Dugu Qun and several other Dugu family officials behind him turned ashen-faced and stepped forward.
"Your Majesty! This Liang Xiao, upon arriving in the East Sea, first executed a great general. He must harbor rebellious intentions! I implore Your Majesty to uphold justice and clear our Dugu family's name! Our Dugu family has served Great Qian for generations; how can we suffer such injustice!"
Ouyang Ji, He Wanli, and others also stepped forward to impeach him, their voices filled with fury: "If Your Majesty cannot handle this impartially, I fear it will chill the hearts of scholars throughout the realm!"
Wang Canghai, Gu Hong, and the others by the side could not help but glance at this group with disdain.
These 'official lords' who preyed on the common folk were most adept at using pompous words and forming factions.
The East Sea was one of the few territories where the civil officials' clique had managed to secure military power. Now, it had been easily seized by Liang Xiao, who had also executed a rare military officer from a noble lineage. How could they not be furious!
Xiao Qing shot a sideways glance and said coldly, "I believe my subject Liang would not act impulsively; there must be a reason!"
"How can Your Majesty show favoritism!" Dugu Qun kowtowed, tears streaming down his face, feigning utter despair.
He was indeed in despair, but it was for the loss of Dugu Ling, whose family had been confiscated by Liang Xiao after his death.
The family fortune, worth over a million taels of silver, had all been seized by Liang Xiao and turned over to the state to reward the army!
Now, Dugu Qun wished he could flay Liang Xiao alive and annihilate his entire family!
At this moment, Wang Canghai, Liang Qing, Luo Changfeng, Gu Hong, and others exchanged bewildered glances, unable to fathom why Liang Xiao had executed Dugu Ling.
Since the founding of Great Qian, ministers holding the Son of Heaven's sword had the authority to execute first and report later. However, this was mostly for deterrence, and there had never been a precedent of executing a court official upon their first encounter!
This was a disaster. Liang Xiao had enraged the noble lineages with a single act.
This action shattered their previous impression of Liang Xiao as a steady and prudent individual.
A eunuch, holding three memorials, stumbled into the hall: "Your Majesty! Urgent news from the East Sea! The Marquis of An Guo led his troops to suppress pirates, beheading seven thousand sea bandits, and rescuing a foreign merchant ship laden with goods worth a million taels!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire hall was stunned: "Seven thousand bandits beheaded?!"
How was this possible!
The sea bandits in the East Sea had always operated in scattered groups, preying on ships.
How could they have been wiped out in a single battle, with seven thousand casualties? Had the enemy gathered?
Xiao Qing was both surprised and delighted, and immediately ordered Ning Xuejun to fetch the two memorials to read.
"Well done!"
A moment later, Xiao Qing's excited praise echoed through the hall.
"These are the memorials from my subject Liang and the Prefect of the East Sea and the Military Sima of the East Sea Army. The sea bandits had gathered, intending to encircle and annihilate the soldiers aboard the three warships led by Nan Jiyun! They were all captured by Liang Xiao's reinforcements, with great spoils!"
"Issue an order to the East Sea: every soldier in the East Sea shall be rewarded two taels of silver. Captains and above shall receive an additional ten taels each. Generals and above shall receive an additional hundred taels each. For every sea bandit head taken, an additional five taels of silver shall be awarded! This matter shall be handled by my subject Liang with full authority; outsiders shall not interfere!"
As soon as the words fell, Dugu Qun and the others' faces turned ashen: "Your Majesty, reconsider! Liang Xiao killed General Dang Kou, and Your Majesty intends to let him continue..."
Nan Jiyun! Another name familiar and detested by Dugu Qun. It was this very person who had publicly rebuked him for selling out the country for personal gain, leaving him disgraced!
"Utter nonsense!" Xiao Qing finally became enraged and looked down at the assembled officials. "My subject Liang has truthfully reported the events in his memorial. When he returns to the capital, you may confront him. Until then, no one shall discuss matters of the East Sea. Any violation will be considered an accomplice to the traitor Dugu Ling, and the offender will be dismissed and investigated!"
The civil and military officials were all shocked!
Traitor Dugu Ling??
Everyone finally realized the gravity of the situation and fell silent.
Dugu Qun, sweating profusely, retreated to his position, agitated like an ant on a hot pan: "What happened?"
A moment later, a shadow guard entered the hall with a secret letter: "Your Majesty! The Marquis of An Guo has sent a secret letter for Your Majesty's eyes only!"
Ning Xuejun took the letter. Xiao Qing rose excitedly. After a moment's thought, she decided to keep the letter and read it after the court session.
As the court concluded, news of Liang Xiao executing Dugu Ling gradually spread throughout the capital, causing a great stir!
Deep within the imperial palace, Xiao Qing read the letter, her eyes welling up with tears.
"Granny Ning, my elder brother, he, he found potatoes, corn, and sweet potatoes..."
Ning Xuejun was greatly astonished. She quickly leaned over to glance at the letter, and her hands trembled with emotion.
"A foreign merchant ship, three types of crops, all acquired. The realm will be pacified, and prosperity will be within reach! I hope Your Majesty will quickly dispatch shadow guards to escort them. One copy for the palace, and one for the Zhuo Lingjun family in Jiangnan, to be cultivated secretly, lest the crops fail due to unsuitable soil..."
A few concise words, filled with Liang Xiao's surprise and excitement, brought tears to the eyes of both mistress and servant.
Crops yielding a thousand, or even two to three thousand jin per mu...
The various grains of Great Qian and Great Liang, even the best, yielded only two to three hundred jin per mu!
"I must not cry, I must be strong, so my elder brother doesn't laugh at me..."
Xiao Qing murmured to herself, and then suddenly remembered Liang Xiao's words about not wanting Shuangzi to grow up, and began to sob again.
"How annoying, to still call me 'Your Majesty' in a secret letter, with all that formality, and not even mention how much your Shuang'er misses you..."
Listening to Xiao Qing's tearful lament, Ning Xuejun sighed with tears in her eyes: "Your Highness, if these three crops truly yield such a high output, and can be planted on barren land, and then widely promoted, then what about Young Master Liang's farmlands in Yanzhou..."
Xiao Qing was jolted awake, even her tears stopping: "Then, wouldn't my elder brother... Heavens! Did he anticipate this day long ago!"
If such barren land could be used to cultivate these three crops, without needing to specially select fertile land, then the grain revenue of Great Qian would be astonishing!
Wouldn't the value of her elder brother's farmlands multiply several times over, and these were lands he had acquired at a bargain price as 'hot potatoes'...
"I finally understand why my elder brother wished to repurchase all the land in the country with the treasure of the ancient Xiongnu king!" Xiao Qing said, her voice trembling.
She finally grasped Liang Xiao's intention completely!
Even if those lands were repurchased at an inflated price, as long as these crops were promoted, a portion of the harvest in the future could be stored in the national treasury...
And the value of these repurchased lands would be immeasurable!
Handing over lands worth several times more to tenant farmers who had no land, and only collecting a mutually agreeable share of the harvest in the future, how could the people not be won over! How could landlords, gentry, and noble lineages manipulate public opinion!
"My elder brother is peerless in the world, even surpassing the Marquis of Great Liang's Nation!" Xiao Qing whispered affectionately to herself.
Qin Feng, the Marquis of Great Liang's Nation, had vehemently advocated for Great Liang to emulate Great Qian's system of military farming, the genealogical charts of officials and clans, contract taxes, and smallpox prevention, even guaranteeing official positions for its promotion. He was a ruthless individual!
Ning Xuejun said softly, "Your Highness is already seventeen, and Young Master Liang is nineteen. You should be mentally prepared. The imperial family urgently needs to continue its lineage. Regardless of whether the General of Cavalry and the Prime Minister fully trust Young Master Liang, Your Highness should... begin to... with Young Master Liang..."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Qing, who had been moved by Liang Xiao's words, felt so embarrassed that she burrowed into Ning Xuejun's embrace, her delicate body and voice trembling: "I, I, I understand..."
As long as Lü Yi and Wang Canghai fully trusted Liang Xiao, Xiao Qing would no longer need to conceal her true identity from him.
Even if they still hesitated to fully trust Liang Xiao, they would strongly advocate for the union of 'Princess Ning Shuang' and the most outstanding Liang Xiao, especially since Liang Xiao's injuries had greatly improved.
At this very moment, the maiden's longing spanned thousands of miles, while her beloved was still inspecting the East Sea.
On this day, Liang Xiao accompanied Zhang Yang to the East Sea Academy, intending to select talented individuals and, incidentally, visit the private school he had donated.