Yan Liangze and the other three were immediately stunned.
I haven't even had a sip of tea, and you're sending me away without saying a word about business?
But Fu Xiaoguan had already stood up and said embarrassedly: "I should have treated Brother Yan to a meal, but three hundred thousand taels of silver is so heavy that it makes me breathless. I can only do it another day. Brother Yan, please bear with me. Goodbye, take care. I won't see you off!"
…
…
"Bang……!"
As soon as he entered the inn, Yan Liangze could no longer bear it. He smashed a glass cup fiercely. His face turned red with excitement, and even his facial features began to distort with anger.
"Fu Xiaoguan! He's going too far!"
Bian Muyu took a deep breath, his expression also gloomy and terrifying.
"Your Highness, a gentleman's revenge is never too late! I am fully aware of the anger in your heart, but the current situation is not the time to be angry."
"I won't talk about it anymore!"
"... Let's not talk about how to report back to His Majesty?"
"I don't believe Yu Wentian dares to fight again!"
"Your Highness, there is no need to fight Yu Wentian anymore. As long as he occupies the hillock and sets up the red cannons on the city wall, His Majesty will not forgive Your Highness."
"What have I done wrong? The battle was going on at the front, and I was directing the movement. How could I have delayed the delivery of food and supplies to the front? It's easy to find a pretext to accuse someone. This is the accusation that the old villain Meng Chi has instigated his followers to bring against me!"
Bian Muyu was silent for a moment. Meng Chi was the prime minister of Yi State, and his daughter Meng Xiyao was His Majesty's Consort Xian, the mother of the second prince Yan Yunshan.
This was essentially a factional dispute. Originally, it was Meng Chi who single-handedly recommended the Second Prince to come on this diplomatic mission to the Yu Dynasty, and it was he and his colleagues in the Council of State who worked together to arrange this assignment for the Crown Prince.
I originally thought it was a very simple matter, but I didn't expect that Fu Xiaoguan, who was supposed to be dead, would show up halfway!
"Your Highness, given the current situation, we can only advance and cannot retreat."
Yan Liangze finally calmed down and took a deep breath. "Official Fu is blatantly demanding a bribe. If you want to curry favor with him, you'll have to pay him another 300,000 taels of silver."
"When Your Highness ascends the throne, what will these three hundred thousand taels of silver mean to you?"
Bian Rong'er lowered her head and whispered, "It seems that it will be quite difficult to lure him to Hongxiuzhao... I heard that Fu Xiaoguan is a bit attractive, and I am still quite pretty. Why not... let me take this silver and go see him? As long as he agrees to go to Hongxiuzhao, I think it would be worth using 300,000 taels of silver to buy Fu Xiaoguan's life."
Bian Muyu frowned, "Do you know that if you go there this time, you will probably not be able to escape the clutches of Fu Xiaoguan!"
Bian Rong'er was silent for a long time, then nodded, "For the sake of His Highness's great cause, Rong'er will have no regrets even if...!"
…
…
Fu Xiaoguan got up early the next morning. After some exercise, he took Su Jue and half a carriage full of five thousand taels of gold to the palace.
He did not attend the morning court, but went directly to the harem to meet Eunuch Nian, and then followed Eunuch Nian to Dieyi Palace.
When Queen Shang looked at the two large boxes of glittering gold, she was stunned for a moment, "Where did they rob?"
"My dear mother-in-law, this can be considered robbery. It's like this..."
Fu Xiaoguan explained to Empress Shang what happened last night in detail, and finally said, "I think I got this by relying on the power of my father-in-law and mother-in-law. Although I am short of money now, I must give my filial piety to my father-in-law and mother-in-law."
Empress Shang laughed. "Hearing what you said, I was originally thinking of not taking advantage of you... But since it is such a filial gesture, I will gladly accept it..."
"Eunuch Nian, please put these two boxes of gold into the imperial treasury and record their origin as a filial gift from this virtuous son-in-law."
"I obey your command!"
Eunuch Nian left with two boxes of gold, and Fu Xiaoguan suddenly felt empty in his heart.
"Why, you can't bear to leave?"
"Ah, there's no reason to be reluctant about this!"
"Sit down and talk to me."
Fu Xiaoguan sat politely across from Empress Shang. Empress Shang made some tea and said, "There's something I need to tell you... According to the news from Desolate Country reported back by Xiyu Tower, Tuoba Feng has completely dismantled the Eight Banners, concentrating all power in his own hands and establishing a formidable army called 'Heavenly Blade', numbering 400,000 men."
"This is very bad news. It means Tuoba Feng is very likely to make a desperate move south. The northern border troops lost nearly 100,000 men in the Battle of Pingling Mountain, and their forces have yet to be replenished. If the barbarians really march south at this time... I'm worried that even if Peng Chengwu led his troops to Yanshan Pass, he would be unable to stop the barbarians' cavalry."
Fu Xiaoguan frowned. This Tuoba Feng was indeed a character. When he threatened him at that time, it only stimulated him to concentrate all the power. It seemed that he had to let the magic sword go out to weeds at any time.
The new policy of the Yu Dynasty has just been implemented, and there is a lot of work to be done. Even if the northern border troops are recruiting soldiers now, it will take a long time to train the new recruits. What is more important is that Fu Xiaoguan is very clear that the treasury of the Yu Dynasty is empty, and it is not something that can be solved with just a few thousand taels of gold.
Empress Shang poured a cup of tea for Fu Xiaoguan and said slowly, "Your Majesty was a little shallow. He only asked you for 30,000 flintlock rifles. This is far from enough, so..."
Queen Shang looked up at Fu Xiaoguan, and Fu Xiaoguan's heart trembled: Is this how you two are trying to trick your son-in-law?
As expected, Queen Shang smiled and said, "We are all family, so as your mother-in-law, I won't be polite to you. This is all for the sake of Dayu, right?"
"Please tell me the quantity, mother-in-law!"
"I like your ability to consider the overall situation."
A hat of considering the overall situation was placed on Fu Xiaoguan's head, and Empress Shang spoke again, "One hundred thousand, you have to ask the Xishan Firearms Bureau to produce more, just in case!"
Fu Xiaoguan's eyes widened. One hundred thousand swords... one sword costs thirty taels, which is exactly three hundred thousand taels of silver - could it be that there are spies from Xiyu Tower in my house?
"Don't be sad. Your child will be born on the land of the Yu Dynasty. You don't want your child to be born into a world of war and devastation, do you?"
This...I can't seem to convince my mother-in-law!
"It's not that I'm reluctant to give them away, but our production capacity is limited. We can only produce 3,000 per month at most. I can only say that all the monthly production is sent to the eastern border troops."
"My son Wenyun was right about you!"
Fu Xiaoguan drank the tea in the cup in one gulp. Three hundred thousand taels of silver were gone, so he had to drink a sip of the tea to get it back.
"Mother-in-law, I have some business to attend to at the Ministry of Commerce, so I'll take my leave now!"
"Well, business is important. Go ahead."
Fu Xiaoguan ran away, but then Queen Shang said again, "My dear son-in-law, please remember to bring Wen Yun back to visit me and His Majesty often."
Fu Xiaoguan staggered and fled in panic.
She... is going too far!
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