Wind rises time and space gate

Chapter 547 Last Words
In the meeting hall of the Prince of Yue's Palace, all the generals were delighted to hear that the tariffs and commercial taxes for January were so high.

The more people each guard camp recruited, the greater the expenses. They couldn't really intercept the tax grain from the government coffers of each city to subsidize the various expenses of the guard camp. The capital was probably waiting to find fault with them and send a large army to attack them.

No one knew how long the prince's private treasury could sustain the economy, and no one had any idea how long it would last.

But now everyone is happy to hear that so much tax can be collected from the trade.

The generals discussed the matter and offered suggestions.

Some generals, seeing that the imperial court had been giving them a laissez-faire attitude since the war ended, became a little arrogant. "Whoever collects the taxes will be beaten to a pulp if he dares to take a hand over the trade taxes!"

If we talk about the previous dynasty, they were also a powerful lord with millions of soldiers. Who would dare to invade?
The capital city also had to retreat.

Fang Sheng frowned, "Although we have a million soldiers now, if the capital gathers troops from all sides to attack us, it will be very disadvantageous to us."

Although he was attached to the King of Yue and surrendered to him, Fang Sheng still did not want to be labeled a traitor.

If we win, it would be easy to change the dynasty, but what if we lose?
His death was not a big deal, but what about his family? What about the members of the Fang clan? He had to consider this.

There is obviously a better way to go, so there is no need to confront it head-on. As long as you quietly accumulate strength and grow stronger in secret, when your strength is so great that even the capital is afraid of it, everything will fall into place.

Fang Sheng looked around and realized that many people in the room had the same idea as him. Not all of them were single and had families to support them. He glanced at the prince and saw that he looked normal, so he breathed a sigh of relief.

He was lucky to have met a wise ruler, the King of Yue, who was a man who listened to advice and was willing to accept it. He was not the kind of person who acted impulsively without thinking.

It is a blessing for their victory and also a blessing for all the generals.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Zhao Guangyuan spoke up, "Marshal Fang is right. It is not appropriate for us to confront the imperial court head-on. The court has not yet decided whether to open the trade, and the emperor is probably waiting and watching. Most of the officials in the capital have not been to the northwest in person and do not understand the real situation, but we have been trying it out so far, and the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages, so for me, the trade must continue."

"Your Highness is absolutely right. I agree with your proposal." Everyone seconded the motion.

Everyone can see the great benefits of trade. We cannot close the trade channel between the two sides just because we are afraid of war at the border.

Since the establishment of the Great Qi Dynasty, although all borders have been tightly guarded, there have been constant wars, both large and small, and many people have secretly left the border to trade with foreign races.

"I will submit a memorial to the emperor, explaining the pros and cons of this matter. If the rations for the Northwest Army and the city guards are provided by the court, then I will leave the taxation and management of the trade to the court."

Everyone agreed.

The million-strong army in the northwest needs a lot in a month. If the court can solve the problem, it is not a bad idea to hand over the trade to the court. Anyway, the trade is in the northwest. Even if it is returned to the court, Hangu City will gain a lot of benefits from it.

Although Hangu City today is not as prosperous as the capital, in the long run it will surely become the largest city in the northwest.

The communication with the generals was as smooth as ever. In the minds of the generals, strength always speaks for itself. Admiring the strong is the nature of the generals. They almost unanimously obeyed the King of Yue and rarely refuted his opinions.

Zhao Guangyuan felt relaxed and happy when discussing matters with them.

Unlike the capital, where there are so many civil officials and veteran officials who are from different factions and have different political views, an issue is debated back and forth, and a simple issue is discussed again and again, and no conclusion is reached for several months.

In the northwest, he has the final say in everything. Military generals are simpler than civil officials. They must keep their promises and obey orders. The duty of a soldier is to obey.

Zhao Guangyuan felt that everything was going so smoothly in the Northwest that it was unbelievable.

But as the guard camps expanded, more things happened, and he gradually felt that he was overwhelmed. The military officers obeyed his orders, but few could help manage the affairs, and they knew almost nothing about government affairs. This gave him a headache.

Until the arrival of the Jiang family.

"Meet the King of Yue."

After burying his father, Jiang Xuyang, along with his family, the Jiang clan members who voluntarily followed him, and the young talents he recruited along the way, finally arrived at Hangu City under the escort of secret guards and the Changping Army.

"No need to be so polite." Looking at the Jiang brothers who were exhausted and looked haggard, Zhao Guangyuan felt sad.

Lin Zhaoxia supported Madam Jiang and said, "Madam, you must have worked hard on the journey! Thank you for your hard work. And my sister-in-law and Princess Deyang, you have worked hard on the journey. Come with me to the mansion and rest."

"Thank you, Princess."

When both sides saw each other again, their eyes were red.

Thinking about the past in the capital, the two families were as close as one family. Now that the head of the Jiang family has passed away, it makes people sad.

Changzhi also stepped forward to greet them one by one. Seeing that Changzhi was still in mourning for Jiang Xiang, Mrs. Jiang's tears rolled down again, "The prince is thoughtful, and it is worth his protection."

"Mrs. Jiang, don't be sad. My father and I will avenge your husband!" "Okay. If he knew, he would be smiling in his grave." Mrs. Jiang was very pleased to see Changzhi, who had grown a lot, and let him help her into the house.

In the Prince of Yue's mansion, Lin Zhaoxia had already prepared several courtyards for their family to rest. He also bought a large house in Hangu City, hired many servants, and sent people to clean up the mansion as their home in the northwest.

Thinking that Zhao Guangyuan still had things to discuss with his two brothers, he brought them to the palace to rest for a few days.

"Sir, do you have any instructions?" In the study, Zhao Guangyuan sat opposite the two brothers with a sad face, "What was the situation at that time..."

"At that time..." Recalling the situation when their father was dying, the two brothers couldn't help but tear up again.

When Jiang Xiang received the secret letter from Zhao Guangyuan, he wanted to present it to the emperor in person, but the prince was keeping a close eye on him, and he was afraid that the prince would get the news first and ruin Zhao Guangyuan's arrangement, so he hid the secret letter among the official documents of the Ministry of War.

In the end, the prince found out about this.

The prince used this as an excuse to summon Jiang Xiang to the East Palace. He threatened him first, saying that Jiang Xiang had committed a serious crime by moving official documents without authorization and reaching into the palace. According to the law, he should be demoted or severely punished. He threatened Jiang Xiang that if he wanted to keep his official position, he had to change his ways and surrender to the prince.

Jiang Xiang refused to obey. He would rather be demoted than surrender to the crown prince, and he was unwilling to reveal the news about the King of Yue.

The prince was furious and said that he would spare Jiang Xiang's life to let him know whether he or Zhao Guangyuan would have the last laugh. Before leaving, he ordered someone to bring him some water and wine, and did not allow Jiang Xiang to refuse.

Jiang Xiang knew that the wine was drugged, but the prince would not let him go unless he drank it. Jiang Xiang thought that although the wine was drugged, the prince probably would not dare to take his life, after all, he was invited to the East Palace, and many people knew about it.

After drinking the wine, he left the East Palace and induced vomiting in the carriage, but he still underestimated the prince's cruelty.

"That night, my father passed away. My brother and I looked for famous doctors in Beijing and gave him all kinds of medicine, but it didn't work..."

Zhao Guangyuan listened quietly, his hands clenched tightly, and the blue veins on his arms throbbed.

Try your best to endure it.

Listening to the details of Jiang Xiang's death from the two Jiang brothers, I still felt overwhelmed with pain. The prince was blatantly killing Jiang Xiang to dampen his spirit, and intended to cut off his source of information in the capital and cut off his arm.

"Father, father asked us to tell the prince not to act rashly. The key is to gather strength in secret and let the prince make the first move. All the prince has to do is wait. When the prince can no longer tolerate the prince and makes the first move, the prince will take the initiative and fight back. Then everything will fall into place."

Zhao Guangyuan closed his eyes, blinked away his sorrow, and his eyes became more determined. "I have waited for more than ten years, and I don't mind waiting a few more years. I will listen to you, sir. Your teachings are like enlightenment to me."

The two brothers were very pleased.

Jiang Wentao looked at the prince who was wiping his tears, "Father regrets that he couldn't teach you for a few more years. Before he left, he was thinking of you and asked us brothers to take good care of you."

Changzhi stood up and bowed deeply to Jiang Wentao and Jiang Xuyang. "I cannot go to the grave to pay my respects in person. I feel ashamed to have received your teachings. Your death was unjust, and I will definitely avenge him! I will keep your words in mind, follow your will, and be a man who contributes to the country and the people."

"Prince, please stand up quickly." Jiang Wentao and his brothers stepped forward to help Changzhi up.

After looking him up and down, he praised Zhao Guangyuan, "The prince has grown up a lot. We can't recognize him anymore. On the way here, we heard that the prince was studying with Mr. Ji from Yunjing Mountain. He was smart and studious and often praised by Mr. Ji. Everyone said that the prince grew up fast. Now I see that it is true."

Zhao Guangyuan's eyes softened when he heard others praise his son. "He is still immature and doesn't think deeply enough about how to deal with people and things."

His son had never suffered any hardship since childhood, and was nurtured in Xia'er's peaceful country. He saw everything as beautiful and had little exposure to the dark side, so Zhao Guangyuan indulged him during this period and let him follow Ji Changfeng to travel around and see the world.

"Take your time. The prince has impressed us now."

"I look forward to your guidance in the future." Chang Zhi bowed again.

"Okay." The Jiang brothers agreed with a smile.

After the Jiang brothers arrived at Hangu City, Zhao Guangyuan felt much more relaxed.

Jiang Wentao was still the chief of the Yuewang Palace, and his work was mainly internal affairs. As for Jiang Xuyang, he resigned from his post, so Zhao Guangyuan simply set up a trade supervision office and let Jiang Xuyang be the supervisor of the trade supervision office, giving him full responsibility for the affairs of the trade office.

The Mutual Trade Supervisor existed before the Great Qi Dynasty, but the Great Qi Dynasty had never opened up the mutual trade since its establishment, so this department was not set up. Now Zhao Guangyuan followed the previous dynasty and reopened the Mutual Trade Supervisor, appointing Jiang Xuyang as the supervisor.

He was also allowed to select his own supervisors and others.

Jiang Xuyang set out from his hometown this time, knowing that Zhao Guangyuan was short of talent, so he brought many young and strong students from his clan, and brought many young talents from the families of his in-laws and old friends. Along the way, many families also secretly brought young talents from their clans to join, and Jiang Xuyang helped Zhao Guangyuan to accept them all.

Soon, the first mutual trade supervision in the Great Qi Dynasty was established.

In addition to the Supervisor, there were one Supervisor, one Recorder, two Supervisors, four Supervisors, four Price Agents, and eight Supervisors. The trade was becoming more and more standardized.

Zhao Guangyuan did not hide all this from Emperor Zhizheng, and the memorial written by him was soon delivered to Emperor Zhizheng's desk.