The Northern Borderline imitated the Central Plains in many ways. Not only did they copy the harem system, but they also copied the rules of the imperial court.
Court meetings were divided into large and small ones. The small ones dealt with small matters, while the big ones discussed important matters.
In the big court meeting, the minister once again proposed the appointment of a crown prince. The King's expression was very ugly.
His sons were in their prime, but he was beginning to slip from his peak, like the sun setting in the west.
This feeling of powerlessness was unbearable for the ambitious him.
At this moment, he finally understood the Dongqing Emperor's state of mind.
He was also beginning to worry about personal gains and losses. He was afraid that his sons would take away his power and life when he was unguarded.
As usual, he rejected the appointment of a crown prince. The King even reprimanded the minister and his sons who supported him.
After an hour, he was starting to feel a little exhausted.
Rubbing his forehead tiredly, the King said, "My dear ministers, do you have anything else to report? If there is nothing else, please leave … "
Before he could finish, Wu Liba interrupted the King.
"Your Majesty, I have something to report."
In recent years, Wu Liba was less and less trusted by the King. Because of the horse plague, he was almost convicted.
After hiding his strength and biding his time for a few years, Wu Liba's presence in the imperial court gradually diminished.
Thinking about it carefully, this was the first time he had made a report at the big court meeting this year.
Seeing that the person who stepped out was Wu Liba, the King of the Northern Borderline had no choice but to endure his fatigue and continue listening.
"What is it?"
Wu Liba handed over the bamboo scroll that he had written.
"Your Majesty, I have been visiting for a few days and found that the herdsmen are raising a large number of rabbits and sheep. If this goes on, these animals will definitely occupy the pasture, causing the war horses to have no grass to eat. Now, it is a critical time for us to recover our vitality. We must not let our guard down. The major horse farms have reported that more and more war horses have broken their legs because of the rabbit holes. This means … "
The King of the Northern Borderline glanced at it and frowned. He suppressed the rising anger in his heart and interrupted Wu Liba.
"Wu Liba, this is the court meeting, not your home. How dare you bring such a trivial matter to the court meeting? "
Wu Liba was shocked. He hurriedly half-knelt on the ground and made a gesture of allegiance.
He said, "Your Majesty, I'm definitely not trying to scare you. Now, all the signs show that the caravan's large-scale purchase of sheepskin rabbit meat is clearly a conspiracy against the pasture. I earnestly request Your Majesty to give the order to immediately capture those traveling merchants and interrogate them to find out who the mastermind is. "
The King of the Northern Borderline was furious.
Wu Liba rarely cared about the lives of the lowly herdsmen. As the ambitious King of the Northern Borderline, it was even more impossible for him to care about the ordinary herdsmen.
In his opinion, it was very normal for herdsmen to raise rabbits and goats.
If there was anything abnormal, it would at most be carelessly releasing the rabbits, allowing them to breed.
However, was this a big deal?
As for the herd of sheep?
The ancestors of the Northern Borderline relied on herding for a living. What was so strange about herding horses and sheep?
Could it be that the Old Ancestor herding horses and sheep was also a conspiracy of someone with ulterior motives?
"The older you get, the more muddled you become!"
The King of the Northern Borderline scolded and threw the bamboo scroll with great force, hitting Wu Liba's forehead.
Wu Liba did not expect to face such humiliation. He did not even have time to dodge.
He was hit squarely by the bamboo scroll, causing his vision to turn black. His body, which was kneeling on one knee, swayed.
The courtiers in the court were silent. They looked at Wu Liba from the corner of their eyes, as if mocking him for making a mountain out of a molehill.
So what if they reared many rabbits and goats?
The grasslands of the Northern Borderline were so big, how could they be eaten up by these two kinds of beasts?
Even if they really ate them up, the grasslands would still be covered with green grass the next spring.
They really did not know what was wrong with Wu Liba. It was not easy for him to have a chance to speak in the court, but he actually talked about such a trivial matter.
"Your Majesty!" Wu Liba seemed to have aged a few years. His eyes were red as he called out loudly, "If we do not curb it now, there will be a great calamity!"
The King of the Northern Borderline laughed coldly. He asked, "Great calamity? What great calamity? The Northern Borderline is rich in pasture. How can mere beasts eat it up? "
Another courtier chimed in, "Yes, grass is the most vigorous and unyielding existence in the grasslands. I really do not know what Your Excellency Wu Liba is worried about … I have not read the books of the Central Plains, but I do know that there is a saying, 'Groundless fears'. Isn't that saying referring to you? "
As the wise man of the Northern Borderline, when had Wu Liba ever been mocked like this?
When the Northern Borderline was threatened by the Central Plains, these people had stuck close to him.
Now that they had lived a comfortable life for more than ten years, they had all forgotten their past disgraceful behavior and jumped out one by one to add insult to injury.
"Groundless fears? That's a clever use of the phrase. " Wu Liba's political enemy stepped forward and asked sharply, "Your Excellency Wu Liba does not know the sufferings of the human world. Do you really think that love is enough? You have captured the merchant caravan. Who are you going to sell the accumulated goods to? Sell them to you? The herdsmen rely on their meager income to feed their families. Your Excellency Wu Liba, on the other hand, wants to cut off their livelihood with just a few words. "
Wu Liba gritted his teeth and said, "The mutton and rabbit meat in the hands of the herdsmen can be bought at a low price as military rations."
His political enemy snorted coldly and said, "Buy at a low price? What price is considered a low price? Go and ask the herdsmen if they are willing to sell? Even if they are willing to sell, do you know how much it will cost to buy them? Don't tell me you have your wife empty out her family to buy them for you? "
Everyone knew that Wu Liba's wife's family was the richest merchant in the Northern Borderline.
In the past, when Wu Liba fought wars, many of the military supplies were added by this wife's family.
Back then, Gu Xin Xin's "Colored Glass of the Heavenly Palace" had cheated the noblewomen and merchants of the Northern Borderline, swindling over twenty million strings of coins from them. Wu Liba's wife's family was devastated by this setback. Now, not to mention funding Wu Liba, it would be good enough if they did not occasionally come to Wu Liba to ask for favors.
This political enemy had purposely brought up this matter to humiliate Wu Liba.
Wu Liba was choked by the other party's words and almost couldn't breathe.
If this was any other time, of course, he could think of a countermeasure. Now that he had suffered consecutive blows, he could not calm down at all.
The political enemy sneered and bent down to whisper in Wu Liba's ear, "Even if the King does as you wish, I'm afraid he will not be able to."
Wu Liba suddenly turned around and glared at him fiercely.
The political enemy smiled brightly, but his words were filled with thorns. "Sir, have you forgotten that it was you who suggested that the King purchase mares from the Cangzhou Horse Farm at a high price to fill up the farm so that it can recover quickly? The Imperial Court's finances are already stretched thin, yet you still bring up such a suggestion to the King at this time … "
The Northern Borderline Imperial Court was already so poor that they did not even have much food reserves.
If they captured the merchant caravans and cut off the livelihood of the citizens, then they would incur the wrath of the masses.
Wu Liba was usually quite smart, why was he so muddle-headed when faced with such a matter?
Or could it be that this person was used to being arrogant and thought that the Northern Borderline's prosperity was due to him alone?
There was a saying in the Central Plains that went, "Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it."
This was not only used in the countries of the Central Plains, but also in the Northern Borderline.
If the King of the Northern Borderline no longer had the hearts of the people, the herdsmen would turn and support the leaders of other tribes.
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.
