IDWBE -Chapter 93 Qi Peng

“Joking?”

Lin Yi snapped irritably, “I’m not joking. If you’re deliberately making things difficult for me, don’t blame me for being rude!”

“Your Highness, my uncle would never dare,” Shan Yin hurriedly interjected. “Please rest assured.”

“That’s best. Get up. At your age, who knows if you’ve already got rheumatism in your legs,” Lin Yi said lazily, holding his teacup and yawning. “The less you trouble me, the less you trouble yourself. Before doing anything, you’d better discuss it more with Lord Xie and the others.”

“At Your Highness’s command, this humble official dares not disobey!”

Shan Qi kowtowed twice before rising. “Everything shall be arranged according to Your Highness’s wishes.”

Lin Yi turned to Xie Zan.

Xie Zan stepped forward and cupped his hands. “I believe we may first establish a Thousand-Household Office and have Minister Shan command it.”

Shan Qi already held the posts of Provincial Administration Commissioner and Military Commissioner, so the appointment would be fully legitimate.

“You handle it yourselves.”

Lin Yi still did not fully trust Shan Qi. After Shan Qi withdrew, he kept He Jixiang behind for a private talk.

No matter what, he had to keep control of the troops. Sanhe must remain under his authority as a feudal prince!

Otherwise, he would feel utterly uncomfortable.

Without freedom, he might as well sail out to sea and become an island lord.

With Shan Qi’s arrival, the residents of Baiyun City were surprised to discover that the militia had been renamed again.

Now they were called “constables.”

But the locals still referred to them as “the blackskins.”

Two new government offices appeared by the riverside: one called the Provincial Administration Office, the other the Guard Garrison.

Soon after, the “blackskins” began going door to door, registering households and issuing residence certificates.

What was the difference from the old wooden tags?

At first, the people didn’t know.

But traveling merchants explained it to them:

Your sons and grandsons can now sit for the imperial examinations!

Only a few were truly overjoyed. Most people did not understand what participating in the imperial examinations truly meant.

The regulations of Prince He’s residence were abolished and formally replaced by the Sanhe Code and Laws, all announced by the Provincial Administration Office.

A month later, the Provincial Administration established a Maritime Trade Office on Fangniao Island. From then on, Sanhe’s merchant ships heading north no longer needed to sneak around.

This sudden move by Shan Qi took Lin Yi by surprise.

Establishing a Maritime Trade Office was something Lin Yi had wanted to do—but had not dared.

“Your Highness, this is the memorial I have drafted for His Majesty. Please review it.”

Shan Qi knelt before Lin Yi as though sincerely seeking guidance.

“Crying poverty?”

Lin Yi glanced over it and immediately grasped the meaning.

In summary: Sanhe is poor. Please send money.

“Crying poverty?”

Shan Qi interpreted the phrase literally and smiled. “Your Highness is wise!”

“That’s not enough,” Lin Yi shook his head. “There are refugees everywhere, bandits everywhere. Add landslides, epidemics—throw it all in.”

Recently, Shan Qi’s performance had pleased him more and more, so he could not resist offering extra advice.

“I understand,” Shan Qi said respectfully.

Lin Yi asked curiously, “If, as you say, the benefits of maritime transport are obvious to the entire court, why go through so much trouble to open canals and rely on grain transport via waterways?”

Wouldn’t shipping grain from Jiangnan to Ankang by sea be much simpler?

Shan Qi replied: “When our dynasty was first founded, there were many sea vessels dedicated to grain transport. But routes changed repeatedly, and accidents were frequent. Later, when coastal security deteriorated, the Founding Emperor forbade even a single plank from going to sea—overseas trade and fishing were banned. All former sea vessels were converted into flat-bottomed river boats.

At the time, people lamented:

‘Not a plank allowed to go to sea, yet mighty warships crowd the rivers;
Not a scrap of goods permitted abroad, yet women and jade are carried away in full loads.’

Since the late emperor ascended the throne, he favored eunuchs. Natural disasters and chaos followed, and the sea ban weakened. But think of this—the sailors of the grain ships, the trackers along the riverbanks, the poor people of the market towns—millions depend on canal transport for their livelihood! The canal transport system is powerful—too powerful to dismantle.”

Lin Yi frowned. “So, in plain terms, vested interests are blocking maritime transport.”

“Exactly,” Shan Qi replied. “That is why our maritime trade in Sanhe faces no obstruction for now.”

“Then let’s proceed. Build more ships. Make more money.”

Shan Qi bowed in acknowledgment and took back the memorial. As he exited, he encountered that expressionless, dead-faced eunuch again.

He snorted coldly at Hong Ying and left without another glance.

“Your Highness, we’ve found that ‘Shadow,’” Hong Ying reported.

“Who exactly is Shadow?” Lin Yi asked quickly.

Hong Ying replied, “Does Your Highness remember the man in Dazhu Town who used a wheelchair?”

“Qi Peng.”

Lin Yi remembered him clearly—a man who, like him in his previous life, had suffered from physical disability.

“Indeed. He was the one who sent the messages.”

Lin Yi smiled. “So it was him. Truly, the real master hides his brilliance. Where is he now?”

“Without Your Highness’s permission, I dared not act rashly. He remains in Dazhu Town.”

Lin Yi paced with his hands behind his back. “Then send an invitation. Ask him to come.”

Deep down, he sensed no malice from Qi Peng.

He Jixiang led the newly renamed Thousand-Household troops out again to suppress bandits.

Looking at the bill for fifty thousand taels, Lin Yi sighed.

Hong Ying reported that Qi Peng had arrived.

Lin Yi nodded and had him brought in.

Seeing the thin figure seated in a wheelchair, Lin Yi’s heart softened immediately.

Life wasn’t easy for anyone.

“Greetings, Prince He!”

Qi Peng pushed against the armrests, attempting to throw himself to the ground in prostration.

“No need for such courtesy. You’re not an outsider.”

Before Lin Yi even finished speaking, Hong Ying had already stopped him.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Qi Peng cupped his hands. “This commoner acknowledges his guilt.”

Lin Yi waved Hong Ying and the others out. After they left, he sighed.

“When I first arrived in Dazhu Town, you already knew my identity?”

Qi Peng smiled and nodded. “Naturally.”

“Speak plainly. No useless nonsense,” Lin Yi said. “Were you the one sending me those messages?”

“Yes,” Qi Peng said with a bitter smile. “I did not expect Your Highness to discover me so quickly. I am impressed.”

“How did you obtain such information?”

“I have little talent elsewhere, but I am better informed than most.”

Lin Yi snorted. “Better informed than the Imperial Guards and the Shadow Guards?”

Qi Peng said proudly, “What they know, I know. What they do not know, I also know.”

“Careful the wind doesn’t tear your tongue off,” Lin Yi said disdainfully. As if he had surveillance devices installed everywhere.

Qi Peng smiled. “Your Highness speaks truly.”

Lin Yi sighed. “Since you’ve come, don’t leave. Who knows whether you might later sell my information for money?”

“I would not dare!” Qi Peng hurriedly said.

“Stay by my side. I’ll feel safer.”

“Then I shall respectfully obey. Thank you for Your Highness’s favor.”

Lin Yi was puzzled.

He was essentially placing the man under house arrest—so why did he seem pleased?

Had sitting in a wheelchair too long caused some psychological problem?