Chapter 73: A Banquet with No Good Intentions

Chen Ping gave a hearty laugh, said no more, and welcomed the father and son of the Liu Family inside.

Just as expected.

At this moment, the banquet hall of the Liangzhou Prefecture was already filled with many people; at a glance, they were all the State Marquises and County Marquises within the borders of Liangzhou. Seeing the Liu Family father and son walk in, each of them had a different look in their eyes, but seeing Chen Ping treat them so courteously, they could only stand up one after another and offer various welcomes.

"County Marquis Liu, I trust you have been well!"

"Young Master Liu, are your injuries not serious?"

Liu Zheng and his father also exchanged greetings, then found seats and sat down.

"County Marquis Liu, your seat is over here."

Who would have thought, the steward in charge of the banquet chuckled and pointed to a seat nearby.

When everyone saw this, they were all startled; instantly, a strange atmosphere emerged and permeated the entire hall.

The seating arrangements in the Liangzhou Prefecture, of course, had their own rules. Within the borders of Liangzhou, there were a total of three State Marquises: Prefect Chen Ping was one, the Prefect of Baiya was one, and the Prefect of Chenzhou was one. However, the other two Prefects were still subordinate to Chen Ping, and it was rumored that this year Chen Ping was about to be promoted to Liangzhou Inspector. The rest were all County Marquises. In the Longyan Dynasty, such non-royal titles were not worth much; in reality, this was the influence of the Feudal System.

However, the seat Chen Ping had prepared for Liu Dahao at this moment was actually on the same level as those of the other two Prefects.

This was somewhat meaningful.

The others looked at each other in dismay. What was Chen Ping's intention? Just a few days ago, he was clamoring to deal with Liu Dahao; today, this was... Could it be that he was deliberately trying to embarrass Chen Ping?

Liu Dahao was even more terrified: "Lord Chen, this must not be, this absolutely must not be!"

Chen Ping, however, chuckled: "Why not? County Marquis Liu has only been in office in Yinzhou for a mere three months, yet his political achievements are remarkable and his reputation has spread far and wide. Especially that public disclosure of fiscal revenue and expenditure—it truly won my heart! A model for the current age, a good official who is wholeheartedly for the people; such men are already rare to find!"

These words were spoken with resonance and were incomparably sincere, yet Liu Zheng found them laughable and did not know what medicine Chen Ping was selling in his gourd this time.

"Indeed, indeed!"

"County Marquis Liu has rendered great service; he is worthy of it!"

"Sit down!"

Upon hearing this, the other County Marquises followed Chen Ping's lead.

Liu Dahao looked at Liu Zheng with a bitter expression, though in his heart, he had already cursed Chen Ping eight hundred times. He was a mere County Marquis sitting in a State Marquis's seat; wasn't this a public slap in the face that would make these people hate him to the core?

Liu Zheng gave a cold smile inwardly. He had known that there would be no good banquet in the Liangzhou Prefecture, but he hadn't expected Chen Ping to make a move the moment they entered. He could only nod at Liu Dahao, who then wiped away cold sweat and sat down. Liu Zheng also sat beside him, intending to see what act Chen Ping planned to perform tonight so he could respond accordingly.

After Chen Ping sat down, he raised his cup and laughed: "Every year at the Liangzhou Prefecture's reporting of duties, although it is called reporting duties, it is just for everyone to gather! Although Liangzhou has been troubled by the Xiongnu at the borders this year, on the whole, the weather has been favorable, and we should be grateful for the Emperor's vast grace and the peace under heaven!"

Everyone stood up one after another and responded with a roar.

"The Emperor's grace is vast, and there is peace under heaven!"

After a cup, the atmosphere became lively; there were beauties dancing in the hall, and the sounds of strings and bamboo instruments began.

A County Marquis nearby clapped and laughed: "Today, the song 'Prosperous Longyan' from the flower float at Fengming Tower tells of the prosperity and the Emperor's grace. I heard the lyrics and music were composed by Young Master Liu; what great talent!"

Everyone also praised him highly.

Liu Zheng could only raise his cup again and take a sip of his own Drunken Yinzhou.

Once the song and dance were over, Chen Ping looked at Liu Dahao again and chuckled: "County Marquis Liu's several political decrees are renowned throughout the world and have achieved excellent results. I have already reported this to the Crown Prince in the capital. The Crown Prince did not stint on his praise upon hearing of them; I fear that before long, he will grant County Marquis Liu the title of State Marquis!"

"What?"

Liu Dahao was dumbfounded.

Liu Zheng also frowned, and the others were even more filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred. They all raised their cups to congratulate Liu Dahao. Regardless of whether it was genuine or fake, this was the fourth State Marquis title in all of Liangzhou; who wouldn't be envious?

Chen Ping continued to smile: "I believe that the several political decrees of Yinzhou should be promoted extensively throughout Liangzhou! Especially that fiscal disclosure; it wins the hearts of the people and should be promoted in the overall situation. What do you all think?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was startled.

"My Lord, this must not be!"

"My Kezhou is an agricultural prefecture; if we lose the agricultural tax, how can we survive?"

"Indeed, my Wuzhou..."

Everyone was complaining.

Hearing this, Chen Ping slammed the table and stood up, his face full of anger: "What do you mean by this? If County Marquis Liu can do it, why can't you?"

For a moment, everyone looked at Liu Dahao with resentment, blaming this fellow for putting them on the fire to be roasted; it was truly detestable.

Liu Zheng sighed deeply; the ancient officialdom had just as many twists and turns. He could see that Chen Ping was doing this on purpose, with the goal of inciting public anger. Knowing his father was unable to handle this, Liu Zheng quickly stood up, cupped his hands, and said: "Lord Chen, I think what the lords say is correct; only by adapting to local conditions can one treat the root cause! Yinzhou was originally an ungovernable land, which is why my father was able to carry out vigorous reforms. Other prefectures in Liangzhou already have stable revenue and expenditure; we must not break that balance!"

The others also agreed one after another.

Only then did Chen Ping restrain his anger and chuckle: "Is that so? However, in any case, fiscal disclosure is still possible, right? This matter need not be mentioned again; it must be popularized!"

Liu Zheng still wanted to speak.

"My Lord, this must not be!"

Just at this moment, a fat Prefect next to the Liu father and son cried out and knelt on the ground, his face full of sorrow: "Disclosing revenue and expenditure—what would you have me, Baiya, do! My Lord, you also know that Baiya's finances are complex, and the accounts are not even in my Taishoufu; this, this, this..."

"What?"

Chen Ping was immediately furious: "A dignified Prefect, yet you cannot even obtain the accounts? What use are you? Someone, come..."

Everyone was shocked and tried to dissuade him.

The Prefect of Baiya, Zhang Chengjiang, crawled on the ground, wailing and lamenting the current situation in Baiya. The Baiya Army was powerful, and the Taishoufu was like a mere facade; facing the Baiya Army, they didn't even dare to let out a fart. Even in Baiya Prefecture, many businesses that should have been managed by the Taishoufu had already been taken by the Baiya Army... Among the three leaders of Baiya, which one didn't have a higher status than him, the Prefect?

How could his Taishoufu dare to disclose revenue and expenditure?

He feared that if he did, he would be met with suppression by the Baiya Army!

"County Marquis Liu, this must not be done! This matter is truly thorny; you must help me speak a word!"

"County Marquis Liu!"

Everyone watched in a daze.

A dignified State Marquis was actually kneeling and begging a County Marquis, which made Liu Dahao even more flustered, not knowing how to respond.

The scene was deathly silent.

Chen Ping's face was as dark as water as he looked toward Liu Zheng.

Liu Zheng was left speechless and unable to laugh or cry.

So Chen Ping had taken a long detour just to tell him a few things: First, I, Chen Ping, am willing to make peace with you, and if you want to marry my daughter, it is not impossible. Second, I have already requested a State Marquis title for you from the Crown Prince, and it will arrive any day now. But... Third, if you want to be worthy of this State Marquis title, you must make an enemy of the Baiya Army! In other words, you cannot stand on the Empress's side; you should choose to cling tightly to the Crown Prince's thigh!

As an official of my Liangzhou Prefecture, you should know what is good for you.

If not, I fear that in the future, you and your son of the Liu Family will offend this entire Liangzhou Prefecture, all these thirty-some County Marquises!

"Hmph!"

"You, a dignified Prefect, are actually afraid of that bandit army!"

"What kind of decorum is this!"

Everyone was trembling with fear.

If you aren't afraid, why don't you send troops to wipe them out? Of course, they would never dare to say this out loud.

"In that case, let us discuss it another time!"

Chen Ping glanced at Liu Dahao and said indifferently.

They continued to drink and watch the singing and dancing.

By the time the father and son of the Liu Family returned to the Post House, it was already deep into the night.

"My son, what should your father do?"

Liu Dahao was filled with worry.

Liu Zheng took a deep breath and said, "Father, we must never attach ourselves to that old man Chen Ping."

Liu Dahao agreed deeply: "How could I not know the temperament of this scoundrel? He is an expert at discarding the millstone once the donkey is done! How could I fall for this dog's trick again, bah!"

What Liu Zheng was thinking, however, was that Chen Ping wanted their Yinzhou Chamber of Commerce to clash with the Baiya Chamber of Commerce, which did not fit Liu Zheng's blueprint for his next stage of development. After all, if he could really obtain the State Marquis title this time, once Liu Zheng returned to Yinzhou, what he would start doing was the salt transport business... In ancient times, this was definitely a business that would cost one their head! But it was also absolutely a highly profitable industry! It even made money faster than things like soap or perfume.

But Liu Zheng had never dared to do it; first, because the prefecture and counties did not have the qualifications to produce salt privately, only the qualifications to sell it.

Second, Liu Zheng knew that once this thing started, it would definitely attract the attention of many people, and Yinzhou did not yet have enough strength to protect such workshops. Even after obtaining the State Marquis title and truly bringing Yangzhou into his pocket, this business could not be too rampant... Official salt, official salt, this was something only the imperial court could produce; the local government below could only sell it.

Therefore, under these circumstances, Liu Zheng naturally wanted to cooperate with the unofficial Baiya Army.

And not the Liangzhou Prefecture!

He did not want to give Chen Ping any more leverage to use him as a donkey to be discarded or a fat sheep to be slaughtered at any time! Most importantly, it was the advantage in geography. Yinzhou was located at the far west of Liangzhou, while Baiya was in the far Northwest; in other words, Baiya Prefecture was right above Yinzhou, with only two counties separating them. If Liu Zheng could open up this line and sell Refined Salt through the Baiya Army, then for the entire Yinzhou, let alone agricultural taxes, even if they collected no commercial taxes, they could still ensure everyone was well-fed.

Coupled with Chen Ping's previous suppression of Liu Dahao, the two families already had an indelible hatred; how could Liu Zheng trust him?

"So, my son, we should still try to please the Empress! That Zheng Yue Ru, you should win her over!"

Liu Dahao's next sentence made Liu Zheng roll his eyes again.

The next day.

It was the Lantern Festival, and also the day the Empress was returning to visit her family. From early in the morning, Liangzhou City was heavily guarded, and the atmosphere was tense. Liangzhou soldiers were stationed every three steps and guarded every five, preventing any possible assassination attempts.

Early in the morning, Zheng Yue Ru ran over to find Liu Zheng with a bitter expression: "Brother Liu, you were indeed a bit reckless yesterday. Yue Ru believes that "Prosperous Dragon Flame" would be best performed tonight! Alas, Xiao Ruozhi of the Lanxiang Troupe has been preparing a palace dance all night; I hear it is comparable to "Prosperous Dragon Flame"!"

Liu Zheng looked indifferent: "Who said I was going to perform "Prosperous Dragon Flame" tonight?"

"Ah?"

Zheng Yue Ru was stunned.

Not using "Prosperous Dragon Flame" to welcome the Empress's procession?

Wasn't that prepared for the Empress?

Liu Zheng chuckled and said, "Don't worry, tonight my Fengming Tower will definitely take the top spot!"

The two then walked onto the street. With the Empress officially returning to Liangzhou and the Lantern Festival, today was naturally the liveliest day. After walking for a while, they noticed that the trademarks of the Yinzhou Chamber of Commerce were still everywhere on the streets.

The advertising effect was fermenting day by day.

A report came from the front that the Empress would arrive in Liangzhou at noon, rest for the afternoon, and then come to attend the Top Courtesan Competition.

Therefore, at this moment, the streets were crowded with people, all waiting for the arrival of the Empress who had gone out from Liangzhou.

Just then, a hearty laugh rang out.

"Young Master Liu, what a coincidence, to run into you here!"

Liu Zheng felt a headache; it was that Du Biao again!

With a smile plastered on his face, Liu Zheng turned his head.

That Du Biao had already walked over and chuckled: "Young Master Liu, are you interested in joining me to greet the Empress?"

Liu Zheng gave a bitter smile; was this coming out into the open directly?

Zheng Yue Ru also took a deep breath, and then her expression changed drastically, as if she had figured something out.