Set off
"It seems that Old Master Yu refused?"
Yu Tongan nodded, confirming Mingyu's words.
"Grandpa originally supported Emperor Dewen to ascend the throne, and now the emperor can't let Grandpa go back without any grudges."
But if the emperor is determined to use the power of the old man of the Yu family to let the Yu family return to the court, and the old man Yu repeatedly refuses, then the Yu family will definitely be in trouble.
"In your opinion, would it be a good idea for Grandpa to return to the court?"
Mingyu thought for a while and shook his head.
"I don't think so. Judging from the Emperor's attitude, he wants to keep the court in his own hands. The Emperor only allowed Old Master Yu to return in his name, and he certainly won't let him take control. Not only would it be difficult to withdraw, it would be difficult to work under the Emperor's watchful eye, and it would be dangerous."
Yu Tongan could have expected this reply, but he still couldn't help but sigh.
"That means the Yu family actually has no choice." They are stuck in a dilemma.
Mingyu fell silent, but still asked, "So what are you going to do?"
Yu Tongan felt a little heavy-hearted. He smiled at Mingyu, looked out the window, and spoke in a low voice.
"We can only take it one step at a time. I originally planned to send away everyone I could to prevent this from being exposed. Now is a good time to take advantage of the emperor's attitude and send Yu Liuning and the others out of the Yu family. The emperor won't have any suspicions."
"It's not all bad news, especially for the Third Prince." Mingyu walked over to Yu Tongan's desk. "Instability in the court is beneficial to the Third Prince. We might as well take this opportunity to muddy the waters of the court even further."
Yu Tongan turned around and looked at Mingyu.
Mingyu rested one hand on the table and looked at Yu Tongan.
"The longer it drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for the Third Prince. Emperor Dewen didn't give him military power, so logically he has no military force at his disposal. A large-scale coercion would have little chance of success, and once the Emperor stabilizes the situation, the chances of success will be even lower."
"So you think we should speed up now and seize power before the court is stable."
"That's right." The hand pressing on the table felt a little cold, and Mingyu retracted it again.
Yu Tongan found Mingyu's little movements inexplicably funny and felt a little more relaxed.
"I'll pass this on to the Third Prince. But be prepared. I'll definitely have to borrow the name and influence of Gubei. From now on, you might be asked to build momentum for Gubei everywhere. Even though I just returned, I might not be able to rest for long."
"I've been mentally prepared."
…
A rumor spread among the people in the south that an epidemic broke out in a city and the government was helpless. Countless people were killed and injured in the city.
The people were terrified and prayed to the gods day and night. A few days later, a woman came to the trapped city and gave a prescription that could accurately cure the plague.
The woman stayed for several days to help the people with treatment, but she could not stop the spread of the disease. When the people were at a loss, the woman spoke to them.
"You have done something wrong. You listened to slander and misrepresented the message from the gods. The gods are angry."
Upon hearing this, Mingyu's brows were already furrowed tightly, and he looked speechless. He then whispered back to Wu Ren, "The God is not angry. He is very good."
Wu Ren glanced at Yu Tongan, who was comforting Mingyu.
"We all know this. I just said it this way and put some artistic processing on it." Then he gestured to Wu Ren to continue.
Wu Ren cleared his throat and continued.
The people cried out for help, saying they had been misled and didn't know how to appease the gods.
The woman felt sorry for the people, so she told the gods that the people had realized their mistakes and hoped that the gods would no longer bring down their anger on the city.
One night of cold weather actually stopped the spread of the epidemic. The people wanted to turn around and thank the woman, but she had disappeared.
"So they started to spread the rumor that the woman was sent by the gods." Wu Ren finished speaking and glanced at Mingyu.
Mingyu sighed, "This is really outrageous."
Fortunately, she prepared a pseudonym, otherwise she would be haunted by folk rumors after she retired.
Yu Tongan poured Mingyu a cup of tea.
"But fortunately it's moving in the direction we want."
Mingyu picked up the tea and took a sip to calm himself down, then put down the teacup and faced Yu Tongan.
"Then it's time to expand on the 'slander' part."
"Just leave this to me and I'll do it." Yu Tongan agreed.
After the Spring Festival, Mingyu should also set off to other places to make "Gubei"'s presence felt everywhere and let the rumors spread.
The first stop was Yuan Yong, who was in an area where a drought would occur in early spring, according to a midnight divination by Mingyu during the Winter Festival.
In order to expand the influence, all the sacrificial activities carried out in private must be rolled out, and then the Third Prince's forces in the court will take advantage of this to cause trouble.
Mingyu put down the tea with a determined look in his eyes.
"Then let's go."
Yuanyong is located in the west of Tianqi Kingdom, on the edge of the heart of Tianqi Kingdom. Further west, it borders other countries.
"I thought you wouldn't come. Wouldn't it be conspicuous if you left the Yu family at this time?"
A familiar carriage, two familiar people, and a familiar conversation.
"Is it because of the business taxes increased by the Emperor?"
The emperor began to put pressure on Old Master Yu, but he was reluctant to come to the court. The emperor directly issued an order to increase taxes on the fabric industry. The implicit meaning of his words was that the growth of the Yu family's business had caused the emperor's disgust and vigilance, and the purpose of this tax was to target the Yu family.
There was no mention of the Yu family returning to the court.
"right."
Even though Mingyu did not participate in the Yu family's affairs, he could guess the resentment towards the Yu family caused by the business community.
The wider the Yu family's business scope, the greater its influence will be. Merchants of other commodities that have not been affected this time will also adopt a wait-and-see attitude towards the Yu family and carefully consider the goods that they should have cooperated with the Yu family.
It is not difficult to imagine that as Old Master Yu refused, the scope of taxation would gradually expand in order to force Old Master Yu to submit.
"This is indeed a very tricky problem." Yu Tongan relaxed and leaned casually against the wall of the carriage, with half of his face in shadow.
"At least on the surface it should be."
Mingyu raised his eyebrows and looked at Yu Tongan.
"The Yu family's funds were not enough to support the current scale." Yu Tong'an spread his hands with a lazy gesture. "In order to support the Third Prince's actions, a lot of money from the Yu family secretly flowed to the Third Prince. We originally wanted to mix it with the losses."
Now the emperor has even found an excuse for them, which makes Yu Tongan feel relieved.
"So you're here on vacation? Then you shouldn't follow me to Yuanyong."
The main reason why Mingyu disagreed with Yu Tongan going to Yuanyong was that Yuanyong was a fief when the current emperor was still Prince An.
There must be a lot of the emperor's spies there.
There are certain risks in Mingyu's trip, but considering that spreading rumors in the hinterland would be more effective, he decided to make this trip.
Once Yu Tongan becomes involved with Mingyu or "Gubei", the entire Yu family will be implicated.
There is no way Yu Tongan didn't know this.
"I understand what you're worried about, but don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
Seeing Yu Tongan's behavior, Mingyu could only guess: "Does that mean the Third Prince has made some arrangements?"
"Half and half. I'm not too sure if you can go alone."
Mingyu looked at Yu Tongan with suspicion.
"What are you worried about? Or are you planning to do something with the Third Prince that will involve me?"
"The Third Prince also believes that a quick victory is best. Firstly, he asked me to send a letter to General Zheng Pinggui who is guarding the border. Secondly, while we are in Yuan Yong, the Third Prince should announce that he is still alive."
Mingyu understood that the emperor's pressure would increase unnecessarily, and the first to bear the brunt would be not only the third prince, but also "Gu Bei", the center of the rumors.
“…No wonder you’re not worried about taxation.”
Once the third prince returns to the court, the emperor will not allow Old Master Yu to return to the capital. Instead, he will keep Old Master Yu away, because Old Master Yu already supports Emperor Dewen and is very likely to support Emperor Dewen's orphan.
This is the case with the Yu family today.
Yu Tongan tilted his head slightly and looked at Mingyu with a strange look.
Mingyu felt a little uncomfortable being stared at by Yu Tongan.
"how?"
"You don't worry much about your own safety."
"Worried? Why not worried?" Mingyu didn't understand how Yu Tongan came to this conclusion.
"Really? Then your focus is quite off."
"I'll just take it as a compliment." Mingyu felt that the point Yu Tongan grasped was even more puzzling.
"I'm a little curious if there's anything you like. From what I've seen, you don't seem to have any particular likes or dislikes."
"What do you want to say?" Mingyu frowned and looked at Yu Tongan, wondering what Yu Tongan was planning.
"You know what? I didn't expect you to join us so soon. After all, you've been very alert and smart from the beginning. Even if I didn't tell you, you could still guess a thing or two."
Yu Tongan straightened his back and moved closer to the Ming fish.
Mingyu relaxed, crossed his arms and looked at Yu Tongan: "So what were you planning to give me? It's not too late to give it to me now."
"See what Miss Mingyu wants. I'll do my best." Yu Tongan chuckled, and the sense of pressure from before was gone. "Then can I ask what you really think? You can go with Gu Muxing and the others as before, but you should send them away first."
First, Yu Tongan really couldn't get away, and second, his attention was all on Mingyu, which made the master and disciple leave.
"Or do you really take Xueliu's death so seriously?"
"Partly," Mingyu admitted, "but I can't really say for sure."
Mingyu looked at the light and shadow that grew and shrank as the carriage swayed.
"Perhaps it's just like you said. Once the urge to take action sprouts in your mind, it's hard to ignore it."
Yu Tongan's expression was gentle and his tone was sincere: "Then I have a second piece of advice for you."
Mingyu leaned against the carriage with his arms folded.
"I'm all ears."
"You should pay more attention to yourself, for example." Yu Tongan's eyes were so conspicuous in the dark carriage.
"What do you like to do?"
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