Volume 1 Chapter 209 The Cowardly Wan Hou
"Admiral Yuan, are you willing to follow me and create a peaceful and prosperous world with me?"
Yuan Zimo was stunned when he heard this. How could he be forgiven after committing such a rebellion?
He asked in disbelief: "Your Majesty, can I really survive?"
Xiang Yun said loudly: "Whether I can survive depends on you. This prosperous era cannot be created by my own strength!
What I need are talents, those who are good at fighting and governing the world. What do you think you can do for me?"
Yuan Zimo fell into deep thought after hearing this, and soon said: "I have been a soldier all my life, and I have not read much, but what I have read is the art of war. In terms of marching and fighting, I can't say that I can compare with the powerful generals under the emperor, but I am always better than ordinary generals."
Then Yuan Zimo bowed to Xiang Yun and said, "I am willing to lead the troops to fight on the battlefield for your majesty. I only wish to die on the battlefield to create a prosperous era!"
Xiang Yun nodded in satisfaction and said loudly: "Okay, Yuan Zimo, follow my orders!"
"I am here!"
"I appoint you as a third-rank general. You must report to the Fire Cloud Army from today!"
"Thank you very much, Your Majesty, for your gift!"
Xiang Yun added: "As for the hundreds of thousands of soldiers under your command, you should go there in person. If they are willing to give up their evil ways and surrender to the imperial court, I will forgive them. If they insist on going their own way and refuse to change their ways, do you think I need to do it myself?"
Yuan Zimo's heart trembled, and he immediately cupped his hands and said, "I understand, Your Majesty, please rest assured!"
"Yeah!" Xiang Yun agreed, and then Yuan Zimo turned around and retreated. He was panic-stricken when he came, and he walked with his head held high when he left. His mood was completely turned upside down, and at the same time, he had faith in his heart!
Looking at Yuan Zimo's departing figure, Xiang Yun thought to himself: "This kind of guy, although his character is not very good, he still has some ability to fight. He can be used just barely. The most important thing is to use him as a chess piece and example to the rebel kings in the world to see the kindness of the current emperor!"
Now that the situation is pacified everywhere, only the rebel kings within the dynasty are still making trouble. I wonder what the battle situation is like for Wu Guotao and Guo Xuan. Have they encountered big troubles like Xuanyuan Dabing?
The two generals were away on the expedition, and the Anbu did not receive timely news, which was a bit uncomfortable.
After thinking for a while, Xiang Yun suddenly remembered that Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty did a small thing before the founding of the country, which won the hearts of the people all over the world. Now he could just follow suit and defeat the enemy without fighting.
After making up his mind, he asked Xiao Guazi to call over the Minister of Revenue, Wan Hou.
Wan Hou has been feeling very anxious these past two days, wondering when to go to the emperor to talk about exempting taxes for one year, but he always hesitated to do so for fear of being scolded.
Add to that the incident with General Wei and the Inspectorate, the Emperor must be furious these days, and he doesn't dare to come and mention anything. By then, won't all the anger be vented on him?
You know, the emperor was famous for not liking others to block his political views.
I didn't expect to be summoned by the emperor today. Wan Hou thought about it and decided that he had to tell this matter, otherwise the financial problems of the Ministry of Revenue would be in trouble sooner or later. So he might as well die.
So Wan Hou came here today holding the expense account book of the Ministry of Revenue. Seeing his behavior, Xiao Guazi, who was leading the way in front, couldn't help but secretly shook his head in his heart: "Ah~ Another idiot who comes here to get scolded."
Sure enough, when Wan Hou walked into the imperial study room holding a pile of thick account books, Xiang Yun was stunned and immediately scolded: "What are you doing? Are you moving here? Are you using my imperial study room as your Ministry of Revenue's study room?"
Wan Hou was ashamed. He was already nervous, and now he was scolded by Xiang Yun. He was so scared that he trembled with fear. He accidentally dropped several heavy account books in his arms onto the floor of the imperial study.
Wan Hou quickly bent down to pick them up, but the number of account books was too large and thick for him to sort them out in a short time. He was afraid that Xiang Yun would get angry again, so he had no choice but to pick up one or two in his hand, and then quickly replied: "Your Majesty, these are the account books of the Ministry of Revenue. This..."
Xiang Yun's face was extremely gloomy at this moment. How could this cowardly guy control a place as big as the Ministry of Household Affairs with so many people? What a bastard!
Xiang Yun hated this kind of person the most, so he lost his temper with him and scolded him, "I am not blind, so I know what they are. But why did you move them to the imperial study? Are you asking me to manage your accounts?"
"No, no!" Wan Hou quickly knelt down with the account book and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report!"
Then Wan Hou quickly opened an account book and turned to the last page, where he wrote down the balance of the Ministry of Revenue. He then handed the account book to Xiang Yun's jade desk and said timidly, "Your Majesty, please look, the Ministry of Revenue has no more silver. If there is no more tax revenue, I'm afraid the finances of the entire dynasty will collapse."
"I have no choice but to act like this. I hope Your Majesty will punish me. I can die, but the finances of the Great Sun Dynasty cannot collapse. I hope Your Majesty will think twice about exempting the dynasty from taxes for one year!"
These words made Xiang Yun feel very confused. Why did you come here to seek death? Is it so easy to lose your head when you work under me?
However, Xiang Yun now admires this guy a little. Although he is a little timid, he is a man who can and is willing to do things. He is loyal to his duties and dares to refute his political views for the Ministry of Revenue. This is quite good.
As for the financial issues mentioned by Wan Hou, Xiang Yun automatically ignored them. As the emperor, no one knew better than him how many soldiers were in the Ministry of War, how many officials were in the Ministry of Personnel, and how much money was in the Ministry of Revenue.
The money was almost gone, but someone would soon come with money to replenish it, so he was not worried at all.
Xiang Yun thought for a moment and then stood up and walked in front of Wan Hou. He lowered his head and asked, "Are you afraid of me?"
"Ah~? No, no!" Wan Hou said hurriedly.
Xiang Yun immediately shouted, "Then stand up for me and stop trembling like that!"
Upon hearing this, Wan Hou immediately got up from the ground, forced himself to calm down, then lowered his head timidly, not daring to look Xiang Yun in the eye.
Xiang Yun thought about it and decided not to pursue the matter any further. It was not easy to find someone who could get things done in this era, so he patted him on the shoulder and said, "You don't have to be so timid when working under me. For things like financial issues, you can just submit a memorial in the future, and there's no need to go to this."
"As long as you abide by the law, don't commit crimes, or take bribes, no one can touch your head, understand?"
Wan Hou was deeply moved by Xiang Yun's heartfelt words, and he was no longer as scared as before, so he replied, "Yes, yes, I understand, but the money from the Ministry of Revenue."
"Don't worry about this matter. Just wait patiently in the Ministry of Revenue."
Xiang Yun then sat back on the dragon throne and said loudly, "I called you here today because I have an important task for you to do!"
Wan Hou wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, bowed and said, "I am here!"
Xiang Yun asked, "I wonder how long it has been since the Great Sun Dynasty issued an imperial calendar to the people?"
"This..." Wan Hou was startled. After knowing what Xiang Yun meant, he couldn't help but get a little excited and said quickly, "Your Majesty, there has been no new imperial calendar for five years. In the past five years, the farming seasons of the people have been judged by the many years of experience of the elders."
Xiang Yun nodded and continued, "The lives of ordinary people are difficult nowadays. It would be too unreasonable if there is not even an accurate imperial calendar."
"When you return, immediately organize the Ministry of Revenue to print a new calendar for me. It should not only include astronomy, weather, and seasons, but also include some caring words to make people feel comfortable. I don't need to teach you these.
Bring it to me immediately after it is made. Once it is confirmed, print it in batches and distribute it free of charge to all households registered in the Ministry of Revenue. Each household will get one copy of the calendar. No more, no less. Do you understand?"
"I obey your order!" Then Wan Hou said with some embarrassment: "Your Majesty, this is one share for each household. The Ministry of Revenue does not have enough money."
"Hey~" Xiang Yun said unhappily, "Just print the imperial calendar, you won't be short of money. Remember, one copy per household, and send it to all parts of the Great Sun Dynasty, even to the territories of those rebel kings. If they try to stop us, we'll return immediately, but we'll make sure to send the news to the local people!"
Wan Hou had no choice but to nod in agreement, then slowly picked up the scattered account books on the ground and prepared to leave.
Xiang Yun looked at his back, thought for a moment, and then shouted, "Stop!"
Wan Hou was stunned for a moment, then slowly turned around and asked in a low voice: "Your Majesty, do you have any other instructions?"
"Although you are the Minister of Revenue, I don't like your gentle and refined appearance. You are too weak. After you finish handling the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue, don't go home. Go directly to the military camp outside the capital to find the Cavalry General and ask him to arrange for you to join the army for training!"
"Train up your courage and physique for me, understand? You look like a real sissy now!"
Wan Hou was ashamed and complained in his heart, but the emperor had already spoken, so he had to do as he was told. He quickly agreed and left in a hurry.
After watching him leave, Xiang Yun slumped down on the dragon throne, muttering, "Everything is ready except for the east wind. The rest will take time to perfect and repair the Great Sun Dynasty. I have nothing to do now!"
Then he laughed out loud again, and when he thought of how Wan Hou was afraid of him just now, he felt extremely relieved.
Logically speaking, I am several years younger than Wan Hou, but now, I only need a glance to scare the shit out of this older person!
This is very different from when I first ascended the throne. I still remember that officials, big and small, did not take me seriously at that time and thought I was just a little kid. But now, it's different!
He had earned the reputation of the emperor by force and killing his way into the world. No one in the world dared to look down on him anymore. Even few people could remain calm and confident in front of him!
Just when Xiang Yun was feeling proud, suddenly a dark shadow appeared in the imperial study and knelt down in front of him. It was none other than Tang Shui from the Anbu.
He just said, "Your Majesty, the Sima family and the Murong family completely disappeared last night. The five generations of direct descendants are all dead, and the remaining side branches are nowhere to be found."
Xiang Yun nodded in satisfaction when he heard that. The money had just been delivered after Marquis Wan left, so Xiang Yun was really not worried about the financial problem at all. Now he just needed to arrange someone to take over the property of the two families.
Then Xiang Yun asked: "Among the rebel kings who are still alive in various parts of the dynasty, which ones have good personalities and are likely to be loyal to me?"
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