Chapter 114: Serving the Country and the People

There are many ways to address a reigning emperor.

When addressing someone in person, one can call him "Your Majesty" to show that the imperial power is unique and his status is extremely respected.

If you want to show your awe, you can call him "Emperor".

If one wants to express one's admiration and flatter someone at the same time, His Majesty is a very good choice.

If they are even more shameless, they will lower themselves to the dust and call the master.

These titles are all used by people, and different people express their loyalty in different ways.

But none of these can compare to a "husband".

Putting aside the false reputation, this represents the most genuine connection and the closeness of interests between each other, it is like marrying a chicken, following the chicken, marrying a dog, following the dog, they are grasshoppers on the same rope, it is a fate that takes a hundred years to be able to ride the same boat, and a thousand years to be able to sleep on the same pillow.

There was no one around, and the word "husband" seemed to bring everything closer.

The new emperor, who was frowning and thinking hard, raised his head. In fact, you didn't need to look at him to know that it was Lin Xiaoyi, because only Lin Xiaoyi dared to call him that now.

However, he still managed a smile on his face, nodded slightly and said, "I do have a headache."

Lin Xiaoyi walked to his side gracefully, bent her body and knelt down, stretched out her still slender and delicate little hand, smoothed the new emperor's tightly furrowed brow, and said in a gentle voice like a handful of cool water in summer, "No matter how busy the affairs of state are, you should pay attention to rest."

There was a hint of bitterness on the new emperor's face, but looking at Lin Xiaoyi, who was gentle, considerate and non-competitive, he really didn't want to vent his anger on her.

After all, she still has an old friend who is a martial arts master, and by the way, she also recognizes Master Ji as her grandfather.

However, the good news is that her parents are long gone, and all her relatives combined cannot have the slightest influence on the court. From this point of view, the queen, who is the mother of the country, really relies on his prestige.

It is truly a case of when one prospers, all prosper; when one suffers, all suffer.

There are many things that are inconvenient to tell to outsiders, but it’s okay to tell her. After all, even if she knows, she can’t interfere in the government at all.

"I would like to take a break. But I can't. Daqing, Dayue, Daqi and Dayong... this time they are serious!" The new emperor pointed at the memorial in front of him, his face gloomy and his voice cold.

The imperial court would naturally also receive the news from Yuzhou.

This time, the four-nation coalition used the lives of tens of thousands of Daqing soldiers as bait to lure the generals guarding the border. The domestic god of war, Zhang Qihang, was greedy for a moment and wanted to accomplish his goal in one battle, but he was directly trapped and caught in a jar!

Of the 100,000 border soldiers of Dayue, only a few thousand escaped in the end! That was not all. The coalition forces of the four countries did not give Zhang Qihan any time to react and pressed forward with their entire army, forcing him to fight for his life at Yuzhou Pass after finally escaping. In the end, he was defeated by the coalition forces and died in the city.

Then the news of the massacre came back. War is fierce and dangerous, and the country is about to fall. This is no exaggeration!

No matter how vast and rich Otsuki was, it could not take on four other countries alone, even at its most powerful.

Not to mention that the territory of Dayue was full of war and rebels! The Huang Dynasty in Yangzhou, the White Lotus Sect in Yuzhou, and Mo Qiu who killed Emperor Zongming and now has no idea where he went. And countless ambitious people whose names are not even worth mentioning, are fighting for their lives on this stage of blood and fire, shining against each other! Putting aside the facts, Dayue does have a sense of beauty with heroes emerging at this time.

The problem is, you are destroying my family business!!! This is my kingdom!

So every time the new emperor received memorials from various places, he would have a headache, and the headache would get worse and worse.

He had indeed succeeded in ascending the throne, but he was no longer able to be like his father, who ignored everything, lived a leisurely life alone, and did not need to attend court.

Emperor Zong Ming has almost brought disaster to this vast country.

In fact, Emperor Zongming was right. A Wanshou Palace was just a few hundred thousand corvées. It was more than ten years of hard work. There were so many people. What was wrong with giving him some consumables? It wouldn't make the big month a loss! The real cause of all this was the rampant growth of powerful and evil gentry and clerks in the people after more than 20 years of not attending court. When the emperor dared to let go of his desires, the people below naturally knew how to follow suit, and they didn't even need a bit of face.

Time and again, with birthday gifts, auspicious offerings, and rare treasures to be plundered, the giants of the past had already been hollowed out of their flesh and blood and began to dig their own graves.

All these things accumulated together turned into a fatal straw, weighing down the Dayue Dynasty bit by bit.

When those common people who don't deserve to be mentioned have contributed everything they can, even their lives, the outcome is already determined.

The Four-Nation Alliance was the last straw that exposed the true face of this huge country.

Mo Qiu's killing of the emperor was like a fire that ignited all the straw and told the world that it was time to declare the end of this country!

At this time, the new emperor who sat on the throne had no time to enjoy the power of ruling the world before he had to face the extremely cold reality.

How difficult it is! The Great Yue Imperial Family can still hold on now, that's because the territory is large enough and the war has not yet come.

Thinking of all this, the new emperor's expression became more bitter. How could the throne that he coveted so much become like this when it came to him?

rest?

Of course he wanted to rest, but how could he rest? The war was a great defeat, and the rebels rose up. How could he sit in peace and have a good rest? "My husband, although the coalition forces of the four countries are unstoppable, we in Dayue may not be unable to deal with it. Can't we temporarily withdraw one or two of the border troops from various places?"

Lin Xiaoyi looked optimistic and immediately came up with a "good idea".

The new emperor glanced at her and thought, how could a woman know anything about war? This is not a child's play!

"The four-nation coalition chose Yuzhou to attack because they had a plan to lure and kill 100,000 border troops, and also because after attacking Yuzhou, they could march straight into Yangzhou. Yangzhou is rich, and once it falls, the tax revenue will be greatly reduced! However, the border troops from various places cannot be mobilized. The four countries only chose Yuzhou as the main attack, and other places are also preparing for battle and ready to go!"

The new emperor said this helplessly. Rather than explaining to Lin Xiaoyi, it was more like he was taking the opportunity to vent his frustration.

The war is not a single-threaded one. Once you choose Yuzhou, you cannot fight anywhere else.

The reason why there is no large-scale battle is just a pretense, in order to delay your border troops from leaving. If there is any withdrawal, the original pretense will immediately become a tiger and wolf, and it may be even worse! "So that's how it is!"

Lin Xiaoyi nodded, not quite understanding, and looked at the new emperor with admiration, and advised again: "Why not recruit civilians, train soldiers, and then send them to Yuzhou to meet the enemy?"

"Recruiting civilians, training soldiers, distributing armor, all of these require money."

The new emperor looked at her with a gloomy gaze. If Dayue still had some extra money, would he have to make it so difficult?

You can't just tear down every brick and tile of the newly built Wanshou Palace and distribute it to the soldiers as military rations and military expenses, right? He wanted to do this, but the soldiers had to be willing to accept it! Now all places need money and food, there is no one who has more or less, only who has more! Now Dayue is trapped in a vicious circle.

Without mobilizing civilians and increasing taxes, we will not be able to deal with the Four-Nation Alliance and local rebels.

However, if the civilians are conscripted and taxes are increased, the forces of anti-bandits in various places will increase greatly. Who knows how many of the conscripted civilians will rise up in protest!

In order to prevent such a situation, we cannot forcibly mobilize civilians to increase taxes, but if we do not increase taxes and mobilize civilians, what will the Four-Nation Alliance do? Does he not want to be elected?

He had no choice! Anyone who sat in his position at this time, could he find a proper way out? He couldn't just join the rebels, pull a stone man from the river, and then just shout "The blue sky is dead, the yellow sky should be established", right?

"So my husband is worried about money!"

Lin Xiaoyi's eyes lit up, and a brilliant expression of "I understand" appeared on her face. She looked like an enthusiastic military advisor and advised again: "In this case, my husband might as well..."

She stretched out her slender, well-maintained white hand, put her four fingers together, slightly bent her thumb, and swung it downwards! The meaning was self-evident.

The new emperor looked at his beautiful wife trying hard to give him advice, and was amused by her appearance.

Although Xiaoyi didn't understand the affairs of the court, her heart was undoubtedly with him.

Although the ideas are all women's opinions, they are sincere and appropriate.

Although it is not feasible, the temperature still remains.

"No, my father has done this once. Now that I have just ascended the throne, although I want to establish my authority, it is not convenient to cause too much killing. Moreover, the outside world is unstable, and it is not easy to make any big moves."

The new emperor shook his head, but did not scold her for being so audacious.

When the crown prince rebelled, Emperor Zong Ming took the opportunity to order the Jinyiwei to kill so many people that heads rolled down and blood flowed like a river. The pig has been slaughtered once!

It is really difficult for those who have not moved yet to move, not to mention that the external situation is extremely bad now. If they play this trick again, someone might become bold and dare to change the world with the help of inside and outside forces.

"This won't work, and that won't work either. So how can we raise the money? We can't just tear down the palace, can we?"

Lin Xiaoyi also frowned, as if she felt the troubles her husband was facing, and even looked a little angry.

Seeing her like this, the new emperor laughed again and said jokingly: "Could it be that you forgot? The palace has already been demolished once!"

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"What?"

Lin Xiaoyi stared, quite confused.

"The courtyard gate of your old friend! Or did you say that you wanted to show my appreciation and insisted on dismantling the door of the Hall of Mental Cultivation and giving it to him as a courtyard gate? Have you forgotten about it?"

The new emperor pretended to be angry, and one of his hands began to wander dishonestly on Lin Xiaoyi's body, pinching her from time to time.

It's so fucking tiring to be a wise ruler. My brain is about to burn out. I should find a way to entertain myself.

"Husband."

Lin Xiaoyi whimpered slightly, held down the new emperor's dishonest hand, and said sincerely: "I'm helping you solve your problems!"

"Who says this isn't solving problems? My queen is so caring, I'm very happy, she deserves some reward. How about giving birth to a son for me?"

The new emperor raised his eyebrows, and the way he looked at her changed.

"Oh, stop making trouble. Xiaoyi has come up with another good idea, which will definitely solve the problem of not having enough money this time!" Lin Xiaoyi clenched her fists and said in an extremely excited tone.

"Oh? Then go ahead."

The new emperor buried his head in his ears, and said in a slightly unclear tone, "I am listening."

"Since it is inconvenient to kill and difficult to collect taxes, how about asking the officials to collect some silver for discussing the crimes?" Lin Xiaoyi gently placed her palm on the back of the new emperor's head and said softly.

The words were spoken softly, but those clear almond-shaped eyes were as deep as the sea.

"Crime silver? What is that?"

The new emperor was startled, but finally he became interested in something else and stuck his head out to ask.

"It's based on the severity of the crime. Money is spent on atonement of sins, and it's used on civil and military officials. It's called crime-discussing silver!" Lin Xiaoyi said seriously.

This is actually not a brilliant idea. If you just spend more time among the people, you will easily know that there is something called "protection fee."

Of course, the situations in different places are different, and the names may be slightly different.

The only thing that is not lacking is local tyrants who want to collect money.

The only difference between protection money and criminal silver is that one is collected from the common people and given to the local tyrants, while the other is collected from civil and military officials and given to the emperor.

"How much money can be collected? Besides, if we continue to collect like this, wouldn't it be telling all officials that they can do evil at will?" The new emperor understood as soon as he heard it and shook his head immediately.

"My husband, even if you don't collect the silver for negotiating the crime, will those officials who want to do evil not do evil? Now that the country is in danger, I have no choice but to resort to this desperate measure. This is Xiaoyi's womanly opinion, and it has nothing to do with you."

Lin Xiaoyi held the new emperor's hand and continued to say in a particularly considerate manner: "As for your statement that the money is not much, that is not necessarily true! Xiaoyi has been walking outside the palace these days, but she has heard that many important officials and old officials in the court have countless mansions and thousands of acres of fertile land in their hometowns!

These people, the husband is not easy to touch, but can be punished. This proposal of criminal silver is not for pleasure, but for national affairs! Even if future generations talk about it, they should be able to understand the husband's difficulties for Dayue, how could anyone dare to criticize it? "

Xiaoyi just started talking and didn't say anything more.

The new emperor stood there in a daze, and his originally frowned brows unconsciously relaxed.

This is exactly what he wants!

After Emperor Zongming passed away, he buried his father first and then ascended the throne. In order not to look too ugly when eating, he even decided to choose a reign title next year. This year can still be called the 37th year of Zongming.

Under the same considerations, he had not yet started the purge of the temple, as many old and important ministers were not suitable to be discarded as soon as they came to power.

Lin Xiaoyi’s proposal gave him great inspiration!

Who says that we must send people to arrest and torture all the officials?

In the name of negotiating the crime silver, let those bastards fight among themselves!

If you don’t give it, you are asking for your innocence and waiting to be impeached!

If you give less, conceal the crime, and then return the crime, it will be even more serious! If you give more, in this time of national crisis, you have contributed money to the country and the people, and it is natural that you are innocent!

Besides, this idea was proposed by Lin Xiaoyi, what does it have to do with him who is so wise and powerful? !

Everything is just for Dayue! It is said that even a wise man will make a mistake, while a fool will gain something. This is true!

Even women can come up with good ideas occasionally!

“Okay, okay!!!”

After saying three good words in a row, the new emperor, inspired by Lin Xiaoyi, seemed to have his Ren and Du meridians opened up, and countless brilliant ideas came to his mind.

Killing Princess Ying was the right thing to do. How could that unruly woman compare to Xiaoyi, who was considerate and caring, and understood the principle of sharing the country's worries? If this method was used well, he might be able to make a fortune and put it into his own treasury! The problems that had been bothering him were solved with this seemingly ordinary method!

My officials, your sins are great.

You need to pay more! (End of this chapter)