Chapter 250: Sowing Discord

Ma Yong has been very pleased with himself lately.

Even though the people of Yinzhou are very unfriendly to him!

He has still managed to grasp a great deal of evidence regarding this Yinzhou, evidence of deceiving the Emperor, defying the imperial court, and ignoring the laws of the land!

A mere Yinzhou, harboring an army of over two hundred thousand?

A mere Yinzhou, actually signing a private agreement with Loulan to evade taxes!

Privately issuing currency, privately amending laws, privately manufacturing Refined Salt...

In short.

Over these past few months, in Ma Yong's view, the crimes of this Yinzhou are too numerous to record!

As long as he has this evidence of their crimes, how could he not get ahead?

At the mere thought of his future success and prosperity, he becomes uncontrollably excited.

"My lord, my lord..."

At this moment, several subordinates with rotten vegetable leaves and stinking eggs on their heads ran in, looking flustered.

Ma Yong frowned and said angrily, "Did you go out casually again?"

The subordinates had no time to answer this, pointing toward the door.

Ma Yong fixed his eyes on it. Good heavens, outside the door, there were actually Horse Carriage after Horse Carriage. He could not help but let his eyes flicker.

Following closely, a Beauty of peerless grace stepped down from a Horse Carriage; who could it be if not the General Zheng of Yintan City, Zheng Yueru? At this moment, her face was bright with smiles, and she said as she walked, "Lord Ma has been in Yinzhou for so long, and this is Yue Ru's first visit. Oh, Yintan City is truly too busy; please forgive me, my lord. Yue Ru has prepared some meager gifts; I hope you will not look down on them."

Here to give gifts?

Ma Yong snorted coldly and said proudly, "General Zheng's great name is like thunder in Yinzhou. However, women not serving as military officers is the law of Longyan. This action by Governor Liu is biased... If you think you can bribe this official with these filthy things, General Zheng is likely to be disappointed!"

He looked righteous and incorruptible, the very picture of a clean official!

Zheng Yueru was not at all surprised by Ma Yong's attitude; she walked over gracefully and smiled charmingly: "My lord is overthinking it. Reciprocity is just human nature. Yue Ru only came to ask for a cup of water to drink."

Only then did Ma Yong nod coldly.

Yet, in his heart, he felt a bit secretly pleased.

For months, hadn't everyone looked down on him?

Going out every day meant rotten vegetable leaves and stinking eggs? In these few months, he hadn't even had to buy vegetables for the place where he lived!

And now?

Coming to beg him?

Dream on!

No way!

Zheng Yueru chuckled; she knew this Ma Yong was famously stubborn and had a mule-like temper. But she also knew that this man was the son-in-law of a Powerful Clan in Jinghua...

A live-in son-in-law!

That Powerful Clan certainly did not lack gold and silver.

Therefore, this Ma Yong would surely hold gold and silver in contempt.

However, he also had his weaknesses!

That was his desire for fame and status!

He was called "Ma Three-Volumes" precisely because he wanted to make a name for himself, so that he could hold his head high within that Powerful Clan, a live-in son-in-law returning in glory, and so on...

That is why he specifically chose to strike at Liu Zheng, who currently has the greatest fame in the world.

If he succeeds, he can leave his name in history.

If he fails, he will continue to look for the next target...

This is also an extreme egoist.

Nothing more.

Zheng Yueru smiled and said deliberately, "Actually, Yue Ru came just to remind Lord Ma that due to the Imperial Examination, the emotions of the scholars on the street are unstable lately. Lord Ma, you must be careful."

"I..."

Ma Yong got angry just mentioning this.

Scholars are unsafe?

Could they be more unsafe than you local people of Yinzhou? I have endured these past few months; should I be afraid of those sour scholars? They wouldn't dare throw rotten vegetable leaves and stinking eggs at me, would they!

He sneered coldly: "The matter of the Imperial Examination is a joke! Regarding this, this official will submit a report to the Emperor! In the vast Longyan, the country should be governed by filial piety; when did it become about technique above all else? Absurd, absurd!"

This is the current battle of public opinion between the major factions of Longyan.

Those who boycott the Imperial Examination all say: in the end, is character more important, or is academic learning more important?

Of course, it is character!

If one's character is good, naturally everything else will be good.

But what about academic learning? Since ancient times, have there been few wicked, treacherous scholars?

This viewpoint has also existed since ancient times.

It sounds quite reasonable—however, this is because they do not view a country as an institution, a machine.

This is the most fundamental conflict.

What is a country?

A tool for the ruling class.

Since it is a tool, it should pay more attention to academic issues so that this machine can function normally and better. Governing a country by relying on character is a joke in itself.

But in ancient times.

It was just like this. Because the country was the Emperor's private garden, they didn't care how that garden was managed; they wouldn't care if this machine could serve the people or lead this country toward glory. They only wanted obedient dogs, so character and loyalty were what they wanted.

The so-called Heaven, Earth, Sovereign, Kin, and Teacher is the hierarchy they have wanted since ancient times.

This is the difference in stance; the starting point is naturally different.

Zheng Yueru knew that trying to persuade this Ma Yong from this perspective was basically impossible.

But she also knew.

This Ma Yong is incapable of accomplishing anything, but more than capable of ruining things.

If one wants to stir up a storm in Liangzhou at this time.

He is very suitable!

This person's stubbornness and persistence can become a point for them to exploit.

So she chuckled and said, as if casually: "Lord Ma comes from a Powerful Clan, so naturally you would not care about any Imperial Examination. However, Lord Ma..."

"This Imperial Examination pilot site is right here in Liangzhou."

"These days, the situation in Liangzhou is chaotic."

She chuckled: "Yet Lord Ma is in close contact with Liangzhou Inspector Chen Ping... that is truly unwise."

Ma Yong shuddered, looking over in disbelief: "What does General Zheng mean by this?"

Zheng Yueru smiled faintly: "It is said that one who excels in study should seek an official career; it is understandable that Lord Ma is single-mindedly seeking an official position. But Lord Ma should understand, in the current Liangzhou, in the current Longyan, who can more quickly help Lord Ma realize his demands?"

She continued to smile: "This Lord Chen Ping wishes to place Lord Ma at the center of the storm; his heart is truly punishable. To say something highly disrespectful, if the Emperor were to truly pass away, then so be it. But if the Emperor can still hold on through this year, and Governor Liu, leading a great army, is already on the return journey in triumph..."

She stared intently at Ma Yong and asked: "Lord Ma, if there really are some turbulent changes in this Liangzhou."

"You will be the tree that stands out in the forest, which the wind will surely destroy."

"Governor Liu and Inspector Chen Ping are already at a fifty-fifty split."

"But what about Lord Ma?"

"Lord Ma, a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall, yet you are already inside the wall..."

Zheng Yueru leisurely took a sip of tea.

Ma Yong's expression changed drastically.

His heart was instantly in turmoil.