Planning
Taira
Dong Qingying sat in the hall with her hair down. She was not wearing palace attire, but only a thin nightgown. Her long, black hair fell onto the carpet. She stared blankly at the osmanthus hairpin in her hand.
Wutong came over and carefully advised, "Your Majesty, at least have some snacks. You haven't had a proper meal for three days."
A faint, sarcastic smile flickered across her face, but she ignored it: "Get out."
"But Your Majesty..."
"go out."
She had been quite cold to him these past few days, and Wutong dared not disobey, so he bowed and left.
The emperor stood outside, stamping his foot in exasperation: "Fine! Fine! Fine! If she won't eat, then let her starve to death! Let's go!"
Having said that, he left with a group of palace servants.
She was born with beautiful features; even without makeup, she was stunningly beautiful. Li Muyun once said that her eyes were beautiful. She originally disliked these eyes, which were different from those of people from the Central Plains, but after Li Muyun praised her, she also thought it was true.
But now, she's dead.
She was buried with military honors in the Northwest, a place so far away from her. I thought I could visit her again in this lifetime, but it seems I'll never be able to.
Dong Qingying clutched the osmanthus hairpin tightly, and finally collapsed onto the carpet, weeping.
She no longer wants to smell the fragrance of osmanthus in September!
The emperor had no idea what had gotten into Dong Qingying. She had been claiming illness for days and refused to leave the palace. Now, she had even stopped eating, clearly indicating that she was planning a hunger strike.
He kindly went to see her, but she ignored him, didn't bother with her makeup, and sat on the ground like a madwoman, without saying a word.
How much patience can an emperor have? Everyone in the world should offer him their best possessions to curry favor with him; there is no reason for him to curry favor with others.
Dong Qingying's resistance exhausted the emperor's last bit of patience, leaving her alone in the palace. Yang Fujin then found him new women, all beautiful and bold from the common people, who pleased him greatly.
"Once the ship is repaired, I will take you all on a river cruise!" Wine flowed from the luminous cup and landed on the man's fair and thin chest. A dancer licked it, which made the king laugh. He then hugged the beauty and kissed her on the face.
Yang Fujin was reviewing memorials in the imperial study when a young eunuch came over and conveyed the emperor's decree: "The emperor is somewhat drunk and unable to handle state affairs. Please trouble your father."
Yang Fujin looked at the mountain of memorials on the table, but he did not feel tired. Since Li Muyun's death, as long as he sat on the dragon throne that only the emperor could sit on, he felt an indescribable satisfaction and pleasure.
He sat on the emperor's throne, exercising the emperor's power. The Li royal family was reduced to a mere puppet. From now on, he was the true ruler of the land.
But when he thought of Lu Chang, who was in Lingnan, his already narrow eyes became even more gloomy.
He actually had the ability to destroy the Feng family and become the number one person in Lingnan. Such ability is already a great threat.
But now, despite being ordered to return to Pingdu several times, he has defied the imperial decree and disregarded the lives of the Gao clan.
This stance of wanting to break ties with the imperial court has given them a pretext to criticize it!
When he attended court again, Yang Fujin used Lu Chang's disobedience as an excuse to send troops to Lingnan. His henchmen, having already received his instructions, all petitioned for permission.
"Is it going to be war again?" The emperor only knew that the officials from this barbaric land did not come to Pingdu to report on their duties, but he never thought that war was going to break out.
The officials standing below were filled with righteous indignation. They reported to the emperor that Lu Chang was amassing military power and defying imperial orders, clearly intending to become a traitor. If they did not send troops now, things would become even more troublesome once Lu Chang gained more power!
The emperor, who was always afraid to listen to government affairs, was surprisingly clear-headed today, posing a question that left everyone speechless: "Isn't war the most expensive thing? Is there any money left in the national treasury?"
The emperor raised this question for a reason. After all, he had recently said that he wanted to sail on the Li River, and some ministers advised against it, saying that it would be a waste of resources and manpower, and that the national treasury was now empty and unable to support such a massive project!
How come he has no money when he travels by boat, but has money when a war breaks out?
The emperor couldn't recall who the minister who said the national treasury was. To be honest, he didn't know the names of many of the ministers standing below him. Some of them had become familiar faces, but then suddenly disappeared.
Unbeknownst to him, the relatively loyal official was imprisoned in Dali Temple for embezzlement and bribery after uttering words like "the national treasury is empty." The official committed suicide, and his entire clan was exiled.
This is no big deal anymore; it's just an ordinary matter.
Every official, high or low, in Pingdu knew of Yang Fujin's methods. Countless loyal ministers of the Great Wei Dynasty had their souls wandering in the Dali Temple!
Upon hearing the emperor's words, everyone in the hall looked at each other in bewilderment, especially the Vice Minister of Revenue, whose mouth was agape and who couldn't utter a single word.
Yang Fujin gently explained from the side: "When local troops go to war, the local governments are responsible for their own food and pay, so the imperial court does not need to pay. Therefore, the national treasury is not affected."
The emperor gave a knowing "Oh," as long as the national treasury's money wasn't spent. If the national treasury was emptied, and he wanted to do something bigger, someone would whisper in his ear about the empty treasury.
But these words could only deceive those on the dragon throne; all the officials bowed their heads, concealing the mockery on their lips.
War is expensive, and the imperial court doesn't provide funds or supplies. Who would listen to them? Who would be willing to risk their lives? If someone could afford to fight a war themselves, such a loyal fool would have been killed long ago!
"Then who will you send to fight? You?" The emperor casually pointed downwards, startling his ministers who retreated hastily, shaking their heads in panic: "No, no, no!"
Yang Fujin gave a signal with his eyes, and Prime Minister Qin stepped forward. He said, "Jianchuan is separated from Lingnan by only one mountain. The land is rich and has 30,000 soldiers. Military Governor Yuan Qifeng is skilled in battle, and taking down Lu Chang will not be a problem."
The emperor grew impatient: "Fine, let Yuan... Yuan that thing go and fight it." He beckoned and ordered Yang Fujin to quickly write the imperial edict.
"If there's nothing else, then the court is adjourned!" The emperor was practically sitting up, and the ministers knew that today was just a show, so once the decision was made, they naturally wouldn't say anything more.
So, before the eunuch's shout of "Dismiss the court!" had even finished, and before the ministers had even begun to respectfully see His Majesty off, the Emperor had vanished without a trace.
His ability to appear in court once a month was already a great achievement. He only wished he could leave everything to his father, sparing him the trouble of getting up early for court.
When the henchmen went to the Hall of State Affairs to discuss military and political affairs, the emperor raised the question of whether the funds and provisions were sufficient.
Yang Fujin did not think it was a difficult task: "Add poll tax and land tax to various places, and every official must pay the full amount of taxes upon taking office!"
We can't afford to fight a war ourselves, so we have to squeeze money out of the people!
"The matter of sailing away from the water..." An official was troubled. Building dikes and diverting water from the water required money and grain, and now there was going to be a war... So the matter of building dikes should be postponed.
An official standing nearby gently tapped him with his hand, a subtle hint that made the official realize his mistake: "It was my slip of the tongue!"
Yang Fujin took a sip of tea, and his complexion improved.
Unfortunately, Jianchuan refused to send troops as soon as he received the imperial edict, citing insufficient funds and provisions, clearly intending to ask for more money.
Yang Fujin looked at the "500,000 taels of silver" written on the memorial and realized that Jianchuan was making an exorbitant demand. He was rarely angry, so he slammed his palm heavily on the imperial table.
The memorial was not written by Yuan Qifeng, but by Cui Lang, the governor of Jianchuan.
Yuan Qifeng held military power, but Jianchuan's financial and political power was in Cui Lang's hands. If Jianchuan wanted to send troops, it had to ask Cui Lang for grain and money, which Cui Lang naturally did not have, so he went to the imperial court.
If the imperial court cannot allocate 500,000 taels of silver, Jianchuan will not send troops!
At the moment when Yang Fujin was furious, the Cui father and son were sitting in their study, discussing what to do next.
Cui Lang still had reservations about the 500,000 taels of silver: "Isn't that too much?"
Cui Dongchi sneered. Yang Fujin had controlled the government for so many years. How much money had the officials and businessmen below him given him? What was a mere 500,000 taels?
"We have to push them harder! Father, we're just adding fuel to the fire for this corrupt empire!"
Cui Lang knew his son's intention, but thinking of the innocent people suffering the most, he couldn't help but sigh: "When the world rises or falls, the people all suffer."
Cui Dongchi knew his father was benevolent, but in chaotic times, benevolence alone was not enough. The Great Wei was rotten to the core. If things continued to be allowed to continue, it would only be another chaotic drama of uprisings, rebellions, and dynastic changes.
The Cui family was simply acting as clear-headed observers, assessing the changing situation and unwilling to be exploited.
Having been in business for over a decade, he was not content to be just a lowly merchant. People say merchants are despicable, but he knew that people are driven by fame and fortune. Money is a mundane thing, yet it can make the devil turn the millstone. With enough money, he could command the world!
Once he became a businessman, he aimed to be the biggest businessman in the world!
After more than a decade of planning, the opportune moment finally arrived. The tamed tiger finally broke free of its cage and took over its own territory; the greedy rat had also developed a voracious appetite, and it had reached the point of devouring itself.
Cui Lang also had concerns: "Although we can use silver to delay the war, Yuan Qifeng is still loyal. What if he sends troops first?"
Cui Dongchi was prepared: "Secretly supporting those refugees from Fengming Mountain is to keep Yuan Qifeng in check. How can Yuan Qifeng leave if the bandits in Jianchuan are not eliminated! Father, it's time to let the refugees from Fengming Mountain come out and have a proper meeting with the Yuan family again!"
He had planned this all along! For so many years, he had been secretly providing them with silver and grain to support them, which allowed them to occupy Fengming Mountain and resist Yuan Qifeng. Otherwise, with the small number of people on the mountain, they would have scattered again in a few months for the sake of survival.
Yuan Qifeng never imagined that the reason Fengming Mountain had remained standing for so many years was because his own superior was backing it up!
Even though the leader, Yi Gong, was loyal to Lu Chang, he was ultimately short-sighted. He only had a few soldiers who fled south with him, yet he dared to call himself the Lu Family Army and defy heaven and earth!
Fortunately, Lu Chang had foresight and did not associate with those refugees on Fengming Mountain; otherwise, how could he have gotten to where he is today!
After discussing it with his father, Cui Dongchi left the study. When he returned to his courtyard, Chunlai was nowhere to be seen.
The servant knew why he frowned as soon as he saw it and quickly stepped forward to explain, "Miss Chunlai has gone to the stables."
Stables? What are you going there for?
The servant continued, "I'll go find the young lady right away." Only then did Cui Dongchi's expression soften.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
