Chapter 471 - 471: Endless Troubles
Song Xiuwen had both official titles. His status in Zhejiang was even on par with the general.
Yin Huaixi chuckled. “The sky is cold. It’s time for the sky in Zhejiang to change.”
The treasury of the Great Zhou Dynasty was empty. Maritime trade was the emperor’s money maker, and the prosperity of maritime trade relied on the generals fighting the pirates along the coast.
Therefore, as a merchant, the Xie family had a lot of influence in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Ordinary people did not dare to provoke them.
Something had happened to the general who was exterminating the Japanese. The dog emperor could no longer sit still.
To the Zhenguo Marquis Residence, this was no different from a thunderclap that had descended from the sky on a sunny day. No matter what, it would cause chaos and cause feathers to fall to the ground.
If his family was in trouble, Song Mingzhao probably won’t have the intention to provoke any young lady!
The subordinate in black gasped. “I-I understand.”
The downfall of Song Xiuwen was enough to cause the Marquis of Zhenguo i s Residence to be in trouble. Even the dignity they had built over the years would be damaged.
However, the Zhenguo Marquis Residence and the Yu Residence were family friends. Even if Young Master did not do anything to the Zhenguo Marquis Residence on account of Young Miss, it would implicate the Yu Residence. Yin Huaixi continued, “Send a message to Xia Yansheng…”
The rumors about Yin Huaixi became more and more intense. Even the emperor in the palace heard the news and ordered someone to buy a book about Yin Huaixi to read.
The story written in the book was basically true, and it matched the contents of his previous investigation.
It seemed that it was also the case of King You that had angered the people. Furthermore, Yin Huaixi was the son of King You. This time, he had invited himself to lead the battle and go to Shandong to quell the rebellion. He had already caused many rumors to spread.
Now that Yin Huaixi was in Shandong, he had indeed displayed the dignity of the Imperial Court and calmed the hearts of the people.
Rumors were indeed common.
The current emperor held a thin book. “Little He, you’re right. Yin Huaixi is indeed like his father. The Marquis of Ningyuan is far inferior to him!”
Eunuch He lowered his head. “That’s because Your Majesty has a discerning eye. You didn’t underestimate Head General Yin just because he’s young and weak. You were also entrusted with a heavy responsibility. Head General Yin didn’t let the emperor down this time.”
Previously, the emperor had wanted to send the Marquis of Ningyuan to guard Youzhou. Now, his attitude…
The emperor sighed softly. “The situation in Shandong is complicated. Over the years, it has been a huge problem for the royal family. I can’t wait to get rid of it. Ever since I ascended the throne, I’ve sent troops twice to suppress the Shandong Clan, but to no avail. The clan is arrogant and ignores the dignity of the court. However, there are still tens of millions of innocent people in Shandong. It’s easy for the Imperial Court to send troops. If they want to mobilize troops, they have to have a reason. Once there is a mutiny in Shandong and they can’t take down Shandong in a short period of time, the vassal king would enter the capital in the name of helping the capital…”
Shandong was only 600 kilometers away from the capital. The reason why the problem in Shandong could not be resolved for so long was because of the vassal lords.
Eunuchs couldn’t do political work, so Eunuch He lowered his head and shut his mouth.
The emperor continued, “I didn’t expect that Yin Huaixi would really resolve the issue in Shandong, which has been a headache for me for many years. Yin Huaixi has contributed greatly to the ancestral temple and the country. How do you think I should reward him?”
The victory of Shandong was set. As long as the army returned to the court, Shandong would be completely under the control of the Imperial Court.
Eunuch He did not dare to interfere with the emperor’s intentions, but it was not good for him to keep quiet. “Master Yin has contributed. Why don’t you invite Elder Xia into the palace and discuss with him before making a decision?
Rewarding the meritorious officials was the job of the cabinet.
The emperor nodded. “Call Elder Xia into the palace!”
At this moment, Xia Yansheng recruited a few trusted aides to discuss matters in the study, including Xie Zongshen.
“Elder Xia, the Marquis of Ningyuan has persecuted King You’s family and stolen the military power of the north. Such a monstrous crime of persecuting the royal family can’t be punished. The emperor has only demoted Concubine Lu (Concubine Lan) and the title of the Marquis of Ningyuan (Marquis of Weining). It’s obvious that he wants to protect him. However, Li Qiguang’s rebellion and the Marquis of Ningyuan’s refusal to fight in the court has already dissatisfied the emperor. Why don’t we take the opportunity to pursue him and beat him up?
“That’s right. the Marquis of Ningyuan was personally promoted by the emperor. That Concubine Lu is also very capable. Even though she was demoted by the emperor, no one in the palace dares to provoke her. I wonder when she’ll regain her favor. At that time, won’t the Marquis of Ningyuan’s family be even more arrogant? We should take this opportunity to bring the Marquis of Ningyuan down in one fell swoop.”
‘Elder Xia, this is a good opportunity. King You’s case is about to be reopened, and Yin Huaixi has obtained a preliminary victory in Shandong…”
Xia Yansheng turned to look at Yu Zongshen, who had been silent. “What do you think?”
Yu Zongshen gently twirled the walnut in his hand. “There’s a limit to everything. The Marquis of Ningyuan is just a vicious dog, and Yin Huaixi…” He paused for a moment. “He’s a vicious wolf!”
Xia Yansheng turned to look at his trusted aides. “Do you think Yin Huaixi is easy to get along with?” He took out a note from his sleeve and spread it on the table.
Yu Zongshen looked down and saw a line of words written on it. “Is my knife useful?!”
The study was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop
Xia Yansheng sighed slightly. “I’m sure you’ve guessed who wrote this note.”
Yu Zongshen thought for a moment. “Since we used his knife, we definitely have to return it to him. Since we’re already in the game, we’ll just have to put in a little more effort in the next interrogation.”
As soon as these words were spoken, a few old court officials in the study objected
“But King You’s case involves a lot of people in the court. Although the three divisions have already interrogated some people,…” Those who were all pushed out were scapegoats. The real culprits were still in the court.
“Accidentally killing a meritorious general and killing his siblings also concerns the emperor’s dignity and reputation…”
“King You died an unjust death, but back then, he committed suicide in the Golden Hall before the trial was over. After that, he was hastily convicted, and we couldn’t escape punishment…”
Back then, the reason why King You had been killed was because Prince Yin had killed people and snatched things in Youzhou, affecting the interests of the officials and nobles of the north.
The interests of the north were often closely related to the royal court.
In other words, there were people in the court who were protecting and colluding with the officials of the north to benefit.
In the eyes of these court officials, the fact that the heir dared to touch the north meant that he was fearless. He must have found evidence that they were greedy and lawless.
For the sake of their heads, they had no choice but to strike first.
Unexpectedly, if the roots were not removed, there would be endless trouble in the future.
Yin Huaixi had actually stirred up a storm in the royal court alone.
However, now that Yin Huaixi’s reputation had soared and his victory in Shandong was imminent, the situation was already out of control. It was not a wise move to offend him.
Yu Zongshen said calmly, “We just have to wait for Yin Huaixi to win and return to the court. It’s time for the tribunal to come to a conclusion. The accumulated troubles in Shandong for hundreds of years have been eliminated. Yin Huaixi contributed to the country, and the emperor will reward him. Just this merit alone is enough to be recorded in the history books. The mistake of accidentally killing a meritorious general is nothing..”