Chapter 1105 Xu Shifu's Concerns

The memorial from Fuzhou and the memorial from Zhao Ji were delivered to Yun Li almost at the same time.

Upon learning of the unusual movements of the Fuzhou army, Yun Li did not dare to delay and immediately summoned four regent ministers to discuss the matter.

When the four regent ministers arrived, Yun Li immediately handed the two memorials in his hand to them for review.

"Threat! Yun Zheng is threatening the imperial court!"

Xu Shifu took a look and immediately came to a conclusion.

Yun Li looked at Xu Shifu calmly and nodded secretly.

Xu Shifu's judgment was the same as his.

It was such a coincidence that Yun Zheng and Zhao Ji's memorials were delivered almost at the same time.

Zhao Ji didn't know the content of the memorial from that bastard Lao Liu.

If he had known, he probably would not have sent someone to deliver the memorial to the court at an express speed of 800 miles.

That bastard was clearly telling him that if he didn't agree to reduce Fuzhou's taxes for three years, he would rebel!

You bastard, you have such a dark heart.

The first thing he said was three years of silk tax and land tax?

He simply said that Fuzhou would be his fiefdom from now on and he would no longer pay taxes to the court!

Isn't this more direct?

Xiao Wanchou frowned and said, "I think this matter may not be that simple!"

"Oh?"

Yun Li's eyes fell on Xiao Wanchou, "What do you think, Duke Yu?"

Xiao Wanchou replied worriedly: "I think that although Yun Zheng intends to threaten the court, Your Highness should not forget the emperor's condition! Yun Zheng...I'm afraid he already knows about the emperor's condition!"

As Xiao Wanchou finished speaking, Yun Li and Xu Shifu shuddered almost at the same time.

Emperor Wen is seriously ill!

They almost overlooked this!

As soon as Emperor Wen dies, Yun Zheng will definitely rebel.

This is the consensus of all of them.

Although Emperor Wen's condition has gradually stabilized in the past few days, the situation is still not good.

Emperor Wen may die at any time!

If Yun Zheng was planning to go there after Emperor Wen passed away, this matter would definitely not be that simple!

At this moment, Yun Li became nervous.

"Your Highness, Duke Yu is right."

Gu Xiu's face was solemn, "The imperial court must be on guard against this matter!"

Yun Li nodded, and then asked Xiao Wanchou: "In your opinion, how should the court respond? Should we send more troops to Juzhou?"

"I think there is no need to increase the troops for the time being."

Xiao Wanchou explained: "Zhao Ji has already sent an additional 9,000 elite soldiers to Linjiang. His purpose must be to control the upper reaches of the Li River!"

"With the current military strength of Juzhou and Zhao Ji's strategy, it shouldn't be a problem to hold Guangling and Linjiang!"

"As long as Guangling and Linjiang are not lost, Yun Zheng will not be able to occupy Juzhou!"

"But if Yun Zheng mobilizes a large number of troops from Shuobei or Northwest Protectorate to enter Fuzhou, the court will need to send more troops to Juzhou!"

Listening to Xiao Wanchou's words, everyone fell into deep thought.

As the Minister of War, Xiao Wanchou naturally has a good strategic vision.

After they thought about it carefully, they all felt that what Xiao Wanchou said made sense.

"Then let's not send more troops for now!"

Yun Li made a quick decision and then asked, "What do you think about Fuzhou's tax reduction?"

"The maximum reduction is 50%!"

Xu Shifu spoke first: "Although Fuzhou did suffer a disaster, it affected the summer crops, and the autumn crops were not affected too much! The reduction in Fuzhou's grain production could never exceed 60%!"

Although Xu Shifu was greedy, he was definitely not incompetent.

When it comes to money and grain, no one has more say than Xu Shifu.

Although he did not know the specific situation in Fuzhou, he could roughly estimate the reduction in grain production in Fuzhou based on his many years of experience.

At most 40%!

As little as 20%!

"I agree with Lord Jingguo's opinion!"

Tang Shu agreed, "Everyone in the court knows Yun Zheng's rebellious intentions! If we don't collect more money and grain before he rebels, will we leave all of it for him to use as military funds for his rebellion?"

"Correct!"

Gu Xiu also agreed.

Yun Li didn't say anything, his eyes fell on Xiao Wanchou again.

What Tang Shu and Xu Shifu said both make sense.

But this matter requires Xiao Wanchou's opinion.

When it comes to leadership, Xu Shifu and the other three together are not as good as Xiao Wanchou.

They have to consider the consequences of rejecting Yun Zheng's request!

"I still firmly believe that as long as His Majesty is safe, Yun Zheng will not directly raise an army to rebel!"

Xiao Wanchou said in a deep voice: "But if the court rejects Yun Zheng's request, he is likely to repeat the incident in Lulin Camp again! At that time, the court may lose more than it gains! This is the point that the court needs to be most wary of!"

When the matter of Lu Lin’s camp was mentioned, Yun Li felt upset.

But what Xiao Wanchou said is entirely possible.

If anyone surrenders to that bastard again, he will vomit blood.

He felt they were stuck in a dead end.

It seems that the only solution is to agree to reduce or exempt Fuzhou’s taxes for three years.

But when he thought that Fuzhou's taxes would become military funds for that bastard's rebellion, he felt extremely unwilling.

At this moment, both Yun Li and the four regent ministers were in a difficult situation.

After a long time, Xu Shifu finally said, "Maybe we can put this matter on hold for now and wait and see what the Fuzhou Army does next before making a decision."

"That's true."

Xiao Wanchou nodded: "I think the court should pay close attention to the movements of the Northwest Protectorate and the Shuobei Army!"

"I will ask people to pay more attention to this matter."

Yun Li responded and said, "In that case, the Ministry of Revenue should temporarily withhold this memorial!"

Having said that, Yun Li directly handed Yun Zheng's memorial to Xu Shifu.

It's still okay to delay it for a while.

If we delay a little longer, we can further see Yun Zheng's intentions.

Afterwards, Yun Li invited four more people to have dinner at the Prince's Mansion.

During this period, what they discussed most was Yuzhou's affairs.

Ever since the Yu Kingdom launched a surprise attack on the three counties of Yuzhou, the Red Moon Sect, which had been on the verge of being completely suppressed, has revived.

Moreover, there is a trend of growing stronger.

Currently, the Red Moon Cult has shown signs of spreading to Dengzhou and Yizhou.

Yesterday the court received a report that the Red Moon Sect members intended to ambush the government troops. Fortunately, the government troops discovered it in time and quickly defeated the mob.

There are signs that the Red Moon Cult has the support of the Yuzhou families and clans.

But the Red Moon Sect members captured by the court were all small characters, and no real big fish were caught.

After dinner, Yun Li kept Xu Shifu alone to chat for a while.

Yun Li’s opinion was that, according to what Emperor Wen said, it was better to kill the Red Moon Sect members by mistake than to let them go!

All the families and clans suspected of having connections with the Red Moon Cult must abide by the principle of rather killing the innocent than letting them go.

The Red Moon Cult must be completely suppressed as soon as possible!

Otherwise, the imperial court will always be entangled by the Red Moon Cult.

But Xu Shifu believed that for ordinary members of the Red Moon Sect, it would be better to kill them by mistake than to let them go.

However, one must be extremely cautious when dealing with the aristocratic families and clans, so as not to stir up greater chaos.

At the end of the conversation, the two still couldn't reach a consensus.

After leaving the Prince's Mansion, Xu Shifu felt a little uneasy.

He always felt that something big might happen recently.

This feeling made him very uncomfortable...