As the money bag of Daxia, Wu Yue, the Minister of Household Affairs, is extremely sensitive to money-related matters.
Especially the establishment of new departments.
A newly established department must have subordinate officials in it, right? You have to pay people to work, right? You need funds to do things, right? Does the Yamen need to purchase various office supplies? We have to set up Ningxin magic circle, spirit gathering magic circle and other formations that can improve work efficiency, right? Do you have to consume spiritual stones to maintain the formation?
As for the establishment of a department, there must be five-rank ministers, five-rank ministers, several sixth-rank chiefs, and maybe seven-rank officers, eight-rank deputy chiefs, nine-rank prime ministers, and ambassadors. , since you are an official, you must treat people accordingly, right?
In all these aspects, which one should not ask for money? What's more, almost every new department has to invest a huge amount of money to develop its business at the beginning.
Where does the money come from? Doesn’t it have to be taken from the treasury controlled by their Ministry of Household Affairs?
Judging from Lu Chen's handling style in Yuzhou, this guy must be a big spender. After all, he has only been the governor of the two states for less than a month, and the local government's wealth has almost been emptied by him.
If you don't know how expensive firewood, rice, oil and salt are, if you put the money in his hands, he will spend it as a penny!
A complete prodigal!
Wu Yue almost turned green when he thought of the empress' favor for Lu Chen, and an indescribable ominous premonition surged out.
Then, as if to confirm his hunch, as soon as Lu Chen finished explaining the specific responsibilities and functions of the Tiangong Division, as well as its future prospects, the Empress nodded directly.
"Accurate!"
Her answer was as decisive and straightforward as ever, as if she would not veto any suggestion he made, as long as it was Lu Chen's.
Although he had expected it, Lu Chen couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth when he heard the empress agree so quickly.
This kind of trust, no one has had it since ancient times, right?
Sure enough, under the empress, it was a luxury for him to be demoted, let alone dismissed from office.
It would be nice to have a guaranteed reward!
Other courtiers did not react much to this.
Obviously, they had become numb to the empress' unconditional trust and even love towards Lu Chen.
Moreover, it sounds like the Ministry of Works will not have any impact on the current structure of the court, nor will it affect the authority of other ministries. It has nothing to do with them. It will only make the Ministry of Works, or Lu Chen himself, more powerful. That’s all.
Even without the troublesome Tiangong Division, Lu Chen's energy should not be underestimated. With one more department and one less department, this scourge would still be as troublesome. There is no essential difference. There is no need to tangle with him on this matter.
However, just because they are silent does not mean that everyone will be silent.
The moment the empress agreed, Wu Yue stood up with a heavy face and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, I have expressed my sincere heart and poured out my blood to report!"
As soon as these words came out, Qian Yiqian, the Minister of Punishment, who had just been fined for one year for his involvement in the false accusation case and was punished as a substitute, and who might be dismissed by the empress at any time, suddenly narrowed his eyes and looked at him with amusement. Wu Yue.
However, at this time, he did not dare to speak easily, lest the filaments under his feet that finally supported him in the court were completely broken, and then he would be kicked out of the court like Zheng Zhong and bid farewell to his official career completely.
Now he is more honest than anyone else.
Although the Criminal Department, which had a lot of power taken away from it by Dali Temple and the Metropolitan Procuratorate, was actually the least powerful department among the six departments, it was still a senior official with real power, so he still cherished it and stayed there as long as he could.
Seeing Wu Yue speak, the other courtiers looked at him and Lu Chen as if they were watching a good show.
This morning is definitely not peaceful.
In the eyes of everyone with different expressions, the empress's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Wu Aiqing, please speak."
She still has great trust in Wu Yue.
The reason is very simple. This moneybag of the imperial court has fulfilled his duties in all aspects and is a truly capable minister. Moreover, he has always dealt with things and people. In addition, whether it was during the reign of the late Emperor or the Demon Queen, or now. , there has never been any bad deeds such as forming cliques for personal gains. No matter what position they hold, they only do their work conscientiously.
She still had to give such people a certain amount of respect.
Wu Yue cleared his throat, and then said solemnly: "Your Majesty, it has been nearly a thousand years since Taizu expelled the Tartars and restored the prosperity of the country. We have seventy-five provinces in Daxia and three capitals, with a territory of one hundred thousand miles and thousands of people. Your Majesty has the responsibility Our ancestors, the country, carry their weight and move forward."
"At the end of last summer, Xichuan Province was overrun by earth dragons, with tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians killed and injured, and more than a million people affected. In autumn, there was a plague in Northern Hebei Province, and a yellow disaster occurred in Yunlan Province. At the end of autumn, there was a riot in Wuyue, and Baigui was in power. "Last year, when winter came, there was a famine in Ningzhou. The next month, all the countries from the Western Regions crossed the glaciers from the Xijiang River and invaded Xichuan. As a result, all life in Xichuan was reduced to ashes. There was not even one out of ten people alive. It could be said that bones were exposed in the wild, and there was no rooster crow for thousands of miles."
"At the same time, due to the Demon Queen's six-year reign of chaos, corruption has become rampant in both the government and the public. Corrupt officials everywhere have imposed excessive taxes and expropriations. In some places, there are as many as a hundred tax items, and various exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes have even been collected. Ten years later, the national treasury is empty. Abnormally, it is difficult to even pay the soldiers in full, and since His Majesty has been diligent in his work, he has always loved the people like a son and returned all the wealth that the Demon Queen plundered from the people when he was in chaos. Even if the general recovers the stolen money that the Demon Queen holds hostage for the court, it will not be enough. There is only enough money and food to maintain the current situation, barely making up for the shortfall."
Having said this, he suddenly bowed heavily to the empress.
"The national situation is so difficult. If the imperial court spends extravagantly, the situation that our Great Xia Dynasty has just stabilized is very likely to deteriorate again. Your Majesty, please take your ancestors and the country into consideration, do not use the money and food from the national treasury on useless things, and practice frugality , I will work with my ministers and others to overcome the difficulties, and we will make plans next year when the treasury is full."
As soon as the words fell, the court instantly became silent.
Although these words did not accuse Lu Chen by name, everyone could tell that Wu Yue meant something.
Moreover, he did not specify the affairs of the Tiangong Division, but instead advised the emperor to save all unnecessary expenditures and get through the current predicament first. Obviously, he wanted to block the path of Lu Chen, a prodigal son, but not I would like to set this precedent for him and nip it in the bud, lest this guy take advantage of it.
The point is not to add a Tiangong Department, but to restrict Lu Chen from spending money uncontrollably.
Upon hearing this, the empress frowned slightly.
If it was deliberately targeting Lu Chen, such as Qian Yiqian, Zheng Zhong and others, she could ignore it and push it directly. However, Wu Yue's words were not selfish. The current national situation is indeed like this, so she would not be so brainless. Strong support.
But she did not directly respond to Wu Yue's words, but frowned and started thinking.
Obviously, she still tends to follow Lu Chen's suggestions, or in other words, wants to realize Lu Chen's ideas.
But at this moment, Lu Chen, who was the party involved in the matter, suddenly stood up.
"Wu Shangshu, the Tiangong Division I'm talking about is not a useless thing, but a major matter that affects the fate of our country for all time."
He looked at Wu Yue calmly and said calmly:
"I also know that the national treasury is tight now, and the six ministries, three courtyards and nine temples are all waiting for money, but the establishment of the Tiangong Department is the top priority of the imperial court now. What's more, the imperial court is short of money and needs to open up new financial resources, and the Tiangong Division is now in need of money. If the engineering department is successfully run, it will create countless wealth for the imperial court, which can be said to be a benefit to the present and a lasting contribution to the future."
"Just like this charcoal, if a method can be developed to eliminate the side effects of its combustion, the imperial court will definitely benefit from it."
"snort!"
Wu Yue was dismissive of Lu Chen's remarks. Before he could finish speaking, he snorted coldly and interrupted:
"The nature of coal is like this, how can it be done by human beings? Spending money and food to study this thing is purely a waste of effort. Moreover, this so-called way of studying things, in my opinion, is just a small way to study some strange skills. That’s all, what’s the point?”
"Shilang Lu, please forgive me for speaking frankly. In my opinion, today's engineering department is really useless. It's just a waste of money and food. If you just waste a little money for your majesty's sake, it will be a waste. Whatever No matter how silly you are, I don’t bother to argue with you, but these are extraordinary times, and I will never allow anyone to waste even a copper coin. As long as the country can survive the difficulties safely, it doesn’t matter if I cheat this Pixiu!”
(End of chapter)
