amaotonovel Chapter 775 Great Changes in the Court
Chapter 775 Great Changes in the Court
"Great-General?" Upon seeing Bai Tiantian, all the civil and military officials in the court unconsciously took a few steps back, their eyes filled with fear.
Lu Mu followed him into the main hall and stood guard beside the emperor.
Fan Li stared at Bai Tiantian as if she had seen a ghost, breaking out in a cold sweat.
In his view, Bai Tiantian had already rebelled and should be attacking the city at this moment, but he did not expect her to appear in the main hall.
There is only one possibility: that he has already breached the city gate.
"Guards, seize this traitor!" Fan Li stammered.
There was one thing he didn't understand: since Bai Tiantian had breached the city gates, she shouldn't have entered the main hall alone.
After all, the emperor was protected by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so it would be difficult for him to accomplish anything on his own.
Although Fan Li was a Grand Secretary, he could not mobilize the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Without the emperor's order, Lu Mu would not take action.
His scream actually caught several of Bai Tiantian's generals off guard.
"What does the General mean by this?" the Emperor asked, pointing at Wan Jin.
He didn't want to order the Imperial Guards to arrest Bai Tiantian before she took action.
But Bai Tiantian openly threw the gold coins on the ground, which seemed to be a way of showing off to the emperor.
"Your Majesty, I only wanted Lord Wan to enter the palace as soon as possible so that he could report the situation," Bai Tiantian replied while kneeling on the ground, showing no sign of disrespect.
Seeing him like this, the emperor breathed a sigh of relief.
"Minister Wan, what brings you to this meeting in such a hurry?" the Emperor asked with great interest.
Just now, Wan Jin was sent to the Ministry of Revenue. The Emperor vaguely guessed that something good was going to happen. Now that he sees Bai Tiantian so confident, he probably already knows the situation.
"Lord Wan, do you want me to speak for you?" Bai Tiantian said coldly.
Wan Jin lay sprawled on the ground like a dead dog, constantly stealing glances at Fan Li's expression.
If Bai Tiantian were to speak, she would surely reveal the fact that the Ministry of Revenue was passively collecting grain, and he would then be punished.
But he didn't dare to explain the situation, after all, Fan Li's eyes could kill.
After weighing the options, he decided to explain the situation.
After all, the deed has already happened and cannot be concealed. If one insists on making excuses, one will be charged with deceiving the emperor.
"Your Majesty, this morning, hundreds of merchants arrived at the Ministry of Revenue to pay their taxes, totaling tens of thousands of shi (a unit of dry measure)," Wan Jin reported in detail.
However, he concealed the fact that he deliberately slowed down the collection of grain taxes.
"Is that really so?" The emperor was overjoyed.
“Absolutely true!” Wan Jin replied, lying on the ground, not daring to look Fan Li in the eye.
"Hahaha, this is all thanks to the Great General. The method of transformation is indeed ingenious. I will reward you handsomely. What reward do you wish for, my dear minister?" The Emperor excitedly stood up from his dragon throne and slapped his thigh as he spoke.
“It is a subject’s duty to share Your Majesty’s burdens; how could I dare to claim credit?” Bai Tiantian replied respectfully.
He was already the Grand General of the court, second only to the emperor, and he didn't care about those rewards. He only wanted to use this matter to suppress Fan Li.
"This is truly my beloved minister. All of you should learn from the General. He may not be capable of expanding the territory, but he is skilled in governing the country and stabilizing the nation," the Emperor praised lavishly.
"Your Majesty, Bai Tiantian is a traitor and should be arrested and brought to justice immediately," Fan Li pleaded, kneeling on the ground.
He did not believe that his intelligence was wrong and insisted on treating Bai Tiantian as a traitor.
"Traitor? What evidence does Lord Fan have?" Bai Tiantian asked before the emperor could finish.
"Did you open the city gates at dawn this morning?" Fan Li asked confidently.
Bai Tiantian nodded and replied, "That is indeed the case."
"Your Majesty, Bai Tiantian has confessed his crimes and should be arrested and brought to justice immediately." Fan Li clasped his hands together, his forehead hitting the ground, striving to perfectly portray the image of a loyal minister.
"What's wrong with opening the city gates at dawn?" Bai Tiantian countered.
It was a custom in Shuntian Prefecture to close the city gates at night and open them at dawn.
This is a metropolis with millions of people, and merchants and ordinary citizens come and go in an endless stream. If the gates are not opened for a day, there will be huge losses. So, Bai Tiantian did not do anything wrong.
"Could it be that General Bai is unaware of the rebel army outside the city?" Fan Li asked incessantly.
"Rebels? Those are merchants transporting grain. Mistaking merchants for rebels is a huge joke." Bai Tiantian laughed contemptuously. "I forgot that Lord Fan is a civil official and does not understand military affairs. It would be best if he interfered less in military matters in the future to avoid making a fool of himself."
Bai Tiantian's words were ambiguous, not only belittling his abilities but also criticizing him for proposing the Fubing system.
At the same time, Lu Mu had already learned that the thousands of people outside the city were indeed merchants, and that Bai Tiantian had no intention of rebelling.
He whispered a few words in the emperor's ear, and the emperor's expression shifted between anger and uncertainty.
"Fan Li, I think you're getting old and your eyesight is failing. You actually mistook merchants for rebels and almost intercepted the grain outside the city. You should take a good rest and don't need to attend court for the next few days," the emperor said angrily.
"How is this possible?" Fan Li lay on the ground like a dead dog, his whole body limp and powerless.
The meaning of taking a few days off is clear: firstly, it reflects doubt about his abilities, and secondly, it weakens his power.
Those who fail to attend court for an extended period become nominal officials, and their power is gradually stripped away by others.
Not only did he fail to weaken Bai Tiantian's military power, but he also got himself involved, a classic case of trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead.
"The matter of collecting taxes will be temporarily entrusted to the Grand General. I am tired, court is adjourned." The Emperor turned and left, not wanting to give Fan Li a chance to explain, nor wanting to make the atmosphere even more awkward.
Accusing the Grand General of treason is a serious crime, and the Emperor's punishment of Fan Li was somewhat lenient.
Clearly, the emperor did not want to disrupt the balance between Bai Tiantian and Fan Li, and did not want a situation where one party held absolute power in the court. This is the way of the emperor.
Bai Tiantian didn't understand this principle. She wanted to continue impeaching Fan Li, but all she saw was the emperor's back.
After the emperor left, all the civil and military officials also withdrew.
Fan Li was practically carried out by his colleagues; he simply didn't have the strength to walk.
"What on earth is going on..." Fan Li kept muttering to himself.
In order to suppress the method of transformation, Fan Li made a meticulous plan.
First, the garrison blocked the transport teams, then the four major families disrupted the market, and finally the Ministry of Revenue was forced to temporarily suspend tax collection.
Even so, he still failed miserably and suffered a complete defeat.
How did such a perfectly good game of chess end up being lost?
He really couldn't understand.
This day was destined to be extraordinary.
Besides the fierce disputes in the imperial court, the streets were also bustling with activity.
With Jia Zhenzhen's unlimited supply, almost all merchants were able to purchase grain.
As a result, grain was no longer a scarce commodity, and its price stabilized at two hundred coins.
The four major families were devastated, losing far more than tens of thousands of taels of silver. Even with their large and powerful families, they were struggling to cope.
Besides the four major families, a white silk ribbon was already hanging from the beam of the main hall of the Zhang family mansion. Zhang Yonglin stared blankly and kicked over the high stool under his feet.