BSI Chapter 21: I just want to never suffer again
Chapter 21: I just want to never suffer again
Xia Chengzong sighed, "The people of my Great Qian are the best people in the world. If you give them even a little chance to live, they will never rebel."
"The Jiangnan region is prosperous, and this time the increased taxes will fall on the Jiangnan region."
"Taxes cannot be collected in a short time, so we can borrow silver from the eight major salt merchants in Jiangnan first."
"After the taxes are collected, the silver can be returned to the salt merchants, and that should solve the problem."
永隆帝正面情绪+1+1+1+1+1+1
When Xia Chengzong saw Emperor Yonglong frantically boosting his positive emotion score, he knew his answer was correct.
But he preferred that his answer was wrong.
No matter what difficulties they encounter, the first solution is always to make the people suffer.
All he wanted was to prevent the people from suffering again.
This answer left Xia Chengli speechless.
Still unconvinced, he asked Emperor Yonglong, "Grandfather, where is there any arbitrary imposition of additional taxes?"
"Grandpa, please tell us quickly, how will the imperial court handle this matter?"
Emperor Yonglong looked at Xia Chengzong with approval and said, "Brother Zong is right. This is the solution that Grandfather and several Grand Secretaries of the Inner Cabinet discussed this afternoon."
"If I hadn't come right after we finished discussing it, I would have thought that Brother Zong had overheard our conversation."
hiss!
Upon hearing this, the four of them gasped inwardly.
夏承绪负面情绪+1+1+1+1+1
夏承言负面情绪+1+1+1+1+1
夏承礼负面情绪+1+1+1+1+1
夏承仁负面情绪+1+1+1+1+1
Xia Chengzong was initially disappointed that after leaving the Prince's Mansion and moving into the Imperial Palace, he would no longer be able to accumulate negative emotional points.
Now it turns out that the four brothers living in the palace are even more capable!
永隆帝正面情绪+1+1+1+1+1
Good heavens, Grandpa Emperor's side is just as impressive!
Unbeknownst to him, Emperor Yonglong was also extremely excited at that moment.
He inwardly exclaimed, "What a wonderful grandson!"
He now somewhat regrets his earlier act of deliberately praising the saintly grandson.
Such a fine grandson should be kept close and properly nurtured.
Xia Chengzong's wisdom truly amazed him.
It would not be surprising if Xia Chengzong simply offered an additional reward.
If you have carefully read and thoroughly understood historical records, it is not difficult to arrive at this answer.
However, the fact that he could come up with the idea of collecting taxes only from Jiangnan and borrowing silver from salt merchants first truly amazed Emperor Yonglong.
How old is Zong Ge'er? He's only seven years old this year!
Let alone the children of his generation, even his uncles and elders probably wouldn't be able to come up with such a comprehensive solution!
What else could this be but a good grandson?
This made Emperor Yonglong feel that he had a worthy successor, how could he not be overjoyed?
At this moment, Xia Chengxu broke down.
He couldn't help but ask, "Grandpa, the education I received from childhood has always been about practicing benevolent governance and treating the people kindly."
"How can you expect the common people to suffer whenever something happens?"
Upon hearing this, Xia Chengzong chuckled inwardly.
This guy has been ruined by those pedantic scholars!
For those in power, benevolence and morality are just slogans, something to be shouted out to others, not something to be followed.
By asking this question, he's likely to lose face in front of his grandfather.
Emperor Yonglong glanced at Xia Chengxu, but didn't want to tell him the answer directly. Instead, he said to Xia Chengzong, "Brother Zong, you tell him the answer."
Xia Chengzong could only say, "Brother, one who does not plan for the long term is not fit to plan for the short term; one who does not plan for the whole is not fit to plan for a part."
"Don't the officials in the imperial court understand the principles of wealth and prosperity for merchants?"
"However, they are the very essence of wealthy merchants! What do you think will happen if Grandfather were to cut flesh from their bones?"
"They will definitely make excuses, obstruct, and even deliberately create unrest."
"If the country also becomes unstable, then with internal and external troubles, there is a risk that the foundation of the nation will be shaken."
"When faced with two evils, choose the lesser one; therefore, in the end, the common people will suffer."
What Xia Chengzong didn't say was that no one spoke up for the people, and the people had no power to resist.
Exploiting the people is the least risky method.
Upon hearing Xia Chengzong's words, Emperor Yonglong's eyes showed even greater appreciation.
永隆帝正面情绪+1+1+1+1+1
夏承绪负面情绪+1+1+1+1+1
The children were all taken aback and fell silent for a moment.
Emperor Yonglong chuckled and changed the subject.
Emperor Yonglong was in high spirits today, and he led his children on a stroll outside for about half an hour.
He then led the children into the study, but did not teach them anything further; they simply chatted and talked.
Xia Chengzong discovered that Emperor Yonglong was similar to Grandmother Jia in this respect.
They enjoy lively gatherings and crave family happiness.
However, as the supreme ruler, he had to maintain his dignity in public.
On this day, he can probably only be himself in front of his grandchildren.
The other four children all tried to show off their talents, wanting to imitate the colorful costumes and perform a play to demonstrate their filial piety.
Xia Chengzong automatically became a nobody; he didn't need to compete for everything, as that would be too deliberate.
永隆帝正面情绪+1+1+1+1+1
Unexpectedly, this turned out to be a lucky accident, and he still won the favor of Emperor Yonglong.
Xia Chengzong felt that this was a case of beauty being in the eye of the beholder.
If you genuinely like someone, you'll like whatever they do.
……
That evening, Xia Chengzong discovered that his emotional value had reached 1000 again.
It seems that the poem "Qinyuanchun" is still gaining momentum.
Xia Chengzong directly exchanged for the Divine Power Three Sword Technique talent.
Soon, a misty aura surged from the jade pendant, enveloping his entire body.
Xia Chengzong felt a warm current flow through his body, which felt pleasant and comfortable.
After it ended, I didn't have any particularly special feelings.
He just felt a little itchy in his hands, and wished he could hold a long sword and wield it.
The feeling was like seeing a field of rapeseed flowers and wanting to grab a straight stick and sweep across three thousand miles.
Is this what swordsmanship talent is?
This gave him some hope.
After all, which boy doesn't dream of being a swordsman?
Since the Prince's Palace was reopened, the speed at which I gained emotional points has been incredibly fast.
In less than a month, he had exchanged all five supernatural abilities.
Of course, upgrading these supernatural abilities will require more emotional points.
Upgrading a superpower requires 10,000 emotion points.
If I want to advance to the next level, my emotional value will probably skyrocket to 100,000.
Furthermore, Xia Chengzong had a vague feeling that this Sky-Mending Stone was not as simple as it seemed.
He probably hasn't developed all the features yet!
He will need even more emotional points in the future, and his path to earning emotional points is long and arduous.
……
Xia Chengxu instructed his eunuch to invite Xia Chengli, Xia Chengyan, and Xia Chengren to his study.
Although these four men were all kept by Emperor Yonglong's side, they always treated each other with brotherly affection and respect in front of him.
However, they hardly communicated in private.
After all, their fathers had all been involved in the struggle for succession.