the past into lending money at exorbitant interest rates in the Lin family's money exchange.
When the Lin family fell from power, their money was also confiscated.
That's why he's living in such dire straits.
For the first time, the wise king experienced the feeling of being isolated and helpless, and felt very regretful: "I didn't see through the King of Guangling's clumsy conspiracy, and I even walked into it."
If he had been more cautious and less rash, he wouldn't have fallen into the trap.
“Your Highness, it’s not your fault. It’s just that the Prince of Guangling is too cunning. No one would have thought that he would buy a grain shop in Yongqing County and then send his own people to buy grain at a high price. Not only us, but everyone has been deceived by him.”
Zhang Weiping said thankfully, "Fortunately, we only lost 60,000 taels of silver, and there were no other losses."
What the wise king lacked was silver.
"The Prince of Guangling accused me before the Emperor today, exposing all the shady dealings Feng Zhihuan and I did in Yongqing County." The Prince Xian slammed the wooden box in his hand to the ground with a bang, wishing he could tear Zhao Yisheng apart alive. "The Emperor gave me two oral orders, one of which ordered me to return the embezzled silver within three days and donate another ten thousand taels of my private savings to the people of Yongqing County. Now that we've lost money in business, where are we going to find the money to cover our losses?"
Zhang Weiping then realized the seriousness of the matter and hurriedly asked, "What is the other imperial edict?"
The wise king replied, "I will be confined to my quarters for three months."
Zhang Weiping breathed a sigh of relief. He knew perfectly well what crime the Prince Xian had committed.
The Northern Qi emperor merely confined him to his quarters and ordered him to return the embezzled funds.
This is hardly a punishment.
It's clearly just a show for those who have ulterior motives.
“Every single thing you did is a serious crime, and even the lightest punishment would be dozens of strokes of the cane. His Majesty not only did not punish you, but also placed you under house arrest for protection, which shows that His Majesty will not make things difficult for you.”
Zhang Weiping said dismissively, "When the three-day deadline is up, even if you can't come up with the money, His Majesty will use his private treasury to make up for it for you."
After all, among the Northern Qi emperor's sons, the Prince Xian had the purest bloodline and the least disputed identity.
He is the only choice to succeed to the throne.
The wise prince disagreed, arguing that he was not the type to help me: "Today I begged my father to grant me a few more days, but he lashed out at me. He doesn't seem like the type to help me at all."
Recalling the situation in the Hall of Mental Cultivation today, the Prince Xian felt even more that he could not rely on the Emperor of Northern Qi: "Before I left the palace, my father said that as long as I raised the money and resolved the troubles in Yongqing County, he would appoint me as the Crown Prince."
Although the Northern Qi emperor only had one son of pure blood, the throne did not necessarily have to be inherited by him.
If he can't even handle such a small matter, the Emperor of Northern Qi will be disappointed in him and think he is incapable of taking on important responsibilities.
Perhaps the Northern Qi emperor, in order to preserve the Chu family's empire, would select a suitable successor from the imperial clan.
Even if the possibility is very slim, he doesn't dare to gamble.
Zhang Weiping grew anxious when he saw that the wise king would not listen to his advice.
The wise king, who had been pacing back and forth in his study, suddenly stopped, as if he had made up his mind.
As expected, the wise prince spoke to him: "Zhang Weiping, many ministers in the court follow me. Take my private seal and ask them to borrow some silver."