Pang Xiao's face was still a little tense, but when he faced Qin Yining, his expression involuntarily relaxed. He first sighed and admitted, "I was really angry. That's why I acted so impulsively."
Qin Yining sighed in understanding. No matter who it was, it was humiliating to find out that they had fallen into someone's trap after solving a problem in the field they were best at, and that someone had done it on purpose.
Qin Yining stood behind him. She went around the back of the chair and wrapped her arms around his neck. She pressed her face against the side of his face.
"I understand. This time, it's obvious that you were tricked by someone. It's very likely that these people had already set up a trap before they found out that we were about to arrive at the old capital. When we first arrived at the old capital, we were just busy thinking about how to gain a foothold. Then, we had no choice but to fall into their trap. "
Qin Yining's voice was as gentle as water. Pang Xiao's body and mind relaxed because of this. He couldn't help but turn his head and gently kiss the corner of her mouth.
Qin Yining smiled and allowed him to do as he pleased. She said, "This Sitong Number probably has someone backing them. Otherwise, why would they set up a trap early on to target us? In the old capital, the answer to who hates us the most is already self-evident. "
"Yuchi Yan isn't that capable. I suspect that this is all Gu Shixiong's doing. As expected of the old Emperor's tutor who has been an official for three dynasties. His methods are still as good as they were in the past. "
Pang Xiao sighed. "If Yuchi Yan didn't have Gu Shixiong by his side, I'm afraid that he would have given up long ago and quietly become a rich and idle person. He would have let Your Majesty take care of him while he obediently stayed in the cage to study calligraphy and painting."
"That might not be a bad thing for him." Qin Yining also felt a little emotional.
Although she didn't have a close relationship with the Yuchi Yan in the past, she had even offended the Yuchi Yan because she refused to marry him. However, Yuchi Yan was, after all, an upright and upright person. He was a million times better than his fatuous ruler father. He had the people and the country in his heart. It was just that he was not capable enough and did not have the ability to be the ruler of a country. But overall, he was not a bad person.
But now, he had embarked on the path of fighting for power and profit. As early as when he was persuaded by Gu Shixiong to abandon his wife and concubines to search for the treasure, he was no longer the pitiful monarch of a fallen country who cared about the people and failed purely because he was powerless.
Qin Yining said, "The Yuchi Yan will definitely target us. Since Sitong Number was willing to listen to the Yuchi Yan's orders and set up this trap, we should make them pay a price."
"Pay the tuition?" Pang Xiao looked back at Qin Yining.
Qin Yining leaned close to Pang Xiao's ear and whispered his idea.
A smile gradually appeared on Pang Xiao's face as she listened. In the end, she gently scratched her perky nose.
"You little scoundrel. Is that why you stopped me just now? "
"Yes."
"That Shopkeeper Liu was still thanking you profusely. If he knew that he was going to be tricked, he might cry again. "
Qin Yining smiled a little embarrassedly.
"If I had a choice, I wouldn't want to do this. This method is actually a little dishonorable. But there's no reason why we can't fight back when they want to harm us. Is it moral for them to harm others? This is not the time to talk about morality. I'm not a kind person. If someone slaps my left cheek, I'll smile and stick out my right cheek. "
Pang Xiao saw that she was very angry. He couldn't help but smile and pat her shoulder comfortingly. He stretched out his long arm and pulled her around the back of the chair to sit on his lap. His arms encircled her and he first pecked her forehead.
"You don't have to feel bad because you didn't do anything wrong. If you didn't stay calm, I might have missed the best opportunity to fight back. "
As he said this, Pang Xiao felt that he was very lucky to have such an intelligent and virtuous wife.
"Sister Yi, why are you so nice?" Pang Xiao's deep voice whispered into Qin Yining's ear, "I like you. I like you more and more."
His voice was like the sound of a zither and his warm breath was right beside her ear. Qin Yining was hugged by him and she was surrounded by his familiar refreshing scent. Her entire heart was so soft that it was about to melt.
Qin Yining's face was red as she leaned into Pang Xiao's embrace and buried her face in his chest. She felt unprecedentedly peaceful and calm. No matter what happened now, as long as Pang Xiao was with her, she would not be afraid.
Pang Xiao followed Qin Yining's method and immediately ordered people to spread the news in the city. Tomorrow afternoon, in the big square outside the porridge factory, Prince Zhongshun had something important to say to everyone.
Although the people in the old capital were not so poor that they needed to eat porridge, the influence of the refugees was still very large. Qin Yining asked Lu Dehan to continue to open porridge stalls since the first day of the New Year to help these poor people survive the harsh winter. Although these people would come to get porridge at a fixed time every day, they still had to go home.
They lived in different parts of the city, and the neighbors heard a lot of good things about Prince Zhongshun from the refugees.
There were even some people who, while chatting on the streets and alleys, would tell the story of how Prince Zhongshun turned the tide, how he punished the evil, and how he killed the evil Gao Wenyao into a wonderful book.
Therefore, when the news that Prince Zhongshun wanted to spread the news in the square outside the porridge factory spread, many people curiously decided to go and see what was going on.
Yuchi Yan and Gu Shixiong naturally received the news as well.
"Wang Ye, I don't know what that Pang guy is going to do this time. Normally, he should be in a terrible fix right now."
Yuchi Yan put his hands on the drawing table and lowered his head to look at the drawing of a beauty whose facial features had not been drawn in detail. When he heard this, he raised his head and said with a smile, "It would be strange if he wasn't worried. A large amount of famine fell from the sky. How could he pay it back? Moreover, the consequences of not being able to pay the money this time are very serious. Those rough men in the army are not easy to deal with. If he doesn't pay them when it's time to pay them, who would still follow him? It's possible that he will send out the army. "
Gu Shixiong also smiled when he heard this, "This time, we finally won back some ground. We can't let that Pang guy continue to be so proud. "
Yuchi Yan carefully flattened the drawing paper with a redwood paperweight and said with a smile, "Tomorrow, I'll go and see what kind of trouble that Pang guy is going to cause."
Yuchi Yan didn't believe that Pang Xiao had the ability to solve such a big crisis. If he could get money by talking to the people, would he have been in such a difficult situation in the past?
At the same time, in the study of the outer court of the Yang mansion.
Magistrate Yang was sitting on a chair by the window. He had a teasing smile on his face and said playfully, "I don't know what Pang Zhixi is going to do this time."
Qiu Feishan sat elegantly on the main seat. She took the hot tea from the maidservant and smiled as she warmed her hands with a blue and white porcelain lid. She didn't say anything.
Magistrate Yang saw this and closed his mouth. He put away his disdain and contempt and said seriously, "Tomorrow, let's go and see."
Qiu Feishan nodded and said with a smile, "After what happened last time, I'm really curious about what he's going to do. I also saw Prince Zhongshun's consort at the banquet last time … She's a beautiful and intelligent woman. "
Magistrate Yang thought of the consort's appearance yesterday and couldn't help but nod in agreement. He then said with a smile, "Lady Qiu is even more outstanding than her. Beautiful flowers are eye-catching, but they're still lacking in style compared to red plum blossoms. "
Qiu Feishan just smiled at this kind of flattery.
Qiu Feishan had heard a lot about that beautiful woman with a pair of clear eyes. She had long wanted to make friends with her. However … it seemed that it wouldn't be easy for them to become friends.
The next day at noon, the people who heard the news all gathered in front of the congee factory. Magistrate Yang, Yuchi Yan, and the local gentry had already booked a private room on the second floor of a nearby teahouse. They were waiting to see what Prince Zhongshun was going to do with their own eyes.
Qin Yining didn't go to the private room. Instead, he was surrounded by Jinghu Wei and the silver masked spies, waiting in a carriage at the corner of the street.
Pang Xiao was wearing a python robe and a black sable fur cloak. He walked to the middle of the empty space and directly cut to the chase, "Fellow villagers. Today, This King has gathered everyone here because he has something to tell everyone. "
Such an amiable and approachable tone made the commoners feel very comfortable.
His usual words were easily understood by the commoners who didn't know how to read.
Pang Xiao said, "Everyone knows that This King came here to take up the position of Grand Marshal. It's also his first time here, so he's just beginning to understand everything here. Just yesterday, This King heard a shocking piece of news. "
He deliberately paused here to arouse everyone's curiosity. Even Yuchi Yan, Magistrate Yang, and the others who were sitting in the private room were curious and held their breaths.
Pang Xiao said, "Yesterday, This King found out that the army owed a debt of three million taels of silver!"
As soon as this was said, everyone was shocked.
Some people, such as Yuchi Yan, didn't expect Pang Xiao to say this. There were also people, such as Magistrate Yang, who observed Pang Xiao's expression with interest after the shock.
The people were even more shocked.
What did three million taels of silver mean? These ordinary people might not have the chance to see thirty taels of silver put together in this lifetime! Three million taels of silver.
They couldn't even begin to imagine how much it would cost.
This was an astonishingly huge sum of money!
Everyone started to discuss why the army owed so much money!
Pang Xiao said again in a loud voice, "I think everyone wants to know what's going on, right? Back then, when Yan Country was just incorporated into Da Zhou, Your Majesty considered that the people were living too hard, so he exempted the local taxes for ten years. Everyone knows about this.
"As for the army, these one hundred thousand soldiers have to be stationed here in order to protect the country. Everyone knows that the Tatars in the north are not obedient. Right now, the north is at war as we speak. Your Majesty is now thinking about how the people in the north will not be bullied by the Tatars, so he can only order the army to raise their own provisions. But, without taxes, where will the provisions come from? "
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.
