After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

"Cao Cao... Zhu Wen..."

The usually quick-witted and resourceful Li Wei actually suffered a great loss at the hands of this kid, and even called him a figure like "Cao Cao" or "Zhu Wen".

This forced him to take it seriously.

To some extent.

Being referred to as Cao Cao and Zhu Wen is not necessarily a derogatory term.

He became somewhat interested.

For the past month, I have been instructed to report back on all the news about this child.

The information, compiled into a secret report, was quickly presented.

Seeing that the other side had breached Black Tiger Mountain, a mountain that was easy to defend and difficult to attack, in just one day, surprised him greatly.

Speed ​​is of the essence in war.

While the opponent's tactics certainly cost money, compared to spending money and resources in the long run, this approach was naturally more to his liking.

The Hong Kong Economic Journal also stated that this person should be the founder of the Nan Cheng Daily.

His pupils constricted slightly, and he couldn't help but let out a soft exclamation.

The emergence of this new publication, the *Nancheng Daily*, was revealed by Da Chun, who wrote a secret report to him in Nanjing.

At the time, Da Chun did not know who the owner behind him was.

Most of the time, I just told him about the local customs and wonders of the South.

About two months ago, after learning about this matter, he became quite interested, feeling that it was similar to the official gazette, yet seemed to be different.

He then instructed the Imperial Household Department to try publishing such a newspaper to publicize the achievements of his late father and his own "Record of Awakening from Delusion."

The Imperial Household Department had been working on this for a month without making any progress. Emperor Hongli happened to see the newspaper, became very interested, and kept asking questions until he finally reached out to the Imperial Household Department.

Seeing that his son was so interested in this matter, he handed the "Capital Daily" to Hongli.

After Hongli took over, the Beijing Daily seemed to publish the news of the entire city overnight. The Imperial Household Department reported that the Fourth Prince had spent a lot of money.

He immediately understood why the Imperial Household Department was failing.

This small amount of money is nothing; let Hongli do as he pleases.

If the few articles published by Emperor Hongli in that newspaper that reprimanded Nian Gengyao could make him realize his mistakes, then that little bit of money would have been well spent.

If breaking through Black Tiger Mountain surprised him somewhat, then the Nancheng Daily impressed him.

That white jade workshop... was truly breathtaking.

Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation,

"My dear minister, our 'White Jade Workshop,' ah, that cotton futures trading shop..." the emperor said with a smile to Ortai below him, "How are your preparations going?"

Ortai calmly replied:

"Your Majesty, rest assured, we have thoroughly investigated all aspects of the Southern Dynasty's Baiyufang. Learning from them will not be difficult. Once the Baiyufang in the capital opens, this shop should be able to generate no less than 40,000 taels of pure profit for Your Majesty each year."

"Good." Yongzheng nodded with emotion.

Baiyufang... a magical place that mobilizes all the cotton in the world... no! It's a place that mobilizes all the cotton in the world, as well as cotton from next year, the future, and even the future, all within a small shop.

Not only that.

Baiyufang not only mobilized cotton, but also silver.

According to spies, many people in Nanjing who were not cotton or cloth merchants at all were flocking to Baiyufang, spending large sums of money to buy cotton futures contracts, hoping to resell them at high prices.

What puzzled him even more was that, in theory, such high profits would inevitably lead to hoarding and speculation, causing cotton prices to fluctuate and making it difficult for ordinary people to buy even a single piece of cloth.

However, while the price of Baiyufang futures bills fluctuated, the market prices of cotton and cotton cloth remained almost stable!

This was somewhat unbelievable to him.

Over the past few days, he had a vague feeling that the White Jade Workshop must have a better purpose, but he couldn't quite figure it out.

We can only let Ortai handle the Baiyufang project first, and see how it goes.

The emperor, named Yinzhen, looked around for a moment, glanced at the stack of memorials on his desk, and couldn't help but sigh.

Those who understand military strategy possess the great courage to face life and death.

He is knowledgeable in business and can manage Baiyufang single-handedly.

He was also clever and adaptable, no less so than Li Wei.

Such a person… Yinzhen’s two relatively light eyebrows furrowed slightly… He is a brilliant strategist.

"My dear minister," Yinzhen smiled wryly, sat up straight, "I really don't want to kill this brat anymore."

Ortai chuckled:

"Your Majesty need not worry. Since this man is the son-in-law of the Southern Dynasty's Empress, after Your Majesty has established your rule in the South, you may bestow upon him the title of Marquis or King, order him and his wife to surrender, and grant him the authority to govern the Jiangnan region."

"At that time, the Emperor will not only gain a talented individual, but also, by leveraging this person's status, enable him and his wife to stabilize Jiangnan, achieving two goals at once. This person will surely be subservient and grateful for the Emperor's grace."

Ortai spoke eloquently.

Upon hearing this...

Yinzhen paused for a moment, then sighed, "I hope so."

After ten years of preparation, the national treasury was full, and the Southern Dynasty's advantage in artillery was no longer a threat.

Rakshasa are short-sighted and greedy.

By offering substantial benefits, the northern border was temporarily stabilized, and the Rakshasa were even brought in as aid.

What his late father couldn't do, he finally got to do.

At this moment, Yinzhen remembered something and frowned slightly:

"Are Fu Hui and Hong Feng planning to teach Ning Baixuan a lesson today?"

"Exactly!" Ortai nodded.

"Have you made the arrangements, my dear minister? Make sure they don't actually kill him."

Ortai smiled and reassured Yinzhen, saying:

"Your Majesty, rest assured, I have arranged people among the Eighth Prince's bondservant officers. They will not actually kill anyone."

Yinzhen nodded: "Alright. They need to get some justice. Especially Hongfeng, that child has been wronged."

He said with some heartache:

"We are on the eve of a major event, and the North-South peace talks must not be disrupted. After Hongfeng has vented his anger, you should go and persuade him, give him a hint, and have him write a memorial saying that Ning Baixuan has sincerely apologized to him and that he will forgive and forget about it."

"Yes!" Ortai nodded, and after a few breaths, the Grand Councilor frowned and said:

"Then this Ning Baixuan..."

"Let him recuperate at the embassy. We'll be lenient and let him not need to come to the embassy tomorrow."

Yinzhen smiled with a deep look in his eyes.

"It's not a good thing for young people to be too arrogant. It's good for them to suffer a loss and temper their temper."

Ortai repeatedly agreed.

Just then, a series of light footsteps sounded outside the door.

Before long, a young eunuch reported that the foreign minister Ningnan from the south had something to report, and that Prince Yi's Prince Beile also had a memorial to present.

Yinzhen was taken aback.

Ortai was also puzzled.

These two actually handed over folded paper at the same time?

The young eunuch handed the folding book to the old eunuch.

The old eunuch walked silently, bent over, unfolded one of the folded documents, and handed it to the emperor with both hands.

On the dragon throne, the emperor, dressed in a thick black jacket, took a look and raised his eyebrows slightly upon seeing the elegant calligraphy.

This must be Ning Baixuan's handwriting.

"Your humble servant Ningnan respectfully reports: When the Prince Yi of your esteemed dynasty traveled south to our court, he had a slight disagreement with me, and we ended up pushing and shoving each other in the Golden Hall of our court."

"Outsiders spread rumors, and with the instigation of petty men around him, it has become a rumor that a foreign official assaulted a prince of your dynasty? This is utterly ridiculous! ... Therefore, I had no choice but to go to your dynasty in person, firstly to reconcile with Prince Hongfeng, and secondly to personally explain this matter to the Emperor..."

Yinzhen narrowed his eyes slightly, twitched the corner of his mouth, and let out a "heh".