The Year of Wuchang.
August 30.
The Great Wei court, outside the Great Hall.
The birthday of the Empress is the most solemn event since the new dynasty of Wei.
The Ministry of Rites is very busy with all kinds of ceremonies, including the use of materials and other ceremonial matters, all of which need to be done with great care.
Even the pattern of the banners had to be newly designed to be bright and reflect the majesty of Wei, but not too overbearing and still in keeping with the theme of the birthday.
The Ministry of Rites had been thinking about this kind of thing alone for half a month.
But all was well, and today it was finally completed.
“The King of Western China has sent us a congratulatory gift! A purple jade coral tree, wishing Your Majesty a long and prosperous life.”
“The King of Zhou Ping has sent a congratulatory gift! An ancient jade from the seed fields of Taihe, wishing Your Majesty a long and prosperous life.”
“A gift from the King of the Southern Neighbourhood! Ancient bloodstone from the Yellow Mountains, wishing Your Majesty a long and prosperous life.”
Outside the Great Hall, the eunuchs collected the congratulatory invitations and shouted loudly as each precious item was sent inside the palace, each one a marketable and priceless treasure.
And inside the palace.
The empress listened to these congratulatory sounds, but her expression was incomparably calm. For these congratulatory gifts, she would have preferred to send silver directly, which would have been more substantial.
Inside the treasure pavilion of the Great Wei, there were such things everywhere, jewels and jades, strange gold and paintings, piled up like a mountain, all of them were something flashy but not real.
As for outside the hall.
Both the Minister of Rites and the Minister of Penalties were a little preoccupied.
“Shang Shu Wang, why do you look so preoccupied?”
Chen Zhengru spoke up, today was His Majesty’s birthday, anyone could be preoccupied, Wang Xinzhi couldn’t be preoccupied, ah, in case something didn’t work out, then it would be a joke.
“Oh, it’s nothing, I just want to return the matter of gifts.”
Hearing Chen Zhengru’s voice, Wang Xinzhi immediately opened his mouth, snapped out of his preoccupation and said so.
“The matter of returning the gift?”
“Right, you haven’t told us about this matter, how much do you plan to return?”
Chen Zhengru asked curiously.
He was not the only one, Gu Yan also came over, his eyes fierce as he said, “Shang Shu Wang, let’s say it up front, if it’s more than two million taels of silver, don’t open your mouth, I won’t agree to it.”
Gu Yan was completely miserly, he said in advance, just two million budget, and also depends on the reasonable and unreasonable, he has to review it, if not, it will not be given.
Sweeping a glance at Gu Yan, Wang Xinzhi did not bother to pay attention to it, but looked at Chen Zhengru and said.
“Shouren has already prepared a return gift.”
Wang Xinzhi said so.
When this was said, the six ministers were all a little curious.
“Shouren has prepared a return gift?”
“What has Shouren prepared for you?”
“Why are you bringing it back to Shouren?”
The crowd really didn’t expect that Xu Qingnian had even intervened in the affairs of the Ministry of Rites?
“He asked me to return something special as a gift.”
“The amba*sadors of the nations sent pigs, cows, horses and sheep, as well as some jade and treasures, it’s too tacky to return silver, Qingnian made a painting, a picture of the Taiping Poetry Society, plus a poem on the general’s wine fugue, as well as his seal, one for each of the amba*sadors of the nations.”
Wang Xinzhi replied.
At these words, the crowd frowned slightly.
“Did Shouren write so much?”
“Drop your name in your own handwriting? It’s a good solution, but it still feels like it’s a bit more than it’s worth.”
“Yes, one copy for each country’s emissary, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, and nowadays Shouren’s handwritten posters are said to have people in Kyoto willing to offer one hundred thousand pieces of silver to buy them.”
“More than a hundred thousand taels, his falling name, three thousand taels of silver someone wants.”
Several people opened their mouths, not feeling that they had made a profit, but rather that they had suffered a small loss.
But Wang Xinzhi shook his head and said, “Don’t worry, you guys, it’s not Shouren himself who wrote it, he wrote the original and had it topped up, the drop names are all stamped, just his seal, the Ministry of Rites topped up twenty pieces.”
“You can’t even use them all.”
Wang Xinzhi said so.
At that moment, the minister of the six ministries could not help but laugh.
What is this, you say you Xu Qingnian’s own handwriting, at least still have some value, the topographic version, even if you take out to sell, top the sky a few thousand taels of silver.
If you add a copy of a country, it will be even more devalued, a thousand taels is more than enough.
This was an idea that only Xu Qingnian could come up with in the whole of Wei.
Gu Yan, on the other hand, was extremely satisfied, “Shouren is still Shouren, this nature is like me, not bad, not bad.”
He was heartily impressed, Xu Qingnian was simply killing two birds with one stone by doing this.
“But if you do this, aren’t you afraid that the envoys of the nations will be angry?”
Minister of Works Li Yanlong couldn’t help but frown, although this was quite a good solution, he always felt that something would go wrong ah.
“Definitely angry.”
“This time, the envoy from the ten thousand countries gave a gift of at least three thousand taels of silver, and you returned this, you’d be D*mned if you’re not angry.”
“But Shouren said, the decency of Great Wei is maintained by swords and soldiers, not by silver, let them be angry if they want to be angry, do they really dare to go to war with us?”
Wang Xinzhi was a bit depressed.
He is the Minister of Rites, this matter is big, he will definitely have to take the blame, not big reputation is not very good either.
This is a matter of courtesy, how many gifts you give, usually add a little back, if you have money, you can double.
This time, however, it’s clear that it’s a trap.
Of course, it is said that the messengers of ten thousand countries, in fact, counting some of the small countries today may be gone tomorrow, is a thousand or so, the Great Wei heyday, put together a lot of small tribal countries, only barely pinch to ten thousand countries.
So a thousand or so countries is not much, most of them are small tribes that really don’t dare to say anything to the Great Wei, and some of the more powerful countries, such as the State of Chen and the State of Tang, don’t have the guts to trouble the Great Wei either.
It’s just that they have a bad reputation.
But who is to blame? It was his own idea to give the normal gift, and I will return with the normal gift, so that we can be nice to each other, but if you want to treat Wei as a fat pig, then sorry, let you see what it means to play the pig to eat the tiger.
Of course, Wang Xinzhi did not completely promise Xu Qingnian’s request, some small countries, give a reasonable, he will give certain compensation, but that is the back of the matter, now it is impossible to compensate, we are fair, or really want to make trouble.
“En, Shouren this is in line with the old man’s nature, Great Wei’s decency, relying on the sword, not silver, in the past, this gang came to the amba*sador move to send this and that, is not trying to cheat money?”
“Now that Shouren is in charge, we have indeed saved our worries, but have you noticed that Shouren has only been in the court for three months?”
“He has already gained the support of the six ministries, including the martial lineage, who are also extremely fond of him.
The Minister of War spoke up, and he commented on Xu Qingnian in detail.
He was speaking from the heart.
Indeed, as soon as he said this, apart from the Minister of Penalty, Zhang Jing, who had always looked preoccupied, the rest of the people nodded their heads.
Yes, it has only been three months since Xu Qingnian joined the court.
In just three months, Xu Qingnian had gone from being an unknown scholar to becoming the most handsome person in Wei.
The first person to join the Ministry of Justice was supposed to be suppressed, but Xu Qingnian turned out to be the best.
After the fiasco at the Ministry of Justice, no one dared to mess with the six ministries, and as for the things that followed, I won’t go into details.
But unknowingly, Xu Qingnian’s reputation in the Ministry of Penalty was extremely high. Now that he has gone to the Ministry of Household and helped the Great Wei Dynasty earn a lot of silver, who in the Ministry of Household does not respect Xu Qingnian?
Who wouldn’t respect Xu Qingnian? Who wouldn’t praise Xu Qingnian’s talent?
Chen Zhengru of the Ministry of Officials, not to mention Chen Zhengru, has had a great affection for Xu Qingnian ever since he spoke up for the people.
The Ministry of Industry’s Li Yanlong was fine, after all, Xu Qingnian’s water tanker project really made him admire it, and he usually spat out a few words, which was just the habit of elders towards their juniors.
The Ministry of Military Affairs has no more to say, the martial arts lineage itself has an innate fondness for Xu Qingnian, if not for the fact that the Northern Expedition could not be fought, Xu Qingnian would probably have defected long ago.
Of course, if the Northern Expedition had been fought, Xu Qingnian would have been a fish out of water in the Ministry of War.
The fact that Xu Qingnian is not a good fighter is evident from the way he acts, and if he really wants to fight, he is definitely not the kind of person who only knows how to talk on paper.
The last thing left is the Ministry of Rites.
This doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter if the Ministry of Rites likes it or not, it’s impossible to go to the Ministry of Rites if you’re not doing well anyway.
Of course, this is only the thoughts of the five officials, the Minister of Rites Wang Xinzhi’s feeling towards Xu Qingnian belongs to the okay, if Xu Qingnian is not against the Great Wei Palace of Literature.
In fact, he has quite a good feeling towards Xu Qingnian, after all, what Xu Qingnian does is for the people, and as a parent official, it is naturally all for the people.
If Xu Qingnian hadn’t pitted himself the other day, Wang Xinzhi would have had more good feelings for Xu Qingnian.
But counting the 30 million that Xu Qingnian allocated to the Ministry of Rites, that was still a little more good feeling.
In fact, when all is said and done, the reason why Xu Qingnian is able to muddle through the imperial court like a fish in water is simply because he has solved the problems of the six ministries.
And the main problem of the six ministries is not the lack of money!
Including the military officials’ lineage, everyone is short of money, living a miserable, dry life every day, and having money makes everything go round.
Xu Qingnian was the lucky star of Great Wei, and his arrival made Great Wei, which was incredibly poor, better.
It was also at this moment that Zhang Jing’s voice rang out.
He said in a slightly joking tone.
“Saying that, but if someone wanted to harm Shouren now, what would you do?”
Zhang Jing said casually, as if he was just making a joke to jest.
The Minister of Household Affairs was the first to speak up.
“If anyone dares to find trouble with Shouren, I will raid his house.”
This was Gu Yan’s reply.
“I will send them to the frontier after you have copied their families.”
This was Zhou Yan’s reply.
“No, half of them will be sent to the frontier, and half will come to the Ministry of Works to do the tiring work, now the Ministry of Works is short of people.”
This was Li Yanlong’s reply.
“Then I will join them.”
Wang Xinzhi gave his reply.
But Chen Zhengru was the only one who did not say anything, and only gave Zhang Jing a slightly more than a glance and laughed.
“In this Great Wei nowadays, there are not many people who dare to find trouble with Xu Qingnian.”
He smiled gently, and Zhang Jing nodded along with him, as if everything was casual.
Finally, just at that moment.
Xu Qingnian’s figure appeared.
It was impossible for Xu Qingnian not to come to the Empress’ birthday, even if he had something even bigger to do, he still had to come over to congratulate her.
“I, the Minister of Household Affairs, Xu Qingnian, congratulate Your Majesty.”
Xu Qingnian opened his mouth and bowed towards the empress within the main hall.
“Aiqing, please excuse yourself.”
The Empress’s voice came out from within the hall, and at that moment a number of voices rang out from outside the immensely lively hall.
“Shouren, what gifts have you prepared for His Majesty’s birthday?”
“Yes, have you prepared a thousand ancient poems to congratulate His Majesty?”
“Shouren, we’re all waiting for you to come over for the grand finale.”
The voices of the crowd rang out, all of whom were people Xu Qingnian knew, and they spoke with smiles, asking Xu Qingnian what gifts he had prepared.
Hearing the voices of the crowd, Xu Qingnian was straightforward.
“Back to all of you, recently I have been busy with business, so I did not prepare carefully, moreover, there are all kinds of poems, words and paintings in His Majesty’s palace, so I will not make a fool of myself.
“I hope Your Majesty won’t mind.”
Xu Qingnian took out a bamboo xiao as he spoke.
He was a retainer of the Ministry of Finance, with a monthly salary of thirty taels of silver, and several mouths in the Shouren Academy had to eat, so it was definitely not possible to rely on these thirty taels, and now they were all eating old money.
There is no money to buy gifts.
As for poetry or something, there’s genuinely no need for it, so much talent that you can’t even use up yourself, and still come?
“Aiqing Xu has a heart.”
Inside the hall, the empress’s voice rang out again, while Zhao Wan’er also slowly walked out and took Xu Qingnian’s bamboo Xiao, and then even smiled with Xu Qingnian before going back.
And at that moment, Gu Yan’s voice could not help but ring out.
“Shouren, come, have a chat with a few of us old guys.”
Gu Yan spoke.
But the next moment, Duke An’s voice rang out again.
“Shouren, come, have a chat with a few of us old guys.”
Anguo opened his mouth and called out for Xu Qingnian to go over.
In a moment, the two factions, civil and military, began to fight again.
The hundred officials watched all this quietly, rather like watching a play.
Now Xu Qingnian was a fish out of water in the court, his majesty respected him, the six ministries trusted him, and he was also well liked by the military officials, more auspicious than a good luck charm, everyone liked him.
But occasionally there are bad points, such as now.
Whether to go to the State Council or to the Minister, it would be an offense if one did not choose well to come.
Listen to the shouts from both sides.
Xu Qingnian could not help but let out a bitter smile, he was afraid of encountering this.
But fortunately, the empress’ voice rang out again.
“Aiqing Xu, I have some matters for you.”
Obviously, the Empress was helping Xu Qingnian out, and hearing this, Xu Qingnian hurriedly spoke.
“In accordance with the order.”
After saying this, Xu Qingnian bowed towards Duke An and Gu Yan and the others, with a sarcastic smile on her face.
Naturally, the two gangs were only joking around a little and would certainly not take it seriously, laughing and waving their hands, allowing Xu Qingnian to pa*s.
Soon.
Xu Qingnian stepped into the main hall.
Inside the hall, the empress was very dignified, wearing a black and gold-printed dragon robe, showing off her dominance and displaying the majesty of the Son of Heaven to the fullest.
“I, Xu Qingnian, have met Your Majesty.”
Xu Qingnian bowed towards the empress.
“Please excuse yourself.”
“Aiqing Xu, how much was the total income from the official and business ways this time?”
The Empress called out to Xu Qingnian, not just to relieve him of his worries, but mainly to ask about this matter.
“In reply to Your Majesty, the actual amount of silver shipped so far is one million taels, with a remaining 350,000 taels yet to be deposited, which will all be deposited within seven days at the latest.”
“I expect that by the day the official business ends, a million and four hundred thousand taels of silver is expected to be in the accounts.”
Xu Qingnian reported on the financial situation.
One million four hundred thousand taels of silver was actually still a little less, Xu Qingnian had previously estimated one and a half million taels, and now one million four hundred thousand taels.
It only proves that Great Wei is indeed poor and so are the merchants, otherwise, the eight major chambers of commerce have joined in and there is no reason for other merchants not to come in.
The remaining merchants were not unwilling to join but could not afford to pay such a large amount of silver.
When the Empress heard this figure again, her whole body could not help but be silent.
One million four hundred thousand taels of silver.
What kind of concept is this?
With the current Great Wei, it would take a hundred and forty years to earn it.
If the killing of the merchants was considered to be a relief for the treasury of Great Wei, then this one million and four hundred thousand taels of silver was a real fatty.
Thinking of this, the empress could not help but sigh with emotion.
“Aiqing Xu, you are truly a talent of Great Wei, it is a blessing for Great Wei to have you.”
The empress opened her mouth, almost using the highest words of praise, to shape Xu Qingnian.
“Your Majesty’s words are important, I, only did what I should have done.”
Xu Qingnian did not feel anything, one million and four hundred thousand taels of silver, it did sound exaggerated and terrifying, but for the current Great Wei, it could only solve the pressing needs, if one wanted to truly bring Great Wei back to its heyday.
This silver alone is still a drop in the bucket.
Should we spend money on the people’s livelihood? Should we buy seeds once the waterwheel is ready? Do we need to buy seeds for the waterwheel? Do we need to push the wasteland to the next level? At the very least, you have to give the people something to eat, right? Do you want the subsidies?
In terms of military, whether or not you fight the Northern Expedition, do you want to reserve military strength? The army has to save up a lot of money for their salaries. Do we need to replace the weapons? This is another astronomical amount.
Then there was culture and education, could this be done in Wei? The question is, do we have that much silver?
The answer is no.
So this 1.4 million taels can only mean that Wei can do a lot of things, but if you want Wei to develop completely, you still have to be careful and spend every penny on the edge of the knife.
“Now that the treasury has a million taels in its account, what does Xu Aiqing suggest?”
The empress opened her mouth, asking Xu Qingnian.
Today was her birthday, but she did not have the slightest intention of spending it, instead she was constantly focused on the imperial court.
“The water chariot project is the first priority, followed by the vacant barren fields, the court should allocate funds to buy food and give it to the very poor people so that they can develop the barren fields.”
“At the same time, we should increase our efforts to buy waterwheel materials for the whole world, and whatever price the other party offers, Great Wei should make it 30% more expensive, until it breaks ten thousand taels of silver.”
“And then keep some of it to maintain the operation of Great Wei, intercept another 20% for the military of Great Wei, and the remaining part, still develop the agriculture of people’s livelihood, you can set up an agricultural academy and gather talented people from all over the world.”
“Research or search for three seasons of rice, or other food seeds, for example, send troops to the Heavenly Kingdom of the Sea to search for such things, if they are found, Great Wei will be truly prosperous.”
Xu Qingnian stated the arrangements for the one million and four hundred thousand taels of silver.
Every sum of money had a role to play, and every sum of money had been properly arranged by him.
It was only the empress who could not help but speak.
“Acquiring the waterwheel materials and raising them by thirty percent is a bit too costly, isn’t it?”
The empress said.
“I understand, but I did not say that I would buy it, and the reason for raising the price is to prevent enemy countries from copying it.”
“Although I have three defences, the real defence should be in the price, pushing the waterwheel material to a high price, but only shouting and not receiving.”
“In this way, merchants are driven by profit, and even if the enemy countries want to buy them, they must pay a heavy price, while I have a defence, they will certainly not be able to do what we do when they get the materials.”
“In less than a year, these materials will be sold again, and as they are sold, they will greatly affect the price and trigger panic selling, and then Great Wei will step in and take them all.”
“Even if the enemy country reacts by this time, it will be of no use, these materials still need time to grow, and Great Wei is already a step ahead from here.”
Xu Qingnian gave his reply.
He said that he would increase the price to buy them, he didn’t say that he had to buy them.
Speculate the price up, let the enemy country spend the silver to buy it first, buy it, then reproduce the waterwheel, and after the reproduction, find that it is useful, but extremely troublesome and costly to repair.
It does nothing except reset the ruined fields, creating the illusion that the gains are not worth the losses, so that these countries will not develop the object.
The big sellers will start selling off the material, which will naturally cause other merchants to sell off, and this is when Great Wei will be able to step in.
It’s a win-win situation for both the low price and the other side losing a fortune in silver.
When the materials arrive and the enemy country reacts, what’s the point? It takes time for materials to grow, so one can only watch as Great Wei develops for two or three years first.
All in all, it is impossible to completely defend against such people. As long as Great Wei’s food production really doubles, no country will sit back and wait.
This is especially true of the Chou Yuan Dynasty and the Sudden Evil Dynasty.
Oh, mentioning these two dynasties, Xu Qingnian was actually a bit puzzled, according to reason he was so famous in the Great Wei Dynasty, why didn’t the emissaries from these two dynasties, come to draw him in?
This is unreasonable, but anyone with a bit of brains should have come to woo him, promising countless benefits, even the position of prime minister could be given to him, but why didn’t he come to him?
Good guy, is this a way of looking down on me, Xu?
“I, I understand.”
“Xu Aiqing, you should be the one to decide on the affairs of the Ministry of Accounts, Gu Aiqing has to be in charge of the affairs of the court, he is a bit old and his health is failing.”
“You are still young, you have to share more for him, do you understand?”
The empress spoke, this one sentence had several meanings, the most direct meaning was that she told herself to do a good job and let herself be the Shang Shu when she was almost ready.
“I understand.”
Xu Qingnian understood the empress’ meaning, but he did not show any excitement.
What’s a Shang Shu? What could a prime minister do? His own dream was more than that.
But it was at that moment that the Empress’ voice rang out again.
“Aiqing Xu, there is one more thing that I would like to ask you, the An Guo policy, when do you think it will be displayed?”
The Empress asked once again, mentioning something that Xu Qingnian had almost forgotten.
“At least a year later, three years at the latest.”
Xu Qingnian gave this answer.
The An Guo policy was something that was written in her head back then, and although the concept was good, the way Great Wei was now, if she really wanted to implement it, she would be dragging her feet instead.
Only when agriculture and people’s livelihood were taken care of first could the An Guo Cao play its role, otherwise, taking it out now would be another drag.
“En.”
“Let’s go by what Aiqing Xu wants.”
The empress didn’t mention much more, the An Guo policy was something good she understood, but she also knew it wasn’t the right time to bring it up.
“All right, enter the banquet, the time is almost up, have a few more drinks today.”
The empress spoke again, allowing Xu Qingnian to go and enter the banquet, also allowing Xu Qingnian to have a few good drinks and relax.
“Thank you, Your Majesty, my servant, farewell.”
Xu Qingnian bowed towards the Empress, and then slowly left.
After Xu Qingnian had left, the Empress also stood up.
The time had come, and she also had to make an appearance to show her face.
Not long afterwards.
The Empress walked out of the main hall, Zhao Wan’er was holding the decree, her voice was delicate, but it could reach the ears of everyone.
The content of the decree was simple, just to thank all the amba*sadors, and to say a few words about the merits of the six ministries and the martial lineage, and to say that Wei is now flourishing, and to hope that you will continue to work hard to create a better future together.
Everyone ate and drank well.
Once the decree was read out, the singing and dancing came on and the whole palace looked very happy.
After toasting the six ministers, Xu Qingnian immediately went to toast the Duke of An and others, and after toasting the Duke of An and others, he immediately went to toast other officials.
In the middle of the feast, Xu Qingnian could be said to be full of face, except for the six ministries’ minister and the state duke, who was excited to toast anyone, and had a feeling of being honoured beyond measure.
“Come, come, come, Brother Mu, have a drink and a drink.”
“Lord Yongping, let’s have a drink too.”
Xu Qingnian held the wine jug and kept toasting, taking care of almost everyone’s face.
Unfortunately, Prince Huaining and the others did not come; they sent congratulatory gifts, but did not come themselves, politely declining the invitation on the grounds that they were ill.
That was fine, at least nothing would have gone wrong.
Only, at that moment, a rather short and thin foreign envoy came to Xu Qingnian with a gla*s of wine.
“Lord Xu, I am the Chancellor of the Gao Xian Kingdom, Park Ha Chang, I have long admired the prestige of Lord Xu, Lord Xu’s talent is immense, the Gao Xian Kingdom can be said to hold you in the highest esteem, if you don’t mind, I hope you will come to visit the Gao Xian Kingdom sometime.”
“The king has said that if you come, you will be greeted personally.”
Park Ha Chang’s voice rang out, his face full of smiles, looking incomparably flattering and reverent as he said.
And as Xu Qingnian looked at the other party, he could not help but ponder slightly, and soon knew what kind of country this Gao Xian country was.
It was not a small country, located in the eastern part of Great Wei, rich in beautiful women, and it seemed that all the previous emperors of Great Wei had consorts from Gao Xian country.
But it is not Gao Xian Kingdom that is really famous, it is Liu Kingdom, which is close to Gao Xian Kingdom, and geographically speaking, Liu Kingdom is very close to Great Wei, except that Liu Kingdom is a power of the Tusi Dynasty.
After all, if the Tusi dynasty did suddenly send troops, they would inevitably attack from the State of Liu, so the State of Gao Xian would have to become a va*sal state of Great Wei.
Otherwise it would go all the way east and take several extremely important cities of Great Wei.
“You are very kind, Brother Park has travelled a long way from a foreign country, it has been extremely hard for him to come here, so I would like to toast Brother Park.”
Xu Qingnian opened his mouth and raised his cup to drink.
And when Park Ha Chang took a look, he was immediately excited and said.
“Lord Xu has overstated his case, he has overstated his case, we are all dependents of Great Wei, and we are also the people of Great Wei, you are a minister of Great Wei, how can you drink it all in one gulp?”
“I’ll punish myself with three cups.”
Park Ha Chang was so excited that he drank three cups in a row, and then started to praise and flatter him, saying many more things about their country.
He then began to praise and patronise his country, and said a lot of things about their country.
Through Park Ha Chang’s account, it was probably clear that the Gao Xian Kingdom had been completely convinced, especially by the ruler of the country, who was extremely fond of Xu Qingnian’s poetry and wanted to invite Xu Qingnian to visit the Gao Xian Kingdom.
He wanted to meet Xu Qingnian.
“Lord Xu, not only our Gao Xian country, even the Ryukyu, they also have great respect for you, you don’t know that Zhu Sheng once travelled around the world and came to these countries of ours to preach.”
“Ever since then, we have revered the Great Wei Way of Literature, and the person we admire most is the most talented man of the world, I am not bragging, if you came to our Goshen Kingdom, all the citizens up and down the land would not be able to sleep.”
Park Ha Chang had drunk some wine and spoke with extra excitement, but what he said was the truth.
Xu Qingnian had a feeling of being suppressed everywhere in Great Wei, but in reality Xu Qingnian’s fame was extremely well known in some countries.
According to Park Ha Chang, the ruler of the Gao Xian Kingdom had to read Xu Qingnian’s poetry once a day before he could fall asleep.
This made Xu Qingnian smack his lips a little.
In the capital of Wei, although there were many people who adored and admired his talent, it was not so exaggerated.
After thinking about it, Xu Qingnian understood a little.
Park Ha Chang must have been bragging a little, followed by the fact that in Great Wei, there was the Great Wei Palace of Literature and the Zhu Sheng orthodoxy was in place, so no matter how talented a person was, they would still look dull in the face of the saint.
This is still Zhu Sheng has pa*sed away five hundred years, if it is just pa*sed away, no matter how talented you are, unless you become a saint, in the eyes of the world, will somehow reduce a little bit of impact.
No more thinking.
Xu Qingnian also did not care about such false fame.
It was not until the tenth hour.
Only then did the feast come to an end.
Xu Qingnian had also drunk a lot, but she was still sober.
It was only when they reached the outside of the palace that some loud noises rang out.
“What? We, the Attu tribe, have sent three thousand head of cattle and sheep, and this is what you give in return?”
“Three thousand head of cattle and sheep? We sent a thousand war horses, much better than your cattle and sheep, and that’s all they gave in return.”
“Shogun wine? What do I need this for? Doesn’t it pay silver?”
After the dispersal, the Ministry of Rites began to return gifts, piles of picture scroll gift boxes laid out behind them, one for each exotic messenger.
The noise drew the forbidden troops to approach, as if they had been ordered to do something, and their gaze was cold, not caring what these foreign amba*sadors had to say.
In short, if they made any more noise, they would be thrown out.
Some of them were so rich that they did not want to return the gift, but some other small countries hastened to pick them up.
After all, if you can reduce your losses, you can reduce your losses a little.
Xu Qingnian was delighted with this situation.
Want to take advantage of Wei?
Go ahead and eat Sh*t.
A group of barbarians.
Xu Qingnian, who was in a very good mood, felt a little lighter as he walked.
Only just as she walked out of the palace, Zhang Jing’s figure appeared behind her.
“Shouren, walk with me for a while.”
As Zhang Jing’s voice rang out, Xu Qingnian immediately stopped walking.
“Shang Shu Zhang.”
Xu Qingnian shouted.
“En.”
Zhang Jing walked with his hands in the air, going back side by side with Xu Qingnian.
Only all along the way, Zhang Jing did not say anything, while Xu Qingnian was getting more and more sober from the wine.
It was a full two quarters of an hour.
Zhang Jing didn’t say a word the whole time, and after dropping himself off at the Shouren Academy, he only said he was leaving, and then said nothing more.
Looking at Zhang Jing who left.
Inexplicably, Xu Qingnian knew something.
Cheng Lidong sent the dossier to him.
Shang Shu Zhang did not accept the case, he walked with himself all the way, Xu Qingnian understood what he wanted to do and wanted to take the initiative to speak on his own.
But Xu Qingnian did not say anything, because he did not want to pull Zhang Jing down.
This matter.
Xu Qingnian did not want to drag anyone into the water, he could just bear it alone.
But he understood Zhang Jing’s meaning.
He was trying to help himself.
He shook his head.
All the good feelings had vanished at this moment.
The night was thick.
Xu Qingnian went straight back into the room.
Next, it was a fierce battle.
He himself really needed to recuperate his spirit.
At the same time.
King Huaining’s residence.
King Huaining looked at the dossier on the table, then at Cheng Lidong in front of him, and fell into deep thought.
Cheng Lidong’s sudden visit, and this dossier, meant everything.
It was impossible for him not to know what the other party’s intentions were.
Moreover, Cheng Lidong had also explained who was behind himself.
The Great Wei Wen Palace wanted to lend their hands to eradicate Xu Qingnian.
For this, Prince Huai Ning was not half angry, only that he did not really want to help the Great Wei Wen Gong.
Because he knew what the Great Wei Wen Gong wanted to do.
So he was hesitating.
A quarter of an hour.
Three quarters of an hour.
An hour.
A full hour.
Prince Huining thought for an hour, and finally he spoke.
“Go back and tell the people behind you that this matter is done by this king.”
“But wanting to use this king, that’s impossible, the beginning of the matter this king does, the back of the matter, by them.”
Prince Huaining made his choice.
He wanted to get rid of Xu Qingnian.
Even if he was being used.
But he couldn’t be used completely either… It was fine to make a start, trying to get himself to sell out?
Just don’t dream about it.
“Your Majesty is wise! I understand.”
“In that case, I will now go and report.”
Cheng Lidong spoke out and then left.
After seeing Cheng Lidong leave, Prince Huaining once again fell into deep thought.
And so it was.
It was until the dawn hour.
The capital of Great Wei.
As a carriage arrived at the Ministry of the Household, boxes of silver were carried into the Ministry of the Household.
The Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of Penalties, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War had also sent people over to collect the silver.
In order to collect the silver, Chen Zhengru called out to the other five ministries to discuss the division of authority and benefits among the officials and merchants.
For example, descendants were given priority in admission to the academy, what rank corresponded to what academy, and it was not enough that you had the rank, you had to maintain it for three or five years, or even ten years to be valid.
In short, once the silver was in hand, the next step was for the court to make the decision.
So the six ministers held a small meeting, and the five military departments rushed towards the Ministry of Household Affairs with great enthusiasm, fearing that Gu Yan would go back and cause some more trouble at that time.
The whole process of getting the silver took most of the day, so much so that Chen Zhengru dragged Gu Yan to discuss it for a long time and wrote all the details before letting him go.
When Gu Yan returned, he learned that it was already too late, and apart from a few curses, Gu Yan didn’t say anything else.
And so it went.
Until the second day of September.
Dawn.
The Ministry of Punishment of the Great Wei.
The day had not yet dawned completely.
A trembling figure slowly appeared on the streets of the Ministry of Punishment.
It was the figure of Prince Huai Ning.
His aura was not half as fierce as before, but was replaced by a sense of a candle burning out, giving people a sense of old age and decrepitude.
The appearance of Prince Huaining made the Ministry of Penalty a little nervous.
This was no small person, and even Lord Gu had to respectfully call him the King when he saw him.
But the very next moment.
The Prince of Huaining, who was carrying a dossier, arrived outside the Ministry of Punishment.
“Greetings, Your Highness.”
The guards outside the Ministry of Punishment bowed towards Prince Huai Ning in unison.
The Prince of Huaining did not enter and ignored the guards, but fetched the drums set up outside the Ministry of Punishment, the Dengwen Drum.
Dang!
DONG!
DONG!
The sound of the drum was so strong that it startled many people, and the people living around the Ministry of Punishment were also startled by the sound of the drum.
The guards of the Ministry of Punishment were a bit tongue-tied, they didn’t understand what was going on.
It was just a decoration, and if anyone struck the drum, then it must be dealt with promptly, but the person who struck it must also be punished.
But the person who beats the drum is also punished. But no matter how much he is punished, he cannot be punished by a prince.
The drums sounded long and long, nine times.
The next moment.
The voice of Prince Huaining rang out.
“I, Prince Huai Ning, today accuse Xu Qingnian, the Minister of Household Affairs of Great Wei, of practising a different art, killing people and transgressing goods, a heinous crime, and an unforgivable evil.”
“I hope that the Minister of Justice will accept this case.”
Prince Huaining’s voice rang out.
His voice was not strong, but it sounded very strange and spread throughout half of Kyoto, heard by the six ministries, and also heard by the state dukes and va*sals.
It was even more audible to the Great Wei Palace of Literature.
This was not the power of a mortal, but the power of the martial arts.
And at this moment.
The greater part of Kyoto was in complete uproar.
“Lord Xu cultivates foreign arts?”
“That’s impossible, how could Lord Xu possibly cultivate the Other Arts?”
“What’s this all about? Is someone trying to plant evidence to frame Lord Xu?”
“Don’t talk nonsense, this is a prince, be careful of getting into trouble.”
“Boy, a prince went to the Ministry of Punishment to sue him personally, how big a grudge is this?”
“Brother Xu cultivates a different art? That’s impossible, he’s a Confucian scholar, how could he practise this kind of supernatural art? And I’ve never heard of a Confucian Dao supernatural art before.”
“Yes, where have we heard of Confucianism?”
“No wonder Xu Qingnian was able to raise his Confucian Dao rank so quickly, it turns out that he practiced a different art.”
“Shut up if you don’t understand, there’s no way Confucianism has supernatural arts, there must be some misunderstanding here.”
“That’s right, don’t talk nonsense and bite at every opportunity? Does your Excellency have an axe to grind with Brother Xu?”
Early in the morning.
The whole of Kyoto was completely abuzz with excitement.
Because of this matter, it really had to be a cause for concern.
The sixth-ranking Confucian of the Great Wei.
The Minister of Household Affairs.
A great talent of the ages.
He had practised a foreign art?
And the person who reported the case was also a prince.
If it were anyone else, I’m afraid the Ministry would have kicked him out at the first opportunity.
But a prince had personally come to beat the drum.
This was definitely not an empty story.
The Ministry of Justice.
Chen Zhengru put down the dossier in his hand, and his face did not look too good.
The Ministry of the Household.
Gu Yan, who had just prepared to attend to his official business, immediately set off, heading directly for the Ministry of Penalty.
The Ministry of War.
Zhou Yan frowned, but instead of going to the Ministry of Punishment, he went to the State Council House.
Ministry of Rites.
Wang Xinzhi had some consternation in his eyes, and after some contemplation, he finally sighed and headed towards the Great Wei Palace of Literature.
Ministry of Works.
Li Yanlong’s face was full of astonishment, and for a moment he did not know what to say.
The same could be said of the major state dukes and the va*sal families, including the many people who knew Xu Qingnian.
No one would have thought that Xu Qingnian actually cultivated a foreign art.
The Great Wei Imperial Palace.
The empress, who was reading through the imperial documents, heard Prince Huai Ning’s voice again.
The entire person was completely motionless.
The imperial pen in his hand fell with a drop of red ink, staining the pages.
And in the Ministry of Punishment.
Zhang Jing was sitting calmly in the Shang Shu Room.
Not a word was spoken.
It was dawn.
The sky in Kyoto.
The night was still thick.
It made the hearts of everyone in Great Wei’s Kyoto a little depressing.