Chapter 102: Court Ministers, Secretly Tripping Up

Watching the civil and military officials leaving in a hurry, Ying Ying Zi Ye's mouth curled up slightly.

Although the ministers didn't say much in the court.

But looking at their appearance, they certainly wouldn't honestly execute the reform.

The hundred officials were very excellent, but if they weren't forced, they wouldn't be able to complete this task even if given a year.

"People are all gone, you all can find a place to sit too."

Ying Ying Zi Ye leaned softly on the chair.

Wang Li and the three, hearing this, looked at each other, and seeing that the ministers had all left, they also sat on the ground.

They had communicated last night and thought the Ninth Prince was still easy to get along with.

But in the court, they still didn't dare to be too casual.

"Ninth Prince, will they honestly execute the reform order?"

"Looking at this appearance, it's a bit tough!"

Li Xin's tone also relaxed somewhat.

"Of course they won't honestly execute the order; this has touched their interests."

"That's why I let you few stay behind."

Ying Ying Zi Ye drank some tea and answered indifferently.

"Oh, does the Ninth Prince have some good strategy?"

Wang Li and the others were a bit curious; they were very supportive of tax reform.

After all, they were military generals, and leading troops to fight was their daily routine.

In recent years, the soldiers who guarded the border regardless of their lives almost all came from the Han Sect.

Their families relied on some military pay to live.

But they were living more and more difficultly.

Salaries didn't rise, and sometimes the body wouldn't even be able to pay the military salary.

The heavy tax burden was also getting heavier, and life was almost unable to make ends meet.

But looking at the nobles and gentry, they were rich as oil, and still spent their days in debauchery.

This huge contrast made them feel more and more ashamed of their subordinates.

Once the reform succeeded, it would be of great benefit to the soldiers.

As long as the treasury was full, the soldiers who protected the country would have salaries to be paid.

To want the treasury to be full, one must levy taxes from the nobles and gentry.

But to want to levy taxes from nobles and collect fertile land from the gentry, how easy is it to talk about?

Officials were also one of the rich people.

The reason why the civil and military officials were unwilling to execute this task was that much of their money was obtained from the nobles and gentry.

The relationship between officials and nobles and gentry was tangled, and pulling one hair would move the whole body; it was not easy to handle.

Not to mention others, even Wang Li's own concubine was a young lady from a certain noble family.

The situation of other officials was about the same.

Thinking of this, Wang Li's head was big; he had no way to solve these things.

But he knew that tax reform could not be delayed!

This was too important for the people and the soldiers.

Ying Ying Zi Ye tapped the table lightly with both hands.

"Wang Ben, Meng Yi."

"This general is here!"

The two stood up and bowed, waiting for instructions.

"You two go outside Xianyang City to be supervisors; the great army is at your disposal."

"First plant the new food; it will be of great help to the reform."

"Understood!"

The two bowed and accepted the order.

"Wang Li, Li Xin."

"This general is here!"

The two hurriedly stood up to listen for instructions.

"You two can bring troops into the city and surround the residences of the officials who oppose the reform; their family members are only allowed to enter, not to leave!"

"If there are any who resist, they can be executed on the spot!"

Wang Li and Li Xin were stunned.

"This..."

For the army to enter the city, it requires His Majesty's order.

Otherwise, no soldier dares to come in; this is a crime punishable by beheading.

So many officials, so many family members, if they were all imprisoned at home and not allowed to come out.

Then this matter would be a bit big!

This is equivalent to offending the vast majority of officials in the court.

If this group of officials jointly impeached, if one thing went wrong, perhaps even His Majesty wouldn't be able to withstand the pressure and wouldn't be able to protect the Ninth Prince.

For this order, they were somewhat worried and didn't dare to execute it.

"Ninth Prince, this... will something happen if we do this?"

Wang Li glanced at his father, hoping Wang Ben could persuade him.

But Wang Ben was leisurely, pretending not to hear.

"Yes, Ninth Prince, doing this will make the matter very big, and I'm afraid it will be hard to end."

Li Xin also spoke to advise; he had been a general for so many years, but he had never done such a thing.

Ying Ying Zi Ye waved his hand and handed the Deer-Lu Sword to Wang Li.

"Rest assured and execute it; even if the sky falls, I will hold it up."

"Don't worry about Father Emperor; I have my own way to solve it."

"To deal with those old slickers, if we don't come with something hard, I reckon they will continue to ignore the reform!"

"Understood!"

Executing military orders was their duty.

Wang Li took the Deer-Lu Sword; since the Ninth Prince had said so, they would go forward without hesitation.

And the Ninth Prince was the Regent, so his order was equivalent to His Majesty's instruction.

The two didn't dare to be negligent and could only bite the bullet and execute it.

"Give them a message: if the fertile land and taxes are not collected within the one-month deadline, the entire family will be executed!"

"Alright, if there is nothing else, go get busy!"

Ying Ying Zi Ye's gaze was cold, a trace of killing intent spilled out, and he also stood up, preparing to leave.

"We take our leave!"

The four accepted the order, turned around, and left the morning court hall. ===== CHAPTER 104 =====