My husband is not easy to mess with. - Chapter 5: The Heavyweight Flyer
Chapter 5: The Heavyweight Flyer
Nie Yao had his own eyes and channels for gathering information.
He would assess the new Emperor himself, and if the picture wasn’t clear, he would send people to investigate.
He didn’t need anyone to tell him.
But he also understood Sun Ji’s uncharacteristic persistence and chatter in front of him.
Ninety-nine percent of the time, he wanted to win him over, using the military power of the Nie family to support the master hidden behind him; the remaining one percent of the possibility was that this old fellow and the aristocratic faction he represented were wildly dreaming of installing a puppet.
Regardless of the possibility, they were after the soldiers under his command.
Nie Yao understood.
He wasn’t an unreasonable person; usually, if someone asked to borrow some troops for a task, he’d agree.
It was just the price of admission.
They needed to negotiate.
With just a look from Nie Yao, the attendant waiting at the palace gate immediately took out a price list from his sleeve.
He handed it to Sun Ji.
The prices were clearly marked.
Troop movements started at one hundred thousand taels, with no upper limit.
They also offered services for borrowing a few people to stage an impressive entrance or for protection when going out—this starting price was much more reasonable.
For two hundred taels, one could hire a veteran with at least three years of battlefield experience to escort you.
As for the number of people, they could provide as many as needed.
The Nie family had nothing but soldiers.
If you had money, you could even hire top experts. If your financial resources were sufficient and you threw out a pile of stinking money to specifically request Nie Yao’s service, it was also not impossible.
“Lord Sun.” The attendant’s attitude toward a client was quite good. He smiled and introduced to Sun Ji, “Do you need personal protection, or a little bit of troop support?”
He was experienced in the business.
He even offered a discount package based on Sun Ji’s personal circumstances.
Initially, Sun Ji was very displeased by the intervention of a junior attendant, but as the “flyers” were revealed, Sun Ji’s mood shifted from indignation to puzzled astonishment, then speechless and choked up, changing wonderfully.
It took him a while to recover from the shock.
He silently accepted the so-called flyers.
Attendant: “Lord Sun, which of our services do you need?”
Military authority, such a vital asset, was now a tool for exchanging money. This Nie Yao truly deserved the title of the Great Yu Dynasty’s most corrupt official, unlike his unyielding father.
This was to their advantage.
In a few breaths, Sun Ji had made a plan in his mind, and his attitude towards Nie Yao became considerably friendlier. “Lord Nie, you misunderstand. I merely intended to voice my indignation on your behalf this time.”
“You should know that if it weren’t for General Nie, the Great Yu Dynasty might have already fallen apart.”
“The Nie family has worked hard and accomplished great deeds. Instead of rewarding a deserving minister, His Majesty started suppressing the Nie family as soon as he ascended the throne. Don’t you feel wronged?”
Wronged?
You should ask Guan Junmao that question.
Nie Yao saw that Sun Ji wasn’t planning on paying him to do business and turned to leave.
Before leaving, he didn’t forget to kill the heart (to deliver a fatal blow or insult).
He told his attendant to give a copy of the flyer to the eunuch in the palace, so that His Majesty the Emperor could also take a look and consider whether to pay them.
Upon hearing this, Sun Ji’s face darkened.
“Lord Nie, wait!” He chased two steps, continuing to probe, “His Majesty now tolerates no dissent; showing him these things might not be appropriate.”
“If you are short on money, I have some savings here that I can give you as an emergency fund.”
Upon hearing about money, Nie Yao immediately stopped.
He turned around.
He asked straightforwardly, “How much can you give?”
“I have some gold and silver at home, about three hundred taels. If Lord Nie needs… Lord Nie?”
Three hundred taels?
That was pocket change.
Nie Yao felt insulted.
He snatched the flyer out of Sun Ji’s hand and immediately made a harsh threat: “From now on, the price of your Sun family’s orders will be multiplied by ten, and other aristocratic families by three.”
“If you don’t pay, I’ll only cooperate with the new Emperor.”
“Just wait to die, all of you!”
His words were direct.
But the facts were exactly so.
The new Emperor had the support of the Chancellor Dou Jinyuan, controlling the majority of the civil official power; the Nie family held military authority, and after Nie Yao returned to the capital, he also took charge of the Great Yu Dynasty’s taxation.
The Nie family’s power was excessive.
Nie Lengfeng’s reputation among the people even surpassed that of the royal family.
What emperor would tolerate a subject with greater prestige than himself? The Nie family should be vigilant if they had any sense.
Therefore.
No matter how you looked at it, these two forces should be diametrically opposed, mutually incompatible.
Who knew that Nie Yao didn’t follow the usual path, daring to even use military power for business, and seemingly bold enough to present it openly to the new Emperor?
Absurd.
Too absurd!
Sun Ji’s rationality told him that no one would be so foolish as to invite disaster upon their entire family for money.
But the person who did this was Nie Yao.
His resolve wavered.
Nie Yao had been accumulating wealth everywhere since his return to the capital seven years ago. Selling official titles, accepting bribes—committing all manner of evil.
Now, Nie Yao’s reputation as a corrupt official was known to everyone in the Great Yu Dynasty.
Given his nature, it didn’t seem too strange for him to cooperate with the new Emperor for money.
If that were the case.
Then the situation for their aristocratic faction would be difficult.
Sun Ji realized his predicament was unfavorable, but at this moment, he still held onto the hope that Nie Yao’s words were just a scare tactic to make him pay.
He wouldn’t actually be so foolish.
Nie Yao pulled down the curtain of his carriage.
A cold smile appeared on his face.
Sure enough, the richer they were, the stingier they were.
During the time the old toad neglected state affairs and only looked for people to circle (a euphemism, likely for licentious activities), the whole country was in chaos. The aristocratic families took advantage of that time to make a fortune, having so much money they could throw away piles of it.
So rich, yet they only offered a paltry three hundred taels to bribe him.
It seemed that cooperation with the new Emperor was necessary.
Without creating a sense of crisis for the aristocratic families, large-scale orders would remain a distant hope.
This wouldn’t do.
His father wouldn’t have money to build schools.
“Go back.”
Nie Yao closed his eyes, his fingers tapping lightly on his leg, his mind contemplating how to approach the new Emperor.
Should he use their past acquaintance?
He wasn’t sure if the new Emperor still dared to acknowledge it.
Or should he really use military power to negotiate with him?
That wasn’t ideal either; what if the other party dismissed him once he was no longer useful?
Troublesome…
Nie Yao sighed deeply.
As soon as the worried Nie Yao got home, he instructed his subordinates to go to the residence of the Minister of Rites to collect those three hundred taels.
“Bring more people,” he instructed his subordinate, “If that old fellow Sun Ji doesn’t give it, go check out his house.”
“Make it clear to him that it’s a donation to us.”
“It’s a donation, not a loan.”
His subordinates had done this kind of thing not a thousand times, then at least eight hundred.
The procedure was long since second nature.
“Yes, my lord, rest assured!”
No matter how small the fly, it’s still meat.
Three hundred taels was a drop in the bucket compared to the wealth of the aristocratic families, but for the financially strapped Nie Yao, it was an amount worth making a trip for.
Nie Yao: “Be rude, be arrogant. Don’t give that old fellow a good look, let him know our prowess.”
“Hmm… Hmm? Yes!”
In the past, when Nie Yao arranged for them to collect money, he always told them to be nice and not to hurt feelings.
This time, they could actually go to the other person’s house to demand it, and even give them a cold shoulder!
The subordinate was somewhat excited.
His eyes shone with eagerness: “Boss… L-Lord, only three hundred taels? Why don’t we ask for more? That old fellow is a fat sheep!”