On the fifth floor of the Da Feng Tower, within the spacious and quiet room, the light flickered gently.
Next to the Eight Immortals table, Zhao Douan smiled after saying these words, and the expressions of the father and daughter sitting at the table visibly became intricate.
"Heh," Prince Huaian unconsciously let out a laugh as if he had heard something amusing, "Is this Your Majesty's idea?"
He was probing, whether the Empress had given Zhao Douan some special instructions before he left the capital.
For instance, what price would the court be willing to pay if they wished to secure the support of this vacillating prince?
However, Zhao Douan just calmly shook his head: "This is merely my own thought."
Had the Empress discussed with him the matter of winning over Prince Huaian?
Indeed, there had been.
When leaving the capital, the sovereign and his minion had indeed had such a discussion, and the consensus reached at that time was that they absolutely could not concede.
Although putting forth certain benefits to lure and divide the "Eight Princes" was a tempting proposal, and indeed feasible, it would be no different from "quenching one's thirst with poison" from a long-term perspective.
Having given once, there would be a second time, and where could the court find such ample reserves to satisfy the appetites of these Princes?
Especially since compromise inherently signified weakness, and weakness was precisely the impression the Empress could least afford to convey at the moment.
And while a tough stance could indeed face greater resistance in opening the market, the long-term benefits could be even greater.
"Is that so," Prince Huaian, clearly somewhat disappointed, grew a few degrees colder in his demeanor, "Then why do you think I would be willing to offend people and wade into these muddy waters?"
Zhao Douan did not directly answer, instead saying:
"Right now, there are three factions within the city; You, my lord, are the most significant neutral party. If you consent, the market opening in the Huai River region will be much smoother; if you object, it will be difficult.
I understand this, as does Prince Jing and the other six princes. That's why we have this dinner tonight.
But, if I may be so bold, not everything in the world can be treated like a business deal, weighing every ounce, with the sale going to the highest bidder for a swift payment. Many things in the world are not done for benefit, but to avoid detriment."
The market opening in Hu Ting isn't something you can use to fetch a good price from both sides, leveraging it for personal benefit.
It's a serious matter of taking sides, and once sides are wrongly chosen, even if one manages to gain in the short-term, there might not be a future.
Prince Huaian seemed to smile, his demeanor showing not the slightest bit of being bluffed:
"Oh? So what you're saying is that I must support one side or the other? Could I not remain neutral? Or do you, like those pedantic Confucian scholars, believe neutrality never ends well?"
Zhao Douan, however, smiled and said:
"My lord may indeed remain neutral; in fact, of the eight princes, presumably only you have the confidence to do so.
Because there are too many scholarly family forces present along the Huai River, these large clans have formed the Li Party within the court, and at the local level, they have infiltrated everywhere, becoming a tumor within the Great Yu Dynasty. Your existence, in itself, acts as a check against these scholarly families...
In the nine provinces of Great Yu, Prince Hejian in Xiping, Yanshan King at Tieguan, Prince Heng in Qingzhou, Mu Prince in Yunfu, Prince Chen in the Coastal regions, Emperor Qiong in Lingnan... as well as Prince Jing in Jiancheng, all have royal mansion forces stronger than the local scholarly families.
Yet it is only the Huai River that is exceptional. Perhaps because the Huai River is the commercial hub of Great Yu, the pool is big enough to accommodate numerous fish living peacefully together; the Prince Huaian's mansion and these scholarly families check each other, thus securing a foothold.
Especially, as far as I know, you have the smallest private military force among the Eight Princes. Even if Your Majesty has conflicts with other princes, the last one she wants to act against is you.
And even if someone else became the Emperor, it would be the same, needing a significant member of the Royal Family stationed here because of this special position, which gives the Prince Huaian's mansion the confidence to sit back and watch."
By the middle of his speech, the Little Princess's eyes had lit up.
Towards the end, the corpulent "big eater" also showed a hint of surprise on his face.
It seemed unexpected that Zhao Douan, a Martial Artist, could truly pinpoint the essence of the matter.
Prince Huaian fell silent for a moment, then smiled:
"I am beginning to believe what my daughter said about you being out of the ordinary."
Zhao Douan merely smiled and said nothing.
Prince Huaian spoke indifferently:
"Since you understand this principle, you should also realize the confidence which allows me to stay out of your affairs."
"Is that so?" Zhao Douan laughed with a hint of teasing, "That's not a very sincere thing for you to say."
Zhao Douan spoke lightly:
"Before, you might have been able to remain patient, but it's different after the court opens the market.
Once the trade market, dominated by the court, starts operating, the wealth of the entire Huai River district will gather towards Hu Ting, streaming continuously into the National Treasury. Those who become imperial merchants and smaller clans will rise with the tide, and where there's ascent, there's descent.
The essence of the new policy is to retrieve the wealth from the hands of the scholarly families back to the court; thus, those scholarly families in the Huai River district will weaken.
And as they weaken, the balancing role of the Prince Huaian's mansion here will also diminish.
In other words, the significance of your lordship will not be as important as before. With your wisdom, you must surely see this layer and would not sit idly by, would you?"
The slightly plump face of Prince Huaian finally took on a serious look.
If the previous talk had not revealed much...
But this analysis now laid his thoughts bare, almost leaving nothing hidden:
"Ha, if it's as you say, then shouldn't I be fully opposed to the opening of the market? To the new policy?"