Chapter 7172 How could I not know?

Chapter 7172 How could I not know?
When Chen Xi arrived in the evening, he brought Chen Yu and Cai Chen with him. For such an important event as the banquet, it was only natural to bring one's own children along, otherwise it would be a huge loss, since the sponsor of the state banquet in the Han Dynasty was the Shaofu, and Chen Xi also served as the Shaofu!
"Father, why didn't you bring my sister with you?" Chen Yu entered Weiyang Palace, looking around. Although he had been there before, this Weiyang Palace was more luxurious and extravagant than any he had ever seen before, so he couldn't help but take a few more glances.

Chen Xi glanced at Chen Yu, whose eyes were a little swollen, and patted the back of his head. "Your sister needs to come with your brother-in-law, so I don't need to bring her. Besides, this is a formal banquet, and she is now considered half a hostess, so she needs to go to Consort Xian's place to help with the arrangements."

During the Han Dynasty, the New Year banquets were held in different ways. In the outer court, the emperor would host a banquet for his ministers and officials, while in the inner court, the empress would host a banquet for the wives of the ministers and officials. Of course, in general, the empress dowager would be in charge of this event in the inner court, but in those days, there was neither an empress dowager nor an empress, so Consort Xian was always in charge.

With the Crown Princess now in the picture, it's understandable that Si Niang, being the epitome of laziness, would drag the Crown Princess along to assist her.

"Oh, so she won't have time to beat me up anymore?" Chen Yu said with a hint of excitement on his face.

"Aren't you supposed to be able to beat your sister?" Chen Xi asked, looking at Chen Yu's slightly swollen eyes.

“His power is so great that we dare not retaliate,” Cai Chen said, glancing at his brother who was standing in for him.

"Is it really necessary to be so exaggerated?" Chen Xi said irritably. "Your sister has a good personality, but she hasn't married into the family yet. It will take at least another six months. Right now, we can only say that she has been officially appointed."

Although the imperial edict was issued, it usually began with a metaphor, symbolizing the emperor's will. For example, the investiture of the crown prince, crown princess, prime minister, and princes required the use of the imperial seal and the use of the imperial edict.

Currently, only an oral decree has been used. Although it can be considered as using an imperial edict, it is actually still in a transitional period. Chen Xi estimates that the formal investiture ceremony will not be held until March.

After all, both the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister are very important positions. Even if the Court of Imperial Sacrifices tries to cut corners, they wouldn't dare to act recklessly in this regard.

Therefore, Chen Qian still has to live in Chen Xi's house for the time being. After the imperial edict and ceremony are completed, she can get married in half a year. Chen Xi is indifferent to this. He also watched A Dou grow up and he has a very good temperament.

Chen Yu rubbed his eyes, said nothing, and decided to just bear with it a little longer. Once his older sister got married, he would be the eldest son in the family.

"Alright, you two go play. Look, over there are all your friends." Chen Xi pointed to Lü Shao, Zhang Bao, and the others who were huddled together, indicating that the group of mischievous kids should sit together.

"Okay." Chen Yu glanced in the direction Chen Xi pointed and saw Zhang Bao. He then walked towards Zhang Bao arrogantly. Chen Yu might be a little hesitant to fight other opponents, but he was experienced in fighting Zhang Bao!
"Zichuan, you brought your brat along, huh?" After Chen Yu left, Sun Qian popped up from the side and said with a hint of teasing. Even Sun Qian knew that Chen Yu was always getting into fights in Chang'an.

"If we don't bring her, are we going to leave her at home? Bringing her out to meet people will prevent her from being scammed," Chen Xi said with a grin. Sun Qian's lips twitched upon hearing this. Although he didn't pay attention to things in Chang'an, did he really not know what big things his daughter had done last year?

Chen Qian had saved up her New Year's money for several years, and used it to buy gold from Sun Min, which caused the gold shop to explode. When Sun Qian found out, his first reaction was, "Are people who commit fraud these days so reckless?"
Then he thought about it and realized something was wrong. Even if the fraudsters were courting death, their backers were certainly aware of it. In Chang'an, there were countless people who would dare to do this, and Sun Qian knew them all. Even if he didn't care about the perpetrators, he wouldn't go to such lengths.

Peeking in, observing closely, damn it, Chen Zichuan killed his own daughter with a single punch. Unapproachable, unapproachable.

"I think, Zichuan, you should stop causing trouble. You have so many things to do every day, and you even have time to smash up someone's daughter's shop. You're not doing enough work!" Manchong, who happened to be passing by, overheard their conversation and added a comment.

As the saying goes, although Man Chong was somewhat dissatisfied with his daughter-in-law, he believed that children and grandchildren have their own blessings, and as long as his son Man Wei was satisfied, Man Chong didn't bother to care.

No matter how much he couldn't be bothered, she was still his beloved daughter-in-law. Just because he disapproved of Sun Min's behavior didn't give anyone the right to bully her. "Look at Ruan Gong," he said, "his daughter is so ugly, but if anyone dares to say anything, he just rolls up his sleeves and attacks them. Who isn't a high-ranking official?" So Man Chong was speechless that Chen Xi had nothing to do with it and was peeking over to bombard Sun Min's shop.

She's just a young girl earning a living, she hasn't broken any laws or regulations. At most, she's using her parents' connections to find a legitimate way to earn money. You just punched her like that. It's one thing if you scared your daughter, but you scared my daughter-in-law!

That's right, Man Chong didn't really care that Chen Xi's actions caused Chen Qian's shop to run out of funds and go bankrupt. But when Chen Xi, with his godlike power, defeated Chen Qian, Sun Min was also scared and ran around in a panic.

After all, it's none of anyone else's business if a father beats his son. Not to mention feudal times, even in modern times, as long as it doesn't involve abuse, no one cares. So Man Chong didn't have any special feelings about Chen Xi smashing Chen Qian's business with one punch.

Who knows if it was the father disciplining the child, right?

But Chen Xi, your commotion was too big. With one punch, Chen Qian's business exploded, but Sun Min was also greatly affected. Don't you know how much power you have? If Sun Min weren't Sun Qian's daughter and Man Chong's daughter-in-law, she wouldn't have gone to Jizhou for research with others after such a blow. She would have run away or committed suicide!
"No, I just manipulated the channels to cause my daughter's cash flow to dry up, so she could come back and focus on her studies." Chen Xi looked at Man Chong with a strange expression. "Gong You hasn't said anything yet, why are you in such a hurry?"

"You personally went and damaged the irrigation canals, and my daughter-in-law was so scared that she ran away to Jizhou and hasn't come back yet, even though it's already the New Year," Man Chong said speechlessly. "Do you really not know how much power you have?"

"It can't be that bad, can it? What mischief has your daughter gotten into lately?" Chen Xi turned to Sun Qian and asked. "I did pinch her, but if she didn't do anything wrong, why would she run away? And what's the point of running all the way to Jizhou?"

"Nothing much, I had the guards keeping an eye on her." Sun Qian looked at Man Chong with a strange expression. Ever since that incident, Sun Qian had kept Sun Min in check for a while. After seizing the opportunity to marry her off, he arranged for loyal guards to keep an eye on her.

To reiterate, it's uncertain whether Zhou Yu can find a bunch of six-fold smelting materials, but Sun Qian definitely can.

If Sun Min could still cause trouble even with six layers of guards watching over her, then Sun Qian felt that it must be Man Chong's fault.

“It has nothing to do with me. I didn’t touch any of the guards you arranged. They were just keeping an eye on her. Besides, if she really broke the law, I would have taken her down long ago.” Man Chong said indifferently. He was not very satisfied with this marriage from the beginning. Although it was indeed a good match, in Man Chong’s opinion, his daughter-in-law Sun Min was too frivolous and did not fit the cautious and rigid family style of the Man family.

But since my son likes it, we have no choice but to do it this way.

Fortunately, Man Chong was still very clear about what was important. Even after entering the Man family, Man Chong still had his own people keep an eye on Sun Min to prevent her from making a mistake and causing any trouble. However, judging from the situation in the past two years, things have been alright, and she hasn't made any mistakes.

"Then why did she run away?" Chen Xi said irritably. "I'm not incapable of distinguishing right from wrong."

"You scared me? Don't you know how big you are?" Man Chong said irritably. "When Chen Zichuan makes a move, even gods and ghosts tremble. It would be strange if my daughter-in-law didn't keep her distance."

"No, the way you're saying this makes it sound like I've never met your daughter-in-law before," Chen Xi said, speechless. But he had already realized that he had indeed been rash. Just as Man Chong had said, when Chen Zichuan made a move, even gods and ghosts would flee in terror. Sun Min, even if she didn't have any problems, would have run away first.

After all, people at their level couldn't possibly see what Chen Xi was up to. But it was like a dinosaur entering a small house; even if it did nothing, just the slightest movement would be devastating to everything inside.

Sun Min is already a behemoth in the eyes of ordinary people, but if he were to be affected by someone of Chen Xi's stature, even with the protection of Sun Qian and Man Chong, he would not fare well. He might as well abandon his wealth in Chang'an and go somewhere else to have fun.

I'll come back after things calm down in a while.

“Then I’ve recalled her from Jizhou. In the future, if you have any similar issues, let others handle them. Don’t get involved yourself. You really treat them like your own children, but once they have a better understanding of the world, they will definitely respect you.” Man Chong said with a hint of regret, then waved to Chen Xi. It was the New Year, and his daughter-in-law had gone to Jizhou to hide away. He was still waiting to hold his grandson.

After Man Chong left, Sun Qian and Chen Xi exchanged a glance, and Chen Xi sighed slightly.

"Am I really that scary in the eyes of those younger people?" Chen Xi asked with some doubt.

“We are all terrifying in their eyes.” Sun Qian replied after a moment of silence. “Power is something that inspires awe. The only people who are truly unafraid of you, besides the ignorant, are those with righteous hearts. How could a normal person not feel awe for someone who can destroy their future in an instant?”

"It seems you suffered quite a bit in Sichuan, Gongyou," Chen Xi said with a smile.

“It’s alright. Spending more time with ordinary people can help you learn a lot. Sometimes, reflecting on yourself can also help you recognize problems,” Sun Qian said calmly. “However, I think Bo Ning is right. You can’t get involved in these kinds of things yourself.”

"Okay, I understand." Chen Xi nodded, realizing his own problem. Although he felt somewhat helpless, Man Chong was right. Chen Xi treated those people like his own children, but once those children truly began to understand the world, how many of them wouldn't respect Chen Xi?

"And there's one more thing, which I wanted to tell you before, but I've been so busy lately that I keep forgetting." Seeing that Chen Xi had taken it to heart, Sun Qian felt much better. The best thing about Chen Xi was that she really listened to advice and could distinguish between good and bad.

"Tell me about it," Chen Xi asked with a smile.

“You often come into contact with those veterans, and the information you get is no longer information from the grassroots level.” Sun Qian’s expression was somewhat complicated when he said this, showing both an acknowledgment of the progress of the times and a sense of helplessness at the cyclical nature of the era.

“Uh, I actually already knew that.” Chen Xi nodded. “In fact, even those veterans that Lord Xuande knew are no longer considered ordinary people. They may not be very rich, but they certainly don’t live badly.”

"You know it's good that you know. Those guys down there are quite adept at deceiving their superiors and covering up their mistakes. I went down there myself and found that some of their old problems are actually hard to change." Sun Qian casually said something that could expose the true nature of local officials.

"If those governors and prefects heard you say that, they would definitely hold a grudge against you and wait for the day you fall from grace so they can kick you when you're down," Chen Xi said with a smile, naturally cutting off any possible eavesdropping.

“I’m worried about this?” Sun Qian’s face twisted into a grimace as he said, somewhat speechless. “I didn’t understand it before, but after your guidance, I realized that those people actually can’t do anything to me.”

Sun Qian's self-perception was somewhat flawed. He didn't fully realize that he was the second-in-command among the elders, a powerful pragmatist second only to Chen Xi. He always thought that Guo Jia, Jia Xu, Li You, Man Chong, and others were ahead of him. Although he had an impressive amount of infrastructure power, he had never really changed his mindset.

But this time when he returned, Chen Xi laid his cards on the table for Sun Qian, discussing the more than ninety construction legions. Only then did Sun Qian realize that he was actually self-contained, and the core of his success lay in this self-contained system.

Having over ninety legions is impressive, but if you can't solve the problem of money, food, and supplies, it's not all that great. But Sun Qian solved this problem; in fact, he even solved the housing problem on the side.

This is very scary.

With this understanding, it became much simpler for Sun Qian to think about those messy questions—why bother with brains, just rely on strength and brute force. Even if those governors and prefects were dissatisfied because of Sun Qian's words, would they really show it?
What a joke! Don't you know who's the boss and who's the servant?

Even if Sun Qian said these words in court, everyone else would have to listen carefully. How could they possibly argue with Sun Qian? What a joke! How much of a rebellious spirit do you have to stand up to Sun Qian?

"With strength comes confidence." Chen Xi gave Sun Qian a thumbs up.

"Well, I feel that those people aren't actually trying to oppose you. It's just that we all like to hear good things, so we tend to report good news and hide the bad. The information they pass on, after being filtered through layers of media, inevitably becomes somewhat distorted by the time it reaches us," Sun Qian said with a hint of helplessness.

"So I'll secretly send people to investigate," Chen Xi said with a grin.

“Zichuan, you need to understand, you can only secretly place so many people in your circle, and those people are all close to you. Their every move is being watched,” Sun Qian said with a hint of seriousness. “Let me tell you something I witnessed.”

"Come on, let's go to the table to talk. If we talk here, people will inevitably pay attention." Chen Xi pulled Sun Qian toward the front of the main table.

Seeing this, Sun Qian followed Chen Xi's lead and walked towards the seat in front.

"You know that the Prince of Jin once went to Sichuan, right?" Sun Qian asked with a hint of recollection.

"Yes, after being granted the title of Prince of Jin, he realized that staying in Chang'an as a vassal king for a long time would leave hidden dangers for future generations, so he went to the provinces after a while." Chen Xi nodded; he knew about this.

“The Prince of Jin should have told you about that incident. He probably asked you all sorts of questions at first, but later, do you know why there were no more questions?” Sun Qian’s eyes turned cold. To be honest, given the relationship between Sun Qian and Chen Deng, he shouldn’t have said this, but Sun Qian felt that he couldn’t let it go if he didn’t.

"The villages that Xuande Highway passed through later were actually model villages set up by the local county government, right?" Chen Xi said the answer very calmly. Sun Qian was stunned when he heard this and looked at Chen Xi with great curiosity.

"There's no other answer besides this. I'm not stupid," Chen Xi said calmly. "As far as I'm concerned, as long as it's confirmed that Chen Yuanlong and Liu Jiyu didn't participate, it's perfectly understandable that the counties below are doing this, and even the veterans serving in these counties are tacitly approving of it."

"Is it really that terrifying for a divine being to enter your dreams? Can it allow you to see almost everything?" Sun Qian asked Chen Xi with a very complicated expression.

"I just knew the answer long ago and deduced the reason from the result. How could I not know how well I did? If those county-level officials had really gone too far, they would have been taken down long ago." Chen Xi said calmly, his cold gaze sweeping over all the county-level officials present.

"Do you remember why I insisted on changing the land tax to a fixed tax?" Chen Xi said with a hint of sarcasm. "Because if the tax is levied proportionally, without the Thunderclap Terrace or composting technology, Ji Province and Yu Province can easily claim that a certain county's average yield is five shi per mu. I reckon if I don't change it now, those people will probably change it to ten shi by now."

Upon hearing this, Sun Qian was struck dumb. He instantly recalled the auspicious omens reported by some counties before Chen Xi's agricultural tax reform, such as five or even six shi of grain.

"It's just forgery, it's all too normal." Chen Xi said calmly. "One very important reason why we haven't caused any trouble is that I understand these things."

While lying in bed, the baby started to fuss, which was uncomfortable.