Chapter 1105 – In the Four Seas, I Demand 100% (Part Four)
“Truly remarkable, Zixiao seems to have never worried about Beiyuan—”
Feng Zhen squinted, his large hand rubbing the ears of the Iron-Eating Beast, casually tossing out a question.
“Or perhaps it’s that Zixiao has calculated that the Yi Clan of Beiyuan is too tied up to react—that’s your stargazing result?”
Wei Ci finally looked up from the pile of scrolls, yet he did not put down the brush in his hand.
Feng Zhen fixed his gaze on Wei Ci’s face, unwilling to let any unusual detail slip by.
Wei Ci responded calmly, “The sage says, the secrets of heaven cannot be revealed.”
Feng Zhen: “…”
If Confucius were alive, would he not be driven mad by Wei Ci?
“When did you ever say such a thing? Daoists talk about the secrets of heaven—”
Feng Zhen nearly wanted to throw the Iron-Eating Beast he was holding in Wei Ci’s face; this guy was getting more infuriating by the minute.
Little did he know, Wei Ci simply could not disclose anything and could only speak in vague terms.
“Beiyuan is quite an interesting country.”
Feng Zhen looked puzzled.
Interesting?
Where exactly is it interesting?
Unbeknownst to him, Wei Ci’s assessment of Beiyuan was spot on; the country was truly bizarre.
Beiyuan collapsed not through the troubles stirred by our Lord or other lords but because they managed to self-destruct.
In his previous life, Wei Ci had secluded himself in Zhong Zhao, but even while in paradise, he couldn’t let go of the grand trends of the world.
Among the five countries, Dongqing, Nansheng, and Zhong Zhao were at war with one another, as lords took turns to rise and fall.
It was only after Her Majesty unified the three major powers that she turned her efforts to Beiyuan and Xichang.
After more than a decade of consolidating the three countries, it took less than a year to deal with Beiyuan and Xichang.
It wasn’t that Her Majesty was too strong; it was that the internal situation in the two countries was too strange.
First, Xichang was the weakest in terms of military strength and the smallest in land area among the five countries.
As chaos descended, when the five nations crumbled, Xichang, the underdog, suddenly became the nation with the most lords and the most devastating casualties from battles.
According to incomplete statistics, there were no fewer than three hundred uprisings in Xichang, with a hundred named “lords.”
As for the Xichang royal family?
They were so poor that even the emperor had to farm, the empress wove to earn pocket money, and former concubines were sold in brothels to make ends meet.
The most powerful lord within the territory could barely govern half a state, while the smallest lord ruled over a single village.
No mistake—
A single village!
With just over a hundred laborers, one dared to call themselves a lord!
Xichang collapsed under the fragmentation of power and disunity of hearts; Her Majesty’s iron cavalry swept through and captured all of Xichang in April.
As fragile as paper—
This was spoken by Fu Wang, the commander of the campaign against Xichang.
What was the most hilarious thing?
After Xichang’s fall, Fu Wang captured members of the Xichang royal family, and the emperor even willingly offered three of his sons to Her Majesty as male concubines.
[Although these three sons of the traitor were not old, they were all well-educated. Their appearance and demeanor could not be compared to that of noble sons, but the traitor’s ancestor had once been part of the great Xia royal lineage, and their bloodline was noble. Before the family fell, they were also famed throughout the capital—]
Hmph—
This fallen king showed utter servility before a hall full of officials, spewing filthy words, causing Wei Ci to lose his appetite for several days.
Her Majesty’s health was precious, yet this sort of low-born dared to harbor such thoughts?
The hot-tempered General Dian Yin couldn’t stand it any longer and kicked this guy’s shoulder out of joint.
Had it not been for Fu Wang, Li Yun, and others intervening to prevent Dian Yin from committing murder on the spot, this fellow would have long gone to see Yama.
In the end, Her Majesty smiled and penalized Dian Yin half a month’s salary, then rewarded him with a box of gold and jewels.
Originally, the plan was to let the remnants of the Xichang royal family live as wealthy common folk, but after this incident, all was cleared away.
Though Beiyuan’s national strength was not weak compared to Xichang, it took Her Majesty even less time to recover Beiyuan.
This brings us to Beiyuan, infamous for its self-destruction; indeed, one could say it was the “oddball” among the five nations.
Before the five nations fell into chaos, the Beiyuan royal family was already in decline, basically ruled by a few powerful clans fighting over power endlessly.
After the collapse, the power struggles became even more frequent.
In just one year, there were no less than twenty coups, with the shortest lasting merely half a day.
The Yi Clan laughed last, exterminated the royal family, donned the dragon robe, and ascended the throne.
Almost every legitimate member of the Yi Clan was conferred the title of duke, their salaries being the highest, making them quite prominent.
However, this situation did not last long; Beiyuan soon descended into chaos.
Earlier, Feng Zhen mentioned that Beiyuan has a northern terrain, with only a few warm months in a year; the rest were quite cold.
With such harsh conditions, crops struggle to survive.
The food production on the land was low; to stabilize domestic situations, Beiyuan’s agricultural tax was naturally the lowest among the five countries, with the government collecting only twenty percent!
In this era, that tax was barely low; yet the common people still hovered on the brink of hunger.
Turning to the Yi Clan, upon ascending the throne, the emperor conferred dozens of ducal titles and the expenditure on salaries was horrendous.
As the treasury couldn’t keep up, salary payments began to lag, causing all the dukes to protest!
To appease everyone, agricultural taxes had to be raised along with the establishment of various taxing projects to increase treasury income for duke salaries.
At times, taxes were as high as ninety percent on agricultural yields, with the remaining ten percent being stripped away layer by layer.
Countless common people froze or starved to death in Beiyuan.
Upon hearing that Her Majesty’s cavalry was about to enter the territory, the common folk sprang into action, opening the gates where necessary, and abandoning defense posts as the soldiers vanished without a trace. If Xichang was as fragile as paper, Beiyuan was likely as insubstantial as air, right?
Calculating the time, the Yi Clan was currently disputing power with several other clans frantically.
Power shifts appeared as frequent as day turned to night, with coups happening like child’s play.
The Yi Clan coveted the Cangzhou horse farm, but if they hit a solid wall, they wouldn’t actually deploy heavy forces to pressure it.
Wei Ci was well aware of this point but dared not gamble.
After all, Beiyuan still had quite a bit of strength left — it hadn’t been mangled by the Yi Clan into something as fragile as air.
Upon hearing that the Yi Clan’s envoy had arrived at Yumen Pass only to be summoned back, Wei Ci was not at all surprised.
Wei Ci’s calm demeanor caught Feng Zhen’s attention, leading to earlier probing.
Little did they know, Wei Ci was as unflappable as a seasoned driver.
With decades of experience behind the wheel, how could he fall for such tricks?
“I heard our Lord privately mention that her next move is to take action against Xu Pei. Zixiao, don’t you think that’s a bit reckless?”
“What’s reckless about it?”
While petting the cat, Feng Zhen replied, “Xu Pei has some favor with our Lord; if not handled properly, it could invite criticism.”
If Jiang Pengji truly accepted Xu Fei’s plea for help and pitted Xu Pei against her, surely people would lash out, right?
In the Huangshui Alliance, Xu Pei had supported Jiang Pengji, and that bond was much deeper than the one with Xu Fei.
Wei Ci smiled, “But if Xu Pei can’t hold back first, then it can’t be blamed on our Lord forgetting past loyalties.”
Feng Zhen’s expression stiffened.
How did he forget?
His lord was best at what?
Stirring up trouble!
Even if her actions had no justification, she had a way of turning the “nameless” into something “famous.”
