Chapter 222 The Emperor’s Mental Technique (Please Vote for Me!!!)

When camping at night, Qin Hao came to Cheng Shi's tent. Cheng Shi didn't pay attention at first, just thinking that Qin Hao came to talk to him about his parents.

"Father-in-law, this trip is dangerous, remember not to trust anyone." Qin Hao warned in a deep voice.

Cheng Shi was slightly stunned, glanced outside the camp, and whispered: "You mean, Tongniu County is going to rebel?"

Qin Hao explained: "It is essential to be on guard against others. This time Ling Buyi and I went to Shouchun to change our defenses, just to deter. If the Wang family had already rebelled, Tongniu County is so close to Shouchun, so there is no guarantee that it will not happen." Being bribed, two thousand kilograms of fine copper is not a small sum of money!"

Cheng Shi's heart tightened: "Well, you are right. Don't worry, I will be careful."

Qin Hao suddenly thought of a key figure, Lou Ben. In the final analysis, all this was Lou Ben's plan. The eldest son of the second brother of the Lou family was also very resourceful. Unfortunately, he was suppressed by Taifu Lou and could not be reused, so he came up with this strategy.

After all, the fifth prince has a shallow foundation. It is still difficult to push the fifth prince to the throne with the power of the Qin family alone. If he can regain Lou Ben, it will be a good helper.

After returning to his camp, Qin Hao wrote a letter and found a confidant to ask him to go to Tongniu County first.

Marching along the way, Qin Hao and Ling Buyi successfully arrived at two small counties twenty miles outside Shouchun City to station themselves. The two armies were at arm's length. Once there was a change in Shouchun, they could quickly besiege the city and control the situation.

On the day Qin Hao stationed his troops, the Shouchun Wang family sent someone to invite Qin Hao and Ling Buyi to the city for a banquet.

Qin Hao and Ling Buyi both refused because they were busy with military affairs, which also made everyone in the Wang family very frightened, especially when there were rumors in the court that Emperor Wen was thoroughly investigating the bad currency case. This was undoubtedly a sword hanging over the Wang family. Know when it's going to fall.

Humans are very insecure animals, and any 1% risk will be magnified infinitely, not to mention the survival of the family. Who knows if the Wang family will do something crazy.

"General, bring Lou Ben here." The guard bowed and walked into the military tent.

Qin Hao waved his hand: "Bring him in."

"promise."

Soon a man dressed as a scholar came in. Qin Hao had only met Lou Ben once, at the fifty-year-old birthday party of Taifu Lou. At that time, Lou Ben still looked complacent, but now he has long since disappeared. The spirit of the year was high.

"General Qin." Lou Ben looked at Qin Hao anxiously. Seven days ago, a mysterious sergeant came to Tongniu County to find him and said something that scared him to death.

Qin Hao said lightly: "Sit down."

Lou Ben sat down without saying a word, quietly waiting for Qin Hao's next words. Someone had the handle in his hand, so he had to take action. However, after waiting for a long time, Qin Hao kept checking the official documents on the desk without paying any attention to them. his meaning.

As time passed by, Lou Ben finally lost his composure and asked coldly: "Since General Qin has thwarted Lou's plan, you might as well just say what you want."

Qin Hao glanced at him lightly: "You think too highly of yourself. You are just a white man now. What is there for me to care about?"

Lou Ben's face turned red and blue, but he could only endure it. This was also where he was confused. With the current status gap between the two of them, Qin Hao had everything he had at his fingertips. It seemed more in line with Qin Hao to expose his conspiracy directly. Interests.

Qin Hao put down the bamboo slip in his hand at this time, and then slammed the table: "You are conceited. You feel that your ambitions are suppressed by Taifu Lou and you can't be an official. Your talents have nowhere to display. But if you are really capable, why do you just let one county go? The order can at least benefit one party. Now His Majesty is very thirsty for talents. If you make some achievements, you will definitely win His Majesty's favor, so why waste such time!"

Lou Ben had no way to refute. If he were another person, Lou Ben could have ridiculed him for not knowing the hardships of the world and only talking empty talk, but Qin Hao was different. He really developed a small remote county into what it is today within three years. Yizhou is the most prosperous county, and this alone makes him feel inferior to it.

"Idiots like you, who think you can govern the country and bring peace to the world after reading a few books, will only be empty talk that harms the country and harms the people if you are allowed to ascend to a high position in the future!"

Lou Ben clenched his hands into fists, and finally couldn't help but retort: ​​"You have been the legitimate son of Qin's family since you were a child. You grew up in a noble family. You have no idea about the hardships of our second brother in Lou's family. You don't understand that kind of view." It’s so frustrating to see your loved ones suffer so much, but you can only break your teeth and swallow it in your stomach!”

"My uncle obviously has poor qualifications, but just because he is the eldest son, all the resources of the Lou family are invested in him. However, my father, who is extremely intelligent and courageous, can only work as a small official and die in depression. Is this fair?"

Qin Hao stared at him coldly: "Taifu Lou is indeed hypocritical, stupid, and narrow-minded, but he is just a mediocre person. Even if he holds a high position in the future, he will soon be defeated. But you are just a mediocre person." With one white body, tens of thousands of people in Tongniu County and even the princes of the court can be toyed with by applause, which is the real disaster!"

"What do you think I should do with you?"

Lou Ben's heart skipped a beat, but now that the situation has come to an end, he has no choice but to appoint someone else.

"Based on the fate of General Qin, all this is my fault. My second brother Lou Yao knows nothing about it. Please don't involve him, General!"

Qin Hao snorted coldly: "You are very affectionate as brothers, but you don't know about your married wife."

Lou Ben fell to his knees with a plop: "This matter has nothing to do with Yanji. General, please give it a try."

Qin Hao sneered: "You are my younger brother and you have to protect your wife. Are you overestimating yourself?"

"As long as the general doesn't hurt them, Lou Ben's life will be sold to the general, even if he goes up the knife mountain and down the frying pan!" Lou Ben is not stupid. If Qin Hao really wanted to kill him, he would have done it long ago. , there is no need to waste such words.

Qin Hao glanced noncommittally: "Sure enough, bad guys are all smart people, but I still want to give you a piece of advice, don't be smart but be mistaken for it, or it will harm your family!"

After speaking, Qin Hao waved his hand: "From now on, you can follow me as a staff member."

"Thank you, General!" Lou Ben knocked his forehead heavily on the ground, and then retreated.

Keeping such an ambitious person by his side naturally involves some risks, but Qin Hao is confident enough to be able to suppress Lou Ben, and is not afraid of him turning the world upside down. As for loyalty, Qin Hao does not need Lou Ben's loyalty, as long as he does things ability, as well as the resources of the entire Lou family behind him in the future.

The aristocratic family has always been the most aware of current affairs. As long as Taifu Lou collapses, the Lou family's few wine bags and rice bags in the main house will not be qualified to compete with Lou Ben for resources. In order to ensure that the family does not decline, the Lou family will definitely stand beside Lou Ben in the end. side, that is, on Qin Hao's side.

In Shouchun City, the Wang family is already an ant on the hot pot. Wang Chun seems to be a very cowardly person to the outside world, but in fact, this old guy has a very accurate vision.

At that time, King Lao Qian'an actually wanted to marry his daughter Wen Xiujun to Emperor Wen, but because Emperor Wen and Wen Xiujun were cousins, he married his niece to Emperor Wen, who is now Empress Xuan.

It's a pity that King Lao Qian'an later wanted to "start his own business" and become the emperor after the world was peaceful.

Wang Chun knew in advance, and then informed Emperor Wen, who allowed him to easily put out the rebellion of King Lao Qian'an. This shows that Wang Chun is a very independent person.

In fact, the culprit of this bad currency case was Wen Xiujun. She was focused on her mother's family and wanted to restore the glory when King Lao Qian'an was alive, but she didn't want to think about the serious crime of treason. Emperor Wen didn't even implicate her. He gave her a lot of preferential treatment, which was already a huge courtesy.

"Father, why did you imprison my mother?" Wang Yao asked aggressively.

Wang Chun drank one glass after another. He felt uncomfortable after being an old couple for decades, but for the sake of the Wang family's foundation, he could only hand over Wen Xiujun.

"Do you know what crime your mother committed?"

Wang Jian was still kept in the dark and defended her mother: "Is it because my father has abandoned us and wanted to find a new love?"

Bang, Wang Chun looked at the obsessive daughter in front of him, couldn't help it anymore, slapped her and cursed angrily.

"You idiot, your mother wants to rebel. She wants to drag our Wang family into the abyss of eternal destruction and use the lives of our entire Wang family to fulfill her ambitions. Ling Buyi and Qin Hao's troops are outside Shouchun City. , do you think this is a house game between you little girls? If you are not careful, all of us will be buried with your mother!"

Wang Yao was stunned and looked at her father in disbelief: "It's impossible, how could it be possible?"

Seeing that she still refused to give up, Wang Chun gritted his teeth and said, "Do you know what your mother is planning? She wants to marry you to Shouchun guard Peng Kun in exchange for Peng Kun rebelling with her. You idiot, you are still there. I think she is planning for you!"

"How could it be possible? It's impossible." Wang Yao had been spoiled since she was a child, and she couldn't accept this bloody reality.

Turning around, Wang Chun escorted Wen Xiujun to Ling Buyi's military camp. At the same time, Peng Kun also lifted Shouchun's defense and invited Ling Buyi to take over Shouchun's defense.

Ling Buyi sent someone to discuss with Qin Hao. Qin Hao directly led the army to set out and joined forces with Ling Buyi.

"General Wang pushed it clean." Ling Buyi didn't believe that Lord Wen Xiu had done so many things in the name of the Wang family, and even involved the third princess. Wang Chun, as the head of the Wang family, had no idea.

Wang Chun could only apologize in embarrassment: "General Ling should know the relationship between Wen Xiujun and Empress Xuan. She never does anything through me. I have her correspondence as proof."

Qin Hao actually doesn't believe that Wang Chun knows nothing about Wen Xiujun. He will most likely turn a blind eye. If Wen Xiujun succeeds, he can pick peaches. If he fails, he can also turn a blind eye. Everything was put on Wen Xiujun. This old fox was so cunning that he could even betray his own father-in-law. It was no surprise that he betrayed his wife.

But the facts are no longer important. After all, the three princesses are also involved. If a thorough investigation is to be carried out, the status of the Yue Concubine will definitely be shaken. This is something Emperor Wen does not want to see. There is a high probability that this incident will not be involved. Wang family.

Qin Hao read a letter between Feng Wenxiujun and Empress Xuan's brother, and couldn't help but frown slightly. This would undoubtedly severely damage Empress Xuan's status. Before the third prince was brought down, if the prince fell, it would be a big blow to him. Not a good thing.

However, after seeing that the third princess was also involved in the counterfeit currency case, Qin Hao breathed a sigh of relief. Emperor Wen would probably give fifty thumbs up to each of them in this matter, and then they would live in peace. With the empress in the palace on one side and the childhood sweetheart on the other, he would still stay. Give Emperor Wen a headache.

After Qin Hao and Ling Buyi took over the defense of Shouchun, the impact of this incident was controlled to the minimum. Even the people of Shouchun did not notice it and just thought it was a normal army defense change.

However, after Qin Hao and Ling Buyi took inventory of Shouchun's arsenal, they couldn't help but be secretly surprised. Shouchun's ordnance was rich and sophisticated, even surpassing that of many frontier troops. Obviously, these were obtained by Wen Xiujun through various channels. After collecting the capital for rebellion, if Shouchun really rebelled, these weapons would be enough to equip tens of thousands of soldiers, which would definitely be a considerable force.

Qin Hao asked Lou Ben to continue to lead the team to inventory the grain and grass warehouse, and the final inspection results surprised Lou Ben.

Ling Buyi broke into a cold sweat after seeing the specific figures, and quickly sent Babaili to inform Emperor Wen of the situation.

I have to admit that it is really profitable to make counterfeit coins. Wen Xiujun was able to get so many weapons and supplies quietly.

Qin Hao and Ling Buyi stayed until close to early summer before re-taking over the defense of Shouchun and returning to the capital. However, Wen Xiujun had already been secretly executed. It is said that it was Wang Chun himself who did it, and Wang Jian was also married away. In a remote small county, it is estimated that it will be difficult to return to the capital city again in this life.

The third princess was punished to stay at home for a year and fined her a lot of property. Emperor Wen actually knew his daughter very well. He knew that the fine would be more uncomfortable for the third princess than not being allowed to go out.

Qin Hao's return also made Cheng Shaoshang and the Qin Yuan family relieved. Finally, the war did not start. The Qin Yuan family also complained to Emperor Wen that his son was a doctor from Taiyuan Academy, so why did he let him continue to lead the army in the war? .

However, when Qin Hao returned to the capital this time, the court had been quarreling over the bad currency case for several months. The most quarrelsome issue was how to carry out coinage reform.

Before the Western Han Dynasty, the five-baht coin was used. Later, Emperor Wu abolished the five-baht coin and issued a new currency. As a result, due to immature coinage technology, bad coins were everywhere, the economic order was chaotic, and it triggered a lot of riots. In addition, Due to some natural disasters and wrong tax policies, the common people were in dire straits, and various aristocratic families raised armies one after another to overthrow the tyranny of Emperor Ru.

Therefore, after Emperor Wen ascended the throne, he took the lead in restoring the five-baht coin and still adopted the coinage policy of the Western Han Dynasty. However, there was a drawback in this, that is, the casting technology of the five-baht coin had been spread long ago, and many vassal kings had it in their hands. This technology is also the reason why Wen Xiujun is able to produce large amounts of bad coins.

Of course, the quarrels in the court were actually nothing more than two issues. One was whether new coinage technology should be adopted, and the other was who should take the lead if new coinage technology was adopted.

To put it bluntly, it was still a struggle for power. All the wealthy families wanted to gain political capital from this matter. Emperor Wen now went to court every day and was troubled by this issue alone.

Qin Hao stayed at Taiyuan University and did not participate in this dispute. He still helped Emperor Wen organize the memorials all day long.

On this day, Emperor Wen looked at the pile of memorials in front of him that needed urgent instructions. He opened one and saw that it was about coinage reform. He opened it again and saw that it was still about coinage reform. He was so angry that he threw the bamboo slips on the ground.

"What's going on with Zihan? Don't you think I'm annoying enough? Call him over!"

The eunuch soon arrived at Taiyuan Academy.

Qin Hao calmly adjusted his clothes and then came to Emperor Wen.

Emperor Wen threw the bamboo slips one by one at Qin Hao's feet: "Look, they are all about coinage reform. Can you do something new every day? You have been arguing all day long about this trivial matter. Do you need to do other government affairs? ?”

Qin Hao silently picked up the bamboo slips, and then bowed slightly to Emperor Wen: "Your Majesty, coinage is a national policy, related to the livelihood of millions of people. Every day when bad coins are rampant, the people will suffer more losses. There is no delay."

Emperor Wen sighed after hearing this, and said irritably: "I don't know, but if you look at these memorials, they either recommend the prince to take charge of this coinage reform, or they support the third prince. Are they for the people? They are all for the sake of the people. Selfish desires!”

In fact, Emperor Wen still preferred the prince when it came to heirs to the throne. After all, he was the eldest son, so it was natural for him to inherit the throne.

Although the third prince is shrewd and capable, after all, he does not possess both of them. The prince has no major fault. It is impossible for him to let the third prince inherit the throne. If the name is not justified, there will be big problems in the future.

However, Emperor Wen was in his prime years. Seeing so many ministers supporting the prince, he became somewhat defensive towards the prince. He did not want to see the prince gain too much prestige. He could pass the throne to the prince, but the prince could not steal it!

"Zihan, come and sit down. Today we are not kings and ministers. You, too, have watched me grow up. What do you think I should do?"

Qin Hao did not shirk, bowed slightly, sat down, and said casually: "This coinage reform must have a prince in charge to show the importance of the court, but in the end, it only needs a prince."

As soon as he clicked, Emperor Wen suddenly realized, yes, just any prince will do, and he doesn't only have two sons.

Suddenly, in the court, Emperor Wen issued an order to let the fifth prince take the lead in the coinage reform. This news instantly shocked the government and the public. The fifth prince, who had always had no sense of existence, was actually pushed out. It was difficult to avoid speculation. Emperor Wen's thoughts.

However, the fifth prince looked depressed about this good job. He even complained to Emperor Wen that he didn't like dealing with government affairs and wanted Emperor Wen to take his life back. Naturally, he was scolded and sent away by Emperor Wen.

On the other side, the Qin Mansion.

Lou Ben was holding a bamboo slip in his hand. He was fascinated by it. After a long time, he slowly put it down. He frowned and asked, "The Qin family wants to put their chips on the fifth prince?"

Qin Hao took a sip of tea and said lightly: "Don't ask if you shouldn't ask. You can memorize the things here clearly tonight. Just go and join the Fifth Prince tomorrow. I've pointed out the way for you, and then we'll start." It depends on how you leave."

Lou Ben hesitated for a moment and bowed: "No."

Then he withdrew.