noffsinger Chapter 175 As long as I live, the list will never appear in the world
Chapter 175 As long as I live, the list will never appear in the world
"This general believes that I have treated you well in the past. Why do you..." Guo Yian suppressed the anger in his heart and questioned Li Daniu.
The last few words seemed to have exhausted all his strength.
If even Li Daniu has rebelled, what kind of situation will those subordinates who followed him in the past face?
Guo Yian's heart was bleeding, but he couldn't leave this place for the time being.
My father's revenge has not yet been achieved, but I still have my sister and the crown prince in the palace, so there is still hope.
A trace of pity flashed across Li Daniu's seemingly honest face, but it was quickly replaced by a certain determination.
"General, please don't blame me. I did this just to save the lives of my family."
"But don't you know that one cannot serve two masters? If you can be manipulated and betrayed to me today, there's no guarantee that you won't be bribed and betrayed to a new master tomorrow. Do you really think King Yong can trust you wholeheartedly and allow your family to be safe?"
Facing Guo Yian's sincere admonition, how could Li Daniu not know the reason? He laughed at himself and said:
"It's not a pity for me to die alone, but they have captured my wife, children and mother and are threatening them. I have no choice but to do this..."
Guo Yian closed his eyes and turned away, feeling powerless inside.
After all, it was because of his own uselessness that the generals under his command were in such a situation.
But if they didn't do this and continued to resist, they would probably have died long ago.
Finally, Guo Yian stood up, reattached Li Daniu's arm, and said, "Go away. Don't come back again. I'll just pretend that what happened today never happened."
Li Daniu was startled and asked, "General, then you..."
"Also, tell King Yong that the list is not with me. I have found a safe place. As long as I am alive, this list will never appear in the world. Otherwise..."
Guo Yian didn't say the rest of the words, but Li Daniu had already understood. He was threatening Prince Yong not to think about assassinating him again, otherwise, someone would send this list to the emperor as soon as possible.
Seeing that the matter was a foregone conclusion, Li Daniu no longer hesitated, saluted Guo Yian, and quickly left the tent under the cover of night.
Inside the tent, Guo Yian tilted his head to look at the flickering candlelight, his face calm and composed.
……
At that time, after Lin Ji relayed the news brought by Li Daniu to King Yong, King Yong was so angry that he smashed several teacups in the house.
"Useless piece of shit, you can't even do such a small thing!"
Seeing this, Lin Ji was very smart and dodged to the side, and the broken porcelain pieces just flew past him.
After King Yong's anger had almost subsided, Lin Ji stepped forward and asked:
"Since Li Daniu is so useless, Your Majesty, would you like me to send someone to..."
As Lin Ji spoke, he made a gesture of wiping his neck with his hand, the meaning was self-evident.
King Yong stretched out his hand and stopped Lin Ji's actions.
"Forget it, I'll keep him alive for now. If he happens again, I can kill him later."
Now is the time to use people. If Li Daniu and others are killed directly with a knife, it will only anger Guo Yian and do no good.
If it really doesn't work, the worst that can happen is that we can just let them serve as death squads or vanguards.
"Also, there is one more thing..." Lin Ji thought of something and said.
"The previous mineral veins in the Xuanwu Mountains have been sealed off. Without the pig iron to refine our weapons, we are now stretched to the limit. The Chu State is willing to sell a batch of weapons, but the silver..."
Prince Yong embezzled soldiers and horses, and daily training, food, fodder, military equipment, etc., all amounted to a considerable expense.
Since the fall of the Guo family, some aristocratic families have been implicated. In order to temporarily avoid the limelight, King Yong was forced to suspend some of his businesses, such as salt and iron, private salt and arms trading.
But this time, the money in hand was flowing out like water every day, and soon the income was not enough to cover the expenses. If no solution was found, it would be difficult for the army to continue expanding.
Over the years, Prince Yong has used his power to seize the assets of many businesses and take all the data for himself. This is the fastest and most direct way.
As a result, Prince Yong had contacts with many local officials. Some officials gained benefits, but due to Prince Yong's power, they had no choice but to cover up for each other.
"I'll figure out a solution for the silver issue. You just need to keep the people below stable first."
Lin Ji's eyes flashed. Although he didn't know what the prince would come up with, he still followed the order.
That night, Prince Yong came to Princess Murong Zhi's courtyard and asked her to reduce the expenses of everyone in the mansion starting tomorrow.
All unnecessary and wasteful behaviors were cancelled, and even the preparations for the New Year in the mansion were kept simple.
Although Murong Zhi didn't know what had happened, she still followed the instructions and reduced everyone's share the next day.
When the maids in Lingbo Garden went to get ice, they were told that from now on, ice would no longer be used to cool down the mansion unless there were special circumstances. If they wanted to use it, they could buy it with their own money.
Qiuyao soon learned the news. Not only was the summer ice cubes gone, but the prices of clothes, jewelry, food, etc. were all downgraded by more than one level.
But Qiuyao was smart enough not to go directly to the princess to make trouble. Instead, she inquired from the side and found out that this matter was ordered by the prince.
That night, Qiu Yao changed her usual luxurious attire and wore only a dress made of ordinary material, a little makeup, and an ebony hairpin on her head before entering Prince Yong's study.
"Your Majesty, I heard you haven't been sleeping well these past few days. I've prepared some lotus seed soup for you. Would you like to try some while it's still hot?"
Prince Yong and his men were studying a map for leading troops into battle. Upon hearing this, he covered the map and sent his men away first.
"How did you come?"
Qiu Yao turned her eyes away from the map, pretending not to see anything, and said with a smile:
"You haven't come to my courtyard to eat for several days. I was very worried, so I came here rashly. I hope I didn't disturb His Majesty."
King Yong's eyes slowly swept over Qiu Yao. He was used to seeing her in gorgeous clothes and jewels in the past, but at this moment, when Qiu Yao took off the gorgeous clothes and jewels that symbolized her status, he felt a sense of novelty.
He softened his heart at Qiuyao's understanding and said softly, "How could it be a bother? I'm a little hungry too, so the soup you brought is just right."
As Prince Yong spoke, he picked up the bowl of lotus seed soup and scooped a mouthful with a spoon and put it in his mouth.
"I didn't expect that Yao'er's craftsmanship is also very good."
Qiu Yao Wan'er smiled and said, "As long as the prince doesn't mind."
For a moment, neither of them spoke, and the only sound in the room was the sound of Prince Yong drinking his soup.
Soon, the bowl of soup was empty. Seeing this, Qiu Yao ordered the maid to remove the bowls and dishes, and then asked King Yong:
"I heard from my sister Princess that the prince seemed to have encountered some difficulties. Qiuyao, although not talented, also wanted to help the prince with some of his worries. Is that possible?"
Upon hearing this, Prince Yong raised his head and looked at Qiu Yao in surprise. Then he smiled and said:
"Yao'er, do you feel wronged? Don't worry. I've just been experiencing setbacks in my business recently and am a little short on cash. After this period of time, I will definitely give you the honor and respect you deserve as a concubine."