Chapter 90: The Rakshasa Treaty

The King of the Rook Realm had no choice but to agree.

Afterward, Chen Mu and the King of the Rook Realm signed the treaty. In later years, it came to be known as the Rook Treaty, because the Rook Realm was the first country to benefit from it.

Once Chen Mu returned to his own land, he also sent envoys to negotiate with the Southern Barbarians, Persia, and the Xiongnu, inviting them to join the treaty as well. There would, of course, be a price: a rise in tribute.

Since the Rook Realm was already a vassal of Great Xia, Chen Mu did not plunder its wealth or enslave its people, but Great Xia had already reaped enormous gains.

The Rook Realm possessed rich deposits of gold and coal, and half of them would now be offered in tribute to Great Xia.

There was also unexploited petroleum, which in the future would become an important strategic resource.

In addition, Chen Mu remembered that this land contained vast diamond mines. He ordered the Rook Realm to search for them actively, promising rewards for any discoveries.

Beyond the half offered as tribute, Great Xia would exchange food, daily necessities, and other goods for the remaining share.

It was a mutually beneficial partnership, because the Rook Realm had no idea how to make use of diamonds, whereas to Chen Mu they were immensely valuable.

He could establish a diamond culture in Great Xia, then have the state enterprises produce diamond jewelry to sell to the wealthy at home and fill the imperial treasury.

When the time was ripe, he could even export them abroad.

After all these affairs were settled, Chen Mu returned home by way of the Xiongnu lands. Upon reaching the capital, there was once again a grand celebration, and all the soldiers received their rewards.

After resting for a few days, Chen Mu carried out another great undertaking.

He founded academies.

The Imperial Academy had produced excellent results, and the students enrolled there had improved tremendously. Chen Mu therefore decided to open more academies, so that ordinary commoners would also have the chance to study.

This year’s imperial examinations had long since ended, and many of the candidates who had failed were still quite accomplished. Chen Mu had them serve as teachers in the academies.

This not only made full use of talented people, but also allowed them to continue improving themselves through teaching. As the saying went, teacher and student advanced together.

There were also some successful candidates who had passed the examinations but had no official posts available for them yet, so they were appointed as principals of academies in various regions.

Each county seat would have one academy, and all of them were public institutions, admitting students entirely free of charge. Books, paper, brushes, and other supplies would be provided by the academies.

Anyone with a gift for learning could enroll.

One day, Chen Mu was inspecting an academy in a county town when he suddenly heard a commotion outside the wall.

He asked, "Are officers handling a case outside?"

The principal replied, "Your Highness, from the voices, they do seem to be local officers, but I do not know what business has brought them here."

Chen Mu nodded. "Go take a look."

He stepped outside with his attendants and saw someone confronting the officers in an alley.

The man looked extremely panicked. "Don’t come any closer! I have quicksilver in my hand. If it splashes on you, it could kill you!"

The officers were shouting as well.

"You won’t get away!"

"Put down your weapon at once!"

The man screamed hysterically, "This isn’t a weapon! This is science!"

He was not some transmigrator. It was simply that Chen Mu often used the word "science," and many people had learned to say it too.

They only understood it as scholarship of the kind tested in the civil examinations.

Chen Mu called out, "Stop!"

When the officers saw that it was the Crown Prince, they hastily turned and bowed.

The man became even more agitated. "Your Highness! Save me!"

Chen Mu smiled and nodded. "Rest assured, I will investigate thoroughly. First, let me see this quicksilver."

Hearing the words quicksilver and killing people, Chen Mu thought it was probably mercury.

As he spoke, he walked toward the man.

The officers hurriedly shouted, "Your Highness, it’s dangerous!"

"He has a weapon in his hands!"

Chen Mu waved them off. "I know what I’m doing!"

Hearing him say so, the officers dared not speak further.

The principal who had followed them murmured, "Huh? Isn’t that Bi Zhong?"

Chen Mu approached, and Bi Zhong lifted the clay jar in his hands, removing the lid so Chen Mu could look inside.

The liquid within shimmered with a metallic sheen. As it moved, it looked thick and heavy, and from its color alone, it was indeed mercury.

Chen Mu did not dare touch it for long and immediately had Bi Zhong put the lid back on.

"Yes, it should be mercury."

Bi Zhong muttered, "Mercury? What a fine name!"

"By the way, Your Highness, I am Bi Zhong. I developed this mercury in the academy. At first, I used cinnabar..."

With great excitement, Bi Zhong described the entire process of his research into mercury. The more Chen Mu listened, the more certain he became: this was the traditional cinnabar extraction method.

Chen Mu asked, "Where did you get the ore for your mercury?"

Bi Zhong blushed. "To answer Your Highness, at first I bought it thinking it was silver ore. It cost me three taels of silver."

"But I thought those three taels were well worth it. This is a major discovery!"

Chen Mu nodded and called over a guard, ordering him to relay instructions to the authorities to investigate the smuggler who had been trafficking counterfeit silver ore.

Silver ore was a state-run resource; private citizens were not allowed to mine or trade it. That smuggler must have discovered a new silver deposit, or perhaps a mercury deposit.

Chen Mu then asked the officers, "Why were you arresting him?"

The two officers looked awkward. Bi Zhong and the Crown Prince were chatting quite cheerfully now. What were they supposed to say?

The academy principal beside them coughed.

"Your Highness, allow me to explain."

He recounted the matter in detail. It turned out that Bi Zhong was a student of the academy, but he had no interest in memorizing books and always busied himself in the dormitory with strange and bizarre contraptions.

Later, one of his roommates inexplicably suffered poisoning, vomiting and diarrhea, his mind clouded and confused.

The teacher forbade him from continuing such experiments, but Bi Zhong became agitated and injured the teacher before fleeing.

That was why the principal had reported him to the authorities, so they could come and arrest him.

Chen Mu nodded and asked Bi Zhong, "You knew the government was after you. Why did you still return to the academy?"

Bi Zhong said, "I knew, but my things were still in the dormitory."

From his eyes, it was clear that he was truly worried about those possessions.

Chen Mu asked the principal, "Are his things still there?"

The principal replied, "Your Highness, no one dared touch them. Everyone was afraid of poisoning. His roommate has already moved to another dormitory."

Chen Mu clapped his hands. "Excellent! Come, let’s go see his dormitory."

The group went to the dormitory, and Chen Mu saw that there was indeed a crude distillation apparatus. But it was not sealed, so mercury vapor had escaped, which was why people had been poisoned.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Mu said, "Bi Zhong, your research is good, but it is far too careless. Mercury is not only a substance that can shift from solid to liquid; it can also very easily become vapor. And you did not take proper precautions."

Bi Zhong asked in delight, "Your Highness, you have studied mercury as well?"

Chen Mu nodded. "We can speak of that later. But for now, you have injured someone, and I must punish you."

"I will have you confined for at least one year."