Iron Dynasty

The lights in the imperial study were extinguished at midnight. Pang Yukun and minister Niu Ben filed out. The impact of this naval battle still left them in contemplation.

“If the Great Yu Empire did not have His Majesty, perhaps in just a century, these European colonizers would have encroached upon the Great Yu Empire with their superior ships and cannons.”

Pang Yukun’s hands were tucked into his sleeves, and the cold made his exhaled breath condense into frost.

“Senior Grand Secretary Pang is absolutely right. In the past, we were like frogs at the bottom of a well, our vision limited to the land of the Great Yu Empire. We never would have imagined that this world had undergone such tremendous changes,” Niu Ben said with emotion.

Recalling the events of the past decade, he felt quite emotional. Qingzhou Province went from being a place of poverty to the center of prosperity, and their journey was truly difficult.

“We must thank Heaven for bestowing upon the Great Yu Empire a monarch of restoration. Without His Majesty, the Great Yu Empire’s situation today would have been tragic. Therefore, gentlemen, to preserve the Great Yu Empire, you must preserve His Majesty, especially you in the military, you must stand on the right side,” Zhan Xingchang said with a profound gaze.

Niu Ben, hearing this, became wary. “What do you mean by that? Are you saying I, Niu Ben, would rebel?”

“General Niu’s temper is as fiery as ever, but this time, the General has misunderstood. What I mean is that although the merchants’ council was annihilated, its poison cannot be eradicated in a day or two. This remnant poison now seems insignificant, but one day it will erupt. Of course, this is just my own conjecture,” Zhan Xingchang said.

Pang Yukun looked at Zhan Xingchang and nodded slightly. “I agree with Zhan Xingchang’s words. The Cao family was merely an anomaly, but it is enough to show that he still gained the support of many merchants, and the ideologies he put forth also had many followers. This is their remnant poison. Currently, private capital in the Great Yu Empire is active, but they have a natural conflict with the imperial court. This conflict will one day erupt.”

Niu Ben and Luo Quan exchanged glances. “Are you saying the merchants’ council will appear again?”

“No one can say if it will appear again, but the conflict between private capital and the imperial court is growing. The nature of merchants is to seek profit. They evade and avoid taxes, and they sell counterfeit and fake goods. Their desire for the imperial court to formulate more policies that benefit their businesses is real. There have already been cases of merchants colluding with local officials to obtain biased policies, and as His Majesty said, sugar-coated bullets are much more powerful than real bullets,” Pang Yukun said with emotion.

“What is even more helpless is that for the prosperity of the Great Yu Empire’s industry and commerce, private capital cannot be completely suppressed. After all, with the increasing number of overseas colonies, there are some corners forgotten by the imperial court that need these merchants to fill,” Yang Chengye said loudly. “However, His Majesty had already noticed this. The Anti-Monopoly Law in the Commercial Law was precisely to curb the emergence of oversized capital among the common people. At the same time, with state-owned capital leading the Great Yu Empire’s economy and private capital as a supplement, it avoids private capital from growing too large. But this way, the imperial court will inevitably be labeled with a bad image of competing with the common people for profit. Furthermore, this state-owned capital is also controlled by imperial relatives and the family members of high-ranking officials in the imperial court…”

Fei Ji looked at Yang Chengye with admiration. This Yang Chengye was skilled in industry and commerce and was a capable person. His words today were very frank, directly pointing out the irreconcilable problems in the Great Yu Empire’s development.

Most critically, it directly pointed to the situation where state-owned capital was now controlled by imperial relatives. In fact, as an imperial relative himself, he had long been aware of this problem.

The head of the Railway Department was Princess Pingyang. Relying on just one Railway Department, Princess Pingyang was able to support many members of the imperial family. It could be said that Princess Pingyang was a small faction in the Great Yu Empire.

In addition, Qingzhou Bank, the Qingzhou Chamber of Commerce, and some large-scale industries were gradually forming their own small interest groups.

In his opinion, these groups were basically no different from the powerful families of the past, merely old wine in new bottles.

He believed that in the near future, these interest groups would surely influence the imperial court’s policies. The class of powerful elite would also not be eliminated.

And this was why he, during the war of the feudal lords and the north-south war, advocated winning over the powerful families to quickly control the nation.

After all, a dynastic change was merely a powerful family named Zhang driving away a powerful family named Liu. The only difference between a powerful family named Liu and a powerful family named Zhang was the severity of the rent collection.

Their conversation now was precisely a confirmation of his long-held belief. Most of the powerful families of Xiao Wenxuan’s era had perished, and now the powerful families of Xiao Ming’s era were forming.

After Xiao Ming reached one hundred years old, and a new monarch ascended the throne, where would the Great Yu Empire head then?

Thinking of this, he sighed, “Everything we have so arduously gained now is ultimately for others. Instead of discussing these hidden worries, we should ponder the position of Crown Prince. Whether the Great Yu Empire can be renowned for all eternity depends on which of the Emperor’s descendants can inherit the Emperor’s legacy. Otherwise, what you are saying is merely an illusion, a fruitless effort.”

Ge Yiren, hearing this, gave a thumbs-up. “Elder Fei is truly brilliant. What will the Great Yu Empire be like in the future? It depends on the character of the Crown Prince. Currently, the Emperor has three sons and one daughter, and Xiao Yi is the legitimate eldest son. He should be made the Crown Prince.”

“That…” Pang Yukun exchanged glances with the other Grand Secretaries. He said, “His Majesty has never mentioned this matter. Perhaps he has already made a decision in his heart. If we were to bring it up now, it would appear as if we have ulterior motives.”

“The Crown Prince is the foundation of the nation. As long as a Crown Prince is not established, it will be difficult to appease the hearts of the people under heaven. General Niu, General Luo, what do you say?”

Niu Ben and Luo Quan immediately feigned confusion. Luo Quan said, “We are soldiers. We dare not participate in government affairs. However, there is one thing: the military will always obey the Emperor.”

Luo Quan’s casual words made his position clear.

A subtle smile appeared on Zhan Xingchang’s lips. His purpose for bringing up this topic today was to hear the military’s attitude.

With Luo Quan saying this, they felt reassured. The Great Yu Empire’s development over the past decade was too fast, so much so that many problems were left unresolved as they progressed.

Now, these problems were gradually being exposed. The most serious one was that the powerful families, who were once suppressed, had transformed into private capital. Now, seven out of ten merchants in Qingzhou Province had a powerful family background. And this was his purpose for bringing up this topic.

Fei Ji’s strategy had indeed quickly pacified the Great Yu Empire’s internal strife, but its drawbacks were also now exposed.

As those who started their rise by eliminating powerful families, they had always been wary of these old powerful families. On the contrary, Fei Ji now had their support. Many merchants with powerful family backgrounds were grateful to him and looked to him as their leader.

The officials of the former Chang’an faction also rallied closely around him. The calls for Fei Ji to become the Senior Grand Secretary were now growing louder in the court.