Taxes

The next day.

Fang Weiyan was woken up while he was still asleep.

Hearing the knock at the door, Fang Weiyan yawned and opened the door with sleepy eyes.

"My lord, please rise and wash up. The Emperor will summon you after court."

Commander Yan bowed and spoke to Fang Weiyan.

Upon hearing this, Fang Weiyan nodded and went to the courtyard to wash up. Cheng Feng and the other man were already waiting for him.

"You don't need to come with me later; Commander Yan will escort me."

Fang Weiyan glanced at Cheng Feng and the other man, then gave an order.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Feng and the other person exchanged a glance and nodded slightly.

After Fang Weiyan changed his clothes, he followed Commander Yan all the way to the palace.

By now, it was already getting light, and there were quite a few more people on the streets.

Cheng Feng led Fang Weiyan all the way to the palace. After passing through the palace gates smoothly, they walked forward along the wide road under Fang Weiyan's guidance.

On both sides of the road stand tall city walls.

Commander Yan Fang Weiyan to the Imperial Garden and then instructed Fang Weiyan to stand still and wait.

Fang Weiyan nodded, watched the other person leave, and then looked around.

The area is well-equipped with pavilions and terraces.

Fang Weiyan was waiting, while in the main hall of the palace, the morning court session was underway.

The atmosphere in the main hall was incredibly oppressive at that moment.

Even though the Emperor of the Jiang Kingdom was a man of great cunning, his face was still grim at this moment.

The reason for this is entirely because all the taxes collected from the Wu River area sank to the bottom of the river.

Although the Wu River is said to be inhabited by the Dragon King of the Wu River, it is undeniable that the Wu River irrigates the fields on both banks, and the taxes collected by the entire Jiang Kingdom from the Wu River area each year account for more than 70% of the Jiang Kingdom's total revenue.

Today, I heard from the ministers at court that it was the Dragon King of the Wu River who capsized the boats, causing all the collected taxes to fall into the river.

This nearly made the Emperor of the Jiang Kingdom vomit blood.

The last time the Dragon King of the Wu River caused trouble, it was because he was dissatisfied with Zhenjiang City, which gathered the national power of the Jiang Kingdom and suppressed him, causing his cultivation to be slow and his Law Power to be less than one-tenth of what it usually was.

After that incident, it was renamed and no longer used the name Zhenjiang City to suppress it. It also reached an agreement with the Dragon King of the Wu River that it would not cause trouble and harm the people on both sides of the river.

And how long has it been? The other side actually capsized the ships collecting taxes?

Seventy percent of the Jiang Kingdom's tax revenue just sank to the bottom of the river?

"Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, we should send troops to strangle this wicked dragon!"

"That's right. If this evil dragon is allowed to continue its rampage, the Jiang Kingdom may be in grave danger!"

"Only by sparing this dragon can we restore the prestige of our Jiang Kingdom!"

"Nonsense! This Dragon King must not be killed!"

The imperial court erupted in chaos, with a group of people arguing fiercely.

The emperor sat on the dragon throne, his gaze sweeping over the ministers below. At this moment, he finally calmed down a bit, his eyes filled with coldness.

The information gleaned from these people was that the Dragon King capsized the ship, but who could truly know for sure whether the Dragon King was responsible?

Or perhaps some people are doing this intentionally?

Listen to what these people are saying now, and they're going to war with the Dragon King.

If the Jiang Kingdom were to send troops to fight the Dragon King in its current state, it would likely exhaust the last bit of the Jiang Kingdom national strength in an instant.

By then, the Jiang Kingdom would have truly perished.

Perhaps some people are already impatient and insist on the destruction of the Jiang Kingdom.

The group argued for a while, then waited for the emperor to speak.

In the end, the emperor sent someone to investigate the matter, and it was temporarily suppressed.

However, the emperor also knew that this was merely a delaying tactic.

Since the other party is using such methods, even if they investigate, they probably won't find anything.

If the court fails to come up with a solution after the investigation is completed, it risks losing public support once the news gets out.

This would be a huge blow to the imperial court.

After the morning court session ended, the Emperor of the Jiang Kingdom rose to leave. As he left the main hall with a worried expression and prepared to return to his study, his personal guard whispered a reminder to him.

Someone was waiting in the Imperial Garden.

Upon hearing this, the Emperor of the Jiang Kingdom paused for a moment, a barely perceptible shadow flashing across his eyes.

His memory was getting worse, which meant his health was also deteriorating.

When the Emperor of the Jiang Kingdom arrived at the Imperial Garden, he saw this figure standing in the distance.

After observing the scene from a distance for a moment, the Emperor of the Jiang Kingdom finally stepped forward.

"Young."

This was the old emperor's first impression. "Well-read and knowledgeable."

Then, a second impression popped into the old emperor's mind, which he could only glean from Fang Weiyan's bright eyes.

The moment the old emperor saw Fang Weiyan, he was filled with immense satisfaction.

Young, talented, and with no connections.

If she were to entrust her daughter to him, she wouldn't become his puppet, thus fulfilling the conditions for inheriting the throne of the Jiang Kingdom.

At that moment, Fang Weiyan also saw the old emperor in front of him.

"So old."

This was Fang Weiyan's first thought upon seeing the emperor before him.

The old emperor before them looked incredibly aged, completely disproportionate to his age.

Fang Weiyan had some knowledge of the situation; the emperor in front of him should be thirty-five years old, yet he looked so aged.

So it seems I'm right that I heard the other person is unwell.

Looking at the Emperor Kaide before him, Fang Weiyan's eyes flickered slightly, and he was about to bow.

Emperor Kaide did not give Fang Weiyan a chance, but stretched out his hand and gestured for Fang Weiyan to sit down.

Having summoned Fang Weiyan from afar, he didn't mind showing more of his respect for scholars.

"Sit."

Emperor Kaide gestured for Fang Weiyan to sit down.

Seeing this, Fang Weiyan thanked the other party and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems this emperor is alright?

After watching Fang Weiyan sit down, Emperor Kaide looked Fang Weiyan up and down several more times.

He then recounted the events that had just transpired in the imperial court to Fang Weiyan, wanting to see if Fang Weiyan had any opinions.

As for testing Fang Weiyan's talent, that's unnecessary.

Putting aside the Fang Weiyan's bright eyes are the result of someone who has read many books, Fang Weiyan actions in Linbei County also demonstrate that Fang Weiyan has the ability.

Fang Weiyan was still wondering what the old emperor would ask him to do after summoning him here.

I didn't expect that I would bring up the matter of the Dragon King so soon after I started speaking.

To Fang Weiyan's surprise, he encountered this incident as soon as he arrived in Yanhuai City.

For a moment, Fang Weiyan felt a bit overwhelmed.