“Your Majesty! Such praise is more than I deserve.”
“I merely received a little favor from Heaven.”
Her cool voice cut clearly through the chorus of praise from the assembled officials.
The smile on Emperor Tiansheng’s face froze.
He stopped and turned toward Xu Qinghuan.
The shouts filling the great hall ceased abruptly.
The ministers quietly raised their heads, staring in astonishment at the woman who had just rendered a great service and was now raining on everyone’s parade.
“Xu Qinghuan, what do you mean by that?” the old emperor asked coldly. “I am rewarding you. Why do you say you are undeserving?”
Xu Qinghuan remained bent at the waist.
“Your Majesty! My plan may appear flawless, but in truth, it contains one fatal flaw.”
“If that shortcoming is not addressed, then let alone collecting thirty percent of the profits—even if we established a hundred Maritime Trade Offices, they would ultimately be nothing more than empty shells that could not collect so much as half a copper coin!”
Emperor Tiansheng’s brows drew together, and his heart sank.
“A flaw? What flaw?”
Xu Qinghuan straightened.
“Everyone beneath Heaven rushes about for the sake of profit.”
“Today, in this Hall of Heavenly Veneration, I have revealed everything about the mountains of silver overseas. The Comprehensive Gazetteer of the Four Seas and Ten Thousand Nations is here as well.”
Xu Qinghuan glanced at the map on the desk.
“Within three days, this news will surely spread throughout the realm.”
“When the wealthy merchants and great clans of Great Qian learn that silver is scattered everywhere overseas, they will flock there like ducks to water.”
“But, Your Majesty…”
Xu Qinghuan paused briefly.
“Why would they spend a fortune to purchase those exclusive trade licenses?”
“Why would they obediently hand over thirty percent of their profits to the imperial court?”
The moment those words fell, the body of the Zhao family’s eldest son, who had still been somewhat excited, suddenly stiffened.
It was as though Xu Qinghuan had plucked the very string that had just begun vibrating in his heart.
Xu Qinghuan had actually voiced the thought he had secretly entertained moments ago!
That was right!
Why should they give the imperial court thirty percent?
Why should they spend a fortune on a license?
Great Qian’s coastline stretched for thousands of miles, with natural deep-water harbors and secluded beaches everywhere.
The common people could completely evade the authorities, secretly build seagoing vessels in their own shipyards, recruit a group of absolutely loyal dead men, and set sail beneath the cover of night.
Once their ships returned from overseas laden with silver, they could unload the cargo directly on some uninhabited island, then break it up into smaller shipments and transport it inland.
Who would ever know?
Could the people from the Maritime Trade Office see a thousand miles?
As long as they could fool the heavens and cross the sea undetected, all that silver would belong to their own family!
The Zhao family’s leader began breathing heavily, his eyes turning wary as he looked at Xu Qinghuan.
Hiss!
Could it be that Xu Qinghuan knew how to read minds?!
Naturally, Xu Qinghuan had no idea what was going on in the Zhao family’s heads. She looked straight at Emperor Tiansheng.
“The open ocean is vast, and ships can vanish without a trace.”
“If the people of Great Qian secretly copied the nautical charts, privately gathered manpower, built ships, and set sail…”
“When they returned laden with cargo, they could simply refuse to enter port, find a deserted beach nearby, and unload the goods for smuggling.”
“Then the imperial licenses would be nothing but worthless scraps of paper that no one cared about!”
The emperor’s cheek twitched.
He had already been dazzled by the sight of that mountain of silver. Now Xu Qinghuan’s bucket of cold water had drenched him from head to toe.
Emperor Tiansheng was a ruler who had weathered countless political struggles. He understood human greed better than anyone.
Those great clans went to extraordinary lengths to conceal even their grain taxes, registering their farmland under the names of tenant farmers.
Now that they were facing enough silver to buy half of Great Qian, how could they possibly line up obediently and pay?
Smuggling and tax evasion were inevitable.
“Who would dare!” the old emperor roared. “Anyone who sails without a license is a pirate!”
“I will execute their entire clan!”
“I will mobilize the navy and sink every ship that dares to set sail without permission!”
After shouting those words, however, the emperor’s voice unconsciously fell quieter.
Because…
Not a single military official in the hall stepped forward to echo him.
Xu Qinghuan regarded the emperor calmly.
“Your Majesty! Great Qian’s… navy?”
“Hiss! I’m afraid it can hardly be called that.”
“Still, may I ask Your Majesty—what sort of fighting strength does this ‘navy’ currently possess?”
That light, almost casual question tore open one of the Great Qian court’s most shameful secrets.
Emperor Tiansheng’s face turned livid. He could not utter another word.
He knew Great Qian’s true condition better than anyone.
Year after year, the court poured its money and grain into the northern frontier. The few battered old warships left behind sat in the harbor, so neglected that even the barnacles on their hulls were never scraped away.
The soldiers were owed back pay. As for even a small band of coastal pirates…
Could they not catch them?
No!
They did not even need to give chase!
Pirate raids against Great Qian were so rare—so rare that there had never been any need to establish a proper navy. Local authorities simply raised their own forces whenever necessary.
Under these circumstances, it was even less realistic to talk about suppressing ships that had been meticulously built and lavishly equipped by the great clans.
Without a navy capable of sending smuggling vessels to the bottom of the sea at a moment’s notice, what could possibly be used to intimidate the powerful factions throughout the realm?
Rules had to be maintained with blades and swords.
Without the force to back them, those exclusive licenses could only fool the ignorant.
The atmosphere in the Hall of Heavenly Veneration shifted in an instant.
The officials began rejoicing inwardly once more.
The imperial court had no navy. It was nothing but a toothless tiger.
We’re going to take this smuggling fortune for ourselves.
Once we leave court, we’ll start immediately. We can’t wait even a moment.
Xie Miheng was thinking the same thing. On the surface, he remained respectful, but in his heart, he had already begun selecting the trusted men who would secretly sail overseas on his behalf.
Emperor Tiansheng took in every subtle expression on the faces of the officials below—faces that appeared obedient yet could barely conceal their impatience.
A powerful sense of panic seized him.
If this problem was not solved, the map Xu Qinghuan had produced today would not save Great Qian.
Instead, it would drag Great Qian into an abyss of ruin.
Once those great clans obtained vast quantities of silver, they could recruit soldiers and purchase weapons.
They could even use their newfound power to pressure the imperial court and hold the royal family in check.
The royal house and the great clans were already locked in a strange balance. But if that balance were disrupted…
When the time came, it would be difficult to say whether the realm would still belong to the Xiao dynasty.
The old emperor stepped forward and fixed his gaze on Xu Qinghuan.
“Great Qian has no navy to speak of, and its coastline stretches for thousands of miles. The imperial court cannot possibly govern it all.”
The emperor’s voice no longer held its earlier arrogance. Instead, it was thick with urgency and anxiety.
“Xu Qinghuan! How is this situation to be resolved?”
