As the saying goes, when a father is humiliated, his son dies. On the other side, Zhao Bufan, the eldest son of Emperor Zhao's uncle, was the first to react when he saw his father being humiliated. He stood up angrily, pointed his finger, and wanted to scold him.
Qu Duan was still fearless. Without waiting for the other party to speak, he just stared at the young royal family member who stood up opposite him: "What are you pretending to be again?! I tell you, it's a good thing you didn't have a weapon in your hand, otherwise you would be dead now... I only had to flip the table to knock you down, and then walk over to find the candlestick beside you and stab it into your throat, and your father would have died... Who gave you, a royal family waste who only knows how to drink and eat meat, the courage to be fierce in front of a veteran general like me?"
Before Zhao Bufan could make another statement, Uncle Wang Zhan had already called his son Wang Ruohai and son-in-law Hu Hongxiu to step forward and hold him down. Together with a few servants, they managed to drag the eldest son-in-law out.
Seeing Zhao Bufan being dragged out, Uncle Wang turned back to comfort Uncle Zhao and drove away the remaining two maids. He then turned his head to look at Wanqi Xie, who had been silent for a long time and just lowered his head to gnaw on chicken feet, and said with a hint of complaint: "Yuanzhong, what on earth are you thinking tonight... We are uncle and nephew, so why not speak frankly?"
Upon hearing this, Wanqi Xie put down his chicken feet, calmly took the hot towel that the servant had just put down from the table, wiped his hands and mouth, and then laughed: "The one who knows me well is Uncle Wang! Uncle Wang, since the alchemist incident ruined your future, you have been an idle official. Have you ever thought about regaining the emperor's favor, and making a good career again, and serving the country? Even Uncle Zhao, after listening to Qu Da's words today, have you ever thought about doing your best to contribute to the country in times of chaos, instead of being a drunkard who makes people laugh?"
"What's your plan?" Uncle Wang Zhan was tempted.
However, Qu Duan did not even let Wan Qi Xie go: "I know that you invited me today with bad intentions... Others say that you are a loyal person, but I know that you are a mean person."
So what if I have bad intentions or am a villain?
Wanqi Xie sneered in his heart, but his face was stern: "Qu Da, I have to share the worries of the country!"
Qu Duan sneered, but was too lazy to argue with him. However, the old uncle of the emperor became a little serious after hearing this.
Wanqi Xie did not care, but slowly said: "In fact, today when the emperor heard the figure of 300,000 strings of cash in the palace, he asked if it could be raised... At that time, Li Zhongcheng thought that the emperor wanted to impose more taxes, so he tried to persuade him. But I have been with the emperor for a long time, so I know that the emperor's intention is definitely not to tax the people."
Although Qu Duan had an excessive temper, he was after all "capable of both civil and military affairs", so he was slightly moved: "You mean, the emperor wants to seek financing from the rich and powerful... But if so, why didn't His Majesty mention it?"
Why? Of course, the government knows that these people are not willing to be "raised" easily, and they are unwilling to let it go! If there is no visible benefit, who would be willing to be raised for no reason?
Unless Emperor Zhao leaves a signed signature and comes here specifically to borrow the money.
Wanqi Xie sneered more and more in his heart, and his face became more and more stern: "That's because during the Jingkang period, the court plundered the city to raise compensation, and the government didn't want the people to panic because of this..."
Uncle Wang Zhan was also moved, but he hesitated to speak.
"Then, the government is too cautious!" Wanqi Xie continued to speak sternly. "That was how much it was back then, five million taels of gold, fifty million taels of silver, but today it's only three hundred thousand strings of cash; and at that time the country was poor and defeated, and it was the money to buy the country's life, but now it's just a temporary shortage. According to me, among the wealthy families returning to the north in the city, there are already forty or fifty well-known wealthy families, and there are also some officials whose hometowns are south of the Huai River and whose families are well-off. If these people gather together, they will have three hundred thousand strings of cash! Not to mention, now that the wealthy families dare to spend the New Year in Beijing, who is not loyal and brave, and wholeheartedly serving the country? Who is not willing to pay a few thousand strings of money? Uncle Wang..."
"Of course I am willing!" Wang Shuzhan, who had not sat down, blurted out. "During the Mid-Autumn Festival, I asked my family to bring 10,000 strings of cash from Huainan for expenses, but later the city was closed due to military control, so nothing was moved... It was just right to give it to the emperor!"
How stupid!
Wanqi Xie looked down on this uncle he recognized more and more in his heart, but he still clapped his hands and praised him: "Uncle, this grand move can be said to be a relief for the country. But in my opinion, there are still some shortcomings..."
Uncle Wang was slightly startled, then he listened attentively.
"First, whether it is donation or loan, it cannot be public donation or public loan, but private donation or private loan, or at least pretend to be private loan or private donation, otherwise it will embarrass poor colleagues and the emperor." Wanqi Xie said seriously, and at this time, even Qu Duan and the uncle Zhao listened attentively. "Second, the court is just short of money for the time being, not really needing contributions. What I mean is that you can borrow it if you can, and donate it only when it is absolutely necessary."
Wang Shuzhan was puzzled for a moment: "Why should I borrow instead of donate?"
"Because people who are as sincere in loving the country and the king as your uncle are really rare, and people are selfish. Who would be willing to easily waste their money?" Wanqi Xie smiled in return.
Wang Shuzhan was completely moved, and he leaned forward across the table and said, "My dear nephew, instead of offering 10,000 or 20,000 strings of cash, why not act as a middleman and guarantee seven or eight large households for the government, and get a loan of 100,000 or 80,000 yuan, which would be more helpful in alleviating the government's worries?"
This time, Uncle Zhao seemed to understand something, and even Qu Duan glanced at the former Minister of Rites and Uncle Zhao beside him.
"But it's still wrong." Uncle Wang was excited, but he realized something was wrong. "The key is how to bring this up with the emperor? No matter what, a minister shouldn't even ask the emperor for a loan, right?"
"Uncle, you can lend it to me!" Wanqi Xie remained calm and just raised his hand and pointed to the other party's side.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
