Chương 679: The Ambitions of the Second and Fourth Princes

The fourth prince, Liu Yong, was even more direct. Dressed in a black short-sleeved shirt with grass clippings from the horse farm on the soles of his boots, he snapped to attention as he entered and gave a military salute, something he'd learned from the Ministry of War. It nearly startled the young eunuch standing next to him.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty!"

"Sit down." Liu Ce gestured to the stool in front of him, suppressing a laugh.

"Today, I'll ask you two... what do you want to be when you grow up?"

The two boys were stunned for a moment, looked at each other, and were both a little confused.

In the past, when my father summoned me, he would either test my studies or give me a lecture. This was the first time he asked me "What do you want to do?" It was like chatting with someone. I didn't know how to respond for a moment.

The second prince reacted the fastest; his eyes lit up instantly. With only half his bottom touching the stool, he leaned forward, his eyebrows dancing with excitement.

"Dad! I want to go into business! To make lots and lots of money!"

He was talking so much that his spittle was practically flying out of his mouth:

"Last month, Mother took me to check Tonghui Trading Company's accounts from last year. We found a discrepancy of several thousand coins. Mother even said I'm better than she was back then! In the future, I want to open the largest trading company in the entire Han Dynasty, stretching from Nanhai Prefecture in the south to Zhuozhou Prefecture in the north, from the Pamir Mountains in the west to Yingzhou in the east—selling whatever makes money!

With the profits, I'll build more railways for Father, covering the entire country! And I'll replace Tonghui's signboard with pure gold for Mother, dazzling all the competitors!"

After he finished speaking, he subconsciously touched his cuff, where there was a bulge, obviously containing his business plan and small ledger.

Liu Ce chuckled, glancing at his cuffs and teasing, "A golden brand? Does that mean your mother's Tonghui Trading Company will be working for you? You'll be the big boss, and your mother'll be running errands for you?"

The second prince hesitated for half a second, then his mind raced, and he immediately changed his tune:

"Then... let's go with gilded ones! Bronze base with gilded finish, understated! Tonghui will be the head office, our new trading company will be called 'Da Han Tong,' Tonghui will be the largest shareholder, I'll be the general manager, and Mother will be the behind-the-scenes boss!"

"Oh, you've got some experience with equity now?" Liu Ce raised an eyebrow.

"Who taught you? Shen Wansan?"

"Last time Minister Shen came to our house to discuss commercial taxes with Mother, I overheard a couple of sentences..." The Second Prince scratched his head, a little embarrassed.

"Alright, you've got something." Liu Ce nodded, not joking with him, and said seriously, "I approve of your business dealings. But there are conditions."

"Father, please tell me! Don't even mention the conditions, I'll agree to ten or eight of them!"

"First, go to the Royal University to study business for four years. Mathematics, taxation, customs regulations, commercial law... I need to thoroughly understand everything. Don't go out half-baked and get swindled while still helping them count their money."

Secondly, after you finish your studies, you will study tax accounting at the Ministry of Revenue for a year, and then study customs and taxation at the Ministry of Commerce for a year. In between, your mother will take you to various branches of Tonghui Bank for rotation, starting as a clerk. You are not allowed to act like a prince.

After six years, you've completed your apprenticeship. I'll give you the imperial trademark of "Da Han Tong" and a starting capital of 100 million coins... 80 million from the imperial treasury, and 20 million from your mother's bank account. You'll be the general manager, and you'll bear the profits and losses yourself. If you make money, it's your skill; if you lose...

Liu Ce chuckled mischievously: "If you lose money, you can work in my private treasury to pay off your debts. You'll be serving tea and water and doing detailed accounting every day. You can leave whenever you make it back."

The second prince jumped up, and the small ledger in his sleeve fell to the ground with a thud. It opened right there, and crookedly written on it was: "Great Han Tong's proposed capital: My million coins of New Year's money." Below it was a small gold ingot, and next to it was a line of small words: "Strive to break even in three years and double it in five years."

The young man was a little embarrassed. He quickly picked it up and stuffed it back into his arms, his neck stiffening: "Your subject thanks Your Majesty! I absolutely will not compensate! If I really have to compensate... if I do, your subject will go to the Ministry of Works Research Institute to tighten screws to pay off the debt! I will never renege on my debt!"

"You're not even qualified to tighten screws," Liu Ce laughed and scolded.

"The Ministry of Works now requires people to pass a physical examination before hiring. With your skills, you'd be better off tightening screws crookedly."

The second prince chuckled, scratched his head, and sat down, clutching his sleeve tightly as if he were holding a precious treasure, afraid that the account book would fall out again.

Liu Ce then looked at the fourth prince, Liu Yong, who was sitting upright beside him, his back as straight as a javelin:

"And you? Don't tell me you just want to ride horses and hunt every day."

The fourth prince stood up abruptly, his voice booming so loud it made the teacups on the table shake: "Your subject will lead the army! To pacify the west!"

His eyes were frighteningly bright, like they held two fires hidden within them:

"Father once said that to the west there are Parthia, Rome, and many other small countries. Our Han Dynasty's trains already reach Chang'an, and in a few years they will surely reach the Western Regions! Your son will lead our iron cavalry westward to conquer anyone who dares to defy us! We will plant our dragon flag atop the walls of Rome! Let them all know the might of the Han Dynasty!"

Liu Ce was amused by him: "Good, that's ambitious. But Rome is a hundred and eight thousand miles away from us, with deserts, snow-capped mountains, and dozens of countries in between. By the time you get to your death from the train ride, you'll be too old to get there."

"Your subject is not afraid of taking the train!" The Fourth Prince quickly pledged his loyalty, patting his chest loudly.

"Don't even mention taking the train, your subject will walk! As long as we can win battles and expand our territory, your subject can endure any hardship!"

"Having guts isn't enough; you need ability," Liu Ce said seriously, his smile fading.

"You can lead troops, I grant your request. But you must first study at the Royal Military Academy for four years. There you will learn not only horsemanship and archery, how to lead troops into battle, but also the principles of artillery, basic physics, and common sense about railway troops... After you finish your studies, you will become the current battalion commander of the Central Theater Command, working under your Uncle Zhao (Zhao Yun) from the bottom up. You are not allowed to put on airs as a prince."

"When you can stand on your own and win a few impressive battles in exercises, I will give you a real post. If you can't graduate from military school or are not good at leading troops, then you should stay in the capital and learn business from your second brother. Don't even think about fighting."

The fourth prince's eyes lit up, and he snapped to attention with another crooked military salute: "Your subject... thanks Your Majesty! I'll report to the military academy next week! I promise to get first place in every subject!"

"What's the rush? Let's get through the winter first, and go in the spring." Liu Ce waved his hand.

"Winter is cold, and the training ground is freezing. Spring is the perfect time for training. Take advantage of these few months to review your military books properly, so you don't fall behind when you get to military academy and embarrass me."

"Your subject has remembered!"

The two boys left satisfied. The second prince, clutching his small ledger, pondered his 100 million yuan startup capital, muttering to himself as he went...

The fourth prince was jumping around, his mind filled with thoughts of artillery drills at the military academy.

Liu Ce watched their retreating figures, smiled, and shook his head: "Youth is wonderful; you're full of energy and have inexhaustible vitality."

..................

The next day, just after the morning court session ended and Liu Ce returned to Ganlu Hall, Li Dequan came in to report:

"Your Majesty, all six princesses have arrived and are waiting in the side hall. They said they heard that Father Emperor spoke with their brothers and wanted to ask them what they could do in the future."

Liu Ce chuckled: "Alright, let them in. I was just about to ask these little brats some questions myself."