Chapter 716: Worker

The three walked a long way, thinking that even the king, at the end, never forgets to find someone to back him up, and they couldn't help but laugh.

"Why doesn't Minister Xie wait until Your Majesty rests a few days before bringing it up? Then… it would be a little easier to accept."

Xie Yuan shook his head. "It doesn't matter those few days. No matter when he brings it up, Your Majesty will find it hard to accept." Xue Lin'an also thought so.

Xie Yuan had no doubt that the king could unify the world; no one knew that he had silently elevated the king in his heart to the height of Taizu. Consequently, he found it increasingly hard to accept that the sage king he envisioned was an illiterate.

It was the degree of lying awake, tossing and turning, worried to the point of being unable to sleep after waking up at night.

After walking a few steps, Xie Yuan suddenly slapped his forehead and said, "I was just saying I forgot something—I forgot to tell Your Majesty about the imperial examination matter." In the first year of his accession, it was heard that they planned to add a special examination; coincidentally there was a shortage of talent, and he supported adding it.

"We can bring it up again in the afternoon; it's fine."

Xie Tu had a proper class to attend, but this didn't prevent the king from summoning him at any time to act as a spearman.

In the king's mind, Xie Tu was the first choice for this job; we should use the best—others aren't good enough!

His uncle's attendant specially reminded him to go early, to go ahead to Suiyu Hall and call out to His Majesty. Xie Yuan feared that if the king were late or left early, he would miss this time slot.

That way, when he got ready to set out, he was a full hour early, and at the gate he even bumped into the king's cousin from the Yang family.

Yang Fang greeted him with a graceful bearing; as frank as Xie Tu, he also had a slight idea at this moment.

The king doesn't seem to be very close to this relative, does he?

For example, this afternoon's nice assignment—why didn't the king think of Yang Fang?

He remembered that during the exam, this person came in second, right?

Had he known that coming in second would avoid so many 'risks', he would have answered the exam paper carefully. It's not that he's lazy and doesn't want to work; it's just that the 'jobs' the king finds for him are… hard to put into words.

Perhaps thinking that way on the road was an ill omen; upon arriving at Suiyu Hall, the king saw him and warmly grabbed him, opening with a bomb.

"Minister Xie, I want you to go talk to Fatty Four!"

After he realized who this 'Fatty Four' was, he only hated himself for not arriving on time.

Bai Li Hu's identity is now sensitive—more than just a hot potato.

"Your Majesty summoned me, not just to keep you company while reading, right?"

"Exactly! We'll go to that a little later. First I want to chat with you about Fatty Four."

Xie Tu: ……

Can he politely refuse?

"The people in the south are in utter chaos, unable to make a living; clearing out the major forces is urgent. If it weren't for the lack of sufficient grain and supplies, I would have already set out. You know this, right?"

Xie Tu nodded.

He knew that not only was Youzhou's treasury empty, but Chang'an's was empty too; even the king's private storehouse, the Taotie Tower prepared for the cavalry, was empty, its stock having been personally sent by the chief steward to Hengshan to supply the 20,000 cavalry of the Duke of Dongdu who were about to be stationed there.

"The court is poor and grain supplies are tight; for any battle we can avoid, we should try to avoid it or at least fight less. Jingzhou has gathered over a hundred thousand troops, but we're not afraid of them! The Xiongnu, they say, just take what they want… but you know, moving the cavalry costs ten thousand taels of gold, and I don't want to move! Going to the grasslands and being frugal still eats up the supplies. Go talk to Fatty Four and have him first renounce Jingzhou! … Then you publish an article in the Northern Frontier Daily to announce it to the world." The king thought it over, felt it was workable, and made this hasty, rash decision.

Xie Tu was stunned on the spot—what a lion's big mouth!

His mother and her clan are right there—just open his mouth and say he's giving it up, and he does?!

"Your Majesty… did the Jing king voluntarily reveal this intention? Or…"

The king shook his head bareheaded, "Nope!" and still had the nerve to act cute.

Xie Tu: ……

He politely refused again: "…Shouldn't such a big matter be discussed with Minister Xie?" Is he worthy?!

"Huh?" The king would not allow a great talent to underestimate himself.

"Young people's matters, young people settle them."

"I've taken Fatty Four on campaign already, letting him see our cavalry's strength, and I've gently advised him many times; he's not stupid, he fully knows how to choose. You're eloquent too—talk to him, get him to issue a statement, and if he gives up competing for that seat in the Jianzhang Palace, any further rebellion by the Cui clan would be that of traitors lacking legitimacy, and I have plenty of chances to ruin them."

The king patted Xie Tu on the shoulder, "He and I have been rivals since childhood; if I were to broach the topic, I couldn't save face. Besides, you going is more suitable than your uncle."

Xie Tu thought it over carefully—let alone, the king's arrangement seems… somewhat reasonable.

For a moment he was convinced.

But now there's no outsider, and he still wanted to struggle a bit, after all he's too familiar with the king in private. He tried saying, "Does this person have to be me? Let me recommend someone else to Your Majesty…" For example, Yang Fang…

Before he could finish, the king cut him off: "I only like you! … Anyway, I just remembered something—I wanted to introduce you to two princesses. You know the recent relations between the feudal princes and the court, and you're the most outstanding talent from Youzhou, so a marriage alliance…"

This time, Xie Tu's outrageous interruption was, "I obey your command!"

The king sat warmly beside him, "Oh, I was just joking—look how scared you are. Those pampered princesses raised in the fiefdoms aren't worthy of my capable assistant. Rest assured, whom you marry in the future is up to you! But I think you should marry someone who has both talent and beauty, so that the next generation can continue the fine story of the Chen Commandery Xie clan—at the very least, they should score first place in the imperial examination."

Xie Tu: ……

The KPI of the next generation of workers is already in the king's plans.

King: "Exactly! I'm strict with others and lenient with myself."

Zhao Bao whispered: "You've got the idiom backwards, Your Majesty."

Xie Tu: "No, it's not reversed."