“Li Yanlong, you are really something! To compel His Majesty to implement this, don’t you know that the treasury of Great Wei is empty now?”
Walking out of the palace, a gloomy-faced Gu Yan pointed at Li Yanlong and cursed.
“Lord Li, this thing you invented, it is good, but now Great Wei simply does not have the money to build it, you said a county of land, can also afford it, at every turn it is fifty counties, where is this that Great Wei can afford?”
“Yes, yes, Lord Li, you don’t normally seem to be the kind of person who does things recklessly, so go to His Majesty quickly and speak to Him properly, don’t make a blind move.”
“Lord Li, don’t mess around with something if you don’t have anything to do, can you completely guarantee that this item will double the food production of Great Wei?”
Many officials also spoke up in unison, following Gu Yan to scold Li Yanlong, the military officials were also a bit angry, now that His Majesty has just mentioned the Northern Expedition, it is so easy for everyone to have something to look forward to, and then you do this again?
Are you not disgusting people here?
“I, no, you guys, oops!”
Li Yanlong was also depressed, why are you scolding yourself for no reason?
It’s not like he made this up, it’s Xu Qingnian, Xu Wangu, why are you guys scolding me for no reason?
Li Yanlong wanted to explain clearly that he didn’t create this, but Her Majesty had already said that he wasn’t allowed to say anything about it for the time being, and at first he was curious as to why he didn’t say that Xu Qingnian had made such a beneficial thing for the country.
Now he understood, the empress was trying to make herself take the blame first, and then tell everyone that it was Xu Qingnian’s when the thing came out smoothly.
It was hard, he wanted to cry.
“Lord Li, from now on, when you have nothing to do, don’t really think nonsense, it will harm others and yourself!”
The Minister of War scolded and walked away directly.
“Lord Li, Lord Zhou is right, making a thing like this, a waterwheel? A godsend for the country? We don’t know if there are any problems yet, doubling the world’s food production? What a joke.”
Minister of Justice Zhang Jing also cursed and then left.
“Harming others and harming yourself! Affecting Great Wei, you are truly a sinner!”
Gu Yan, the Minister of Household, scolded the most fiercely, and left after finishing his sentence.
As for the Minister of Rites and the Minister of Officials, they just shook their heads and did not scold Li Yanlong, there was just a feeling that they should not take it out now.
The military officials were a little more direct, some hard words rose and fell on each other, scolding Li Yanlong as he walked away clenching his fists.
So angry!
Very angry!
But what can one do if one is angry? It was not Xu Qingnian who caused the trouble.
No, I have to go and find Xu Qingnian, I won’t take this pot.
At that moment, Li Yanlong also left and went to Shouren Academy to look for Xu Qingnian.
But when he arrived at the Shouren Academy, he found that Xu Qingnian was not in the academy, but had gone to the Great Wei Hidden Scripture Pavilion, so he had no choice but to have someone send a message that if Xu Qingnian returned, he would notify him immediately.
Soon, word spread instantly about the waterwheel project in the courtroom.
All of a sudden, there was a lot of talk.
The people were naturally very happy to learn that the water chariot project would increase food production, but when they heard that all the silver from the treasury would be used to build the water chariot, everyone somehow felt that there was something wrong.
In particular, some people then deliberately stirred up rumours that the waterwheel was not actually that good, and that the reason why the harvest in Nan Yu Fudu was higher was entirely due to the excellent soil quality in Nan Yu Fudu, and partly due to the luck of the draw, resulting in a better harvest.
It even quickly turned out again that there was no such thing in Nan Yu Fu Du at all, and that it was the ruler of Nan Yu Fu who deliberately reported an extra 40% in order to show off his own merits, while the Minister of Works, Li Yan Long, was so pleased with himself that he reported it to His Majesty.
To his surprise, His Majesty really believed it, and wanted to develop the waterwheel project vigorously.
But what the Minister of Works, Li Yanlong, did not expect was that His Majesty wanted to develop agriculture so much that he was willing to put all the silver in the treasury into it, the civil and military officials did not agree, and the empress was bent on doing so.
This version was still good, but within a few hours the rumour changed again and became extremely frightening.
It was said that the Minister of Works, Li Yanlong, had colluded with the Prefect of South Yu, and was trying to deceive His Majesty, for a citizen of South Yu had come to Kyoto and informed everyone that there were indeed a few waterwheels in all of South Yu, but that they were not particularly expensive to build, just a few hundred taels of silver.
There was an effect, but it was uncertain whether it was big or not, after all, he didn’t farm, but it felt like it worked, just not that much, and Li Yanlong increased the price of building a waterwheel a hundredfold straight away in order to embezzle silver.
It is really a strategy to put the country to death by profiteering from silver. It is good that the hundred officials are wise and have long seen through everything and have directly rebuked Li Yanlong in the courtroom, so Li Yanlong is not well off now.
There were also rumours that the treasury had just received silver and the Ministry of Works had not received much funding, so Li Yanlong was scheming and conspiring with the Prefect of South Yu to cheat the treasury out of silver, and that the Empress had also been deceived.
This rumour, which was half-true and half-false, instantly gained the support of all the people in the capital of Great Wei.
At this moment, I don’t know how many people began to scold Li Yanlong, saying that he was a good Minister of Works, but instead of studying what would really benefit the people, he was thinking about how to make money.
He is not a son of a man who can’t wait to divide the money from the treasury.
Some people even cursed outside Li Yanlong’s courtyard, and others threw eggs and leaves. If the Ministry of Justice hadn’t sent someone over in the first place, it would have been a big deal.
It is possible to say that in just a few hours’ time, all the people in the capital of Wei are cursing the waterwheel, and it would be a ghost if there were no further incitement.
At this moment.
Inside the An Guo Gong Mansion.
Zhou Yan, the Minister of War, Marquis of Xinwu, Marquis of Guangping, Marquis of Sheyang and other marquises were all gathered here, and the Duke of Qi and Duke of Lu had also come.
Half of the martial lineage of the Great Wei had come to the An Guo Gong Mansion.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Marquis Xinwu was the first to speak.
“Duke of State, what do you think His Majesty said today about the water chariot, and how exactly should we choose? I see that His Majesty looks as if he is very serious.”
The Marquis of Xinwu was the first to speak up, voicing his concerns.
“This Li Yanlong, who usually looks so wooden and dull, has really come up with something good.”
“However, we must not let this thing be produced in large quantities, otherwise, the Northern Expedition will be an empty talk.”
An Guo openly spoke, he directly said his heart, the waterwheel is a good thing, he knows, but the Northern Expedition is more important, in his heart, nothing is more important than the Northern Expedition.
“I have seen the waterwheel and it is indeed good, but if it is produced in large quantities, the treasury will be empty again, not to mention the Northern Expedition, even a small war is not affordable, I support your words.”
The Minister of War, Zhou Yan, took a direct stand.
“We also support the words of the State Duke.”
The rest of the marquises also nodded their heads, they naturally hoped that the Northern Expedition would start soon, preferably tomorrow, after all, to avenge the country’s shame was just around the corner.
Yet the voice of the Duke of Qi slowly rang out.
“I feel that His Majesty is extremely serious this time, and that the Northern Expedition may itself be nothing more than a front.”
Qi Guoguo opened his mouth and made a statement that made the crowd frown.
“What does the Duke of State mean?”
Zhou Yan, the Minister of War, asked.
“What else is there to say? You don’t really think His Majesty wants a northern expedition, do you? If you really want a northern expedition, is that amount of silver enough for us to fight?”
“Once this water chariot is revealed, we will know about it, and so will the people of the world, and the people of Wei are not the only ones in the capital of Wei. If they learn of this object, they will only be the first to send a message back.”
“If Wei doesn’t have any silver, the Tusi Dynasty doesn’t lack it, does it? The Chu Yuan Dynasty is not lacking either, is it? Plus the Heavenly Kingdom of the Sea, and those small foreign countries, they can do a part of the implementation even if they can’t do the national manufacture.”
“The water chariot thing, I can see that it does serve a purpose, this Li Yanlong has really made a mark this time, it’s just that he is too eager to rush to take it out now, when it’s really stupid.”
The Duke of Qi spoke his mind, believing that the Empress could not have gone north, and was merely deceiving everyone.
“But if Your Majesty does so, is he not afraid of chilling our hearts?”
Duke Lu frowned, he had actually guessed that, he just still hoped that the Empress wanted to go on a northern expedition, although the probability was small, it was better than no hope at all.
“Fear!”
“But the Empress is more afraid that once the Northern Expedition is underway, Great Wei will be lost.”
The voice of the Duke of Qi silenced the crowd.
But soon, he continued to speak.
“However, this is only an old man’s guess, whether this is really the case, I do not dare to guarantee it.”
“His Majesty’s mind, who can guess?”
The Duke of Qi said so, and the crowd understood this, after all, too, who can guarantee that there will not be a northern expedition?
“Northern expedition or not, put it aside for the time being, right now the water carriage project, Your Majesty can be allowed to pilot one county, but directly promoting fifty counties, definitely not.”
An Guo opened his mouth, this was his attitude.
Allowing the empress to build such a beneficial tool for the country was a good thing, plus he could see the empress’s thoughts in the courtroom, but he really had to spend all the silver to build this thing.
It is really a bit unbearable, whether the Northern Expedition or not, the Great Wei must keep a sum of silver to spend, and part of this silver must be given to their Ministry of War, to their army.
It’s not that they were greedy for money, but the Ministry of War was too good at eating money.
That was an indisputable fact.
Where did he not know that it was good? But you put all the silver into this, it wouldn’t work, it’s risky on the one hand, and on the other hand, once the treasury is empty, everyone will be restricted from doing anything.
If there was silver, all the civil servants would be in favour of this kind of thing.
So they have no choice but to protect themselves first in this situation.
Of course, if there was someone who could guarantee that this would double the food production and convince everyone, then it would be fine, but is there such a person?
Who has that kind of face?
Obviously, there is no one.
“En, the words of the Duke of State are fine, but it is still important to look at it, not to be blind, and not to offend His Majesty at a critical moment.”
The Duke of Qi also spoke out, agreeing with what the Duke of An said, but he could not completely offend the empress, otherwise, it would be troublesome.
“En.”
All of them nodded in unison, their consciousness agreeing.
Meanwhile.
In the capital of Great Wei, inside a secret room.
King Huai Ning’s voice rang out with it.
“The water chariot project must not be allowed to be implemented by the empress, it has a great use, it can increase the food production of Great Wei, in less than three years, Great Wei can solve at least 70% of the problem of food and clothing, if this is really the case, the people are united, it will be more difficult for us to plan things.”
“Pa*s on my king’s order to inform the va*sal kings everywhere that this must be stopped.”
King Huai Ning said with a grim face.
No matter what came his way, he would never do so, but when this waterwheel project appeared in front of him, he instantly understood how useful this thing was.
He had farmed and knew that the biggest problem with farming was the water source. Li Yanlong threatened that he could double the grain yield, but he did not believe him.
After all, there were many problems with it and it was definitely not that easy, but an increase of fifty, sixty, seventy percent should not be a problem, and a growth in the power of Great Wei would be a bad thing for them.
He would rather not have a military talisman than to let Great Wei steamroller, in which case all his plans would all go down the drain.
“Your Majesty, this water chariot project, can it really allow Great Wei to increase its national power?”
Some people were curious, thinking that a mere waterwheel was necessary?
“It can! And it definitely can!”
“If she had done it later, or if she had done it in secret and crossed over to the Ministry of the Household, it might have been possible.”
“Unfortunately, she was in a hurry and made a faint move. It won’t take long for both the Sudden Evil Dynasty and the First Yuan Dynasty to learn about this waterwheel, and I’m afraid they will also be the first to make it.”
“But it’s not a big problem, the Sudden Evil Dynasty and the First Yuan Dynasty probably don’t dare to try it easily, they’ll just try it out.”
“Have people spread the rumour that this water chariot has no effect at all, it is purely just a private collusion between the Prefect of South Yu and Minister of Works Li Yanlong, no matter what, it must make the people resist.”
“Nowadays, among the court, Gu Yan, the minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, is firmly against it, and other ministers do not want the treasury to be empty, especially the line of military officials, who do not want the treasury’s silver to be used to make the waterwheel.”
“Let them toss and turn, whether or not this faint ruler is resolute and pressures her, she will find it difficult to get away with just the hurdle of a court full of civil servants, not to mention the hearts of the people, which she will have to take into account.”
“Even if she really is bent on going her own way, she will still have to offend many people, and it will take at least six months before it can really be rolled out.”
“Also, tell those foreigners to always be prepared, if this faint ruler is really reckless, let them be active, and never let her have her way.”
King Huai Ning gave one order after another, while the remaining three all frowned, after all, everything else was fine, but the last one was a bit troublesome.
“King Huaining, are you going to use the pawn of the foreigners? Just for this matter?”
The person who spoke was the King of Zhenxi, who inexplicably felt that King Huaining was making a bit of a fuss, was it just a waterwheel? Is it so exaggerated? He even moved this pawn of the foreigners?
This is a bit ……. The actual fact is that you are able to get a lot more than just a few of these.
“You don’t understand, don’t have any lightheartedness, follow this king’s and do it, you can’t go wrong.”
King Huai Ning was a little huffy, he didn’t know how to explain this kind of thing, but he knew that this thing should never be allowed to develop, otherwise they would be in real trouble, and then they wouldn’t be able to rebel even if they wanted to.
But this group of people had risen up in arrogance, and this made him very huffy.
“King Huai Ning, it’s not that we don’t trust you, it’s just that this matter still needs to be discussed properly, this pawn of the foreigners can’t be used casually, when it’s really used, it will be a troublesome matter for us too.”
Some people spoke out, not to disapprove of King Huai Ning, but there is no need to use the foreigners because of this matter, this is not a trivial matter, this is completely killing the chicken with a bull’s-eye.
When he heard this, King Huai Ning took a deep breath, he really didn’t know how to explain.
But after thinking about it, nowadays, all the civil and military officials are not in agreement, and the military officials are even resisting from the bottom of their hearts, plus the Minister of Household Affairs, Gu Yan, even said that he resigned to threaten the empress.
The people’s hearts and minds were mobilised, so it was possible to delay the matter for a while.
At that moment, King Huai Ning nodded and said nothing more.
He got up and left, leaving alone through the secret pa*sage, while after King Huai Ning had left, the remaining three exchanged whispers.
“The king still attaches too much importance to that dim ruler, according to what I said, he should have pressed on step by step, he keeps meandering, causing us to waver, when it is really troublesome.”
Some people complained slightly, or that saying, anywhere where there are people there are rivers and lakes, and where there are rivers and lakes there are strife, even they will have conflicts and clashes.
“The waterwheel project, it is indeed beneficial to Great Wei, but it is not as terrifying as what King Huai Ning said, this pawn of the foreigners, it should never be used until the critical moment.”
“En, indeed, furthermore, now the Minister of Household Affairs Gu Yan has so strongly refused, unless the faint king is bent on having his own way, but if that is really the case, then it is quite good, at least it gives us and others a chance.”
The three of them did not take this matter to heart, not to be precise, but they did not need to take it so seriously, what was done was done, and to target it again was a complete waste of pawns.
In the secret pa*sage, King Huai Ning walked out and returned to his palace.
With a grim face, he went to his study and began to write a letter.
The waterwheel project, he knew, was of great significance to Great Wei and should never be allowed to be produced, but unfortunately, in a world as large as this, there is no shortage of stupid and arrogant people.
Those who cannot see the situation die the quickest.
But this is good, the more arrogant and foolish they are, the better for them.
They are friends now, but sooner or later they will become enemies too.
His attitude was firm, the waterwheel project must never be implemented. The only good news now was that the whole of Wei did not agree, and this gave him a respite.
If all of Wei had agreed, he would have had to use the foreigners as pawns to cause trouble anyway.
And so it was, by the following day.
There were more calls from the people of Kyoto to resist, so the civil and military officials were all ready to present their speeches and say their piece.
So the civil and military officials had all prepared their speeches and sentences, intending to persuade His Majesty again at court today.
But perhaps because of the atmosphere in the courtroom yesterday, the empress did not attend court today, and the officials stood outside the hall for an hour before being told to leave.
Everyone knew that this was the Empress’s attitude and that she was really angry.
Therefore, many people attacked Li Yanlong again.
Yelling at Li Yanlong for having nothing to do, the angry Li Yanlong walked back and forth outside the palace for a quarter of an hour before finally gritting his teeth and asking the people outside the palace to report back.
He himself was going to face the saint.
But soon, the reply came, “No.
Now Li Yanlong was even more furious, he had taken the pot himself, he had been scolded, but the empress didn’t even see him? Everyone was using him as a punching bag?
What else is there to play for?
Gu Yan wants to resign, right? I want to resign as well.
However, Li Yanlong did not dare to say this, but he could still say a few words in his heart.
“If he doesn’t see me, I’ll smash up his Shouren Academy.”
Li Yanlong said with some annoyance.
The empress didn’t see herself, she put up with it!
If Xu Qingnian did not see himself, then he really could not bear it.
The guards outside the palace immediately went to inform, and about an incense stick later, Xu Qingnian gave a response.
“Lord Li, Lord Xu said that he had finished reading the book at hand and asked you to wait for him at the Shouren Academy, and that he would come to you within an hour.”
The eunuch who delivered the message said this, and although Li Yanlong was still somewhat dissatisfied, at the very least Xu Qingnian would come to see him, so he said nothing more and walked towards the Shouren Academy.
Half an hour later.
Outside the Great Wei Palace.
Xu Qingnian slowly walked out of the palace.
Basking in the sunlight, Xu Qingnian was in a good mood, at least for now.
Xu Qingnian knew what had happened inside the palace, it was just that the empress had taken out the waterwheel project.
Xu Qingnian is in favour of this, for no other reason than the fact that Wei really needs to produce a large number of water carts now, and it is a good time to bring it out.
Of course, some people may say that it seems a bit sudden to take it out at this juncture, after all, the treasury does not have much silver now, and this is another big project, 50,000,000 taels of silver is not enough at all.
But the question is, what is the greatest shortage in Great Wei now? Isn’t it food and productivity and population?
Oh, at a time when food is most needed, instead of developing agriculture, you have to go to war? You have to do something? And that’s good?
It’s like, when you’re in school and you want something the most, your parents don’t give it to you, and then when you’re done with school, they buy it and give it to you, do you think that’s interesting?
Although it’s difficult to promote water carriages throughout the country, there’s nothing wrong with 50 counties, what’s the big deal?
It’s just 50,000,000 taels of silver. Besides, this is just the budget, if you really want to spend it, 40,000,000 taels would be enough, or even lower, it’s just that people don’t know how to do business.
Based on the 40,000,000 taels, the treasury still has 30,000,000 taels, plus the 10,000,000 taels of silver that was already there.
Isn’t that still 40,000,000 taels? That’s a lot of silver. At the very least, there’s no problem at all in maintaining the normal operations of the Great Wei.
What? You’re saying there’s still 40,000,000 taels missing?
Why don’t you think about the time when there was only 10,000,000 taels?
It was fine when we had no money, but now that we have money, it’s hard to feel bad? Isn’t this a case of having nothing better to do?
To put it bluntly, Xu Qingnian knew very well that the Great Wei was afraid of being poor, and the Minister of Household Affairs was afraid of being poor, so he didn’t dare to spend a single penny.
Xu Qingnian understands, so he has to reconcile properly, otherwise this stalemate will not improve the food production, and the relationship between the ruler and ministers is not good, making it bad for everyone.
Why bother?
One incense stick later.
Xu Qingnian returned to the Shouren Academy, and as soon as he entered it, he saw the Minister of Works, who had been drinking tea, with anger still on his face.
“My humble servant, Xu Qingnian, has met the Lord Shang Shu.”
Xu Qingnian was full of smiles as he walked towards the Minister of Works.
“You still have the face to smile?”
When Li Yanlong took a look at Xu Qingnian coming, he said in no good humour.
“Lord Li, I haven’t offended you, what are you doing?”
Xu Qingnian settled down, still with a gentle face.
“You haven’t offended me, but you’ve caused me a lot of trouble, did you invent this waterwheel?”
Li Yanlong said in anger.
“Yes, what’s wrong?”
Xu Qingnian pretended to be confused.
“The day before yesterday in the courtroom, there was such a furore that the Minister of Household Affairs, Gu Yan, had to resign, and today His Majesty simply stopped attending court.”
“All the civil servants are scolding me again, the people of this Kyoto are also scolding me every day, there are even people throwing things at my house, do you think, can I not blame you?”
The more Li Yanlong said, the angrier he became, why should they all come after him?
It’s not like I did it.
“Lord Li, take it easy, take it easy, those adults in the court, they all don’t understand what a waterwheel is.”
“You should understand, you are the Minister of Works, how can you not know the value of this object, they don’t understand, it’s because they have a small frame of mind, we are doing something big, no matter what, we should be calm and peaceful, right?”
Xu Qingnian poured a cup of tea for Li Yanlong, letting the other party cool down first.
When he said this, Li Yanlong was quite flattered, but after thinking about it, Li Yanlong was still a bit unhappy and said.
“But in any case, you made this water cart, I was just accounting for it, and now everyone is scolding me, but you are good, hiding in the Hidden Scripture Pavilion, not listening to anything outside the window, and letting me take the blame for all the bad things.”
“That won’t do, you’ll come with me to the palace later and meet with His Majesty, you’ll speak to Him.”
Li Yanlong wanted Xu Qingnian to accompany him to face His Majesty.
“Lord Li, will His Majesty see us if I go?”
“This matter, in fact, in the grand scheme of things, is that we cannot afford to spend money, the treasury suddenly has money and everyone cherishes it, in the small scheme of things, it is just a little obsession.”
“In this way, I will find the Minister of Household Affairs and talk to him, but Lord Li, you should take a good rest and not worry about such matters, His Majesty has his own decision.”
Xu Qingnian discouraged.
It was definitely not a good idea to see the empress now, would seeing her solve the problem?
Maybe the empress herself was also very annoyed right now, so it would be better to ignore it and see the situation first.
“Humph!”
Li Yanlong snorted lightly, although he was somewhat unconvinced, he also knew that Xu Qingnian was right in what she said.
“Anyway, I don’t care, if I really push it, I’ll just tell everyone that you made this water cart, and let them scold you when the time comes.”
Li Yanlong didn’t have a good mood, the pot was fine if he carried it, the problem was that so many people scolded, he just couldn’t stand it.
Even if they scolded him twice, today outside the imperial court, the group of military officials scolded him without knowing how unpleasant it was, even knowing that the water chariot was a good thing, but in order to vent their anger, they directly humiliated him in all kinds of ways, saying that even a dog could think of something like a water chariot, and that he had made himself smart.
No normal person could stand it anyway, and neither could he.
He had become an enemy of the court all of a sudden, and the people hated him, and all sorts of rumours were flying around, making him very scared.
“Lord Li, take it easy, take it easy.”
“Think about it, once this waterwheel project is confirmed to be implemented by His Majesty, Lord Gu has nothing to say, you only need to wait for half a year, once the total food production from all over the world is presented, you will be able to raise your eyebrows by then.”
“If you think about it, you will be able to hold back now, and then you will be able to exhale. Isn’t it you? Isn’t that right?”
Xu Qingnian still poured a cup of tea for the other party, this matter has already happened, the pot, he Li Yanlong is sure to carry, and let himself out again to carry the pot, Xu Qingnian does not take ah.
So he hurriedly calmed Li Yanlong’s mood.
“That’s true.”
Li Yanlong thought about it, Xu Qingnian was right.
“Forget it, let’s take a step first, but if something really goes wrong, you don’t want to hide, I won’t help you carry it all the time.”
Li Yanlong said here directly get up, he and Xu Qingnian relationship is average, can not say bad but also can not say good, for no reason to carry the pot even if, really can not stand, he can not help.
“Lord Li, won’t you stay for a meal?”
Watching Li Yanlong leave, Xu Qingnian shouted enthusiastically.
“No!”
Li Yanlong left a sentence without even looking back, and then left.
After Li Yanlong had left, Xu Qingnian could not help but shake her head.
But it was also at this moment that Chen Xinghe suddenly walked in.
“Senior brother, have you heard?”
Chen Xinghe came up with a sentence that made Xu Qingnian curious.
“What’s wrong?”
Xu Qingnian asked.
“Hua Xinyun has returned, and I heard from quite a few sources that he came back specifically for you this time.”
Chen Xinghe said calmly.
“Hua Xinyun? Who is it?”
Xu Qingnian frowned slightly, he hadn’t really heard of this character.
“Uh …….”
Chen Xinghe was speechless for a moment, not knowing how to describe it.
“This person was extremely bright in the Great Wei literary world three years ago, no weaker than you are now, praised by the previous emperor, but went abroad to travel around the world for three years, it is unclear whether he has grown or not.”
“In terms of now, he has not yet established his words, and you have already done so, he is not as good as you.”
“But you still have to watch out and beware, this time at the Taiping Poetry Competition, you can indeed prepare a few poems, lest you be overwhelmed by him.”
Chen Xinghe said so.
“Forget it, right now there is another storm in the court, where is the time to care about him? I don’t even think I’ll participate.”
Xu Qingnian shook his head and gave up.
It was an eventful time now, and the dynasty, which had barely settled down, was in turmoil again.
Who would have the heart to care about a Hua Xinyun?
“That’s true.”
Chen Xinghe spoke out calmly, but inwardly he was very joyful, because he could tell that Xu Qingnian really wouldn’t be able to compose a poem this time.
But soon, Chen Xinghe continued.
“Senior brother, I heard that the people are extremely resistant to this water chariot now, and the officials in the court are also not in favour of His Majesty’s great promotion of the water chariot, but this thing is obviously effective, so why don’t you go and say a few words?”
“It’s impossible to stop with something that benefits the country and the people, right?”
Chen Xinghe spoke out, talking to Xu Qingnian about this matter.
“Naturally, it is impossible to stop.”
“The waterwheel project, it must be developed vigorously, His Majesty is in a bit of a hurry, but it is not too urgent.”
“Right now, all the officials in the court are resisting because they all have their own thoughts, His Majesty has His Majesty’s plans, the Confucian officials have their plans, the civil officials have their plans, and those military officials have their own plans.”
“There is a need for everyone to calm down, and perhaps it will improve.”
Xu Qingnian explained.
“Calm down? Calm down for how long? After all, I heard that Gu Yan Gu Shang Shu is going to resign, if we calm down for half a year and a year, won’t it be a waste of time?”
Chen Xinghe was somewhat puzzled.
“Half a year and a year shouldn’t be too much, it still depends on what His Majesty does.”
“But His Majesty should also have a headache right now.”
“Alas, it’s a pity, His Majesty is still not smart enough, otherwise, this problem could be solved within a day.”
Xu Qingnian sipped his tea and said so.
When this was said, Chen Xinghe became even more curious.
The civil and military officials were all resistant, and the people were all resisting this water chariot. Judging from the current situation, this matter would be stalled for at least a few months, and even half a year might be possible when it was really implemented.
But Xu Qingnian even said that it could be solved within a day?
This is a bit …… The company’s main business is to provide a wide range of products and services to the public.
“Senior brother, what do you mean by this?”
Chen Xinghe was curious.
Not only was he curious, but Li Guangxiao, who was cooking, was also curious.
He had also been trying to think of a solution to this matter for the past two days, but he hadn’t had any clue for two days, so how could Xu Qingnian actually say that he could solve it in a day?
“Senior brother, listen to senior brother haha.”
“In fact, this matter, to put it more simply, is nothing more than a difference in position.”
“His Majesty wants the food production capacity of Great Wei to increase quickly, so that more people can starve less and the national tax can be increased.”
“But the Minister of Household Affairs thinks that the stuff is good, but he can’t afford to spend so much silver in one breath, and at the same time he doesn’t know whether the stuff is good or not.”
“The other officials of the six ministries are even simpler, it’s not that they can’t spare the silver, but they don’t approve of the item, plus they all want the treasury to be full and have nothing to allocate some money to them so that they can relieve the pressure.”
“We all know what the military officials have in mind, it’s nothing more than the Northern Expedition, without the silver, won’t this Northern Expedition be in vain?”
“As for the Confucian officials at the end, these people are themselves peacemakers, they will keep their opposition no matter what, if the matter eventually turns out to be good, they will keep quiet, if it doesn’t end up well, they will start pointing fingers, what did I say a long time ago, right, how so and so.”
“But asking them to offend His Majesty over this matter, they are definitely not willing to do so.”
“So, for this matter, we just need to talk Shang Shu Gu through, and then have a good talk with the other officials of the six ministries.”
“And finally, go and have a good talk with the military officials, then it will be fine.”
Xu Qingnian’s analysis was so simple that Chen Xinghe understood it completely, but it was because he understood it that Chen Xinghe could not help but open his mouth and say.
“Senior brother, the matter that the entire Great Wei Kyoto is anxious about, how come from your mouth, it feels like it’s not a big deal.”
“That’s easy for you to say, but I guess it’s hard to do?”
“There is one more thing in particular, how will the people be dealt with? Even if the civil and military officials agree, but the people don’t agree now?”
Chen Xinghe frowned and said this.
Xu Qingnian’s words felt as if having a hand would work, but when he thought about it more carefully, it felt like having a hand wouldn’t work ah.
“En, it’s hard to do, at least for anyone.”
“So one needs to find someone, someone who can appease both the Minister of the Household and the military officials, and who can deal well with the rest of the six ministries.”
“And of course the most important thing is that the people must be pacified.”
“As for the Confucian officials, let them cool off, no need to consider their feelings.”
Xu Qingnian said so.
“Appease Shang Shu Gu? And you can deal with the six ministries well? And appease the people? Where can you find such a person?” ……. Wait! Senior brother, are you saying that again?”
Chen Xinghe’s first thought was that there couldn’t be such a person.
But the next moment, he saw the smile at the corner of Xu Qingnian’s mouth and instantly understood.
Dare I say that Xu Qingnian was just saying more about himself after saying that for half a day?
Ah …… This!
Senior brother’s pretending technique was really getting better and better, he had to learn it properly.
Xu Qingnian said with immense confidence.
Of course this was boasting in front of his own people, if he were in front of His Majesty, Xu Qingnian would have to say at least six months and then also say that he would do his best and could not scold himself for not doing a good job.
“If you are so confident, why don’t you take the initiative to speak to His Majesty? Sharing the worries for the king is also something that we as scholars should do.”
Chen Xinghe did believe Xu Qingnian, there was no way to disbelieve him, it had only been less than half a year since he enrolled in school and he had already made a speech.
If this was not believed, who else would Chen Xinghe believe?
“No, this kind of thing, absolutely cannot take the initiative to ask for help, matters in the court, anyway, very complicated, senior brother, when you enter the court in the future, you must remember, do not go up to anything, if you should play dead, play dead, if something happens, flee, if you can’t escape, drag.”
“Anyway, don’t get in the limelight.”
Xu Qingnian said with a serious face.
He was not of the same mind as Xu Qingnian, if he had joined the court, he would have been serious about his work and would have shone for Great Wei.
But Xu Qingnian must have had his own difficulties and thoughts when he said this.
There was nothing to say.
“Alright, senior brother should go read a book first, the matter of the court will have to wait for some time.”
Chen Xinghe had nothing more to say.
He turned around and left, first read his book properly, and then wait until he joined the court.
Seeing Chen Xinghe leave, Xu Qingnian also had nothing to say, sitting on a chair, also contemplating a matter.
He had gone to the Great Wei’s Book Collection to look at quite a few books, but could not find any books about the Great Sage. When he asked the eunuch, the eunuch said that the Book of the Sage was not really available in the Book Collection.
But there was one place that must have them.
That was the Great Wei Palace of Literature.
It was just that place that Xu Qingnian didn’t want to go to, and if she did, she would probably just be disgusted by the bunch of sourP***es.
But if she didn’t go, she couldn’t find any information about it.
It was a bit of a brainache.
And at this moment.
In the kitchen, after hearing what Xu Qingnian had said, Li Guangxiao nodded and then took out a heavenly decree and wrote down a few words on it.
“Your Majesty! Xu Qingnian says that the obstacle to the promotion of the waterwheel can be resolved within a day.”
After writing, Li Guangxiao threw the heavenly decree into the cooker and then stir-fried the vegetables at ease.
As for the matters in the court, he did not care.
Xu Qingnian was so confident anyway, and he was happy about it.
About half an hour later.
Suddenly, the palace eunuch came.
He came to Xu Qingnian with a fawning smile and said.
“Lord Xu, His Majesty has an edict for you to proceed with the promotion of the waterwheel and appease the officials as well as the people.”
“The time limit is one day.”
“If you can get this done, His Majesty says there will be heavy rewards.”
The eunuch’s voice rang out.
It caused Xu Qingnian to freeze a little.
Solve it in one day?
How can I solve it?
What am I going to do to solve it?
Why did they suddenly come to me to solve it?
Also, why did His Majesty come looking for him just after he had finished speaking?
Is there a spy?
Who is the spy?
Hiss!
Elder brother is actually an undercover agent?
But is it an undercover agent again, this matter must be explained clearly ah.
One day is one’s own bragging than ah.
“Eunuch, ask His Majesty for me, will a year do?”
Xu Qingnian was serious!
Very serious!
