Jinting Han people

In fact, the occurrence of this major case was a coincidence.

After the grand court assembly, Liu Xian was quite troubled by his inability to pacify Ba and Shu. For the next few days, he locked himself in his room, intending to devote himself wholeheartedly to preparing for the construction of waterways.

He already had a preliminary plan for the canal's construction. The canal would be divided into two sections. The first section, about eighty li long, would run from Xingyang to Xinzheng, connecting the Bian River and the Wei River. The second section, seventy li long, would run from Xinzheng to Yangdi, connecting the Ying River and the Wei River. In this way, the three waterways would be linked. The grain transport from Xingyang could then directly reach the Huai River via the Ying River, directly transporting goods from Huainan.

However, digging such a long canal would inevitably consume a great deal of manpower and resources. Liu Xian planned to mobilize 30,000 laborers in the capital region and complete the project over a year. A simple estimate suggests that each laborer would need one bushel of grain per month, meaning the labor cost alone would require 400,000 bushels of grain. Adding the tools, materials, and transportation costs, along with all the losses, the minimum required grain supply would be 900,000 bushels. For the Sili Prefecture, which had just stabilized grain prices, this was already beyond its capacity.

Even though Lu Zhi left Liu Xian 200,000 bushels of grain, and after the autumn harvest this year, when the taxes from Sili Province were collected, a supplement could be made, it would still be insufficient. Therefore, Liu Xian had to consider borrowing money from the Grand Marshal's office.

Sima Jiong was quite generous in this regard. He didn't have much grain left, but he still had a lot of silk, so he directly allocated 100,000 bolts of silk to the Sili Prefecture specifically for purchasing grain. Liu Xian then entrusted this matter to Liu Kun, instructing him to continue negotiating with the princes and noble families who still had grain reserves to see how much grain they could exchange for.

That day, Liu Kun returned grumbling and looking utterly dejected. Liu Xian, seeing him like this, found it both amusing and somewhat surprising. After all, Liu Kun was known among scholars for his excellent interpersonal skills; no matter who approached him or what topic they discussed, he always managed to open up the conversation, making the two seem like inseparable brothers. His current dejected appearance was truly rare.

Liu Xian then laughed and said, "What's wrong, Yue Shi? Is someone jealous of your talent and trying to teach you a lesson?"

Liu Kun sat down irritably, removed his headdress, and began fanning himself with a feather fan, complaining incessantly:

"It's really strange. Today I went to talk business with the Prince of Donglai and asked him to buy some grain. Good heavens, this prince seems to be a hedgehog. He bristled as soon as I met him and told me that he wouldn't sell me a single grain. Then he treated me like a mouse and asked me to leave."

"Huai Chong, isn't it strange? As far as I know, he has at least 100,000 bushels of grain stored in his villa near the capital. Although his royal family has many people, there are only about a thousand. What would he do with so much grain?"

“He can’t finish it all. It will spoil in three or five years. If he doesn’t sell it, it can only be used as pig feed. You brought down the price of grain before, but this guy wouldn’t sell it. Now it’s almost harvest time, and he still won’t sell it. Does he really think he can eat it all himself?”

Upon hearing this, Liu Xian composed himself slightly, nodded, and said, "It is indeed a bit strange. What benefit does he gain from doing this?"

Liu Kun continued, "At first, I thought that perhaps he was concerned about his reputation and didn't want to deal with us because he hadn't been able to sell his stockpiled grain at a high price. So I brought up the King of Qi, after all, he is the King of Qi's elder brother!"

“I told him that we bought the grain with the support of the Grand Marshal, and that it would be easier for him to sell the grain after the canal transport was improved. If we had offended him before, we could buy the grain at a price slightly higher than the market price.”

"And guess what happened?" Liu Kun stopped fanning himself and said exaggeratedly to Liu Xian.

"What's wrong?"

"When His Highness heard the words 'Grand Marshal,' he flew into a rage! He had previously invited me out, but now he was trying to kick me out. I really don't know what I did to offend him."

This was indeed extremely rude treatment, and Liu Xian was somewhat surprised upon hearing it, but upon careful analysis, it wasn't entirely without reason. Liu Xian recalled:

“I remember His Highness Prince Qi telling me that the Dowager Consort of Qi is the elder sister of the former deposed empress, and was often bullied by her. Although Prince Donglai is Prince Qi’s elder brother, he is not the legitimate son, which means he cannot inherit Prince Qi’s title. Therefore, he harbors resentment towards Prince Qi. In recent years, when the Hou Party was rampant, he was also actively currying favor with the deposed empress, and his relationship with Prince Qi was not very harmonious. Perhaps it is for this reason that he does not want to deal with us!”

Liu Kun, however, looked impatient and replied, "Huai Chong, do you think I don't know? I do know! It's precisely because he didn't get along with the Prince of Qi that I said that!"

"Think about it, what a face-conscious person His Highness Prince Qi is! He has already let go of so many of Zhao's cronies, how could he mistreat his own brothers? In recent days, he has entertained his brothers on many occasions, showing his willingness to reconcile. Hasn't our Prince of Donglai also put up with this?"

“Brothers are brothers, and no matter what, a brother's face must be considered. Besides, His Highness Prince Qi is the Grand Marshal, who holds immense power over the land. How could he be so heartless!”

Liu Xian disagreed. He thought of himself and his father and felt that the feelings between family members were the most difficult to explain.

However, the behavior of Sima Rui, the Prince of Donglai, was indeed somewhat unusual. He pondered this; could it be that His Highness had committed some crime in private and was afraid the Sili Prefecture would find out? That was certainly a possibility. It was nothing new for the royal family to have illegal activities.

Just five days ago, Liu Tun reported a case concerning Sima Dan, the Prince of Dongwu. He said that in March, Sima Dan was drinking with the Guo brothers, Guo Chu and Guo Kan, from Hanoi. When they were halfway through their drinks, the Guo brothers complained that Sun Xiu had gone too far in killing Zhang Hua. This was not a big deal, but Sima Dan flew into a rage, immediately drawing his sword and killing both men on the table, one by one, and sending their heads directly to Sima Lun.

It was just a banquet, yet the two brothers met a tragic end because of a few drunken words. The Guo clan, upon learning the news, dared not inform the authorities. It was only after Liu Tun investigated and learned of the situation that the truth came out. Currently, the court has not yet reached a decision on how to deal with Sima Dan. But the arbitrariness of the royal family is already evident.

Considering this, Liu Xian summoned Li Sheng and said to him, "Binshuo, go and keep an eye on the Donglai Prince's residence for a while, including his villa in the suburbs of the capital and in Henan. Look around and make inquiries. If there are any murders, report back to me immediately." Li Sheng understood and immediately left. Li Sheng was Liu Xian's most trusted person, not only because he was Li Mi's son, but also because his observation skills were the most meticulous and his conduct the most cautious. Although his intelligence wasn't the most outstanding, he would never make a mistake.

Li Sheng understood that investigating a prince, especially the elder brother of the current regent, was no easy task. If the matter were exposed and caused conflict, it would inevitably lead to a negative public opinion situation. Therefore, instead of directly sending people from the Sili Prefecture to investigate, he selected about ten people from the Shanggu Camp, disguised them as peddlers, and placed them around the Donglai Prince's residence to observe whether there was anything unusual.

As an official, Li Sheng naturally couldn't stay in front of the Prince's residence for too long. So he went off on his own, accompanied by four or five attendants, to visit the Prince of Donglai's villa in the northern suburbs of Henan County. To avoid alerting the Prince and arousing suspicion, he went under the guise of an official from the Sili Prefecture observing the lives of ordinary people.

Upon arriving in Henan County, they found a scene of abundant harvest. Farmers were busy harvesting and threshing in the fields, and neatly bundled ears of millet were everywhere along the paths. The stalks of millet swayed in the breeze, bringing a fiery atmosphere like flames, which made the people very happy. They sang frequently in the fields, their songs rough yet full of vitality, which made people feel joyful.

Li Sheng, disguised as a merchant, first toured the southern part of the county to confirm the location of the Prince's villa, then sought lodging at the residence of the head of the neighboring village. After all, there's a saying that goes, "The person who knows a person's flaws best isn't himself, but his neighbor." The same applies to neighbors; harmony between villages is rarely harmonious, and conflict is far more common, which ironically leads to greater understanding. Li Sheng intended to start here to see if he could learn more about the details of the Prince's villa in Donglai.

He brought a jug of wine, and that night he drank and talked with the pavilion chief. The pavilion chief had never drunk such good wine before, and immediately drank several cups. When he was tipsy, Li Sheng chatted with him about the local customs and traditions, and in a few words they talked about the Donglai Prince's Mansion next door.

He said, "I've heard that His Highness the Prince of Donglai in the next pavilion is the elder brother of the current Grand Marshal! As the saying goes, when one person attains enlightenment, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven. You've gotten so close to His Highness the Prince of Donglai, have you received any benefits from it?"

The village head's face immediately darkened, and he said, "What are you saying? What are we, these insignificant people, compared to chickens or dogs? Don't think that just because we live close to the King of Donglai, we're nothing more than worms. We're lucky if he doesn't crush us; as for him to ascend to heaven, that's none of our business!"

He then complained, “Our prince is notoriously stingy. If any family borrows money from him and can’t pay it back, or is short even a penny, their servants will come knocking on their door and drive them to jump into the river.”

Lending money to the point of bankrupting ordinary people, while not exactly a good deed, is considered normal in these times and not a crime. Li Sheng calmly took a sip of wine and asked, "So, this Prince of Donglai must be quite wealthy?"

“Who says otherwise? I think that out of the hundreds of princes and nobles in Luoyang, there are probably only two or three who are richer than our prince.”

"Your Highness is so generous, what does he do with all that money?"

"Who knows!" The village head shrugged, took another sip of wine, and then recalled, "Speaking of which, this prince has recently fenced off a horse farm and filled it with quite a few horses. I wonder what he's planning to do with them?"

"Horses? How many?"

"Good question! He's recently bought several batches of horses, about a thousand in total, in all sorts of colors. When they're let out for a stroll, they're so numerous they look like a colorful cloud covering the ground!"

So many horses? Li Sheng's heart skipped a beat. It wasn't uncommon for princes and nobles in the capital region to be fond of horses. For example, when Wang Ji was showing off his wealth, he built a horse archery range outside Luoyang, paved with copper coins, which was called "Golden Ridge" by contemporaries. But even the incredibly wealthy Wang Ji and Shi Chong only kept about a hundred good horses in their stables. Sima Rui had actually bought over a thousand—what was he planning to do?
But that wasn't all. The village head continued, "It's not just horses. It seems that our prince has recently brought a lot of iron ore from Hebei and invited all the blacksmiths in the area to come. They're always clanging and banging in the courtyard. I don't know what they're going to make to sell. People around here can hardly sleep at night because of this!"

Li Sheng was startled again. A thought vaguely formed in his mind, yet he was somewhat incredulous. After a moment's thought, he pressed on, "Have any outsiders come to your village recently?"

"Haha, aren't you an outsider, guest?" The village head joked for a while, then frowned and said, "But you know what, there really was something like that recently. Nobles from Donglai Kingdom came to transport grain to His Highness, and to show off their power, they brought all of Donglai Kingdom's private army. Three thousand men marched into the county in a grand procession, which startled everyone!"

"Three thousand men?!" Upon hearing this, Li Sheng was completely sober. He quickly put down his wine cup and said, "This is a very big deal!"

The village head, however, said dismissively, "What's the big deal? His Highness the Prince of Chengdu just left not long ago. Not long ago, soldiers were everywhere coming to the aid of the king. Isn't this normal?"

But Li Sheng had no heart to listen anymore. After exchanging a few casual words, he fell asleep with his mind preoccupied. Early the next morning, he rushed back to the Sili Prefecture, then selected several skilled men from the Shanggu Camp, and went to Henan County. They waited until dark, then, under the cover of night, went to spy on the details inside the Donglai Prince's villa.

As Li Sheng had predicted, the villa was heavily guarded, with nearly a thousand guards patrolling the area at night to prevent anyone from approaching. Unfortunately, these men had never actually fought a battle, and there were still many oversights in this large compound that covered thousands of acres. These oversights could not be hidden from the veteran soldiers of Shanggu Camp, who were well-versed in battle. They easily evaded the patrols and peered inside from the walls.

They were shocked to find that hundreds of blacksmiths were working through the night in the courtyard. They were shirtless and hammering weapons and armor with great enthusiasm. The furnaces around them emitted a pungent smell of rust, which made their heads throb and dizzy.

At this point, the King of Donglai's intentions were quite clear. After receiving the details, Li Sheng immediately returned to Luoyang, compiled his observations into a book, reported it to Liu Xian, and offered his own judgment:
"My lord, there's no mistake. This Prince of Donglai is probably preparing to rebel!"

Faced with such detailed intelligence, Liu Xian appeared somewhat incredulous. After repeatedly reviewing the documents Li Sheng handed him, he could no longer hide his doubts and couldn't help but ask Li Sheng:

"Has the King of Donglai gone mad?! He only has three thousand men under his command, yet he dares to rebel against the Grand Marshal, who commands four hundred thousand troops?!" (End of Chapter)