12dz Chapter 389
Chapter 389
Even those who could not hear the inner voices had grown shrewd over the past few years. No matter the reason, following the lead of the prominent officials in front was guaranteed to be the right move.After a brief pause in the center of the grand hall, Huo Ying immediately braced himself and continued to report on the garrison situations across various regions and the available manpower that could be mobilized.
Dong Qianli, his face already deathly pale and his legs trembling, stepped out of the ranks shivering. He silently found an inconspicuous spot to kneel and wait for his punishment.
Yue Fuguang seemed to have suddenly taken an interest in the gossip. With a voice full of deep curiosity, she said, "Little Zhu, how big is this matter?
Sitting here is boring anyway, hurry up and tell me to relieve your master's boredom!"
[Since Master wants to hear it, Little Zhu will tell you in detail.]
Emperor Mingxi instantly sat up straight. Hearing rustling sounds behind him, the Crown Prince slightly turned his head, only to see his younger brothers silently edging closer to him.
The Crown Prince felt helpless; his not-so-broad physique could not possibly shield the figures of his several younger brothers.
These few had already developed a stress response. They did not know when it started, but every time those two ancestors started gossiping, they could not help but want to hide.
Xie Zhiyan really wanted to say that if his younger brothers had not gotten involved, there was absolutely no need to be afraid.
[Master, look at the Fifth Prince down there. Although his maternal grandfather is not in the imperial court, he is the current Inspector of Hezhou, which can be considered the equivalent of a high-ranking regional official.
Although his power and the emperor's favor are far less than what Sima Jing had back then, and the emperor has intentionally weakened the power of local chief officials over the past two years.
However, with years of operation and having a prince as a grandson in the court, various local officials outside would also sell him a favor due to his status as the prince's maternal grandfather.]
"So he is the one with the problem?"
The Fifth Prince Xie Zhixin's mind buzzed. He could not hear any sounds clearly in his ears at this moment; the continuous buzzing made those voices seem very far away.
His vision darkened in waves. He staggered half a step, and just as he was about to fall, he involuntarily reached out and grabbed the Crown Prince's sleeve, as if clutching at his last straw.
Second Brother Xie and Xie San both cast a sympathetic glance at him. That glance contained only one meaning: see, as long as these two ancestors start gossiping, someone is bound to suffer.
"I seem to remember that in the original history, Hezhou Inspector Du Mingqi was demoted to a commoner after secretly supporting the Fifth Prince's failed bid for the throne. Later, Fourth Master Xie fabricated multiple charges against him, and his entire family was thrown into prison.
The female family members were sent to the Entertainment Bureau, and all males over the age of ten were executed."
[Master remembers correctly, but history has now severely deviated, and the trajectories of many people's fates have also changed.
Look at several people down there who, in the original historical timeline, should have been dead long ago with grass growing tall on their graves, yet they are still alive and kicking.]
Those few who knew they were supposed to be dead long ago silently lowered their heads even further, afraid that the two ancestors would see the corners of their mouths that they could not help but curl up.
They could not help but feel smug; every day they lived now was a bonus!
"So, is this Du Mingqi because of us?"
[You cannot count it like that. It is a fact that he participated in the fight for the throne. In the original history, he was not immediately executed after being discovered for various reasons. It was only later that Fourth Master Xie collected evidence to convict him in order to strike at Fifth Prince Xie. You should know that although Fourth Master Xie's motives were impure, he did not wrong Du Mingqi too much.
Look at him now. Even knowing that the Crown Prince's position is secure and the emperor has no intention of changing his heir, he still has not given up and wants to push Fifth Prince Xie to the throne.
To this day, he is still constantly wooing officials of all levels in the local areas.]
"Does Fifth Prince Xie know what Du Mingqi is doing?" Yue Fuguang glanced at Xie Zhiquan, whose face was already drained of color.
The system curled its lip, [What does it matter if he knows or not? If Du Mingqi really offered the throne to him, do you think he would sit on it or not?]
Second Brother Xie and Xie San ignored their brotherly bonds and could not help but raise their eyebrows at their half-terrified younger brother. The meaning was all in their eyebrows, which translated to one sentence: 'Would you sit on it?'
[This fight for the throne is like a certain ugly country's presidential election. Winning people over is not just about talking; it requires giving real benefits and spending money.
So the current fight for the throne is just like the ugly country's election Master has seen: building a public persona, drawing big pies, and spending massive amounts of financial and material resources to buy people's hearts.
The fight for the throne lasts even longer than a presidential election. After all, no one knows when the current emperor will die.
As long as the emperor does not die, the wooing cannot stop, and the spending of money cannot stop either.]
Hearing the last two sentences, everyone shrank their necks again. Alas, they were all numb to it!
Emperor Mingxi: I am the one who is the most numb, okay! Melancholy smoking JPG
"So this Du Mingqi targeted the grain for the sake of money? Did he reach his hands into the Ever Normal Granary?"
[Correct. Dong Qianli initially said there was no problem with the Ever Normal Granary, which was also the result of the officials in Hezhou tampering with things, concealing the truth, and making false reports.
Across the entire territory of Hezhou, most areas planted those three types of grain this year, resulting in a bumper harvest. Half of the grain stored in the Ever Normal Granary consists of these three types of grain.
Master probably does not know yet, but the seeds of these three types of grain have been hyped to astronomical prices outside the borders of the Great Yan.]
Over the past two years, neighboring countries mobilized all their spies planted throughout the Great Yan dynasty just to get their hands on them.
Their goal was to smuggle the improved seeds out of the country. After more than two years of effort, based on the seeds currently in the hands of various countries, if it weren't for the drought, they could have scaled up production in another two to three years and potentially promoted it nationwide in five years.]
Emperor Mingxi's face was even darker now than when he heard about life-and-death matters. With every word the system said, his face darkened a fraction more. By the time he heard the last sentence, his expression was as black as the bottom of a pot. A freezing, oppressive atmosphere filled the grand hall. Aside from Huo Ying, who was still dutifully giving his report, the other ministers were as quiet as mice, not even daring to breathe too loudly.
Kneeling on the ground, Dong Qianli couldn't help but tremble. At this moment, there was another person kneeling beside him: the Investigating Censor, Feng Tang.
The two brothers in distress exchanged a glance, both inevitably recalling the terrifying scenes of judgment in the underworld.
They were guilty of negligence, but they just didn't know how His Majesty would punish them.
Meanwhile, the elderly Lord Wang Shouchen was deeply heartbroken, clutching his chest and panting softly.
"No wonder I heard a few days ago that the Secret Spy Bureau's prisons were overflowing, and they had to apply to the Ministry of Revenue for funds to expand the cells and hire new guards.
So it was all caused by these three types of grain. Does that mean all the Ever-Normal Granaries within He Prefecture have been compromised?"
Standing at the back of the crowd, Zheng Zicheng silently clenched his jaw and also dropped to his knees. Over the past two years, because of the improved seeds, spies who had been hidden in Great Yan for decades, even passing their roles down through generations, had been forced to make a move.
This had also given his bureau an opportunity. Their harvest was indeed substantial, bringing a lot of glory to the Secret Spy Bureau.
But how long had it been before they heard this terrible news? The superior officials were guilty of negligence, and as the Vice Envoy of the Secret Spy Bureau, he shared the exact same guilt!
[It's not quite that bad. Only about half of them have problems. To be precise, the problem with this half lies with those three types of high-yield grains stored inside.
Master, you probably don't know this yet, but the beautiful accounting books completely fail to match the actual inventory. The parasites of Great Yan will never be eradicated no matter the era; you kill one batch, and another simply takes its place!]
The system's words were laced with deep murderous intent. The greed of these people had almost ruined their mission, so it was no wonder it was angry. After all, human lives were points!