Chapter 58: Xiao Yan’s Doubts!
The next day, after court was dismissed.
"San De, go and get Guo Youzhi to come over. I have something to discuss with him!"
When Sande brought Guo Youzhi over , Xiao Yan was dealing with the memorials in his hand.
"Your Highness, what do you want to see me for?"
Xiao Yan put down the last memorial in his hand and said, "Follow me out of the palace. I want to visit the people."
"You also know that the price increase left a very bad impression on the people. We cannot lose our promise to the people!"
“Only by truly understanding people’s livelihood can we better plan for the future!”
Guo Youzhi was a little puzzled when he heard this: "Your Highness, I think it's okay for you to understand the people's sentiments, it's a good thing!"
"But why this minister? I am the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice. Shouldn't this matter be addressed to the Ministry of Revenue?"
Xiao Yan laughed when he heard this: "Why, there are so many rules for asking Lord Guo to accompany me on a trip?"
"Besides, don't you, the Ministry of Justice, have to take care of this civil matter? If someone still sells goods at a high price, do you have to take care of it?"
Guo Youzhi shook his head helplessly and said, "That's not what I meant!"
"But I think this is a little inappropriate. If the officials in the Ministry of Revenue knew about this, wouldn't they say I crossed the line?"
"After all, doing one's job is what an official should do!"
Xiao Yan laughed: "Master Guo is really thoughtful. No one will say anything to you when I am here."
"Besides, we are going on a private visit in disguise this time. We won't go in a big way, so no one else will know about it."
"Master Guo, just relax!"
Guo Youzhi's concern was actually that he didn't know what Xiao Yan wanted to do, which made him very troubled.
"Your Highness, I..."
Xiao Yan interrupted with his hand: "Alright, it's settled. The clothes are ready. Sande will take Lord Guo to change his clothes. We will set off later!"
Then Xiao Yan went to change his clothes without looking back.
"Eunuch Sande, what does your highness mean?"
Sande shook his head and said, "I don't know either. Please, Lord Guo!"
Although Guo Youzhi was confused, he still had to carry out Xiao Yan's orders.
"Your Highness, why do you want to leave the palace at this time?"
Ye Youyue asked while tidying up Xiao Yan's clothes.
"Not only do I have to go out, you have to go out too."
"Today I will take Guo Youzhi to inspect public opinion and meet his mother. I like this person more and more."
"Besides, there is some secret hidden in Guo Youzhi, and I must find out this secret."
"Otherwise, if you just take it for yourself, I'd be a little worried."
Ye Youyue frowned and asked, "Your Highness, are you going to take this servant with you to inspect public opinion?"
Xiao Yan looked at Ye Youyue and said, "No, you're too conspicuous. You can just take the carriage and go directly to Guo Youzhi's mother."
"By the way, bring some food to Youyou, don't say that I, the prince's brother-in-law, am exploiting her!"
Speaking of this, Ye Youyue's face turned red again, and of course she was deeply moved.
Xiao Yan said that he was Ye Youyou's brother-in-law, which meant that he acknowledged his existence and at least gave himself a status.
"Okay, I will wait for your sister to thank His Highness!"
Looking at the clothes that had been prepared for him, Xiao Yan kissed Ye Youyue on the forehead.
"Thank you for your hard work. I will remember everything you have done!"
"Go ahead, take a few guards with you to keep you safe!"
Ye Youyou nodded shyly: "I understand!"
Xiao Yan smiled and said, "You don't have to be so shameless. I'm leaving first!"
Bianjing, as the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty, was naturally extremely prosperous.
There are two markets in Bianjing, East and West. These two places are where people do their daily shopping. You can buy everything you want here.
Therefore, people in Bianjing called shopping "buying things".
There are 18 districts in the East and West Markets, and you go to a specific district to buy something. It's all planned!
"Your Highness, I don't understand why you want to come out at this time to understand the people's sentiments?"
At this time, Sande reminded him, "Master Guo, you can't call me Your Highness after you come out. You can call me Master!"
Sande knew that such a secret visit was risky. If someone with ulterior motives heard it, Xiao Yan would be in danger.
Guo Youzhi then realized that he had said something wrong: "Yes, yes, sir!"
Xiao Yan glanced at Sande and said with a smile: "You also know that before the new policy came down, prices rose and the people were suffering."
"But we really don't know how it's being implemented now. This time we'll ask the people in the name of court supervision to see how they react."
"I just want to hear what the people really think!"
"We're still a long way to go, Lord Guo, why don't we talk about something else?"
Guo Youzhi was stunned when he heard this. Sure enough, there was something else going on. It was a lie to ask him to come out and understand the people's sentiments.
"What do you wish to discuss, my Lord?"
Xiao Yan looked at the scenery outside the window and asked, "Master Guo, what do you think of the current situation of our Great Zhou?"
"Tell me from all angles so that I can understand your thoughts and opinions!"
Guo Youzhi was very puzzled. He thought he was going to be asked whether he would submit to Xiao Yan.
"Compared to the surrounding countries, our Great Zhou is relatively strong, but the world is so big, we don't know if there will be a country stronger than us."
"Let's talk about our surroundings first. To the north, there are the Xiongnu and the Jurchen. The Jurchens are fine. They haven't had any conflicts with us, but the Xiongnu are different."
"As you know, they invade our Great Zhou border from time to time, and this time they are trying to invade our Great Zhou country."
"Youzhou was lost, General Lai Ji died in battle, and the Xiongnu are our number one enemy!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan nodded. The Huns were indeed the number one enemy of the Great Zhou, so Xiao Yan would spare no effort to eliminate them.
"Yes, you are right. I just don't know how Li Guang's troops are doing this time. There has been no news so far, and I am a little worried!"
"What else?"
Guo Youzhi continued, "To the west are Tubo and the Western Regions. We have dealt with the Western Regions and they are very obedient now!"
"But Tubo is different. They are slowly testing our bottom line. We need to be more cautious about this matter!"
"We just fought the Xiongnu, and our treasury is not very full, so we must exercise restraint and avoid going to war with Tubo!"
“Let’s first strengthen our current strength, and when Tubo really has ambitions, we will be ready.
"As for the south and east, it's better."
Xiao Yan didn't understand why the south and east were better.
Could it be that the military defense in the south of the Great Zhou was relatively strict and other countries in the south had no way to deal with it?
Xiao Yan was quite confused about this.
