The assembled ministers all knew perfectly well that the old farmer was referring to the imperial family of Da Qian.
The leaky ancestral home represented the capital and the northern frontier defenses, while the estate on higher ground represented the fertile and bountiful Jiangnan.
To repair the house meant continuing to pour the state treasury’s money and grain into the bottomless pit of the northern frontier.
Moreover, the Jiangnan-born officials present were all working behind the scenes to have the capital moved south. At such a critical moment, who would dare speak against the Jiangnan gentry?
To move house—to answer that they should move to the estate on higher ground—would mean abandoning the northern defenses, chilling the hearts of the soldiers stationed along the nine border garrisons, severing themselves from their ancestors’ legacy, and earning eternal condemnation.
This was no ordinary choice. It was a deadly executioner’s blade hanging over the Xu family.
At that moment, Third Prince Xiao Jingyan, who had been unable to step forward and congratulate Xu Qinghuan in front of all the ministers, suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.
“Xu Qinghuan, Xu Qinghuan… You mustn’t answer!”
“If you don’t know how to respond, just admit to Father that your learning is shallow! Otherwise, the Xu family will be driven into certain defeat!”
After all, he had staked far too much on the Xu family.
Chief Grand Secretary Xu Jie stood at the very front, his eyes lowered slightly.
He ran through the state of the court in his mind and concluded that if he were Xu Qinghuan, he probably would not have been able to come up with a satisfactory answer either.
Several officials from the Jiangnan faction exchanged glances from the corners of their eyes, the edges of their mouths curling faintly upward.
The Xu family had been riding too high. If Xu Qinghuan got even half a word wrong now, the emperor’s grace from moments ago would instantly become divine punishment.
Xu Qinghuan stood where she was. She only needed to run through the question once in her head to understand what the old fox really wanted.
Hmph. So that was it… Looks like I’ll have to show off a little today!
Xu Qinghuan remained composed as she spoke.
“Your Majesty, this old farmer’s thinking is far too narrow.”
The moment those words left her mouth, a commotion erupted throughout the hall.
“Outrageous!” An investigating censor immediately stepped out of the ranks and pointed at Xu Qinghuan, loudly rebuking her. “His Majesty has asked you a question! How dare you presume to criticize his meaning and speak so disrespectfully?”
Xu Zhan’s heart clenched.
Not good!
He couldn’t answer the question himself—he didn’t even understand what it was about! But judging from the censor’s reaction, his sister had probably stepped on one of those proverbial land mines she was always talking about.
He stared intently at his sister in the middle of the hall, ready to rush out and take the blame for her at any moment.
But the old emperor did not grow angry. He merely raised a hand slightly, silencing the commotion in the great hall.
“Oh? Narrow-minded?” The old emperor leaned forward a little and fixed his gaze on Xu Qinghuan. “Then tell me, how should this old farmer act if he is not to be narrow-minded?”
Xu Qinghuan answered with complete confidence.
“If the old farmer already owns two residences, why must he abandon one of them?”
“Though the ancestral home leaks when it rains, it is where his forebears rose to prominence. It is the foundation of the family and must never be cast aside.”
“Since the estate on higher ground is safe and secure, it must not be left vacant either. The old farmer should divide his children into two branches.”
Xu Qinghuan continued, “He should send his second son south to the estate with part of the family wealth, where he can cultivate the fertile land, accumulate grain and goods, and develop the estate until it becomes the richest property in the realm.”
“At the same time, he should leave his brave and battle-hardened eldest son behind to command the elite troops and defend the ancestral home to the death. He should reinforce the leaking roof and build the courtyard walls higher and stronger, so they can repel foreign invaders.”
Xu Qinghuan turned and glanced at Xu Jie before facing the imperial throne once more.
“When the estate’s granaries are full, it can transport its surplus north along the waterways and provide support to the ancestral home.”
“In this way, the ancestral home will have strong soldiers and sturdy horses to guard the family, while the estate will possess abundant wealth and grain to sustain its expenses.”
“One in the south and one in the north, supporting each other. Both residences can become the old farmer’s everlasting foundation!”
The hall fell utterly silent.
Seated upon the throne, the old emperor’s eyes flashed with a frightening brilliance.
This grand yet perfectly reasonable strategy of linking north and south had struck directly at the most secret calculations hidden in the depths of his heart.
It not only gave him a legitimate pretext to build an imperial palace in Jiangnan—or even establish a southern capital—but also preserved the dignity of not abandoning the northern frontier.
A dual-capital system?
Such an arrangement would indeed block the Jiangnan faction’s scheme to abandon the north entirely, while reassuring the hawkish faction in its determination to hold the capital.
“Good…” the old emperor slowly uttered.
He nodded faintly, revealing genuine delight.
Upon hearing this strategy, the smug expressions of the Jiangnan officials faded completely.
But if that were all, Xu Qinghuan would hardly have gained any advantage.
Which old fox in the court couldn’t have come up with such an answer?
The truly dangerous part… lay in what came next.
The art of ruling as an emperor never stopped at appearances.
The old emperor slowly wiped the smile from his face. Leaning back in his chair, he began tapping his fingers against the armrest again, though his rhythm was much slower than before.
“This plan is excellent,” the old emperor said in a deep voice. “However, Xu Qinghuan, have you ever considered this?”
“The eldest son who remains at the ancestral home must endure the bitter cold and harsh weather day after day, while also defending the estate against powerful enemies. Meanwhile, the second son at the estate enjoys wealth and splendor in a land of scenic beauty.”
“What if, as the years pass, the people at the ancestral home come to feel that they have been abandoned? What if resentment takes root?”
“Relying on the blades and weapons in their hands, they might turn against the estate. How would you resolve this calamity of internal strife?”
Everyone was stunned.
The old emperor’s words were no longer about the old farmer’s family. They were a naked test of deadly intent.
If the north and south were governed separately, the northern army would command vast military power while enduring the bitter cold. The northern aristocratic families might even unite into a single faction…
Meanwhile, the southern court would control the wealth but possess little military strength.
The slightest misstep could cause the realm to change hands and brothers to turn their weapons against one another.
The pressure in the great hall dropped to freezing point.
Xiao Jingyan felt as if he could barely breathe. This question touched upon the court’s grand strategy, the loyalty of the army, and the imperial clan.
If Xu Qinghuan misspoke by even a single word, the entire Xu family would face execution.
Yet Xu Qinghuan did not even furrow her brow. Instead, she smiled.
“A minor matter.”
The assembled ministers stared at her in disbelief.
Several Jiangnan officials nearly stepped forward to denounce her arrogance. Even Xu Jie couldn’t help widening his aged eyes slightly.
She had actually called a fatal flaw concerning the foundations of the realm a minor matter?
“Outrageous!” A Ministry of Rites official could no longer restrain himself. He leapt forward and shouted, “You ignorant child, spouting reckless nonsense! This concerns the nation’s grand strategy. How dare you make such an arrogant claim here!”
Xu Qinghuan did not even spare the official a glance. Her eyes remained fixed on the old emperor.
“The way to resolve this resentment does not lie in fighting over a share of the old farmer’s few poor acres, nor in quibbling over who eats more or less.”
Xu Qinghuan paused slightly, then said in an inscrutable tone, “If the old farmer wants to ensure that his eldest son does not rebel, he must seek a boundless source of wealth from beyond his own lands.”
“He must use heaven-sent riches to make up for the ancestral home’s harsh conditions, rewarding the eldest son with wealth ten or even a hundred times greater than that of the estate.”
“When the eldest son possesses so much gold and silver that he could never spend it all in several lifetimes, and when he knows that this endless wealth will continue flowing into his hands, why would he still have the time or inclination to resent the estate’s meager holdings?”
As soon as these words fell, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue stepped forward with a cold laugh.
“Minister Xu, that sounds easy enough when you say it.” The Left Vice Minister spoke with mocking sarcasm, getting straight to the point. “I know the annual revenue of Da Qian’s treasury better than anyone.”
“After years of warfare, the northern frontier has been reduced to barren wasteland. Where exactly do you intend to conjure up this boundless source of wealth? Where will you find the heaven-sent riches needed to fill the northern lands’ bitter poverty?”
“If you intend to raise the funds by imposing additional taxes, you’ll only drive the common people into rebellion. Hmph! Lord Xu, this so-called solution of yours is nothing but a fool’s dream—and an attempt to throw the imperial court into chaos!”
Xu Qinghuan turned and cast a cold glance at the Vice Minister of the Left, then swept her eyes over the cluster of Jiangnan officials who were itching to make trouble.
She looked at the Vice Minister of the Left as though he were a six-month-old child, then turned to the emperor and said:
“Overseas.”
