Chapter 589: The Pain of a Knife Stabbing Yourself

ready been cleared of anything useful to help out the family. The five acres in the back, however, were still untidy.This five-mu of land has four mu of corn, one mu of potatoes, and a small amount of...Donate! We need money right now.

If you don't donate, your grandchildren will have to go to war and feed the barbarians!

Unfamiliar outsiders don't know, but family members understand their own children and grandchildren best.

If it comes to eating, drinking, gambling and having fun, they are masters at composing outrageous poems, hiring prostitutes, vying for attention and getting jealous.

But if they hit the battlefield, these useless pieces of trash will only be crying their eyes out and begging for their mothers.

Thus, the next morning at court, everyone was preoccupied with the campaign. Almost all of them rushed to step forward and donate silver, to replenish the national treasury and support the northern expeditionary forces.

Unfortunately, the emperor only glanced at them with a faint expression, and his words were polite.

"My lords, your families are not wealthy either. Don't impoverish yourselves for Tianwu. Besides, as you all said before, the autumn harvest is just around the corner, and once the grain tax arrives, the national treasury will have silver."

The officials were simply too miserable to speak. They had truly brought disaster upon themselves.

It turns out these words were all they said to the Emperor to make his life difficult. Now, the Emperor easily returns the "bitter fruit" to them.

Someone simply couldn't hold it any longer, falling to their knees and weeping, begging, "Your Majesty, please show mercy and allow me to donate silver in exchange for exempting my young grandson from military service."

"I am over fifty years old, and I only have this one grandson. If anything were to happen to him, my family line would be broken, and I would be unable to explain myself to my ancestors in the afterlife!"

The rest of them followed suit, falling to their knees and weeping together.

"Your Majesty, please show mercy!"

"Your Majesty, my son has never even touched a sword. How could he possibly defeat the Manchu iron cavalry…"

"Your Majesty, we are willing to donate money and grain to help us through this difficult time."

But the emperor let them weep, without ever nodding his head in agreement.

With everyone failing, they could only turn to the coldly expressionless Lord Xiting.

An old official then said, "My lord Marquis, my family members and I have no experience in martial arts. We are as weak as a chick without the ability to even bind it. Joining the army would only add trouble for you. Please persuade His Majesty on our behalf."

The Marquis gave him a few hard looks, as if only just remembering who he was, and then frowned coldly, "Minister of Revenue Guan If this Marquis remembers correctly, your thirty-year-old son took a farm girl as a concubine last month."

The old father of the farm girl who was kicked single-handedly has vomited blood and is still taking medicine to prolong his life. With such strength, how can it be said that she is powerless If sent to the battlefield against barbarians, she could at least fight ten men alone.

"With such bravery, it would be better to use it for the country by killing enemies rather than just showing off to the people, wouldn't you agree"

"This…" Gu DaRen was speechless, worried his son would be angered again by Xin Ting HouYe exposing his flaws. So, with a flash of his eyes, he feigned unconsciousness…

Then, Xin Tinghou did not make things difficult for him any further. Instead, he looked at all the civil and military officials in attendance and said, “Previously, when the Northern Expeditionary Army fought for the country and returned with their limbs broken, you said that the national treasury was empty and there was no money to pay them pensions.”

"Now, this Marquis has used the income from his family's properties to settle the relief funds and found shelter for the disabled soldiers. There is no need for you all to worry about it!"

But Tianwu is not only the Tianwu of the common people, but also the Tianwu of you all. The children of ordinary people can bleed and sacrifice for the defense of their home and country. There's no reason why your children and grandchildren shouldn't! Now it's time for you all to dedicate yourselves to Tianwu with all your heart. Don't let the common people laugh at you!

"After all, you've spent a lifetime reading the classics of sages and enjoying the support of the common people your whole life. In the end, you're afraid of death, aren't you That makes you even less than the mud-leg peasants and lowborn in your own eyes!"

As soon as the words were spoken, silence fell upon the entire court. Not a single person dared to speak another word.

Everyone's heart was filled with anger and regret, but more importantly, they understood one thing.

Previously, the withholding of delayed bereavement pay had thoroughly enraged Marquis Xinting. His silence was not out of fear of their power, but rather a sign that he was gathering his strength.

Military conscription, it's his revenge against everyone!

If someone doesn't empathize with the hardships and sacrifices of the Northern Expeditionary Army, then they should personally go to the battlefield and try...

The Emperor sat on the dragon throne, watching the suffering of all the officials.

At this moment, I wish I could let out a long, triumphant roar!

As expected, only when a knife cuts itself will it know the pain.

"Retreat!" Yi, the head manager, received the emperor's glance and shouted loudly. Then he served the emperor as they walked toward the back hall.

He saw that the Emperor's face was indeed looking good, so he whispered, "Your Majesty, what the Marquis said is excellent. This old slave feels relieved just listening to it!"

The emperor's expression grew even more pleased. “There are countless memorials praising and glorifying me, but when it truly matters, they pretend to be deaf and blind. Now that things have come to a head, let's see where they can run to!”

Yi Zongtang thought for a moment, then cautiously asked: "Your Majesty, there are indeed some families with only one heir. Do we really have to send them to the Northern Expeditionary Army..."

"I wouldn't let their bloodlines be broken, I just need to wait a little longer. Wait until these old foxes are truly subdued, willingly offering up their own flesh in exchange for their loyalty..." The Emperor paused, then suddenly asked, "Has anyone from the Jiangning Hou Mansion come to visit Kunning Palace"

"Yes," Manager Yi quickly replied, "The Empress Dowager's mother requested an audience. It seems the Old Marquis came because he is worried about his grandson falling ill..."

"Humph!" The Emperor said coldly, "Has the Empress summoned you"

Yi Zuo's mind raced for a few moments before he replied, “This past few days, Your Majesty has been feeling unwell. She’s already had half of the Imperial Medical Bureau’s doctors come to see her, and now she’s drinking tonic medicine. Perhaps she just hasn't much energy, so she didn't meet with Madam [Son's Wife]...”

The Emperor glared at Yi, the Chief Steward, and said with a smile, “Sly one! Whatever you say comes out polished and coated, dressed up nicely before you’ll speak it.”

General Yi smiled, flatteringly saying, “This old servant is tongue-tied and afraid of speaking harshly, sullying Your Majesty's ears. Besides, the Empress truly is taking medicine to recuperate her health…”

"What was she thinking Even a fool would know better." The Emperor scoffed, but said no more.

Obviously, he wasn't going to be a dutiful son-in-law and remove his brother-in-law from the draft list.

That was his cousin's handwriting. His nephew... didn't dare to move it.

You have to know, in order to accommodate the wounded soldiers and to gather the compensation money, my cousin suffered a lot. Now he's like a powder keg, anyone who sets him off is finished!

Outside the Imperial Palace gate, the Jiangning Marquis’s wife repeatedly begged the eunuch to report to Kunning Palace. Unfortunately, every time the eunuch returned, the news was the same.

"Her Majesty is unwell and taking medicine. She is resting and not up to receiving visitors. Perhaps you could visit another time."

The Madam of the Prince was so angry that she tugged at her handkerchief, but ultimately there was no way around it, so she went home.

Needless to say, I came up empty-handed this time and was mocked mercilessly by my spiteful sister-in-law.

"Let alone the fact that there was utter chaos and upheaval in Xindou, everywhere was in disarray. "

In Xinzhuang, after finishing the planting of potatoes, Tao Hongying personally cooked two large pots of potato chicken stew.

The pale yellow potato pieces, soaked in chicken broth, are soft, tender, and fragrant.

Once it was taken back home in a large bowl, it immediately became the favorite of all the old and young people in the village.

Everyone is clamoring that next year they will open up more plots of land at the foot of the mountain and along the vegetable garden to plant this potato.

Stew it, grill it, stir-fry it, in short, eat until you're full!ed."Hmm, this corn tastes so good when cooked!""Yeah, I thought it would be like sorghum, rubbing down the particles to make flour.""You can also grind it into powder, but fresh is really good.""This...