Mr. Dai: "Prince Yu being able to realize this shows exceptional talent. However, Your Majesty has truly considered deeply for Prince Yu, having already found two people to assist you."
Prince Yu’s expression froze, then he suddenly understood: "Could Teacher be referring to Minister Wang from the Ministry of Revenue and Xu Qing?"
Minister Wang, being a scion of one of the Four Great Families of South Zhili and throwing his support behind him, naturally commands considerable wealth.
As for Xu Qing, owning the benefits of maritime trade, his richness in money and grain is also evident.
It is only natural for Minister Wang to help him, but why would Xu Qing assist him?
Prince Yu hesitated to speak.
Mr. Dai continued: "Minister Wang naturally supports Prince Yu, but Xu Qing has no choice but to address the issue of famine victims, because of his virtue."
Prince Yu instantly came to a realization.
The Emperor used his own reputation to elevate Xu Qing into a Saint of the Age, but is the title of a Saint that easy to earn? The more virtuous Xu Qing is known, the more he will attract those people harmed by the One Whip Law, especially those near the Capital, many of whom due to the law recently bankrupted and might not survive this winter.
Now with Xu Qing entering the Capital and having acquired such a noble reputation, just a little guidance would make these famine victims flock to Xu Qing like a tide.
Xu Qing would handle the toughest part first, and then Prince Yu, with the support of Minister Wang, would come in at the end for the cleanup, spending little to gain the most.
If Xu Qing refuses to aid the famine victims, then he would be a hypocrite, worse than Wang Mang...
Every winter, there are famine victims who come near the Capital seeking to survive. This time, it could also help solve the Court’s difficulty in providing disaster relief.
In past years, these famine victims could only be forcibly driven away.
After all, the Court also has no surplus of grain.
Many officials’ salaries aren’t even distributed in full.
If Xu Qing doesn’t enter the Capital, Prince Yu could still use Minister Wang’s support to address some of the famine issues and similarly gain a virtuous reputation.
Since Minister Wang is coming to his support, he must show some sincerity.
Prince Yu understood; this was the real intention behind the Emperor letting Minister Wang support him.
Now, these ministers dare not offend Your Majesty, but they certainly wouldn’t dare to offend the Crown Prince.
Unless they are determined to rebel.
Mr. Dai clearly understood the Emperor’s intentions; in this reform, the Emperor stays out of the affairs, letting his ministers handle everything. If things go well, it counts as the Emperor’s merit in using his subjects; if not, it’s the subjects’ fault, including Prince Yu, who is but a pawn in this grand game of reform.
However, Mr. Dai still felt somewhat disappointed with Prince Yu.
To bear the nation’s filth is to be the Sacrificial Lord; to bear the nation’s misfortune is to be the King of the World.
If Prince Yu could think proactively about doing something for the famine victims, what would Xu Qing amount to?
Elsewhere, Mr. Dai also wondered, if Xu Qing were to know that under the reputation of being virtuous, thousands of starving famine victims would come to him, what would he do?
Mr. Dai continued: "Does Prince Yu know about Minister Wang’s involvement in disaster relief? You could have Minister Wang’s people from the Ministry of Revenue subtly reveal the relationship between the Sea Sand Gang and Xu Qing, which is also a key link in the maritime transport of grain. Furthermore, you could explain the impact of maritime transport on Cao Yun. The livelihoods of a million Cao workers depend on it. With maritime transport, the conditions of land-based Cao workers would naturally become harder year by year. These people’s livelihoods also need to be resolved, even the implementation of the One Whip Law is closely related to Xu Qing..."
These matters, without any exaggeration, truly affect the people.
If Xu Qing is a Saint of the Age, he should take responsibility for these issues.
If not, people will see through Xu Qing’s hypocritical facade; thus, even if Xu Qing survives these challenges, he wouldn’t have enough influence to shake the world.
In Mr. Dai’s view, Xu Qing’s greatest strength lies in his momentum.
Once that momentum dissipates, Xu Qing will only have the courage of an ordinary man, powerless against the massive entity of the Great Yu Court.
"Xu Gongming, do you ever think that one day, you too might be hurt by the great momentum?"
In Mr. Dai’s eyes, three people are playing this grand game of the world.
One is Your Majesty, one is the Grand Secretary, and the other is Xu Qing.
Xu Qing is the weakest but also the best at leveraging others.
Sometimes leveraging Your Majesty, sometimes leveraging the Grand Secretary, with each move unpredictable as a Pegasus soaring through the heavens, a goat hanging by its horns, leaving no trace. Yet upon deeper inspection, each move aligns perfectly with the grand Dao.
Is such talent almost heaven-sent?
But if Xu Qing could solve these difficult issues, that would indeed be "bearing the nation’s filth, bearing the nation’s misfortune."
For Your Majesty, it wouldn’t matter.
After all, he is still Your Majesty.
If the world improves, it’s only good for Your Majesty.
But if Xu Qing gains power, it affects Prince Yu, who is to succeed the throne most.
This point alone shows the Emperor’s ruthlessness.
Ultimately, the old Emperor only truly loves himself.
Yan Shan incited the community members to promote Xu Qing’s wisdom and virtues. The task turned out to be simpler than he anticipated, and it seemed like there was a covert force in the Capital assisting him in this effort.
Yan Shan initially thought it was arrangements made by the Sitting Hall, but then discovered this covert force actually came from the Ministry of Revenue. Truly puzzling.
"Editor Yan, the reputation of the Sitting Hall is growing rapidly. Today, as I left the city, I saw some people with their families wanting to witness the Sitting Hall’s Holy Virtue."
Yan Shan first smiled.
In Jiangning Prefecture, many common people were lining up to shed their blood for Brother Gongming.
After smiling, he vaguely felt something was amiss, grabbed the newcomer by the collar, and asked, "Where are these people? Take me to see them."