Chapter 686: Dispute in the Court

Nanping Kingdom, Imperial Palace, Hall.

Wu Xian, the new emperor who had just ascended the throne, was slightly absent-minded while listening to the narration of Zhao Xingnian, the Minister of Revenue.

Wu Xian was not listening to Zhao Xingnian's speech. His mind was still thinking about the pigeon message from Zhao Qiushan that he received last night. It was the secret letter on the pigeon that made him uneasy from last night to now.

The third princess Wu Ya is not dead!

There are many words written on Zhao Qiushan's secret letter, but the meaning he wants to express is nothing more than this. As for the other contents, he is just defending himself. Wu Xian did not read it and did not want to read it.

Wu Ya is not dead, and she has already approached the imperial capital. This fact makes Wu Xian very unhappy and uneasy.

The previous emperor of Nanping Kingdom has many children. Wu Ya is the most special and unique one among them. Sometimes Wu Xian envies Wu Ya's treatment.

Wu Ya was beautiful, well-behaved and smart, and was loved by the late emperor and the empress. As a result, she often went out of the palace and wandered around, and the late emperor did not stop her.

Such special treatment made many princes and princesses jealous, and Wu Xian was one of them.

Wu Xian was also very smart since he was a child, and he was precocious. He understood a lot of things at a very early age. He knew what his father's position meant. When he was very young, he looked forward to being able to sit in that position in the future.

Wu Xian knew very well that whether he could sit in that position was up to his father and other ministers, especially his father. As long as his father agreed, there was basically no problem. Therefore, Wu Xian showed a knowledgeable, respectful and concerned about people's livelihood in front of his father and ministers since he was a child, in order to leave a good impression on his father and ministers.

However, what Wu Xian couldn't figure out was that he felt that he had done it perfectly, but his father just didn't like him. His attitude towards him was not as doting as Wu Ya, and could even be said to be indifferent.

Some of the ministers did like him, but many of them kept their distance and were unwilling to have too much contact with him.

Wu Xian was confused by this experience, and over time, he felt resentful.

However, Wu Xian knew that he could not express his resentment unless he did not want to take that position. After all, he was just one of the many princes and there was nothing special about him. Therefore, he chose to continue to endure it. In order to please the late emperor and gain his favor, he even deliberately got close to Wu Ya, wanting the late emperor to like him and also wanting Wu Ya to say a few good words for him in front of the late emperor.

Wu Ya did not see his intentions. She always felt that her fourth brother really liked her and treated her well.

But in fact, Wu Xian had long been jealous of Wu Ya's treatment in his heart, and wished that the late emperor would put all his love for Wu Ya on him.

"My dear third sister, why did you come back? Isn't it good to stay abroad?" Wu Xian murmured to himself.

Wu Xian knew that his throne was unstable. Not all the ministers supported him. He was able to ascend to this position only because he was the only choice. However, a message had been circulating among the ministers.

The reason why the Shuiyue country's team was able to sneak into the palace of their Nanping country was because there was an insider in the palace, and Wu Xian was the most suspicious of this insider. After all, in the entire Nanping royal family, except for Princess Wu Ya who was away, only Wu Xian survived, and he ascended the throne and became the emperor. After becoming the emperor, Wu Xian was obviously close to Shuiyue country.

It was precisely because of the spread of this news that many ministers in the court did not have much good feelings for Wu Xian. Wu Xian also knew this, and he also understood that his throne was not very stable.

So, at this time, how could Wu Xian be willing to see the third princess, who was deeply loved by the late emperor and the ministers, return to the palace?

Therefore, early this morning, Wu Xian set up control at several gates of the imperial capital and strictly checked people entering the city. At the same time, he also sent several teams from Fengyu City to Pingbao City, hoping to intercept Wu Ya on the way.

"Your Majesty, in recent years, our Nanping country has been rainy and drought-stricken, and the harvest of the people in the fields has decreased year by year. Many rebel forces have appeared in various places. At this time, we should provide relief to the people instead of levying additional taxes. If the people are really forced to live, they will rise up one after another. Therefore, I hope that Your Majesty will withdraw the intention to levy additional taxes." Zhao Xingnian, the Minister of Revenue of Nanping, said.

Just now, he had reported to Wu Xian in detail some of the domestic conditions of their Nanping country in recent years, especially the situation of those farmers, with the purpose of asking Wu Xian to withdraw the intention to levy taxes again.

"Your Majesty, Minister Zhao is right. It is not appropriate to levy taxes again at this time."

"I hope your majesty will think twice!"

After Zhao Xingnian finished speaking, several ministers stood up in the hall to support his point of view.

"Enough!"

Wu Xian, who was already in a bad mood because of Wu Ya's matter, felt even worse after hearing what Zhao Xingnian and others said.

"Do you think I want to do this? If we don't levy taxes, what can we use to compensate Shuiyue Kingdom and Heishui Kingdom?" Wu Xian said loudly.

The people of Shuiyue and Heishui did not leave at the beginning. When they left, they robbed the treasury of Nanping and emptied it. At the same time, the two countries also asked Nanping to pay "war reparations". The amount of this "war reparations" was not a small number. However, Wu Xian, who had just ascended the throne at that time, nodded and agreed without any bargaining.

The treasury was empty, and Wu Xian had to find a way to get money to raise the "war reparations" required by Shuiyue and Heishui. The way he thought of was very simple, that is, to levy taxes!

Nanping had already levied taxes before, and this time it was an additional levy. In recent years, the people of Nanping have had a hard time. Many people have become rebels because they can't eat enough. In this case, Wu Xian still insisted on levying taxes, which would inevitably worsen the situation. Therefore, people headed by Zhao Xingnian stood up and expressed their opposition.

"Your Majesty should not have agreed to the compensation." Zhao Xingnian said, "They invaded us! When they left, they emptied our treasury, and finally asked us for a huge compensation. It's too much."

"Are you blaming me?" Wu Xian narrowed his eyes.

"I dare not." Zhao Xingnian said with a bow.

"I dare not? I'm afraid that's what you think in your heart, and you too!" Wu Xian pointed to several other officials who stood up to support Zhao Xingnian and said, "Don't you think about it? If I don't agree, can the people of Shuiyue and Heishui retreat?"

"If they don't retreat, we will fight them to the death!" Zhao Xingnian said, "Although I am just a civil official, I am not afraid of death. Instead of agreeing to such a clause that will humiliate the country, it is better to fight them to the death!"