0p0 Chapter 498 From the North
Chapter 498 From the North
This court session was like a battle, so much so that Emperor Longchang felt that he had no strength left in his body and was completely listless after leaving the court session.
Duke Wu was someone he trusted, otherwise he wouldn't have entrusted him with such a crucial task as guarding the capital, and he even promoted his nephew Zhu Jinyu to the position of Palace General. But it was this man who actually stole money from the national treasury right under his nose!
This made Emperor Longchang feel as if someone was grabbing his heart tightly.
How many people does he have available?
How many people are loyal to him?
Since Daxie ascended the throne, wars had ceased for many years. Yet, droughts plagued the land, floods ravaged the land, snowstorms in winter, locust plagues in summer—disasters of all sizes a constant year-round. The tax revenue collected by the imperial court wasn't enough to cover the burden of these patchwork measures. Yet, the Duke of Wu continued to tread on his own imperial wall, undermining his power.
How could Emperor Longchang not hate this in his heart!
If he really didn't hate her, he wouldn't have sent Wei Ling and Xue Ziyi to investigate the matter. Because he knew that once the matter was handed over to Wei Ling and Xue Ziyi, they would definitely investigate the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue thoroughly.
He hadn't hesitated before. Was this really a good idea? If the investigation turned out to be earth-shattering, the capital would be in chaos!
However, when he saw the smiling tiger-like face of Prince Chenliu in the court just now, it actually strengthened his determination to investigate the matter thoroughly.
If this matter is not thoroughly investigated, it will be like a maggot in the tarsal bone. It will be better if we dig out a little bit, but the rot inside will continue to grow deeper and deeper.
He and the Prince of Chenliu would eventually have to fight, and he didn't want to wait until the Prince of Chenliu finally attacked him, only to find that his soldiers would be defeated without a fight because the court could not provide them with food, wages, and weapons.
What’s more, he didn’t want the defenders outside to complain about the defenders in Gyeonggi because of this incident.
Wei Ling and Xue Ziyi, one in the south and one in the north, are his two most powerful barriers. This matter happened in front of them. If they were not made aware of it clearly, these two people would probably be the first to be dissatisfied!
Prince Chenliu was already smiling. He couldn't let Xue Ziyi and Wei Ling feel disappointed anymore.
So when Wei Ling asked him to take back the command of the Black Tiger Guard, he gave it to him readily.
He wants to win over Wei Ling and Xue Ziyi!
In fact, Emperor Longchang understood better than anyone else that if Wei Ling and Xue Ziyi could protect him, the 50,000 guards of the capital would be as useless as a mirror. If Xue Ziyi and Wei Ling refused to protect him and just opened a gap in the south or the north, not to mention the 50,000 guards of the capital, even if another 50,000 came, his imperial city would not be able to be defended.
Duke Wu cannot defeat Xue Ziyi and Wei Ling.
These two people are the ones he wants to win over first.
So he handed this matter over to Wei Ling and Xue Ziyi. On the one hand, it was to show the world that these two people were deeply favored by the emperor. On the other hand, it was to eliminate Duke Wu and the parasites lurking in the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue at one time!
To cut the grass, you must remove the roots.
Wei Ling and Xue Ziyi will not show any mercy to the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War and the capital garrison!
Although he thought this clearly, Emperor Longchang still felt that he had been tricked when he went to court today. He couldn't tell where he had been tricked, but he felt like he had eaten a fly.
"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager summons you!" A eunuch in charge of the Empress Dowager came to report. Emperor Longchang pressed his aching head and couldn't even open his eyelids.
"Just say that I'm feeling a little unwell and won't be coming today." Emperor Longchang replied.
"Your Majesty, the Queen Mother said that Lord Cui and Madam Cui have arrived and are talking to the Queen Mother." said the eunuch.
Emperor Longchang then raised his head and said, "Sir Cui, you are talking about Cui Yushan, right?"
"Why is he back?" Emperor Longchang was unhappy. An official who was sent abroad would return to the capital without being summoned?
"Lord Cui said he has something important to report to Your Majesty!" said the eunuch.
Cui Yushan has something to tell me? Then why not go to the Imperial Study instead of the Empress Dowager?
Emperor Longchang was full of dissatisfaction and suspicion, but he still went to the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager was sitting in the flower hall of the Imperial Garden, and sitting next to her were Cui Yushan's wife Zheng Wenxiu and Cui Yushan.
The table in front of the Queen Mother was filled with all kinds of cakes and novelty gadgets.
As soon as Emperor Longchang came in, everyone stood up and saluted. After they sat down, Emperor Longchang looked at Cui Yushan and asked, "Why are you back?"
"It was I who asked him to return to Beijing to attend my birthday banquet." The Queen Mother replied on behalf of Cui Yushan.
Emperor Longchang's expression softened slightly. "Mother, you should tell your son about this kind of thing in the future," he said. "After all, he is an official of the imperial court. If he behaves unruly like this, he will be criticized in the future."
"The Emperor is right." Although the Empress Dowager was reprimanded by Emperor Longchang, she was not unhappy. "Come and take a look at these. They were all brought to the palace by Yushan and his wife."
Only then did Emperor Longchang have time to look at the pile of gadgets in front of the empress dowager.
The various glass products were dazzling at first glance, and there were many things he couldn't recognize.
Emperor Longchang frowned and looked at them in the same way.
Every time Emperor Longchang picked up something, Cui Yushan would quickly step forward to introduce it, "Your Majesty, this is a mirror produced in the north."
Emperor Longchang took a look at the small and exquisite round mirror he picked up. The mirror surface was as smooth as the surface of water without waves, and it could reflect his own details clearly. This scared Emperor Longchang. However, it was not obvious on the surface. There was a bracket behind the mirror. No one knew what material the bracket was made of, but it felt very smooth.
"The bracket at the back is made of amber," Cui Yushan said. "Amber is a stone-like substance that's become popular in northern China lately. It can be used to make various jewelry and daily necessities."
Although this amber is beautiful, Emperor Longchang is not very interested in it. Instead, he is very attracted by the mirror surface.
He had heard about this kind of thing a few days ago, and it sounded so magical that he didn't take it seriously. He didn't expect to see it today at the Queen Mother's place.
"What about this?" Emperor Longchang fiddled with the mirror for a moment, finally picking up a jade-like object beside it that looked a bit slippery. It was beautifully crafted and had a faint scent of gardenias, even though the gardenia season was clearly over.
"This is gardenia essential oil soap," Cui Yushan said. "It can be used for washing hands, face, and bathing."
"Hmm." Emperor Longchang was surprised, but he controlled his expression. "The things are good. Are they all from foreign lands?"
"They are all produced in the north!" Cui Yushan said with a bow.
Emperor Longchang's eyebrows twitched.
"You said that these expensive things sold in the capital are all from the north?" Emperor Longchang recognized several of them. They were all things that had become popular in the capital recently, and the prices were staggeringly high.