Today, this chapter was written slowly. I am very satisfied. Tomorrow, I will talk about why Fan Xian is like this. Then, I will hum, ah, ah. I suddenly thought of that sentence in the introduction to the Drunkard's home …
…
…
In winter, people wore cheap and warm cotton clothing and sat on the kang drinking cool and fiery wine. In spring, the water wheels of the Jiangnan water villages slowly ran. The seemingly unremarkable water conservancy facilities were silently displaying their effects. In summer, large leaf fans fanned the cool breeze in the homes of the wealthy. All sorts of carriages and ships left the various workshops to deliver goods into the hands of those who needed them.
The basic water conservancy facilities throughout the Qing Kingdom's fields, the glass and porcelain in every home, and the atmosphere in every space. They were all related to the palace treasury. The palace treasury was not just the three large workshops in North Min. It was spread throughout the entire Qing Kingdom, such as the Xishan Bookstore and other fringe industries. The production of the palace treasury was not only related to military equipment and other large industries related to the fate of the country and the people's lives. It also included small things related to the lives of the people. These small things floated to the other end of the ocean and scattered into the world. They appeared unremarkable, but they successfully helped the Qing Kingdom amass a stunning amount of wealth.
The palace treasury helped the Qing Kingdom create the equipment and military equipment needed for a mighty army. The warships of the three naval divisions also used this endless wealth to support the food and fodder that the Qing Kingdom needed to expand its borders. More importantly, the Qing Emperor needed this wealth to stabilize the people's lives and maintain the effective operation of the court's officialdom system.
Perhaps the hundreds of millions of people of the Qing Kingdom had long become accustomed to the palace treasury in their lives, so much so that it had become natural. They had gradually forgotten the importance of the palace treasury, or at least underestimated its importance. The Qing Emperor would not. Any official with a brain in the Qing Kingdom would not. The Northern Qi court, which had always drooled over the palace treasury, would even less so.
Otherwise, the Qing Kingdom would not have gathered its elites in North Min and set up even tighter security around the three workshops than in Jingdou. All of this was to prevent the secrets of the palace treasury's workmanship from leaking out.
The fire in the Royal Palace clearly indicated to the Qing Emperor that the Qing Kingdom's greatest secret was not a secret to Fan Xian. It was even a bargaining chip that he could play with as he pleased in his hands. Once the palace treasury's processes were completely destroyed, the old craftsmen died, and the three workshops were destroyed, the foundation of the Qing Kingdom would receive a destructive blow.
…
…
However, the Emperor's cold face showed that he was not worried that the palace treasury would be destroyed by Fan Xian. He knew that Fan Xian also cared about the palace treasury and would not tear apart this treasure of the world. He believed that Fan Xian was acting in Jiangnan right now and destroying the palace treasury's production process. He also believed that before Fan Xian did these things, he must have already recorded a copy of the production process.
As long as it was still useful, it could be used as a bargaining chip. The Qing Emperor coldly withdrew his gaze from the black smoke and glanced at Fan Xian. "You are indeed insane. As a person of the Qing Kingdom, how could you do such a thing?"
Fan Xian was silent for a moment. He then said, "I just thought that, in the end, this is a matter between you and me. Once disaster spreads to the world, it is truly not what I want."
These words were very clear. The Emperor controlled the world. If Fan Xian did not hold enough bargaining chips in his hands that he cared about, how could the Emperor's heart be completely restrained and only limit the battle to the Royal Palace? He had enough methods to deal with the people attached to Fan Xian. However, Fan Xian wanted to force the Emperor not to act against those people.
This seemed to be a very childish and childish request, as if it was just playing house. Your Majesty, I am about to rebel. If my rebellion fails, please don't make things difficult for my subordinates. There was a death-like silence in the Palace. Fan Xian, who had made this suggestion, and the calm Emperor did not treat this as a game. Fan Xian did indeed have a powerful weapon in his hands that could harm the foundation of the Qing Kingdom.
The Emperor was not someone who could be threatened. Even if Fan Xian held the most important weapon in the palace treasury in his hands, he glanced at Fan Xian coldly and said, "Continue."
Fan Xian bowed with great sincerity and said, "Your Majesty is brimming with talent. Presently, the Qing Kingdom's national treasury is full. The people's morale is usable, and the armored soldiers are brave. Although famous generals have fallen, looking at Ye Wan, it can be seen that within the ranks, the Qing Kingdom has many talented people. Even if the palace treasury is destroyed in my hands, it will not completely collapse in a short time. Given Your Majesty's abilities, no matter how determined the Northern Qi Emperor and Shang Shanhu are to resist, the Qing Kingdom will send an army North and sweep across the lands like tigers and wolves. In Your Majesty's lifetime, we will certainly be able to realize our grand wish of unifying the world. "
"No one can stop this process. Even if I hold the most important part of the palace treasury, I have to admit that this cannot threaten you. You can completely ignore all of this." Fan Xian lowered his head and calmly said each word. "However, Your Majesty's vision is vast. How can it be limited to a moment or a place?"
He raised his head and calmly looked into the Qing Emperor's eyes. "Your Majesty wants to unify the world, build a large empire, end the endless wars on this land, and fight for a peaceful future for millions of people. You want to leave behind the heroic name of an Emperor through the ages in the annals of history. Thus, what you seek is for the Qing Kingdom to unify the world for thousands of generations."
"If you are alive and swallow up Northern Qi and Dongyi, use the power of iron and blood to suppress the resistance, and use your genius and wisdom to win over the hearts of the people, you will be able to confirm the unification of the world. However, what if you die?"
The corners of Fan Xian's lips twitched slightly. "There will not be another Emperor in the world. Where would the Qing court, which had just swallowed up the world, find another talented ruler? Northern Qi's territory was vast, and it produced talents in large numbers. It inherited the spirit of the Wei Kingdom and had always considered itself to be the rightful ruler. If no one could suppress it and the millions of foreign people rose up in rebellion, who could stop them? Just based on the Qing Kingdom's mighty armies killing people everywhere? The initially united world would probably sink into the flames of war again. At that time, it would be difficult to say whether or not the Qing Kingdom would be able to guarantee the unification of its territory. I'm afraid that the people would rise up in rebellion. The Qing Kingdom and Jingdou would also be in danger. "
"Your Majesty is well-read in the history books. You know that using iron and blood to control people will not last long. There was once a plan for the first Emperor to kill everyone under heaven, but in the end, he died in his second life."
"During these three years, thinking of Your Majesty's grand plans, you have to rely on the endless flow of the palace treasury to ensure that the central Qing court has an absolute advantage in national power over the newly annexed lands and intimidate the remnant people of the new lands. Using the advantage in national power to exchange for time, using the name of communication to exchange for the power of integration, through many generations, the previous court will be forgotten, and the hearts of the new people will return. Only then will there be true unification."
"However, if the palace treasury is destroyed, who will ensure that the Qing Kingdom will always have an advantage in national power and military power? If you are alive, none of this will fundamentally change. If you are dead and there is no palace treasury, who will maintain the structure of this land? "
"People will always die," Fan Xian calmly looked into the Emperor's eyes. Fan Xian looked calmly into the Emperor's eyes and said, "Even someone like you cannot escape birth, old age, sickness, and death. Looking at the court's planning these three years, you have also been thinking about the future."
"You are a very confident person and have the right to be confident. You do not think that the Northern Qi Emperor and Shang Shanhu will be able to stand against your determination to sweep through the world," Fan Xian said calmly. "Today, even if there is no palace treasury, you will still be able to complete the grand plans you have worked so hard for decades."
"What you want is not for a world of incomparable glory to blossom and then for the Qing Kingdom to fall in the storm of resistance. The history books are always written by the victors. After unifying the world, if the Qing Kingdom cannot last for tens of thousands of generations, if you are as great as yourself in the annals of history, you will only be able to leave behind a name of ruthlessness and shortsightedness."
Fan Xian smiled slightly. "You want the Qing Kingdom to last for tens of thousands of generations, so you need the palace treasury in my hands."
…
…
"What can you promise me?" The Emperor suddenly laughed. There was a sense of gratification in his laughter. It was clear that this unfathomable Emperor was very happy with his favorite son. Every word and sentence was close to his true feelings that others rarely got close to. It was close to his grand intentions.
"If I die, the recording of the process will be returned to the court, and the destructive work in North Min will immediately stop. As you know, I always have some rather loyal subordinates, "Fan Xian replied sincerely. He did not say defeat because he had entered the Palace alone and turned the Royal Palace into a battlefield. Whoever lost would die. Where was there a second path? As he spoke, Fan Xian turned around and stood side by side with the Emperor.
As he spoke, Fan Xian turned around and stood side by side with the Emperor. He looked at the snowy ground covered in shards of silver among the wild grass in front of him. His gaze fell to his left and said, "Under Your Majesty's attack, the Chief on the grasslands no longer has the power to rise again. However, at the foot of the westernmost mountain, there are still 7,000 Man riders who have migrated from the snowy plains. This group of fresh troops is very valiant. If Your Majesty agrees to my request, I can guarantee that this group of Man riders will never come near Xiliang."
The Emperor's gaze followed his gaze and fell to the remaining snow on his left. He furrowed his brows slightly and said, "In the Qingzhou victory, Su Bida's court went all out, but they only brought 2,000 or 3,000 Man riders. According to Gong Dian's report, the battle power of these Man riders is indeed not bad. If the heavens had not been unfair and forcefully granted the snowy plains in the north three years of snow disasters, they would not have escaped so far to the Western Hu grasslands. Looking at it this way, Shang Shanhu's ability to resist the Man at the Northern Gate for so many years is truly impressive. "
"However, in the end, there are too few of them. They won't be able to affect the situation." The Emperor's brows relaxed and he coldly shook his head. It was clear he was not willing to accept Fan Xian's bargaining chip.
"We are talking about a matter that will last for thousands of generations." It was clear that Fan Xian's tone was very frivolous. He even said the words "we" in such a rebellious manner. He smiled and said, "There are 7,000 young men, but they are very cultured. There are also many women. Additionally, Xi Hu has suffered heavy losses. This group of Northern Man riders will certainly become an important power on the grasslands. If they want to go to various tribes to capture Hu women, who can stop them? As you know, the Hu people are very fertile. At most, in a decade or two, this tribe will be very impressive. "
"If no one can suppress, control, or guide them, then wouldn't this rising tribe be a second court?" Fan Xian looked at the snow-covered ground to his left and shook his head. "The people of Xiliang Road are very wretched. Are they going to endure for another few decades?"
The Emperor smiled slightly and said, "I don't understand. Your subordinates in Xiliang Road and the grasslands have been pretty much all killed by me. What power do you still have to influence those Man people?"
"Songzhi Xianling," Fan Xian said with a smile. "Although she is the daughter of an old royal family and has a noble status, she doesn't have much practical use in commanding. However, her status is still here. Furthermore, her status is very high on the grasslands. She is also very powerful and can already gather most of the Man people's power. As long as you control her, it is the same as controlling these Man people."
"Are you saying that if you can control her, then I can't control her and the court can't control her?" the Emperor asked mockingly.
Fan Xian sighed and said, "Songzhi Xianling is Haitang Duoduo. She is my woman. Of course, only I can control her."
The Emperor was slightly startled. After a moment of silence, he finally couldn't resist smiling. He shook his head and didn't say anything more. His gaze landed directly on the southeast corner of the snow-covered ground in front of the two of them. The Emperor pointed in that direction and said, "You brought back the palace treasury process with both hands. Is there anything else? Jiangnan will not fall into chaos because I have already thrown it into chaos first. The loyalty of your subordinates to you has truly surprised me. However, Xia Qifei won't be able to jump around for two days. Even if Su Wenmao hid people in the palace treasury, he won't be able to do it himself. "
"I have also moved Cheng Jialin back. Ren Bo 'an's brother has also been moved back from the army of the three large workshops," the Emperor said calmly with his hands behind his back and quietly watched the snow-covered ground without any lines with Fan Xian.
Fan Xian's gaze also landed on the southeast corner of the snow-covered ground. He smiled and said, "Jiangnan can still fall into chaos. The palace treasury has already agreed to Your Majesty's request, so I won't go and cause more trouble. Jiangnan thrives on commerce. Including the palace treasury, they collectively support about 40 percent of the court's taxes. If Jiangnan falls into chaos, how can the court support it?"
From the beginning of today's conversation, Fan Xian's calm tone carried a sense of carefreeness, nakedness, and fearlessness. This kind of frivolity and fearlessness could truly be said to be like a cold blade. He did not give an inch as he negotiated with the Emperor. It had to do with his confidence and his state of mind.
Just as he said earlier, he could not find any way to perfectly control it, so he could only choose the simplest method. Because this method was direct, it appeared to have great destructive power.
He very straightforwardly asked the Emperor, if Jiangnan fell into chaos, how could the court support it? The Emperor smiled and straightforwardly countered with a question, "If I directly kill all your people, how will Jiangnan fall into chaos?"
"I have Zhaoshang money house," Fan Xian replied calmly. "Jiangnan thrives on commerce. The most fatal part is the exchange of silver in circulation. Zhaoshang money house has been in Jiangnan for many years and secretly controls some of the businesses of the Ming, Sun, and Xiong families. Once the money house makes a move, it will not be difficult for Jiangnan to fall into chaos."
"A lot of Zhaoshang's silver has long been moved away." The Emperor glanced at Fan Xian with slight mockery and did not directly expose the astonishing amount of silver. He returned to the Northern Qi royal family and said, "It's just some paper. With a wave of my pen, what does it matter?"
"You can't say it like that. After all, Quanzhou has not yet achieved its intended use. The transfer of the ocean ships is still handled in Dongyi." Fan Xian did not back down and straightforwardly said, "Silver notes and promissory notes are all paper. With a wave of the Emperor's pen, they are all invalid? Then, without Zhaoshang money house doing anything else, Jiangnan will probably fall into chaos first. "
The Emperor did not understand business, and Fan Xian did not understand much about it either. No one had an accurate grasp of just how much Jiangnan's business activities relied on the embryonic and undeveloped financial credit system. Fan Xian believed that everything in the world had its own rules, particularly the business activities that Jiangnan had operated for over a hundred years. If the Emperor truly did that, Jiangnan would certainly fall into chaos first.
The Qing Emperor and he did not understand business, but it did not mean that the officials in court and Fan Xian's subordinates did not understand. Before this, they had all done their homework. Fan Xian only knew that a very important part of business was liquid capital. It was like the blood flowing through the veins. If the money house was truly overturned and the blood in the veins dried up, business activities would certainly become abnormally difficult and dry.
"I have taken Hua Garden back from Yang Jimei's hands," the Emperor reminded coldly. This Emperor could actually be said to be a truly wise ruler. He did not understand the business operations of Jiangnan, but that did not mean he would rely on the Emperor's authority to do things blindly. He left professional matters to professional officials to operate. He knew that Zhaoshang money house in Fan Xian's hands had the power to shake the Jiangnan business map. Thus, last autumn, when the first chaos rose in Jiangnan, the court was already prepared.
In the entire world, the ones with the most silver and the least need to rely on money houses to carry out transactions were the large and small salt merchants in Jiangnan. Yang Jimei, whom the Emperor had mentioned earlier, was one of the largest salt merchants in Jiangnan. The court had long been wary of money houses taking silver. By bringing the salt merchants into this system, they had their eyes on the salt merchants' stash of real gold and silver from all over the world. Although it would be difficult to reconstruct an exchange system, at least it wouldn't be completely controlled by Fan Xian.
"Just being a salt merchant is not enough," Fan Xian said with slightly lowered eyelids. "I still have … Taiping in my hands."
Taiping money house! The foremost money house in the world. No one knew how many years it had been in business and how many people's daily lives it could affect. This money house had always been in Dongyi. Its owner had always been mysterious. No one had ever seen his true appearance. It was not until Fan Xian took over as the master of the Sword Hut in Dongyi that he discovered with horror that Taiping money house had always been under the control of the Sword Hut and Sigu Jian.
Each time he thought of this, Fan Xian couldn't help but feel shock and admiration. He admired Sigu Jian's foresight and insight. Probably only the master of Dongyi could discover the importance of a money house in the increasingly prosperous trade and leave behind such a weapon that could shake the world.
Hearing the word "Taiping," the Emperor's eyes narrowed and a cold light flashed. It was clear that, just like when Fan Xian first learned of this secret, the Emperor also felt a chill.
"Taiping money house was left to me by Sigu Jian," Fan Xian added quietly.
The Emperor suddenly laughed. His laughter was filled with absurdity. It was probably because he had suddenly discovered that all of his enemies worthy of respect in this world had given the last method to defeat him to his favorite son. This absurd reality made even this seemingly cold and emotionless Emperor's heart waver slightly.
"Your Majesty, let's look at Dongyi again." Fan Xian's gaze moved up from the bottom right corner of the snowy land to the center of the lonely snowy land. There was a pile of weeds there. It looked like the East Sea in the summer, full of mountain-like waves that pierced through the sky.
The Emperor's smile gradually faded. His expression became calm and warm. "There is no need to discuss Dongyi. However, the dozen kids in the Sword Hut are a bit troublesome. In the end, they are not a match for an army."
"A ninth-level ace is completely useless in construction. If they want to cause destruction, they are always good at it. For example, they can carry out assassinations and cause destruction in the heart of the Qing Kingdom." Fan Xian's gaze looked faintly to the right of the snowy land.
The Emperor and his questions and answers continued. Snowflakes continued to fall in the Winter Palace. Some landed on the strange father and son pair. Some landed on the snowy ground in front of them and on the weeds.
There were no lines on this vast expanse of snowy land. There were no borders, no separation between snowy mountains and green grasslands. There wasn't even a shape. However, the Qing Emperor and Fan Xian looked at this silent and cold snowy land and talked about the world.
Their gazes fell on the grassland to their left, Dongyi to their right, Jiangnan to their right, and Da Qi's territory to the north. Their gazes fell a little further ahead.
Wherever they looked, that was the world.
…
…
The snowflakes gradually grew larger. Curling and dancing in the air in the broken Palace, they gradually accumulated thicker. The green clothes Fan Xian wore and the Emperor's bright yellow dragon robe began to turn white. The snowy ground in front of the two of them was also covered in a thick layer of snow. There were no longer any traces of grass or land. It was just like the world, a vast expanse of white. It was truly clean. In their eyes, how could it be divided by man?
"I have the power to make the world fall into chaos. Even if I die now, I can make Your Majesty's grand plan become this snow. When the sun rises, it will melt into water, and it will never come true again." Fan Xian stuck out his tongue and licked his dry lips. He had spoken too much today. His mouth was dry. Seriously, he said to the Emperor, "Thus, I request a fair battle with Your Majesty."
"What is fair?" the Emperor asked with narrowed eyes.
"Please, Your Majesty, let Ruoruo out of the Palace. I only have this sister. Please, Your Majesty, allow Wan 'er and my pitiful family to return to Danzhou to live. I only have this family. Please, Your Majesty, be lenient and don't carry out a purge after my death. The officials and subordinates loyal to me are actually all useful." Fan Xian paused and then smiled bitterly. "If I die, they will no longer have any reason to resist the court. Please, Your Majesty, believe this."
The world had already shrunk into a small piece of snowy land in front of the ruler and official. The battlefield of beacons had become this quiet Royal Palace. Fan Xian had done so much and said so much. It seemed that he only wanted to do his best to control the split between father and son to a small area and give those who had been dragged into this matter a way out.
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.
