Chapter 287 Power

Chapter 287 Power

Chapter 287 Power
The capital, the residence of Wang Gong, the Minister of Personnel.

Amid the hustle and bustle of the capital, this mansion exudes an oppressive tranquility.

Ever since the grassland army retreated, Prince Yu's reputation has been at its peak.

In the history of the Great Yu Dynasty, there were two precedents of guarding the capital and the state. These were like two invisible ropes, pulling everyone's eyes and thoughts in the same direction - the throne.

During the reign of Emperor Chengzu, Emperor Renzong of this dynasty, as the crown prince of Yan, shouldered the heavy responsibility of defending Pingcheng, which had not yet become the capital, during the Jingnan period of Emperor Chengzu. Although he was not officially named "Regent" at that time, he stabilized the rear area for Emperor Chengzu with his firm will and outstanding wisdom. This achievement became an important cornerstone for his ascension to the throne in the future.

A hundred years later, when Emperor Jing was regent, facing the fierce attack of the grassland army, he resolutely ascended the throne, turned the tide, repelled the powerful enemy, successfully defended the capital, and wrote a new chapter for the emperor.

These two periods of history, like two towering monuments, stand in everyone's heart.

At present, at least 90% of the officials and nobles who stayed in the capital, as well as the soldiers from the border towns who came to rescue the king, have turned to Prince Yu.

Prince Yu was well aware of the human heart, so he opened the treasury and gave away silver coins. These silver coins were not just waste paper, but could actually be exchanged for goods in the market.

In the north, many new workshops have sprung up, and these silver coins are the lifeblood that keeps them running; even in the south, with these silver coins, one can easily buy what he needs.

Although the north and south were in opposition at this time, they reached a tacit agreement on currency. The reason behind this was the huge benefits brought by currency unification. If the capital rashly changed its currency at this time, it would undoubtedly be a financial disaster, the economy would collapse instantly, and the entire northern region would fall into chaos and turmoil.

In order to further consolidate the monetary unification, the two capitals of the north and the south maintained a high degree of consensus on coinage and jointly announced a policy: before the end of next year, a fire consumption fee would be charged for exchanging silver for silver coins.

This policy was like an invisible big hand, forcing out the silver hidden deep in the cellars of the northern nobles and gentry, and helping the capital to mint coins.

After all, no one wants to suffer losses in vain.

Not only that, the court's money houses also introduced quite attractive policies. Silver coins stored in the money houses could earn a certain amount of interest, but if silver was stored, interest would be charged instead.

This series of measures were decrees that Prince Yu had to implement in order to maintain the normal operation of the court.

After all, sufficient financial revenue is the foundation for the normal operation of the court. Only when the finances are stable can he truly control the north, even if these policies hide some huge hidden dangers.

This seems to be Prince Yu's strategy, but in fact it is also Xu Qing's conspiracy.

Xu Qing knew very well that as long as the currency remained unified, the North and the South would find it difficult to continue to be divided and would eventually be unified.

Because the South, with its strong economic power, is enough to drag down the North in the economic war.

Just like the annual tribute strategy of the pre-Song Dynasty, the Song Dynasty exported a large amount of annual tribute, forcing the Northern Dynasty to rely on goods from the South, thus waging an invisible economic war. Unfortunately, this strategy of the pre-Song Dynasty was not effective and failed to truly achieve its strategic goals. After all, without a strong military force as a backing, all economic means seemed pale and powerless.

The State of Qi was the first to use this strategy, and it was able to implement it successfully because it was the leader of the princes and possessed strong power.

Wang Gong, a big shot who came from a prominent family and was at the core of the imperial court, had insight into the inner nature of the North-South dispute with his years of accumulated experience in political struggles and his deep insight into the situations of all parties.

He clearly realized that it would be difficult for Prince Yu to achieve the final victory, not only because of Xu Qing's existence, but also because of the powerful influence of the old emperor.

In the battle of Mount Taihe, the old emperor showed great strength, but Wang Gong firmly believed that this was not all the strength of His Majesty. In the top power structure of the world, His Majesty was like a towering mountain, standing out from the crowd.

Whether it is the mysterious Living Buddha of the Snow Region or the extremely powerful Grand Tutor Murong, they are unable to compete with His Majesty.

Perhaps your Majesty’s real opponent is the legendary and extremely mysterious Black Mountain Demon.

However, in Wang Gong's opinion, although the Black Mountain Demon was powerful enough to make people tremble with fear, he lacked the most important thing - the ambition to conquer the world and rule the world.

As Wang Gong came from a large family and was at the core of the imperial court, he had access to a lot of secret information that ordinary people could not know, including records about the Black Mountain Old Demon.

After years of research and analysis, he concluded that the Black Mountain Demon's greatest weakness was that he had no interest in the world.

Therefore, no matter how powerful the Black Mountain Demon may be at one moment, as long as he does not have the determination and ability to conquer and rule the world, his victory will only be short-lived, and he will sooner or later exit the stage of history.

And Your Majesty Xu Qinghe has always upheld the idea of ​​one world. Even if they fail on the road ahead, there will be successors who will pass on this idea. This political idea is like a bright light that will never go out.

Prince Yu could have inherited the situation created by Your Majesty and Xu Qing and achieved long-term peace and stability in the world by being patient and tolerant and waiting for the opportunity.

However, he chose to rely on external forces, a decision that made his foundation unstable.

All the child emperors in history lost their independent power in the process of relying on external forces, and eventually became puppets of others, unable to accomplish real great things.

Moreover, Prince Yu's only living son, the current grandson of the emperor, is now in Yingtian Prefecture. This fact is like a sword hanging over Prince Yu's head, becoming a hidden danger that Prince Yu cannot repair.

Moreover, although Prince Yu has been working hard in the palace since the birth of the imperial grandson, he has never been able to make his concubines pregnant again, which undoubtedly makes his future full of uncertainty.

The nobles and generals in the northern border towns were not blind to this fact. They chose to support Prince Yu because they had no other choice.

Your Majesty and Xu Qing are committed to creating a prosperous era. In this process, the interests of some people will inevitably be affected, and these people will become stepping stones on their road to reform.

Wang Gong knew very well that his time was running out and the attitude of the South would be the key factor in determining his fate.

He fully expected that his cousin could play an important role in the negotiations with the South and bring him a turning point.

"Master, someone came from my hometown and said they have something important to give you." The butler hurried into the study, breaking the silence in the room, his voice sounding a bit anxious and nervous.

Wang Gong's heart suddenly trembled. He quickly stepped forward and took the family letter and portrait from the housekeeper.

His hands trembled slightly, and he opened the letter first, and scanned the text eagerly, which recorded in detail the meeting between his cousin and Xu Qing, as well as Xu Qing's instructions. Wang Gong read it word by word, not missing any details, because he knew that behind these words, Nan Fang's attitude and intention were hidden.

While reading, Wang Gong paid special attention to the way his cousin addressed Xu Qing. Now Xu Qing had been conferred the title of Marquis of Guanjun, but his cousin still addressed him as "Lord Xu" in the letter.

This is undoubtedly a hint.

As a powerful force among the civil servants, the Wang family has always recognized Xu Qing's power and status in the civil service. The cousin's chips are not low.

Obviously, judging from Xu Qing's attitude later, the other party also recognized the Wang family's bargaining chip. As a nobleman, Xu Qing's role was naturally inferior to that of a civil official leader.

The world was ruled by the literati. In particular, the reforms promoted by Xu Qing had fundamentally strengthened the power of the ministers.

Civil officials are the most powerful force among the "ministers" and will naturally benefit from it.

After a long period of repeated speculation, Wang Gong deduced a lot of useful information from the letter. A big stone in his heart finally fell to the ground, and the tension that had been hanging in his heart also relaxed a little.

Then, his eyes slowly fell on the portrait that was sent to him.

When he saw the familiar statue of Chongyang Patriarch, which was clearly Xu Gongming's face, a complex emotion surged in his heart, with confusion and awe intertwined, as if the portrait before him was no longer a simple painting, but a sacred object containing some mysterious power.

"Master, this portrait..." the butler couldn't help but ask.

"Don't ask too many questions. Go and prepare a quiet room. I want to pay homage to the portrait." Wang Gong said in a deep voice, with unquestionable majesty in his tone.

Many years of official career have made him develop the habit of acting cautiously. For such mysterious things, he prefers to explore the mysteries alone.

Although the housekeeper was full of doubts, he did not dare to say much and hurried to make arrangements.

Wang Gong hung the portrait carefully in the quiet room, then knelt respectfully on the cushion and began to worship.

At first, he just followed Xu Qing's instructions, holding on to the belief that sincerity would have its effect, and tried to gain some inspiration from the portrait.

But as time went by, a wonderful feeling came to his heart. He felt that Xu Gongming in the portrait seemed to come alive, with deep and wise eyes, as if conveying some mysterious power to him, guiding him towards an unknown path.

At some point, Wang Gong felt a strong sense of fatigue coming over him. His eyelids became heavier and heavier, and he finally fell into a deep sleep.

In his dream, he seemed to enter a mysterious space and saw a familiar "face".

"Xu Gongming." Wang Gong called out subconsciously, with a hint of surprise and awe in his voice.

"Sir Wang, long time no see." Xu Qing appeared in front of Wang Gong in a leisurely manner. He exuded a unique temperament that was free and unrestrained in the world. His deep eyes seemed to see through all the truths in the world, which made people involuntarily develop a sense of trust and awe.

Wang Gong seemed to have returned to his youth in a trance, when he was beside a great scholar in the Hanlin Academy, serving him attentively and asking for advice, and he felt the feeling of seeing the great scholar's gaze.

At this moment, he seemed to realize that Xu Qing in front of him, just like the great scholar, had mastered the "principle", and could deal with all the difficulties and obstacles in the world with ease.

By the way, the great scholar’s ​​surname was “Fang”.

"I never thought that you are now on par with other philosophers and are about to create a new era. I tried to be your enemy before, but I really overestimated my own abilities." Wang Gong said with emotion.

"Lord Wang is an extremely smart man. The choices he makes are the best choices at the moment. I deeply admire him for this. Now I need Lord Wang's help." Xu Qing said sincerely.

"Things have come to this point. Lord Xu, please tell me whatever you want to say." Wang Gong said without hesitation. At this moment, he had completely put aside his doubts and decided to fully support Xu Qing.

Xu Qing said solemnly: "I need Lord Wang to fully cooperate with Prince Yu's reforms."

"Ah." Wang Gong couldn't help but let out a cry of surprise. He had never expected that Xu Qing's request would be like this. In his expectation, Xu Qing should ask him to oppose Prince Yu or take some other actions, but he didn't expect that he would cooperate with Prince Yu's reform.

Xu Qing explained with a smile: "Now the opposition forces in the north will have to support Prince Yu in order to resist the South. This is also an opportunity for Prince Yu. He can use the threat from the South to make some bold reforms. But Prince Yu is not experienced enough after all. At this time, he needs an experienced and steady minister like Lord Wang to assist him. In any case, I hope Lord Wang can share the worries of the country." Wang Gong was puzzled at first, his brows were tightly furrowed, and he fell into deep thought.

Soon he realized Xu Gongming's deep intention. He couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart. Xu Qing's strategy was really too terrible.

Opposition forces in the north gathered, but Xu Qing, far from feeling afraid or troubled, wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to use Prince Yu to carry out in-depth reforms in the north.

This timing was perfect, because the conservative forces in the north would inevitably reach some compromise with Prince Yu in order to survive, and Prince Yu would also have to make some reforms in order to strengthen his own power.

The key lies in the grasp of "degree". In the process of reform, Prince Yu had to satisfy the interests of conservative forces and achieve his own reform goals, which was undoubtedly a huge challenge.

But no matter how the reforms are carried out, the conservative forces in the North will definitely not allow their interests to be damaged too much, so the ultimate victims can only be the people in the North.

This series of changes will undoubtedly shake the popularity that Prince Yu has worked so hard to build up.

But Prince Yu had no choice.

After the people in the north suffered greatly from the new policy, the southern court must have completed further reforms, and then took over the north again under the banner of saving the world and the people.

Wang Gong could almost imagine that once Xu Qing started the Northern Expedition, China would be unified again. Wherever the army went, the people would welcome it wholeheartedly, and it would be a good opportunity.

A scene full of vitality and flourishing things seemed to appear before Wang Gong's eyes.

Xu Qing is not Gongming, but Kongming. His strategic layout is absolutely first-class in ancient and modern times.

Moreover, Xu Qing was the best policy maker in the world besides Zhang Tai'a. His executive ability was even better than Zhang Tai'a's.

Wang Gong racked his brains, but could not think of any chance for Prince Yu to turn the situation around.

"I understand what Lord Xu means. Just wait and see how I perform." Wang Gong expressed his determination. No matter whether the winner is His Majesty or Xu Gongming, it will not be Prince Yu!

He was not a traitor, because Wang Gong's loyalty to the emperor was evident to all.

Even though Prince Yu had been the de facto crown prince for many years, he was still a subject. The righteousness between the monarch and his subjects was the foundation of human existence. He, Wang Gong, vowed to protect him to the end.

"In that case, thank you very much, Your Majesty." Xu Qing nodded slightly, with a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.

The incident was like a dream, without a trace. Wang Gong woke up in the quiet room, and the portrait in front of him no longer had Xu Qing's face, but had returned to the appearance of Chongyang Zhenren.

But Xu Qing's spiritual imprint had been deeply imprinted in his heart and could not be erased. He then went on to have a sound sleep.

Once people have hope, they will try their best to live on.

I’m afraid that the days will be hopeless!

...

...

Xu Mansion, study.

This is where Xu Qing handles government affairs on a daily basis. The layout is simple yet solemn. The bookshelves are filled with all kinds of books and official documents, and the air is filled with a faint scent of ink.

Feng Wu walked in lightly from outside, holding a list in his hand.
"Husband, this is the recent cooperation plan of Jiangning Chamber of Commerce, please take a look." Her voice was clear and pleasant, like a clear spring in the mountains, echoing in this quiet study.

Xu Qing took the list and quickly scanned the words on it.

Today, under Feng Wu's careful management, the Jiangning Chamber of Commerce has become a huge commercial force in the south. Its cooperation with all parties is constantly expanding, like a thriving tree with roots throughout the southern region, providing a solid economic foundation for Xu Qing's reforms.

"Awu, you did a great job." Xu Qing raised his head and looked at Feng Wu, his eyes full of admiration.

There was a hint of tenderness in his voice, a side of him that he only showed when facing his family.

In his heart, Feng Wu was not only his wife, but also his right-hand man in his career. Her wisdom and hard work helped him share a lot of pressure.

"This is all thanks to everyone. I just did what I could." Feng Wu smiled and continued, "By the way, the Duke of Wei's son also performed very well in the Military Academy. It seems that he has made up his mind to make some achievements."

Xu Qing's use of people is unconventional and just right.

Thinking back to the past, this young master had used many cruel means to attack Xu Qing, trying to suppress him. But now, Xu Qing only used a little trick to let these secret opposition forces taste the taste of Xu Qing's suppression.

In fact, with Xu Qing's current status, killing a prince of the Duke of Wei would be a piece of cake and would not hurt his bones. But he knew very well that doing so would not do any good and would instead cause some unnecessary trouble.

It would be better to let this young master be your knife to make amends for what happened before.

With Feng Wu's hint to the Duke's wife, the young master now works very hard in the Military Academy. Because the young master Wei Bo knows that if he doesn't work hard, he will lose his position as the crown prince.

Alas, the world is so strange. The young master back then could never have imagined that one day he would have to rely on Xu Qing, whom he hated so much, to keep his position as the crown prince.

It can be said that Xu Qing can send him to hell with just one thought, and he will never be able to recover. Therefore, after the young master recognized the reality, he had no choice but to do his best to help Xu Qing eliminate dissidents.

The key is that many of these dissidents are old acquaintances of the young master. But he has no choice! He can't give up the position of Duke of Wei to a bastard outside for the sake of old friends.

In the face of interests and power, friendship and old acquaintances seem so fragile.

...

...

"Gold or brothers?"

"Love brother!"

On the training ground of the Military Academy, shouts were heard one after another. Whips passed through the hands of the young master and hit the students of the Military Academy.

He has transformed from a spoiled prodigal son to a ruthless spy chief. It must be said that this seems to have stimulated some potential in him.

Now, training these new students from the Military Academy gave him an unprecedented perverted pleasure. His eyes revealed a kind of madness and obsession, as if he was enjoying the feeling of controlling the fate of others.

There is no doubt that a spy force more terrifying than the Neichang and Xiuyiwei is taking shape among this group of students at the Military Academy. The young master has become one of the leaders, and his position in this emerging spy organization is gradually becoming more solid.

The pleasure of whipping flesh and blood made him more and more perverted and crazy. His behavior became more and more extreme, and his methods of treating students became more and more cruel.

He seemed to have lost himself, unable to extricate himself from the pleasure brought by this power.

After a special morale boost, the young master set out again with his "brothers".

Their targets are those opposition forces hiding in the dark, and their actions are as quick and decisive as ghosts.

On the way, he was full of vigor and vitality. Now, what the Neichang and Xiuyiwei dared not do, they dared to do in the Military Academy. From the officials to the gentry, there was nothing they dared not arrest. The pleasure of holding such power and whipping the temple was far from being comparable to being a Duke of Wei.

He finally got a taste of Xu Gongming's way of doing things.

Forbearance, low-key, and a hint of imperceptible crazy desire flashed in his eyes.

The young master of the Duke of Wei was thinking that one day, if Xu Gongming fell, he would inherit everything from Xu Gongming and become the second Xu Gongming, ruling the world!
If Xu Gongming were here, he would strive to be the sharpest minion under Xu's command.

Work hard to climb to a position second only to one person and above ten thousand people!
It can be said that he now truly understands the meaning of "power".

...

...

The duty room in Xu Qing’s office.

Young Master Wei Bo stood in front of Xu Qing respectfully and obediently.

"Your Majesty, please take a seat."

"Sir, there is no prince here. Please call my name." Wei Bo bowed.

Xu Qing looked at him with satisfaction and smiled, "Wei Bo, you have done a good job recently. I plan to set up a military statistics and investigation department under the name of the Military Affairs Office, and you will be the director. Do you have the confidence to do a good job?"

"I will obey the king's order with my life!" Wei Bo responded loudly.

Xu Qing: "Okay, this is a good man of the Wanshou Dynasty. You can go down. I will finalize this matter with the Military Affairs Office. You go back and wait for orders."

"only!"

(End of this chapter)