My uncle is Zhu Di

Chapter 119 Don't mess with me (fourth update)

Xu Qin frowned when he heard Mu Feng's words, and then asked, "Are they waiting outside?"

"Yes, we've been waiting for almost two quarters of an hour, young master. Do you want to see him? If not, send someone to get rid of them." Mu Feng said as he stood there. Mu Feng knew Xu Qin's character, and he also knew that the mansion rarely allowed guests to visit. The only one who had come recently was Xiao Ningyue.

Xu Qin stopped there and thought for a while, then said, "Let them in. If they are not afraid of suspicion, then we are even less afraid. It's nothing more than a matter of customs."

Xu Qin knew that they came for this matter. Since they came to him, it would be better to make things clear.

Soon, the servants led Xia Yuanji and Huang Fu to the living room of Xu Qin's courtyard. At this moment, Xu Qin was still sitting in the living room eating breakfast.

"Sit down! Serve tea!" Xu Qin saw them coming in, and before they even said hello, Xu Qin asked them to sit down. Moreover, Xu Qin had no intention of saying hello to them. They were not good people, no matter how history evaluated them. Anyway, he knew that even if they did not participate in the last attempt to murder him, they knew about it.

"Mr. Xu is so comfortable, he sleeps until he wakes up naturally!" Xia Yuanji said to Xu Qin with a smile. The other person was Huang Fu, who did not look very old, probably in his early forties.

"Well, why should I, a commoner, get up so early?" Xu Qin smiled and continued to eat his food.

The two of them smiled and wanted to wait until Xu Qin finished eating before talking, so they walked over and sat down. The maid in the courtyard also brought tea.

After Xu Qin finished eating, he wiped his mouth and hands with the towel handed to him by Shiyue, then stood up and sat down next to him. Mu Feng brought tea to Xu Qin, and Xu Qin took it and held it in his hand.

"What's the matter? Tell me!" Xu Qin looked at the two of them and said with a smile.

"I don't know about the rumors outside, but does Mr. Xu know about them?" Xia Yuanji asked Xu Qin with a bow.

"Yes, I released one of them on purpose, and it's not a rumor, it's the truth." Xu Qin nodded and said with a smile.

"This!" Xia Yuanji didn't expect Xu Qin to answer like this. He thought Xu Qin would pretend not to know.

"What's wrong? Are the rumors true? If a customs house is opened, I estimate that those customs officials will all be civil officials. By then, the merchants and civil officials will collude with each other and they will dare to sell anything. So now I am against the opening of a customs house. Although it was me who proposed the customs house, I will still advise the prince to consider the matter in the long run." Xu Qin looked at them with a smile and said, he was playing his cards openly.

After Xu Qin said this, they couldn't deal with the two of them.

After a while, Huang Fucai cupped his hands and said, "That's not right. If those officials collude with businessmen, there are laws in the court to punish them severely. We can't abandon this policy that benefits the country and the people just because those officials have problems."

"It benefits merchants and officials, but not the people. I have also suggested to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince that in the future, overseas trade should be managed by the Weaving Bureau or a separate department under the Imperial Treasury, with eunuchs selected to manage it. This way, it will benefit the country and the people. The money earned will belong to Your Majesty. Your Majesty can use this money, whether it is for war or construction, it will benefit the court, so it doesn't matter.

Besides, overseas trade definitely requires purchases, and private merchants also have opportunities, but the profits are not as high. I think it’s good! "Xu Qin sat there and said lightly.

"Well, Mr. Xu, the court's income should come from taxes, not from running a business. This is called competing with the people for profits and is not in line with national governance." Xia Yuanji also persuaded Xu Qin.

They now also know that both Zhu Di and Zhu Gaochi trust Xu Qin's words very much. If they cannot convince Xu Qin, then there is no way to convince Zhu Di and Zhu Gaochi. Moreover, Xu Qin seems to be very knowledgeable about overseas trade, so Zhu Di and Zhu Gaochi will listen to Xu Qin. In addition, the people all agree with the rumors Xu Qin spread a few years ago.

Now both Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Di used this rumor to cover up, so they found that Xu Qin was the key to solving this problem.

"You don't have to tell me about these things. You go and persuade His Majesty. I think that the court officials and businessmen are colluding too closely, which will affect the fairness and justice of the customs. So, I firmly oppose this matter." Xu Qin said with a smile. I asked you to come and murder me. How can I let you go if I don't make things difficult for them?
"This, um, the last time it happened was a, how should I put it, coincidence. I have also told the officials below not to disturb you, Mr. Xu. I hope that Mr. Xu can consider this matter carefully." Xia Yuanji knew the crux of the matter. If he wanted to solve this matter, he had to get past Xu Qin.

"What a joke, misunderstanding? Do you think I'm stupid? Okay, don't come to me again in the future. This time we're even. You wanted to murder me, so I'll give you some trouble. Just let's live in peace. I'm very busy and don't have that much time to talk to you." Xu Qin said to Xia Yuanji.

After hearing this, Xia Yuanji and the others were also very depressed. Several ministers had been arrested and many officials were implicated. They didn't gain any advantage last time. Moreover, Xu Qin's only loss was freezing in the imperial prison for a night, but this night cost many lives.

"Xu Qin, I hope you will consider this matter!" Xia Yuanji took a deep breath and said to Xu Qin. "Don't think about it, just like that, the rest of the matter, you can solve it by yourselves, you can go and convince His Majesty and the Crown Prince, these things have nothing to do with me." Xu Qin waved his hand and said, he really didn't want to care about it.

"Xu Qin, we have come to you time and time again, hoping that you can show leniency. If you do, don't blame us for being rude when the time comes." Huang Fu threatened Xu Qin at this moment. He really couldn't stand Xu Qin's behavior.

Those civil officials looked down on the military generals from the bottom of their hearts. Not to mention Xu Qin, even Xu Qin's father Xu Huizu, they only respected him on the surface, but still looked down on him in their hearts.

"Threaten me? Okay, then you try it. Go ahead and do it. Do you think I can deal with you? You're welcome? If you're not polite, try it and I'll give you face!" Xu Qin stood up and said, staring at Huang Fu.

"No, no, Xu Qin, Minister Huang has a short temper." As soon as Xia Yuanji saw Xu Qin getting angry, he stood up and stopped Huang Fu who wanted to speak, while trying to persuade Xu Qin with an apologetic smile.

"Xia Yuanji, Huang Fu, you can try to attack me. Do you think I can disintegrate your Jiangnan Civil Service Group? Do you think I can get rid of those businessmen behind you? Don't bother me. I have made it very clear just now that I don't care about this matter. It is not my responsibility. If you still come to trouble me, don't blame me for being rude.

I, Xu Qin, will not be beheaded even if I kill you!" Xu Qin stared at them and warned them. He really did not have the time to deal with those civil officials.

"Hmph, Minister Xia, let's go. Since we can't come to an agreement, let's not talk anymore!" Huang Fu said to Xia Yuanji. Xia Yuanji was also helpless, but he did not blame Huang Fu for his outspokenness. Instead, he blamed Xu Qin for being ignorant. How could such a young man influence the court and be so stubborn?

It was such a waste of the last opportunity. If Xu Qin had been killed, then the customs could have been established.

Soon Xia Yuanji left, and Xu Qin sat there watching their backs, thinking about the attitude they might take.

In fact, the most crucial reason why civil officials can control power and influence the court is that the mouthpiece is in their hands. Ordinary people can't read many words and don't know the policies of the court. All of them rely on officials to pass on information one level at a time. The so-called "official" has two mouths also comes from here.

The people learned all the news from the officials, so they had a huge influence on the people. It was easy for them to deceive their superiors and completely blind the eyes and ears of the emperor.

"It's best not to mess with me. I don't have that much time to play tricks on you. My new mansion still needs to be built." Xu Qin sat there and said with a sigh.

In this era, imperial power is in power. It seems very simple to deal with those civil officials. After all, the power is in the hands of the emperor. But in reality, it is sometimes very difficult because the emperor is worried that if he touches those officials, it will cause chaos among the people. At that time, those officials may even spread rumors among the people that the emperor is a tyrant who kills court officials indiscriminately. And those officials will not explain why the emperor killed those people, and the people will not know either.

Therefore, whether the emperor is good or not depends entirely on the pens of historians and the mouths of officials, especially the second one, which affects the stability of the current court.

Xu Qin didn't think for long before he rode out of the city. His own mansion was about to be built, so he didn't want to think about those things for the time being.

At night, Xia Yuanji, Huang Fu, and the Minister of War Jin Zhong gathered in Xia Yuanji's mansion.

"Regarding the customs matter, I mean to take it slow. Last time you were too impatient and not only did you not achieve the desired effect, but you also woke up His Majesty. However, it's not a big deal as it has alienated the relationship between His Majesty and Xu Qin.

But it's not all your fault. Your Majesty also has a problem with his distrust of Xu Huizu.

Therefore, I think the key now is not to ask the court to open a customs, but to prevent the weaving bureau from going out to sea for trade next time. What do you think?" Xia Yuanji sat there and said to the two of them.

After hearing this, both of them frowned.

Seeing them like this, Xia Yuanji sighed inwardly, as they still didn't understand Zhu Di.

So Xia Yuanji continued, "If we keep asking for the opening of the customs, then your Majesty will reply that the maritime ban was issued by Emperor Taizu and your Majesty needs to consider it carefully. What should we do about this matter? Who dares to refute the ancestral precepts of Emperor Taizu? Unless your Majesty takes the initiative to change it, otherwise, it will be difficult for us to promote it."

"But if we do this, everyone will lose a lot of benefits." Huang Fu said reluctantly.

(End of this chapter)