sbdcsierra Chapter 341 Affairs
Chapter 341 Affairs
Chapter 341 Affairs
As soon as Lin Fei returned to the capital of Southern Tang, the ministers who had received the news almost wore out the threshold of his palace. After all, no one had ever encountered a hands-off manager like Lin Fei before.
The former Tang emperor, Li Yu, was far superior to Lin Fei in handling state affairs, if nothing else. Unlike Lin Fei, who spent very little time in the capital immediately after ascending the throne.
Among these ministers who came, some genuinely had important matters to report to Lin Fei and await his handling. Others were earnest old ministers who came to advise Lin Fei to be diligent in his duties and care for the people, urging him not to be inconsistent in his work. Still others were simply there to flatter him, some even preparing numerous tributes, claiming it was to help the Emperor recover from his arduous journey, and some even brought their own daughters and granddaughters.
Lin Fei felt a headache coming on when he sensed the long line of ministers outside the Imperial Study through his divine sense.
He frequented the Jade Emperor Sect and Thunderclap Temple, dealing with renowned masters throughout the land, yet he never felt such a headache. Lin Fei, however, felt that facing these ministers was far more terrifying than facing those martial arts masters.
Lin Fei rubbed his temples, looking quite troubled, and instructed Chief Steward Wang, who was standing to the side, "Chief Steward Wang, go and tell all the ministers outside that they have urgent matters to report to Prime Minister Wang You, and have him come and inform me. As for the rest, send them back to their quarters!"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Chief Steward Wang covered his mouth and chuckled softly before bowing and leaving.
Half a day later, the ministers outside finally dispersed, and Chief Steward Wang led Prime Minister Wang You in.
"Your Majesty, this old minister Wang You pays his respects!" Having not seen him for many days, Prime Minister Wang You appeared even more gaunt. He had initially supported the Second Prince, Li Longqian, not Lin Fei. After Lin Fei ascended to the throne, he not only did not hold Wang You accountable, but also entrusted all matters of state, large and small, to the cabinet ministers headed by Wang You, for which Wang You was deeply grateful.
Therefore, he did his best in everything he did, daring not to be negligent in the slightest. In the days since Lin Fei left the capital, he had visibly lost weight.
"Prime Minister Wang, please rise!" Lin Fei looked at the prime minister, who was quite accomplished in his cultivation and had lost a lot of weight, and sighed, "I am very grateful to you for your help during my absence from the capital."
"It is my duty to relieve Your Majesty's worries and troubles, and I dare not claim credit for it," Prime Minister Wang You quickly said. "But Your Majesty..."
Hearing that the old prime minister seemed about to launch into a long speech, Lin Fei quickly interrupted, "During my time away from the capital, I'm sure there are many things that have piled up. Prime Minister, please give me a report."
Wang You pondered for a moment, sorted out the matters reported to him by the ministers, and then said, "During the days Your Majesty has been away from the capital, the old minister and the court officials have been able to handle the rest of the matters. However, there are three matters that Your Majesty needs to decide on personally."
"The Northern Han has sent an envoy, and the Han emperor has invited Your Majesty to a hunt on the Yangtze River. Your Majesty is not in the capital, and this old minister dares not make a decision on this matter. I have sent the envoy back and will make a decision after Your Majesty returns."
"Lu Dingyuan, the commander of Tianmen South Prefecture, has resigned due to illness. Some ministers in the court have proposed to reorganize Tianmen North and South Prefectures, intending to merge the two prefectures back into one. Tianmen Prefecture is a matter of great importance, and this old minister dares not make a decision on his own. I humbly request Your Majesty to make the decision."
"The last matter concerns the return of the Eight Evil Paths to the Southern Tang. The Eight Evil Paths have now completed their internal discussions and dispatched representatives to return to the Southern Tang and establish their own sect. The list has been submitted to the Tianmen Prefecture. Your Majesty is requested to decide on the specific location for the Eight Paths' headquarters."
……
The three matters Wang You mentioned were all of great importance. Even as the prime minister, he dared not make a decision rashly and could only wait until Lin Fei returned to the capital before making any decisions.
As Lin Fei had predicted, one of the three things Wang You reported was about unorthodox practices.
The Eight Heretical Sects have re-entered Southern Tang and established their own sects. This was a decision made by Lin Fei to counterbalance the arrogant righteous sects who disregarded the Southern Tang government. However, these Eight Heretical Sects are not to be underestimated; without Lin Fei's orders, no one dared to allow them to set up their headquarters within Southern Tang territory.
Lin Fei pondered for a moment, then said to Wang You, "Let's set up the headquarters of these evil sects in Jiangxia County. Elder Du is highly respected, and it's not appropriate for him to always be at my beck and call in the court. Let Elder Du return to Jiangxia and keep an eye on these evil villains for me."
Unsettling factors like the Eight Evil Paths can only be suppressed by a Grandmaster of the Celestial Realm like Du Qingmu. Lin Fei was confident in sending Du Qingmu back to Jiangxia County because this time he not only gained the Reincarnation Stone Tablet, but also capable subordinates like the Rabbit Sun Star Lord and the Day Wanderer God. Even without Du Qingmu in the capital, he could completely keep things under control.
As for the matter of Tianmen Prefecture, it was originally a tactic employed by these civil officials to divide Su Lie's power. Emperor Li Yu of Tang was also unwilling for Su Lie to monopolize power, so he went along with it and divided Tianmen Prefecture into North and South Prefectures.
Now that Su Lie has died for his country, and the new Tang emperor is Su Lie's grandson, all the officials are shrewd and know exactly what to do to please the new ruler. It's likely that the reunification of the North and South Prefectures of Tianmen is a decision already agreed upon by all the ministers. The reason for reporting this to Lin Fei, besides its importance, is also to demonstrate the ministers' loyalty to him.
After a slight pause, Lin Fei said, "If Tianmen Prefecture is divided into North and South Prefectures, it will inevitably cause delays and setbacks because orders cannot be issued by one person. It would be better to merge them back into one. As for the Governor of Tianmen, let Su Wuming continue to serve as the Governor!"
After dealing with the two important matters, Lin Fei finally said, "As for the matter of the Northern Han Kingdom, the Han Emperor suddenly invited me to a hunting party, so he probably has something else to discuss with me. Just agree. However, while they decide the location, we must decide the time. We can't let them lead us by the nose. Go and have Yuan Daotong calculate an auspicious day and time, and then reply to the Northern Han Kingdom."
After hearing this, Wang You did not immediately agree. Instead, he seemed somewhat embarrassed: "Well, Your Majesty, Master Yuan has requested to return to his hometown due to illness."
"He's claiming illness and returning home?" Lin Fei asked in surprise, "What kind of illness does he have?"
It's no wonder Lin Fei was so surprised. With Yuan Daotong's cultivation level, he was already invulnerable to swords and spears, and impervious to water and fire. How could he possibly get sick? Even if you stripped that guy naked and threw him into the freezing cold for three days and three nights, he still wouldn't get sick.
I'm afraid that lazy fellow, like Lin Fei, only works sporadically.
However, even Emperor Lin Fei was a hands-off ruler who only worked sporadically, so he couldn't very well criticize his subordinates. He could only wave his hand impatiently and say, "Then just arrange a time to reply to the Northern Han Kingdom."
"Yes, Your Majesty, this old minister obeys!" Wang You replied, bowed, and withdrew.