50 Farewell Banquet
◎This caused great alarm among the people of the Great Jin◎
"The Empress has arrived!"
Empress Zhang's arrival broke the grand silence in the palace. As soon as she entered the palace, she saw that the emperor's husband had already arrived and she looked dazed and stunned.
She hadn't seen such an expression in a long time, so she joked, "Did I come at the wrong time?" The atmosphere in the hall became a little more relaxed because of the Empress.
Wei Xin was very good at reading people's expressions and had the best personal relationship with the Empress, so he was the first to speak out from his daze, "No, Your Majesty, your arrival is probably just in time."
"Oh?" The Empress looked at Sima Hong. His expression remained unchanged, as always, aloof and unreadable. As for Gao Yi, that old fox, he actually looked stunned.
She knew that the emperor was currently having a headache over taxation. It was clear that the famine could not be resolved in a short time. Disaster relief in various regions required money, suppressing the endless stream of small bandits also required money, building palaces required money, and military pay required money. A country as large as a person cannot move an inch without money.
Chu Pei still trusted his wife, and he could clearly distinguish the Zhang family as his staunch followers. So he did not hide anything and said, "Xiuyuan has proposed a plan today that can solve the problem of tax collection."
He deliberately kept everyone in suspense until he reached Empress Zhang's side and said, "The salt and iron are state-run."
"Hahaha, great, great!" He thought his wife would be as shocked as he was upon hearing this, but to his surprise, she laughed a few times and exclaimed, "It's indeed a good idea! No wonder you're from the Sima family!"
Chu Pei was surprised that his wife actually agreed with this, which made him, the emperor, seem timid and cowardly.
Not wanting to lose out to his wife's assertiveness, he also feigned a tone of fervent praise, "That's right, I also think this plan is brilliant, hahaha..."
"However, I believe this move is too radical and may be opposed by nobles and ministers. The world has just been at peace, and I believe this plan is not conducive to the stability of the Great Jin."
I thought the first person to object would be the conservative Left Minister Gao Yi, but I didn't expect that the first person to stand up and object would be Wei Xin.
Sima Hong looked at him and Gao Yi, who had regained his composure. He hadn't expected that in this life, the first to stand up against him would be Wei Xin, one of the founding heroes. It was both expected and unexpected.
Wei Xin is indeed right. Currently, the salt and iron industries are controlled by most of the powerful and influential princes and nobles. If the emperor were to take back the power to manage the salt and iron industries, it would certainly affect the wealth of the princes and nobles. How could they not have ulterior motives?
In his previous life, he only proposed it after the Great Jin Dynasty had been in a stable transition for fifteen years. But by then, he felt it was too late. If the state monopoly on salt and iron had been established earlier, the Prince Yi and the Guo family would not have had the strength to contend with the imperial court.
That's why he proposed it at this moment. It was indeed risky, but high risk also meant high investment, and the national treasury was empty at this time. He was certain that the emperor and empress would agree, because they had reached a point where they had no choice but to agree...
Wei Xin's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Emperor Jin Yuan's head. He had just been infected by the Empress's imposing manner and his heart was filled with excitement. Now, after listening to Wei Xin's words and calming down, he secretly shivered.
He had only been sitting on the throne for three years. If he offended the princes and nobles by taking back the power to manage salt and iron, they would rise up against him and cause him a lot of trouble.
Emperor Yuan of Jin was a very intelligent man. He looked at Gao Yi, the only one present who had not spoken, and asked him, "Why is Minister Gao not speaking?"
Gao Yi said, “I think that the state monopoly on salt and iron is a very good proposal. If the benefits of these two projects are returned to the court, it will not only solve the problem of the empty national treasury, but also weaken the power of the princes. It is indeed a win-win situation. However, in order to implement this matter, we still need to plan and strategize carefully. It is better to proceed slowly than hastily.”
In short, the method is good, but difficult to implement.
Although the Emperor, Empress, and Wei Xin were unaware of each other's thoughts, they all tacitly agreed on Gao Yi's character: a cunning old fox.
As for Sima Hong, he knew all along that implementing state monopoly on salt and iron would not be easy, but no matter how difficult it was, this path had to be followed. He wanted to achieve what his grandfather had failed to do!
"Xiuyuan, you have quite the spirit. You should know how many people will find trouble and resentment in the face of what you've brought up today."
"I only know that the state monopoly on salt and iron is the general trend of the world."
Empress Zhang looked at Sima Hong with admiration. He had courage, strategy, and depth. It was a blessing for the Great Jin Dynasty to have such a minister, and even more so for her and her husband. She glanced at the other two and said, "Please do not spread today's events for the time being."
Chu Pei understood what Sima Hong's words meant to Sima Hong, and what they meant to him as the emperor. He straightened his expression and agreed with his wife, "That's right, my two ministers should keep their mouths shut, hmm?"
“Your subject understands,” Gao Yi said.
"Your subject understands," Wei Xin said.
Emperor Yuan of Jin sat back on his dragon throne and asked, "By the way, A-Ling, did you come here today for some business?"
Empress Zhang then remembered and said, "The Xiongnu are about to leave, but we can't let them go back like this."
"Those green-eyed Huns, let's get rid of them as soon as possible." Chu Pei felt a pang of heartache thinking about the things he had given to the Huns. Of course, he wouldn't show it, after all, he was now the ruler of a country. If he showed his heartache for these things, he would inevitably be ridiculed by the world. He just wanted to get rid of these Huns as soon as possible and avoid seeing them.
"The Xiongnu came with ill intentions. We cannot let them go back so easily, otherwise they may do it again and again, and all the things we sent will be in vain."
"The Empress means..."
"Give them a big gift before they leave."
Empress Zhang told the Emperor her idea, and the Emperor immediately slammed his fist on the table, "Ah Ling, Ah Ling, you really know how to come up with ideas! I've been wanting to take a liking to those little Xiongnu bastards for a long time, this is a good opportunity to put their arrogance to a halt." Chu Pei couldn't help but reveal his previous bandit-like manner, but fortunately, everyone present was used to it and kept their eyes down, pretending not to notice.
"Actually, these weren't my ideas. It was Qi Gu, who grew up with Jiao Lu. She not only offered me this plan, but also persuaded Jiao Lu to learn the Xiongnu language and customs."
Empress Zhang would naturally not take credit for her daughter's achievements. Besides, the more glory Qi Gu received, the happier she, as her mother, would be.
As expected, Emperor Jin Yuan was very pleased to hear this. He hadn't expected his daughter, who had been living away from home, to have such vision and perspective. He couldn't help but feel proud that Chu Pei's child was truly outstanding!
"Good, good! Our daughter is excellent, she deserves a generous reward!"
Sima Hong's indifferent eyes flashed with a strange light. The reborn Qi Gu was completely different from the one in her previous life. He couldn't tell for a moment whether the one in the previous life was real or the one in this life was real.
He recalled the joyful day she resolved to sever all ties with him, only to be met with his brother's complete lack of lingering affection, and a strange feeling stirred within him...
Helande learned that the Empress of the Great Jin Dynasty was going to hold a grand farewell ceremony for them, and because of the farewell banquet, their return to the Xiongnu was postponed.
Helande and the others had no objection to leaving Chang'an late at night. After all, Chang'an was many times more prosperous than the Xiongnu. It would be great if they could stay in Chang'an forever.
"Could the Great Jin be plotting something?" the accompanying official asked Heland with suspicion.
Heland said, "I doubt they would dare to use any tricks. The Great Jin Dynasty is not willing to start a war right now."
"That makes sense. After all, they've all married their princesses to the Xiongnu, so a banquet can't really do much."
"Hmph, you don't know the news from the palace yet, do you? This princess who is about to marry into the Xiongnu is not the emperor and empress's biological child. The real princess is someone else."
The official said, "The Great Jin actually deceived us like this." But after thinking for a moment, he added, "But that's not right. Didn't they also bestow the title of Princess Jiaolu upon her as the Eldest Princess? The honor of being the Eldest Princess is not something that a mere fake princess can enjoy."
“It’s just a nominal title of princess.” Heland’s azure eyes were like the bottomless sea. He said, “Since they’ve switched the items, we should return the favor. Have Alunjishan prepare. I want him to terrify the people of Dajin at the farewell banquet.”
The thin envoy smiled maliciously as he recalled the bloody scene of Arunjishan tearing a wild bear apart with his bare hands. "Yes, my lord."
In the Jade Flower Palace, Qi Gu watched as a stream of gifts were delivered into her palace. Jin Fu, the chief eunuch by the emperor's side, watched as the eunuchs arranged the gifts neatly, and his dry face beamed like a blooming flower. "Your Highness, these are all gifts from His Majesty."
Qi Gu bowed and said, "Please, Eunuch Jin, thank my father on my behalf." She then turned to Hongyan and said, "Hongyan." Hongyan handed Jin Fu a purse that she had prepared beforehand.
Jin Fu had no choice but to comply, thinking that this princess who grew up in the countryside would not be favored. Unexpectedly, as soon as she entered the palace, the Emperor's rewards were sent to the Yuhua Palace one after another.
He took the purse and immediately knew its weight. He hadn't expected that the eldest princess, who had been away from home for many years, would be so familiar with the palace rules. It seemed that Madam Guo, the second prince, and the second princess were still a bit unlucky.
"Your Highness is too kind." Jin Fu scolded a eunuch, "Hurry up and don't delay Your Highness's business."
The young eunuch put down the last box, adjusted his hat, and ran away. Jin Fu turned to the eldest princess and whispered, "Then this servant will go to Pixiang Palace to report back."
Pixiang Palace? Wasn't that Lady Guo under house arrest? Qi Gu quickly thought, yes, she was under house arrest, but that didn't stop her father from wanting to see his favorite concubine.
Hongyan said, "Princess, this Eunuch Jinfu is doing you this favor on purpose."
People in the palace are opportunistic; they fawn over whoever is favored. In her past life, she didn't receive the Emperor and Empress's favor like she does in this one, so Jin Fu wouldn't even glance at her. In this life, she received the Emperor's rewards twice, and Jin Fu naturally fawned over her as well. However, he probably used the tactic of selling the Emperor's whereabouts on Lady Guo quite often as well.
Qi Gu shook her head. Jin Fu was going to suffer a great loss because of this. It was one thing if the Emperor didn't know, but if the Empress Dowager found out, how could she allow him to reveal the Emperor's whereabouts so casually?
These matters are not her concern; she should just focus on managing her own little corner of the Jade Flower Palace.
These days, the palace is very lively because the Empress is going to hold a farewell banquet for the Xiongnu. Previously, because of the famine, the Empress advocated frugality in the palace, so although the concubines, princes and princesses did not really live frugally, they could not flaunt their luxurious clothes and waste money.
These days, because of the Xiongnu's farewell banquet, everyone is dressed in their finest attire, and the Empress turns a blind eye to it.
Looking at the bustling palace, even the palace maids and eunuchs had joy on their faces. After all, the palace was usually peaceful, and it was rare to have such a grand event.
Qi Gu continued to run to the imperial fields as always, firstly to continue recording the growth of the millet and wheat seedlings brought from Lijia Village, and secondly because, after she overcame all objections, the imperial fields were finally irrigated with fertile manure.
The smell was so strong that it completely overwhelmed the Shanglin Garden, making all the princes and princesses who came to visit never want to go there again.
However, since Qi Gu is now the most popular princess, no one dares to object. Haven't you seen that the two princesses who were disrespectful to the eldest princess last time are still under house arrest?
The millet and wheat seedlings in the field were no longer golden but droopy as before; they were growing very well. Qi Gu stood in the field that used to smell bad and smiled with satisfaction.
It was just a pity for Hongyan and Honghu. Honghu covered his face with a handkerchief, his delicate brows furrowed tightly. He looked at this princess from the countryside, who was so fragrant and soft in the Jade Flower Palace, yet she insisted on running to this smelly place every day. She really didn't know how lucky she was.
However, because she was just a lowly servant, she dared not say much to the princess.
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