Lady Liu frowned tightly beside him, her expression unavoidably flustered. "My lord, this is a really offensive matter!"
"Don't you think I know that!" Liu Zhengze scowled and retorted in a deep voice. He silently cursed the Eldest Princess for meddling in other people's business. He paced back and forth in the room twice, quickly thinking about what to do.
Lady Liu covered her chest beside him. The Liu family also owed a great deal of silver to the court!
Liu Zhengze said, "Go and find out all the extra silver in the house first. We should pay off our family's debts first."
Over the years, the Liu family had accumulated quite a few connections. There were also many who had defected to their family. If he took the lead in paying off the debts, in order to show their loyalty, even if the families under him were reluctant, they would scrape up the silver to pay.
The difficult part was dealing with those so - called neutral factions who were as stubborn as mules.
Lady Liu was shocked. "My lord, how could the silver in our family be enough to pay off the debts?"
Over the years, the Liu family had spent a great deal of money on maintaining their connections, hosting banquets, and Lady Liu had also siphoned off some to her natal family. All in all, they owed the court 20,000 taels of silver!
This was not something that could be paid off in a short time!
Liu Zhengze turned back and stared at her, his expression somewhat sinister. "You have to pay it off even if you can't! Take your jewelry and ornaments out and pawn them. And as for the silver you took back to your natal family, get every bit of it back! If you can't pay it off..."
He didn't say what the consequences would be, but having been with him for so many years, Lady Liu knew his cruel nature well.
For a moment, she was both angry and afraid, and tears silently welled up in her eyes.
Liu Zhengze looked at her impatiently and then turned his head, quickly thinking in his mind.
Although this matter was difficult to handle, it was not without benefits. If handled well, it would be a good opportunity for him to make contributions.
But when he thought of those tough nuts to crack, he felt a headache.
Just his own family owed 20,000 taels of silver. It was conceivable that other families were no better off.
Even if they were to pay, they could probably only pay back a part of it. It would be good if they could pay back half!
The emperor only asked him to balance the accounts. If these people couldn't pay back the silver, he would have to find ways to get silver from outside.
His eyes flickered, and finally he closed his eyes tightly.
He wasn't the only one who would be anxious if the silver couldn't be paid back. He opened his eyes and looked distantly in the direction of the palace.
He was on the side of the Eldest Prince. Now that he was in trouble, the Eldest Prince should help him.
In the palace, Xie Guang watched him leave with an ugly expression. Then he turned and went to the Queen's palace. He told her about Liu Zhengze's audacity. The Queen was furious. "He still has the nerve to ask you for silver!"
All the silver had been embezzled by these moths. Now, it was ridiculous that they were asking the prince to balance their accounts!
It was simply outrageous!
Xie Guang's face was gloomy. Obviously, he was extremely angry, but he also knew that even if he was enraged, it wouldn't solve the problem.
He remembered Liu Zhengze's proposal, took a deep breath, and said, "Mother, although this matter is difficult to handle, it's also a good opportunity for us to win over the court officials."
What if the court officials didn't have the silver to pay back? They couldn't really go bankrupt. How could they still have a foothold in the capital then?
When they were in a bind, if someone sent them silver, it would be a great favor and also the biggest handle!
With these people's handles in hand, was he, Xie Guang, still afraid of not having connections when he ascended to power?
The Queen frowned tightly and said in a deep voice, "The logic is right, but what about the silver? Even if we ransacked our palace, we couldn't make up for the shortage of millions of taels!"
The silver they had on hand could only make up 1 million taels at most. What about the remaining money?
Xie Guang rubbed his temples. This was exactly what gave him a headache. But just now, Liu Zhengze had shown him a way, although this way was really dangerous, like walking on a tightrope on a cliff. One slight mistake and they would be doomed.
He hadn't made up his mind yet.
After thinking for a while, he still told the Queen about this method. "Although the salt is now in the hands of the government, after all, white salt is expensive. There are also quite a few smugglers in the folk..."
The Queen immediately widened her eyes and looked at him. "Guang'er!"
Xie Guang pursed his lips, his expression struggling, but he still continued. "Mother, I know that smuggling salt is a beheading offense, but there's no faster way to make money than this! Moreover, why do those grassland people in the north wave their swords and go south? It's just because the grassland is barren and they have nothing. They probably haven't even seen such fine white salt from our Central Plains!"
This was also the best opportunity to negotiate a deal with those people!
Xie Guang remembered the disdainful look in their eyes when he had privately negotiated with those people before. A hint of gloom flashed in his eyes.
They were just a group of uncivilized barbarians. If it weren't for the fact that he still needed their help, how could he have talked to them in a humble way!
But if he had salt, everything would be different!
He had salt. Even for the sake of the salt in his hands, those people should turn around and beg him humbly!
The Queen took a deep breath. She felt her heart pounding so hard that it even hurt. "Let me think. Let your mother think carefully."
Xie Guang looked at her, a hint of earnestness in his eyes. "Mother, now Xie Yan is very powerful. Father is getting weaker day by day. That bitch Xie Lingyun seems to have defected to Xie Yan. If we don't take action, it will be too late!"
The Queen raised her hand to stop him. "Xie Lingyun caused this mess but gave you the opportunity to handle it. Maybe it's also a gesture of goodwill to us. Moreover, you had a close relationship with her in the southern area before. She did this. Maybe she's not necessarily defecting to Xie Yan. Maybe she's just making a careful consideration."
She was considering which of the two princes was more powerful and more worthy of her support.
Xie Lingyun was a member of the royal family, the offspring of the old emperor. Like him, she had always been self - centered and extremely selfish.
Now that she had entered the game, maybe she had seen that the old emperor didn't have much time left. For her future and for her children, she had to think carefully.
"If you really want to do this, have you thought about the specific plan?" the Queen looked at him and asked.
Xie Guang's expression was sinister. "I won't do it myself. This method was proposed by that old scoundrel Liu Zhengze. Naturally, he should handle it!"
Liu Zhengze had defected to him only because he had promised that if he could ascend to the throne in the future, Liu Zhengze would be the First - Rank Duke Protecting the Country, on par with the prime minister, and extremely powerful, just like the Song family back then.
He was an extremely greedy man. With such a tempting condition, he was sure that Liu Zhengze would agree.
Sure enough, after just one night of consideration, Liu Zhengze showed his loyalty to him.
Come to think of it, they had owed a lot to him for contacting those Huns in the previous bandit case.
"It's best to leave this matter to him since he had colluded with the Huns before," Xie Guang said in a deep voice.
Moreover, this method of smuggling salt was proposed by Liu Zhengze himself. Maybe when he proposed it, he had already been hinting that no one else but him could handle this matter.
But the Queen was a bit vigilant. "Guang'er, be careful that he might turn against you when he becomes too powerful."
Xie Guang slowly smiled, his smile sinister. "Mother, I didn't spend those days in southern Yunnan for nothing."
If he could poison the emperor without anyone knowing, not to mention a Liu Zhengze?