Princess Promotion

The head of the Wu family knew that he had said the wrong thing, so he shrank back and dared not say a word.

At this time, Elder Xiao appropriately changed the subject and said, "There's no need to be angry, everyone. Her Majesty is a very kind person. Just because she doesn't touch these old officials of the Western Zhou Dynasty now doesn't mean she won't touch them in the future."

After a pause, Elder Xiao finally asked the question that had been lingering in his mind recently: "I wonder if you have noticed that the old ministers from the Western Zhou Dynasty have been looking at me in a somewhat... somewhat strange way lately."

Lord Xiao was more reserved in what he said. The old ministers of Western Zhou looked at him with more than just strange eyes, they could be said to be staring at Lord Xiao.

If these former ministers of the Western Zhou Dynasty had complaints against the officials of the Qi State, it would be normal for them to glare at them.

But this situation generally does not happen. After all, if you really can't get over that hurdle, you won't stay and become an official.

The most important thing for an official is to not show his emotions on his face, and to save face. Even when facing someone he dislikes, he must be polite and courteous.

But the strange thing is that these old ministers of the Western Zhou Dynasty did not have a very good attitude towards other Qi officials, but they could be said to have lived in harmony with each other.

But it was specifically targeted at Lord Xiao.

This confused Lord Xiao, but his people and forces were all in Qi, so he was completely cut off from the Western Zhou Dynasty.

This is normal. If he, a powerful official of Qi State, knew everything about the neighboring country Western Zhou, that would be a real problem.

The reason why Lord Xiao came here today was to see if he could get some useful information from other family heads so that he could know why these old ministers of the Western Zhou Dynasty had such strong opinions about him.

Logically speaking, he hasn't had time to do anything yet, so why is he being hated?

This makes no sense!

The head of the Liu family was also quite puzzled by this matter: "I have noticed this matter, but I haven't found any clues."

If you ask these family heads about other things, the information you get will be more or less mixed, because everyone has their own interests.

The only thing that Lord Xiao never suspected was that these family heads were trying to mess with him. To put it bluntly, no matter how they fought, it was still an internal fight.

But if they both suffered losses in their internal strife and were to be reaped the benefits by those old villains of the Western Zhou Dynasty, then Lord Xiao would rather withdraw voluntarily than give in to the wishes of those old villains of the Western Zhou Dynasty.

Patriarch Qing said, "Could this be a trick by those old men from the Western Zhou Dynasty? They want to divide us and destroy us."

The head of the Wu family slammed the table and stood up and said, "Those old bastards want to get rid of Mr. Xiao first, so as to weaken our side."

Patriarch Liu: "What a vicious mind."

Elder Xiao felt that the matter was not that simple. If they really targeted him, they should have done it in private.

The struggles in the court are not like the fighting on the battlefield. They usually end without bloodshed. How could there be real swords and guns against one person?

If the old ministers of the Western Zhou Dynasty felt that they needed to pick a soft persimmon to squeeze, Lord Xiao was absolutely confident that he was the most difficult one among the aristocratic families.

After thinking about it, I feel that there is something weird everywhere.

And so far, those old ministers have not given Lord Xiao a good face.

But we haven't seen them take any actual action. It's not like they think that by not being nice to Lord Xiao and ostracizing him, they can make Lord Xiao lose his mind?

No matter how stupid those old ministers were, they would not do such a thankless task. There must be something they overlooked.

So what did I overlook?

As night fell, in a secluded courtyard, several oil lamps flickered with dim light, illuminating several men with worried expressions.

This is the secret gathering place of the old ministers of the Western Zhou Dynasty. Li Jinglong looked around at these old ministers who were once his political enemies. He never expected that they would be able to sit together to discuss matters one day. He couldn't help but sigh that it was really fate's trick!

"Everyone, our country is destroyed and our family is ruined. We have fallen to this point. It is really fate that makes us suffer." Li Jinglong's voice was low and powerful.

"Lord Li is absolutely right. We should have died for our country, but we are bound by our families and have to live on in this world." A former Minister of Rites named Zhao Yuanzhen sighed.

"What's even more hateful is that the thief Xiao from Qi State took advantage of our situation and exchanged a batch of spices for our food and land. This is simply too much!" Another old minister, former Minister of War Wang Wenyuan, said angrily.

"Yes, the food and grass we have are already insufficient, and the farmland is our last resort for livelihood. Now it has been easily taken away by that thief Xiao. It is really heartbreaking!" Former Minister of Revenue Sun Simiao also joined the accusation.

As Li Jinglong listened to what everyone said, the anger in his heart grew stronger and stronger.

"We must find a way to take back our food and farmland. Otherwise, even our survival will be a problem, let alone restoring our country."

"But we are outnumbered now. How can we contend with that villain Xiao?" Zhou Zhiruo, former vice minister of the Ministry of Justice, asked worriedly.

The merchants and money houses that did business with An Tian all had the shadows of these powerful people behind them to a greater or lesser extent.

Among the four classes of people, scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans are at the bottom of the social hierarchy. If they don’t have someone to protect them from above, they probably can’t even leave the city, let alone travel around to buy food and fodder.

The bulk of the profits these merchants earn each year are used to honor these high-ranking officials and dignitaries.

Otherwise, the imperial court would need a large amount of food and fodder to fight a war. The first people to receive the news were not the officials of the Ministry of Revenue, but these merchants. Otherwise, they would not be able to stockpile so much food and fodder.

This is also why as soon as An Tian reported that it was the Xiao family of Qi, those merchants all gave in.

After all, the Western Zhou Dynasty was defeated and annexed by the State of Qi. How could the old ministers of the Western Zhou Dynasty compare with the powerful ministers of the State of Qi?

For these merchants, it doesn't matter who they follow, but money must be spent wisely. Now it is obviously better to give it to the powerful officials of Qi State than to their former backers.

Who knows whether these backers will be unable to protect themselves.

If the Xiao family only wanted to gain some benefits from it, most of the old ministers of the Western Zhou Dynasty would have endured it. After all, when you live under someone's roof, you have to bow your head.

But this thief Xiao was too greedy and he took them all.

Cutting off someone's source of income is like killing their parents. It would be strange if anyone could tolerate this!

"Everyone, our situation has reached a point of life and death." Li Jinglong spoke slowly, his tone revealing an unquestionable determination.

"Xiao's ambition is clear to see. His greed not only threatens our livelihoods, but also tramples on our dignity."

"We can't just sit there and wait for death and let Xiao run rampant."

“If we don’t act, we will soon be faced with a situation where we have no resources to feed our children.”

Let this thief Xiao make a fortune while they are struggling to make ends meet. That would be more painful than killing them.

Upon hearing this, the old ministers nodded one after another, their faces full of determination.

However, the question that follows is how to bring down Xiao, the thief who is deeply trusted by the empress.

"This thief Xiao is not only the empress's confidant, but also does everything in secret. We don't have solid evidence, and any small action will hardly shake his position." A minister frowned and said.

Moreover, the business that An Tian had discussed with those merchants at the beginning were all shady matters. Hoarding grain and raising grain prices during wartime were serious crimes. By then, they would lose both their money and their lives. This was why they dared not say a word even though they knew they were being cheated.

An Tian and his gang are robbing each other, and there is nothing we can do about them.

Li Jinglong smiled slightly, with a hint of cunning in his eyes.

"The Empress hated corrupt officials the most, and we all saw this. When she first ascended the throne, she launched a major purge of corrupt officials."

"As long as we can prove Xiao's greed and cruelty, the Empress will definitely not let him go."