From Joy of Life, the Tian Gang is reversed

Chapter 197 Winter is coming and the cold wave is rising

After a heavy snowfall, the capital city of Shangjing was covered in a blanket of silver.

Inside the palace walls, the Northern Qi emperor, dressed in casual clothes and a red cloak with silver fur edges, stood on the gravel path of the imperial garden with a frown on his face.

The situation is not optimistic!
Both the domestic and foreign situations began to develop in the direction she least wanted.

Queen Mother...

Thinking of the eldest in her harem, she sighed softly.

The Queen Mother of Northern Qi was a monopoly of power, and this was a secret known to everyone.

In recent years, as she grew older, she wanted to take back power, which naturally led to some conflicts with the Queen Mother. However, the problem was not serious and was not as mysterious as the outside world said.

After all, they are mother and daughter. How could they really become enemies when an orphan and a widow are in charge of such a large number of things?

She originally believed that as time went by and she grew up, her power would naturally return to her hands, and Northern Qi would become stronger under her rule.

However, who could have imagined that the peaceful times would change so drastically that the three-way balance of power among Nanqing, Beiqi and Dongyi would be broken in just one year.

Everything originated from the prince of Nanqing. We thought he was crazy, but who would have thought that he was either crazy or just playing around.

First, Nanqing used the excuse of assassination to send its army to the border. Beiqi lost nearly a thousand miles of territory. Before it could catch its breath, the prince of Nanqing challenged Dongyi with his sword, killed Sigu Jian, and annexed Dongyi. By the time the world reacted, the three-way balance of power had been broken, and a two-way balance of power had been formed.

The Northern Qi was the weaker side.

The pressure was already great enough, but in the end, one piece of bad news after another came. Emperor Qing, who seemed to be in a state of decline in recent years, suddenly became energized and began to carry out drastic reforms in Qing State.

He established military schools, promoted military examinations, rectified the civil service, and strengthened the military resources, all in a posture of preparing for a major undertaking.

You know what, this kind of driving style made her feel tremendous pressure.

Northern Qi could not withstand the turmoil.

After a major border war, morale has not yet recovered. The domestic situation seems stable, but in fact it is not optimistic.

Thinking of the current situation in Northern Qi, she couldn't help but have a headache. Apart from anything else, the country's salt policy has been completely destroyed. This year's salt tax is 90% less than in previous years. Although several major salt merchants were eliminated before to recover some money, this method can only be used as an emergency measure and will be gone after it is used up.

In addition, there is the iron industry. Recently, the eldest princess of Nanqing has gone crazy for some reason and has been buying up a large number of iron mines in Beiqi. However, she did not spend money, but used a certain proportion of refined iron as payment. This caused trouble.

Compared with money, the refined iron produced by the Nanqing treasury was naturally more popular. A large amount of refined iron went directly into the army and was made into various weapons. In a sense, the Northern Qi army's armaments were greatly upgraded because of this wave.

But because of this, those smelting workshops, especially the large-scale smelting workshops directly linked to the military, could no longer operate.

It’s bad enough that the quality isn’t as good as others, but the quantity isn’t as much as others either, which is unacceptable.

Even if it has connections with the military, it won't work. Therefore, the salt and iron taxes, which are related to the country's finances, cannot be collected.

This is fucked up.

Although the fine iron in the Nanqing treasury is very useful, it is all used by the military. The Ministry of Revenue cannot collect money, so the finances are naturally tight.

In addition, the Ministry of Revenue also reported some information. Combined with the recent major actions of the Qing Kingdom, she felt that a storm was brewing. Could it be that Southern Qing was really going to take action against Northern Qi? This was an extremely serious problem!
Northern Qi was a big country and its military was very strong, but it depended on who it was against.

The country of Southern Qing is generally known for its strong martial virtues. If the entire country really attacks, Northern Qi may not be able to defend itself, even with a master.

There is only one Northern Qi, but there are now three Southern Qing. One of them has a record of killing a master. Ku He certainly cannot be relied upon, and the military may not be able to rely on him either. The previous border war is a clear proof of this.

In other words, if Nanqing really pressed forward without regard for the consequences, Northern Qi would most likely be destroyed. As for the peace treaty and marriage agreement signed with Nanqing before, they would not count in the face of a real national war.

Thinking of this, she felt her head buzzing.

She heard soft footsteps and turned her head slightly to see Haitang Duoduo. Haitang Duoduo forced a smile and said, "Your Majesty, you have been standing here for a long time. Be careful not to catch a cold."

"Well, it's just a cold, it's no big deal. What bad news do you bring?"

"It's not bad news, it can be said to be good news."

"Is there any good news now?" Zhan Doudou laughed at himself.

"Nanqing is very powerful, but not everyone wants it to be so powerful," Haitang Duoduo said, handing Zhan Doudou a thin notebook. "This is a record of all the developments and impacts of the Nanqing court over the past month. Nanqing officials are already very dissatisfied with Emperor Qing."

"Dissatisfied?" Zhan Doudou was slightly stunned, then seemed to understand something, "It seems that not everyone likes a strong king!"

"This time is different. They feel like the Qing Emperor is out to get them, so they've sent us a lot of detailed information." Haitang Duoduo frowned at this point. "So, it's not really good news. The people of Southern Qing are truly sinister, and that princess has never had good intentions."

Zhan Doudou flipped open the notebook, glanced at it for a few seconds, and then his expression suddenly changed. "What? More than half of the fertile land in Songyun Prefecture has been converted to cotton? When did it start? How come I didn't know about this?"

"Hmph, more than half of the land in Songyun Prefecture is controlled by a few large families. Nanqing is offering a very high price for cotton, buying whatever they can get, far exceeding the returns from growing grain. They definitely won't give up the profits they've already made. And in Heishui Prefecture, many grain fields have been converted to mulberry trees. That princess is so bold! In just two years, she's left a large amount of fertile farmland in Northern Qi to waste. Not only that, the cotton and silk produced in the inner treasury are sold back to our country at high prices. Now, all they're waiting for is a natural disaster."

"Natural disaster?!" Zhan Doudou suddenly looked up and looked at Haitang Duoduo in horror.

Thinking about the current situation in Northern Qi and connecting it with the natural disaster, she felt terrified when she thought about it. If a natural disaster really happened in Northern Qi and several famous grain-producing areas in Northern Qi stopped growing crops, what kind of scene would that be?

"You still say this is good news?!"

"The good news is that the officials in Nanqing are no longer on the same page with the Nanqing court. This intelligence and speculation all came from them," Haitang Duoduo said with a wry smile. "They've also come up with many countermeasures for us. They also control many channels and have stored a lot of food, which can help us with emergency situations."

"Haha, after all, it's still business!"

"Yes, but these are life-saving businesses. Moreover, thanks to their intelligence, we were able to discover Nanqing's conspiracy. It's not too late to mend the fences."

"Is it in time?"

"It's still in time. Aren't they waiting for a natural disaster? There hasn't been a natural disaster yet. With this snow this year, next year will be another bumper harvest. The problem now is that we really need to stock up on food."

"I'll tell the Queen Mother about this." Zhan Doudou nodded and clenched the small notebook in her hand. Indeed, it's not too late to mend the fence after the sheep have been lost. She looked at Haitang Duoduo and said, "What about you? What did the Imperial Master say?"

"The Imperial Master said that if those who fought in the Battle of Dongyi City weren't lying, then he was definitely no match for the Crown Prince of Nanqing. There were major issues with the Battle of Dongyi City; it was definitely not a Grandmaster-level battle!"

(End of this chapter)