Mo Xiang, a prominent figure in the Zhongshu Province and a trusted confidant of the Sage, maintained excellent relations with the noble clans.
Last year, Mo Xiang had endorsed this very measure. Why was he suddenly opposing it now? Wasn't this a blatant contradiction?
Not only Gu Bohao, but even Yao Zhinian, who was known for his surprising twists, was stunned.
"Mo Xiang is indeed Mo Xiang," they thought. "Look at his eloquent words, hitting the nail on the head. How will you explain yourself? Whatever you say will sound like sophistry."
The people of Fujian were merchants; they couldn't grow grain. Jiangnan, however, was a land of abundance. Why were they trying to get involved?
The officials of the Zhongshu Province were momentarily unsure whether to agree or disagree.
If they disagreed, Mo Xiang was their superior. If they agreed, they had been placed in their positions by the noble clans, and their fortunes were tied to them.
What should they do?
They needed to think of a solution quickly.
The Sage smiled and nodded. "Mo Xiang speaks wisely. The granaries of our Great Wei indeed cannot be tampered with."
"Your Majesty is wise. This concerns tens of millions of our Great Wei's citizens. We must find a way to stop it!" Mo Xiang declared.
The noble clans had thousands, if not tens of thousands, of household servants and strategists. The local authorities sending troops was useless. There had been instances before where soldiers investigating cases were threatened by the clans' private guards.
Therefore, local officials had to be good at their jobs. The first thing they did upon taking office was to foster good relationships with the noble clans, following their lead. The noble clans were the de facto rulers in their regions.
To stop them, only the forces of the military governors could be used. However, mobilizing troops was no small matter; any misstep could lead to a full-blown rebellion.
"Mo Xiang has been in power for too long and doesn't understand the suffering of the common people. Stop it? How do we stop it? By using military force?" Minister Qin asked.
"The Cui family's actions are disastrous and treasonous, deserving of the death penalty," Yao Zhinian said, his confidence bolstered by Mo Xiang's support.
"The death penalty? What a grand accusation!" Minister Qin rolled his eyes at Yao Zhinian unceremoniously. "The common people are planting the crops they wish on their own land. How can the imperial court interfere?"
"This is what they mean by 'too many cooks spoil the broth.' Take Qinghe, for example. The people have always planted rice. When the weather is good, it's a land of fish and rice. The people complain that grain prices are too high and curse the court for oppressing them. Fine, they stop planting rice and plant mulberry trees to raise silkworms for profit. Then they find themselves with no rice to eat despite their hard work. In this world, no matter what you do, there will always be people who like it and people who don't. It's like..." Minister Qin paused, took a copper coin from his pocket, and asked Mo Xiang, "Does Mo Xiang like this?"
Mo Xiang felt that Minister Qin was being utterly nonsensical, but he played along. "This is Kaiyuan Tongbao of our Great Wei. No one would dislike it."
Minister Qin nodded. "Indeed. And how about this?" Minister Qin then found a piece of broken silver from his money pouch. "If you had to choose between the two?"
Mo Xiang stroked his beard and smiled. "Minister Qin, please do not try to confuse the issue."
"Minister Qin, what is this place, the imperial court? If Minister Qin likes performing acrobatics, he should set up a stall on East Street," Yao Zhinian interjected rudely.
Minister Qin ignored Yao Zhinian. If he were an acrobat, then Yao Zhinian would be the monkey, destined to be manipulated.
"Of course, one prefers silver to copper coins. You see, even copper coins are sometimes deemed not valuable enough. How much more so other matters? Therefore, the Cui family's mistake was not in acting on behalf of the people, but in making choices for them. Doing too much leads to mistakes and thankless efforts, that's what this is."
Minister Qin didn't understand why Mo Xiang had suddenly switched sides. But if they were to truly brand the noble clans with the crime of deliberately destroying farmland, they would lose their prestige and the people's affection.
Since the matter had escalated, then so be it. No one would be able to play the role of a benevolent figure and reap the benefits.
Yao Zhinian hadn't expected that the situation Mo Xiang had turned around would be ruined by Minister Qin. It was clearly the noble clans acting with ill intentions to manipulate the court, yet in his words, they had become benevolent figures who were misunderstood for trying to alleviate the people's hardships.
He felt like cursing.