Inside the capital of Great Wei.
It is late afternoon.
The feast is over, and in the Hall of the Nurtured Heart, the six ministers and the nine princes of state are discussing the great events of the state in the great hall.
The empress sat on the dragon chair, quietly looking at the people.
“Xu Aiqing, has the demonic thoughts in your body really been suppressed?”
Ji Ling opened her mouth and looked at Xu Qingnian with concern, asking about this matter.
As Ji Ling opened his mouth to ask, Xu Qingnian said with a calm expression.
“Your Majesty, I am no longer in trouble.”
He replied calmly, causing the crowd to breathe a little easier.
Immediately afterwards, Xu Qingnian continued.
“Your Majesty, during the six months that I was away, I personally went to all the counties of Great Wei to survey them, and now the benefits of the waterwheel have been fully developed, and with the three years of tax exemptions from Your Majesty, the people are already well fed and clothed.”
“I think the An Guo policy can be promoted.”
Xu Qingnian opened his mouth, he had been away for as long as half a year before and after.
And for a period of time during those six months, Xu Qingnian had just gone to various county capitals to see how the people were surviving.
Since the complete promotion of the waterwheel a year ago, Wei had an abundant grain harvest, and with the Empress’ tax exemption for three years, the people everywhere had enjoyed the benefits.
Whereas there was little food left in every household, there is now an abundance of food in every household, not only because of the benefits of the waterwheel.
It was also the benefit of the improved national luck of Great Wei. There were good fields everywhere in Great Wei, and some three-season rice had been discovered, and twice as much grain was grown as before.
The people of Great Wei were all smiles as the barren fields were opened up.
Although the price of grain has been suppressed during this period, the people who have been affected by the famine do not have too much of this stuff.
If they can’t sell it, they can store it well.
So, at the moment, Wei is indeed developing at a fast pace, and the people have food, which has facilitated a lot of trade.
The population is also growing rapidly. Originally, they did not want to have children because there was no food to feed them.
Now that there is more food, the people have started to make babies. There are no specific figures, but Xu Qingnian has done some calculations.
At least the number of newborns is several times higher than before, and now for the people of Great Wei, they are not afraid to have children that they cannot feed.
This was all for the better.
It was precisely for this reason that Xu Qingnian returned to Great Wei in a big way, because he was going to do something really big.
To put Great Wei, once and for all, on the road to heyday.
“I do have this intention, but I still need to listen to the opinions of all the lovers.”
The Empress nodded, she agreed with Xu Qingnian on this point.
The An Guo policy was a national policy written by Xu Qingnian two years ago, but at that time, the Great Wei Dynasty lacked food and the people did not have enough to eat, so there was no silver in the money bank?
Now it is different, as Great Wei is flourishing and can promote the An Guo policy.
When the An Guo policy was mentioned, the voice of Gu Yan, the Minister of Household Affairs, could not help but ring out.
“Your Majesty.”
“I also agree with what Your Majesty Xu wants.”
“Although Your Majesty is exempt from taxes for three years, but only from food taxes, in these circumstances, this year’s tax revenue of Great Wei, also up to 60,000,000 taels of silver.”
“I’ve had my people do some calculations, and if we start collecting grain tax, Wei’s tax revenue could be as high as 200,000,000 taels of silver per year, and that’s just a conservative estimate.”
This is a conservative estimate.” “In another year and a half, we will be able to start collecting grain tax, and the An Guo policy can be extended.”
When it came to the An Guo policy, Gu Yan had something to say.
This thing was even more beneficial to the country and the people, and it could also earn silver for the Great Wei Dynasty, which was a good thing.
And when all the ministers heard what Gu Yan said, they all couldn’t help but smack their lips.
It was natural that they did not know the current situation of the Great Wei Dynasty.
When they heard that the annual tax revenue was 200,000,000 taels of silver, how could they not smack their lips? And this was a conservative estimate?
What if it was not conservative? 250,000 taels of silver? Or 300,000,000 taels of silver?
If that were the case, the Great Wei Dynasty would be completely developed.
The Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Works would all be able to enjoy a large amount of funding.
The Ministry of Military Affairs, in particular, would be able to save up for three years, and then it would be able to go to war.
The Ministry of Military Affairs, in particular, would be able to save up for three years, and then it would be able to go to war.
For a moment, all the people could not help but start to envision the future.
However, Xu Qingnian shook his head.
“Gentlemen, right now for Great Wei, silver is no longer the most important thing.”
“It is the population that is most important, whether it is 200,000,000 taels of silver or 300,000,000 taels of silver, these are not enough.”
“In order for Great Wei’s population to surge, food production still needs to be promoted vigorously, and when the day of taxation comes, it needs to reach 500,000,000 taels of silver a year in order to sustain Great Wei’s development,”
Xu Qingnian voiced out.
He did not think that 200,000,000 taels of silver was a lot.
In fact, if one thought about it, one would know that first of all, the Ministry of Officials, the officials’ salaries would have to be raised a bit, otherwise, it would be easy to create an unbalanced mentality.
After all, the people have surplus food, and there is no guarantee that the officials will not be dissident if they are not supported by their salaries.
Since ancient times, corrupt officials cannot be controlled, nor can strict laws.
There were many officials in Wei, and if their salaries were raised, it would cost tens of thousands of taels of silver.
Then the Ministry of War also needed to spend money, which was another huge expense.
In the past, the four ministries were poor, so they didn’t have much silver, but now it’s different.
This is another huge expense.
Xu Qingnian had done some calculations during this time.
The silver needed by the six ministries would add up to an annual expenditure of at least 150,000,000 taels of silver.
Of course if 150,000,000 taels of silver were smashed, then the six ministries would be able to completely expand their hands and feet.
So if there were only 200,000,000 taels of silver, Great Wei’s treasury would only have 50,000,000 taels of silver left.
It would be almost impossible to go ahead with various projects.
Education, infrastructure, these two alone were astronomical figures.
There are no subsidies in this, after all, if you want population growth, you have to give a dividend stimulus.
Each of these things would cost a lot of silver.
No, not a lot.
It’s a huge amount.
“Five hundred thousand million taels of silver per year?”
“How is this possible.”
The crowd exclaimed, especially Gu Yan, the Minister of Household, two hundred thousand thousand taels of silver, although it was a conservative income, but upwards the estimate was at most two hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver.
What Xu Qingnian meant was to double the income.
This was too exaggerated.
It was almost impossible.
“To reach an annual tax revenue of 500,000,000 taels of silver, this is almost impossible, Your Majesty, this …… is a bit forced.”
Gu Yan spoke as he looked at Xu Qingnian.
Although he couldn’t wait for it to reach 500,000,000 taels of silver, it was almost impossible ah.
It wasn’t just him, the crowd all revealed a puzzled look.
It sounded so cool, but doing it was almost impossible.
However, they knew better, since Xu Qingnian dared to say it, he naturally had his ideas.
“Minister Gu, this king knows that it is almost impossible for Great Wei to achieve an annual tax revenue of 500,000,000 taels of silver.”
“But please rest a*sured, Lord Gu, since I dare to ask, I naturally have some preparations and it is not an impromptu idea.”
Xu Qingnian explained.
He then took out a thick stack of zhenqi, first handing it to the empress, and then handing a copy to the crowd.
These were the articles written by Xu Qingnian during his trip to the Great Wei.
On this trip back, Xu Qingnian focused on developing Great Wei’s national power.
The reason was simple: the Dragon Cauldron of the Middle Continent.
The three devil marks in one’s own body are related to the yin force of heaven and earth, and one wants to suppress the yin force.
There are many ways to do this, such as becoming a saint yourself, and the strongest saint at that, preaching and receiving the sermon, resolving all the demons and suppressing everything.
But this approach is difficult, after all, the twelve demon gods, which even a saint cannot solve, can only be said to be suppressed.
Furthermore, how difficult is the holy path? Does one have that much time?
The answer is obvious.
There is not enough time.
Right now, the shadows are full of enemies. Take the Sea of Demons, it is clear how dangerous the Sea of Demons is, but there are still people who dare to risk their lives.
The enemies were already starting to do whatever they could, so it was almost impossible to allow oneself to take one’s time to gain enlightenment and become a saint.
So for Xu Qingnian, the only direct way was for the Great Wei Dynasty, to unify the Central Continent and subsequently develop vigorously to become a truly supreme dynasty.
Qi luck was invincible.
At that time, when the eight directions came to worship, the divine dynasty of the Central Continent could completely suppress the Yin power of heaven and earth.
When all is said and done, the truth is simple: what one person can do is ultimately not much, but what a nation can do is terrifying.
This is why after Xu Qingnian returned to the court, he started to develop around the country again, instead of doing other things.
Xu Qingnian’s memorial clearly spells out many plans for developing the country.
It redefined five new state policies for Great Wei.
Firstly, to continue to develop agriculture and to allocate funds to the Ministry of Industry to produce and invent more tools to benefit the people.
Within the next two years, the tax revenue from food production alone would reach 250,000,000 taels of silver. The tax revenue of Great Wei was on the high side, with 40% of the food collection, and it was impossible to lower it, after all, if the country had no silver, it would be meaningless.
Right now, the tax revenue from food production in Great Wei should be able to reach a stable 150,000,000 taels of silver, which means a doubling in two years.
The method advocated by Xu Qingnian is also very simple, farming and giving away fields, as long as you are willing to farm, give away good fields, and if they are deserted, you can also get reduced taxes.
To put it bluntly, it’s a gift, a gift of fields and tools, if you don’t work here too, then you can go to hell.
Secondly, continue to develop the military department vigorously, the country is strong before the people can become rich.
If the country is not strong, what’s the use of having more food, it’s still not a dowry for others?
But to make the country’s military strong, at least it needs a lot of resources, meat, eggs and milk to support, not to say that everyone is like a dragon, but at least a physical quality of one or two times stronger is no problem.
With the support of national luck, the food will become more nutritious, the body will become stronger, and there will be more and more martial artists.
Thirdly, the An Guo policy, the Great Wei money bank.
Right now, Great Wei needs a sum of silver, and uses this silver to complete its infrastructure.
To get rich, first build roads, this is the eternal truth.
There is still 1.3 million taels of silver in the treasury of Great Wei, which is just enough money to carry out this project.
But it is only enough to complete the infrastructure. How many roads do we need to build in Wei? How many roads would need to be built in the country? And how much would it cost?
And Xu Qingnian’s plan in his memo calls for a major infrastructure development in three years, in other words, three years to complete the project.
Three years.
How much manpower and financial resources will be required?
And the An Guo policy is being promoted at this time, which does not mean that people should save up their silver now, but for a rainy day.
When the road is repaired, commerce and trade will develop vigorously and at that time the Great Wei Money Bank can be put to maximum use.
Fourth, education for all, education is the basic to improve the overall strength of the country.
Knowledge is the first productive force, and this can be used in any era.
This point has been mentioned before, but it has not been thoroughly implemented.
Now Xu Qingnian wants to link education to the population, and children born will go to the academy for free, at least to solve illiteracy.
But the amount of silver and taels required for education for all would again be astronomical.
The last one, on the other hand, is newborn welfare and old-age welfare.
Encouraging people to have children, giving food subsidies, plus solving the education problem, and the old-age problem.
These are all schemes to stimulate population growth as well as promote development.
The five new schemes represented a move towards an era of heyday for Great Wei, but the only thing required to do this was silver.
A huge amount of silver to support them.
At this moment, Ji Ling is smacking her lips. As the empress of Great Wei, she understands Xu Qingnian’s ambitions, but after a moment’s reflection, she knows that these five plans are almost impossible to implement.
To be more precise, it was fine to implement one or two, as Wei still had silver in its treasury, but to implement them all.
It’s a fool’s errand.
Ji Ling was fine.
The biggest reaction was from Gu Yan, who is the Minister of Household, and he knows better than anyone how much silver the dynasty has, where it needs to be spent and where it doesn’t need to be spent.
The idea was good, so good that he supported it with both hands and feet, but the problem was that there was not so much silver.
Not only him, but the other five ministers were also smacking their lips, and even if they were rough men, they knew how horrible Xu Qingnian’s plan was.
There was no problem implementing it, but it was extremely easy for something to go terribly wrong.
“Your Majesty.”
“It is good to continue to promote farming, good and barren fields are used together, the big deal is to open up some more places and encourage the people to farm, there is no problem with this.”
“Building bridges and roads bite the bullet, the Ministry of Finance can also allocate funds, after all, it is for the sake of the Great Wei’s prosperity, this is acceptable.”
“As for this An Guo policy, it can also be promoted, after all, when the bridges and roads are repaired, it can indeed strengthen trade exchanges, which is also good, there is no problem with these two policies.”
“But the latter one won’t work, it’s not realistic to build bridges and roads, but also to develop food production and to increase troops.”
“There are so many counties, provinces and prefectures in the Great Wei Dynasty, if we really want to meet the requirements in the memorial, the treasury will have to spend 1.3 million taels of silver in less than a year.”
“Although the idea is good, it is difficult to do.”
Gu Yan spoke out, he still spoke somewhat euphemistically, if it were any other person who told him this matter.
He would have slapped him straight across the face.
Xu Qingnian was different, Xu Qingnian knew more about the Household Ministry and the division of silver in Great Wei, it was impossible for him to say something like this.
If he dared to say it, he had other ideas.
“Building bridges and roads, increasing the number of troops and raising them, as well as sending children to school and supporting the elderly, each of these amounts are astounding, Shouren, just now I did some calculations.”
“The Great Wei treasury has 1,300,000,000 taels of silver, so if we allocate 1,000,000 taels of silver, we can solve the problem of building bridges and roads, but as for increasing the number of troops and raising them, it is basically impossible, and as for children going to school and supporting the elderly, it is even more impossible.”
“If you do some calculations, five million taels of silver would not be enough to cover such a large amount of expenses.”
Chen Zhengru also followed suit, he was not from the Ministry of Household Affairs, but he also understood the situation there, and what Xu Qingnian said was simply not possible.
“Yes, just about anything is a shocking figure.”
“How about this, how about half of it is used to build bridges and roads, and half is used to increase troops?”
“Building bridges and roads is a priority, so is the promotion of food production, and increasing troops and raising them can’t be done without, it can be reasonably arranged, but the latter one, it’s a bit less practical.”
The crowd debated, normally they would not want the Ministry of Household Affairs to pay out all kinds of money, but after reading Xu Qingnian’s plan, everyone was taken aback.
In particular, Chen Zhengru gave a specific figure.
Even 5 million taels of silver could not solve Xu Qingnian’s plan.
It was good to be ambitious and everyone was willing to support it, but the problem was that the pace was too big, making it somewhat unacceptable to everyone.
However, in the face of the crowd’s doubts, Xu Qingnian did sort of give an answer.
“All of you may have thought wrongly.”
As Xu Qingnian spoke, the eyes of the ministers could not help but fall on Xu Qingnian, and their eyes were filled with curiosity.
“Among the strategies set up by the king, the fifth one is crucial.”
“The amount of silver needed to build bridges and roads can be countless, but what really costs a lot of money is the manpower.”
“And if you want your children and grandchildren to be able to study without spending a penny, and if you want to receive a salary to live on when you are old, you have to do something.”
“So there is a need for the Ministry of Works to set up a new agency to work with the Ministry of the Household, but anyone who works for the dynasty need not do better than others, as long as they reach their normal working hours, they can enjoy the New Deal.”
Xu Qingnian stated his thoughts.
It’s not about exploiting the people, but about taking one for the team, wanting future generations to go to school for free? Do you want to have a small monthly salary when you are old?
More may not be particularly much, but it’s enough to feed you.
Combining the above two, if you want to enjoy the benefits of the court’s new policy, you have to work for the court, and Xu Qingnian’s idea is simple: two hours.
As long as you do two hours of work, you will enjoy the benefits for one year in the future, and as long as you do five years, your descendants will go to school for free.
If the work is done for more than two hours, the money will be settled, not much but not too little either, at least not less than the silver taels for farming.
Xu Qingnian had done some calculations and found that he worked almost four hours a day.
He could also spare some time to plant the fields.
If you do the math, it would be five hours.
This is not an ordinary world, it is an immortal world, the people would rather work more than be poor and hungry.
In those days, as long as they had a mouthful of food, they didn’t care if they were tired of working.
There were many people begging to do a job.
Xu Qingnian stood from the perspective of the Great Wei dynasty and could not withhold money from the people nor harm the interests of the Great Wei.
When Xu Qingnian’s plan and ideas were stated, the eyes of the crowd lit up.
“Old man understands, Shouren you mean to attract the people through the fifth policy, to solve the labour costs and only need to bear the cost of materials.”
Chen Zhengru understood, and he looked at Xu Qingnian and asked a special question.
“En, Chen Ru, this is indeed what the king means.”
Xu Qingnian nodded.
“That is to say, put off the existing pressure until later.”
Gu Yan instantly understood Xu Qingnian’s meaning.
Building bridges and roads, including reinforcements, all of these things required a large amount of silver, but the biggest problem lay in the manpower and labour.
The material is fine, but in addition to the tools to build bridges and roads, there is a series of things such as quarrying.
The main problem is the cost of labour.
Now the new policy introduced by Xu Qingnian is to shift the pressure of the dynasty and move it to the back.
“This is indeed a good idea.”
“Only, what if it doesn’t work at the back?”
As the Minister of Household, Gu Yan actually did not advocate this kind of behaviour, putting the risk in the future in order to solve the internal pressure, which was all well and good if the Great Wei Dynasty was thriving.
But if something goes wrong with the dynasty, then this is a time bomb.
It could blow up at any time, and when it does, the dynasty will collapse and there will be no chance of saving it.
Gu Yan did not directly object, but used this rhetorical question to express his attitude.
This matter, which involved the development of the Great Wei Dynasty, naturally, the ministers had to take it seriously.
“What Lord Gu has said does exist, but now that we have reached an extraordinary time, it is natural to do extraordinary things.”
“Nowadays, Great Wei has a national dragon tripod and the wind and rain are in harmony, so as long as Great Wei can stabilise internally, sweep across externally and unify the Central Continent, then all of Lord Gu’s worries will not arise.”
“Even without the need to sweep the outside world and unify the Central Continent, as long as the Chu Yuan Dynasty and the Tusi Dynasty do not come to provoke Great Wei, with Great Wei’s current food production and the blessing of the national fortune, in five years’ time, the tax revenue from food production will increase in value by 500,000,000 taels of silver.”
“In ten years’ time, the tax revenue from food production will increase in value by sixty or even seventy, and within a hundred years, it will definitely exceed one million million silver taels.”
“Of course, by that time, the population of Wei will have increased at least tenfold, so it will naturally require even more expenditure.”
“But no matter what, there will still be no problem in feeding this group of people.”
Xu Qingnian said with a certainty.
Ten years, twenty years, or even fifty years, a hundred years later, the population of Great Wei would inevitably increase more than tenfold, provided there was no chaotic war.
Under such circumstances, there would be no such thing as barren fields in Great Wei, because all the grain fields would be requisitioned.
Once the population is large, it is good to do anything, provided that it is handled in an orderly manner.
When all is said and done, Xu Qingnian’s plan is very large, and to be able to support it, it must rely on two places.
First, the National Luck Dragon Cauldron.
The National Luck Dragon Cauldron must ensure that for the next hundred or even thousand years, the dynasty will have good winds and rain, no natural disasters, and that the grain fields will grow more and more food and more talent.
Secondly, the tools.
If Great Wei wanted to make a truly astounding change, it would have to be heavy industry, transforming from agriculture to industry.
But this process was complex and could not be solved by one person.
This is why Xu Qingnian wants to develop education vigorously. The only way to do this is to produce a large number of well-read people, educated and talented, and let them go off on their own to study in various fields.
Valley/span refers to the possibility that one day someone will have a sudden idea and create a steam engine.
This is not impossible.
The above two points, however, can only be left to fate and need time to be measured, and all Xu Qingnian can do is to pave the way.
It was not really up to Xu Qingnian to decide whether it would work in the future.
“Shouren, I agree with you, extraordinary times, extraordinary treatment.”
“But the problem is, even if the pressure is shifted to the next fifty years, the problem comes again, the one million three hundred thousand taels of silver in the Great Wei treasury at the moment is still not enough.”
“It must be at least three million taels of silver.”
“One million ten thousand taels of silver for the promotion of food cultivation, one million ten thousand taels of silver for the construction of bridges and roads, one million ten thousand taels of silver for monthly salaries, and the Ministry of Works’ artefacts, there is still a shortfall of one million seven hundred thousand taels of silver.”
Chen Zhengru understood completely what Xu Qingnian wanted to do.
Xu Qingnian wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to vigorously develop Great Wei.
Xu Qingnian had mentioned it before, but later on, due to many things, it was delayed.
Now that Xu Qingnian had restarted the plan, he naturally agreed with it, but the problem was that if he wanted to start the plan, there was still not enough silver in the Great Wei treasury.
At least three to five years, otherwise, if the plan is forced to be implemented, it is afraid that halfway through the project, there will be no more silver and it will become a joke, but the fear is that after the silver is spent, the project will not be completed.
This would easily bring down the court.
The shortfall is one million seven hundred thousand taels of silver, and this is only a conservative estimate, it must not be counted like that.
The calculation is based on two million taels of silver.
Where would that much silver come from in one breath?
“Someone will come to deliver it.”
Xu Qingnian opened his mouth, and he looked incomparably confident as he said.
As soon as he said this, the ministers became somewhat curious and could not help but look at Xu Qingnian.
Someone would send the silver?
Who would do that?
Two million taels of silver in one breath? Who? That big money man?
“Shouren, what do you mean by that?”
“Prince Xu, who would be willing to give us silver for no reason?”
The courtiers were curious and looked at Xu Qingnian.
“Don’t worry, gentlemen, the time is not ripe at the moment, when it is truly ripe, you will understand.”
“In short, if you ministers agree with the king’s intention, you should start preparing, the current silver in the treasury is enough to maintain the initial stage.”
“Within six months, the King promises that two million taels of silver will be given in full.”
Xu Qingnian said with unparalleled confidence.
Once this was said, the crowd became even more curious.
It was just that Xu Qingnian did not say anything, so for a moment, they could only be itching to do so.
“Your Majesty, I will say no more, if within half a year, Your Majesty can really get two million taels of silver, I promise to do my best to cooperate with this strategy.”
“Of course, His Majesty’s consent is also required.”
If Xu Qingnian could really get two million taels of silver within six months, then Great Wei would take off.
If Xu Qingnian could really get two million taels of silver within six months, then Great Wei would take off.
In less than three years, Great Wei will really be flourishing, and not just flourishing, but flourishing to the point of fear.
Agriculture, military, education, trade, population, in three to ten years, will completely explode, more than ten times in ten years.
“I will allow it.”
Ji Ling spoke up and agreed straight away.
There was no comment.
Don’t ask me, asking is agreeing.
Once she heard the empress agree, Xu Qingnian could not help but smile.
“Then Shang Shu Gu will prepare at ease.”
“But there is one more thing, before there is the Great Wei official merchants, this matter the king thought about, it is time to cut some, merchant tax increased to fifty percent, priority admission to the academy is cancelled.”
Xu Qingnian mentioned one more thing.
At the beginning, in order to promote the water carriage, the government and merchants were promised all kinds of benefits, and now that Great Wei did not need it anymore, it could be time to suppress some of them.
“An increase of fifty percent? Priority admission to the academy cancelled?”
“If we do that, won’t these merchants be in a mood?”
The ministers spoke up, and although they approved, it was ultimately a bit bad to unload.
“It will be implemented at the beginning of next year, and when the Great Wei money bank is ready, let them manage the branches, it is also a compensation in disguise, and if Great Wei gets better and better, the merchants will also get better and better.”
“It’s a matter between trade-offs, if someone really doesn’t agree, then let them not agree.”
Xu Qingnian was calm.
This move was a kind of unloading, but it didn’t quite count, once the Great Wei money bank got better, it was only a matter of compensating them or two.
The rest of the preferential treatment must be cancelled, otherwise, it would be extremely unfair to the people.
Extraordinary times, extraordinary treatment.
The people would be even more miserable if the merchants took all the benefits after they had settled down.
In the face of Xu Qingnian’s strong reply, the ministers did not say anything, this was nothing.
The time was almost up.
When Xu Qingnian did not say anything, the empress immediately understood what Xu Qingnian meant and slowly spoke out.
“All right, it’s not too early, so all of you should go back first.”
“Xu Aiqing is staying behind, I have other matters to discuss with you.”
The empress spoke.
All the ministers immediately shouted long live and then excused themselves.
After the ministers had left.
The Empress’s voice then rang out.
“Aiqing Xu, the demonic thoughts within your body, how exactly are they?”
As she watched the ministers leave, Ji Ling could not help but speak out, her eyes filled with concern.
In the face of the Empress’ enquiry.
Xu Qingnian did not lie.
“Your Majesty, the demonic thoughts cannot be eradicated, the only way is to let Great Wei completely flourish, gather the Dragon Cauldron of the Central Continent, unify the Central Continent, and use the power of the dynasty to suppress the yin power of the world, in order to suppress the demonic thoughts within my body.”
Xu Qingnian gave her answer.
This answer did not surprise the empress.
She had guessed it before.
“If it were to break out?”
The Empress continued to ask.
“Please rest a*sured, Your Majesty, if there is an outbreak, I will not drag Great Wei down with me.”
Xu Qingnian slowly spoke out, saying in advance.
But as soon as she finished speaking, the Empress shook her head and looked at Xu Qingnian and said.
“I, for one, do not wish for such a day to come.”
She was very direct, not wanting anything to happen to Xu Qingnian.
“Aiqing, don’t worry, I will fully support you no matter what.”
“No matter what the cost.”
The empress spoke again, causing Xu Qingnian to be somewhat unexpected.
Because in his eyes, Ji Ling was an emperor, and emperors are ruthless, but he did not expect the empress to say such words.
It was impossible to say that he was not moved.
“My servant, many thanks to Your Majesty.”
Xu Qingnian smiled.
Just before Xu Qingnian could continue speaking, out of the blue, an eunuch quickly came and knelt outside the hall.
“Your Majesty.”
“Prince Huaining asks to see the King of Peace and Chaos.”
As this voice rang out.
For a moment, within the main hall, Xu Qingnian and the empress could not help but reveal their surprise.
Not understanding what Prince Huaining was doing at this time by proposing to see Xu Qingnian.
The two of them looked at each other with curiosity in their eyes.
But soon, Xu Qingnian’s voice rang out.
“Tell Prince Huai Ning that this king will go there immediately.”
Although he didn’t know what Prince Huaining was doing again, Xu Qingnian was willing to go and meet.
Soon, the eunuch left.
There were only two people left in the main hall.
“Your Majesty, Prince Huaining has been attempting to usurp the throne, this person must not be kept.”
Xu Qingnian opened her mouth and made her feelings clear.
The empress, however, shook her head and said.
“Ai Qing, he is after all my uncle, the royal family of Great Wei, if he is willing to return to the mountain fields, I am willing to let him go.”
The empress spoke out.
She did not want to carry a bad reputation of killing her relatives, unless it was the last resort.
Hearing the Empress’s words.
Xu Qingnian understood her intentions.
“Please rest a*sured, Your Majesty, if Prince Huaining had been willing to see things through, I would not have come to such a state.”
“But if Prince Huaining is stubborn, there are some things that Your Majesty is not good enough to do, and can only be done by me.”
Xu Qingnian said blandly.
And the empress nodded, she also understood Xu Qingnian’s meaning.
“Aiqing, I already understand what you have done today, Great Wei really needs to be purged.
Ji Ling spoke.
She understood what Xu Qingnian had done today.
He wanted to clean up Wei, expel or kill all those who dare to interfere with Wei.
No one would be left behind and centralisation of power was required.
This is something that every emperor has to do, and in the past, it was always the emperor who spoke up and let his ministers do it, keeping each other in check.
But now, Ji Ling did not want Xu Qingnian to do these things anymore.
She did not want Xu Qingnian to continue to make enemies, otherwise it would be extremely detrimental to Xu Qingnian.
“Your Majesty, don’t worry, I have a sense of proportion, there are things that I know I should do, and there are things that I know I shouldn’t do.”
Xu Qingnian did not say anything more.
He had a number in his heart.
What he should do, he would not evade, and what he should not do, he would not steal the credit.
When it came to this point, there was no need to hesitate, one’s did have to take action.
If we don’t settle these rights and wrongs, it will undoubtedly be a fool’s errand if Great Wei wants to develop.
“Fine, then go ahead, and if there is anything, feel free to look for me.”
Ji Ling nodded, and said nothing more.
“Long live my emperor, I will leave first.”
Xu Qingnian arched his hand, and then walked out of the Hall of the Raising Heart.
He walked towards the imperial prison.
A quarter of an hour later.
The Great Wei Imperial Prison.
The place was gloomy and terrifying, and apart from a little fire candle, there was not a bit of light.
Inside the imperial prison.
With the head of the prison leading the way, Xu Qingnian was able to walk at a tiger’s pace and soon arrived in the depths.
Soon, he saw the figure of Prince Huai Ning.
The two of them had actually met very few times, and apart from a few quarrels, they had not seen each other for the most part.
It had only been two years since they had met again, but one was in prison and the other was outside, and their status had changed dramatically.
There is a real sense of life beyond words.
He sat in the cell.
He looked calm, not a bit frightened, but calm instead.
Noticing Xu Qingnian’s arrival.
Prince Huai Ning’s voice could not help but ring out.
“Not even some wine and food has been prepared, is this the platitude of a king who has pacified chaos?”
Prince Huaining opened his mouth and said a rare and odd sentence.
“Prepare the finest wine and dishes.”
Hearing these words, Xu Qingnian was calm and had someone prepare the wine and food, followed by having someone open the cage and walk in.
Soon, Xu Qingnian was sitting opposite Prince Huaining.
His expression was also calm.
“Speak, what is it that you want from me.”
Xu Qingnian spoke, his face expressionless.
However, Prince Huaining did not tell what he was looking for Xu Qingnian at first.
Instead, he looked at Xu Qingnian and sized her up carefully for a long, long time.
After a while, Prince Huaining then spoke out.
“Do you know what is the thing that this king regrets the most?”
He looked at Xu Qingnian and asked so.
“Not killing me.”
Xu Qingnian didn’t even need to guess in her head to know what Prince Huaining wanted to say.
“En, the thing that this king regrets the most is not killing you.”
“But this king doesn’t hate you, believe it or not?”
Prince Huaining spoke out, and he didn’t hesitate to admit it, but he also said something very odd.
“Why don’t you hate?”
Xu Qingnian asked.
“You have heavenly help.”
“This king has always regretted that he didn’t kill you in the first place, but sometimes when I think about it, even if this king went back in time, I don’t think he could have killed you.”
“The heavens are helping you, your fortune has arrived.”
“The world needs you, so you have appeared.”
“Otherwise, with what you have done, if you were any other person, you would have died without a burial place.”
“Therefore, this king has figured out and understood that fighting with you will not end well.”
Prince Huining’s words made Xu Qingnian a little surprised.
Good man.
This old man was really a man who knew the times, he actually understood this truth.
“Then what does the king mean?”
“Shouting at me to come here just to say this?”
Xu Qingnian gathered her mind and looked at Prince Huaining, curiosity in her eyes, not understanding what Prince Huaining was looking for himself for?
Just for this matter?
To tell himself that he would not fight anymore?
To forget the grudge?
“The barbarians are going to invade Great Wei.”
At that moment, Prince Huaining’s voice rang out, but it was a martial dao transmission, not a direct voice.
“Invade Great Wei?”
Xu Qingnian frowned slightly, he knew that Prince Huaining was definitely looking for him for something.
But he didn’t expect it to be this matter.
“En, and they are trying to make the Sea of Demons riot again, in which case the First Grade Ban is still in place.”
“And the Primordial Yuan Dynasty has secretly refined a magic weapon called the Heavenly Thunder Cannon, which is not badly powerful, equivalent to a fourth-grade power, but this king guesses that it should be a third-grade, or even a second-grade power, and these things are the capital of the barbarians’ invasion.”
“Also, they asked this king to hand over the border defence map of Great Wei before.”
“This king handed it over.”
Prince Huai Ning spoke at length, spelling out all the news.
But when it came to the last piece of news, Xu Qingnian couldn’t help but frown.
“You handed it over?”
Hearing this, Xu Qingnian got a little angry.
“Don’t be nervous.”
“This king is not stupid, no matter what, this king is also the prince of Great Wei, even if the emperor’s throne is placed in front of this king, he will not exchange it for the lives of the people of Great Wei.”
“Internal fighting is internal fighting, external fighting is external fighting, and the barbarians are people whom the king despises.”
“The defensive map I gave them is from five years ago.”
“These five years have long since changed quite a lot, when they really invade Great Wei, they will only have to suffer.”
Prince Huaining said so.
This made Xu Qingnian look a little more impressed.
I didn’t expect Prince Huaining to have such a backbone.
It had to be said that because of this, Xu Qingnian did indeed cooperate with Prince Huaining.
“What do you want?”
However, Xu Qingnian still asked Prince Huaining what he needed.
He could not have told himself so much for no reason at all.
“This king is tired and wants to go back to recuperate, tell the empress that it was also this king who helped her ascend to the throne back then, consider it as returning a favour to me, and you, who killed my king’s own son, and I have done a lot to harm you.”
“Between you and me, including His Majesty, all is written off and no accounts shall be settled afterwards. If you are willing, make an oath and the king will do his best to help His Majesty, both inside and outside.”
Prince Huining spoke out.
He said this.
Once this was said.
Xu Qingnian thought for a moment and could not help but ask.
“But in case, what if you lie to me?”
Xu Qingnian asked.
“This king has not lied to you, and there is no need to lie to you.”
Prince Huaining said seriously.
But as he said this, he suddenly thought of something and quickly spoke.
“If you don’t believe me, how about capturing the connector and cross-examining him yourself?”
He proposed.
