Chapter 183: The Collapse of Xue Beng

In just one short day, the prices of goods in the Heaven Dou Empire have skyrocketed!

The money that many people had earned in their hands has gradually been fleeced away again.

There is no help for it; for the nobility and the sects, expenses for clothing, food, housing, and transportation are necessary, and Cultivation requires even more spending—these are all unavoidable.

Previously, in order to get rich, they sold off all their family's assets, thinking they would buy them back when the prices were low. Their calculations were quite good!

The happier they were when they made money back then, the more they regret it now!

The commoners are doing alright; because prices were high before, they all earned a bit.

Furthermore, the commoners have one advantage: every year during the harvest, they set aside a year's worth of rations, and unless it is a special time, they are determined not to touch these rations.

Moreover, most commoners are engaged in farming; with things in the fields, they have no worries in their hearts!

Because the Heaven Dou Empire is imitating Wuhun City, the attitude toward the poor is currently very good on the surface.

The result caused by this incident is that goods are flowing toward Wuhun City, money is flowing toward the commoners, and the imperial family, the nobility, and the sects have lost so much that even their own grandmothers wouldn't recognize them!

With no money in the Empire, many things will be restricted.

Xue Beng previously ordered a vigorous development of military equipment, but now it can only be forced to a halt.

Heaven Dou Empire Imperial Palace

"Your Majesty, please eat something!"

Xue Beng looked at the white porridge and some plain vegetables brought over by the servant, took a bite, and felt very bitter inside!

"Your Majesty, the palace has already purchased sufficient supplies at the first opportunity, which can last until next year's autumn harvest; by then, the prices will come down!" the imperial guard said.

"What is the situation with the prices outside now?" Xue Beng asked.

"Your Majesty, because of the rising prices, everyone can no longer sit still. The nobles are scrambling to compete, and now the prices outside are four times what they were before!" the imperial guard said.

"Sigh! This bunch of nobles! When it came to selling, they were the most proactive, and now that they are all scrambling together, it would be a ghost story if prices didn't rise rapidly! Is there any movement from the Spirit Hall?"

"There is nothing happening with the Spirit Hall. They are only providing basic services now: Spirit Awakening, Spirit Ring exchange, and local delivery; other services are temporarily closed!"

"This Spirit Hall is trying to force the Empire to its death!"

Xue Beng had originally thought about purchasing some supplies from other countries through the delivery service, but it seems the Spirit Hall had long anticipated this and closed the service directly!

"Your Majesty, you must hold on! Everyone is watching you! You cannot collapse, Your Majesty; you must take care of your health!"

"Everyone is watching me, watching me make a fool of myself? You followed my father the Emperor before, and now you follow me. I want to know how my father would have handled this if he had encountered this situation!"

"Your Majesty! This... this..."

"Speak! No matter what you can say, I will pardon you!"

"Yes! Your Majesty! Actually, this is not the first time the Spirit Hall has purchased supplies; they came once before. At that time, only the Retired Emperor and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect Master Ning Fengzhi had discussed it. As a guard for the Retired Emperor, I heard some of it!"

"At that time, the Retired Emperor could not hold on either. After discussing it with Sect Master Ning, they decided to block the news for fear of causing public panic, and then the Retired Emperor and Sect Master Ning secretly released some supplies. It was also because the Spirit Hall had finished most of their purchasing that the prices were slowly pressed down!"

"Later, one thing after another happened, and the Retired Emperor could not hold on, fainting on his bed several times, so he had always wanted to find someone to take over. Several princes met with accidents, and then it was Your Majesty's ascension!"

When the imperial guard said this, he stopped speaking. Having been a guard for two emperors, his ability to read the situation was surely perfected.

Hearing this, the expression on Xue Beng's face became increasingly ugly, and the anger in his heart rose steadily!

"Crash!" Xue Beng directly picked up a ceramic vase beside him and smashed it on the ground.

The people around him all knelt on the ground, not daring to lift their heads, fearing that the Emperor's anger would involve them!

"So I was just pushed out to bear the pressure! Father! How could you be like this! I was always pretending to be a playboy before; you never trained me on how to govern the country at all."

"Was it because there was no choice? That you threw the throne to me?"

"And you aren't that old; it was entirely possible to have another one! If that didn't work, you could have passed the throne to Uncle Xuexing; I wouldn't have had any objections. Father, how could you be like this! I am your only son now; are you really pitting your son like this?"

At this moment, Xue Beng collapsed and shouted hysterically.

"I want to go find Father; I don't want the throne anymore! Guard, what is my father's situation now!"

"Your Majesty, I feel it is better if you don't know!" the guard said weakly.

"Speak! Don't talk nonsense; if you talk nonsense again, I'll behead you today!" The baleful energy on Xue Beng's body became heavier and heavier.

"Yes, Your Majesty! The Retired Emperor previously took his beloved concubine and Princess Xue Ke to buy a very large courtyard in the Spirit Hall, and because Wuhun City has many things that cannot be bought outside, the Retired Emperor's health recovered after living there for a few years. Recently, Princess Xue Ke became a disciple of Chrysanthemum Douluo, and the Retired Emperor moved into the Floating Small Courtyard that everyone envies. The previous large courtyard was sold directly by the Retired Emperor for seven hundred million Spirit Hall Points!"

Hearing the guard say this, Xue Beng was overcome with rage, and he spat out a mouthful of blood with a "Puff".

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

"I'm fine! My father! You pit your son like this; do you have the face to face our ancestors? Seven hundred million points! The Heaven Dou Empire's annual income, if converted into points, is only fifty or sixty million. Father!"

The more Xue Beng thought about it, the angrier he got! Father! Your only living son is suffering and tired here every day! You are enjoying yourself outside, and now I am so poor I am eating plain tea and rice, yet you have so many points in your hands!

Father! Even if you gave me one or two hundred million points now, it could help the Empire survive the crisis!

Father! I don't want to be the Emperor anymore!

Father! Come back! I'll give the throne back to you!

I want to go find Father! I want to go to Wuhun City!

Once the idea of going to find his father was born, it grew larger and larger in Xue Beng's heart like a small seedling!

"Summon Xuexing Qinwang, go quickly!" Xue Beng immediately ordered the guard!

Soon, Xuexing Qinwang arrived at the imperial palace!

Seeing the arrival of Xuexing Qinwang, Xue Beng grabbed Xuexing Qinwang and said: "Uncle! Do you know? My father has moved into the Floating Small Courtyard, and he has at least seven hundred million Spirit Hall Points in his hands!"

Hearing Xue Beng talk about Xue Ye's situation, Xue Xing was stunned!

"What on earth did my elder brother do in Wuhun City to be so rich!" Xuexing Qinwang felt it was incredible!

"My father is calculating; seven hundred million points was just from selling one courtyard. He has lived in Wuhun City for so many years, so of course he has more than one courtyard in his hands! So I want to go to Wuhun City; I want to find Father, I want to ask for money! Uncle, for this period of time, you will act as regent!" Xue Beng said.

"Your Majesty, that won't do; this is not in accordance with common sense!"

"Uncle! Help me! What common sense or not, I can't manage these things right now! If you are willing, Uncle, I will pass the throne to you, and I will go back to being the carefree playboy I was before!" Xue Beng said his thoughts quickly.

"Your Majesty, you must not! I am your own uncle! How could I covet your throne! You must not have such thoughts!" Xuexing Qinwang said.

If it were before, Xuexing Qinwang indeed had some thoughts about the throne, but the events of the last few years had made him completely abandon this idea.

What is so good about being Emperor? Facing the pressure from the Spirit Hall every day, facing the pressure from the nobles, facing the pressure from the common people, facing the pressure from the common people!

Thinking about it this way, being a Prince is more suitable for me!

"Uncle! Then you must help me. I must go to Wuhun City once; the court affairs during this time will be controlled by you!"

"However, I am afraid the ministers below will have objections!"

"At tomorrow's morning court, I will announce the matter regarding the late Emperor, and I am going to Wuhun City to ask for money!"

"Your Majesty, if you go to Wuhun City, aren't you afraid that Wuhun City will detain you!"

"Rest assured, Uncle, they won't. If Wuhun City wanted to make a move against me, they would have done so long ago; would they have waited until now?"

"Moreover, my younger sister Xue Ke is currently a disciple of Chrysanthemum Douluo. With this layer of status, nothing should go wrong."

"I am going to Wuhun City this time openly and aboveboard. The people of the entire Empire know I am going to Wuhun City. If something happens to me in Wuhun City, since Wuhun City cares so much about its reputation, how will they explain it to the common people then!"

"So, I am going to Wuhun City openly and aboveboard now; they even have to protect my safety!"

Hearing that Xue Beng had thought everything through, Xue Xing did not want to obstruct him any further!

What Xue Beng said was not wrong! Pressure really does temper a person; he has only been Emperor for a few years, and now he can think of so much!

Xue Xing watched Xue Beng grow up from a young age; in the past, how could Xue Beng have had this kind of intelligence!

PS: Seeking subscriptions, seeking collections, seeking monthly tickets, seeking recommendation tickets!

(End of this chapter)