Nine Princes Struggle for the Throne: The Mad Prince

Chapter 304 Morning Court (3) (Issues in the Construction of the New Capital)

Upon hearing Qin Wu's words, the three kings could only tremble as they carefully opened the memorials in their hands to examine them.

After the three of them saw what was written inside, their pupils dilated sharply. What was written inside was enough to kill their entire clan.

Moreover, everything recorded therein is about everything they did.

The more the three looked, the more shocked they became.

Some of these things were known only to them and a few close confidants, but Qin Wu found them out.

This is killing them!

"Finished reading? If you have anything to explain, tell me."

A dagger appeared in Qin Wu's hand at some unknown time.

Even from this distance, you can see the cold glint of light flashing on the blade.

This is a dagger that Qin Wu obtained after killing a seventh-realm terrestrial immortal on the battlefield. Its sharpness is said to be able to cut through iron like mud.

His words, however, were filled with utter indifference.

Everyone understood that the Divine Martial King had murderous intent; he wanted to kill the three princes!

The ministers couldn't help but feel a chill envelop them, their bodies feeling icy cold.

The three kings felt the same way; they felt cold all over and their hearts were chilled.

"It seems that my three royal brothers have no explanation to give, so don't blame me for showing you no mercy."

Qin Wu's voice rang out again.

"Ninth... Ninth Brother, is there some misunderstanding? I have never done anything recorded here. You must believe your brother."

King Zhou defended himself.

He dares not admit these things now.

Otherwise, they would really have no way to survive.

If Qin Wu wanted to kill them, they would have absolutely no chance of resisting.

"is it?"

Qin Wu simply uttered two words.

However, those two words clearly carried disbelief, and Qin Wu indeed did not believe his explanation.

“Ninth Brother, yes, how could we have done these things? We are princes of Eastern Qin, and we would never do anything to harm Eastern Qin.”

"You must trust your elder brother."

The Tang emperor hurriedly offered an explanation.

"Yes, Ninth Brother, you must believe in your elder brother."

The King of Han also hurriedly spoke up to explain.

"Believe you? What makes you think I'll believe you? The evidence is irrefutable, yet you still try to argue."

"Furthermore, do you think I've only found out these things? Do you really think I haven't found out about all the things you've done over the years?"

"Do you think I've been away from the capital for too long and don't know anything about it?"

Qin Wu looked at the three of them with a half-smile.

These three people are really treating him like a fool by saying all this.

The three were stumped by Qin Wu's question; they all knew he was right.

It wouldn't be difficult for Qin Wu to find out everything in the capital, and they couldn't possibly hide it from him.

Previously, Qin Wu's long absence from the capital had led them to gradually overlook him. Now that Qin Wu has returned, everything they had done has been exposed and can no longer be hidden.

"It seems you have nothing more to say. Guards! King Zhou, King Tang, and King Han have been mobilizing troops without authorization, intending to rebel. Seize them."

"Qi Ye, lead troops to seal off the Zhou Prince's Mansion, the Tang Prince's Mansion, and the Han Prince's Mansion, and arrest everyone in them."

"King Wei."

Qin Wu gave the order directly.

"exist."

When King Wei heard Qin Wu call him, he immediately stepped forward.

"You are in charge of this case. I hope you will not disappoint me. Go with Qi Ye."

Qin Wu instructed the King of Wei.

"Yes, uncle."

After receiving Qin Wu's order, the King of Wei withdrew.

"Ninth brother, you can't do this. We are both princes, and you have no right to deal with us."

"Uh huh..."

No sooner had the King of Zhou finished speaking than his mouth was covered by the Imperial Guards.

"Drag him away and throw him into the dungeon."

Qin Wu waved his hand.

Upon hearing Qin Wu's order, the Imperial Guards immediately took the three Zhou kings away.

The three struggled incessantly, but how could they possibly be a match for the Imperial Guards? These Imperial Guards were Qin Wu's trusted subordinates within the Imperial Guards. Even when Qin Wu was away on campaigns, he would send them ample cultivation resources every year.

This ensured that their cultivation levels never stopped improving.

Even the weakest among them have reached the peak of the Grandmaster realm, and it won't be long before they break through to the Great Grandmaster realm.

After the Emperor of Eastern Qin put him in charge of the government, Qin Wu transferred some of his people to the Hall of State Affairs.

It's all for now.

After the three kings were taken away.

Qin Wu looked down at the ministers again.

"Alright, the matter concerning King Zhou and the others has been resolved. Now, does anyone else have something to report?"

Qin Wu asked in a slightly lazy tone.

"Your Highness, I have something to report."

An official stepped forward, still reeling from what had just happened.

However, he does have something to report now.

"allow."

"Your Highness, there are some problems in the new capital. The construction is progressing slowly and it may not be able to be completed within the stipulated time, especially the palace."

The official reported that this person was an official from the Ministry of Works, specifically in charge of the construction of the imperial city.

"Why? I remember that the construction progress in the new capital was planned in advance by your Ministry of Works, and the project schedule was also set very generously."

Qin Wu had reviewed the materials regarding the construction of Xindu, and he had also commissioned a special assessment.

There is absolutely plenty of time; there is no possibility that the project will not be completed on time.

This still takes into account all possible natural disasters and man-made calamities.

"Your Highness, it's not that we don't want to finish on time, but the materials needed to build the imperial city are too numerous, and we have to purchase and collect them from all over the country."

"As a result, the price of these materials has become increasingly expensive, and some people are even secretly hoarding them, while we are unable to purchase enough materials."

"Even if we could buy it, the price would be dozens of times higher than before, causing our budget to be far exceeded."

"Even the price of some of the precious materials needed to build the palace has skyrocketed by hundreds of times."

The Ministry of Works officials explained the reason to Qin Wu.

They negotiated with material suppliers in various places countless times, but the prices kept rising and never stopped increasing.

"Oh? Even ordinary building materials are like that?"

Qin Wu inquired.

"Yes, the price of ordinary building materials has increased twentyfold."

"Adding in transportation costs, our Ministry of Works is almost unable to afford the construction expenses of the imperial city."

"This is a record of material purchases over the past six months."

An official from the Ministry of Works awkwardly reported this, taking out a thick ledger.

This matter is giving them a huge headache.

With a wave of his hand, Qin Wu summoned the ledger into his palm. He then began to examine the ledger page by page.

I quickly read through half of it; it recorded the quantity and price of various materials purchased.

The price listed above was at least twenty times higher than the price he knew, which was for ordinary materials.

The price of even more expensive materials was more than five hundred times higher.

That's a full five hundred times! That's no small amount. What do they think the Eastern Qin court is? A fat sheep?

"Very good, very good. What do you take my Eastern Qin Dynasty for?"

Qin Wu closed the ledger and smiled.