Pang Yukun and Fei Ji walked side by side on the main road of Qingzhou Province leading to the imperial palace. They had just received an oral summons to enter the palace.
“Senior Grand Secretary Pang, I’m afraid His Majesty summoning us both to the palace this time is for the matter of reducing feudal lords’ power,” Fei Ji said, his hand in his sleeve, his face thoughtful.
When Qian Dafu relayed the oral decree, they both learned that the Prince of Chu had died. This was a huge shock to them, because it meant that the Great Yu Empire would face another upheaval.
Pang Yukun continuously frowned. “I think so too. The Prince of Chu is dead, and Li Chuyuan is busy fighting the merchants’ council. At this time, reducing the power of the Prince of Huainan and the Prince of Yong will not cause much commotion, let alone the weak Prince of Ruyang.”
Fei Ji nodded, “Heaven bless the Great Yu Empire. Now it seems that under His Majesty’s governance, the Great Yu Empire is finally going to end this fragmented situation. A unified Great Yu Empire will surely embark on the path of revival.”
Pang Yukun smiled, “Although that’s true, the task is still arduous and the road is long. The nation is now growing wealthy, but many officials’ old habits have returned. I’ve received quite a few impeachment memorials lately.”
Fei Ji’s face was a bit grim. He sighed and said, “The Great Yu Empire has developed too quickly. As a result, we cannot be selective enough with officials. To fill vacancies, we can only use old officials from before, alas, it’s truly a dilemma now.”
“Elder Fei is absolutely right. So now we can only rely on the Kong family to put effort into New Confucianism. As His Majesty said, punishing officials only treats the symptoms, not the root cause. Changing customs can eradicate the soil of corruption. All in all, this matter still requires a process.”
Fei Ji had been in official circles for many years and understood officials far more deeply than Pang Yukun. He said, “You are wrong about that. Do you truly believe that all officials sincerely believe in Confucianism? In fact, many officials merely use the banner of Confucianism to enhance their own reputation. Therefore, this time, when you and I enter the palace, we should also propose harsher punishments for corrupt officials to deter them.”
The two walked all the way to the imperial study. After bowing, they looked at Xiao Ming, awaiting his instructions.
“Li San just left. You must have also heard the news he brought. You two must have guessed why I summoned you. Now is the best time for me to reduce the power of the feudal lords. So, in tomorrow’s court assembly, you must play along with me.” New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on novel-fire.net
Scanning the two, Xiao Ming laid out his thoughts. As long as the Great Yu Empire was not unified, he, the Emperor, would be a crippled emperor. The Great Yu Empire would exist as a state within a state.
After a pause, he continued, “I have already given orders to the Grand Council. The armies prepared to guard against rebellions by the Prince of Huainan and the Prince of Yong are also ready. If the two remain stubborn, I will have no choice but to take harsh measures. For the unification of the Great Yu Empire, bloodshed is unavoidable.”
Fei Ji and Pang Yukun’s expressions turned grim. This time, they felt Xiao Ming’s determination. From their perspective, the feudal lords were indeed a problem. For example, the Prince of Yong occupied regions rich in coal and iron mines in the north.
The coal and iron needed for Qingzhou Province’s industry faced many restrictions when transported from Yong territory, which was very detrimental to the development of Great Yu Empire’s industry and commerce.
“The State of Chu is preoccupied. Dealing with the Prince of Yong and the Prince of Huainan, we are more than capable,” Pang Yukun said confidently. The continuous victories in warfare had made the officials in the court extremely confident now.
Fei Ji heard this and said, “Your Majesty, I believe that although we must reduce the power of the feudal lords, we should not do so too fiercely all at once. Otherwise, it will inevitably cause extreme dissatisfaction from the Prince of Huainan and the Prince of Yong. For now, it would be better to first reclaim military power, then political power, until the two princes become wealthy princes of their feudal states. As for their descendants, I believe they should be cared for within three generations. Only then can they be appeased.”
Xiao Ming nodded, “That is what I was going to say. The Prince of Huainan and the Prince of Yong both rendered meritorious service to the nation during the northern war. I do not wish to fall out with them. Moreover, one is my in-law, and the other is my imperial uncle. So, tomorrow, proceed as you said and probe the reactions of the two.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Fei Ji said, bowing. In fact, he strongly supported the reduction of feudal lords’ power. Whether from public or private interest, the Imperial Consort Cui Xue’er was always a major concern for him.
Moreover, recent rumors that Cui Xue’er was pregnant made him even more worried. If the feudal lords’ power was reduced now, Cui Xue’er would lose the Prince of Huainan as her backing, and his daughter could then be on equal footing with Cui Xue’er, without having to worry about offending the Prince of Huainan.
After discussing the matter of reducing feudal lords’ power, Xiao Ming turned to Pang Yukun and said, “This time, the State of Chu is in chaos. Li Chuyuan has asked me for help, requesting to purchase a considerable number of weapons and ammunition. You return with Niu Ben and inventory the military’s reserves. Sell all the weapons that have been phased out by the army to him. This way, the silver earned can support the army in re-equipping with breech-loading rifles.”
Pang Yukun loved arms trade the most. Hearing this, he was so happy he couldn’t close his mouth. In the past, when feudal lords were in power, they relied on arms dealing to amass such a large fortune.
Recalling the good old days, he felt a pang of nostalgia. Now, he could finally openly sell arms again.
However, he still had doubts. He couldn’t help but ask, “Your Majesty, if we sell these firearms to Li Chuyuan, and he wins in the future, won’t we suffer more casualties when we attack him again?”
Xiao Ming shook his head, “Senior Grand Secretary Pang, you have miscalculated. Moreover, the silver earned from arms trade will promote the development of weapons and industry. In the long run, this will only benefit the war. For example, if we invest forty million taels of silver into industry and commerce, it is enough for the Great Yu Empire’s industry and commerce to grow in one year by an amount that would normally take two, or even three years.”
Pang Yukun suddenly understood. He had only seen the disadvantages in small matters, but had not seen the benefits in larger ones. This time, he had been shortsighted.
“I understand,” Pang Yukun nodded.
After assigning these two tasks, Xiao Ming dismissed the two. He continued to record various knowledge from the technology crystal.
With the development of the Great Yu Empire’s industry and the improvement of its education level, the knowledge of the 18th and 19th centuries was no longer sufficient for current needs.
Therefore, he was now preparing a second generation of books. These books would contain richer knowledge, and some would even delve into depths comparable to contemporary university level.
After all, the Great Yu Empire’s industrial level was now firmly in the 19th century. At this level of industrialization, he needed to refine more knowledge to ensure the Great Yu Empire’s comprehensive development in industry, medicine, chemistry, and other fields.
At the same time, he was also preparing to establish an imperial library. He would place some core materials there to assist various research laboratories in the Great Yu Empire.
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