Chapter 60 The Power of Regent
When news of the war in the Northwest reached the court, it was during a holiday break.
Baili Hong was taking a nap, while Qin Xiao and Chu Jiubian were reviewing memorials in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
They saw a memorial handed over by Qi Zhili, which discussed the establishment of the canal transport branch office. It said that after arriving in Tongzhou, he contacted the local government official and also found three local scholars from Tongzhou on the list.
Because of the imperial decree, and because the establishment of the branch office was also a good thing for Tongzhou, as it could improve the performance and income of local officials, the officials cooperated very actively, and the establishment of the branch office went very smoothly.
The three students on the list were indeed talented and capable, each with their own strengths, and they respected each other. As a result, they helped Qi Zhili solve many problems together.
Even the most difficult tasks, "recruiting workers" and "recommending officials," involved these three men maneuvering among local officials and wealthy gentry to select capable minor officials, rather than those with connections who might be wealthy, without offending them.
Qi Zhili also said that in another half month, he would be able to set off for the next place.
“It was definitely the right decision to entrust this matter to him,” Chu Jiu argued.
Qin Xiao nodded: "But the three thousand taels of silver given to him is still too little. I don't know how long it will last."
"Shouldn't the caravans selling fine salt be back by now?" Chu Jiubian asked.
Qin Xiao said, "The Lu family's caravan just returned this morning, and the other families are expected to return before October."
The proceeds from the first batch of fine salt will then be deposited into the national treasury, which will alleviate some of the pressure.
However, these powerful families certainly wouldn't obediently pay the fixed amount, so Chu Jiubian had long been thinking about how to deal with them.
Take the Qiu family, for example.
After the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, the Qiu family gave the imperial court a sum of money as a way of currying favor with Chu Jiubian and Qin Xiao, hoping to get the fine wine they had drunk at the banquet from Chu Jiubian.
However, Chu Jiubian had not given them a definite answer, waiting for the Qiu family to send over the remaining dividends as soon as possible.
Other powerful families are easier to deal with than the Qiu family.
Because Chu Jiubian limited the amount of fine salt they received, and the amount of silver sold per pound of salt by each merchant caravan could be tracked, it was difficult for any caravan to manipulate the accounts.
At most, they might be able to gain a tiny, negligible profit.
But the Qiu family is different.
Their caravans could reach beyond the borders, such as the northern deserts and the western regions, where they had trade routes.
Taking advantage of the information gap between Da Ning and the outside world, the Qiu family bullied those people in the borderlands who had never seen fine salt, so they used many underhanded tricks.
Just as Qin Xiao had previously learned, when the Qiu family sold fine salt, they did not sell pure fine salt directly. Instead, they mixed it with coarse salt in a certain proportion to make "refined salt," which was better than coarse salt but far inferior to fine salt.
Because of the mixing, the amount of refined salt available for sale increases, and thus the money earned also increases.
Other aristocratic families naturally wanted to follow suit, but those in Da Ning who could afford fine salt were well-informed and knew what real fine salt was like. So even if there was refined salt mixed with other salt, they wouldn't be tempted; they only wanted fine salt.
Therefore, these two reasons combined meant that the Qiu family could earn significantly more money than other prominent families.
Therefore, it was easier for the Qiu family to lie about their accounts.
However, Chu Jiubian and Qin Xiao only intend to turn a blind eye if they don't go too far.
After all, they had just lost their canal transport business. If they were also prevented from earning salt, the Qiu family might be driven to desperation.
Now is not the time to completely break ties with the powerful families.
“Let’s wait a little longer,” Chu Jiu argued. “Hasn’t the salt fields in Haizhou already been taken over by our people? Once production there is stable, we’ll take back the fine salt trade to the imperial court.”
At that time, with the revenue from fine salt and the taxes from the Grand Canal, the imperial court would have no shortage of money.
Haizhou is located at the junction of Southern Zhili and Shandong, adjacent to the vast East China Sea, and has a large salt field that ranks third in size among Daning.
After the introduction of fine salt, Qin Xiao sent someone to Southern Zhili to find Governor Wei Yi and asked him to find a way to control the Haizhou salt fields.
The salt fields were originally under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, but due to previous neglect of management, local forces colluded with the prefect of Haizhou to deceive the emperor and the people, resulting in rampant illegal salt trade and the embezzlement of a lot of money from the imperial court.
Wei Yi had long harbored ambitions to seize the salt fields, but Emperor Yingzong had been inactive during his reign, and his several memorials were ignored. In addition, private salt was cheaper than official salt, and the people preferred to buy private salt, so he had no choice but to turn a blind eye.
However, in the message Qin Xiao sent him, he said that the price of salt would definitely be lowered afterward, but before that, the imperial court still needed to completely control the major salt fields.
The Haizhou Saltworks was the first to be targeted for rectification.
Therefore, Wei Yi personally went to Haizhou several times. Some time ago, there were rumors that he had already occupied the salt fields and had begun to process and purify fine salt according to the method taught by Chu Jiubian.
This is a huge step forward. Once the production of fine salt from the salt fields stabilizes, Qin Xiao and Chu Jiubian plan to sell the salt in three grades.
Coarse salt is considered low-grade salt, so its price must be reduced.
Even if the price isn't cut in half, it should be cut by at least a third so that more people can afford salt.
The second grade is fine salt that is not pure enough or contains impurities.
This salt is not as expensive as fine salt, but it tastes better than coarse salt, so it can be sold to ordinary wealthy households.
The finest salt is naturally as white as snow.
Fine salt is twice as expensive as second-grade salt, but even so, the powerful and wealthy will still flock to it.
In this way, the salt fields that could produce fine salt were in the hands of the imperial court, and the money earned naturally went into the national treasury.
Coarse salt, which doesn't generate profit, is actually benefiting ordinary people.
Once the government of Da Ning is completely stable, the national treasury is prosperous, and the people live in peace and contentment, then coarse salt and miscellaneous salt can be phased out of history.
These are all things for later; in short, Chu Jiubian and Qin Xiao are steadily moving towards their goal.
Qin Xiao looked up at Chu Jiubian without saying a word, just staring silently, lost in thought.
Over this period of time, Qin Xiao had been staring at him like this, and Chu Jiubian had gotten used to it. So at this moment, he simply ignored the seemingly real gaze and continued to steadily review the memorials.
However, at that moment, the sound of palace servants greeting General An came one after another from inside the courtyard.
Chu Jiubian subconsciously looked up, first meeting Qin Xiao's eyes, then turning his head to look at the door.
Almost simultaneously, An Wuji hurriedly stepped through the door.
With an anxious look on his face, he walked up to Qin Xiao and handed him a secret letter, saying, "Sir, it's an urgent military report from the southwest!"
Military report?
Chu Jiubian frowned, stood up and walked to Qin Xiao's side.
He leaned forward slightly, resting one hand on the table, his head almost touching Qin Xiao's.
But neither of them noticed the overly intimate gesture at that moment, as they both stared intently at the contents of the military report.
The letter, consisting of only a few words, came from Pang Ruizhi, the commander of the Northwest Army.
On August 30th, the Western Regions' Sai Kingdom launched an invasion. Our army was defeated, and Gansu fell within three days. The Prince of Dingbei went to negotiate peace but was instead detained and placed under house arrest. The Sai Kingdom's King, Moba Zanpu, declared that Prince Ning must personally attend the peace talks; if he did not arrive within a month, he would massacre the entire city. The war only ended upon Prince Ning's arrival!
The Western Regions of the Da Ning Dynasty were divided into two parts.
According to the world division of Chu Jiubian, parts of Xinjiang and Tibet, as well as other areas, were collectively referred to as the Western Regions in Daning.
However, the people of the western regions in Xinjiang mostly existed in the form of small tribes and did not constitute a significant force.
In contrast, the Tibetan region was unified by the Saka royal family during the previous dynasty, with the "Zanpu" (king) ruling the country.
The military report by Pang Ruizhi mentioned the Western Regions bordering Gansu.
And this Pang Ruizhi is no ordinary person either.
He came from a noble family in Gansu and was married to Lu Yourong, the eldest daughter of the Lu family of Wuwei, who was also the younger sister of Lu Youwei, the Minister of War.
During the reign of Emperor Chengzong, he obtained the position of commander of the Northwest Army through the connections of the Lu family.
However, the enemy's military capabilities were clearly lacking; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to defeat the Serbian army of 70,000 in just three days.
It's rather strange that it fell in just three days.
Unless this person did it intentionally...
Qin Xiao's face was gloomy as he placed the military report on the table.
Chu Jiubian got up and sat down in the chair next to him, his brows furrowing slightly.
An Wuji didn't know what the military report said, but he sent it over as soon as he received the letter.
Seeing that Chu Jiubian and Qin Xiao had both finished reading, he took the book and read it again.
After reading it, he was so angry that he cursed loudly: "What bullshit three days! Even if the 70,000 Northwest Army formed a human wall, they couldn't possibly hold out for only three days! This guy surnamed Pang is a complete idiot! Useless!"
He was pacing around in circles.
Chu Jiubian turned his head to look at Qin Xiao's cold, hard profile: "What do you think?"
Qin Xiao said calmly, "In the entire Northwest Army, besides Pang Ruizhi, there are several deputy generals. They can't all be idiots."
Chu Jiubian laughed, but his eyes were devoid of warmth: "Even if there is no one available in the army, there are still so many officials in the local area, and the Prince of Dingbei's mansion has so many strategists and subordinates."
So many people, yet Gansu fell in just three days.
Is this reasonable?
Not to mention that after Gansu fell, Prince Dingbei Baili Yu foolishly went to negotiate peace himself, only to be captured. Is that even possible?
Which of these feudal lords didn't have a few talented subordinates?
How could these people just stand by and watch their master go to his death?
An Wuji paused, looked at the two, and said, "Could this be a trap set for you, sir?"
Neither Chu Jiubian nor Qin Xiao spoke, but An Wuji already understood. He walked to the opposite seat and sat down, his face extremely grim.
Yes.
This is absolutely obvious.
Qin Xiao had long been a thorn in the side of these people in the capital. They had been trying to suppress him, and given the chance, they would likely kill him directly.
In the early days, assassins from various parties arrived almost every day.
After realizing that it wouldn't be so easy to get rid of Qin Xiao, these people gradually stopped.
When covert methods failed, they resorted to overt ones, with various factions in the court exerting pressure on Qin Xiao to the point of suffocation.
However, the sudden appearance of Chu Jiubian, a huge variable, by Qin Xiao's side caught everyone off guard.
Otherwise, Qin Xiao would have faced even greater difficulties in getting to where he is now.
But it was precisely because Qin Xiao and Chu Jiubian's influence in the court was growing, the imperial power was subtly overshadowing the power of the aristocratic families, and all forces were beginning to suffer losses to varying degrees, that these people finally could no longer sit still.
They dared not lay a hand on Chu Jiubian, so they thought of eliminating Qin Xiao openly and honestly.
Anyone with eyes to see can tell that this war in the Northwest was the work of the Prince of Dingbei, but there must be other forces involved as well.
Not to mention those in the court, even the vassal kings might have been involved.
This was a coordinated effort by everyone to eliminate Qin Xiao.
This is an open scheme.
These people knew that such an obvious act could not be fooled by Qin Xiao and Chu Jiubian, but they still did it anyway, and they didn't even do a good job of pretending, making it full of loopholes.
Ultimately, their goal was simply to put Qin Xiao on a pedestal.
The current situation in the Northwest is that the people of Gansu are suffering terribly and may be facing massacre. Everyone's hopes are pinned on Qin Xiao. If he goes there, he may be able to save everyone.
There was also the matter of the Prince of Dingbei being captured. As a member of the royal family, his capture by a foreign tribe was a trampling on the dignity of the Da Ning royal family and a show of force to the new emperor, Baili Hong.
Only if Qin Xiao goes to the Northwest and "rescues" the Prince of Dingbei can the royal family's reputation be preserved and the lives of the people of Gansu be saved, and only then can an explanation be given to the people of the world.
Chu Jiubian turned his head to look at Qin Xiao, his eyes filled with complex and unreadable emotions.
He understood all the intricacies involved, and Qin Xiao must have as well.
Now he only has two choices: to go or not to go.
If he doesn't go, he will lose the hearts of the people, the prestige of the court, and the hope they have painstakingly built up in the hearts of the people over the past few months.
But if he goes, he might very well lose his own life.
Are there any options?
Of course.
Given Qin Xiao's reckless personality and his disregard for reputation, he could easily trade his reputation for his life.
Moreover, given his ruthless "villain" status, he could easily abandon the people of Gansu.
For some reason, Chu Jiubian was convinced that Qin Xiao couldn't abandon these things.
Qin Xiao may not care about his own reputation, but he cares about the prestige of the imperial court, and even more so about the innocent people of Gansu.
Even if the Prince of Dingbei was unlikely to order a massacre of the city, Qin Xiao dared not gamble.
At this moment, Chu Jiubian could no longer deceive himself.
Qin Xiao is a good official who cares about the people. He has the coldest and most ruthless appearance, but he is more soft-hearted and more humane than anyone else.
He is an perfectly normal person. He has healthy family relationships, a normal upbringing despite the many crises, and an incredibly well-rounded personality.
Qin Xiao is not, at least not yet, the ruthless and cruel regent described in the original novel.
Therefore, he and Chu Jiubian were never the same kind of people.
Chu Jiubian's Adam's apple bobbed, and his hands unconsciously clenched together and hid in his sleeves.
He instinctively wanted to pick at something, but his rationality didn't break down, and he managed to suppress that desire.
The medicine I bought from the online store must be working now.
He thought.
At this moment, Qin Xiao spoke up, saying, "Anping."
An Wuji immediately stood up: "My lord."
Qin Xiao calmly instructed, "Find Qin Chaoyang and tell him to notify the Ministry of War to mobilize at least 50,000 soldiers. Also, tell the Ministry of Revenue to prepare military pay and provisions. Have everything ready within three days, and set off at dawn on the 13th."
"My lord," An Wuji frowned, "the commander is..."
"Me," Qin Xiao said calmly.
He sat with his legs crossed on the chair, his back against the backrest, looking completely at ease.
An Wuji hesitated for a moment, but ultimately dared not delay, and bowed, saying, "Your subordinate obeys."
After saying that, he turned around and quickly went out the door.
Once Qin Xiao has made a decision, no one can change it.
After An Wuji left, the council hall fell into a deathly silence.
Chu Jiubian turned his head and saw Qin Xiao's cold and hard profile.
He suddenly recalled the description he had read in the original novel: "[Prince Ning, Qin Xiao, led his army to defeat the Western Regions border kingdom, but was seriously wounded and took three months to recover.]"
If he had looked at it carefully at the time, he would have thought that Qin Xiao, the dignified regent, had to personally lead any battles.
But now, Chu Jiubian had no such doubt at all; he knew that Qin Xiao had no choice but to go.
It has to be said that the various forces in Da Ning understand each other exceptionally well. They calculated that even though Qin Xiao knew it was a trap, he would still step into it.
This scene actually appears in the original work.
However, this event happened a full year earlier than the time described in the original work!
Chu Jiubian quickly realized that it was all because of his appearance.
His actions accelerated Qin Xiao's pace in suppressing powerful families, allowing him to accomplish in a much longer time what should have taken him a whole year.
This undoubtedly put greater pressure and a greater sense of urgency on other forces, which is why these people decided to kill so early on.
Perhaps sensing Chu Jiubian's gaze, Qin Xiao also snapped out of his thoughts and turned his head to meet Chu Jiubian's gaze.
Chu Jiubian blinked slightly, momentarily at a loss for words.
He felt it was unnecessary to say things like "take care," because he knew Qin Xiao would definitely come back alive.
But... Qin Xiao didn't know about this.
He knew that this mission was fraught with danger, but he still decided to lead the army in person.
Chu Jiubian truly felt that he and Qin Xiao had nothing left to say to each other right now.
After gazing at each other for a long time, Qin Xiao suddenly smiled.
Chu Jiubian's eyelashes fluttered slightly as he asked, "What are you laughing at?"
"After I go on my campaign, the affairs of His Majesty and the capital—" Qin Xiao smiled at Chu Jiubian and said, "will be in your hands, young master."
Chu Jiubian avoided his gaze and remained silent.
Qin Xiao gave him a deep look, then got up and walked to the young emperor's usual table, preparing to grind ink and draft an imperial edict.
Chu Jiubian paused for a moment, then got up and walked to his side, took the ink stick from his hand, and said, "Let me do it."
Qin Xiao withdrew his hand and gently rubbed his fingertips together.
The cool touch of the young man's fingers still seemed to linger on it.
Upon receiving the news from the Northwest, all the various factions in the capital were shaken.
Everyone knew that this was a trap set by the Prince of Dingbei for Qin Xiao, and of course, these powerful and influential people were also caught in the scheme.
The Prince of Dingbei has already set up the chessboard; now it is up to them to take action, push Qin Xiao onto the chessboard, and gradually force him into a desperate situation.
They couldn't wait for Qin Xiao's summons, so they all rushed from their homes to the capital, traveling all the way to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to request an audience.
During this time, Hong Fu had also received the news and rushed over from the Directorate of Ceremonial.
At that moment, he picked up everyone and led them all the way to the council hall.
Inside the hall, Chu Jiubian had already returned to his usual seat, while Qin Xiao was still standing beside the throne.
On the throne, Baili Hong sat obediently, looking somewhat dejected.
But when he saw the ministers coming, he immediately perked up.
Almost all the ministers of the six ministries came, and each of them had an anxious look on their faces. But in fact, among these people, probably only Jian Hongzhuo, the minister of the Ministry of Works, was truly worried. The others were probably hoping that Qin Xiao would hurry up and go to his death.
With Qin Xiao gone, the biggest threat in the capital is now Chu Jiubian.
A lone tree cannot support a forest; one can only imagine the immense pressure Chu Jiubian was under. These powerful and covetous individuals would undoubtedly try every means to suppress him.
However, they were still wary of Chu Jiubian's "god" status, so their ideal scenario was to win Chu Jiubian over to their side while Qin Xiao was away.
If it could bring greater benefits to their families, they would be willing to pledge allegiance to the emperor and become "loyal subjects."
Their reputation was paramount. They never intended to overthrow the Baili royal family and seize the throne themselves; that would be considered "traitorous officials." They didn't want to leave such a reputation in history books, making their descendants unable to hold their heads high.
Therefore, it doesn't matter who sits on the throne; what matters is being able to manipulate them and give them greater benefits.
Everyone concealed their true thoughts very well. After exchanging greetings with the emperor, they thought about bringing up the matter of the Northwest.
However, before they could say anything, Baili Hong said, "My dear ministers, you must have come here at this time because of the war in the Northwest. I have already made a decision."
Qin Xiao told him to say these words. He didn't actually know what the "decision" was. He only knew that his uncle was going to fight a war and would be gone for a long time. He didn't know when he would be able to come back.
Thinking about this, the child's eyes welled up with tears.
My maternal grandparents went to war and never came back. Qin Taiwei also suffered from hidden injuries from fighting in his early years, and was tormented by illness in his later years. He only lived until Baili Hong was born before he passed away.
Therefore, for Baili Hong, fighting is a very dangerous thing.
He may very well lose another loved one, or even his only important family member at this point.
Mother is gone. If Uncle also leaves, then he...
The child tried his best to hold back the tears welling up in his eyes, clutching his robe tightly with his little hands.
My uncle said that he was the emperor and couldn't cry in front of his ministers.
Chu Jiubian didn't notice the child's expression at the moment. He just lowered his eyelashes, his mind filled with complicated thoughts, as if he was thinking about a lot of things, or as if he wasn't thinking about anything at all.
Until he heard Qin Xiao's voice, saying, "Since Moba Zanpu specifically requested that I go to negotiate, then I will go."
He glanced at the crowd and said calmly, "With you all here in the court, I can leave with peace of mind."
To everyone's surprise, Qin Xiao was already planning to go to war before they could even try to dissuade him.
So they wondered if they should pretend to persuade him to stay again.
But Qin Xiao continued, "However, His Majesty is still young and needs someone to teach him at all times. Therefore, after I leave the capital, Grand Tutor Chu will temporarily assist in governing."
No one was surprised, since in their eyes, Qin Xiao and Chu Jiubian were already bound together.
Chu Jiubian felt his heart skip a beat and slowly raised his eyes to look at Qin Xiao.
Others may not know about his relationship with Qin Xiao, but he himself knows it perfectly well.
There was only a tiny bit of trust between them.
He never imagined that Qin Xiao would hand over the power of assisting in governance to him.
Can......
Qin Xiao's deep eyes fell on the young man, meeting his complex and unfathomable gaze.
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