Chapter 91

Cai Guo and Daxia Guo are now like a pair of close brothers; after dealing with the chancellor, they dealt with the related people. From the generals to the gatekeepers of the chancellor's residence, everyone was dealt with.

However, the situation was still very different. The emperor of Daxia Guo dealt with the chancellor as part of a political struggle. The emperor wanted to re-establish the crown prince and reaffirm his own authority in this critical moment, and using the chancellor as a scapegoat was the best way. In Cai Guo, it was purely a struggle between powerful ministers.

Moreover, although the chancellor of Daxia Guo was imprisoned, there was no real danger to his life or that of his family; they would just face a bit of social ostracism. However, the chancellor of Cai Guo was different; his entire family was in grave danger.

On the other hand, Daxia Guo was already in turmoil; it was not just on the verge of collapse, but had already begun to disintegrate. There was still a struggle for the imperial heir within the country.

In contrast, Cai Guo was in a strong position.

Furthermore, in the face of Daxia Guo, a rich and fertile land, the surrounding countries were all eager to take a bite.

For a time, with Daxia Guo at the center, the surrounding areas were in turmoil.

The various regional powers within Daxia Guo also began to prepare, all understanding that the time to "support the king" was approaching.

In Baofeng County in the northwest of Daxia Guo, this was the actual control area of the First Prince, a vast county covering about 800 miles. Compared to Anyang, which was only about 50 miles, it was much stronger. An 800-mile county already had the foundation for a country.

Outside the First Prince's residence, the First Prince was leading his officials to see Li Wei off.

The imperial edict had already been delivered. Li Wei was to return and supervise the construction of the imperial mausoleum. Another edict announced the removal of the First Prince from the position of crown prince and the appointment of the Second Prince as the new crown prince.

The First Prince held Li Wei's hand, his tone somewhat emotional, "General Li, have a safe journey."

Li Wei sighed, "Your Highness, take care. If I have time, I will come back to visit."

After saying this, Li Wei was about to turn around, but the First Prince still held his hand, "General Li, we have been friends for several years. Before I leave, 'Xia Xu' has a small request. This... can you help me pass a message?"

Li Wei sighed inwardly, "Your Highness, please speak freely."

"I want 200,000 sets of bearings and 300 pounds of sea soul silk to prepare for a major counterattack against Cai Guo. Can General Li help me pass this message?"

Li Wei was taken aback. The First Prince's intentions were clear; what counterattack against Cai Guo, he probably wanted to strengthen his own position.

But he couldn't refuse, so Li Wei thought for a moment and finally said honestly, "Your Highness, I will definitely pass the message. But I cannot guarantee the outcome. Business matters have always been handled by my younger brother."

The First Prince immediately smiled, "No problem, no problem. Just passing the message is enough. I have prepared a few gifts, please help me deliver them to my sister, Xia Qingqing."

Li Wei immediately understood. The First Prince had gone through several rounds of talk, and passing the message to Li Xian was just a side note; the First Prince's true intention was to achieve his goal through Xia Qingqing!

But what was said was said, and Li Wei could only take the gifts and leave with his hundred or so personal guards.

After Li Wei left, the First Prince's eyes suddenly narrowed, a cold light flashing in them, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

"Your Highness, let's go back. We still have a lot to do," said Yuan Cai, the older brother of Yuan Zhao, who was by the First Prince's side. Yuan Cai was secretly very happy that Li Wei had left!

The First Prince looked into the distance for a long time before finally收回了目光，然后看着袁才，“袁才，你说李贤真的能卖给我们二十万套轴承和三百斤海魂丝吗？”

“会的，殿下。”袁才说得很肯定，“就我所看到的，这李贤虽然有些变化，但却又沉浸在所谓的工商业兴国的怪异思维中，还执着于所谓的市场。只要我们表示愿意开放宝丰郡的市场，那李贤必定会巴巴的跑过来的。更何况还有公主帮忙呢。”

“嗯！”第一王子终于自信地点了点头。自始至终，没有人提及所谓的太子更换的事情。

其实对于第一王子来说，对于眼下的大夏国政局来说，只要坐拥宝丰郡，是否拥有太子身份，已经不重要了！

且说李伟，在离开第一王子这里后就加快速度前进；一路上马不停蹄，只用了两天时间就赶回武阳，见到了愁眉苦脸的李玉龙。

“爹，我回来了。”李伟刚进家门就大喊大叫。

“叫什么叫！”李玉龙正在发愁呢，“赶紧过来，现在就接手皇陵的建设。”

“皇陵建设还不容易啊，能比行军打仗还难吗！”

“你自己看吧。”李玉龙直接把李伟拉了过来，自己却到旁边喝茶去了，做起了甩手掌柜；看来李贤这甩手掌柜的作态也是有遗传的。

李伟也不管一身风尘，直接趴在桌子前面看起来，这一看就是怪叫连连。“什么，皇帝竟然一分钱都不出，让我们家出钱？出钱不说还要出力！这皇陵还不能太差，要比以往大夏国所有的皇陵都要宏伟、都要辉煌！

还有，这是什么怪要求，皇陵的建设尽量不要使用法术？

哦，还有要求，皇帝陛下现在已经进入天人五衰状态，生命最多只能支持三年时间，所以我们必须在两年内完成皇陵的建设？

这根本就不可能！我记得一般的皇陵都是建设十几年、甚至几十年时间啊！”

李玉龙静静地听李伟说完，才缓缓开口，“你还少算了一个条件。想要建设皇陵、却又不能使用法术，这就需要召集大量的民夫。”

李伟目瞪口呆，“民夫？而现在的大夏国去哪里招收民夫啊！就算招收到足够的民夫，我们也没有足够的粮食。爹，这皇陵根本就无法建设完成啊，您当初怎么不推了呢！”

“推？你说得轻巧。其实，这是皇帝对我们李家的保护呢；嗯，也是一种束缚！”

李伟一头黑线，“爹，你的话太深奥，我听不懂。”

“听不懂就算了，你记住修建皇陵是好事情；陛下为什么没有拨款给我们？说穿了，就是让我们花钱买平安！”

“我还是听不懂……”李伟那个尴尬啊。

李玉龙长长地吁了一口气，“老二，你还是做你的将军吧，政治上的事情你就别掺和了。”

李伟很不服气，“我去找老三问问，他肯定也不知道。”

李玉龙挥挥手，“去吧，去安阳找老三去。想要修建皇陵，还真要老三支持才行。想不到啊，短短一年半时间，竟然打开如此局面。”

...

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And speaking of Li Wei, after leaving the First Prince, he sped up his journey; he traveled non-stop and returned to Wuyang in just two days, where he met Li Yulong, who was frowning.

"Dad, I'm back," Li Wei shouted as soon as he entered the house.

"What are you shouting for!" Li Yulong was worried, "Come over quickly, you need to take over the construction of the imperial mausoleum now."

"Building the imperial mausoleum isn't easy? Is it harder than leading an army into battle?"

"Take a look yourself." Li Yulong pulled Li Wei over and went to drink tea on the side, acting like a hands-off boss; it seemed that Li Xian's hands-off attitude was also hereditary.

Li Wei, without caring about the dust on his clothes, leaned over the table and started reading. As he read, he let out a series of exclamations. "What? The emperor isn't contributing a single coin, and we have to pay for it ourselves? Not only that, but we have to do the work! The imperial mausoleum can't be shoddy; it has to be more magnificent and splendid than all the previous imperial mausoleums in Daxia Guo!

And what's this strange requirement? The construction of the imperial mausoleum should avoid the use of magic as much as possible?

Oh, and another requirement: Emperor is now in the state of the five decays of the heavenly beings, and his life can only last for three years at most, so we must complete the construction of the imperial mausoleum within two years?

This is impossible! I remember that the construction of a typical imperial mausoleum usually takes several decades!"

Li Yulong listened quietly to Li Wei's complaints and then slowly said, "You've missed one condition. To build the imperial mausoleum without using magic, we need to gather a large number of laborers."

Li Wei was stunned, "Laborers? Where can we find laborers in Daxia Guo now! Even if we can gather enough laborers, we don't have enough food. Dad, the imperial mausoleum can't be built, why didn't you refuse it at the time!"

"Refuse? You make it sound easy. Actually, this is the emperor's way of protecting our Li family; yes, it's also a form of restraint!"

Li Wei was at a loss, "Dad, your words are too profound, I don't understand."

"Never mind if you don't understand. Just remember, building the imperial mausoleum is a good thing. Why didn't the emperor allocate funds to us? To put it bluntly, it's to make us spend money to buy peace!"

"I still don't understand..." Li Wei was very embarrassed.

Li Yulong sighed deeply, "Old Two, you should just focus on being a general. Stay out of political matters."

Li Wei was不服气, "I'll go ask Old Three; he probably doesn't know either."

Li Yulong waved his hand, "Go ahead, go to Anyang and find Old Three. To build the imperial mausoleum, we really need Old Three's support. Who would have thought that in just a year and a half, things would have turned out this way."

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