Chapter 867: Everyone Is a Chess Piece
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Ye Xiaoci had to consider Princess Shaoyi and King Yue Fei’s status. The Xie family gave 70% of their a.s.sets, saving the remaining 30%. He politely invited Huang Wenxian and the others to sit down.
After the tea, Xie Xun explained his reason for coming.
Ye Xiaoci smiled and did not beat around the bush. “The sweet potatoes will only be planted on a large scale around the Dragon Boat Festival. There are a million refugees gathered in Liaodong, and they won’t be settled until May. The temperature continues to rise in May. If a plague erupts, it will definitely affect all of Liaodong. The consequences will be unimaginable. The matter of avoiding the plague is already imminent.”
Twenty percent of the Xie family’s wealth would not be less than ten million. It was indeed a huge sum. With such boldness, the n.o.bles had already lost.
When Xie Xun heard his words, he knew that Lord Ye was a practical person. He couldn’t help but feel relieved.
Ye Xiaoci changed the topic. “To be honest with you, Master Xie, I’m also worried about this matter. The Xie family is righteous and it’s the blessing of the tens of thousands of people in the North. After the refugees are settled, I’ll definitely become a servant of the Imperial Court and ask for credit for the Xie family.”
Xie Xun hurriedly said, “Lord, you shouldn’t praise me so much. The Imperial Court has issued a national policy. We can’t be negligent in settling the refugees. It’s only right for everyone to follow it.”
Ye Xiaoci’s gaze moved slightly. No matter how dignified his words were now, it would hurt as much as a knife sc.r.a.ping against a n.o.ble’s body.
The Xie Residence was in the lead. It wouldn’t be long before Princess Shaoyi from the Yu Garden, who had just arrived in Xiangping and lived in seclusion, made a move.
When the n.o.bles reacted, it would be time for a knife to be at their throats.
Smart people were often good at distorting people’s hearts. They only needed a chessboard. On the chessboard, they were all chess pieces. There was no need to partic.i.p.ate personally and pretend to be polite to others.
Indeed!
That day, news spread in Xiangping City that Princess Shaoyi had arranged to meet the General’s Residence of Ningyuan and the families of the Huang Residence. Tomorrow, she would go to the Dragon Phoenix Temple to worship the Medicine Buddha and pray for the refugees. She would also buy the relevant medicinal herbs from the commoners in her own name.
Medicine Buddha held a medicinal pot in his left hand and medicinal herbs in his right. As the Sutra of the Medicine Buddha said, “… When you encounter all kinds of illnesses, you will lose weight, be dehydrated, and experience yellow fever and other illnesses. You will either be poisoned by nightmare ghosts and poisonous insects, or you will live a short life, or you will die while lying horizontally at any time. You want to wait for the illnesses to disappear and your wish to be fulfilled. At that time, the World Honored One will enter the Sandlands. He will eliminate all the troubles of all living beings…”
Therefore, she also worshiped the Medicine Buddha.
Princess Shaoyi’s intention to gather medicinal herbs to prevent and treat the epidemic was already obvious to everyone.
As soon as the news spread, the name of Princess Shaoyi’s kindness spread throughout Xiangping again. It was as if she had wings that quickly spread from Xiangping.
The Xie family was the first to respond to Princess Shaoyi.
The Yue Fei King’s Residence released news that the Xie Residence had donated 50% of their a.s.sets to King Yue Fei as military funds for the You army.
The government also announced that 20% of the Xie family’s a.s.sets would be used to buy all kinds of medicinal herbs to prevent the plague after the disaster. The government and the people who were managing the land should cooperate fully.
This matter caused a huge commotion in Xiangping City.
“Those wealthy merchants and n.o.bles are all heartless because of their wealth. They earn the hard-earned money of the commoners. How can they be willing to spend most of their a.s.sets? Who knows how many a.s.sets the Xie family has? Who knows how much they’ve donated? It’s obvious even if you think about it. It’s just a trick to fool the commoners.”
Wasn’t such a thing rare in the North?
“That can’t be. As far as I know, the Xie family has always been known for being benevolent merchants. Not to mention the distant past, just look at the water disaster in Zhejiang earlier. Later, when there was a drought in the North, the Xie family was generous and tried their best to help the refugees. Princess Shaoyi is kind. As an external family, the Xie family can’t really be those people who lie to the world.”
“That’s right. No matter how much they donate, as long as they really donate, I’ll respect the Xie family. They are countless generations better than those stingy n.o.bles in the North.”
“…”
Everyone had their own opinions on this matter.
“The Xie family is rich. How much money does 70% of their a.s.sets translate to? Even real money can’t circulate, so their a.s.sets definitely have to be placed in the bank. Behind the bank is the Imperial Court, and the banks everywhere are supervised by the government. If the Xie family wants to donate money, they definitely have to go through the bank’s accounts. The stakes here are huge. Even if the Xie family wants to fake it, they can’t possibly fool all the forces behind the Imperial Court, the government, and the bank, right? The Xie family dares to say this openly, so I think it’s not far off.”
“Brother, you’re right. After causing such a huge commotion, many things can’t be hidden. This isn’t like real money. Who knows what’s inside?”
“Banknotes need to go through the Imperial Court and the huge power behind the bank. There are too many people handling such a large sum of money. How can it be easily covered up?”
“Who do you think King Yue Fei is? The Xie family can fool the commoners, but can they fool King Yue Fei and the Imperial Court? Anyway, I don’t believe that King Yue Fei will join forces with the Xie family to fool the commoners.”
There was immediate silence. Everyone looked at one another, and an unbelievable thought appeared in their minds.
“So, is the Xie family really donating?”
“Most likely.”
“…”
There was silence again. Soon, exclamations sounded one after another, all of them convinced by the righteousness of the Xie family.
With comparison, there was damage.
The righteous actions of the Xie Residence made the n.o.bles seem even more heartless.
Under Huang Wen’s deliberate arrangements, rumors quickly spread in Xiangping City. In less than half a day, it actually vaguely formed a wave of criticism against the n.o.bles.
Moreover, this commotion actually seemed to be intensifying and spreading to the surroundings.
Huang Wenxian reported the situation outside.
Yu Youyao was not surprised by this. “After the emperor ascended the throne, he personally conquered the north, causing the 800,000-strong army to be completely wiped out. After that, the hara.s.sment of the border by the Northern Barbarians intensified. The commoners were in danger and suffered heavy casualties.”
“This situation only gradually improved when King Li of Zhou guarded Youzhou. In the next ten years, King Li of Zhou achieved glorious results in the North. The Di people were afraid of King Li of Zhou’s bravery and retreated to the area 50 kilometers away from the narrow Yu Pa.s.s. The commoners in the North also treated King Li of Zhou as the War G.o.d of the North.”
“King Li of Zhou wanted to improve the situation of the n.o.bles colluding and bullying the commoners. However, he had just arrived in the North and did not have a deep foundation in the North. He was also of no help in the court. Gradually, he was restricted by the n.o.bles, and King Li of Zhou’s situation in the North became more and more difficult.”
“Later, the Di people invaded wantonly, and the You army was defeated repeatedly because of a lack of supplies. Only then did the n.o.bles realize the seriousness of the matter. No matter if they win or lose this battle, what awaits them is an interrogation from the Imperial Court.”
If they lost, the Imperial Court would definitely thoroughly investigate the reason behind it. The n.o.bles would become the culprits and would not be able to escape death.
If they won this battle, King Li of Zhou would definitely enter the capital to meet the emperor. The Imperial Court would reward those who had contributed. At the same time, they would also punish those who had sinned. The n.o.bles would still be unable to escape punishment.