Thief Emperor

Chapter 171: The Pillar of the Nation! (Monthly Ticket Request!!)
The prince had no choice.

The last time Pei Huang happened, his old father got angry and he was a little nervous. Plus, his prayers for rain some time ago had no effect at all, so he was very scared now.

At this time, if one wants to secure the position of crown prince, one must please the emperor and not let the emperor be dissatisfied with oneself again.

Otherwise, although the emperor is unlikely to directly move his position as crown prince, as long as there is a little sign or a little signal, the other princes will be unlikely to be as honest and obedient as they are now.

Therefore, he had to try his best to please his father, who spoke in ambiguous ways, had obscure thoughts, and was completely unwilling to take any responsibility.

Several prime ministers invited the officials from the Ministry of Revenue, and a group of ministers discussed together for two days before finally deciding on the regulations.

The more than 20 states that received requests from local officials were handled differently according to different situations. Among them, the states with the most severe drought were exempted from this year's taxes and grain.

The remaining states will make corresponding reductions.

In this way, the court can collect some of the money to subsidize the palace, while the expenses of other departments will still be cut.

After the decision was made, the other prime ministers had no objections, but Prime Minister Wang Du was furious. He slammed the table in the government hall and said angrily: "Some states are exempted, but others are not. When the taxes and grain are distributed, the local officials will take a little more, and the people will have to pay what they are supposed to pay, not a single copper coin less!"

"Have you all forgotten what happened in Shidai County, Xuanzhou last year? The court collected 300 coins, but when we got to Shidai, they actually added 800 coins, a string of coins!"

Cui Yuan first looked at the prince, then pulled Wang Du's sleeve and said, "Prime Minister Wang, the corrupt officials in Xuanzhou have already been dealt with. It's inappropriate to bring this up now."

He coughed and continued, "Even if the officials below took advantage of the situation, we have exempted some of it after all. If the local officials take more, the people will feel more at ease."

"It's better than inevitable, right?"

Wang Du's face flushed, still indignant.

The crown prince beside him also looked unhappy. He stood up and looked at Wang Du: "Then, Your Majesty, what should we do?"

"Prince Wang is such a man of character. Why didn't he speak up for the people in front of the emperor the other day when he met him?"

Wang Du was furious after being bullied for a few words, but he could not vent his anger. He could only grit his teeth and said, "Your Highness, I have already argued for it that day. His Majesty asked me to come and discuss it with Your Highness. I am still arguing in front of Your Highness!"

"According to my opinion, all the counties in the Central Plains that have suffered from drought should be exempted from paying taxes and grain this year, and relief envoys should be sent to provide relief to the victims to prevent further civil unrest. This should be the court's top priority, and as for other matters."

“You can put them all aside!”

The other prime ministers all lowered their heads and pretended not to hear.

Seeing that the atmosphere was too tense, Cui Yuan had no choice but to speak up and mediate: "Okay, okay, Prime Minister Wang, the officials from the Ministry of Revenue are all here. We don't have the money to provide relief to the victims, so we can't do it."

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince stood up, looking displeased: "When I was invited here today, the Council of State said that the rules had already been discussed. Now that I'm here, you're still arguing. What did you invite me here for?"

After that, he walked away.

"When we have finished discussing it, please invite me over!"

Several prime ministers looked at each other in bewilderment when they saw the Crown Prince leaving.

Wang Du also stood up and said angrily: "At worst, I will quit being the Prime Minister. My Lords, please discuss this matter. I am sick now!"

After saying that, he turned away.

The remaining prime ministers stayed where they were, not knowing what to say. After a while, someone murmured something.

"It was Su Jing who suppressed the rebellion, and he did it so smoothly..."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's expression changed, and several prime ministers also frowned.

Cui Yuan stood up, turned around and looked at everyone present, coughed, and said solemnly: "Stop talking nonsense. If this gets to His Majesty, will we still be able to serve as the Minister of State?"

Everyone then stopped talking and began to discuss the plan again with the Ministry of Revenue.

On the other side, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was also full of anger. After returning to the East Palace, he gritted his teeth and it took him a while to calm down.

After calming down, he bent over his desk and wrote a letter by hand. After sealing it, he handed it to the East Palace's confidant and instructed, "Send it to Pei Sanlang with an urgent charge of six hundred miles."

The confidant did not dare to neglect it. He knelt down, took it with both hands, nodded and said yes, then stood up and turned around to deliver the letter.

After the confidant walked away, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

"Father is angry with me, and you should be angry with me too!"

He was filled with resentment, so he changed his clothes, walked out of the East Palace and went to a private residence outside the palace. As soon as he entered the house, a dozen boys and girls came up to him with voices so sweet that they were sickening.

"Prince~"

The prince was in a bad mood, his face was gloomy, he tore off the clothes of the two people in front of him and shouted, "Go into the house!"

The two men exclaimed, and then, one on each side, supported the Crown Prince and led him into the inner room. That night, the Crown Prince stayed outside the palace and did not return to the East Palace.

………………

Three or four days later.

Thousands of miles away, Master Pei Huang, who was about to go to Qiantang to serve as the prefect of Qiantang County, received a handwritten letter from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince on the way.

After looking through it, Master Pei in the carriage shouted, "Stop the car."

The carriage stopped quickly, and Master Pei got off the carriage. He frowned and thought for a moment, then looked at his more than 30 followers and ordered, "Give me a horse. I want to go to Yuezhou. Only Pei Zhuang can follow me."

"Everyone else, go to Qiantang and wait for me."

"Yes!"

Everyone agreed. Master Pei and his personal bodyguard Pei Zhuang mounted their horses and headed straight for Yuezhou. After two days of riding, they arrived at the camp of the rebellion-suppressing army outside the city of Yuezhou. As soon as they approached, they were stopped. After they revealed their identities, they were invited into the camp.

Soon, Major General Su Sheng came out of the camp to greet him. After seeing Pei Huang, he clasped his fists and saluted: "Mr. Pei."

Pei Huang smiled and was very friendly. He returned the greeting with a cupped hand: "Major General."

Su Sheng did not doubt Pei Huang's identity. Not to mention that Pei Huang had the seal, just the noble aura around Pei Huang was something that ordinary people could never achieve.

After the two exchanged a few polite words, Su Sheng led the way and quickly brought Pei Huang to the central military tent. Before he entered the tent, he heard the voice of a young man.

"General, the people in Yuezhou City are already in a panic. I think if we continue to attack for a few more days, we will have a chance to break through Yuezhou City!"

"We can also have some people with loud voices shout to persuade them to surrender. Although the rebels in the city will not surrender, the common people and the soldiers coerced by the rebels may surrender."

"At least when defending the city, morale will be low."

Before General Su had a chance to speak, Pei Huang turned his head to look at Su Sheng and said with a smile: "This voice sounds familiar, I seem to have heard it somewhere before."

Su Sheng smiled and said, "This is one of the heroes who helped us suppress the rebellion this time. He was supposed to be stationed in Qiantang, but he is temporarily staying in the camp to help with the attack on Yuezhou City."

Hearing the voices of Su Sheng and Pei Huang outside the tent, Li Yun and Su Jing in the big tent stopped talking. Pei Huang and Su Sheng also walked in at this time. Su Sheng bowed his head and clasped his fists: "General, the new Qiantang County Governor Pei Huang is here."

Pei Huang glanced around the tent and saw Li Yun. He was surprised at first, but then he regained his composure and bowed to Su Jing respectfully: "Young man Pei Huang, I pay my respects to the general!"

Su Jing smiled and did not stand up, but replied: "Mr. Pei, you are polite."

As he spoke, he looked at Li Zhao and Su Sheng and said calmly, "You two should go out first."

The two of them said yes and were about to leave when Pei Huang looked at Li Yun and said with a smile, "Captain Li, after we separated last year, I didn't want to meet here again. It's really fate."

Li Yun naturally still remembered this high and mighty Master Pei, but he was not afraid of the stage last year, so he was even more natural this time. After smiling and nodding, he said, "It is indeed fate that I can see Master Pei again."

He paused, then smiled and said, "I still have a plaque in my hand that Master Pei gave me. I didn't expect that I didn't go to the capital to see the Master, but met him again in Yuezhou."

"Don't mention it."

Pei Huang sighed: "Bad luck, the incident in Yuezhou has caused me to fall flat on my face."

He looked at Li Yun and smiled, "I heard that Gu Wenchuan was brought to Shidai by Li Dutou."

The two chatted briefly, but Pei Huang quickly realized that this was Su Jing's tent, so he patted Li Yun on the shoulder and said, "Let's talk about the past later. I'd like to meet the general first."

Li Yun didn't say anything more. He nodded, followed Su Sheng and left.

After the two of them left, General Su was curious and asked, "Does Master Pei recognize him?"

"Last year, I was ordered to go to Xuanzhou to investigate the Shidai rebellion case, and I had some interactions with this Li Dutou."

At this point, Pei Huang bowed to Su Jing again and said with a smile: "General, your contribution to suppressing the rebellion is outstanding."

"I was in the capital and heard about the great general's achievements. I was in awe."

"Even the prince..."

He paused and looked at Su Jing, still smiling.

"He also praised the general as the pillar of the country."

　I'm stuck, I just figured it out now...

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(End of this chapter)