"Your Highness," Old Butler Yang immediately grew anxious, "Do you not know what kind of place Ninggu County is?"
Li Che smiled faintly.
Of course, I know. That's my hometown.
Old Butler Yang paced anxiously in the courtyard, continuously muttering, "That is a place where criminals are exiled, the most barren place in the entire Great Qing."
"The winters there are extremely long, especially in its northern regions, where winter accounts for more than half of the year."
"Not to mention, it's surrounded by barbarians, and to the south, there's Goryeo. Furthermore, transportation to the Central Plains is inconvenient."
Old Butler Yang stood still, staring intently in the direction of the imperial palace; "How is His Majesty letting you go to your fiefdom? This is clearly sending you to your death!"
As Li Che's butler, Old Butler Yang himself had no good feelings toward the Qing Emperor, let alone loyalty.
He was a down-and-out scholar from the Previous Dynasty who had been helped by Consort Yang and had always been loyal to her. After Consort Yang's death, that loyalty transferred to Li Che.
In other words, if Li Che were to die in the imperial court today, Old Butler Yang could immediately rally a group of people to rebel against the Qing Emperor.
"Old Butler Yang, this is already very good," Li Che comforted him, "At least there's a way to survive there. It's better than staying in the imperial capital."
Li Che didn't try to explain that the land in the northeast wasn't as barren as they imagined.
On the contrary, it might be the most fertile land in Great Qing.
In his world, the development of that land began in the late Qing Dynasty.
Before that, no agricultural civilization dynasty had ever attempted to develop that treasure land, which is why it had always been occupied by nomadic civilizations.
The cold weather was the main problem; strategic location and inconvenient transportation were secondary issues.
Even he would need some time to try and solve these problems before he could unleash the terrifying potential of that land.
"Your Highness..." The Old Butler looked at Li Che with reddened eyes.
His Highness was still as sensible as he was when he was a child.
No matter what kind of bullying he suffered outside, he would always return home with a gentle demeanor, never taking his anger out on his subordinates.
A flicker of determination flashed in Old Butler Yang's eyes.
"Your Highness, I'll go gather the old acquaintances in the imperial capital and go to Ninggu County with you."
With that, Old Butler Yang turned to leave.
Li Che quickly grabbed him: "Absolutely not!"
In his memory, these so-called old acquaintances that Old Butler Yang spoke of were not to be trifled with.
They were all assassins cultivated by the Previous Dynasty imperial family. After the Previous Dynasty's demise, although most of them had gone into hiding and returned to normal lives, a small number still remained dormant in the imperial capital, looking for opportunities.
Even Li Che didn't know the identities of these people; only Old Butler Yang could contact them.
From this perspective, the original owner being suspected by the Qing Emperor was truly not unwarranted.
He really had the capital to rebel!
"Old Butler Yang, listen to me," Li Che pulled Old Butler Yang back and said seriously, "I've just been enfeoffed as a prince. How many eyes are watching in the imperial court? If you suddenly bring a group of people here now, aren't you handing them a handle to use against me?"
"At that time, if the charges are confirmed, it's a small matter for me to be punished, but it will also implicate these brothers."
Old Butler Yang wasn't reckless; he was just flustered for a moment and a bit disoriented.
Hearing Li Che's analysis, he stopped, worried: "Then what should we do? Your Highness is going to such a dangerous place for your fiefdom; you'll definitely need some people by your side."
"His Majesty has already permitted me to form a Royal Guards of 1,500 men, to be selected from the various camps in the imperial capital."
Upon hearing this, Old Butler Yang's face showed even deeper worry: "The three major camps of the imperial capital's garrison, plus the imperial guards and city defense army, are all His Majesty's direct lineage. How can Your Highness use such Royal Guards?"
The corner of Li Che's mouth twitched.
He didn't want to rebel, so why couldn't he use them?
Was Old Butler Yang automatically putting himself into the grand cause of rebellion?
However, Li Che truly didn't plan to use these soldiers from the imperial capital's army.
Their being the emperor's direct lineage and having too low loyalty was only one aspect of the problem.
The main problem was this:
Given Ninggu County's current reputation, who would want to be a soldier there?
Isn't it better to be a soldier in a safe and prosperous place like the imperial capital?
He could indeed use the imperial decree to force them to go with him.
But a forced melon isn't sweet. If he really did that, he feared that more than half of the Royal Guards would have run away before he even left Shanhai Pass!
"You don't have to worry about that. I already have candidates in mind for selecting the Royal Guards," Li Che's tone shifted, "I need you to help me with another very important matter."
"What is it, Your Highness? Just give the order. This old servant will accomplish it for you even if it means being torn to pieces."
"It's not that serious," Li Che waved to a small maid in the distance, "Qiu Wen, go to my study and get some writing brushes and ink."
The little maid nodded obediently and ran towards the study deeper in the courtyard.
"I'll make a list for you later. You'll take people to buy these things, the more the better."
Li Che belatedly thought of a problem: "How much money is left in the manor?"
Old Butler Yang replied: "There are still five hundred taels of silver."
"How much?" Li Che's eyes widened.
Five hundred taels? A dignified imperial prince only has five hundred taels of silver?
Yes, five hundred taels of silver was a huge sum for ordinary commoners, or even ordinary officials.
But for an imperial prince, this amount of money probably couldn't even sustain daily expenses.
"Only five hundred taels are left. This is what Your Highness saved by being frugal on a daily basis."
Li Che rubbed his temples, feeling a headache: "Forget it, I'll write down some important ones, and you go buy them first. As for the others, it's not too late to buy them after His Majesty's enfeoffment stipend comes down."
He had originally wanted to leave the imperial capital as soon as possible, but it seemed he would have to stay for a while longer.
Just then, the maid named Qiu Wen also ran over, carrying writing brushes and ink.
Li Che glanced at her and immediately said speechlessly, "I asked you to get writing brushes and ink, and you really just brought brushes and ink?"
"Ah?" The little maid looked at him blankly.
"If you don't bring paper, where am I supposed to write?!"
"Ah!" The little maid suddenly understood, her cheeks flushed, and she 'thump-thump-thump' ran back again.
Soon, she finally brought the paper too.
Li Che spread out the paper, and Old Butler Yang helped him grind the ink.
Fortunately, the original owner's muscle memory was still there. Even though he had never touched a calligraphy brush before, he picked it up quickly.
After a brief thought, he fluently wrote down a long list.
Old Butler Yang took the list and couldn't help but read aloud: "White cotton... Isn't this a flower? What do you want it for?"
"To keep warm."
"White cotton can keep one warm?" Old Butler Yang asked in surprise.
"Of course it can," Li Che smiled.
White cotton was actually cotton.
The history of cotton being introduced to the Central Plains can be traced back very early, but it was not widely used initially. Instead, it circulated among nobles as an ornamental flower.
In his original timeline, it wasn't until the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty encouraged the cultivation of cotton that it gradually developed into a material for keeping warm.
In this world, the true use of cotton had not yet been discovered.
Old Butler Yang's gaze quickly swept over the list, and he immediately showed a troubled expression.
Except for a small portion of easily found items, most of them were rare, and some names he had never even heard of.
Li Che saw Old Butler Yang's difficulty and said, "It's alright. You go find the easy-to-find items first. When I have free time, we'll look for the rest."
Old Butler Yang nodded and carefully put away the list.
"What is Your Highness planning to do?"
Li Che grinned: "Go to the criminal army to recruit my Royal Guards."
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