I Am Truly Not a Treacherous Minister Your Majesty

Chapter 57: The Return of the Soldiers

Qin Ji had long guessed that the Fifth Prince would come to find him.

The position of Zongzheng is different from ordinary positions. This position is full of deterrence internally, but has almost no power externally. As a member of the royal family, the Fifth Prince Xia Yun naturally belongs to the internal personnel, so he will definitely come to visit him. It is said to be a visit, but it is actually to probe his details.

However, Qin Ji didn’t care.

When soldiers come, they will block, and when water comes, they will cover with earth. Qin Ji, to say the least, is quite used to playing it by ear. He will talk as the other party talks, and he will talk about whatever the other party talks about.

This is like his graduation defense back then. In the defense, he only answered without arguing, and apologized profusely. This is almost the same.

“It seems that he should be very interested in you, young master.” Ling Yan said.

“But he just hopes to get some information from my mouth, and by the way, consider whether to establish a good relationship with me.”

Qin Ji casually took a thick notebook from the bookshelf beside him, with densely written pages.

This is the information written by the Duke of An—originally written by the Duke of An himself.

Although the original owner was very ambitious, this did not mean that he would lose his mind because of ambition. This notebook contains detailed information about important officials in the court, and even some military and political figures abroad.

The most detailed parts even include what the other party likes to eat and who they have had conflicts with. This has become an important reliance for Qin Ji to build his political circle.

And on it, although the information about the Fifth Prince Xia Yun is not comprehensive, it is still possible to get a lot of useful information from it.

For example, during the power struggle, the Fifth Prince Xia Yun once united with several generals to organize an elite cavalry in Da Xia, dressed in black helmets and black armor. Although this cavalry was not large in number, every soldier was a cultivator with certain strength.

This is the prototype of the “Black Armored Cavalry” that is now feared in Da Xia.

At that time, the Fifth Prince was considered a popular candidate for the throne, holding the Black Armored Cavalry and having close relationships with several generals. However, the Fifth Prince ultimately lost to the current Second Princess, Xia Yuxiao.

No one knows why he lost. Since then, Xia Yun seemed to have lost his soul, started to slack off, and went into seclusion after receiving some rather generous rewards.

And Qin Ji reviewed the Fifth Prince’s actions during this period, how to say…

Well, the things he did were quite absurd.

First, he said he wanted to promote education in his jurisdiction, but in reality, he spent a lot of money, and neither students nor teachers could be gathered. After finally setting up a so-called Talent Cultivation House, there was no clear training plan, and even the most basic textbooks could not be decided.

Instead, a lot of money was wasted, and some officials below embezzled some of it—Qin Ji knew about this because the money was requested by the Fifth Prince from Xia Yuxiao, and as the Grand Marshal, he personally saw the bill at the meeting adjusting various domestic expenditures.

Then, he started reclaiming wasteland everywhere. This was a practical thing, but the problem was that this guy only gave a general policy for his subordinates to implement, without assigning any supervision personnel, leading to increasingly serious land annexation.

The land reclaimed by the farmers with great effort ended up in the hands of local landlords and gentry.

The most disgusting part was that when registering the wasteland, these pests registered it under the farmers’ names. After the land reclaimed by the farmers was taken away, they still had to pay taxes for them.

This matter was so well-known that even Xia Yuxiao knew about it. She directly sent central officials to thoroughly investigate, removed those gentry who went too far, and re-registered and redistributed the land. Because of this, many officials representing the gentry class wrote to advise Xia Yuxiao not to be too radical…

If Qin Ji were to evaluate, he would say that the ideas were on point, but the execution was quite absurd.

Therefore, Qin Ji knew that the Fifth Prince was the mastermind behind the attempt to seize the throne and even assassinate him, but he was not too worried about the other party.

It should be said that the Fifth Prince still had some brains. This guy was good at jumping back and forth. When he failed to seize the throne, he did not become furious but promptly announced his loyalty to Xia Yuxiao and asked for rewards. He indeed did things like sending people to assassinate him, and after the assassination failed, trying to win him over.

“Do you need me to accompany you when we meet?”

Ling Yan inquired.

“Yes, you should come along and sit beside me to support the occasion.”

Qin Ji made this decision.

Originally, he planned to call Qin Siyue over, but considering Qin Siyue’s reclusive nature and her social anxiety, if she were to meet the Fifth Prince, she might accidentally say something inappropriate…

It’s better to let Ling Yan sit there. Although Ling Yan is not very good at these official interactions, she is good at keeping quiet.

Sometimes, not speaking is the best option.

“What is for dinner tonight?”

“Tonight, it’s your favorite stewed chicken.”

“Okay, have the kitchen bring it over when it’s ready. If you want to eat, come and join me. I guess they will prepare a portion for you as well.”

The cooks at the Duke of An’s residence have developed a habit of always preparing an extra portion for Ling Yan. After all, Ling Yan has been by Qin Ji’s side for a long time, and eating together is quite normal—of course, this is only normal at the Duke of An’s residence.

“Alright.” Ling Yan said, looking at the invitation, “The meeting place is set at Qingxin Tower in Tai’an City. If you plan to attend on time, I will go and make the preparations.”

“Okay, don’t forget to prepare some gifts.”

“I know.”

Watching Ling Yan leave, Qin Ji smiled and continued to review the documents.

…………………..

In the Hall of Listening to the Wind, Xia Yuxiao was reading reports from several ministers about the disaster situation in Hexi County when Liu Songyao suddenly walked in.

“Your Majesty.”

“Yes, speak.”

From noble mtl dot com

“General Bai is about to arrive in Tai’an City, less than thirty miles away. He has already sent a scout to request entry into the city.”

“Oh?”

Xia Yuxiao’s eyes lit up. She nodded and then issued an order: “Open the city gates wide, send envoys to inform the citizens to welcome the general. What about the Grand Marshal? Has he been informed?”

“Not yet.” Liu Songyao scratched his head.

“Send someone to notify the Grand Marshal and have him come out to welcome the general as well.” Xia Yuxiao said.

This is a great opportunity for publicity and to boost the morale of the soldiers. Since the emperor is coming out to welcome them, the Grand Marshal, as the military chief, should naturally come out as well.