The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 462 - 376, A Negotiation that Changed the Dynasty’s History (Part 2)

Zhao Douan shook his head with a smile, looking directly at the other party as he spoke,

"But you can't stop it, because the biggest beneficiaries of this entire new policy are not His Majesty today but the court, or more accurately, the person sitting on the dragon throne.

His Majesty today sits there and will fully promote the new policy, but even if anyone else were to sit there, they too would fully promote the new policy.

Ordinary people might think that the new policy is set up for His Majesty to amass wealth, but the discerning will understand that this set of policies, like a Pandora's box, once opened, can never be closed again."

Pandora's box!

Or perhaps it could be called a conspiracy in some sense.

In the end, the empty National Treasury of the Great Yu Dynasty is not a problem the Empress faces, but a problem for the 'Emperor'.

The Old Emperor passed away, leaving a huge pit for his successors, and whether it's Zhenbao, the Crown Prince, or the Second Prince who succeeds, they all have to deal with this issue.

Even if there were a rebellion by the Eight Princes, or Prince Jing, or any other prince ascended to the dragon throne, they would face the same problem.

And the 'new policy' solution proposed by Zhao Douan is the best set of solutions available now.

This means, from the moment the new policy was introduced, it could never be pulled back, no matter who the Emperor is.

The scholarly families of the Huai River region will inevitably decline, and Prince Huaian's ability to control them is bound to drop too!

"Father..."

Xu Junling caught a glimpse of his father's chubby hand suddenly clenching under the desk!

The veins on the back of his hand bulged.

Clearly, Zhao Douan's words had hit where it mattered most to him!

And Zhao Douan's statement was not yet over, he continued speaking with a smile,

"Moreover, in my view, implementing the new policy is actually the softest, best outcome for these scholarly families, and even for you, My Lord. Because a worse outcome would be war."

"Although I am not a scholar, I too have read the history books of the Great Yu Dynasty, with its 600-year reign not always being smooth. For example, 300 years ago, there was an outbreak of bandit troubles sweeping across the regions.

At that time, beacons of war were lit everywhere, and local scholarly families were either wiped out by bandits or turned into bandits themselves…

In the end, although the court was victorious and no change of dynasty occurred, the territory was scorched by war, and post-war recovery was needed, did it not bring a new lease of life?"

"Why? Because the killing eliminated the scholarly families and officials who occupied a great deal of wealth and land, freeing up many new positions...

And when I read the history books, what interested me more was the hint of the shadow of the Emperor of that era behind some of the bandit forces...

Ha ha, of course, I do not believe it, it must be some wild history written with malicious intent..."

Zhao Douan metaphorically put on an armor before continuing,

"Now 300 years have passed, and the Great Yu Dynasty is like a pool full of dragons and turtles everywhere, with stifled people gasping for air... What if, at this moment, several rebel forces were to break out again, seizing the chance to slaughter through the richest Huai River region as well?

At that time, those with troops might not worry, but Prince Huaian's mansion does not seem particularly strong in terms of military power, does it?

When faced with bandits' swords, how many lives can money buy?

Well, of course, I believe that you will undoubtedly not be troubled by bandit issues, but what about the other scholarly families?

They might not be able to protect themselves, and anyone sitting on the dragon throne would not want to see any power bases remaining in the Huai River region, wouldn't you agree?"

Silence!

With this lengthy speech hammered out, Da Feng Tower plunged into an eerie silence.

Even the fourth floor below seemed to sense the sudden change in the atmosphere upstairs and fell quiet.

Prince Huaian was thoroughly unable to sit still, his chubby body leaning slightly forward, his hands gripping the armrests of his chair tightly, his chubby face devoid of any expression.

Commandery Princess Xu Junling also had a slightly pale face, having not expected Zhao Douan to speak so directly, full of threatening implications, and seemingly intimidated by the grim scenario he painted.

Threat?

Intimidation?

Yes, Zhao Douan was indeed intimidating.

After this father and daughter initially controlled the dialogue, Zhao Douan broke it.

His series of proactive attacks had quietly turned the situation of this conversation around.

Though alone, he clearly had the upper hand!

It's not that Zhao Douan's negotiation skills were particularly brilliant, but simply because things were just so.

Prince Huaian, seemingly glorious and both sides striving at their utmost, was in essence the weakest.

And the most covetable piece of fat meat.

Prince Huaian had already sensed during the late Emperor's reign that the Crown Prince, once ascended, would begin to cut back on the power of the princes.

At that time, he judged that the local princes were powerless to resist.

Thus, a decade earlier, he had consciously reduced his private armies, focusing instead on accumulating wealth, controlling territorial influence, and trying to ally with the scholarly families of the Huai River.

This was somewhat akin to "nurturing a bandit to weigh oneself down."

Over the years, the "Li Party" had become the dominant force in the court, with the support from Prince Huaian in the background.

He deliberately fostered this group of scholarly families to ensure that he would not be suppressed by the Crown Prince after ascending to the throne, and to escape from any potential reduction of his fiefs in the future.

Prince Huaian thought everything through very well, and his strategies were far-reaching; he harbored no great ambitions, desiring only to continue his descendants' glory and wealth.

But he was unlucky.

Unexpectedly, the Old Emperor died, and Second Prince Jian Wen staged a palace coup, directly executing the Crown Prince and other brothers.

Even more unexpectedly, the Third Imperial Princess, after 20 years of cultivation in the Imperial Palace, took control of the Taia Sword, and executed her brother to quash the rebellion.

Up to that point, it was still manageable; as long as the situation remained unchanged, he could still adhere to his strategy of nurturing foes, betting on both sides, and watching the tigers fight from the mountain.

But what he failed to anticipate was Duan's new policies, which slowly bled him and sharply escalated the conflict between the Eight Princes and the Empress.

Once war broke out, as Duan had said, who wouldn't covet Prince Huaian's large piece of "fat meat"?

Even if initially, in order to unify all parties, no one would act against him, what would he do after the new Emperor ascended the throne?

Did he have troops to compete for the throne?

No.

Did he have geographical advantages, like Mu Prince, Emperor Qiong, and Yanshan King, from which he could defend himself?

Also no.

Thus, beneath the seemingly powerful facade of Prince Huaian, was a panic easily pricked by a needle.

Duan Zhao saw this clearly and thus spoke so candidly.

"Prince,"

Duan sighed softly, breaking the silence, took up the wine pot, and poured wine once again for the father and daughter.

This time, Xu Junling, substituting tea for wine, did not stop him.

After setting down the wine pot, Zhao solemnly said,

"In truth, you are well aware that the current standoff is the best scenario, while the worst would undoubtedly be warfare. If you stand with those princes, would your outcome be better than supporting His Majesty? It would not. You just need to support His Majesty, even though the new policies do indeed slowly bleed us, they are still just bleeding, not killing."

Duan spoke with sincere eyes,

"For the new policies to succeed, it might take ten years to see initial results, twenty years for a significant shift, and if executed smoothly, the scholarly families of the Huai River won't disappear, they just won't be as powerful as now.

You are still of use, why would His Majesty act against a meritorious servant? The wealth of the Huai Royal Mansion is enough for several generations of your descendants to use without exhaustion, so why be too greedy?"

After a long while,

Prince Huaian's chubby hand slowly picked up the wine cup in front of him, slowly pouring the clear liquor into his throat.

Then he sat in the chair, closing his eyes.

A moment later.

He opened his eyes, regaining his composure, and with a hint of appreciation, looked at Duan and said,

"No wonder you could make Mr. Zhengyang honor you with the title of 'teacher'. Your oratory skills are indeed remarkable. I was almost persuaded by you."

Duan raised an eyebrow, "Do you think I'm speaking nonsense?"

Prince Huaian shook his head, then nodded, and with a self-mocking smile said,

"Young man, you are more extraordinary than Junling described, but I still have a lesson to teach you."

Duan respectfully said, "I am all ears."

A solemn and serious look appeared on Prince Huaian's chubby face:

"No one knows whether thunderstorms or sunshine will come first; matters of the future can never be conclusively theorized, for everything is subject to change.

And in business, persuading people always relies on more than just words."

Duan contemplated.

Prince Huaian said, "Send off the guest!"

...

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