Chapter 180 Confusing
"I have disappointed Your Highness!" Qi Heng said ashamedly.
"Why does Yuan Ruo say that?" Zhao Xing asked with a smile.
"I was in a hurry to achieve success. When I first arrived in Weishi County, the officials were very cooperative. I didn't think much about it and was eager to measure the land. I almost made a big mistake and ruined Your Highness's plan." Qi Heng said with a guilty look on his face.
When the people surrounded the county government office, if it was not handled properly, the public opinion would be too strong, which might have led to the local people's rejection of the land measurement.
Although those who hide in the fields are only landlords and powerful people, and ordinary people do not have that ability, they must be treated equally when they are investigated.
If the matter gets out of hand and the landlords and powerful people incite the people to cause trouble, the consequences will be disastrous.
In the end, it was Miss Shen who reminded him to ask Zhao Xing for help. Only after getting Zhao Xing's help was he able to stabilize the situation and finally complete the clearing of the fields.
"You can't be considered as being too impatient. It's mainly because you lack experience." Zhao Xing shook his head slightly and said, "You should have heard that after I ordered the land inventory, I encountered a lot of impeachment, right?"
Qi Heng nodded. Of course he had heard about this, which was why he felt so guilty.
He felt that Zhao Xingren's appointment of him as the county magistrate of Weishi County was a sign of his trust in him.
Zhao Xing was impeached, and what happened in Weishi County at that time might have become an excuse for others to impeach him.
Not only did he fail to repay Zhao Xing's trust, but he also caused him trouble.
"Does Yuanruo think it is necessary to conduct an inventory of the land?" Zhao Xing asked.
"I think so. If we compare the country to a family, then measuring the land is like checking accounts. Regardless of whether there are any problems, we should check them regularly." Qi Heng said.
"You're right, but have you ever thought about why so many people are trying to stop it when it's obviously not a bad thing?" Zhao Xing asked.
"Perhaps there is some hidden drawback in this, but I am not well-educated and cannot see it." Qi Heng said after thinking for a while.
Zhao Xing shook his head slightly, looked at Sheng Changbai and said, "Zecheng, what do you think?"
"Benefits." Sheng Changbai said concisely.
"That's right." Zhao Xing nodded slightly, looked at Qi Heng and said, "Yuan Ruo, if the court suddenly announced that it would abolish the inheritance of the title, would you agree or oppose it?"
"Your Majesty..." Qi Heng was stunned for a while after hearing this, and then said, "The title was originally granted by the court. If the court wants to take it back, I will naturally obey!"
"You see, you hesitated, and you said you obeyed instead of agreeing. This is because this matter involves your own interests." Zhao Xing said.
"Your Majesty..." Qi Heng opened his mouth, but didn't know how to refute.
"I was just making an analogy." Zhao Xing smiled and said, "I am very pleased that Yuan Ruo can say that he is willing to comply. But there are still too few people like Yuan Ruo. Most officials in the world have thousands of acres of land. They oppose it because they are afraid that they or their clans will be investigated."
"This is human nature! Yuan Ruo, I told you before that reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles, but traveling ten thousand miles is not as good as meeting countless people. This is about understanding human nature. You have seen only good people since you were a child, so you tend to think of people in a good way and trust them so easily. This is what I said before, you lack experience. This is something that books cannot teach you."
Because of his background, Qi Heng has only seen kindness and heard flattery since he was a child.
In his eyes, the world and people are mostly beautiful.
Although Zhao Xing's words at the beginning made Qi Heng change a lot and try to understand the sufferings of the people.
But the time was too short and it didn't have much impact on him essentially.
This is also the reason why, after Zhao Xing learned of Qi Heng's situation in Weishi County, he not only did not intervene, but he did not even launch the backup plan he had prepared.
He just wanted Qi Heng to truly experience those people who appear to be righteous and moral but are actually selfish and hypocritical.
Qi Heng pondered for a long time, then stood up, bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Highness. I am grateful for your advice."
Zhao Xing smiled and did not continue the topic. Instead, he said, "Now that the land has been checked, the next step is to distribute the land. I have already issued the detailed regulations to each county, and you can just follow them."
"Yes!" the two responded.
Next, Zhao Xing stopped talking about official business and chatted with the two men over wine, and even asked about their marriage.
Their wedding had been planned for half a year, and they had been going through the three letters and six ceremonies. This time they came back not only to celebrate the festival, but also to confirm the wedding date.
The wedding date for both of them has been set, both will be after his marriage, and the time will not be far apart.
The banquet lasted until after half past noon. Zhao Xing went to Yu Yanran's room to take a nap, and when he woke up it was already evening.
"Your Highness, Sanshui came to see you before, and I asked him if he was anxious. Sanshui said he was not anxious, so he did not wake you up." Yu Yanran said as she helped Zhao Xing get dressed.
"I understand." Zhao Xing nodded.
"I sent invitations to Ruolan and Minglan yesterday, inviting them to come to the East Palace to play tomorrow." Yu Yanran said.
"Don't tell me about such trivial matters. If I'm not busy, I'll go over and take a look." Zhao Xing said.
After chatting for a while, Zhao Xing walked out while Yu Yanran helped him fasten his belt.
"Your Highness." Sanshui, who was waiting outside, came up and said, "Commander Yin is here. We have been waiting for an hour."
"I thought he didn't dare to come to see me." Zhao Xing said, "Let him come to the study to see me."
Zhao Xing was somewhat dissatisfied with Yin Hanzhang's performance.
Forget about other places, the area around Bianjing is the top priority.
Although the intelligence system had only been established for less than five years, it was impossible to immediately detect any disturbance in Bianliang.
However, the matter of the assassination has been investigated for such a long time, and now Prince Yong has been arrested, but there is no news from his side. How can Zhao Xing be satisfied?
Not long after Zhao Xing arrived at the study, Yin Hanzhang arrived.
"Your Highness, I pay my respects to you!" Yin Hanzhang bowed.
Zhao Xing glanced at him and said calmly: "If you can't tell me any news that interests me, I will have to replace the leader of my secret guards." Secret Guard was the name Zhao Xing gave to the intelligence system, and Yin Hanzhang was the leader.
However, because he had no official status, he did not hold any official position.
Yin Hanzhang's official position was a commander of the Eastern Palace.
Yin Hanzhang's heart tightened, and he said, "Your Highness, according to the information I have investigated, it has been confirmed that the person who sent the assassin is Prince Yong."
Zhao Xing did not say anything, but looked at Yin Hanzhang calmly. From the previous news, he could roughly confirm that it was Prince Yong.
Moreover, given my father's character, he would never order an arrest without evidence.
So he was not happy with the news.
Yin Hanzhang's forehead was covered with cold sweat, and he continued, "I heard a piece of news two days ago that a teacher in Prince Yong's mansion had disappeared. Prince Yong seemed to be very concerned about this person and sent people to look for him everywhere, but he didn't want to make too much noise. So I checked his identity while sending people to track down his whereabouts. In the end, I found that he had secretly escaped to the northwest a few days ago."
"Has the person been caught?" Zhao Xing asked.
"No." Yin Hanzhang shook his head slightly and said, "I guess this person must have fled to Xixia. It is very likely that he was responsible for the assassination."
"You mean this person was sent by Western Xia with the purpose of using Prince Yong to assassinate me?" Zhao Xing said.
"This possibility is very high, because I have not found any clues that Prince Yong has trained death squads. It is very likely that those death squads were provided by Western Xia. But it is only speculation at the moment, and there is no evidence." Yin Hanzhang said.
"Speed up the development of the secret guards. I don't want to encounter a second assassination attempt! Also, continue to track down that person's whereabouts." Zhao Xing said after a moment of silence.
When Zhao Xing first heard that it was related to Western Xia, he still thought it was possible.
But when I think about it carefully, it seems unlikely.
The current emperor of Western Xia is only thirteen years old, and the government is controlled by his uncle.
As the Xixia emperor grew older, he naturally became unwilling to be a puppet.
The Western Xia emperor and his powerful ministers were now fighting for power, and the situation was extremely chaotic. How could they possibly plan to assassinate him?
Zhao Xing felt that this was most likely a smokescreen, but the person had already escaped, and only by finding the person could he know the inside story.
As for Prince Yong, it is estimated that nothing can be asked of him. He may not even know that there is something wrong with that person.
Things are really getting interesting.
"Yes!"
After hearing this, Yin Hanzhang's heart finally relaxed. He knew that his life was saved.
"You go down." Zhao Xing waved his hand.
After sending Yin Hanzhang away, Zhao Xing continued to review the remaining notes.
In the evening, Zhao Xing came to Yu Yanran's yard.
"Your Highness." Upon hearing the news, Yu Yanran came out to greet him with joy.
"Ah."
Zhao Xing nodded and pulled her into the house.
"Making clothes again?"
Zhao Xing asked as he looked at the cloth and sewing box on the couch.
"Now that the Mid-Autumn Festival has passed, the weather is about to turn cold. I want to make some thicker clothes for Your Highness." Yu Yanran said.
"There are so many embroiderers in the Eastern Palace, you don't have to work too hard." Zhao Xing said.
"I really like doing housework. It's not hard." Yu Yanran shook her head.
"If you like, just do it during the day. Don't do it at night. It hurts your eyes." Zhao Xing said.
"Yeah." Yu Yanran listened to Zhao Xing's caring words and nodded sweetly in her heart.
"Since you like needlework, I'll tell you something. See if you can make it." Zhao Xing suddenly thought of something and looked at Yu Yanran with a smile.
Yu Yanran said confidently: "Your Highness, please tell me. As long as it can be made with needle and thread, I can definitely make it."
Zhao Xing leaned close to her ear and whispered a few words. Worried that Yu Yanran wouldn't be able to understand well just by describing it, he gestured with his hands on her body.
Yu Yanran's face turned red after hearing this.
"Do you understand?" Zhao Xing asked.
"I understand, but I have never done it and I don't know if I can do it." Yu Yanran said.
"It's okay, just take your time to figure it out, don't be in a hurry." Zhao Xing said.
Zhao Xing slept in Yu Yanran's room at night, but he just hugged her and didn't do anything.
The next morning, Zhao Xing had breakfast and went to the palace.
He planned to ask his father for permission to go and see Prince Yong.
After Zhao Xing left, Yu Yanran asked the kitchen to prepare some snacks that Rulan and Minglan liked, and waited for Rulan and Minglan's arrival with Sheng Shulan.
(End of this chapter)