Chapter 514 You poisoned me?
"Your Majesty, I, an old minister, have a different opinion." The Right Pillar of the State was not as optimistic as the Northern Qi Emperor. "Emperor Jing'an is a benevolent monarch. He remembers the kindness shown to him by his sister, a mother of the same mother. Although he fostered Prince Guangling in the Duke's Mansion, he was very close to him and knew his character very well. Even if Emperor Jing'an learned that Northern Qi was stationing troops in the border cities and intended to attack Great Zhou, he would have personally questioned Prince Guangling. Once the uncle and nephew reconciled their accounts, the matter would have become clear. How could he have suspected Prince Zhenbei?"
"Not to mention, the ancestors of the Zhenbei Palace were all loyal and brave, and each of them was very loyal. The Zhenbei Prince lost his most beloved daughter, and for the sake of his entire family and the soldiers who followed him, he endured for more than ten years and only dared to expose the matter when he found the right opportunity. Such a brave general, if given the choice between country and family, would definitely choose the former."
"Emperor Jing'an dared to disobey the order of the previous emperor and transfer the Prince of Zhenbei from his fiefdom to lead his troops to attack Northern Qi. This shows that he is a resolute and decisive emperor who acts with swift resolution and trusts his subordinates."
"I'm afraid no one knows better than Emperor Jing'an how important the Prince of Zhenbei is to the Great Zhou. How could he be easily provoked and develop a rift with the Prince of Zhenbei?"
The Northern Qi Emperor asked, "If I were Emperor Jing'an, I would have great trust in the Prince of Zhenbei and, knowing his importance, I would have dared to use him to attack Northern Qi. But as a minister of the Great Zhou, what would you do?"
The Right Pillar State was speechless.
Because he would unite with other ministers to oppose Emperor Jing'an's reuse of Prince Zhenbei.
He even framed the King of Zhenbei in order to achieve his goal.
Seeing the Right Pillar State's silence, the Northern Qi Emperor slowly approached him and said, "Acting on emotions is a cardinal sin for an emperor. Emperor Jing'an values the Northern Zhen Prince and, despite popular opinion, has spared him. This will only affect his prestige among the court officials and the people, and will undoubtedly lead to civil unrest."
The Great Zhou Dynasty also had few royal heirs, with only Prince Yu and a young prince left.
Prince Yu is very scheming and resourceful.
What's scary about him is that he has no sense of good or evil in his heart and will do anything to achieve his goals.
Emperor Jing'an would never pass the throne to Prince Yu, so how could Prince Yu let it go?
From this perspective, Prince Yu's escape from the secret guards is not a bad thing.
At that time, he would add fuel to the fire and push Prince Yu to usurp the throne, causing the Great Zhou to fall into even greater chaos.
The Right General still felt that this was not appropriate, but the Northern Qi Emperor was too stubborn, so he stopped trying to persuade him: "Your Majesty, before you can find out the Prince of Guangling's true attitude towards the Great Zhou, you should be more cautious of him."
In his opinion, sending Zhao Yi and Shen Qingtan to the fiefdom to meet the King of Zhenbei was a wrong decision. Shen Qingtan should have been left in the capital as a hostage to contain Zhao Yi.
To prevent Zhao Yi from colluding with the Great Zhou to force the emperor to abdicate.
"I understand your concerns," the Northern Qi Emperor said unconcernedly. "If Prince Guangling were a wise man, he wouldn't have joined forces with the Great Zhou to force the emperor to abdicate. After all, he's my only useful son. He's a legitimate heir to the throne. Why would he be accused of patricide and treason?"
The Right Pillar of the State felt that what the Northern Qi Emperor said made some sense.
Zhao Yi joined forces with the Great Zhou to force the emperor to abdicate. If the Great Zhou took advantage of the situation to annex Northern Qi, wouldn't he lose the throne that was within his grasp?
He suggested, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, we should strictly prohibit Prince Guangling from interfering in local politics and military affairs, and we must also prevent the Yuncheng Governor and the Commanding General from being bribed by Prince Guangling."
"These are extraordinary times, and we cannot afford to make any mistakes. To be on the safe side, transfer them and appoint officials you trust to these two important positions to strengthen the control over Prince Guangling."
"In addition, you will dispatch troops to garrison Yuncheng and strengthen the border defenses."
The proposal of the Right Pillar of the State coincided with the idea of the Emperor of Northern Qi, but the Emperor of Northern Qi faced a more difficult problem.
"I'm afraid my health won't last a few more years. To confirm Prince Guangling's attitude towards Northern Qi, I can't proceed slowly any longer. This time, we've alienated Emperor Jing'an from the officials and people of Great Zhou. If we find the right moment, we might be able to conquer Great Zhou. Therefore, the court must be fully prepared." The Northern Qi Emperor frowned. "I wonder if Minister Liu has any method to replenish Northern Qi's treasury and strengthen its military in a short period of time?"
"There's only one solution: increase taxes and conscript troops," the Right Pillar of the State said. "Your Majesty, you're resorting to this desperate measure for the sake of national stability. Only when the country is stable can the people live and work in peace. Now that Northern Qi is facing difficulties, the people are also part of it and should serve the country."
The Northern Qi Emperor thought of Yongqing County: "This is not appropriate. Exploiting the people will only lead to civil unrest."
The Right Pillar of the State knew that the Emperor of Northern Qi was going to send troops against the Great Zhou. If he did not have enough strength, wouldn't he be courting his own destruction?
In the face of national crisis, what do the interests of the people matter?
"After the trade between Northern Qi and Great Zhou, many merchants from Great Zhou came to Northern Qi to do business and made a fortune. You can increase taxes on them to prevent them from using the money they earned from Northern Qi to exploit Great Zhou and use it against Northern Qi. Secondly, under your rule, the people of Northern Qi are well-fed and well-clothed, and every household has surplus grain. A mere 10% increase in taxes won't cause them any serious damage or even starvation."
The Right General knew that the Northern Qi emperor feared an uprising from the people if he exploited them too harshly. He said, "The people of Yongqing County have been exploited by Feng Zhihuan for years, starving them of food and clothing. This has sparked a rebellion. You are not acting for your own selfish desires, but for the people of Northern Qi as a whole. The people will surely understand your suffering. When Northern Qi unites with the Great Zhou, grant amnesty and exempt the people from taxes. They will surely be grateful to you."
"If the people attack you for this, I, an old minister, will bear the blame." Having said this, the Right General knelt on the ground and said with great righteousness, "As long as the Northern Qi state is stable and the world is unified, I am willing to sacrifice my life."
The Emperor of Northern Qi fell into deep thought, pacing back and forth in the hall.
Seeing that the Northern Qi Emperor had not made a decision, the Right General tried to persuade him again: "Your Majesty..."
The Northern Qi Emperor was still worried: "Will increasing taxes by 10% mean that the people won't have enough to eat?"
The Right State General swore, "I guarantee with my life that if we increase taxes by even 20%, not to mention 10%, the people will be able to have enough food and clothing, and we will definitely not see a mob uprising like in Yongqing County."
After a long while, the Northern Qi Emperor relented and said, "I'll leave this matter to you."
The Right Pillar State accepted the order: "I obey your command."
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In the dark cave, Guangning sat on a rock, holding his chin with his hands, staring at the cave entrance without blinking.
Before, Prince Yu was shot by an arrow, had a fever at night, and fell into a coma.
She was extremely frightened, worried that Prince Yu would die here, so she wanted to find some water to cool him down.
But it was very dangerous in the mountains at night, and she didn't dare leave the cave.
While she was hesitating, she vaguely heard the sound of water droplets dripping into the cave. She took a night pearl and walked bravely into the depths of the cave, and unexpectedly found traces of someone living here.
Next to the small puddle, on a few stacked stones, there was a small pottery jar. The bottom of the jar was burnt black, obviously used for cooking. There was also a small pile of unused firewood next to it.
It must have been a while since anyone had been here, as spider silk hung from the mouth of the pottery jar. She cleaned the pottery jar, filled it halfway with water, and came to Prince Yu's side, wet a handkerchief, and placed it on his forehead.
It was not until dawn that Prince Yu's high fever subsided.
She breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against the stone wall next to Prince Yu to rest out of exhaustion.
After waiting for an hour and seeing Prince Yu still not waking up, she took the night pearl and went to the mountains to find some food to fill her stomach.
She didn't dare to go far, fearing that she would not be able to find the way back to the cave, and even more afraid of encountering danger. But there were no wild fruits in the mountains, only mushrooms.
The mushrooms are brightly colored and very beautiful.
She carefully carried the mushrooms back to the cave and cooked a pot of delicious mushroom soup. Then, she washed a leaf, rolled it into a funnel shape, and used it as a spoon to scoop up the soup for Prince Yu to drink.
"Although I'm not favored in the palace, I've never taken care of anyone before. This is the first time I've taken care of someone. Please give me some face and wake up quickly."
Sure enough, Prince Yu drank the mushroom soup and woke up to give her face.
Before she could be happy, Prince Yu shot her a sharp look and said, "You poisoned me?"
She was stunned and speechless: "I...I didn't, I just fed you mushroom soup."
Prince Yu glanced at the pottery jar beside him, and the veins on his forehead throbbed.
The next moment, he fell to the ground again and fainted.
She saw an expression of shock and helplessness on Prince Yu's face, as if he was a man who was so powerful and invincible in the court, but he had failed in a small ditch like her.
It was not until this time that she realized that the mushrooms were poisonous. She hurriedly induced vomiting in Prince Yu and fed him ground water before she was able to save him.
From then on, Prince Yu went out to find food on his own.
She was afraid that Prince Yu would abandon her, so she followed him silently.
Prince Yu acquiesced to her behavior.
Until she sprained her ankle yesterday.
Today, Prince Yu went out to contact his subordinates and left her in the cave.
Guangning looked down at her swollen ankle and sighed softly, hoping that Prince Yu would not abandon her.
After all, people like Prince Yu only care about interests, not gratitude.
As time passed, Guangning's uneasiness gradually spread.
Just as she was about to get up, she heard footsteps outside the cave and looked towards the cave entrance in surprise.
When Guangning saw who was coming, his expression suddenly changed.
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