Changsui.

Tianze Palace.

Emperor Yuan Xiu sat upright on the dragon throne, while civil and military officials stood with their heads bowed in solemn silence!

"The Northern Expedition has reached its most critical stage, and we need money."

"The Xishan Dam is facing a work stoppage and also needs money."

"The rebels in Chengliang are piling up, all eagerly awaiting disaster relief from the imperial court; they still need money!"

"Silver! Silver!! Silver!!!"

Yuan Xiu stood up and paced anxiously back and forth in front of the dragon throne, shouting, "Tell me, what should we do?!"

A civil official stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, please do not be anxious. There are priorities and urgency in matters. For the most urgent task, we can first avoid the most difficult one and focus on the less urgent one.”

"Avoiding the important and focusing on the trivial?" Yuan Xiu laughed in exasperation, saying, "Then tell me, which is important and which is trivial?"

"Of course, the Northern Expedition is the most important!"

"Bullshit! Summer has just begun. If the Xishan Dam project is halted, the floods will come in less than two months, and the sections of the dam that were built before will be washed away. Not only will the imperial court's money be wasted, but countless people will have their homes destroyed and be displaced. The rebels in Chengliang are already overburdened. They are far from the emperor's reach, and if the imperial court does not appease them, what if they are forced to rebel?"

Yuan Xiu cursed, "None of these three things are minor; they could all severely damage the Great Jing Dynasty!"

"You scoundrel... at the last minute you're still trying to smooth things over, you're a treacherous minister who will bring disaster to the country!"

"Guards! Drag him out and execute him!!"

The man was so frightened that he immediately knelt down and begged for mercy, but it was to no avail. All the officials were too frightened to say anything, and the guards came in and dragged him out.

"Ah!!!" A scream echoed through the hall, reverberating in the ears of all the officials.

The atmosphere suddenly became extremely tense.

All the officials, both civil and military, were on high alert.

Yuan Xiu's gaze suddenly fell on Xu Shouli's face, and he said in a deep voice, "Lord Qingdong, does your Ministry of Revenue have any good ideas?"

At such a court assembly, all the ministers and vice ministers of the six ministries were present. Logically, when the emperor asked the Minister of Revenue for his opinion, it should have been the minister who came forward to respond. However, Yuan Xiu directly called out the name of Xu Shouli, the vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue, so Xu Shouli could not avoid it.

Xu Shouli stepped forward and said earnestly, "Regarding the disaster relief in Chengliang, the Ministry of Revenue sent people to comfort the people the day before yesterday. If the effect is not good, I am willing to go to the disaster area in person to implement the court's policies and spread the court's compassion."

"As for the Northern Expedition and the Xishan Dam... I believe that the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works should immediately formulate an emergency plan to allocate funds in batches, so as to ensure that the funds are within the court's capacity and that things do not come to a standstill."

"Lord Xu, you make it sound so easy!"

Minister of Works Luo Mingyi stepped forward and said, "The Xishan Dam has been short of money for quite some time now. What do you mean by 'in batches'? Isn't that just making me keep delaying?!"

Minister of War Tie Ge also said, "This makes things even more difficult for me. A general in the field may disobey orders, but General Wang has already reached Yedan territory and his morale is high. Will he listen to the Ministry of War's written orders? He only cares about whether the court's funds can keep up. If they don't, it will delay the battle!"

"My lords, please calm down."

Xu Shouli waved his hand, as if he was prepared, and said slowly, "I just asked you two to find a way to slow things down, not to actually drag it out indefinitely."

“I haven’t been the Vice Minister of Revenue for long, but I’ve already found ways to increase revenue and cut spending. All I lack is time. If you can buy me that time, I can get you the money.”

"The national treasury's surplus funds cannot satisfy all three parties simultaneously, so we can only leave them with unfulfilled desires. What else can we do? Do you have any better solutions?"

Luo Mingyi asked in surprise, "Lord Xu, can you really get your hands on silver?"

Xu Shouli clasped his hands in a fist salute to Yuan Xiu and said solemnly, "How can we fake it before the Emperor?"

"Very well, let's do as Marquis Qingdong says!" Yuan Xiu set the tone, his expression softening somewhat. He sat back down on the dragon throne and said, "My lords, I await your good news!"

"Report! Urgent report—"

Just then, a guard rushed in from outside the door. Ignoring the impoliteness in front of the palace, he almost slid down the steps on his knees and held an urgent report above his head.

Upon seeing this, the chief eunuch Lü Lu quickly brought over the urgent report and presented it to him.

The civil and military officials looked at each other in bewilderment, and the atmosphere that had just eased became tense again.

What happened?

Has the situation in the Northern Expedition changed?

Yuan Xiu was sitting and reading the urgent report, but as he read, he involuntarily stood up, crumpled the report into a ball, and threw it down the steps.

"Bastard! You bastard!!"

"How could such a thing happen in Yanchuan, the prestigious secondary capital?!"

The civil official and Grand Master of Ceremonies Mu Shanyue, who was closest to the steps, quickly picked up the urgent report. Upon opening it, he discovered it was a letter written in blood!

Upon hearing the name Yan Chuan, Xu Shouli's ears twitched, and he couldn't help but walk over to Mu Shanyue's side.

Upon seeing the handwriting and signature, he was completely stunned.

It was written by his son, Xu An!

Su Wansan, a wealthy tycoon from Yanchuan, rebels!

Murder and arson!

They've surrounded the Marquis's mansion!

Xu An fought valiantly and managed to escape to a dark room with his family, narrowly escaping death in the process!

Mu Shanyue was an old man with a white beard. He looked up at Xu An's expression and said softly, "My lord, don't worry too much. It's good that the young lord is alright."

"His Majesty!!"

Xu Shouli wouldn't listen to a word. He immediately walked down the steps and shouted, "Your subject requests to lead troops to Yanchuan and annihilate the Su family!"

Upon hearing this, the officials whispered among themselves, all of them now aware of the urgent report.

Wen Tai was also closest to the steps. He saw the full text of the blood letter next to Mu Shanyue, then silently took a step back and glanced at the crowd of officials.

His disciples all understood and stepped forward, saying, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"

"Su Wansan is just a merchant. Putting aside why he would rebel, does he even have the ability to do so? Such a major matter must not be decided by listening to one person's opinion!"

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