Perhaps it was because Qi Xiuyuan was too agitated or because of the two large boxes filled with IOUs left in the hall, the courtiers became unprecedentedly nervous, affecting the citizens in the capital. Now, all the citizens in the capital knew that the Emperor was short of money.
Great Qi had inherited the open speech policies of the Great Zhou Dynasty. As scholars, they enjoyed great freedom of speech. It was unknown who had bewitched them, but the students in the capital began to talk about the issue of reducing the number of troops. So much so, it affected the imperial censors in the imperial court and made them petition the Imperial Court to reduce military expenditure and reduce the number of soldiers.