OBS Chapter 331 I said it was a coincidence, do you believe it?
Chapter 331 I said it was a coincidence, do you believe it?
Imperial Palace, Golden Throne Hall.
Chen Guowei's words made the emperor sitting on the dragon throne frown.
Although Chu Ning's actions were a bit excessive, it was not illegal for the Bingzhou family. After all, it was the Bingzhou family that was unkind first, so Chu Ning used this method to take back the land.
But if this incident affects the funding of other families to the royal family, things will be troublesome.
Now the national treasury is empty, and the food and silver needed are all sponsored by the wealthy families.
If these people become dissatisfied with the court and the royal family and stop donating in the future, how should the court respond?
The emperor narrowed his eyes, a strange look flashed across his eyes, he looked at Chu Ning, and said in a deep voice: "Master Chen's words are not without reason!"
But Chu Ning didn't buy it, and chuckled: "Father, Bingzhou has been handed over to me for self-government. From now on, the court doesn't need to worry about food and wages. I will solve it myself.
As for how other noble families view this matter, I don’t care. Anyway, I don’t rely on their sponsorship to make a living.”
The emperor's mouth twitched and his expression looked a little ugly.
You don't need to rely on others, but I need the sponsorship of these families!
The emperor frowned, looking embarrassed.
You are relieved now, but the problem lies with me.
You may not care about the attitude of the aristocratic families towards you, but I cannot!
But Chu Ning couldn't refute what he said.
A headache!
The emperor rubbed his temple and frowned, "You can't say that. The aristocratic families have made contributions to our dynasty."
These words undoubtedly gave the eight great families confidence.
The eldest daughter of the Xie family, who had been silent all this time, finally seized the opportunity, looked up at Chu Ning, and said calmly:
“Your Highness, Prince of Chu, if the imperial court only wants to use my family when it is useful and kick it away when it is no longer useful, how can we win the hearts of the people in the future?
Since ancient times, those who win the hearts of the people will win the world. I believe that Your Highness the King of Chu does not want the Great Chu Dynasty to be destroyed in your hands, right?"
Although she was a woman, she spoke without mercy. Her sharp words were like a sword, deeply breaking the current situation of the Great Chu Dynasty.
If this dynasty, which is riddled with problems, wants to survive, it must rely on the aristocratic families!
Chu Ning raised his eyebrows and looked down at the woman kneeling on the ground.
She was wearing a long green gown, with her long black hair draped behind her and a emerald green hairpin threaded through her hair. She looked very elegant.
The delicate face showed no emotion, just like a pool of autumn water without the slightest ripple.
Chu Ning narrowed his eyes and asked indifferently: "Who are you?"
"Xie Yuwei, the daughter of the Xie family!"
"Oh~ So you are from the Xie family."
Chu Ning glanced at the woman and sneered, "If you can sponsor food and silver for the Dingxiang battle, I will not say anything more now.
But I believe you know better than anyone what you did in the last battle of Dingxiang City, right?
It would be fine if they didn't support the imperial court, but they took the opportunity to raise the price of grain and make a fortune from the national crisis. The food on the front line is tight, and the food in the back is also tight!
Now I am merely taking back the land that originally belonged to the court, and you guys are not willing to do it?
As for the people, they have been exploited by you for so long, and now they don't want to work for you, isn't that okay?"
A hint of surprise appeared on Xie Yuwei's expressionless face.
Although I have heard that Chu Ning is a good talker, I have never seen it in person. After seeing it today, I found that he is indeed as good as his reputation.
It seems difficult to defeat this person in words.
Fortunately, we are well prepared today, Chu Ning must fall!
Thinking of this, Xie Yuwei showed a cold expression on her face: "Your Highness the King of Chu is indeed eloquent and charming. I admire you, but..."
"shut up!"
Chu Ning's aura suddenly changed. Without waiting for Xie Yuwei to finish, he shouted angrily, "How dare you, a mere woman, bark at me in the hall? Who gave you the courage?"
"Is that you, Master Chen?"
He looked at Chen Guowei standing beside him and sneered, "Could it be that Lord Chen felt that I was investigating the Ministry of Revenue and was unwilling to accept it, so he contacted the noble families to take action against me?
It seems that Lord Chen is very capable, as he was able to invite them from Bingzhou!
But I am very curious, why didn’t they come earlier or later, but just came after I was assassinated to investigate the murderer, and appeared when I was investigating the Ministry of Households?
Lord Chen, in front of my father and all the civil and military officials in the court, can you tell me the answer? "
No matter what Xie Yuwei has up her sleeve, she must be overwhelmed by his momentum first!
A woman without any official position actually dared to teach the prince a lesson in the hall. She was really rebellious.
Sure enough, Xie Yuwei was stunned and stood there not daring to speak.
Chen Guowei frowned, with an unhappy look on his face: "Your Highness the King of Chu, you are wrongly accusing me!
I just happened to happen to meet you, and the spring ploughing is also under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Revenue. It is reasonable for them to come to Kyoto to find me.
As for why I reported it now, it is because it takes time to get here from Bingzhou, and it just happened that you, Your Highness, targeted the Ministry of Revenue. This is just a coincidence!"
coincidence?
I don't believe this.
Chu Ning sneered.
But Chen Guowei did not stop. Instead, he bowed to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, the old Patriarch Huangfu is waiting outside the palace on behalf of all the noble families in Kyoto City for your summons!"
A strange look flashed in the emperor's eyes: "Is Patriarch Huangfu here? Please come in!"
The Huangfu family is the number one family in the Great Chu Dynasty, and they are also the ones who support Chen Guowei behind the scenes.
In the past, whenever the Chu Dynasty encountered any problems, the Huangfu family would take the lead in donating grain and silver.
This is also the main reason why the national treasury has always been empty, but Chen Guowei has been able to serve as the Minister of Revenue.
He has someone behind him who can always raise food and military pay for Da Chu. Who would dare to touch such a person?
Chen Guowei was confident that he dared to rely on Liu Shouren!
Soon, a white-haired old man with a wrinkled face and holding a tiger-head cane entered the hall, supported by two guards.
"I, Huangfu Gao, pay my respects to Your Majesty."
"Master Huangfu, there is no need to be so polite. Come, please take a seat!" The emperor stood up on his own initiative and signaled the eunuch to bring a chair.
Chu Ning raised his eyebrows, and a cold light flashed across his face.
This person must have a high status in the Chu Dynasty because the emperor attaches so much importance to him.
While deep in thought, the emperor smiled and asked, "If Patriarch Huangfu has anything to say, just send someone to inform us. Why did you come here in person?"
Huangfu Gao sighed, "I don't believe this until I hear it. The Huangfu family is highly respected by all the noble families and has always been respected. This time the noble family is in trouble, and our Huangfu family cannot stay out of it."
He turned his head to look at Chu Ning, bowed and said, "I guess this is His Royal Highness the King of Chu?"
"It's me!" Chu Ning nodded slightly.
Huangfu Gao looked him up and down and said with a wry smile, "It is true that heroes emerge from youth. His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu first asked His Majesty for the autonomy of Bingzhou, and then took action against the Bingzhou aristocratic families. I guess he had been thinking about dealing with the aristocratic families for a long time, right?
But Your Highness should know that if such a commotion occurs, the Bingzhou noble families will have no way to survive. This is the government forcing the people to revolt!"
After finishing his words, Huangfu Gao turned to look at the emperor and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, please take back Bingzhou's autonomy, dismiss all Bingzhou officials, eliminate the existing land contracting system, and restore peace to Bingzhou!"
As soon as he opened his mouth, he started to call for an explanation!
Older gingers are more spicy!