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Chapter 326 Are the people from the Mu Clan Chamber of Commerce still in Xidu City?

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

Zhou Chen sat upright on the dragon throne, flipping through the pages of the history of the barbaric lands.

The history of the Wilderness contains a lot of basic information about the Wilderness world.

Zhou Chen learned from the history of the Wilderness that the Wilderness Realm was a vast and boundless world. In the Wilderness Realm, the Imperial Court was located in the Central Plains, the Four Great Dynasties guarded the four directions, and below the Great Dynasties were various dynasties...

In addition to these, there are also various powerful forces such as sects, clans, and gangs.

In addition, wild beasts roam the desolate realm, and evil spirits wreak havoc everywhere...

It can be said that the complexity of the Wilderness Realm far exceeded Zhou Chen's imagination.

This is just some of the basic information recorded in the history of the barbaric times.

If one were to delve deeper and take a more detailed look, the complexity of the Wilderness Realm would likely be even more unimaginable.

Zhou Chen closed the History of the Wilderness, his brows furrowing slightly.

No wonder the resurrected Consort Zhen said that it wouldn't be easy for the Great Zhou to establish itself in the Wilderness.

Sure enough.

After learning these basic facts about the Wilderness Realm, Zhou Chen felt that Consort Zhen, Wen Qingwu, was right.

With its current overall strength, the Great Zhou Dynasty is indeed far from being able to establish itself in the Wilderness Realm.

Zhou Chen pondered for a moment, then looked at Cao Youxiang; "Are the people from the Mu Clan Chamber of Commerce still in Xidu City?"

Cao Youxiang immediately bowed and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

"The Mu Clan Chamber of Commerce has rented a villa in Xidu City. It seems they won't be leaving anytime soon."

At this point, Cao Youxiang tentatively asked, "Your Majesty, should we invite the people from the Mu Clan Merchant Guild to Luoyang?"

"Need not."

Zhou Chen shook his head; "The Mu Clan Chamber of Commerce has already done a good job by giving you this book on the history of the barbarians. There's no need to invite them to Luoyang."

"Your Eastern Depot doesn't need to send anyone to keep an eye on the Mu Clan Chamber of Commerce anymore; they're not criminals."

"As long as the people of the Mu Clan Chamber of Commerce abide by the rules of my Great Zhou, we don't need to bother with them."

Zhou Chen looked at Cao Youxiang and said.

Based on Zhou Chen's understanding of the Eastern Depot, the Eastern Depot must have sent people to secretly monitor the actions of the Mu Clan Chamber of Commerce.

This is unnecessary.

With the merging of the Great Zhou and the Wilderness Realm, there will definitely be many outsiders entering the Great Zhou territory in the future.

As long as these people abide by the laws and regulations of the Great Zhou Dynasty, there is no need to worry about them.

If the Great Zhou wants to establish itself in the Wilderness and become powerful, it needs to embrace all rivers and lakes, not to be closed off from the world.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Cao Youxiang bowed and said.

"besides."

"Although the information in the history of the Wilderness is very comprehensive, it is only some basic information. If we want to understand the situation of various parties in the Wilderness more in detail, we still have to send people to investigate ourselves."

Zhou Chen spoke again.

Cao Youxiang immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, the Eastern Depot has already begun to make arrangements in this regard."

"Ah That's good."

Zhou Chen nodded upon hearing this, said nothing more, and instead opened the History of the Wilderness to read again.

Cao Youxiang then quietly withdrew from the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

……

The Ministry of Justice, Minister's Office.

Wang Yangming, the Minister of Justice, sat in the main seat.

Five or six officials from the imperial court were seated below.

After former Prime Minister Yuan Bo and his ilk were successively removed from office, Wang Yangming, the newly appointed Minister of Justice, became the leading figure among powerful and aristocratic families in the court.

Wang Yangming glanced at the officials present and said, "His Majesty is going to hold a selection of concubines. You all know about this, right?" Upon hearing this, the officials present all nodded.

The news of the emperor selecting concubines had already spread far and wide; how could they not know?

They just didn't understand why Wang Yangming brought this up.
It should be noted that the person in charge of the imperial concubine selection was Du Ruhui, the Minister of Rites, not Wang Yangming, the Minister of Justice.

"This matter presents an opportunity for our aristocratic family."

"As you all know, thanks to His Majesty's ruthless measures, the influence of our aristocratic families has been weakened to the extreme. If we don't find a way to resolve this, our family's space for survival will become smaller and smaller in the future."

"Now, His Majesty's selection of concubines presents a perfect opportunity."

Wang Yangming said it directly.

Upon hearing Wang Yangming's words, the eyes of the officials present flashed; "Lord Wang, do you mean you intend to secretly manipulate His Majesty's selection of concubines?"

How many of the officials who manage to gain entry into the imperial court are fools?

These officials naturally understood Wang Yangming's meaning, and their expressions changed slightly.

"What kind of control?"

"This matter is under the jurisdiction of Du Ruhui, the Minister of Rites, and is also being watched by those henchmen of the Eastern Depot. Do you think we can control it secretly?"

Wang Yangming glanced at the officials present with annoyance.

These officials are really capable of anything. Do they still think things are the same as before? They can manipulate things behind the scenes.

Now, not to mention that the power of aristocratic families has been weakened to the extreme, even Du Ruhui, the Minister of Rites, is not someone they can fool.

Not to mention the watchful eyes of the Eastern Depot's henchmen.

To manipulate things secretly is tantamount to courting death.

"What I mean is, we should use all our resources to select suitable women from our various noble families. Once these women enter the harem and establish themselves, the situation for our families will improve significantly..."

Wang Yangming explained.

Upon hearing this, the officials present all breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's okay if it's not."

They were genuinely afraid that Wang Yangming was planning to manipulate the imperial concubine selection process; if that were the case, he would truly be courting death.

"Lord Wang, what if His Majesty finds out about this..."

The officials all looked at Wang Yangming, who was in the main seat, their brows furrowing slightly.

The emperor didn't particularly favor aristocratic families, so if they did this, the emperor might not necessarily take women from those families into his harem.

"It's alright if you know. We're just actively cooperating with the Ministry of Rites in selecting concubines, not doing anything else."

"How can an ordinary woman compare to the refined ladies raised by our aristocratic families?"

Wang Yangming said dismissively.

When the emperor wanted to select concubines, it was perfectly normal for powerful families and officials to want to send their daughters into the harem.

Even if the emperor finds out, it's not a big deal.

"Besides, do you think there's anything in the Great Zhou that can be hidden from His Majesty?"

Wang Yangming glanced at the officials present.

The officials present all nodded in deep agreement.

Yes! With the Eastern Depot in existence, what in the entire Great Zhou Dynasty can be kept from that person in the palace?

Even the one in the palace who never leaves the palace knows everything that happens in the world.

To put it more frighteningly, the person in the palace might be fully aware of even their clandestine dealings.

This is not an exaggeration, but rather a possibility.

"Therefore, we don't need to deliberately hide anything. As long as we don't have any ulterior motives, His Majesty won't care."

Wang Yangming was able to deduce some of Emperor Zhou Chen's thoughts.

……

(End of this chapter)