[R18] Will drink wine – “About Wine” Chapter 233 [English]

Chapter 224: Sudden Turn (Part 1)

The sunny rain suddenly stopped, and Liang Miaoshan’s boots were covered with mud as he walked quickly. He stepped through the door with the corners of his robe in his arms. The officials waiting in the office of the Ministry of Revenue were already ready.He listened to the sound of rain outside suddenly stopping, took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off his face, and said concisely: “Let’s start counting.”

The sound of the abacus being moved in the room suddenly sounded, as if the shower just now started falling again in the office room.

Liang Miaoshan sat on the Taishi chair with the cabinet votes in his arms, reopened the piles of eight-city account books, and immersed himself in calculations.He is good at mental arithmetic, understands taxes, and can post accounts very quickly, but to be on the safe side, he still has an abacus, paper and pen at hand.

It rained all night in the Ministry of Household Affairs Office, during which time only the servants came in and out, making refreshing tea for everyone.However, amidst this noise, the Queen Mother also stayed up all night.

Incense was burning in the hall, and the Queen Mother was twirling Buddhist beads while leaning on the couch while Aunt Liuxiang beat her legs.There was no one else in the hall. The Queen Mother took off the Dongzhu and closed her eyes, looking a little haggard.

“The commander has communicated with Fuman,” Aunt Liuxiang said softly, “There should be some movement on the prince’s end.”

The Queen Mother opened her eyes slightly and said, “Today we were discussing matters in Mingli Hall, and the Crown Prince also intervened. The Ai family saw that Kong Boran’s attitude towards her had changed, and he really regarded her as a student.”

“Isn’t this all instigated by Xue Yanqing?” Aunt Liuxiang said in an orderly manner, “She is raised outside the palace, how can she know anything about government affairs?”

“She doesn’t know how to advance or retreat, regardless of the importance. If she wants to intervene in the government affairs, she must have the confidence to do so. Today Qi Zhuyin refused to agree to the Ai family, just because she thought Xue Xiuzhuo still had a way out. They are eager to calculate the remaining grain of the eight cities at the moment,” the Queen Mother looked at her hand wrapped with Buddhist beads, “just go ahead and do it.”

The lights were slightly dimmed, and the Queen Mother looked calm, without any panic.

* * *

The more Liang Miaoshan calculated, the more frightened he became. He dialed the abacus several times amidst the noisy sound of abacus, but the result was just like what he had calculated in his mind. The Dancheng granary reserves reviewed by the Ministry of Household Affairs were fine. Based on this surplus amount of grain, Bicheng was the most abundant granary in the Great Zhou Dynasty today.

How could this happen?

Liang Miaoshan pushed away the abacus and stood up, wiping the sweat from his face with the handkerchief again.

* * *

Pan Lin sat back on the chair, his face pale by the candlelight.He was locked up here for several days, and the wrinkled corners of his robe showed the embarrassment of the young master of the aristocratic family.He kept his spirits up and looked at Xue Xiuzhuo with tired eyes.

“When you inspected the Bicheng field tax at the beginning of the year, you also knew the details of their granary.”

Pan Lin responded with silence.

“Inherited,” Xue Xiuzhuo changed his name to Pan Lin, “you let Yao Yuanzhuo go because you still have good thoughts. You are not like Wei Huaigu, so why do you continue to run errands for them against your conscience? Many people starved to death in Dancheng last year. If the court cannot regain the land and return it to the people, many people will still starve to death in Dancheng next year.”

Pan Lin’s throat slid, and he raised his head slightly, staring at the dark roof.

“Qi Zhuyin went to the capital many times to ask for military pay. The Qidong garrison has no way to send troops at this moment. The Twelve Divisions of Biansha have already attacked the border counties.”

A moth flew out of nowhere, rested on the window, and flew away again in the long silence, flying into the night.It floated in the dark night, passing by the speeding carriage.When the carriage stopped in front of the house, Hongying opened the curtain and Hua Xiangyi had already jumped out.

“Husband…”

Hua Xiangyi held up her skirt and ran after stepping through the door.The hairpin in her hair was decorated with pearls, shaking violently as she ran.Panting, she walked through the complicated vestibule and corridor, ignoring the exclamations around her, and ran into Qi Zhuyin’s yard.

Qi Wei was talking to the attendants when he suddenly saw Hua Xiangyi running over. He was startled and thought it was an assassin coming, so he immediately shouted: “Protect the commander-in-chief!”

The soldiers in the courtyard immediately drew their swords, and the light of the swords flashed in an instant, contrasting with the swaying pearls in the fragrant flowers, covering up the cold moon frost.As soon as Qi Zhuyin opened the door, she was splashed with pearls.Hua Xiangyi hurriedly held her hair on her temples, sweating through her slightly rapid breathing.

“The Dancheng granary is empty. No matter how much Dancheng’s surplus grain is reviewed by the Ministry of Household Affairs,” Hua Xiangyi still clutched her skirt and looked at Qi Zhuyin, “…it’s all a deception.”

Qi Zhuyin returned the hairpin to Hua Xiangyi and looked at Qi Wei.

Qi Wei immediately stepped back, turned around and walked out of the hospital quickly, calling for someone to report the news to Liang Miaoshan.

It is now approaching the third quarter of the Chou hour. At the second quarter of the Yin hour, all the officials will prepare to wait outside the palace gate and enter the palace on time at Mao hour for the morning court. Time is tight and no one dares to delay.

* * *

Pan Lin fell into silence completely after Xue Xiuzhuo said those words. He is a man who has read many poems and books and cannot look directly into Xue Xiuzhuo’s eyes.He stared at the roof and saw the old signs of disrepair on the beams. Those parts that were not covered by new paint were exposed, covered with fine insect holes, and were in a mess.

Pan Lin sat here and felt the wind.He silently counted the insect eyes and killed himself with a blunt knife in the silence.He understood that Xue Xiuzhuo’s expression might just be a disguise, but he also understood that what Xue Xiuzhuo said was the truth.During the days he spent in the cell, the silence was not all about avoidance.

“Let me ask you,” Pan Lin turned his head slowly and finally looked at Xue Xiuzhuo and said, “Why did you want to kill Yuan Zhuo?”

Xue Xiuzhuo leaned back on the chair and looked directly at Pan Lin.

“You wanted to help the Li family, and Mr. Hai Ge also wanted to help the Li family. Together, you supported Emperor Tianchen and replaced Hua Siqian.” Pan Lin moved his shackled hands to the table, “But you killed Emperor Tianchen for the crown prince… Xue Yanqing, you are hiding in the tide. I can’t tell whether you are a loyal and virtuous person or a traitor.”

Pan Lin needs an answer. Xue Xiuzhuo can wash away the part of himself that is not tolerated by a gentleman on this question. As long as he gives Pan Lin a justifiable reason, he will win a big victory tonight.

But Xue Xiuzhuo said: “I killed Yao Yuanzhuo because he deserved to be killed.”

He looked less upright because he stayed up late. Sitting across from him, he was even willing to loosen his official robes.

“The aristocratic family always thought that this court was still theirs. However, as early as the last period of Yongyi years, they had already lost control of this carriage. Look at your father, if the aristocratic family is strong enough, then why should he be under the attack of the aristocratic family and the humble family? The defeat of Bo in the middle of the Xiande year made me understand one thing,” Xue Xiuzhuo raised his finger and pointed to the ground, “While the aristocratic family was infiltrating the Zhou Dynasty, it was also being infiltrated by others. Hua Siqian thought that heHe could play better than Amul in the east, but in fact he was just a jackal that Amul trapped when he was spying on Da Zhou.The most ridiculous thing is that Hua Siqian thought that he was the one holding the chain until his death.”

“Teacher and I watched the rise of King Libei, and the Iron Cavalry became a brave division in the Northeast, but they were not used by the Li family. Their surname was Xiao. No matter how loyal Xiao Fangxu and Xiao Jiming were, the Libei Iron Cavalry no longer accepted generals from Qudu. They called themselves wolves and iron walls. Yes, they were indeed iron walls, but theyWhile blocking the Biansha Cavalry, they also blocked the Qindu.If it hadn’t been for the Queen Mother’s chaos, Emperor Guangcheng would have disintegrated the Libei Cavalry as early as the late Yongyi Year. They were still called the Luoxia Cavalry and were truly affiliated with the Li family.Don’t you understand? But he still refused to hand over his military power.He believed in himself that he might not be wrong, but he could not control the gradually solidifying cavalry.

“Many people criticize Lin for being suspicious, but who can ensure that such a large and powerful army will always have a sober commander? Even Xiao Fangxu himself knows that this is not possible. What is needed to sit here is not verbal promises and personal trust, but real balance and restraint. Xiao Fangxu has long known that he wants toIn order to take into account Li Bei’s friendship and face, the teacher was looking for a suitable opportunity for Ran Du to hand over a son. However, before the teacher could take action, Hua Siqian gave up the six states of Zhongbo to Amul to make up for the shortfall. The reason why Xiao Chiye entered the capital became a worry for both Ran Du and Li Bei.”

“Do you understand? There are scorpions from the desert in this water. Amul relied on them to stir up the situation and let the Zhou Dynasty rot and stink, but the family pretended to be deaf and dumb. My teacher and I went through all kinds of hardships to support Li Jianheng to ascend the throne, hoping that Li Jianheng could clean up the court, but he is a complete waste.”

“Yao Yuanzhuo’s reputation has been accumulated to a terrifying level, but it can never be used by Qandu. If I don’t kill him, he will definitely be used by he people. You keep Yao Yuanzhuo for the so-called righteousness. You can now see the world’s celebrities flocking to Zhongbo, and he is making suggestions for Shen Zechuan.”

Xue Xiuzhuo paused for a long time and said expressionlessly: “I am neither a loyal man nor a traitor.”

What exactly is he?

he doesn’t know.

When he was enlightened, he was taught by Mr. Chang Zong and thought he could be a gentleman.He has admired Qi Huilian in the past few years and even had exchanges with Qi Huilian. He thought Qi Huilian could understand his ambition, but Qi Huilian refused.He respects Hai Liangyi and is willing to be driven by Hai Liangyi. To this day, he still calls Hai Liangyi his teacher, but Hai Liangyi firmly believes that Li Jianheng can become the emperor under his guidance – Xue Xiuzhuo can’t wait any longer. He wants to be the monarch who can open up chaos. If not, he can only be powerful.

He doesn’t need pity or justification. He is willing to pay double the price for everything he has done.He only has one life, and he bets this life on the dusk of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No matter whether it is the dawn he expects after the dark night, he is willing to fight for it.

This is Da Zhou and he’s last chance.

Pan Lin raised his hands and covered his face in front of the table. After a long time, he said: “When I was the Minister of Household Affairs, I knew that Wei Huaigu was making false accounts, and I also knew that there was a problem with Dancheng’s field tax.” He showed his eyes with slight wrinkles, “But my name is Pan Lin, I can only…”

Pan Lin didn’t say any more, he rubbed his face vigorously several times.

There were rapid footsteps outside the cell. Pan Lin and Xue Xiuzhuo sat quietly, listening to the approaching noise, at the last moment when the door was opened.

“Empty.”

Pan Lin said tiredly.

“Eight cities are empty.”

Xue Xiuzhuo suddenly stood up, cleared away his fatigue before the subordinate behind him spoke, fastened his collar, nodded slightly to Pan Lin, and said, “Thank you.”

There were longing figures outside the cell. When Xue Xiuzhuo was about to leave, Pan Lin suddenly said: “You have suppressed your selfish desires and are no longer tolerated by ordinary people. As you said yourself, what is important here is balance and restraint… What can you do to restrain the prince?”

Xue Xiuzhuo looked sideways and did not answer.

Pan Lin seemed to understand something and watched Xue Xiuzhuo leave.The cell door closed with a creaking sound, leaving He sitting here alone. The small window on the side revealed a thin morning light, but it did not shine on Pan Lin.

Pan Lin tried his best.