Protect Our Clan Leader

Chapter 1000: Chapter 54: 守哲 Arrives in Beijing! Turbulence Resurfaces_4 Chapter 1000: Chapter 54: 守哲 Arrives in Beijing! Turbulence Resurfaces_4 “You five little ones are so naughty, daring to deceive the Great Emperor.” Emperor Longchang scolded with a dark face, “Hmph, I don’t believe that even you five little ones can’t be disciplined.”

“Summon someone to seal the cave for me, cover the entire wolf den floor with Red Essence Iron.”

“Replace the fences with Red Essence Iron bars as thick as an arm, and change the locks to Celestial Mechanism Locks for me!”

Emperor Longchang seemed to have taken issue with the five little ones, staring and grinding his teeth, “I really must see what kind of tricks you stinky kids still have up your sleeves. Oh right, since the Red Essence Iron is too hard and cold, and they are still growing, we must prepare the finest spirit goose down cushions for them.”

Old Yao, standing by, twitched at the corners of his mouth, stopping short of speaking out.

Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you’re getting in deeper… Do you still remember that these are someone else’s wolf cubs?

…

While Emperor Longchang was at odds with the five little ones, Taishi Ankang, who was staying at the Government Post Station and pretending to be pitiful, found himself in a predicament.

Inside the simple post station room, he drank the bitter Spiritual Tea and pondered deeply.

Something’s not right, something’s not right. According to the plans Wang Shouzhe had laid out beforehand, by now the Emperor should have been delighted to see me looking miserable and taken the chance to mock me a bit.

“Could it be that something unexpected has happened?”

The reason was nothing else. According to the original plan, after Taishi Ankang “unsuccessfully sought mercy” everywhere, he was supposed to carry out the second step of the plan, “Meet with Emperor Longchang.”

After raising the other party’s pleasure again and pleading in vain, he would be able to carry out the third step of the plan.

But now, he had been turned away twice when he tried to see the Emperor.

He couldn’t understand why. Only after secretly giving some Qian Gold to the eunuch who delivered messages did he receive a strange piece of news, that the Emperor had been very busy recently and had no intention of dealing with state affairs for the time being.

“No intention of dealing with state affairs?” Taishi Ankang brooded over this and felt that something was amiss. Suddenly, he slapped his thigh and had an epiphany, “That’s it, that’s it. The Emperor must have found a new love and become so infatuated that he neglects state affairs.”

This wasn’t the first time the Emperor had done this; there was a precedent.

According to unofficial histories circulated among the common people, in the more than three thousand years since the Emperor ascended to the throne, there have been no less than five instances where he neglected governance for years due to infatuation with a certain concubine. Yet the last time had been eight hundred years ago!

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty.” Taishi Ankang felt bitter in his heart and inwardly lamented, “You’re already of advanced age, how can you still be into this? Could it be… that the Kang Commandery Prince and his group are plotting in the shadows?”

“This is troublesome~ It seems that this matter can only be settled by Wang Shouzhe stepping in.”

Upon this thought, Taishi Ankang immediately spread out some stationery and began writing a letter to summon someone.

…

A while later, A special flying carriage cut through the sky and entered into the airspace above Return to Dragon City.

Return to Dragon City, though named a city, actually encompasses a vast area, surrounded by thirty-six military settlements that protect it.

Looking through the flying carriage’s glass windows, one could see vast stretches of farmland and pastures. Their scale was immense, covering an astonishing amount of land, and the most fertile lands, with the richest spirit veins, belonged to what is known as the Imperial Manor.

“Imperial Manor,” as the name suggests, refers to the manor of the Imperial Household.

They are one of the main properties of the Imperial Family, where they grow crops, raise livestock, manage certain industries, or even own a precious large-scale Spirit Stone mine.

It was precisely from these imperial manors that a vast and continuous wealth was born, supporting the hefty expenses of the imperial household.

The imperial manors were not limited to the vicinity of Return to Dragon City, but were spread across various counties. Essentially, a portion of the most fertile land in each county was the private property of the royal family.

“Speaking of which, the royal family is quite wealthy after all,” Wang Shouzhe couldn’t help but remark on the flying carriage, “But with such a large household and business, the expenses are also very vast. Just sustaining a Transcendent Emperor each year costs an astronomical amount, not to mention all those Divine Power Territory princes and Purple Abode Realm commandery princes.”

“Great grandfather, I heard His Majesty intends to increase our Longzuo County’s taxes,” Wang Anye, who had already grown a little taller, said with a blink, “Is it because Emperor Longchang eats too much, and the royal family is running out of money?”

“Silly child,” Wang Shouzhe fondly patted his head, “The national tax doesn’t go directly into the royal private vaults, and it’s even prohibited from entering. The main purpose of national tax is to maintain the operation of the entire court, to reasonably adjust the imbalance between counties, and for disaster relief, military pay, pioneering lands, and the like. A part of His Majesty’s expenses indeed comes from the nation’s support, but a considerable part also comes from the subsidies provided by the royal family itself.”

“After all, His Majesty is the Great Emperor, the pillar of a country, and the annual tribute he enjoys is not insignificant. The rest of the princes, commandery princes, as well as marquises and other nobles, all receive a portion of the national tribute.”

“The expenditure of this portion of money, part comes from the national taxes, part comes from the state-owned industries. Thus, although Da Qian Country is ruled by the royal family, it does not mean that Da Qian is the private property of the royal family.”

Wang Shouzhe explained all this to Wang Anye, while secretly reflecting to himself.

This was where the Great Qian Land differed from the feudal system of ancient Huaxia. Many emperors in ancient China advocated for “family under heaven,” stating that “all land under heaven belongs to the emperor,” and those court officials and nobles were merely “employees,” their lives and deaths at the emperor’s whim.

But Da Qian was made up of many prominent families, with the royal family being just the one with the highest status and power in Da Qian.

Strictly speaking, Da Qian was jointly owned by all the prominent families, a bit like a shareholding responsibility system.

The more powerful a prominent family developed, the more shares it held in this “national” enterprise, meaning it had to shoulder more responsibilities and also had a greater voice.

The Daqian Zhao Clan and the Great Qian Wang Clan were, after all, two of Wu’s Family’s partners during the initial venture, not mere vassal families.

In terms of the popular words from Wang Shouzhe’s previous life, they were “co-founders.”

It was for this reason that the Zhao and Wang families possessed such high status and enjoyed considerable power in the court.

As Wang Shouzhe traveled by flying carriage, taking in the sights along the way, the carriage had already arrived at the boundary region on the outskirts of Return to Dragon City.

Further inside, flying at will was not permitted.

The flying carriage needed to dock at the flying carriage station.

Under the coachman’s control, the flying carriage spiraled down slowly onto the plaza in front of the flying carriage station.

Shortly after, when the flying carriage landed steadily, Wang Shouzhe stepped out with his great-grandson Wang Anye, his granddaughter Wang Ying Xuan, and his daughter Wang Lilong and others.

In the distance, Return to Dragon City could be seen from afar.

The sky was high and clouds vast, a clear azure blue.

Beneath the expanse of Gao Tian, the magnificent and sprawling Return to Dragon City had no walls. Through its grand silhouette, one seemed to glimpse the profound history beneath the giant city, as well as the authority and vast power it represented.

Gazing at all this, Wang Shouzhe’s heart couldn’t help but swell with emotion.

He, Wang Shouzhe, was finally about to step into the Imperial Capital.

The center of power of Da Qian.

The winds of change were, perhaps, about to rise again.

…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com