Hearing Fan Xian's analysis, Haitang felt a little relieved, thinking that as long as he grasped this point, and with the Qing Emperor's tacit consent, a detailed plan and careful arrangements would inevitably lead to the Ming family's downfall. No matter how powerful and deeply rooted a local clan was, it was still just a fragile egg next to a stone when facing the powerful state machinery.

"This year's goal is to swallow the Ming family's silver income," Fan Xian said. "The Internal Treasury bidding requires Ming silver as collateral, and after winning the bid, forty percent of the bid amount must be reserved. This time, when the market reopens after the New Year, I will have people compete with the Ming family in the bidding to drive up the price, making the Ming family bleed profusely, so they won't have the ability to compete with me for the position left vacant by the Cui family. At the same time, I'll raise some quick silver to quickly fill the national treasury."

"How high do you plan to bid?" Haitang asked seriously.

Fan Xian said with a smile, "As high as possible. You know I'm a very greedy person."

Haitang frowned and said, "Since you don't plan to confront the Ming family head-on, you can only attack them through the reopening bidding. But raising prices like this isn't like shouting numbers at a dice cup in a gambling house. What if you raise the price too high and directly take it from the Ming family? The Internal Treasury has three major workshops and sixteen outlets, and forty percent of the reserve silver... calculate how much silver you need. How will you come up with it?"

"It's an open bid," Fan Xian explained. "To prevent officials from colluding with merchants in secret, the Internal Treasury's reopening after the New Year has always used open bidding. This happens to give me an opportunity. Since everything is done openly, I will naturally..." He thought for a moment, not concealing anything further, and said softly, "I will have Xia Qifei bid a suitable price, and then let the Ming family know."

"Xia Qifei?" Haitang was slightly surprised. "The big boss of the Jiangnan Water Camp, a famous figure in the Jianghu world, how could he listen to your arrangements and confront the Ming family? You should know that he's a native of Jiangnan."

Fan Xian naturally wouldn't continue explaining Xia Qifei's background. He only stated that Xia Qifei was already his man, and then explained the silver issue: "As you said, the silver we've raised isn't enough to completely swallow all sixteen outlets of the Internal Treasury. So, naturally, a portion must be left for the Ming family. On the one hand, it's to appease them; on the other hand, it's to use that huge sum of silver to trap the Ming family in Jiangnan, preventing them from escaping."

Haitang asked curiously, "How can you be sure that the Ming family won't cut their losses decisively? They've made too much silver over the years. Now, everyone with eyes knows that you've come to Jiangnan to deal with them. If you have Xia Qifei shout out an astonishingly high price, what if that old master Ming claps his hands and says... 'We're not playing anymore'? Wouldn't you suffer a loss in silence? If you can't come up with the deposit, the Qing court certainly won't let Xia Qifei off easily."

Fan Xian sneered, "Even if the Ming family vomits blood this year, they must win the Internal Treasury's bid. So what if they have tens of thousands of acres of fertile land? That's just dead property, not as good as the Internal Treasury, a lake of living water with fat fish and lush grass. Moreover, it involves the interests of the imperial clan and senior officials in the capital. The Ming family has to send silver out and maintain the Princess's face and interests, so they must continue to be rooted in the Internal Treasury."

He looked at the black smoke slowly rising from the other side of the forest, his eyes slightly narrowed, and said, "Merchants are just puppets after all. The Ming family produces pirates themselves, robbing the Internal Treasury's wealth and then turning around to take money from the court... ruthless and merciless. If they stop, those figures in the capital will lose their income and, out of shame and anger, how could they let them go? By then, I won't even need to take action, and they will collapse."

So, no matter what, the Ming family must seize the majority of the marketing rights for the Internal Treasury's goods this year, first stabilize for these one or two years, and then see what the bloodless but particularly sinister struggle in the capital will be like.

"Are you planning to transfer that silver to Xia Qifei?" This was a question that Haitang was very concerned about.

Fan Xian nodded. "A portion of it. Although my father has also prepared some for me, the opening of the Internal Treasury has everyone in the world staring at me, staring at the Ministry of Revenue's treasury. The Princess is probably already guessed my financial path. If I really use the Ministry of Revenue's silver to fight this battle with the Ming family... I'm afraid one wrong move will lead to complete defeat."

He mocked himself, "Using the national treasury's silver is a crime punishable by the extermination of the entire clan. I'm a coward."

Haitang shook her head noncommittally upon hearing him admit that he was a coward, and asked softly, "But using the Taiping Money House to transfer silver... the background of the Taiping Money House is Dongyi City. Aren't you afraid they'll notice something?"

Fan Xian glanced at her and said slowly, "This is your Emperor's arrangement. Perhaps even you wouldn't have imagined that the silver from the Northern Qi Internal Treasury, since the Niulan Street incident the year before last, began to be injected into the Taiping Money House through dozens of channels smoothly and without attracting attention. It went through countless twists and turns before the silver was transferred to Jiangnan."

Haitang was stunned and speechless.

Fan Xian continued, "With the Supervisory Council and the Ministry of Revenue helping me, I didn't even notice the direction of those dozens of silver transactions. And although that silver amount is huge, it's not particularly noticeable in the Taiping Money House, the number one silver house in the world. I don't think Dongyi City noticed it."

Haitang shook her head in disbelief and said, "Wait, are you saying... this silver was transferred to Jiangnan by His Majesty starting two years ago? How is that possible? I only found out about this in September last year, and there hasn't been any news in Shangjing City."

"That's right." A hint of appreciation and vigilance flashed in Fan Xian's eyes. "It was only after you revealed your secrets to me that I went back to check the clues, but I couldn't find anything clearly. I only vaguely found out that the time those dozens of silver transactions entered the Taiping Money House was two years ago."

"Two years ago?" Haitang frowned. "You had only just entered the capital then. How could His Majesty have guessed that you would be in charge of the Internal Treasury two years later? How could he have known that he would join hands with you two years later to swallow a large chunk of the Internal Treasury's marketing rights?"

Fan Xian mocked himself, "At that time, I was just an unknown illegitimate son of the Sicheng Earl's Residence."

He sighed quietly, "Perhaps it was the Niulan Street incident that convinced your little Emperor that the Princess wanted to kill me. And from various intelligence reports, he judged that I would take over the Qing Internal Treasury... As for the subsequent events, perhaps it was just his analysis. Since I couldn't reconcile with the Princess, I would definitely need to cut off the Princess's arms. The Cui family? The Ming family? No wonder our two sides cleaned up the Cui family so smoothly at the end of last year."

Fan Xian frowned and said, "But your Emperor... how could he have guessed that I would use this trick to deal with the Ming family? If you want to say that he had calculated to this point, I can only give him one sentence."

Haitang hadn't yet recovered from the shock. She really hadn't imagined that the young Emperor, who had grown up with her since childhood and often called her Little Martial Aunt, would be so far-sighted, laying out plans as early as two years ago to respond to Fan Xian, or to possible variables.

Listening to Fan Xian's words, she subconsciously asked, "What words?"

"With a ruler's intelligence, he is practically demonic." (似贵主之多智，实近妖也。)

Fan Xian said softly, "Planning began two years ago, and the development of the situation didn't deviate much from his guess. Even if my Emperor decided to reorganize the Internal Treasury and didn't use me, didn't use this me whom you Northern Qi could trust... I'm afraid he still has a way to change the face of this silver and participate in the Internal Treasury's reopening bidding."

Only today did Fan Xian somewhat depressedly admit that he had underestimated the young ruler in the north. Because the Qing Kingdom guarded the Internal Treasury, the world's most dazzling golden chicken, extremely strictly, other countries had no way to obtain anything from it. Stealing technology had been done for more than ten years without success... Who would have thought that the Northern Qi Emperor would take a different approach and play such a trick!

For the Northern Qi Emperor, since I can't steal your treasures as a thief, and I can't beat your guards as a robber, then I'll transform myself into an anonymous capitalist and participate in the process of you selling your treasures. Although I can't earn the first pot of gold, I can eat more than just scraps - but in this arrangement of the world situation, Fan Xian later appeared as a surprising variable for the Northern Qi people, so the Northern Qi Emperor became more generous and composed.

Fan Xian sighed, there are many extremely intelligent and calculating people in this world. In comparison, he, an internationalist, still carries too much idealism.

……

……

"Are you angry?" Haitang looked at his face and asked tentatively.

Fan Xian shook his head with a smile. "If your Emperor had kept this matter from me all along, of course I would be angry. But now he has to cooperate with me, so what's there for me to be angry about? Now it's as if he has given all this money to me as hostages. This... is enough to earn my trust in him."

Haitang sighed and said, "You're not someone who easily trusts others."

Fan Xian lowered his head and said slowly, "Trust is mutual. I'm just curious why your Emperor trusts me so much? You know, if the two countries turn against each other in the future, or if I have other thoughts, I can eat his silver and cut off his supply lines at any time. He has no possibility of turning the tables."

He raised his head and looked at Haitang's bright eyes, as clear as a lake, and said softly, "I have some doubts about this sudden great trust."

Haitang was silent for a while, then suddenly smiled and said, "When I mentioned this silver to you in my letter... it seemed to be when the rumors about your background were just emerging."

"Hmm?" Fan Xian looked at her in confusion, "What's the connection?"

Haitang said with a smile, "Perhaps in His Majesty's eyes, since you are a descendant of the Ye family, then you must not be satisfied with being a powerful official in the Qing Kingdom. And your vision will definitely not be limited to the borders of the country. Everything that the Qing Kingdom can give you, my Great Qi can give you all. His Majesty is probably thinking something else..."

The words weren't finished, but Fan Xian already understood. He shook his head self-deprecatingly and said, "Thank you for your Emperor's good intentions, but I don't want to be scowled at by thousands of people."

Haitang smiled and said, "It's rare to have the mood to write poetry."

"I'm even less willing to bow my head and be a willing ox for the children." Fan Xian said lightly, "What's more, your Emperor should have known later that I'm also a genuine Qing Kingdom prince..."

"There are many princes in this world, but the descendant of the Ye family... there's only one of you." Haitang said softly and gently, but made Northern Qi's intentions clear.

Fan Xian laughed and didn't continue this topic. He was at the height of his glory in the Qing Kingdom. Although there were a few women in the palace and two princes in the capital, it was a little difficult for him to deal with them. But in good conscience, the Emperor was currently playing the role of a kind father quite well. He couldn't find a very convincing reason to consider the Northern Qi's invitation.

……

……

"Let's go back to the beginning." Fan Xian said, "Why is it that you can't like me? And I can't like you?"

Haitang was a little silly, a little angry, thinking why this person always dwells on this matter. She said coldly, "Duoduo has never cared about matters between men and women. The realm of love, regardless of size, has distinctions of high and low. I don't seek to extinguish emotions and cut off desires, but I won't consider this issue."

Fan Xian understood that the girl was expressing that she put the world's people first. He mocked slightly and said, "Worrying about the world's sorrows before everyone else? Wouldn't it be too boring to live like that for a lifetime? Your Emperor even has a hat to wear for fun..."

He didn't say what color the hat was, then suddenly showed a toothy, sunny smile and said, "Duoduo."

"Hmm?" Haitang stopped and tilted her head to look at him. She was dazzled by the gentle smile on Fan Xian's handsome face and couldn't help but sigh and ask, "What is it?"

"Barbarians can also be people who don't kill." Fan Xian said very seriously.

Haitang knew that he was referring to the sentence she had used in the carriage earlier to stop Sisi from talking. She couldn't help but feel bitter, but still replied quietly, "Is that so? Perhaps neither the people of Northern Qi nor Southern Qing would believe it."

Fan Xian said gently, "Of course, barbarians can be people who don't kill, if they are all turned into dead people by us."

Haitang was stunned and inexplicably laughed.

Fan Xian said softly, "By the same reasoning, it's possible for me to fall in love with you, and it's possible for you to fall in love with me."

Haitang said sarcastically, "After we're both dead?"

"No." Fan Xian explained very seriously, "After everyone else in this world is dead."

Haitang was helpless and said, "Everyone is dead, leaving just the two of us standing by the river, blowing in the wind?"

Fan Xian raised his head and thought for a long time, then nodded, "It does seem to be meaningless."

Then he reached out from his pockets, grabbed Haitang's hands, and gently rubbed them while the girl looked at him in surprise. He smiled gently and said, "Since it's a meaningless thing, don't think about it. The weather is still cold, and you're wearing a servant's clothes, so your hands must be frozen."

Four hands clasped together, firmness and gentleness melting together in a warm atmosphere. The sound of carriage wheels came from behind them.

Haitang had an interesting smile in her eyes and didn't pull her hands away. Instead, she tilted her head slightly and looked at Fan Xian and said, "Intentionally letting people see?"

Fan Xian lowered his head slightly, his eyelashes fluttering, and replied softly, "To convince my Emperor that there's a reason for me to be in Jiangnan with you, to have a more solid foundation for the mutual trust between your Emperor and me, we must be closer."

Haitang looked at him with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

Fan Xian finally said seriously, "Of course, your hand is still very comfortable to hold. You often do farm work, but... you don't have calluses."

(Niao Ni has arrived in Guangzhou, but don't worry, the updates for these two days won't stop ^^. By the way, he also asked me to express his sincere and strong gratitude to everyone. The monthly votes soared overnight, and he can rest assured, haha~~ --by jessaphy)