Our family has been rebelling for generations, and you've become the top scholar in the imperia

When Qin Feng was summoned into the Imperial Study.

As soon as he entered, before he could even bow, he could sense that the atmosphere in the Imperial Study was not right.

Grand Tutor Wang and several of his senior ministers knelt on the ground, their heads bowed.

Zhou Zhengde above was panting heavily, his face so gloomy it looked like it could drip water.

"Your Majesty, this humble subject greets you."

"Leave the wild boar hide here, and you leave!"

Zhou Zhengde stared at Qin Feng, signaling him to leave behind a few wild boar hides, and waved for him to leave.

"yes!"

Could it be that we've been exposed?

That's unlikely. Anyone with eyes can see this is a setup, but everything needs evidence.

Without evidence, nothing we say matters.

Moreover, with so many witnesses inside the gambling den, Batel and his group spent several days gambling there, and in the end, they gambled for a whole day and night.

From the side, Eunuch Miao kept winking at Qin Feng.

He indicated that they would talk outside in a moment.

Qin Feng bowed and took his leave.

After leaving the Imperial Study, I waited on the road outside.

"Grandpa Miao?"

"Let's talk as we walk; something big is about to happen."

Grandpa Miao nodded, his face solemn.

"When Grand Tutor Wang and several senior cabinet ministers learned that the envoys from the grasslands had lost all their annual tribute silver, they went to the palace to see the Emperor, implying that... if the annual tribute silver could not be brought back to the grasslands, it would surely cause trouble."

"Do they want the Emperor to continue giving them money?"

Qin Feng's mouth gaped open, his face filled with shock.

It's absolutely outrageous that his mother is guarding such an outrageous doorman; it's outrageous to the extreme.

How can people be so despicable? Wild boar skin is your father! Giving him annual silver is one thing, but when he loses it all at the gambling den, you actually have to make up for it?

How did you know?

Grandpa Miao was surprised.

"What's so surprising about that? According to these cabinet ministers, does the Great Zhou also intend to be responsible for escorting the annual silver tribute to the grasslands? What if these envoys embezzle the silver along the way? They'll claim the silver was stolen, and the Emperor will continue to give it to them?"

No wonder the atmosphere in the Imperial Study was so strange.

If he were Zhou Zhengde, he would probably have died of anger long ago.

Giving silver as an annual reward once could be said to be for the stability of the grasslands, but giving it a second time is tantamount to telling everyone that the Great Zhou is afraid of the grassland people and can't beat these wild boars.

If this matter were to spread, what would the people of the Great Zhou think?

"That makes sense, but the officials are already kneeling in front of the court, urging the emperor to prioritize the overall situation. Grand Tutor Wang and several other senior officials are also kneeling in the imperial study and won't get up. The money is a minor matter; these civil officials want to raise the money themselves, and give it to the grassland envoy once they have raised 100,000 taels."

"Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"

Hearing this, Qin Feng was speechless.

These civil officials, in order to avoid war, tightly gripped their power and suppressed military generals, showing absolutely no scruples. They even came up with the idea of ​​pooling their own money to give to the grasslands.

"What does His Majesty mean?"

Zhou Zhengde was very angry, one could say extremely angry.

It all depends on... whether to compromise with these civil officials, or...

Thinking about this, Qin Feng suddenly realized that being an emperor was really difficult, especially being the emperor of the Great Zhou. It was almost as if he had no say in important matters. All day long, these civil officials had to band together and, under the guise of doing what was best for you and for the good of the Great Zhou, they would try to sow discord between you and the emperor.

"His Majesty wants to send troops."

"Hmm...hmm? Sending troops?"

Qin Feng's eyes widened.

I was even more shocked.

Sending troops to the grasslands?

"That's a good idea. If you can't get something on the battlefield, you certainly can't get it on the table. As the saying goes, 'A good start prevents a hundred blows.' That's the principle. Your Majesty's idea is correct."

Qin Feng stroked his chin, walking alongside the old eunuch, muttering to himself in a relaxed manner.

Don't think about it.

If we listen to these civil officials this year and give them another 100,000 taels of silver as an annual allowance, next year the grasslands will ask for at least 200,000 taels of silver, and they might even use other methods to continue to receive double the annual allowance.

Fighting is indeed a good method. It's like dealing with bandits. How can there be two groups of bandits on one mountain? You have to kill one of them, or you have to beat them into submission and recruit them as your own.

The premise is that we have to be able to win.

"That's right, that's what the Emperor means. Find a pretext to execute a few envoys, and the grasslands will surely invade the border. Gather the border troops, slaughter a few grassland tribes, and teach those wild boars a lesson."

That brings us to this point.

The two walked to the palace gate.

"That's enough. You don't need to get involved in the matter of the grassland envoy for now. Just manage the Xishan Coal Mine well. This matter will probably be deadlocked for a while, and as for the final outcome, I don't know either."

"Please wait, sir!"

Qin Feng cupped his hands in greeting, left the palace, and boarded the carriage outside.

He really couldn't participate in this matter.

It won't be resolved in a day or two; moreover, it depends on how determined Zhou Zhengde is.

but……

The Great Zhou Dynasty is powerful. To be honest, it should have no problem engaging in small-scale battles with the grasslands, and its chances of winning are very high.

……

Qin Feng had just returned to Xifang.

Before the carriage even stopped at the entrance of the courtyard.

They were immediately stopped by a group of people.

"Please, sir, give me a way out! Please, sir, give me a way out!"

"I have elderly parents to support and young children to raise. We rely entirely on transporting coal to make a living, and I haven't had any work for days. Please, have mercy!"

"Lord Qin!!!"

Listen to the voices outside.

Qin Feng frowned.

"Who's outside?"

"Your Excellency, it was my fault. I did not expect that these coal transport workers would gather in the West Wharf. I will drive them away immediately."

Cao Liang, standing to the side of the carriage, replied with a livid face.

Damn it!

He was put in charge of overseeing the Xishan Coal Mine, and the miners did not encounter any problems.

Instead, it was the coal haulers who gathered together and caused trouble.

"Wait, you said they're coal haulers? Weren't they supposed to be hauling coal with Old Xu and the others? They had work to do, so why... what's all this fuss about?"

Qin Feng took a deep breath and abruptly lifted the curtain.

He jumped directly off the carriage.

"I am in charge of the Xishan Coal Mine. Besides the miners, you workers who rely on hauling coal are naturally also under my jurisdiction. Select a few people to come to the courtyard and report any specific problems you have. Make way!"

I did a rough calculation.

There were at least several hundred people kneeling on the street, their clothes tattered and their bodies covered in soot; they were clearly people who did manual labor.

"Go and call Old Xu here, ask him how he did it, and what I instructed him to do: first stabilize the normal coal hauling, and then slowly settle these workers after the wooden rails are laid."

Step into the courtyard.

Qin Feng gave an order with a gloomy expression.

Send someone to summon Old Xu.

Meanwhile, several coal miners, who had chosen to kneel on the ground, walked in and were all elderly.

"Stand up and speak. Get them chairs. You should have work to do lately, how come you can't afford to eat?"

One of the elderly men, with graying temples, knelt on the ground again.

"Sir, after all the transport teams were cleared out, Xishan Coal now only recognizes Manager Xu's transport team. All the other managers have left, and I'm working for them now. Although Xishan Coal Mine used to take a cut, it was only a few coins per cart at most!"

"But now Manager Xu charges us ten coins per cartload, otherwise we won't get any work."

"Please, Your Excellency, do me the right thing..."