Emperor Mingxi, who had been accused of being too soft for the sake of his reputation both in life and after death, felt a pang of embarrassment inwardly.
However, upon hearing that there were no raw corn or sweet potatoes available, his face displayed genuine disappointment and regret. Though he knew that even if they hadn’t come for this meal, they wouldn’t have gotten to see the raw produce, he still made sure to put on a convincing performance—every bit of it necessary.
[Master, it’s not just about working for others’ benefit. Once you introduce these superior seeds, whether the people of Dayan will get to plant them is uncertain, but you can bet our neighbors—Beili, Xiqiang, Nanzhao, and Nanyue—will have these crops sprouting in their fields.]
"What do you mean? Is there some juicy gossip hidden in this?" Yue Fuguang straightened up and absentmindedly grabbed a handful of melon seeds from the plate in front of her.
Emperor Mingxi barely resisted the urge to reach out as well, opting instead to pour himself a cup of tea.
Clenching his teeth in secret, he was determined to hear why the good things of Dayan would end up in the fields of their neighbors rather than their own!
The others, meanwhile, sat in small groups—some sipping tea and chatting idly, others focused on their roasted meat—but all ears were subtly perked up.
[Guess how close the powerful merchant families along the trade route from Bingzhou to Jiaozhou are with Dayan’s neighboring states?
Zhou Hongying, head of the Zhou Family in Bingzhou, married his third son to a woman from the Wu Family of Beili—a family backed by the current prime minister.
Fan Shiping of Liangzhou’s Fan Family had his eldest illegitimate son, Fan Chengye, take a concubine from a minor branch of Xiqiang’s Marquis Changxin’s family.
Zhao Mingting of Yizhou’s Zhao Family married his seventh illegitimate daughter as a secondary consort to Xiqiang’s Prince Rong.
Bai Yu of Jiaozhou’s Bai Family—his mother was once the youngest legitimate daughter of the Miao Family in Nanzhao, one of the three ruling powers there.
Master, do you see a pattern here?]
"These families all have marital ties with neighboring states—ties that also serve as channels for exchanging interests.
Have these people betrayed their country?"
[They’re practically on the verge of treason!]
"Little Pearl, explain in detail!"
Crunch, crunch—Yue Fuguang resumed munching on melon seeds.
[Master, in the original timeline, a major incident will occur by the end of this year. Remember how I mentioned the snow disaster?
Well, Dayan wasn’t the only one affected. Every neighboring state—except Nanzhao and Nanyue, which fared slightly better—was hit just as hard.
So while the Dayan court was mobilizing grain merchants to stockpile food, these neighbors were also scrambling to gather supplies to pacify their disaster-stricken people teetering on the edge of revolt.
Their own reserves weren’t as abundant as Dayan’s, so they set their sights on this rich prize.
The families I mentioned earlier exploited merchants’ greed, inflating grain prices in their respective regions to draw massive inflows of food.
Once enough grain had poured in, they tipped off their in-laws—the neighbors who were already eyeing a big score.
On a dark and stormy night, perfect for murder and arson, bandits suddenly raided major border cities across several regions for days.
To sell the act, these families also pretended to be victims, even claiming the "greatest losses."
Some even had legitimate heirs "killed or injured."
Of course, the losses were fake. The "injured" were self-inflicted for the sake of realism.
As for the "deceased," they simply erased their Dayan identities and secretly became honored guests in neighboring states—thinking that because they’d read a few books and could scribble some pretentious poetry, they were fit to govern!
Literate but devoid of principles—utter scum! Traitors through and through!
The real victims were the outside merchants lured by high grain prices, hoping to profit from the disaster. Little did they know they’d been set up—losing both their goods and their lives.
Countless Dayan citizens starved to death as a result.]
"While some may have acted out of desperation, they’re hardly deserving of sympathy. But those who colluded with outsiders to harm their own people? They deserve nothing but death!
Traitors through and through—no crime is more unforgivable!"
Emperor Mingxi’s face flushed red with fury. The Crown Prince, fearing he’d give himself away, quickly handed him a cup of water as cover.
The officials present gnashed their teeth in hatred, venting their rage on the roasted meat before them. To an outsider, they might have seemed to be enjoying a delicious meal, but their expressions suggested they were tearing into their enemies’ flesh.
Fortunately, they were discreet enough to avoid Yue Fuguang’s notice.
The system continued, [And because of this "raid," they formed a merchant association with its own militia.
On paper, it was to protect merchants and their goods—a legitimate security force like any escort agency.
But in truth, this was why they helped outsiders rob their own people—they needed an armed force under a righteous pretext.
Behind the scenes, however, their ranks were infiltrated by foreign agents. None of these families had full control over this militia.
The foreign spies, traveling with the merchant caravans, found it easier to gather intelligence and recruit more informants along the way.]
"Do the heads of these families know their ranks have been infiltrated?"
[Not entirely. Before the raids, they’d agreed to embed some skilled soldiers into the militia—but no one mentioned spies.]
"Military personnel are the open cards; spies are the hidden ones. Seems like there wasn’t much trust between them after all!"
[Their alliance was purely interest-driven. Marital ties can be severed at any moment. Take the Fan Family—after the decline of the Marquis Changxin’s household, the minor branch’s illegitimate daughter married to Fan Chengye died in childbirth, along with her baby.
Within days of losing one concubine, Fan Chengye welcomed a new, even more beautiful one—Feng Yao, an illegitimate daughter of Xiqiang’s Feng Family.
This Feng Family would later rise to prominence under General Feng Wuchang. Right now, though, Feng Wuchang is still just Marquis Changxin’s trusted captain of guards.]
"This Feng Wuchang is no simple man!"
Yue Fuguang stroked her smooth chin, thinking that a guard rising to such heights either trampled over his master or was a sharp blade wielded by them.
Since the Marquis’s minor branch daughter died in childbirth and was replaced by a Feng woman, it was clearly the former—the Marquis’s household was just a stepping stone for the Feng Family.
[When Dayan fell, Feng Wuchang played no small part. Later, the militia once controlled by the Fan Family fell into his hands, becoming a blade thrust into Dayan’s heart.
The same happened with the other families—their forces turned into weapons for foreign powers, stabbing deep into Dayan’s flesh.]
"See, this is why I have little faith in Dayan. The court and the common folk are both sieves, riddled with foreign infiltrators.
Do you really think such large-scale operations could happen without officials being involved?
Emperor Mingxi, clinging to his hollow reputation, is too soft. While he plays the benevolent ruler, others are digging up his roots!"
