The Tyrant's Beloved Empress

60

Master Liao stepped forward and explained to the Third Prince the current ordeal faced by the Emperor. He also emphasized that the Third Prince would be losing some of his life force in the process.

After hearing Master Liao's explanation, the Third Prince bowed and said confidently, "I'm willing to shoulder any burden for you, father!"

"My good son." Emperor An Qing personally went over to him and said with a smile, "Although you're doing it out of filial piety, you should still be rewarded. Is there anything that you wanted?"

"It's an honor to be able to share some of father's worries. I dare not ask for anything in return."

The more he refused, the more Emperor An Qing insisted on rewarding him.

After the Third Prince pretended to refuse a few more times, he eventually hesitated and said, "I do have a small wish..."

Emperor An Qing smiled and said, "Speak."

"I've always admired second brother's leadership in his army. Now that there is civil unrest in Suzhou, I would like an army of my own to help father squash this rebellion."

Emperor An Qing was hesitant, "These rebels are large in number, it's not going to be a trifling fight."

The Third Prince raised his chin and boasted, "I've already come up with a way to deal with it."

"Oh?" Emperor An Qing was quite pleased, "Tell me what you plan to do."

The Third Prince began to elaborate.

"These rebels are afterall, just a large group of uneducated peasants. There's simply no way they can overcome the soldiers of our Da Ye Empire."

Seeing that Emperor An Qing was happy with his flattery, the Third Prince continued, "But if a war breaks out, we will bleed money. Therefore, I've come up with a plan that will not shed a single drop of our soldiers' blood."

"Aren't those rebels camped along the Sishui River? I have checked the area map and they are nicely situated downstream while the upper reaches of the river lie in Yuzhou. We could send someone to talk amnesty with them to lower their vigilance while we add poison to the upriver water. Since these people have camped along the river, this must be their main water source. After they have taken the poison, we'll take this opportunity to eradicate them, as easy as a knife through butter."

The Third Prince was only fifteen this year. A lack of empathy when he spoke about killing tens of thousands of people even caused Master Liao to shudder.

On the other hand, Emperor An Qing patted his shoulder in agreement. He laughed and said, "All is fair in war. This is indeed a very good idea. I will let you handle this."

The Third Prince bowed and assured his father, "I will not let you down!"

This secret discussion was only known to the three people present.

The next day, Emperor An Qing demanded that the construction of the pagoda to speed up and must be completed before the winter; the Third Prince was sent to Suzhou to conciliate with the rebels. Generals Shu Lin Ting of Yuzhou and Shen Tu Xu of Suzhou were placed under his command.

The officials of the Crown Prince's party were taken aback while those from the Third Prince's party praised the Emperor for his wisdom. Only a few people like Li An Min and Shen Tu Bei felt ominous about Emperor An Qing's decision.

It was a few days later that this news reached Yanzhou.

After his last conversation with Qi Wei, Qi Wei had gone back and gathered all the experienced farmers to brainstorm a way to increase Yanzhou's agricultural output.