"I really realized that Zixiao never seemed to worry about Beiyuan —"
Feng Zhen narrowed his eyes and rubbed the Iron-Eating Beast's ear with his large palm. He seemed to have asked casually.
"Or perhaps, Zixiao is certain that the Beiyuan Yi Clan will not be able to free themselves, and this is also the result of your stargazing day and night?"
Only then did Wei Ci raise his head from the pile of bamboo slips, but he did not put down the brush in his hand.
Feng Zhen stared closely at his face, as if unwilling to let go of even the slightest hint of abnormality.
Wei Ci said with a calm expression, "Confucius said that the mysteries of heaven must not be revealed."
Feng Zhen, "…"
If Confucius was alive, wouldn't he be angered to death by Wei Ci?
"When did I ever say such a thing? Only Daoists talk about the secrets of the heavens — "
Feng Zhen wished he could throw the Iron-Eating Beast in his arms at Wei Ci's face. This person was getting more and more infuriating.
Little did they know that Wei Ci could not reveal anything at all. He could only be vague about it.
"Beiyuan is a very interesting country."
Feng Zhen's face was blank.
Interesting?
How was it interesting?
Little did they know that Wei Ci's evaluation of Beiyuan was straight to the point. This country was really too weird.
The destruction of Beiyuan was not caused by the lord or the other feudal vassals, but by them.
In his previous life, Wei Ci lived in seclusion in Zhongzhao's Bianzhou. His body was in the Land of Peach Blossom, but his heart was in the secular world. He could not let go of the general situation of the world.
Among the five countries in the world, Dongqing, Nansheng, and Zhongzhao, these three countries were fighting in full swing. All the feudal princes took turns to sing.
After His Majesty united the three magnates, she dealt with Beiyuan and Xichang.
It took more than ten years to unify the three kingdoms, but it took less than a year to deal with Beiyuan and Xichang.
It was not because His Majesty was too strong, but because the internal situation of the two countries was too strange.
Let's start with Xichang. Xichang had the weakest military strength and the smallest territory among the five countries.
Chaos descended, and the five countries collapsed.
Xichang, the weakest of the five countries, had leaped to become the country with the most feudal vassals in its territory and the most tragic sacrifices in war.
According to incomplete statistics, there were no less than three hundred uprisings in Xichang, and there were no less than a hundred feudal vassals with their own names.
As for the Xichang royal family?
They were so poor that even the Emperor had to farm in the fields, the Empress plowed and knitted to earn her allowance, and the former concubines were sold into the brothel to earn money.
The most powerful vassal within the territory only governed half a province, while the smallest vassal only had a village.
That's right.
A village!
He dared to call himself a feudal lord when he had hundreds of commoners under his command!
Xichang died because its forces were scattered and its people were not united. His Majesty's armored cavalry rampaged and took over Xichang in four months.
It was as brittle as paper.
These words came from the mouth of Fu Wang, the commander-in-chief of the expedition against Xichang.
What was the most amusing thing?
After Xichang was destroyed, Fu Wang captured the members of Xichang's royal family. The emperor actually offered his three sons to His Majesty as his male pets.
"Although these three sons of mine are young, they are all well-educated and well-mannered. I don't dare to compare my looks and temperament to the nobles of the aristocratic families, but my ancestor was once part of the royal family of the Great Xia Dynasty. Their bloodline is noble. Before the three of them fell from grace, they were famous in the capital … "
Hmph!
In front of all the officials in the imperial court, this ruler of a fallen country was servile and obsequious. He even used vulgar language. Wei Ci was so angry that he could not eat for a few days.
His Majesty's dragon body is precious, how dare such a lowly person covet it?
The hot-tempered General Dian Yan couldn't take it anymore, and with a kick, he dislocated the man's shoulder.
If it wasn't for Fu Wang, Li Yun and the rest stopping him to prevent Dian Yan from killing people in court, this fellow would have long gone to hell.
In the end, His Majesty only smiled and fined Dian Yan half a month's salary, then rewarded him with a box of gold, silver and jewels.
His Majesty originally wanted the descendants of the Xichang royal family to be wealthy commoners, but after this incident, they were all wiped out.
Beiyuan's national power was stronger than Xichang's, but His Majesty took less time to recover Beiyuan than Xichang.
Beiyuan was famous for courting disaster, and it could be said to be a "weirdo" among the five countries.
Before the collapse of the five countries, the Beiyuan royal family was already in decline. Basically, a few aristocratic families took turns to rule, constantly fighting for power.
After the collapse, power struggles became more frequent.
Within a year, there were no less than 20 coups, the shortest lasting only half a day.
The Yi family had the last laugh. They destroyed the royal family, wore the dragon robes, and ascended the throne.
Almost every direct descendant of the Yi family was conferred the title of Prince, and their salary was the highest. They were prominent for a while, and it could not be said that they weren't prestigious.
However, this situation didn't last long. Beiyuan quickly fell into chaos.
Previously, Feng Zhen had mentioned that Beiyuan was located in the north. In a year, it was only warm for a few months, and the rest of the year was very cold.
The environment was harsh, and it was difficult for crops to survive.
The land produced little food. In order to stabilize the situation, Beiyuan's agricultural tax was naturally the lowest among the five countries. The government only collected 20% of the agricultural tax!
In this era, this agricultural tax was already very low, but the people were still hovering around the line of food and clothing.
Turning to the Yi family, after the Emperor ascended the throne, he conferred dozens of Princes and Dukes, and the salary expenditure was extremely terrifying.
The national treasury couldn't support it anymore, and began to default on the salary. All the Princes and Dukes were in a mess!
In order to appease the people, they had to increase the agricultural tax and set up miscellaneous tax collection programs to increase the national treasury's income and distribute the Princes' salaries.
When the tax was at its heaviest, the government even collected 90% of the agricultural tax, and the remaining 10% of the grain tax had to be exploited layer by layer.
Within the borders of Beiyuan, countless people froze and starved to death.
Hearing that His Majesty's iron hooves were about to enter the country, the people from all over the country spontaneously took action. Some opened the passes, some opened the city gates, and some opened the city gates. The soldiers guarding the border fortresses ran away without a trace. If Xichang was as fragile as paper, then Beiyuan was probably as fragile as air.
Calculating the time, the Yi family was now fighting with a few other aristocratic families for power.
The regime changed like the sun and moon, and the coups were so frequent that they seemed like a joke.
The Yi family coveted the Cangzhou stud farm, but if they kicked an iron plate, they couldn't really send a large number of troops to suppress the border.
Wei Ci knew this, but he didn't dare to take the risk.
After all, Beiyuan was still considered strong, and hadn't been as fragile as air by the Yi family.
Wei Ci wasn't the least bit surprised to hear that the envoy from Beiyuan's Yi family was summoned back as soon as he arrived at Yumen Pass.
Wei Ci's calmness attracted Feng Zhen's attention, which was why he tested him just now.
Little did he know that Wei Ci was an old cucumber that had been dipped in green paint.
He was a licensed driver with decades of experience, so why would he be tricked by him?
"I heard from the lord that her next step is to make a move on Xu Bei. Zixiao, don't you think this is too rash? "
"How is it rash?"
Feng Zhen said as he stroked the cat, "Xu Bei is indebted to the lord. If she doesn't handle this well, I'm afraid she'll be criticized by others."
If Jiang Pengji really accepted Xu Fei's request for help and used this reason to confront the Xu and Pei armies, wouldn't she be criticized?
During the alliance meeting at Huangshui, Xu Bei had supported Jiang Pengji. This bond was much deeper than Xu Fei's.
Wei Ci's eyes contained a smile. "If Xu Bei can't restrain himself first, then he can't blame the lord for not remembering our past relationship."
Feng Zhen's expression froze.
How could he have forgotten?
What was his lord best at?
Creating trouble!
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
