Chapter 191 Killing Four Birds with One Arrow, the Beginning of Chaos
Feeling the vicissitudes of life, looking at the horizon.
The evening sail is as light as an arrow, and the setting sun is as big as a winnowing basket.
The wind is weary and the flags are fluttering, the horses and carriages are rushing across the plain.
In my dream, the moon on the river jumps out of the Golden Scale Pool.
The twenty-second day of the first lunar month, the sixteenth year of Tianji.
If recorded in history books in the future, today will be a day that will go down in the history of Daning.
But for Wei Changtian at this moment, today may be a little different, but that's all.
At sunset, Li Huaizhong slowly walked out of Wei's house alone.
Wei Changtian stood in front of the window and watched him leave, tapping the windowsill slowly with his fingers, with a thoughtful expression.
Everything went smoothly. Or too smoothly.
Li Huaizhong has revealed the Liu family's conspiracy without reservation, and his words are so convincing that they don't sound false.
Is this old eunuch so eager for a way to make up for his Yin Yang power? Or does he have another purpose?
Wei Changtian was not quite sure, and he glanced through the window at Xu Qingwan and You Jia who were sitting and talking in the front yard.
As if they noticed his gaze, the two girls quickly turned their heads and looked back at him at the same time.
There was a faint smile on the corners of their mouths.
It’s just that one is very simple, while the other is somewhat meaningful.
Daning Palace, Ziluan Hall.
"Your humble servant greets His Majesty!"
In the empty hall, a man in a purple robe embroidered with cranes bowed respectfully to Ning Yongnian.
He is the head of the Xu family of Daning and the Minister of Revenue, Xu Shixing.
"Well, Lord Xu, please take a look at this first. I will talk to you after I finish reviewing these memorials."
Ning Yongnian casually threw a booklet on the table and continued to read through the long and boring memorials with his head down, seeming to be in a bad mood.
“.”
Seeing this, Xu Shixing didn't dare to say much, and hurriedly stepped forward to take the booklet.
After he opened the first page of the booklet and read a few lines, it was like a cold water poured over his head. In an instant, a chill spread from head to toe.
"Your Majesty! This..."
"I said, wait!"
Ning Yongnian didn't look up, but there was an invisible sense of oppression in his words.
“Yes, yes.”
Xu Shixing's body trembled suddenly, and he staggered for a long time before he turned his gaze back to the booklet in his hand that was already soaked with sweat.
Each and every one of them were the shady things that the Xu family had done.
The Xu family is the richest family in Daning, and they are involved in countless businesses, among which there are bound to be some shady aspects.
Xu Shixing knew some of these things, but there were some that even he, the head of the family, had never heard of.
But only the part he knew, if it were to be strictly investigated, would be enough to cause serious damage to the Xu family.
Having served as the Minister of Revenue for more than ten years, Xu Shixing was not just a businessman who only knew how to make money.
He is also well versed in the ways of the court.
So what really frightened him was not the content of the booklet, but why Ning Yongnian showed it to him. "Liu, Wei, and Xu, the people of Daning all know these three surnames. There are even jokes in the streets that the power of these three families is far greater than mine."
Suddenly, Ning Yongnian spoke.
"Xu Aiqing, what do you think?"
“Plop!”
Xu Shixing didn't even think about it, and the next second he fell to his knees trembling on the ground.
"Your Majesty! Your loyalty to me is evident to all! What is written in this book..."
"I didn't ask you that!"
Ning Yongnian slammed the memorial in his hand onto the table and narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Answer my question just now! Are the three families of Liu, Wei and Xu really so powerful?!"
"emperor."
Xu Shixing suddenly raised his head, tears streaming down his face: "I dare not say much about the Liu and Wei families, but the Xu family is definitely not like that!"
"Really?"
Ning Yongnian stared at Xu Shixing and suddenly asked, "Xu Qing, since you are the Minister of Revenue, you should know how much silver is currently in the Daning Treasury."
"Reply, reply to the Emperor"
Xu Shixing felt something was wrong, but he still answered, "Nearly, nearly 500 million taels."
"Okay, then after deducting the salaries of officials, military pay, relief and other expenses, how much money do I have left?!"
"About ten thousand taels."
"Ten thousand two"
Ning Yongnian slowly stood up, walked around the table, and walked step by step to Xu Shixing.
He leaned forward slightly, and asked softly, as if smiling, "Lord Xu, how much money do you have in the Xu family's treasury?"
How much money does his family have? Xu Shixing may know the answer, or he may not know the exact number.
But whether he knew it or not, the question was unanswerable.
“.”
There was silence in the Ziluan Palace for a while. Looking at Xu Shixing who was shaking like a sieve, Ning Yongnian did not ask any more questions. He just reached out and took the booklet back silently.
"Xu Qing, I am not the kind of person who doesn't cherish old friendships."
"The Xu family played a role in my ascension to the throne, and that is why I have repeatedly condoned the Xu family's actions."
"But this time, I really don't know what to do. How about you tell me?"
“.”
The afterglow of the setting sun shone into the hall and reflected on Ning Yongnian's robe, as if giving a layer of blood color to the golden dragon with bared fangs and claws.
After a brief panic, Xu Shixing still looked trembling, but his mind was no longer stagnant.
It was obvious that Ning Yongnian's move was to test his bottom line.
The Xu family has taken root in Daning for hundreds of years and has been prosperous for more than a hundred years. Such a complex power cannot be overthrown by just a few words or a piece of evidence.
Ning Yongnian was clear about this, and Xu Shixing was even clearer about it.
Then the key lies in how much the Xu family will have to pay to satisfy Ning Yongnian's appetite.
"Your Majesty, my people have committed such a calamity, and I know I cannot escape responsibility."
"I am no longer ashamed to bear the heavy responsibility of being the Minister of Revenue. I am willing to resign and return home!"
"I beg the Emperor to grant my request!"
“Boom!”
After kowtowing heavily, Xu Shixing decided to hand over power first.
According to his judgment, the Daning treasury is currently well-stocked and not short of money, so what Ning Yongnian did must be to seize the right to control financial affairs.
Under normal circumstances, this idea is not wrong.
But what Ning Yongnian is going to do this time is far more than that simple.
"Resign and return home?"
Ning Yongnian sighed softly and said calmly, "Xu Qing, do you really think that you can wear and take off the feather on your head whenever you want? Do you really think that you can come and go as you please in the capital?"
"If you really want to resign, that's not impossible."
"Since you are from Jizhou, I will grant you a house in Jizhou Prefecture, where you can spend your old age with your wife and children."
"As for the rest, just leave them in the capital."
"W-what?"
Hearing this, Xu Shixing looked up suddenly, his eyes full of disbelief.
He never expected that Ning Yongnian's appetite was so big that he actually asked for all the family property accumulated by the Xu family over the past hundreds of years! "Your Majesty, even if the Xu family is wrong, I'm afraid it's not this serious!"
"If Your Majesty feels that my resignation is not enough, then I am willing to die as an apology!"
"But if you want me to hand over the entire Xu family, I cannot obey your order!"
At this moment, Xu Shixing knew very well that he could not retreat any further.
If you lose your official position, you can still train successors.
If you lose money, you can earn it again.
But if the Xu family's hundreds of years of foundation were destroyed by him, he would not be able to face the ancestors of the Xu family even if he died, let alone live! "Bang!"
As he spoke, he kowtowed again.
But Xu Shixing's actions this time did not show any sign of cowardice, and there was even a hint of his intention to compete with Ning Yongnian.
He was gambling that Ning Yongnian would not dare to risk plunging Daning into chaos and really break off relations with the Xu family.
And with the Xu family's background, Xu Shixing believed that he had the confidence to do so.
But. "Lord Xu, I underestimated you."
Ning Yongnian shook his head, as if he didn't care much about Xu Shixing's "disrespectful" behavior just now.
"I thought before that compared to the Liu and Wei families, you should be the most loyal to me."
"I am indeed loyal to the Emperor!"
Xu Shixing actually interrupted directly and said: "But I am also a member of the Xu family!"
"Hahaha! What a great member of the Xu family!"
Ning Yongnian raised his head and laughed: "So you think I dare not touch your Xu family, right?!"
"I have absolutely no such intention!"
Although he said "I didn't mean that", Xu Shixing's tone was very firm.
Compared with the Liu family, the Xu family is slightly less powerful, but its followers are also spread throughout the government and the country.
Compared with the Wei family, although the Xu family is slightly inferior in military power, it also has a large number of experts under its command.
More importantly, the Xu family is rich.
At any time, money is the panacea that can make up for all gaps.
So, what if you are the emperor?
In a flash, the atmosphere in Ziluan Palace had reached a point of tension.
If Wei Changtian were here at this moment, he would probably be very surprised.
Before traveling through time, most of his knowledge of feudal imperial society came from TV dramas and novels.
In these works, the emperor seems to possess absolute supreme authority and would never be challenged by a subject.
But in fact, in real history, there are many situations that are far more exaggerated than this.
From Cao Cao, to Zhao Gao, to Zhang Juzheng, and then to Oboi, each of them did not take the emperor seriously at all.
To put it bluntly, "Son of Emperor" is just a title, and who holds the "power of the Son of Emperor" depends on the strength of each force.
The Xu family’s power may not be enough to “ignore Ning Yongnian”, but it is more than enough to support Xu Shixing in saying a few tough words.
"Your Majesty! I dare to say a few more words!"
"When Prime Minister Liu was alive, the Liu family had almost all the power in the government and the country. From the prefectures to the court, from the eighth-rank county magistrate to the third-rank minister of each department, the appointment and promotion of officials, big and small, mostly required the approval of the Liu family!"
"Has the emperor ever seen such a serious crime of forming a clique for personal gain?!"
"The Wei family has controlled the Xuanjing Division for hundreds of years. The three guards and three offices are in charge of almost all the military affairs in Daning! They can kill any official at will, and destroy a family or sect with a wave of their hands. Even Wei Changtian dared to bring thousands of people to attack the prime minister's residence!"
"Such an outrageous act, what did the emperor do in the end?!"
"Even if the Xu family has committed a thousand mistakes, I think they are not as bad as the crimes committed by the Liu and Wei families. Why can't the emperor tolerate my Xu family?!"
"emperor!"
"Minister, I don't understand!!"
“.”
The loud questioning voice echoed in the hall, and Xu Shixing's eyes were full of grief and indignation.
What he asked actually makes sense.
The Liu family and the Wei family are obviously a greater threat to you than I am, and I have always been low-key, so why do you have to deal with me?
Do you really think my Xu family is a soft persimmon? It is both a vent and a pressure.
After Xu Shixing finished speaking, he stared at Ning Yongnian, and the latter was silent for a long while before slowly speaking again.
However, he didn't seem to be answering Xu Shixing, but rather talking to himself.
“It seems that I was right not to wait any longer.”
"Can't accommodate the Xu family?"
"hehe."
He chuckled and looked at Xu Shixing who was frowning.
"Xu Qing, you are wrong."
"It's not that I can't tolerate the Xu family, but..."
“Hula!”
The wide robe suddenly rustled without wind.
Xu Shixing felt something was wrong for a moment, but in his heart he still didn't believe that Ning Yongnian would really dare to put Daning in chaos.
He held his head high, puffed out his chest, and was ready to show his determination to die to express his attitude once again.
As long as they can get through this hurdle, the Xu family will be safe!
However, the palm filled with the power of an emperor was getting closer and closer.
It was not until this palm print was placed on the crane on his chest that Xu Shixing finally understood——
It turns out that I was wrong.
But why? "Bang!!"
With a dull thud, the official hat with a long flowered feather suddenly flew into the air, and then rolled down again. There was still a deep sense of confusion in his eyes that were almost about to pop out of their sockets.
“.”
"Alas, Xu Qing, you didn't have to die"
Under his feet, the lifeless Xu Shixing slowly fell to the ground, while Ning Yongnian seemed a little regretful.
But this regret only lasted for a moment.
He turned around and finished the sentence he had not yet finished.
"It's not that I can't tolerate the Xu family, but..."
“No one can tolerate it.”
Half an hour later.
There was nothing unusual in the Ziluan Palace. Ning Yongnian was still sitting behind the desk reviewing memorials, but in front of him stood a man in a purple robe again.
"Your Majesty, I wonder why you summoned me here?"
Wei Xianzhi stood straight and spoke in a neither humble nor arrogant tone.
"Hahaha, Lord Wei, please sit down. I have two things to tell you."
Compared with just now, Ning Yongnian's attitude at this time can be described as "friendly and affable".
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the seat."
Wei Xianzhi didn't hesitate and sat down, waiting for what was to come.
As Ning Yongnian spoke each word, his expression became more and more complicated.
There was anger, shock, confusion, and hesitation.
Fortunately, at least he managed to walk out of Ziluan Palace alive, but his steps were a little heavy.
Another half hour passed.
"emperor."
"Lord Liu, please sit down. I have something to discuss with you!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, please speak."
“.”
From dusk to nightfall.
When Liu Zhongchun, the current head of the Liu family, the second brother of Liu Yuanshan and also the Minister of Personnel, walked out of the Ziluan Palace thoughtfully, it meant that Ning Yongnian's initial layout for gathering domestic forces was about to be fully implemented.
To resist foreign aggression, we must first stabilize the internal situation.
Liu, Wei, Xu, and a Buddhist sect.
Who should start with?
After thinking about it for a few days, Ning Yongnian’s final choice was - all.
Kill four birds with one stone.
“It’s a mess.”
Standing at the entrance of the main hall, looking up at the yellow dragon of luck in the night sky that only he could see, Ning Yongnian laughed softly and said, "The more chaotic, the better."
Two chapters in one (end of this chapter)
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