The Immortal Seeker: Legend of Bronze Mirror

For this reason, many people in Jiangning Prefecture are speaking strangely.

Because Xu Jieyuan is helping the Court collect commercial taxes, and even as a major shareholder behind the workshops, Xu Qing is essentially paying the Court out of his own pocket.

Not to mention that the nobles don't understand, even many members of the Recovery Society are baffled.

Xu Qing knows that if rules aren't established now, it will be even harder to set them in the future.

This is also why the Emperor is especially satisfied with Xu Qing.

No matter how much trouble Xu Qing causes, the money that is supposed to go to the National Treasury and the Inner Treasury, as long as it comes from Xu Qing, not a cent will be missing, in fact, there might even be more.

One could say that in the Emperor's personal heart, Xu Qing is purer than the Pure Stream.

...

...

"Xu Gongming has shown up?" Duke Wei let out a sigh of relief after hearing the report from the chief steward Yan Fu.

Because he finally realized from another perspective the benefits of Xu Qing's existence.

Due to Xu Qing, some Ministers at the Court who were hostile to him obviously shifted their targets, and His Majesty's suspicions have also diminished a lot.

One could say, after Xu Qing's rise in prominence, he perfectly replaced the ecological niche that Duke Wei originally had in South Zhili, shielding him from many of the blows and the cold.

Initially, Duke Wei didn't think much of this.

It wasn't until Xu Qing secluded himself away that he deeply realized the significance of Xu Qing's presence.

Truly, with Xu Qing around, one does not notice anything unusual; without Xu Qing, the difference is clear.

Days with someone to take the blows for you are indeed comfortable.

Yan Fu saw the look on the Lord's face and couldn't help but feel surprised.

Why is the Lord so happy about Xu Qing being unharmed? Could it be that Young Master Xu is actually the Old Master's illegitimate child?

Yan Fu had a bold idea.

He immediately felt it was ridiculous.

But looking at Duke Wei's attitude towards Xu Qing, although his words were harsh, his actions proved too sincere.

Duke Wei saw something unusual in Yan Fu's expression, guessed the old servant was puzzled, but he didn't expect the servant's thoughts to drift so far. After all, as a close confidant, some understanding must be fully comprehended.

Therefore, Duke Wei patiently explained: "Xu Gongming's presence can shield us at the Duke Wei Mansion from wind and rain."

After his explanation, Yan Fu finally understood, but the doubts in his heart were not completely resolved.

Duke Wei continued: "What do you think about asking Madam to recognize Mrs. Xu as her adopted daughter?"

"People might not agree to that," Yan Fu thought of Xu Qing's usual assertiveness.

Duke Wei also thought that might be the case and then said: "Let Madam get closer to Mrs. Xu. The future, who knows what might happen."

Yan Fu: "Old Master, the Court's reforms seem to be quite effective lately. Border troubles have been curbed, sea trade has become smooth, and after raiding Kong Mansion, the National Treasury has gained a large amount of silver, providing a foundation for the One Whip Law's implementation. Why do I feel like, despite this, you still think the Court's momentum is not good?"

Duke Wei smiled slightly: "A severely ill person always has a moment of rallying. Just you watch."

The old emperor and the Grand Secretary are too naive, thinking that silver in the hands of the Southern nobles was moving the capital of the world, but in reality, even if the Court acquired a large amount of silver, it wouldn't mean anything.

The silver from Kong Mansion was indeed substantial, allowing the Court to have a base to implement the One Whip Law, but soon, this silver will end up in the hands of the Northern nobles.

Is there a difference whether the silver is in the hands of Southern nobles or Northern nobles?

According to the intelligence he currently has, grain prices in the North have plummeted, yet the local Officials still demand that the common people pay grain taxes based on last year's prices.

Moreover, due to increasingly colder weather in recent years, the actual grain output in the North has been falling year by year.

However, after the sea trade became smooth, grain shipped by sea suffered fewer losses. The price of grain in North Zhili not only did not rise but actually fell quite a bit. However, the grain in the peasants' hands is becoming less and less. And for most peasants who farm the land, the only valuable thing they produce is the grain in their hands.

What follows can be imagined.

But many officials still submit congratulations for this, considering the fall in grain prices to be a sign of a golden age.

The old emperor even held several banquets for this, calling them "Peace and Tranquility Meetings."

Heh, he doesn't understand these schemes at all.

With everyone benefiting from this situation, naturally, no one will remind others. Even if someone speaks out, they will be refuted by the Pure Stream.

Even if the Grand Secretary senses the subtlety of the situation, he cannot speak out. Because once raised, the sea trade and the One Whip Law would come under attack, which is not good for the overall situation.

For this, they can only make the common people suffer.

In fact, the Grand Secretary believes that as long as the National Treasury is full, he can strengthen the army, and with a powerful military, he can continue to deeply reform, such as the apportionment of taxes based on land area, the publicizing of fire consumption, and having officials share in paying grain taxes.

For the sake of later reforms, early sacrifices are necessary.

Regarding the apportionment of taxes based on land area and other things, these were results of discussions between Xu Qing through Chen Fu and the Grand Secretary.

Before, the Grand Secretary had thoughts about these matters, but the details and framework were supplemented by Xu Qing.

But Xu Qing also said that even if all these things are done well, they only treat the symptoms, not the root cause, and may even become perverse policies.

Regarding this, Xu Qing presented his own views, asking the Grand Secretary to help him expand the Recovery Society, to spread the concept of the Recovery Society all over the world. With more people who serve the world acting as officials, the world could be truly well governed.

These words were rejected by the Grand Secretary.

His support was useless.

Because the Emperor would never allow such things to happen.

Of course, Xu Qing's intentions were not there, but to give himself an excuse to expand the Recovery Society.

After all, the Grand Secretary, with the world in his heart, would realize the discrepancy after using people from the Recovery Society and then using other corrupt officials.

Once addicted to this difference, it would be impossible not to open doors of convenience.

Not every member of the Recovery Society has to be incorruptible, but in an era of corruption, it's about who is less rotten.

In this regard, the Recovery Society is far ahead.

One could say, this is an open conspiracy.

Even the common people from South Zhili will gradually notice the difference between the officials from the Recovery Society and other officials.

This will create a good reputation.