Seeing that Lu Chen noticed the fluorene board in her hand, Xiao Yun had no intention of hiding it, but instead lifted it up so that Lu Chen could see it more clearly.
Lu Chen simply ignored the small white hands and focused on the fluorene board.
After a moment, his mind suddenly moved, and a thoughtful look appeared on his face.
Xiao Yun opened her red lips lightly and said with her unique soft voice: "Since the Demon Queen came to the throne, she has been committed to cultivating party members, persecuting loyal and good people and excluding dissidents, firmly controlling the government, only caring about her own selfish desires and ignoring the world, so that Government administration is slow, courtiers form cliques for personal gain, corruption is rampant, civil strife continues in all directions, and the country's foundation is shaken."
"Nowadays, chaos is gradually emerging in the world. Although His Highness the Holy King has great martial arts and the Cangming Army is invincible, if we want to truly quell the turmoil, we cannot blindly rely on force. We must restore production as soon as possible, pay attention to people's livelihood, and let the people live and work in peace and contentment. The root cause is completely eradicated.”
As she spoke, she sighed softly, and then said softly:
"Encourage production to create enough agricultural tools, and there is an urgent need to resume agricultural projects in various places, dredge rivers, and restore fertile farmland. At the same time, because the Queen Mother has long diverted part of the money used to repair dams in Yuzhou and Suizhou, the person responsible for the repairs Officials are slack and slack, which has led to random flooding in Qingjiang in recent years. It is necessary to strengthen the dams in Yuzhou and Suizhou as soon as possible, and organize manpower to dig auxiliary roads to divert and discharge floods. All of this requires a huge investment of money. However, now that the national treasury is empty, the imperial court will There is no intention but no power.”
Speaking of this, Xiao Yun's eyes slowly revealed a melancholy that was difficult to resolve.
Lu Chen's eyes gradually became a little subtle.
He had heard a little bit about the current situation of the treasury.
Although rats are not starving to death in the treasury now, it is not much better. The income and expenditure of various ministries are now extremely tight, and they can't wait to break a copper plate and use it in two.
The reason why we are facing such a dilemma is all because of the Queen Mother.
After overthrowing the Queen Mother and her gang, everyone thought they could get a large sum of money to fill the treasury by ransacking their homes. After all, the Queen Mother frequently reached out to the treasury, so there must be countless treasures hidden in the palace.
But when they actually got started, they found that there were not many treasures and elixirs in the Queen Mother's palace, which was far from the wealth she should have had in the six years she had been in charge of the government.
It seems that she was extremely cautious and got some kind of fairy treasure that could hold a large number of items, and put inside it the amazing wealth that she had collected and amassed through various means over the years.
Now that the Queen Mother is fleeing to the west, she will definitely take away the wealth she has accumulated over the years in order to find an opportunity to make a comeback. Although the Queen Mother's gang members who are unable to escape have a rich family fortune, they are simply unable to meet the huge expenditure of the Great Xia treasury, which is now waiting for prosperity.
It can be said that the Queen Mother's departure is equivalent to taking away half of Daxia's treasury, and the disaster this will bring can be imagined.
"so."
After a moment, Lu Chen withdrew his gaze.
"Xiao Shangshu is preparing to suggest that His Majesty lower the specifications of the Xinyuan Grand Ceremony, reduce or postpone the construction of imperial mausoleums, repair the palaces in the inner palace, Tianji Pavilion, Wushuang City and other projects, and at the same time temporarily increase the labor force and mobilize the people of neighboring prefectures and counties to rush to the Qingjiang River. Midstream flood control?”
"Um."
Xiao Yun nodded gloomily.
"Huaiyu, what do you think about this?"
Lu Chen said without hesitation: "Even if His Majesty agrees with your proposal, Xiao Shangshu, this decree will never be passed by me!"
As an engineering matter, let alone a minister's official document, even if it is an imperial edict from the emperor, it can still be blocked and rejected as long as he has enough legitimate reasons.
If the emperor wanted to force an order, it would be easy. All he had to do was remove the stubborn and rigid person and replace him with an obedient one.
After all, the emperor holds the absolute power of appointment and removal.
It's just that this is mostly an approach that only mediocre or mediocre emperors would take. Emperors who really want to make a difference and have ambitions rarely do this, otherwise Lu Chen wouldn't be so distressed.
Hearing this, Xiao Yun frowned slightly, but soon relaxed.
Lu Chen added: "It's easy to talk about various projects. After all, the most important thing at the moment is to restore people's livelihood and control floods. However, the Xinyuan Ceremony is also of great significance and is related to the stability of the world. The standards must not be lowered. Moreover, the people of the world have experienced six years of The Demon Queen's chaotic government has long been exhausted and it is difficult to bear the heavy burden. We must not rush to increase the burden on the people at this time!"
"At this time, labor is being levied, so they have no food left at home and no oil or water in their belly. They rush to the dam area and flood discharge area. The only bad thing is to use their lives to fill the flood!"
"What is this called? This is called taking human lives!"
At this point, there was already a hint of anger on his face.
"The common people paid the most taxes and did the hardest and most tiring work. Whenever they had free time, they had to be drafted into labor by the government. They brought their own food and went to construction sites to work for the government. They worked tirelessly for a year, but in the end there was no food left. , and the imperial court eats the food they grow, uses the taxes they pay, and enjoys their labor, but cannot even provide them with the most basic survival. What is the truth? Is there anything more cruel than this in the world? ?”
Upon hearing this, a look of sadness suddenly flashed across Xiao Yun's face.
Looking at Lu Chen's eyes without a trace of impurity, a hint of reverence quietly flashed in her eyes, as if she was amazed that Lu Chen dared to say such a thing.
After a moment, she shook her head gently, sighed, and then said helplessly:
"I know you are unhappy Huaiyu, but without enough manpower, it is impossible to quell the flood. If the Qingjiang River breaks its banks, countless fertile fields in the downstream counties will be destroyed overnight, resulting in no harvest in the first half of the year. Once the grain production is If turmoil occurs, it will definitely cause large-scale food price fluctuations, with extremely serious consequences. If there are other ways, I will not be tempted to do so, but the current national situation is difficult. If we do not do this, the disaster will be even greater, and the two evils will harm each other. Whichever is easier, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
However, Lu Chen did not agree with this statement.
He shook his head and said solemnly: "I think there are other ways."
Hearing such firm words, Xiao Yun couldn't help but be startled, and subconsciously asked: "What can be done?"
Lu Chen did not answer, but instead asked: "Xiao Shangshu, do you believe me?"
Xiao Yun felt a little baffled. What does this have to do with whether she believes it or not?
But she nodded.
"Huaiyu has an innocent heart. In my heart, he has always been a noble and commendable sincere gentleman. Naturally, I believe in you Huaiyu."
Hearing this, Lu Chen couldn't help but blush.
Know your own affairs.
He probably had an innocent heart when he was a child, but he definitely doesn't have it now.
Xiao Yun said this from the bottom of her heart, which made him feel a little embarrassed for a moment.
But his face was tempered after all, and he soon returned to normal.
"In that case."
He stretched out his hand, and under Xiao Yun's surprised gaze, took the fluorene board from her hand, and then put his own fluorene board in her hand.
"Leave this matter to me."
Feeling the warm touch of the fluorene board with Lu Chen's name written on it in her hand, Xiao Yun couldn't help but be startled.
Unknowingly, the two of them had reached the steps of the Tai Chi Hall gate.
"Now that we have discovered the problem, we can't pretend we didn't see it, and..."
Lu Chen took Xiao Yun's fluorene board and walked up the steps.
"It is the duty of an official to speak out and give advice. Especially for such advice that may offend His Majesty, it is even more obligatory for me to do so!"
Naturally, he couldn't miss such a good thing that could lower the Empress' favor.
Seeing Lu Chen's unhesitating figure, Xiao Yun inexplicably clenched the fluorene board in her hand.
