Volume 1, Chapter 53: A Massive Loss, A Loss That Makes Me Want to Cough Up Blood!

Fan Xiu smiled and said, "A newspaper office is simply an organization that publishes newspapers. Those ministers do not understand the purpose of such things, so they will not desperately try to stop it. On the one hand, through newspapers, they can establish their own channels of information; on the other hand, they can use newspapers to guide the court's public opinion, spread new developments of the imperial court, and pave the way for the upcoming reforms! By the time they realize the power of this newspaper, it will be too late to react!"

Xiao Ruoqing's eyes lit up as she said, "That is indeed a good method! In this way, we can also gain the support of public opinion through the newspaper's propaganda! However..."

At this point, Xiao Ruoqing frowned and said, "If we do this, the local powerful gentry and the aristocratic families in the imperial court will likely try to stop it."

"Clever!"

Fan Xiu reached out to pinch Xiao Ruoqing's cheek and said, "Your mind works quite fast. Therefore, what must be carried out simultaneously is the Decree of Extending Favor. This is truly the ultimate open stratagem!"

Xiao Ruoqing asked in surprise, "What is called the Decree of Extending Favor?"

Ying, who was inside the room, was completely captivated by what she was hearing.

Even when she used to study alongside Xiao Ruoqing years ago, she had never listened this intently!

There were too many incredible concepts in what Fan Xiu was saying.

Fan Xiu explained, "The so-called Decree of Extending Favor means allowing vassal kings to grant official titles to all their heirs, and allowing all descendants of aristocratic families to inherit a share of the family estate."

"Ah?"

Xiao Ruoqing widened her eyes and said, "This... this must never be done! Wouldn't this allow those vassal kings and aristocratic families to continue growing stronger, directly threatening the entire Great Yin Dynasty?!"

Fan Xiu chuckled and said, "That is why I said this is the ultimate open stratagem! Even you cannot see the logic behind it, and those aristocratic families are even less likely to see it. Even if they do see it, they will have no choice but to accept it!"

Xiao Ruoqing's brows furrowed deeply.

"What do you mean?"

Fan Xiu explained, "What is the greatest threat that vassal kings and aristocratic families pose to the Great Yin Dynasty? It is their strength and their unity! The primary heir of a vassal king inherits the throne, and the primary heir of an aristocratic family inherits the clan, growing larger and larger like a snowball. But what if every single son could be granted official posts and a share of the family estate? Won't these vassal territories and aristocratic families gradually split into countless smaller pieces?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ruoqing's expression changed in utter shock!

Behind the window, Ying widened her eyes in even greater astonishment.

Indeed!

Instead of fighting them desperately—which could even lead to the collapse of the entire Great Yin Dynasty—why not use this method to split them apart?

No one would refuse such a thing!

By the time they realized the problem, it would already be too late!

How on earth could this Fan Xiu conceive of such a vicious scheme?

It was simply terrifying!

Fan Xiu continued, "However, this process cannot be accomplished overnight. During this period, we can use the opportunity of the Decree of Extending Favor to continue reclaiming military power!"

"This..."

Xiao Ruoqing asked in surprise, "Didn't you say that reclaiming military power is unadvisable? Why continue doing it?"

"That's because your method of reclaiming it was wrong! Military power must definitely be reclaimed; an emperor without military power is not a good emperor! But reclaiming military power is not about seizing it directly. Instead, it is about weeding out the weak, retaining the strong, and pursuing an elite troop strategy. At the same time, we select a smaller group of well-equipped soldiers from humble backgrounds to form a new army! The aristocratic officials in the court will not object to this step! As for the military generals, we first win over and support a portion of them, and the rest will fall naturally into place," Fan Xiu said.

"Brilliant!"

Xiao Ruoqing widened her eyes in pleasant surprise and said, "Fan Xiu, your method is truly brilliant. If you could enter the court to assist the Empress, wouldn't it be even better for saving the Great Yin Dynasty?"

Fan Xiu rolled his eyes and said, "What are you thinking? Do you think the things I mentioned are simple? There are countless variables and crises hidden within this; a single misstep could lead to death! Why would I idly muddy these treacherous waters? Isn't it wonderful to stay at home and hold my beautiful wife?"

As he spoke, he reached out to pull Xiao Ruoqing into his arms.

Xiao Ruoqing hurriedly stood up, her face flushed red as she softly scolded, "Shameless! Who is your wife?!"

With that, she turned around and walked straight into the room.

"Hey!"

Fan Xiu quickly called out, "Wife, I've been talking for half a day, and you're leaving without even giving me a reward?"

Mentioning it only made matters worse; after his shout, Xiao Ruoqing walked even faster, darting straight into the room and slamming the door shut with a bang.

Fan Xiu glared resentfully at Ying behind the window.

Ying immediately closed the window.

These two sisters were truly handfuls!

Fan Xiu had no choice but to get up and resume his physical exercises.

Inside the room.

Xiao Ruoqing sat on the bed, her expression solemn as she whispered to Ying, "Liuyue, you heard everything Fan Xiu said just now, didn't you?"

Ying nodded and said, "Scholar Fan is truly a person of great talent."

"Indeed."

Xiao Ruoqing nodded, then sighed softly, "It's a pity his ambitions do not lie in the imperial court. Otherwise, I would truly want to find a way to bring him back to the capital."

Ying pondered for two seconds and whispered, "Your Majesty, news from the Blood Feather Guards indicates that more and more people are searching around. Qinglin Village is also being thoroughly searched by quite a few individuals. However, due to Scholar Fan's identity, they haven't searched the Fan household yet. Moreover, based on my observation, many outsiders have recently arrived in the county town, and all of them possess martial arts skills. Sooner or later, they will track us down. We don't have much time left."

Hearing this, Xiao Ruoqing's brows locked tightly together.

The situation was even more severe than she had anticipated.

The night passed without incident.

The next day.

As morning approached, a large batch of cold rice noodles was finished.

With the help of the villagers recommended by Village Chief Zhao, along with his second uncle's family, even more cold noodles were produced.

Afterwards, Fan Xiu brought the cold noodles and went to the county town along with Fan Tie.

Ying did not tag along, claiming she had other matters to attend to.

Fan Xiu was quite glad she wasn't following them and immediately set off with Fan Tie.

Upon arriving at the Zhiwei Pavilion, Fan Xiu noticed that there were unusually many guests today.

Zhao Defu was also there and immediately walked over upon seeing Fan Xiu.

"Fan Xiu."

Zhao Defu said with a hearty smile, "Business is quite good today, probably because of your performance at the Drunken Immortal House yesterday. You rascal, you hid your talents deep—you actually won over Su Ying'er with just a single poem and didn't even tell me! Is that why you were so confident that your cold noodles could sell for a higher price?"

Fan Xiu smiled and said, "To tell you the truth, Su Ying'er is coming to eat cold noodles today."

"Ah?"

Zhao Defu was momentarily stunned, followed instantly by a surge of wild joy as he shouted, "Why the hell didn't you say so earlier?! Waiter! Waiter!"

With that, he hurriedly ran off to make preparations.

Before long, a red banner was hung up on the upper floor of the Drunken Immortal House:
[Welcoming Su Ying'er, the fairy of the Drunken Immortal House, to Zhiwei Pavilion.]

Inside the room.

Zhao Defu sat on a chair opposite Fan Xiu, sighing heavily and slapping his thigh as he said, "I've lost out, I've lost out big time! Damn it! Not only do we have your poem, but Su Ying'er is coming as well! Because of this, if you put these cold noodles up for sale, they'll probably fetch over six hundred taels!"

Six hundred taels.

With a forty percent cut, he would have received two hundred and forty taels!

He had practically lost a concubine's worth of money!

"Father, Brother Fan Xiu."

At this moment, accompanied by a silvery voice, Zhao Yufei walked in from outside with a playful expression, holding some fruit in her hand.

"Brother Fan Xiu, I bought these for you."