Cao Wei eats and drinks well every day, and goes to work slack off every day, unaware that anyone is actually jealous of her.
"Greetings, Lord Jiang!"
"Hello!"
"Has Lord Jiang eaten? I'll pack you a few steamed buns!"
"Not yet, thank you."
"Hey, Lord Jiang, wait a minute! You don't need to pay! You've given too much again!!"
Cao Wei encounters many people who greet her every day on her way to work. Although she can't remember them all, she always responds warmly.
"The national treasury is running low."
Cao Wei yawned as she listened to the worried meeting of the King of Wu.
It's practically a crisis! The neighboring state of Zhao has formed a marriage alliance, and even the state of Han, which is currently fighting and plundering, has sent hostages as a beggar. Where else can we find a wealthy "fat sheep" to fleece?
"What insightful opinion does Lord Jiang have?"
Cao Wei met Xie Yanhua's gaze, somewhat bewildered. "A meeting is a meeting, we're all colleagues. You, the boss, just raised a question, and you're already asking me? Is that appropriate? Can't we have any more of a friendly, collaborative spirit?"
"I will speak later. Let's hear Mr. Xie's insightful opinion first."
Hmph, the real experts always strike last. Let's send the boomerang back and see how bad it feels!
Xie Yanhua knew that Cao Wei's words sounded high-sounding, but she hadn't been listening carefully earlier. "I think the practice of granting land to people based on their place of origin should be stopped immediately. I believe the national treasury will be full again soon."
"I object!"
Xie Yanhua didn't even need to look to know it was Cao Wei again.
"To halt the recovery just as the population is beginning to pick up again would likely make the people think that the State of Wu is untrustworthy."
"Oh, so the national treasury is currently in deficit. What brilliant plan does Lord Jiang have?"
Cao Wei actually wanted to fleece another wave of wealthy households, but the king probably wouldn't be too willing.
"With a marriage alliance between Zhao and Wu, both countries will have local specialties. Trade and taxation should bring in a lot of money. We should impose high taxes on goods from Zhao entering Wu, but lower taxes on goods exported from Zhao to Zhao."
"How could the State of Zhao possibly agree to this?"
"If the Gao family of Zhao is offered benefits, how could the ruler of Zhao refuse?"
Cao Wei chuckled. With this background, the aristocratic families were the constant presence, while the rulers came and went. The aristocratic families didn't care who was emperor. But if their interests were threatened, they could simply replace the ruler.
So, in her opinion, the King of Wu was too cowardly last time. He should have taken the opportunity to confiscate more property. Such a useful pretext as "colluding with the enemy" is rare. These noble families intermarry with each other. Once you seize on one weakness, you can keep a close eye on them. It's not like peanuts in the field, where one vine can support a whole bunch of others.
Not to mention the last time they used a pretext to raid homes, these aristocratic families wouldn't even realize that they were being targeted. They would only speculate internally about whether someone from one of the families had accidentally chatted or whether the news had leaked out at a banquet.
[Tsk tsk tsk, Cao Wei's life is getting better and better! She looks incredibly comfortable. I'm so envious!]
[What is Hou Mengmeng doing this for? She's back to square one, and now she has a kid to raise, a little boy at that! Good heavens, I really don't understand. Wouldn't it be better if she just stayed with that rich guy?]
[She's only going because of the powerful connections; if she doesn't go, Mrs. Gao's son might go instead. Do you think she should or shouldn't she go?]
No wonder that powerful figure, seeing how big her child had become, didn't ask her a single question, and even gave her so much treasure before sending her away.
[Actually, it's not so bad. Hou Mengmeng wasn't in such a miserable state in Wu. She could still go out freely. Although she couldn't spend her money recklessly, she seemed to be living a better life than in the Korean palace.]
[Holy crap, Xie Yanhua is preparing to deal with Chen Ai!]
[I knew it! Everyone else had gone home, so this kid was secretly meeting with the king. Turns out he was plotting to sow discord between General Chen of Zhao.]
[What?! Zhao can't fall for this, can they?! Wu only chose this marriage alliance because Chen Ai is still alive. If Chen Ai weren't here, Wu would definitely have started a war!]
[It's so simple, anyone with eyes can see it. The King of Zhao can't be fooled, can he?!]
It's hard to say, who knows?
[To be honest, the King of Zhao couldn't tolerate this. Imagine, Chen Ai is practically the God of War of Zhao now, yet before he's even officially in command, everyone only knows him as General Chen, not the King of Zhao. If you were the King of Zhao, how would you feel? How can the Emperor allow someone else to snore on his bed, especially a powerful and renowned general?]
Okay, I can understand that, but why is Xie Yanhua doing it so secretly? (Eating meme.JPG)
【What else could it be for? To gain merit! By tripping up Chen Ai, Xie Yanhua would have made a great contribution! And he could also get some money from the king in advance.】
【Huh?! Xie Yanhua is this poor?! Aren't they all in Wu?! Isn't Cao Wei quite rich?! I see she spends a lot of money on tips every day. (Impossible emoji.JPG)】
[Hehe, she really is rich. Watching Cao Wei's live stream, everyone seems like a good person, not a single bad one. Everyone greets me as "Lord Jiang," and I enjoy watching it every day! Hehe (*^▽^*)]
[Wow, you can do that! I want to go too!]
Where did Cao Wei get so much money?! I thought there wasn't much difference between the contestants!
[No way! Things were indeed the same at the beginning, but by this point, the gap is huge. Some are so poor they don't have a single penny, while those as rich as Cao Wei, who seems to throw money around all the time, are quite rare.]
[Huh?! There's another genius who doesn't even have a penny to his name?!]
[Yes, Zhang Ertian. On the battlefield, military merit is calculated based on kills. He had just become a centurion when he was demoted for not training properly and avoiding the battlefield, and of course, he lost his pay.]
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
