The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

Liu Mu agreed with Xie Bo'an's remarks. Although the elites of this era only lacked foresight, they were able to quickly see through the essence of things.

"When Qi Yanzhao goes to Beihai this time, he will form a 5,000-strong Jilin Guard to control the area north of Beihai. In this way, the furs and herbs from there can be exchanged for grain, salt and tea in the north, creating a trade route that can be used for a long time."

At this point in Liu Mu's speech, Xie Bo'an became excited and started to rush to answer.

"Your Majesty, in less than three years, our Great Han will have the overwhelming power to march south and seize the financial and tax-rich region of Southern Zhili. At that time, Wu Sangui will be no threat."

Xie Bo'an was even a little scared as he spoke, because he found that the emperor in front of him seemed to have a premonition, and dared to mobilize the entire clan to launch a surprise attack on Beijing without having enough elite troops.

The key point is that after capturing Beijing, they did not continue south. Instead, they preemptively blockaded the north, which was probably intentional. Their aim was to force Kangxi or other members of the Eight Banners to move south and form a three-way power struggle with Wu Sangui and Geng Jingzhong.

That would be absolutely terrifying!

Liu Mu didn't care that much. Even if he knew what Xie Bo'an was thinking, he wouldn't care. In this day and age, who would dare to arrest Liu Mu for research?

"Xie Bo'an, you will temporarily stay by my side as a tutor to the emperor!"

"Zhao Fengnian, later give Scholar Xie one hundred taels of silver from my imperial treasury, and arrange a large house from the former Zhenglan Banner residential area. Also, send three maids over; they must be beautiful!"

Without waiting for Xie Bo'an to speak or express his gratitude, Liu Mu turned and walked towards the Hall of Mental Cultivation. This was naturally to protect Xie Bo'an's self-esteem.

"We kowtow in gratitude to Your Majesty for your divine grace!"

Watching Liu Mu's departing figure, her eyes were already blurry with tears, and she immediately performed a deep bow.

On their first meeting, he was offered a fifth-rank official position, a house, money, and women. This was the first time Xie Bo'an, who had been living in seclusion in the mountains for twelve years, had experienced the beauty of the world.

Zhao Fengnian, who was not a eunuch who had been castrated since childhood, understood Xie Bo'an's feelings, so he stepped forward and asked:

"The top scholar?"

"Your Majesty, we also have some maids here who were tributes from Korea. They are all obedient and capable. Would you like them?"

Xie Bo'an's expression changed, and he held up three fingers.

"Three! I want three maids from Korea!"

If the emperor dared to offer it to Xie Bo'an, then Xie Bo'an should accept it; otherwise, he would appear ignorant of etiquette and at worst, he would be forced to work like a beast of burden.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Fengnian's lips twitched, and he thought to himself.

This top scholar is truly a man of genuine character.

……

The Wang family is an extremely wealthy family that migrated from Taiyuan. They started their salt and tea business in the capital during the Ming Dynasty and now have a net worth of over 300,000 taels of silver.

Those ordinary courtyard houses were bought outright by the Eight Banners' Bordered Blue Banner Commander because they thought the property value was too low.

It's not expensive. It's only 20,000 taels of silver, which is ten times the price of an ordinary courtyard house. Don't think Liu Mu is greedy. If you calculate the price as low, people will think it's too expensive.

After all, this was the house of the Eight Banners Commander-in-Chief.

At that moment, the area outside the gate was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, and a man riding a tall horse arrived at the gate of the Prince's Mansion.

A large, fat man weighing at least 300 pounds greeted him with a smile; this was none other than Wang Yuan, the head of the Wang family.

"My dear son-in-law, as a candidate for the imperial examination, you went to participate in the palace examination a few days ago. Did you see the current emperor? What does he look like?"

No matter how rich they were, they couldn't suppress their curiosity. The gentry and wealthy merchants who came to offer their congratulations all pricked up their ears.

The son-in-law looked embarrassed upon hearing this.

"I was at the very back of the queue, so I didn't see it!"

This answer greatly disappointed everyone.

However, Wang Yuan remained unfazed.

"My son-in-law is now an official in the capital; you will surely see him when he attends court. The auspicious hour has arrived; the drums and music are sounding!"

Just then, a group of Imperial City Guards soldiers, armed with sharp blades, pushed through the crowd and entered. Pan Feng strode to the center of the crowd and pointed her sword at the groom with its sheath.

"Master Wang, it's a waste that your business is so large, yet you don't even know if this person is a scholar who has passed the imperial examinations!"

Before Wang Yuan could react, the groom had already fallen off his horse and grabbed Pan Feng's leg.

"My lord, I'm innocent!"

"I am but a storyteller at Yongding Gate. Before I could even react, I was seized by the wicked servants of the Wang family, who claimed that I was a newly appointed scholar and wanted me to marry their young lady."

"They outnumber us and have the upper hand; we lowly people dare not disobey!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Yuan immediately understood the whole story and glared fiercely at the butler behind him.

"Look at what you've done! This guy has shifty eyes and doesn't look like a newly appointed scholar at all!"

As Wang Yuan spoke, his expression became obsequious, and he turned to look at Pan Feng, who was playing with a knife.

"My lord of the Imperial City Guard, I am deeply grateful to you for recognizing my true identity today. I would like to offer you one hundred taels of silver as a token of my gratitude!"

As soon as Wang Yuan finished speaking, the steward stepped forward with a plate, lifted the red cloth covering it, and found ten silver ingots, each ingot weighing exactly ten taels.

If it were an ordinary person, they might not care, but Pan Feng is here to cause trouble today.

"Master Wang, you probably don't know this, but besides this fake scholar, your servants also tried to abduct a bride in front of the Ministry of Rites. The newly appointed scholar already had a wife in his hometown, but they insisted on forcibly taking her away. As a result, the scholar, unwilling to be humiliated, was forced to kill himself by running into a wall!"

"This is a newly appointed scholar, whose future career will at least lead to the position of county magistrate. How dare you murder an official appointed by the imperial court? You have some serious audacity!"

The gentry watching the play all looked surprised. No wonder they hadn't found a single son-in-law who had passed the imperial examinations; it turned out that wealthy families just snatched them away.

Shameless! Pah!

However, Wang Yuan remained calm in the face of the surrounding insults and even stepped aside.

"Since they have committed such heinous acts, they must be punished. Please, Your Honor, arrest them."

Faced with Wang Yuan's attempt to save his life by cutting off his arm, the butler's expression remained unchanged, and he led three burly men forward.

"This official from the Imperial City Guard... it was we few who, seeing that the young lady wanted to marry the newly appointed scholar, chose to act on our own. We are the ones who killed that scholar, and we will take full responsibility!"

Pan Feng narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. Over the past few months, he had read many files from the Qing and Ming dynasties and knew that this was the behavior of local gentry.

All the evil deeds committed would be blamed on the servants, who would have their own families and businesses. They would take the initiative to shoulder the blame for their masters, and the masters would treat their families or children well.

As this process continues, the offspring of these people grow up to be the servants of the master's household, and thus become even more capable of handling affairs.

However, this matter ultimately cannot be separated from the word "rights".

I, Pan Feng, can't handle you.

There's always someone who can fix you.

Seeing that Pan Feng remained silent, Wang Yuan immediately put on a cheerful expression and had another servant bring over a silver tray.

"My lord, my Wang family has some standing in Taiyuan. We'll settle this matter by accepting the money, how about it?"