SFS Chapter 400: All Caught
Chapter 400: All Caught
"So, for your life, I will only give you one year..."
"Within a year, I will recapture the Western Rong... By then, I will give you the antidote and allow you and Murong Lan to marry, living happily ever after!"
"OK?"
Li Yuanche paused, then realized that what Princess Zhaohua wanted was not for the Western Rong troops to withdraw from the border, but to recapture the entire Western Rong.
"Why, you don't want to?" Zhong Ning's eyes suddenly turned cold.
Li Yuanche smiled bitterly. He only had one year to live now. How could he have the capital to resist?
"Subordinate, I will follow the master's wishes!"
Li Yuanche bowed deeply as if his bones were broken.
Zhong Ning curled her lips coldly and said, "Get up. I'll ask the palace doctor to come and treat your injuries. By the way, Murong Lan will come to see you this afternoon. Remember to behave well... She's my sister..."
"Yes......."
After giving all these instructions, Zhong Ning turned around and left.
When leaving, Li Yuanche stood behind him respectfully and saluted. Zhong Ning glanced at him sideways when he turned, and he still maintained the saluting posture.
People are just mean. They have to be beaten before they can recognize their current identity.
A stray dog actually dared to resist her!
Zhong Ning had no sympathy for Li Yuanche. After all, this guy had committed many crimes on the border. She didn't kill him out of consideration for the overall situation!
Want her to save some face for him?
What a foolish dream!
After dealing with Li Yuanche, Zhong Ning entered the palace.
She told Emperor Yong what had happened recently. In fact, even if she didn't say it, Emperor Yong knew about it.
Zhong Ning suggested that Dayong lend troops to Li Yuanche to help him return to the country to fight back and regain the royal power.
But Emperor Yong was still a little worried: "What if I send troops to help him regain the throne, and he bites me back?"
"Your Majesty, don't worry. First of all, the Western Rong prince is no pushover. Now that he holds military power, he won't be easily overthrown. A bloody battle is inevitable between the two. Even if Li Yuanche succeeds in taking the throne, the Western Rong will already be weakened and unable to fight against the Great Yong."
"Secondly, I have poisoned Li Yuanche for a year. If he fails to regain the throne within a year, he will die in vain..."
"Even for his life, he will do his best!"
Emperor Yong opened his eyes wide and his face trembled slightly. He was really curious about what kind of person his daughter was. She could say without batting an eyelid that she had poisoned someone.
"Of course, we need to quickly deal with Nanzhao. The Western Rong are in civil strife and can't take care of us. The only one we have to guard against is the Northern Di..."
Zhong Ning continued, "Your Majesty, the Marquis of Yongyi, Xiao Bufan, was previously wrongfully imprisoned. Although Your Majesty offered him comfort, he was never given a new position."
"We need Marquis Yongyi to suppress the Beidi front, so we can have no worries!"
"When we have time, we'll deal with them..."
Emperor Yong stroked his forehead. He actually didn't expect why it suddenly turned out like this. It seemed as if he was being pushed forward by his daughter.
Under her magical manipulation, the people of Nanzhao were in panic, the Western Rong was in chaos, and the Northern Di were also engaged in open and secret struggles.
Only they, Dayong, are preparing for war!
No, that's not right. In addition to preparing for war, they still have a difficult hurdle to overcome. If they don't handle it properly, it may cause internal and external troubles and attacks from both sides.
"I will consider the matter of Marquis Yongyi. As for your proposal to send troops to the Western Rong, I need to discuss it with the ministers in the court and will give you a reply tomorrow."
"But I want to know," Emperor Yong paused, his fingers unconsciously curling slightly, and then said, "How do you plan to reform the Qinghe area? What if this action causes the dissatisfaction of other noble families?"
"Speaking of this, I have a question for you. During the palace examination, could Your Majesty consider using reform as the topic?"
"You want to let them go?" Emperor Yong frowned and asked, "They are newcomers after all. Can they do it?"
"Father, there are so many cities across the country that are in need of a group of young officials who have not yet been formalized and are willing to serve the country and take root there..."
"Of course, before that, I will take the lead and set an example in Qinghe... Liu Ben of Qinghe County is very good. He has already conducted a census of the entire county and surveyed all the land in the county..."
"Seven days ago, he followed my son's wishes and issued a county-wide proclamation, clearing the county's tax system, abolishing the head tax, and merging the Ding tax with the land tax..."
"Of course, there was considerable obstruction. On that day, someone gathered over a thousand people and caused trouble in front of the government office..."
Realizing that things were not going well, Emperor Yong immediately asked, "And then?"
"Then?" Zhong Ning sneered:
"Liu Ben obeyed my son's orders and was determined to accomplish his mission. He arrested all the ringleaders of the riot that day, as well as several other gentry and landlords in Qinghe County..."
"Only in this way can the policy of equalizing the land tax be fully implemented..."
Emperor Yong was silent for a moment, then he pushed the pile of memorials beside him, which had formed a mountain, in the direction of Zhong Ning, "I have kept all of these memorials. Please take a look..."
Zhong Ning glanced at Emperor Yong, then picked up one of the memorials, opened it, and then opened the second, the third...
Without exception, they were all impeachments against her.
"I am just like this. Let them be..." Zhong Ning straightened her back, her face calm and her heart steady. Then she continued, "Father, these are the aristocratic families who are using the court officials to put pressure on you. What are your plans?"
Emperor Yong stood up, looked at Zhong Ning and said calmly, "My daughter is so courageous, how could I be afraid of them? This kingdom belongs to our Murong family, it is not their turn to dictate our affairs."
After hearing this, Zhong Ning looked at Emperor Yong with admiration:
"My father is determined to unify the world. One day, his name will go down in history as a wise ruler!"
The old man still needs a compliment once in a while.
This way it will be more convenient for her to do things in the future.
"You..." Emperor Yong smiled, with a glint of satisfaction in his eyes. Then he randomly selected a few representatives from the pile of memorials and issued an oral order to reprimand them.
In the name of slandering the princess, all those people suffered the consequences.
"That Liu Ben is indeed brave and knowledgeable..." Emperor Yong said. In the final analysis, he was also surprised. After all, most officials without background would try to avoid such a tough job that might offend the aristocratic families.
Zhong Ning curled his lips but did not reply.
Liu Ben was certainly brave and knowledgeable. He would either offend the aristocratic family or offend her. Her record of personally destroying the Qinghe Cui family had already frightened Liu Ben.
If he fails to do these things, his fate will be even worse than that of the Cui family of Qinghe.
"By the way, there was another letter recently, asking me to send the Three Departments to thoroughly investigate the extermination of the Qinghe Cui family..."