I'm the villain in the book

Page 166

Xu Shixing was not a businessman who only made money after serving as the Minister of the Household Department for more than ten years.

He is also well versed in the way of court.

So what really scares him is not what is written in this booklet, but why Ning Yongnian showed this booklet to himself...

"Liu, Wei, Xu, the people of Daning all know these three surnames, and there are even jokes that the power of these three families is far above mine..."

Suddenly, Ning Yongnian spoke.

"Xu Aiqing, what do you think?"

"Pfft!"

Xu Shixing didn't even think about it, and fell to his knees tremblingly in the next second.

"Emperor, Your Majesty! The loyalty of my ministers to the Emperor can be learned from the sun and the moon! What is said in this book..."

"I didn't ask you that!"

Ning Yongnian slapped the memorial in his hand on the table, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Answer my question just now! Are the three families of Liu, Wei and Xu really so powerful?!"

"emperor......"

Xu Shixing raised his head suddenly, with tears running down his face: "How can the Liu and Wei families dare not speak too much, but the Xu family is definitely not like that!"

"Is it?"

Ning Yongnian stared at Xu Shixing, and suddenly asked: "Xu Qing, since you are the Secretary of the Household Department, you should know how much silver is in the Daning treasury."

"Back, back to the emperor..."

Xu Shixing had a bad feeling in his heart, but he still answered bravely: "Nearly, nearly fifty million taels."

"Okay, then after deducting the salaries, military salaries, relief and other expenses of officials big and small, how much money is left for me to dispatch?!"

"Bad, almost...ten thousand taels."

"Ten thousand taels..."

Ning Yongnian stood up slowly, walked around the desk, and walked in front of Xu Shixing step by step.

He leaned down slightly, and asked softly with a half-smile:

"Xu Aiqing, how much silver is there in the Xu family's treasury?"

......

How much money do you have at home?

Maybe Xu Shixing knew the answer, or maybe he really didn't know the exact number.

But whether he knew it or not, the question was unanswerable.

"..."

There was a moment of silence in Ziluan Hall, looking at Xu Shixing who was shaking like a sieve, Ning Yongnian didn't ask any more questions, but silently reached out and took the booklet back.

"Xu Qing, I'm not the kind of person who doesn't miss old love."

"I was able to succeed to the throne, the Xu family has contributed a lot, and it is precisely because of this that I have repeatedly condoned and condoned the Xu family's actions..."

"But this time, I really don't know what to do...Why don't you tell me?"

"..."

The afterglow of the setting sun shone into the hall and reflected on Ning Yongnian's robe, as if adding a layer of blood to the golden dragon with its fangs and claws.

After a short period of panic, although Xu Shixing still looked trembling, his mind was no longer stagnant.

Obviously, Ning Yongnian's move was to test his bottom line.

The Xu family has been rooted in Daning for hundreds of years, and has flourished for more than a hundred years. Such a complicated and complicated force cannot be overthrown by just a few words or a book of criminal evidence.

Ning Yongnian knew this, and Xu Shixing knew it even more.

Then the key is how much the Xu family has to pay to feed Ning Yongnian's appetite.

"Your Majesty, the minister's family committed such a disaster, and the minister knows that he cannot get rid of it."

"I have no face to take on the important task of Minister of the Household Department... I would like to resign and return to my hometown!"

"I implore the emperor to grant it!"

"Boom!"

After knocking his head heavily, Xu Shixing decided to hand over power first.

According to his judgment, Daning's national treasury is abundant at the moment, and there is no shortage of money, so what Ning Yongnian did must be his right to control the money and politics.

If you follow the normal situation, this kind of thinking is not wrong.

It's just that what Ning Yongnian has to do this time is far more than that simple.

"Resign and return home?"

Sighing softly, Ning Yongnian spoke calmly: "Xu Qing, do you really think that you can wear and pick off the feathers on your head whenever you want? Do you really think that this capital city is where you come and go whenever you want?" Is it not working?"

"If you really want to resign from office, it's not impossible..."

"Since you are from Jizhou, I will give you a house in Jizhou Mansion, and you can take your wife and children to spend your old age in peace."

"As for the rest... just stay in the capital."

"What, what?"

Hearing these words, Xu Shixing suddenly raised his head, his eyes full of disbelief.

He never expected that Ning Yongnian's appetite would be so big that he would open his mouth to ask for all the wealth accumulated by the Xu family over the past hundreds of years!

"Your Majesty, even if the Xu family is wrong, I'm afraid it's not the end of the crime!"

"If the emperor thinks that the minister's resignation is not enough, then the minister is willing to apologize with death!"

"But if you want me to hand over the entire Xu family... I'm sorry!"

At this moment, Xu Shixing knew very well that he could no longer retreat.

Officials are gone, and future generations can be cultivated.

The money is gone, you can make more money.

But if the hundreds of years of the Xu family's foundation were destroyed by his hands, then he would have no face to face the ancestors of the Xu family, let alone alive, even dead!

"Boom!"

While speaking, there was another kowtow.

But Xu Shixing's actions this time did not appear cowardly at all, and there was even a vague sense of going against Ning Yongnian in court.

He was betting that Ning Yongnian would not dare to take the risk of causing Daning to fall into chaos, and really tear himself apart from the Xu family.

With the background of the Xu family, Xu Shixing thought he had the confidence.

only......

"Xu Aiqing, I underestimated you."

Ning Yongnian shook his head, as if he didn't care much about Xu Shixing's "disrespectful" behavior just now.

"I used to think that you should be the one who is most loyal to me compared to the Liu and Wei families..."

"My minister is indeed loyal to the emperor!"

Xu Shixing actually interrupted directly: "But this minister is also a member of the Xu family!"

"Hahaha! What a member of the Xu family!"

Ning Yongnian raised his head and laughed loudly: "So you think I dare not touch your Xu family, right?!"

"I have absolutely no intention of this!"

He said "no such intention", but Xu Shixing's tone was very rigid.

Compared with the Liu family, although the Xu family is slightly weaker, its party members are also spread all over the government and the public.

Compared with the Wei family, although the Xu family is weaker in force, they still have a large number of masters under their command.

More importantly, the Xu family is rich.

Whenever, money is the panacea that can make up all the gaps.

So... so what if you are the Son of Heaven?

......

In the blink of an eye, the atmosphere in Ziluan Hall was already tense.

If Wei Changtian were here at this time, he would probably be greatly surprised.

Before time travel, most of his knowledge about the feudal imperial society came from TV dramas and novels.

In these works, the emperor seems to have absolute supreme authority, how can he be challenged by a courtier like this.

But in fact, in real history, situations far more exaggerated than this are not uncommon.

From Cao Cao, to Zhao Gao, to Zhang Juzheng, to Obai...all of them are masters who don't take the emperor seriously.

To put it bluntly, "Son of Heaven" is just a title, and who holds the "power of Son of Heaven" depends on the strength of their respective forces.

The Xu family's power may not reach the level of "not taking Ning Yongnian seriously", but it is more than enough to support Xu Shixing to say a few tough words.

"Your Majesty! I have the guts to say a few more words!"

"When Liu Xiang was alive, the Liu family's power was almost exhausted in the government and the public. From the state capitals to the court, from the eighth-rank county magistrate to the third-rank ministers, most of the appointments and promotions of officials, big and small, required the nod of the Liu family!"

"Has the emperor seen such a serious crime of forming a party for personal gain?!"

"The Wei family has controlled the Xuanjing Division for hundreds of years, and the Sanwei Sandi is in charge of almost all military affairs in Daning! You can kill any official at will, and you can wipe out every family and sect with a wave of your hand, even Wei Changtian Dare to bring thousands of people to kill the Shangxiang Mansion!"

"Such a lawless act, how did the emperor do it in the end?!"

"Even though the Xu family has made thousands of mistakes, the crimes committed by the Liu and Wei families are not as good as the crimes committed by the Liu and Wei families. Why can't the emperor tolerate my Xu family?!"

"emperor!"

"Chen, I don't understand!!"

"..."

The high-pitched voice of questioning echoed in the hall, and Xu Shixing's eyes were full of grief and indignation.

What he said was actually not unreasonable.

The Liu family and the Wei family are obviously more threatening to you than I am, and I have always grown up in a low-key way, why do you have to deal with me?

Do you really think my Xu family is picking up soft persimmons?

It is both venting and pressure.

After Xu Shixing finished speaking, he stared at Ning Yongnian, and the latter slowly spoke again after a long silence.

But he didn't seem to be answering Xu Shixing, but more like talking to himself.

"It seems that it is right not to wait any longer..."

"Can't accommodate the Xu family?"

"Ha ha......"

With a chuckle, he looked at Xu Shixing who was frowning.

"Xu Qing, you are wrong."

"It's not that I can't tolerate the Xu family, but..."

"Hoohoo!"

Suddenly, the loose robe automatically made a rustling sound.

Xu Shixing felt something was wrong for a moment, but he still didn't believe that Ning Yongnian would really dare to put Daning into chaos.

He raised his head high and straightened his chest, ready to express his attitude once again with the determination to die.

As long as this hurdle is passed, the Xu family will be fine!

but......