November 8th, the second year of Tiande.
On this day, Emperor Dezong of the Wu Dynasty, Fu Xiaoguan, selected over 300 young men from the current imperial examination. Dozens of them were appointed as county magistrates, to take up their posts immediately. The rest were retained by the central government, instructed to learn in various departments, and were called upon to serve as reserve cadres.
On the same day, in the imperial study of the Yu Dynasty, Emperor Yuan Yu Wendao said that he wanted to dismiss a group of officials.
The news has come that Fu Xiaoguan will go to sea in February next year, and Zhou Tongtong's family has also arrived in Jinling City as scheduled, so the Spring Thunder Plan will be officially launched.
The Yu Dynasty will mobilize a large number of troops. The movement of troops may be concealed from many people, but the allocation of food and grass must be approved by the Ministry of Revenue. However, the Minister of Revenue is Dong Kangping, the father-in-law of Fu Xiaoguan!
This is a major plan that concerns the fate of the country, and there must be absolutely no mistakes in this plan!
In this plan, it is necessary to defeat the Wu Dynasty's army in one fell swoop, seize the gold mountain hidden under the Zhaixing Terrace that originally belonged to the Yu Dynasty, and block the rapid development of the Wu Dynasty. If Fu Xiaoguan can be killed at sea, it will be even more perfect.
On the seventh day of the first lunar month next year, he will secretly set off for Wofeng Road, where he will meet with the Yi Kingdom Emperor Yan Hanyu and the patriarchs of the Chen, Zhou and Lu families to discuss the war scheduled for March next year and the division of interests after the war.
In the imperial study, Dong Kangping sat quietly as usual.
Today, they were alone, the king and his subject. Yu Wendao brewed a pot of tea, poured a cup for Dong Kangping, and said, "Come to think of it, when I was in Jinling City, I had dinner at your house several times."
"You are a veteran of the Yu Dynasty. Under my father's rule, you were in charge of the Ministry of Revenue. Thanks to your meticulous planning, the Yu Dynasty's economy has experienced tremendous development. You have made an indelible contribution, and I know this very well."
Yu Wendao stood up, lowered his head, and took two steps. "But the current situation... you are well aware of it. The Wu Dynasty is using white salt as a weapon, pressing forward step by step. I don't know how many salt companies in our dynasty have collapsed. If it weren't for the Chen family's arrival... I'm afraid that our dynasty's salt would have been completely controlled by Fu Xiaoguan."
"Originally, our dynasty's silk and porcelain occupied a huge market share in the Wu Dynasty, but now we have completely lost our advantage. Instead, these products produced by the Wu Dynasty have flowed into our country in large quantities because they are sold at a lower price. You all know this."
"So now the Yu Dynasty is also facing reform. If it doesn't, I'm afraid that in the coming years, all the goods on this market will be replaced by those made in the Wu Dynasty."
"I've thought about this for a long time, Minister Dong. Because of that barrier, you and I can't be of the same mind, and it's difficult for us to communicate with each other. Rather than let everyone be unhappy, why don't we just have a happy ending now? What do you think?"
Yu Wendao looked at Dong Kangping. He had expected Dong Kangping to be angry, sad, or even to contradict him. But in his eyes, Dong Kangping was as calm as the water of Xuanwu Lake in autumn.
Dong Kangping merely grinned, "I think your Majesty is right... I will submit my retirement petition tomorrow. May I, Your Majesty, leave Jinling City after I retire?"
Yu Wendao frowned slightly, "The climate in Jinling is much better than Guanyun City. Wouldn't it be better to retire in Jinling?"
"Your Majesty, you must have misunderstood me. I do not intend to go to Guanyun City."
Yu Wen was stunned, "Where are you going?"
"I want to go to Linjiang and Xishan."
Yu Wendao was stunned for a moment, then heard Dong Kangping continue, "In the past, Fu Xiaoguan said that he was a small landowner in Xishan and worked the fields himself. I had this idea at that time. I wanted to have some land after retirement, work and harvest it myself. This way, my life would be more stable. I hope Your Majesty will approve it."
What is this old fox up to?
Yu Wendao couldn't figure it out. He was very familiar with Xishan. After all, he had stayed in Fenglin Mountain for a year.
Now the iron mine in Fenglin Mountain has been taken over by the government, and the firearms bureau there is also under their control.
Many people had left the lower village, and there were many fields there, so he couldn't do anything special there.
"I, it's approved!"
Dong Kangping stood up and bowed, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Dong Kangping left the imperial study. His face looked relaxed, but his heart was heavy.
He did not go to the Ministry of Revenue again, but went straight out of the palace gate, got on the carriage, and returned home.
He was well aware of the gap between him and His Majesty, and he was mentally prepared for this day to come.
Faced with the increasingly empty treasury, he was still thinking about how to save it, until this moment, he gave up completely.
He had some things to do, so he couldn't leave Yu Chao.
It was not convenient for him to stay in Jinling, so he chose to go to Xishan, where there was a Xishan Villa.
Xishan Villa is not far from Linjiang. There is a wine shop called Yu Fu Ji in Linjiang City. There is a shopkeeper who sells wine there. His name is Cai Xi. He is the servant that Xu Yunqing left in Linjiang.
Of course, he went to Xishan not for the wine shop, but to manage the huge amount of stocks that Xu Yunqing had given him some time ago.
Now the stocks of the three major families of Jinling Sitong Money House are rising quietly. When the beginning of next year comes, we will find a suitable time to make these three stocks collapse completely!
Dong Kangping didn't know what Yu Wendao's next plan was. He only knew that Xu Yunqing said he needed to do this. He was very hesitant at first, but now he really wanted to try it - because Xu Yunqing said that a country unified in the hands of Fu Xiaoguan would be more prosperous!
Is this a poison?
If it was poison, Dong Kangping also wanted to try it, because Xu Yunqing had never deceived him before.
…
…
The next day, Dong Kangping, the Minister of Revenue, submitted a petition to retire. After Emperor Yuan repeatedly tried to persuade him to stay, he finally agreed. The emperor and his minister bid farewell to each other reluctantly, and Dong Kangping left the center of power in the Yu Dynasty.
This undoubtedly caused an uproar in the court, but after careful consideration, the ministers felt that this was the natural outcome - Dong Kangping only had the title of Minister of Revenue, and the real power had long been in the hands of Chang Huan, the Assistant Minister of Revenue, at the emperor's instruction.
When Minister Dong retired, Assistant Minister Chang Huan naturally took over and became the new Minister of Revenue of the Yu Dynasty.
That night, Her Royal Highness the Princess left the palace and came to Dong's Mansion.
What she saw was the neatly packed luggage.
"Are you really leaving?"
"You see, staying in Jinling is not a problem."
"Why go to Xishan? Why not go to my Nanshan Villa? Nanshan Villa's business is doing well now. I need a manager. What do you think about going there?"
"Thank you, Your Highness. I will go to Xishan to retire. There is a Xishan Villa there, as well as several acres of fertile land. It's not even the end of the year yet, so next spring I'll go and plant some crops. Life like that will be wonderful."
Princess Yu Shurong sighed deeply, "After you retired today, Yan Shidao and Yan Haochu also went to the Imperial Study... I guess the Emperor will approve it too."
"The Emperor is young after all. In fact, judging from the past two years, he is diligent in his work. Given time, he may be able to open up a brand new situation."
The princess's eyes glared. "You and they are all loyal ministers of the Yu Dynasty. I came here to tell you something..."
"Your Highness, please speak."
"Don't bully the young!"
Dong Kangping bowed politely and said, "Your Majesty, I dare not!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
