"Second brother, what do you think of the current situation?"
Emperor Yu held the tea cup and his tone seemed careless, but he kept looking at Ning Fan's expression from the corner of his eye.
"Chao Bureau?"
"Father, you are making things difficult for me!"
"If you ask me which of the oirans in the capital is the most beautiful and who has the best singing voice, I can really tell you about it. But if you ask me about the governance of the country..."
"Ahem!"
After hearing Ning Fan's words, Emperor Yu choked on his tea. After a violent cough, several black lines appeared on his forehead.
"This little beast is still pretending to me!"
"If I hadn't personally heard his lofty talk in the house, I might have been fooled by him!"
"Humph, since you want to act, I will act with you!"
Seeing Emperor Yu's face showing anger at first, but not getting angry, and gradually regaining his composure, Ning Fan couldn't help but secretly admire him. He was worthy of being the lord of a country. With this Qi-nurturing skill alone, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to reach this state even if he was given ten years!
"Second brother, do you know how critical my situation is now?"
"Wars have been wreaking havoc on the four borders all year round. The Eight Barbarian tribes in the Mobei have been plundering our northern border all the year round. Now, Duke Jingguo and Princess Changning fought bloody battles for three years and drove them into the northern desert!"
"The great Yan of the Western Region is standing tall, like a tiger lying on the couch, wanting to pounce on us at any time and take a bite of our flesh!"
"Those barbarians in the south are sharpening their swords. They claim to control millions of strings. They may attack me, Dayu, at any time!"
"On the battlefield of the Eastern Territory, we are entering a critical moment of life and death. Once defeated, I, the hinterland of the Eastern Territory of Dayu, will face the iron hoof of Donghuai!"
When Emperor Yu talked about this, he sighed sadly: "More than that, although foreign aggression is strong, I, the Great Yu, have loyal and brave soldiers. The most hateful thing is these gangrenous gangsters in the court!"
"The corpse's original position, corruption and perversion of the law are simply crimes worthy of death!"
Emperor Yu seemed to be a little angry. He slammed his chopsticks on the table and looked at Ning Fan: "Have you ever heard of the four famous families?"
"Chen Shu in the south of the Yangtze River, Hu in the frontier fortress, Changyan on the water and land, the four famous families!"
"Of course I have heard of it!"
"Yes!" Emperor Yu nodded slightly and said in a concentrated voice: "Everyone knows that the Chen family of Shuzhou occupies a prosperous land in the south of the Yangtze River and is said to be as rich as any other country. But they don't know that the Chen family's horse farm is the main source of my Dayu's war horses. Source, they occupy the largest iron mine in the south of the Yangtze River, and every year the court purchases pig iron from them, spending millions of taels of silver!"
"Although the Hu family in the frontier fortress is not as wealthy as the Chen family, they control 30% of my Dayu's salt mines. Even the local government has become their vassal!"
"The Chang Yanshui family has great influence in the north of the Yangtze River. They control the main ferries on both sides of the Li River. Even official ships have to pay to them!"
"Qi% of my business dealings, Dayu, are inseparable from the Shui family's water transportation!"
"As for the Lu family, our ancestors once contributed to the founding of our country. They were awarded the title of Marquis and the title of Marquis. They have been passed down from generation to generation. They have a profound influence in Jiangdong and even interfered with the imperial court's control of the place!"
"The most terrifying thing is that they monopolize our Dayu Grain Store and control the price of grain!"
Emperor Yu took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "Since the founding of our country, our dynasty has suffered from wars. All the emperors in the past were committed to defending the territory. When the emperor was in power, he devoted all his efforts to quell the war. The Great Zhou Dynasty is the dynasty of your mother and concubine!"
"So far, I, the Great Yu, have managed to stick to all directions. Although there have been constant wars all year round, the flames of war have never touched the people of my court."
"I, Dayu, have been in the country for more than a hundred years. Although I have never been an emperor with great achievements, every generation of emperors has made achievements. In foreign wars, I, Dayu, have almost never suffered a loss!"
"But internal governance is a complete mess!"
Emperor Yu also had a look of deep helplessness on his face, and he muttered: "Since I came to the throne, although I have the intention to weaken the family, there are uncertainties in all directions. Even I don't dare to act rashly!"
"However, as of today, the civil and military forces of the entire dynasty are all eagles and dogs of the four prominent families. I have no way out!"
"If it is allowed to develop, within thirty years, Dayu will be in turmoil and even be in danger of losing his country!"
After hearing what Emperor Yu said, Ning Fan truly understood how terrifying the four prominent families were. You must know that salt mines and water transportation are the lifeblood of a country's economy, and iron ore and military horses are strategic materials!
And food is the foundation of a country. It is no exaggeration to say that if the Lu family wanted to, they could strangle the imperial court by the neck!
Food, mineral veins, water transportation, and military horses are such important strategic materials.
How terrible is it that they are all controlled by aristocratic families, and even their scale far exceeds that of the imperial court?
"Before, I only heard about the four famous families and their fame spread all over the world, but I never thought that their background is so terrifying!"
"Second brother, I have been thinking about it these days and finally figured out a plan. Come and plan it for me!"
After Emperor Yu regained his composure, he looked at Ning Fan with a smile: "I am going to set up a secret service agency, which will only take orders from me. In the name of protecting the palace, I will give it patrols and arrests, guards of honor, external intelligence, and investigation. The power to interrogate and arrest!”
"To monitor hundreds of officials internally and to spy on military intelligence externally, you can kill them first and then report them. It is authorized by the imperial power!"
"What do you think?"
As soon as Emperor Yu finished speaking, Ning Fan froze on the spot as if struck by lightning, with a look of disbelief in his eyes.
Is it possible that Emperor Yu is also a time traveler?
Isn't this Jin Yiwei!
"Um?"
After seeing Ning Fan's expression, Emperor Yu also had a playful look on his face: "Is this plan feasible?"
"It's...feasible!"
"My father is wise and mighty, and my sons and ministers admire him!"
"but……"
Ning Fan tried to calm down and whispered: "Father, this matter is not a trivial matter and should be discussed in the long term!"
"Yes!" Emperor Yu nodded in agreement: "Of course I know the stakes. Once I release this news, the civil and military forces of the DPRK will definitely try their best to stop it!"
"However, how many civil and military officials in this DPRK have clean butts?"
"I have already ordered people to find out a group of corrupt officials. I will use thunderous methods tomorrow morning to scare the courtiers, and I will propose the establishment of a secret service agency. Naturally, the courtiers will have nothing to say!"
"Do you think it's possible?"
Emperor Yu's eyes showed a hint of amusement, and some cold sweat had already appeared on Ning Fan's forehead. He couldn't help but curse in his heart: "Emperor Yu, an old fox, actually sent someone to spy on him?"
"That must be it!"
"Yesterday, my conversation with Jia Xu was overheard!"
"When we go back, we must find this bitch!"
Seeing Ning Fan's expression change, Emperor Yu smiled playfully: "Are you thinking that I will send someone to monitor you, and I will find that person when I get back!"
"What the hell???"
"Father, can you read minds?"
"Is it possible that you also have a system?"
…
