Chapter 127 The Scholar Who Favored His Concubine Over His Wife (19) Taking Pure Love to...
Emperor Wenyuan rubbed his temples, looking at the ministers below who were each holding their own opinions, his anger rising. He glanced at the silent prime minister and asked in a deep voice, "Minister Zhou, what is your opinion on this matter?"
Prime Minister Zhou bowed slightly and said calmly, “Your Majesty, although Song Ce is a commoner, Wang Su is an official of our Great Wei. This old minister believes that Your Majesty should send someone to Qizhou City to issue an imperial edict, summoning Wang Su back to the capital to report on his duties. If he obediently returns to the capital, then we can resolve this matter without bloodshed; if he disobeys the edict, then our Great Wei's troops will have a legitimate reason to march on Qizhou.”
Emperor Wenyuan nodded, already having a plan in mind: "Very well, then so be it. Minister Su, tomorrow I will trouble you to make a trip to Qizhou to convey my decree. Eldest son, this time you will accompany Minister Su to secretly keep an eye on the situation in Qizhou and prevent any unforeseen events."
Upon hearing this, the Imperial Censor stepped forward and replied loudly, "Yes, Your Majesty."
The eldest prince, Xiao Yunqi, bowed and accepted the decree: "Your subject will certainly not fail your father's trust."
Half a month later, Doctor Su and Xiao Yunqi's group arrived in Qizhou. Looking at the tall, sturdy city walls and the clean, smooth streets outside, he was secretly taken aback. He glanced at the imposing, disciplined city gate guards beside him, and immediately abandoned his initial contempt.
At this moment, the gates of Qizhou were wide open, and the people coming and going had rosy complexions and were all in good spirits, a stark contrast to the dilapidated scenes of other prefectures he had visited. The more closely he looked into the city, the more shocked he became. How could Qizhou have developed into a more civilized city than the capital in just a few years?
Even a glimpse through a tube reveals only a part of the whole picture; the city of Qizhou is far from simple.
Just then, the eldest prince, Xiao Yunqi, looked at the passing crowd with disdain and chuckled, "Doctor Su, in my opinion, Qizhou City is far too much."
Doctor Su: "...What do you mean by that, Your Highness?"
"Please take a look, Doctor Su. There are only four guards protecting the city. How much power can Qizhou City possibly have? It's just hearsay," Xiao Yunqi said proudly.
Dr. Su: "..."
They made no attempt to conceal their identities upon arrival, and the guard commander dared not act on his own, instructing his subordinates to quickly go to the county office to consult Mr. Song and Lord Wang. When Doctor Su saw that even a lowly guard commander dared to refuse entry to the emperor's envoys, his heart sank.
As the eldest prince, who was greatly favored by the royal family, Xiao Yunqi was of noble status. Who would dare to treat him so disrespectfully? He slammed his hand on the low table in the sedan chair and roared, "How dare you! I have an imperial decree on my side. How many heads do you have to block my way? Believe me or not, I will immediately mobilize troops and raze your little city of Qizhou to the ground!"
"Your Highness, please calm down. We have come here on His Majesty's orders to summon Prince Su to the capital to report on his duties. If we fail to convey His Majesty's will, I fear His Majesty will be angry with us," Doctor Su said hastily, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
Xiao Yunqi paused, snorted coldly, and did not speak again.
Before long, the sound of horses' hooves approached from afar. Wang Sushou and a man in blue robes rode up one after the other on fast horses. As soon as they dismounted, Wang Sushou gave a slight bow to Xiao Yunqi and Doctor Su: "I was unaware that Your Highness and Doctor Su would grace us with your presence. I apologize for any offense I may have caused and hope that Your Highness and Doctor Su will forgive me."
Xiao Yunqi's face darkened, and he said sarcastically, "Lord Wang, you really have quite the airs!"
Wang Sushou smiled faintly and casually said, "Your Highness, please calm down."
Doctor Su stepped forward, took out the imperial edict personally written by Emperor Wenyuan, respectfully held it above his head, and loudly proclaimed, "Magistrate Wang Su of Qizhou County, receive the edict!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Sushou first glanced at Song Ce, and after seeing him nod slightly, he bowed slightly and said loudly, "Wang Sushou of Qizhou respectfully welcomes the imperial edict."
Noticing this, Doctor Su grew increasingly suspicious. He composed himself, unfolded the imperial edict, and read aloud: "I, by the grace of Heaven and in accordance with the opportune time, have heard that the governance of Qizhou is due to the virtue of capable officials. Magistrate Wang Su has governed the people with skill and his reputation has spread far and wide, which greatly pleases me. I hereby issue this decree that you immediately depart for the capital to report on your duties, and you are required to arrive at the capital within ten days by express courier, without delay! I hereby order Doctor Su to convey this decree on my behalf. I hope you will be aware of this. Lord Wang, please receive the decree."
Wang Sushou paused, then straightened his back and made no move.
Seeing this, Xiao Yunqi angrily flicked his sleeve and shouted, "You audacious Prince Sushou! His Majesty's decree is here. Why don't you accept it immediately? Are you going to disobey the decree?"
Doctor Su sensed something was wrong and quickly pulled Xiao Yunqi behind him, saying in a deep voice, "Prefect Wang, you have privately forged weapons, repaired the city walls, and refused to pay taxes. You should be severely punished. However, His Majesty, considering your meritorious service in governing Qizhou, has spared your life. If you can go to the capital immediately, His Majesty will forgive your past transgressions and..."
Before Doctor Su could finish speaking, Prefect Wang raised his hand to interrupt him, saying neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Lord Su, the repair of the city walls in Qizhou is to defend against mountain bandits and outlaws, and the casting of weapons is also necessary to protect the territory and ensure the safety of the people. As for the matter of tax silver, it is not that I intend to refuse to pay, but the industrial fields in Qizhou are not thriving, the armor and weapons are old, and the silver needed in the city is enormous, so I really cannot afford to pay it."
Xiao Yunqi leaned out from behind Doctor Su and sneered, "Such sophistry and excuses! It's clearly your treason and malicious intent! The Emperor has shown you some leniency, yet you are ungrateful! Lord Wang, what do you intend to do?"
"What do I intend to do?" Wang Sushou paused, then asked in surprise, "Did the Fourth Prince not explain this in detail to His Majesty and the court officials when he returned to the capital?"
"you!"
Seeing the tense situation, Doctor Su quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "Lord Wang, His Majesty's summons this time is truly out of a love for talent. If Lord Wang could come to the capital to meet the Emperor and explain the methods of governing Qizhou to you in detail, His Majesty might be delighted and reward you handsomely!"
Wang Sushou bowed again: "Please inform His Majesty that when I have some free time in the future, I will definitely go to the capital to pay my respects to His Majesty."
"Free time? Do you think His Majesty's decree is a joke?" Xiao Yunqi said angrily, "You are clearly disobeying the imperial decree!"
Upon hearing this, Doctor Su frowned and said calmly, "Lord Wang, His Majesty's decree cannot be disobeyed. I hope you will reconsider."
Wang Su bowed again, "Qizhou City is currently in a special situation, and I hope Your Excellency will understand. If we damage the harmony between Great Wei and Qizhou City because of a moment of anger, it would be a great loss!"
Doctor Su's face darkened: "Lord Wang's words are inappropriate. Qizhou is part of the territory of our Great Wei. What is so special about it?"
Wang Sushou shook his head and looked at Song Ce beside him.
Seeing this, Doctor Su naturally looked over as well. He paused slightly, then cupped his hands in greeting to Song Ce and said, "This must be Mr. Song Ce! I have long admired your name."
Song Ce looked at the group of people with different expressions, and then said loudly, "The Great Wei Dynasty disregards the hardships of the people of Qizhou and insists on demanding that Qizhou City pay taxes. From this day forward, Qizhou City will break away from the rule of the Great Wei Dynasty and become an independent city!"
Startled by Song Ce's words, Xiao Yunqi took a half step back. He stared intently at the calm and collected man in blue before him, his eyes blazing with fury: "How dare you! Qizhou City is nothing but a tiny place under the rule of the Great Wei. Do you really think that a small Qizhou can stand against the entire Great Wei?"
Upon hearing this, Doctor Su's face turned deathly pale, and his trembling hands rolled the imperial edict back into the wooden box. Before coming here, he had never imagined that a commoner without even an official title would dare to openly declare his secession from the court! It turned out that the Fourth Prince's words were not an exaggeration at all!
Qizhou City is about to be turned upside down!
Dr. Su's Adam's apple bobbed for a long time before he finally squeezed out a sentence through his teeth: "Mr. Song Ce, do you know that what you just said is actually a crime of treason?"
"My city of Qizhou has just survived a natural disaster, yet the imperial court is already impatiently sending people to urge us to pay taxes. What are their intentions? Do they really want all the people in my city to starve and wait to die?" Song Ce said calmly.
Upon hearing this, the way the people of Qizhou who were coming and going around the city gate looked at them immediately changed.
Xiao Yunqi suddenly sneered and said angrily, "You think you can take it all? Tomorrow I will send a message by carrier pigeon to my father, requesting that he send a large army to slaughter all the rebels in this city!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Sushou stepped forward, his tone unyielding: "Your Excellency, please take His Highness away immediately. If you insist on lingering, do not blame Qizhou for its indiscriminate use of force."
Xiao Yunqi was so angry that he was trembling all over. He was about to say a few more words when Doctor Su pulled him back a few steps.
Doctor Su held the imperial edict high above his head and said loudly, "Gentlemen, I will report today's events to His Majesty truthfully! You should all take care of yourselves!" After saying that, Doctor Su flicked his sleeves and led Xiao Yunqi and the others to turn around and leave Qizhou City.
After traveling at high speed for half an hour, Xiao Yunqi shouted loudly from inside the carriage, "A bunch of useless things! Stop right there! Doctor Su! Doctor Su!"
Upon hearing this, Doctor Su's face flashed with annoyance, but he ultimately waved his hand, bowed, and stepped forward, saying, "Your Highness, what are your orders?"
Xiao Yunqi slammed his teacup onto Doctor Su, his face contorted with rage. "Su Tianshi! This Prefect Wang is clearly defying imperial orders and plotting a rebellion! Why don't you send someone to arrest him immediately? What are your intentions?"
Doctor Su sighed softly and replied, "Your Highness, the people of Qizhou are united and their hearts are with us. If we forcibly take people away, it might cause a rebellion. Besides, we didn't bring many men with us on this trip. How can two hundred men possibly contend with the entire population of Qizhou?"
Xiao Yunqi gritted his teeth and said, "Cowardly behavior! Are we just going to let them get away with this?"
"Of course not." Doctor Su's gaze was deep, and he said coldly, "Let's return to the capital to report first, and His Majesty will make a wise decision."
"That's enough, that's all that can be done for now."
Ten days later, in the capital city, inside the imperial palace.
Emperor Wenyuan slammed the memorial presented by Xiao Yunqi onto the imperial desk. The entire court fell silent, kneeling on the ground, with no one daring to step forward.
"Rebellion! Utter rebellion! A mere Qizhou City dares to openly challenge our Great Wei! And even dares to attempt to establish itself as independent! It's utterly absurd!"
Having said that, he swept his gaze over the assembled officials in the hall. Seeing their silent demeanor, his anger intensified. "Normally, when I ask you for advice, you all speak eloquently and logically. But now that such a traitor has emerged in Great Wei, you've all become silent gourds!"
"Your Majesty, please calm down." The Minister of Revenue stepped forward cautiously. "I think it would be better to send elite troops to secretly investigate the situation in Qizhou before making a decision."
"To probe the truth?" Emperor Wenyuan sneered, then angrily rebuked, "Song Ce and Wang Su have already openly rebelled, what is there left to probe? What I want is to send troops immediately and wipe out Qizhou! I want the world to know that those who defy the Great Wei have only one path: death!"
"Your Majesty, the treasury of our Great Wei is not abundant at present. If we rashly send troops, food and military supplies will be a problem. Furthermore, our army has made a long march, while Qizhou is waiting in a well-rested state. In this situation, I fear we will not be able to win. I believe we should..."
Before the Minister of Revenue could finish speaking, Emperor Wenyuan interrupted him loudly: "Shut up! Do you expect me to just stand by and watch Qizhou declare itself independent?"
"Your Majesty," Prime Minister Zhou paused, then stepped forward and said, "Qizhou is but a small place. Your Majesty can first cut off Qizhou's trade routes and issue an edict to block communication between Qizhou and the surrounding prefectures. When Qizhou is short of supplies and the people are restless, then send troops to attack. This will be much more effective."
Emperor Wenyuan's expression softened slightly after hearing Prime Minister Zhou's advice. He gave a heavy snort and said coldly, "Immediately draft an edict and send orders to all nearby prefectures and counties to block the trade routes to Qizhou! Prohibit all prefectures and counties from trading with Qizhou!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
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