Chapter 430: Chapter 246: Testing the Eighth Prince_3
"Reject him," Zhao Yao said calmly, "and then do nothing."
"Do nothing?" Liang Run looked perplexed. "Yao Yao, if we do nothing, Wang Siqi will definitely seize and even destroy our business."
"I want to take this opportunity to test the attitude of my eighth brother." Zhao Yao thought this was a great chance to gauge his attitude. "If my eighth brother knows that Wang Siqi has taken over your business and does nothing, then it indicates..." At this point, Zhao Yao stopped.
Liang Run completed Zhao Yao’s sentence: "It indicates that the eighth prince doesn’t care about you, his brother, at all."
This was something Zhao Yao least wanted to see.
Zhao Yao nodded lightly, saying, "Yes. If my eighth brother makes Wang Siqi return the business to you, it shows that, in his heart, I’m still an important brother."
Liang Run gazed at Zhao Yao, asking sharply, "Yao Yao, which outcome do you hope for?"
"Of course, I hope that, in my eighth brother’s heart, I hold some position. However, if I’m not important to him, that’s also normal." If he held no position at all in his eighth brother’s heart, he would have to reconsider his relationship with him. More importantly, he not only needed to consider his own path but also needed to arrange a path for his fourth brother.
He had previously thought that if his fourth brother clashed with the eighth brother in the future and lost, he would plead with the eighth brother on his behalf, and the eighth brother, out of respect for him, might spare his fourth brother’s life.
But now, he dared not think this way. If in this matter, the eighth brother allowed Wang Siqi to seize the second uncle’s business, it showed that in the eighth brother’s heart, no one was more important than his grand ambition. When the fourth brother faces off against the eighth brother, his pleas would definitely not save his fourth brother.
"However, if it really comes to that, then my eighth brother and I..." Zhao Yao still hoped the eighth prince would stop Wang Siqi.
"Yao Yao, if the eighth prince allows Wang Siqi to take over our business, what will you do next, let them take it without retaliating?"
"How could that be?" Zhao Yao said coldly, "I am not so generous." After speaking, his eyes turned icy, "When the time comes, I will take everything back, and I will make them pay back a thousand times more."
"Yao Yao, at that time, you will be going against the eighth prince." Liang Run knew Zhao Yao really liked his eighth brother.
"Let it be," Zhao Yao said, a wry smile touching his lips, "although I don’t want to oppose my eighth brother, I also can’t let him bully me."
"Yao Yao, do you have any chance of winning against the eighth prince?" Liang Run had learned from Zhao Yao that the eighth prince was very clever and resourceful.
"Although I’m not as wise as my eighth brother, he doesn’t know my full capabilities, and that is my advantage." Zhao Yao sighed deeply, "But then again, being an enemy of my eighth brother is indeed a headache. Eighth brother, you better not disappoint me, or I will be truly heartbroken."
"I hope the eighth prince will stop Wang Siqi," Liang Run also didn’t want them to become enemies with the eighth prince.
"Let’s wait and see,"
"Alright."
"By the way, uncle, what do you think of sending Eighth Uncle to Lingnan now?" Eighth Uncle was Liang Guan.
"Isn’t Lingnan still not prepared? Why send the old eighth there now?"
"Not to Lingnan, but to Annan Country."
"Annan Country?" Liang Run exclaimed in surprise, "What are we going to do in Annan Country?"
"Do business, give money to the second prince, become his person."
Liang Run looked at Zhao Yao in shock: "Yao Yao, you want to support the second prince in ascending the throne?"
"That’s right, I want to control the royal family of Annan Country," Zhao Yao said with a deeply meaningful smile, "To be precise, I want to control the iron, gold, and copper mines of Annan Country."
Liang Run was stunned seeing Zhao Yao speaking about overthrowing Annan Country with an innocent face and an indifferent tone.
"Lingnan is too poor, and resources are scarce. If we don’t secure the iron and gold mines of Annan Country, I don’t know how much it will cost us."
Liang Run came to his senses, looked at Zhao Yao, amused and helpless: "Yao Yao, do you realize what you just said is quite frightening?"
"By the way, a strategist must accompany Eighth Uncle," Zhao Yao added, "Eighth Uncle is good at doing business but lacks in dealing with intrigue."
"Yao Yao, you..." Liang Run said, "I will arrange for someone to accompany the old eighth to Annan Country."
"Send some people to Lingnan too, to scout the area."
"Understood." Liang Run, although not well-versed in court affairs, knew a bit about some things, "Yao Yao, you’ve set your sights on the iron and gold mines of Annan Country, then the Crown Prince and Prince Dai must have too, they surely won’t do nothing."
"Uncle, you’re right, the Crown Prince and his group will certainly take action, but they don’t know one thing," Zhao Yao suddenly smiled mysteriously, "This is what will make the second prince willing to cooperate with us."
"What thing?"
Zhao Yao leaned in and whispered something to Liang Run.
After hearing it, Liang Run’s face was full of shock: "That’s really... incredible..."
"The royal family of Annan Country is very chaotic and filthy," Zhao Yao smirked, "In a few years, the royal family of Annan Country will be in great turmoil, and that’s our opportunity."
Liang Run nodded after hearing this. However, he soon thought of something and asked, "Now Annan Country is a vassal state of the Great Zhou Empire, doesn’t the emperor send people to guard Annan Country?"
"I haven’t heard anything yet."
"Logically, shouldn’t the emperor establish a protectorate in Annan Country?" Liang Run said, "If the emperor sends people to Annan Country, how will our people operate?"
"Let Eighth Uncle and them go first," Zhao Yao continued, "If my father really establishes a protectorate in Annan Country, we will have to act according to circumstances."
Liang Run understood Zhao Yao’s determination. No matter what happens, they must support the second prince and then gain control of Annan Country’s iron and gold mines.
"I will tell the old eighth about this tomorrow, and also write back to Yangzhou to ask my father to arrange for a strategist to accompany the old eighth to Annan Country."
"Sigh..." Zhao Yao lay on the table, puffing up his cheeks and saying, "Why do I feel like there are more and more things to do?"
Liang Run silently chuckled.
Even now, Yao Yao hadn’t yet realized that what he set out to do in Lingnan had long surpassed what a Vassal King should be doing. If Yao Yao only intended to be a leisurely Vassal King, there was no need to do so much.
The second uncle must be pushing Yao Yao to do so much just to make Yao Yao fight for the throne, yet Yao Yao, always so brilliant, had not noticed.
Is this a case of those involved being confused while observers are clear?