mtlumby2d Chapter 500 You've also learned to pretend to obey but actually disobey
Chapter 500 You've also learned to pretend to obey but actually disobey
Wei Ling commanded a large number of troops and was stationed in the north. He and Cui Yushan kept a distance from each other and had little contact.
Even if they had some contact, Cui Yushan would not dare to act rashly in front of Wei Ling because of Wei Ling's military achievements. What's more, when he first arrived in the north and encountered bandits, it was Wei Ling who rescued him. Regardless of whether this was true or not, it was somewhat of a reputation. Even if Cui Yushan was full of jealousy towards Wei Ling, he did not dare to act rashly.
But Xie Yingfeng is different.
Cui Yushan has always looked down on Xie Yingfeng.
Even if Xie Yingfeng had once been the top scholar, so what? He had been following Wei Ling since his exile. If it weren't for Wei Ling, Xie Yingfeng would have been turned into an ice sculpture in the cold wind of the north.
Now, because of Wei Ling's relationship, Xie Yingfeng has been occupying the position of acting prefect of Linchuan, which makes Cui Yushan feel very uncomfortable.
He was sent by His Majesty, and Xie Yingfeng had always ignored him, even when they met, he would just laugh it off. As for his desire to interfere in Linchuan affairs, Xie Yingfeng was determined not to let him get involved at all.
Why does this guy do that?
Moreover, over the years, he has made a lot of money following Wei Ling and Su Jixiang. Cui Yushan has mentioned to Xie Yingfeng several times that he also wants to participate in the so-called infrastructure projects they mentioned, but Xie Yingfeng refused every time!
Every time Cui Yushan asked what materials were used for those fast and high-quality roads, where they came from, and how they were made, Xie Yingfeng remained silent.
This made Cui Yushan very angry.
Therefore, even though he was not summoned back to Beijing by His Majesty for the Empress Dowager's birthday celebration, he secretly used his connections to get the Empress Dowager to allow him to return to Beijing.
Over the years, he had been constantly collecting all sorts of fun and useful things from the north and asking people to bring them back to the palace. These things had pleased the empress dowager very much, so after he made this request, the empress dowager agreed.
Cui Yushan had made up his mind that this time when he returned to the capital, he would report Xie Yingfeng.
To visit Xie Yingfeng is equivalent to to visit Wei Ling.
Wei Ling has the final say in the North. He must know how much money Xie Yingfeng makes from what he does.
As long as His Majesty gets angry and blames Xie Yingfeng, Xie Yingfeng will be dismissed from his post and investigated at best, or even lose his life at worst. If His Majesty finds out that Wei Ling has other intentions, Wei Ling will be doomed as well.
Apart from Wei Ling and Xie Yingfeng, he is the only confidant sent by His Majesty in the North, and he is also His Majesty's relative. Doesn't that mean everything in the North has fallen into his hands?
As for the Turks, they had been quiet for several years. The city defenses in the north were now completely renovated, with the newly built walls taller and stronger than the gate towers in the capital. They probably hadn't dared to come in recent years. Therefore, if he could overthrow Xie Yingfeng and convince His Majesty to withdraw the Linchuan prefecture from Wei Ling, he could naturally become the new Linchuan prefect.
No matter how unhappy Wei Ling was, he couldn't disobey the order!
If he really dares, he will be rebelling!
As long as he becomes the prefect, everything in Linchuan will belong to him.
Linchuan today!
Gee!
Cui Yushan couldn't help but secretly click his tongue. That place was several times more prosperous and advanced than the capital. He just wanted to find out where Su Jixiang got those things from, how he got them, and what other people would do with them in the future.
Although Cui Yushan came to complain, he still concealed the current situation in Linchuan from Emperor Longchang.
After all, as long as Emperor Longchang doesn't know how good Linchuan is now, he won't have any other thoughts.
He had been guarding Linchuan for so many years and had watched it transform from a shabby city into the prosperous and vibrant city it is today.
It was like a peach tree that he had been guarding for many years, and now he was about to pick the peaches. He couldn't let Emperor Longchang send someone else to snatch the peach tree that he had been guarding for many years!
Therefore, he did not tell His Majesty many things about Linchuan.
Even though he knew that the emperor had sent spies to Linchuan, all those spies could see was that the city walls had gotten higher, the houses had become newer, there were new roads, and the people were living and working in peace and contentment. But how this had happened, those spies had no way of knowing.
Therefore, Cui Yushan was certain that even if the spies reported any information, it would be meaningless. After all, they were mainly there to monitor whether Wei Ling had any unusual movements. As for what Linchuan was like now, it was not within their scope of investigation.
Emperor Longchang took Cui Yushan to the imperial study. Soon, Xie Yingfeng, who had been summoned, also arrived.
As soon as he entered the study, he caught a glimpse of Cui Yushan standing aside.
Xie Yingfeng had an idea in his heart.
This guy is looking for death again!
The last time the Censor went to Linchuan, he was put in jail for a few days.
This time he came back in person to complain, and I'm afraid he found something to frame himself with.
After the greetings, Emperor Longchang did not let Xie Yingfeng stand up.
"Let me ask you, how much tax revenue did Linchuan collect this year?" Emperor Longchang asked slowly.
Xie Yingfeng bowed, "Your Majesty, it's only September this year, so I really don't know the exact number yet."
"Well, you are good at talking. What about last year?" asked Emperor Longchang.
"Your Majesty, last year Linchuan's tax revenue was 1.5 million taels," Xie Yingfeng said. "Thanks to Your Majesty's great blessing, many taxes have been exempted for the inhabitants of the northern border, allowing the people of the border towns to live and work in peace."
This is true. According to the tax revenue he reported to the Ministry of Revenue last year, it was about 1.5 million taels.
After Emperor Longchang took over the world, in order to convince the people and make the world he gained through rebellion look more legitimate, he not only exempted the annual tribute from the territory belonging to Prince Chenliu, but also reduced the taxes of all border residents of the Daxie Dynasty, and abolished many of the harsh taxes levied during the reign of the deposed emperor.
His original intention was to allow the people who had suffered from the war to recuperate.
However, due to all the taxes, his treasury was becoming increasingly stretched.
With various disaster relief efforts over the years, his treasury is cleaner than his face.
"Then take a look at these!" Emperor Longchang threw the booklets compiled by Cui Yushan directly in front of Xie Yingfeng. "Does your tax return include these?"
Emperor Longchang was furious and squeezed very hard, causing the books to scatter around Xie Yingfeng.
"I didn't know that you, Xie Yingfeng, have also learned to say one thing and do another behind the scenes!" Emperor Longchang said angrily.
When he had followed him to conquer the world, he had admired Xie Yingfeng very much, otherwise he would not have thought of letting Xie Yingfeng stay in the capital as an official. Even when Xie Yingfeng insisted on following Wei Ling to the north and served as the acting governor for many years, he never objected.