Chapter 539: Chaos in the Country

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The King of Dongning was also arrogant. He immediately sat down in the hall of the government office. “What explanation do I need to give? I’ve already announced the national law and posted it on the streets and alleys. Does your clan not know how to read, or are you blind?” After rebuking the clan, the King of Dongning turned to look at the official. “What’s the crime of privately raising private soldiers?”

The official hurriedly said, “The lightest punishment will be a fine of silver, and the heaviest punishment will be the crime of deceiving the emperor.”

The crime of deceiving the emperor was serious. It could not be underestimated.

Both sides argued endlessly in the government office.

In the end, after the battle of Li Qiguang’s rebellion, the clan was beaten into a mess by King Wumu. Although the remaining forces could not be underestimated, the battle had just subsided not long ago, and the clan had also suffered a huge blow. It was not appropriate for them to fight anymore, so they could only take a step back and pay a huge amount of fine money. They also promised to restrain the “guardians” in the family.

This sum of money was given to the treasury by the King of Dongning.

The emperor was very satisfied with this and even specially rewarded King Dongning.

At the same time, the emperor also knew very well that the reason why the King of Dongning could control the clan was because Yin Huaixi had cleaned up the clan and rewarded him with a lot of things.

Of course, this was only the beginning.

After the clan took the first step back, there was a second step.

The number of private soldiers raised by the clan was not small to begin with. Most of them were recruited by the commoners. There were good and bad people, so it was not easy to control them. Once the King of Dongning schemed, it was very easy to be tricked.

Not long after, King Dongning killed the private soldiers raised by the clan.

The crime was that these private soldiers bullied the commoners and collected “protection fees” from them. They deserved to be killed.

This time, it was the King of Dongning who took the initiative to report about the clan to the government office.

This time, it was not so easy for the clan to settle the matter. King Dongning had sent someone to investigate these private soldiers. In the past, they had been charged with all kinds of crimes in Shandong and the clan was asked to disband the private soldiers.

Of course, the clan would not be willing!

King Dongning was not someone to be trifled with. On the same day, he posted the crimes of these private soldiers on the streets and alleys, then sent troops to capture them one by one.

The lightest punishment was being thrown into the prison of the government office.

Those who committed more serious crimes were dragged to the entrance of the market and executed one by one. Those who dared to resist would be punished by Li Qiguang.

In just a day, they had captured thousands and killed thousands.

After killing them, the King of Dongning still had to punish the clan for not controlling them well, allowing them to commit murder and cover up their crimes.

The conflict between King Dongning and the clan intensified step by step.

Last autumn, the King of Dongning had brought 500 elite troops and broken into the Leng Residence in Jinan. He had gathered the ancestral codes, scriptures, history, and various family ancient books of the Leng Residence and burned them all.

This action completely angered the clan.

However, the remaining forces of the clan had become even worse after the King of Dongning’s rule over the past two years. How could they be a match for the King of Dongning and the officials of the various prefectures in Shandong?

The King of Dongning used the words “the clan is lawless, deceiving the emperor, and chaotic” to wantonly burn the codes, scriptures, history, and other ancient books that had been passed down for generations.

The clan finally became obedient.

However, King Dongning’s actions suffered a backlash.

Many scholars jointly reported to the Imperial Court and said, “Our great ancestors are righteous. They recovered the ancient books of the old dynasty and contributed for a long time. They have benefited his descendants. It’s unethical for the King of Dongning to destroy the ancient books of the previous dynasty. This trend can’t continue. The Imperial Court should punish him.”

It was difficult for the emperor to stop the public opinion of the world) so he punished the King of Dongning for three years.

After he was satisfied, the emperor issued a decree for the King of Dongning to continue helping the various residences reorganize Shandong.

In addition, after two years, the situation of the Great Zhou Dynasty were getting worse.

Two years ago, they had not seen the sun for many days throughout the winter. The snow had fallen from the Laba Festival to the eighth day of the new year. Not long after the Spring Festival, there was another cold wave.

For half a month, it rained and snowed, and the cold lasted until the Qingming Festival.

The rice crops in the south were rotten, and the peanuts and cotton in the north were growing slowly.

Last year, there was another spring drought.

In March, the spring rain was as hard to come by as oil. The soil was thawed, and the winter wheat seedlings returned to green, but it had never rained. Many of the wheat seedlings had died of drought, and the country reaped less than half of the harvest in the past.

The commoners had a bad feeling about the new year and began to stock up on food.

The price of rice began to rise.

Even though the Ministry of Revenue had issued an announcement to the rice merchants to strictly control the price of rice, the price of rice was still increasing. This situation had lasted for more than a year.

Yu Youyao couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. “The country is about to fall into chaos. Chaos begins in the sky and spreads among the people first.”

The Great Zhou Dynasty had accumulated a lot of ills. In the early years, the wind and rain were smooth. The commoners could live well and maintain a peaceful scene. However, now, natural and man-made disasters were frequent.

Yu Youyao did not want to see this scene, but she was helpless.

She could only do her best to manage the Graceful Heart Hall well and save more children, and women. She would also spend more energy on the cultivation of sweet potatoes. As sweet potatoes were foreign, more awareness was needed.

Yu Youyao sighed softly. She did not want to think about these terrible things anymore.

At this moment, Xia Tao led Nanny Yue in.

Yu Youyao was delighted and quickly said, “Nanny, come and sit down.”

Nanny Yue looked at her. She was already 12 years old. In a month or two, she would be 13 years old. Her figure had lengthened. She looked slender and beautiful. Her face had also grown a lot, and she looked like she was about to grow up.

Then, she recalled First Madam’s last entrustment back then and couldn’t help but tear up. “In the blink of an eye, Young Miss has already grown up. If First

Madam is still alive…

At this point, she knew that she had misspoken, so she did not continue. However, she could not help but feel sad.

Yu Youyao quickly handed her a handkerchief. “If my mother knew in the netherworld, she would be happy.”

Nanny Yue took the handkerchief from Young Miss and wiped her tears with a gratified expression. “Young Miss is right. As long as Young Miss lives well,

Madam will be happier than anything else.”

Like mother, like daughter.

Although Eldest Miss’s personality was different from First Madam’s, she was also smart and generous in handling matters. She was a magnanimous and considerate person. Her horizons were not narrow, and she could do everything appropriately.

This shrewdness did not mean that she was good at scheming.

She knew the ways of the world, but did not participate. She was proficient in human relationships and was not obsessed with scheming. She was clear about her values, and she did not go with the flow. When dealing with others, she had her own understanding.

Nanny Yue couldn’t help but be in a daze. “Matriarch has raised Young Miss very well…”

A young lady like her would either already be engaged or dating.

However, in the past few years, the court had not been stable either. Old Madam Yu was a cautious person and had been watching in the dark. She probably wouldn’t arrange an engagement too early.

Which was just as well.

Men were afraid of entering the wrong line of work, and women were afraid of marrying the wrong man.

Their young miss was a young lady with a strong reputation and talent. When anyone in the capital mentioned Eldest Miss Yu of the Left Assistant Minister’s family, who wouldn’t give her a thumbs up?

She would rather marry late than make a mistake..

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