diskusbooks Chapter 199 He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world
Chapter 199 He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world
Chapter 199 He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world
Quan Qingcheng really admired Ye Chulian a little bit, because Ye Chulian gave him an idea, which was to let him blame the Guiyue Kingdom for the earth dragon turning over on New Year's Day, and let Guiyue Kingdom compensate for all the losses caused.
How can this brain work so well? The deceased Guiyue envoy was so unlucky that he had to take the blame even though he was dead. He even took a big blame. If there were ghosts, they would definitely come back to life after hearing this!
However, he was a little hesitant: "I just don't know if Guiyue Kingdom can recognize this. It would be embarrassing if they don't. I have just ascended the throne and encountered a natural disaster. What if Guiyue gets angry and wants to start a war? Northern Qi used to rely on the two generals of the Ye family. Although the military power has been readjusted, I don't think the new generals can lead troops to fight against Northern Qi right away. What's more..." He paused, unwilling to admit this fact, "What's more, I am shy, and I have to take into account natural disasters and supply military pay. It's really a bit too much."
Ye Chulian analyzed it for him: "Guiyue shouldn't deny it, right? After all, the envoy angered the Emperor so much that he personally took action. The Emperor is a god. If the gods are angry, how can the heavens not be angry? Moreover, I heard that although there have been earth dragons turning over in the Northern Qi in recent decades, I haven't heard that they turned over to Kyoto. Kyoto is a precious land. According to historical records, when Emperor Shengzu founded the country and made the capital, he asked the Imperial Astronomical Observatory to use astrology to select Lin'an. Lin'an City has not encountered a major disaster for more than 400 years. Why is there a natural disaster as soon as Guiyue's envoy arrived? Your Majesty, look, there was a big disturbance at the palace banquet on New Year's Eve, and there was an earth dragon turning over on the morning of the first day of the new year. Does Guiyue have any reason to deny it?"
Ye Chulian's words were well-reasoned. "As for the war, the emperor should be worrying too much. Our new emperor has just ascended the throne, and the same is true for Guiyue! Moreover, their new emperor has been a hostage in Northern Qi for many years, which makes it even more difficult for him to control the government of Guiyue. So the emperor can rest assured that this war will not start." Quan Qingcheng was in a very good mood. "Chu Lian, I never thought that you, as a concubine of a first-rank general, could have such insight. This is really beyond my expectation."
Ye Chulian was a little embarrassed. "No one was willing to discipline me since I was a child, so I had a lot of free time and liked to read miscellaneous books. Later, I felt that it was boring to just read, so I analyzed while reading. Anyway, it's just to entertain myself. If the emperor thinks what I say makes sense, please consider it. If you think it's useless, just treat it as Chulian's words to entertain you. Anyway, Fourth Sister asked me to enter the palace just to talk to the emperor."
Quan Qingcheng was very happy, "Why is it useless? Of course it is useful, and it is very useful! Chu Lian, you don't know, I have been very busy and chaotic these days. Although several royal brothers come to the palace to discuss matters every day, they always quarrel while discussing. Sometimes they quarrel from morning to night, and nothing is actually decided. I originally wanted to ask Lord Yun to help me, but this is a disaster, Lord Yun has been observing the stars and has no free time."
Ye Chulian wanted to ask, isn't there a regent? But before she could ask, Quan Qingcheng said, "Chulian, your analysis really helped me solve a big problem. I was confused as to what was going on and forgot that the new king of Guiyue was a hostage of Northern Qi. This will make things much easier. As long as Guiyue doesn't have the ability to start a war, we can settle this account with them. Alas, the treasury is empty now, and we've encountered such a disaster. Everyone is asking me for money, but where can I find it?"
Ye Chulian was stunned, "There's no money in the treasury?"
"Yes." Quan Qingcheng did not hide it from her, "It's not that we don't have any, it's just not enough. To deal with this earth dragon rebellion, it would be enough to empty the national treasury, but what should we do after emptying the treasure? A country has too many places to spend money. I have to plan for the future, and I can't cause a war because of an immature decision. That's why I said that your analysis just now was really good."
Ye Chulian was puzzled, "Is there so little silver in the treasury?" In her impression, Northern Qi had always been a prosperous country! She didn't feel poor.
Quan Qingcheng said, "I just found out that the treasury is short of money. My father passed away suddenly, and I was a dumb little man who didn't care about state affairs in the past years. So I don't know how my father ruled the country, let alone how the Ministry of Revenue spent the money. I suddenly realized that I was a poor emperor when I took over."
Wu Fei took over the conversation: "I used to serve the late emperor, so I know a little bit. The late emperor was seriously ill for a few years, and during those years it was Empress Dowager Li and the Sixth Prince who were in charge of government affairs. The late emperor did not ask about it. I'm afraid they are the only ones who know where the money in the treasury went."
Quan Qingcheng was very depressed. "I haven't taken power yet, so my words are weak. They won't answer even if I ask them, and if they do, it's just perfunctory."
Ye Chulian finally had the chance to voice out her earlier doubts: "Where is the Regent? Why doesn't he come out to assist in governing at a time like this?"
Quan Qingcheng told her: "The Regent King was injured. When the earth dragon turned over, the entire palace was fine, but the banquet hall was shaken. He was kneeling outside the hall at the time, and was directly flipped to the ground and injured his bones, so I have to take care of this mess myself."
Ye Chulian suddenly understood. Although she didn't know why the regent was kneeling outside the banquet hall, it was not her business to ask, so she just said, "In that case, this is a good opportunity. If the emperor can handle such a big thing smoothly, it will be a good opportunity to prove to everyone that you can be a good emperor even without a regent. Then what is the point of having a regent?"
Quan Qingcheng hesitated for a while and asked, "Is that so?"
Ye Chulian nodded firmly: "It must be like this!"
Quan Qingcheng was not very confident, "But how can I get this done? How can I make people feel that I can handle state affairs well without the Regent? Chu Lian, you have a good brain, think about it for me."
Wu Fei wanted to say that Your Majesty, you have to think for yourself. You are not stupid, and you have to be able to handle such national affairs!
But seeing how Quan Qingcheng had become thin and with sunken eyes from the past few days, he felt a little sorry for the little emperor. Just as Quan Qingcheng said, he was a little mute before. For sixteen years, he had never heard about state affairs. The late emperor never mentioned a word to him, and almost treated him as if he didn't have this son. This son who had been neglected since childhood was suddenly pushed to the throne of the emperor. Unless this son was a god, it was impossible for him to become particularly capable of handling things all of a sudden.
It is not easy for the young emperor to achieve what he has now. We cannot demand too much from him at once. We need to give him time to become better.
This was the second time that the Fifth Miss of the Ye Family had spoken to the Emperor in the Palace of Immortals and given him advice. He felt that the Fifth Miss was quite smart and could always hit the nail on the head. She could not take care of the big issues, but could fill in the gaps in the Emperor's thinking with small matters, which was really good.
So Wu Fei said nothing. After Ye Chulian pondered for a while, he spoke again: "I have read a storybook before, which said that he who wins the hearts of the people will win the world. As long as the people support it, it is the will of heaven. So I think that the emperor still has to start with the people. If he can smooth over the hearts of the people, the ministers in the court will naturally not be able to say anything. Even if they do say something, they can refute it one by one like my fourth sister, and then they can also put a hat of being lazy and good at eating and drinking on the people in the official residence in the inner city." Speaking of Ye Wenyan, whether it is Quan Qingcheng or Wu Fei, it is really impossible not to accept it.
Ye Chulian recalled what her fourth sister had said to her in the mansion just now, so she repeated it to Quan Qingcheng and concluded, "In fact, the fourth sister has already done more than half of the work for the emperor in terms of popular support. Even the people in the inner city and the officials above the third rank understand that the fourth sister has done a good thing. Only the lower officials cannot understand it, but they have become more sober after being scolded, so the emperor is not under that much pressure."
Quan Qingcheng was so moved that he almost cried, and kept saying, "How could Sister Wen Yan be so kind, how could she be so kind!"
Wu Fei also felt that the Fourth Miss Ye was too good, not only was she loyal to the emperor, but most importantly, she really had the ability. Look at her analysis - since ancient times, it has always been uprisings from the lower classes, and the upper classes would also make trouble, it was a struggle for power and usurpation of the throne, and it was the princes fighting for the throne.
This analysis of the political situation is so thorough!
Is this still a 15-year-old girl? She is even smarter than the old fox of the Regent. She is indeed the girl that the Emperor has set his eyes on. She is unique in the world! It's a pity that the Emperor was a step late. Otherwise, if he had developed her well, with Miss Ye Si as the Queen, Northern Qi would definitely usher in an unprecedented prosperity!
Quan Qingcheng was still moved: "Sister treats me so well, how can I repay you?"
Ye Chulian said, "I think the fourth sister shouldn't need the emperor to repay her for anything, because she said that the emperor called her sister, so she couldn't just ignore the emperor and had to fulfill her obligations as a sister. So, your Majesty, now the foundation has been laid very well, and it depends on how you proceed."
Quan Qingcheng bent over his desk and wrote: reduce taxes, build houses, distribute silver and grain... "These alone can almost empty the national treasury. Although these are what the court should do, I still can't bring myself to do it."
Ye Chulian thought for a moment, and then said, "Why not do something that doesn't cost money? I'm the concubine of the Ye family, I don't have much experience, and I only know what I read in books, so if the emperor thinks it's okay, then do it, if not, just ignore what I said."
Quan Qingcheng nodded, "I understand, just tell me and we'll work it out together."
Ye Chulian said, "The points that the emperor just wrote down must be done, but in fact, we all know that it is the court's obligation. Ensuring peace and prosperity is the most basic way to govern the country. There is nothing strange about it. Every monarch does this. We know this truth, and the people naturally know it too. So if the emperor hopes to win the hearts of the people with these points, it may not work. He must find another way..."