bookrebus Chapter 322
Chapter 322
"Then what is going on with this Scholar Xu? How could he know the Dongyi people?"[Master, Scholar Xu's name is Xu Tongchen. His ancestor was Xu Yannian, who once served as the prime minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and his son married the daughter of the Last Emperor.
This Xu Tongchen is the descendant of the Last Emperor's daughter. Moreover, tracing back through the Tong family, they are maternal cousins with Tong Jiye. Because of this relationship, the two families have long been in contact.
In the south, apart from the Sima family, the other major families are all involved in maritime trade and have some sort of connection with the Dongyi people.]
Emperor Mingxi lowered his head slightly, slowly sipping his tea. Looking closely at his hand holding the cup, the veins were bulging. He was clearly furious about the collusion between the remnants of the previous dynasty and the Dongyi people.
The Tong family members in Xingzhou and Yizhou had all been captured. Based on their confessions, Wei Ping and the others traced the clues to Xinzhou. Various signs indicated that Xinzhou was hiding the descendants of the Tong family and the legitimate son of the Last Emperor.
However, they had not yet found this big fish. To avoid alerting the enemy, they only kept Tong Jiye and his associates under surveillance, waiting for the right moment to close the net.
He hadn't expected there to be someone so closely connected to them here, willing to sell out the Great Yan to foreigners just to restore their fallen nation!
Standing in the corner, Dong Qianli glanced at Lu Qi. As the Minister of Revenue, he had naturally seen the secret investigations ordered by Emperor Mingxi regarding the maritime trade profits of the various families.
It could be said that the prominent families in the south were filthy rich because of maritime trade. Yet, not only did they evade taxes, but they also colluded with pirates, and now with the Dongyi people. They truly deserved to die!
He only hoped that the Ministry of Works could build the warships as soon as possible. By then, the new naval forces trained by the Great Yan could sail out on the new warships to pacify the pirates, and that would be the time to bring down the Sima family.
Lu Qi certainly understood the meaning behind Dong Qianli's glance, but building a new type of large sea vessel was a process of trial and error for the Ministry of Works; they couldn't speed it up even if they wanted to.
[Liu Goro's public identity is a grocery store owner, and his shop is located in the area where Hua Qian and his gang collect protection fees.
Once, while the two were drinking, Liu Goro originally wanted to ask this local snake about the imperial estate. Unexpectedly, he was filled with liquor by Hua Qian. In his drunken state, he let it slip, allowing Hua Qian to learn about the potatoes at the imperial estate, who then passed the information to Hua Rong.
That is what led to the arson incident today.]
"Since a few people had already sneaked in, why didn't they just secretly dig up a few potato plants instead of setting a fire?"
[Because the matter of the potatoes has increasingly boosted the prestige of the emperor and the imperial court among the common people. This is something that Panshan, an organization dedicated to overthrowing the current ruling family, does not want to see.
As long as there are no potatoes, the prestige the emperor built in the name of the potatoes will plummet from the high mountains to the bottom of the valley.]
Emperor Mingxi stood up abruptly and said to Wei Ping, Cai Xian, and Shen Jian, "My three lords, I will give you two days.
Within two days, I want to see all those involved captured. Three scoundrels wouldn't have the guts to go against the royal family.
There must be someone behind them. Go and dig all these people out, leave no one behind!"
He looked at Wei Ping and Cai Xian and added, "Especially that Black Widow. Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, you must dig her out!"
[Master, digging three feet into the ground won't dig out Black Widow at all.]
"Why do you say that, Little Zhu? Do you know where Black Widow is hiding?"
[Hehe, Master, Little Zhu actually does know. He is currently hiding in a secret room of a ruined temple on Qingliang Mountain outside the southern city.
The depth of that secret room is three meters, not three feet.]
"This Black Widow is quite good at hiding. If it's really as you say, then Wei Ping and Cai Xian will have a hard time finding him."
[Master, do you not plan to tell them?]
Yue Fuguang paused and said, "For the sake of Wei Yan and Cai Bing, I do need to intervene a bit. If they can't find him by tomorrow, it won't be too late to leak the information then.
I can just use this opportunity to let them sort through the suspicious individuals. They might just inadvertently catch a few little mice.
Don't forget, in just over a month, the crops outside will reach the harvest season. It's good to clean up inside and outside the capital in advance."
"We obey His Majesty's decree!" The two solemnly accepted the order.
It goes without saying that they had mixed feelings in their hearts. The two never expected that one day, they would prematurely enjoy the protection and benefits brought by their most disappointing sons.
Clinging to the Junior Preceptor's golden thigh was truly worth it!
In the crowd, the Yu father and son wore bright smiles, showing immense support for Yue Fuguang's decision.
They had thought the matter would end here, and Yu Chongshan had already lifted his foot to walk toward Yue Fuguang.
Having not seen her for many days, he naturally missed her very much. Although he received news from the estate every day, nothing compared to seeing her in person and asking clearly if the child was doing well.
However, right at that moment, Emperor Mingxi leaned forward, inching slightly closer to Yue Fuguang. With a smile he thought was amiable and approachable on his face, he said, "Fuguang, when you came in just now, I heard the Crown Prince say you have autumn sweet potato seeds over there?"
[Master, why is the emperor smiling like the Big Bad Wolf disguised as the grandmother?]
"Don't worry, your master isn't Little Red Riding Hood. He can't eat me."
Emperor Mingxi was quite speechless at the back-and-forth between these two little ancestors. Holding back his twitching mouth, he continued, "Look, could the imperial court buy some from you at a high price?"
Yue Fuguang raised her eyes to meet Emperor Mingxi's eager, aged face and subtly took a step back.
Xie Zhiyan perceptively handed her a small bowl of iced watermelon puree, smiling as he said, "Junior Preceptor, please taste how the watermelons produced from the estate are."
Emperor Mingxi also knew he was being a bit too eager, so he smiled and chimed in, "I think they are still slightly inferior to the Golden Scales and Jade Qilin from Fuguang's estate."
Yue Fuguang took two bites before replying, "Your Majesty, I do have some autumn sweet potato seeds left over there. I was originally saving them to make dried sweet potatoes.
Since Your Majesty wants them, I will give them to you."
Emperor Mingxi was so excited he nearly stood up. He laughed heartily and said good several times in a row.
The officials in the hall also wore faces full of smiles, one after another showering Yue Fuguang with loud praises and flattery.
"However." With Yue Fuguang's however, the originally lively hall instantly went quiet. Emperor Mingxi's smile also froze on his face, his facial muscles twitching uncontrollably.
Yue Fuguang caught a glimpse of the chrysanthemum-like wrinkles frozen at the corners of his eyes and secretly shook her head. The emperor's skincare routine was really lacking!
In his forties, right at the prime flower-like age, and look at what he had done to himself!
Power doesn't necessarily nourish a person! Anyone who worries too much will look old!
"Fuguang, just say it. As long as the imperial court can do it, there is nothing we won't grant." Even without the matter of the autumn sweet potato seeds.
Given Yue Fuguang's importance, as long as it was a request she made, even if they had to mobilize the entire nation's strength, they would have to find a way to fulfill her wishes.
"Your Majesty, I do not want money."
She shifted her gaze to Huo Ying. "I heard that Minister Huo has recruited over twenty thousand new soldiers from various places in the past couple of months."
Huo Ying cupped his fists and replied, "It is indeed as the Junior Preceptor says. Following the recruitment standards of the Right Martial Guard's new army, I have recruited a total of twenty-eight thousand five hundred new soldiers from the prefectures and counties around the capital.
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