6 Chapter 006

◎Lu Lian received the order◎

Half a day later, the news of "Taoist immortal entering the dream" spread throughout the government office and quickly spread to the market town.

His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi's sudden enlightenment became the most convincing evidence.

The rumor that "the royal family is immoral and disasters are sent by heaven" has been refuted.

Some people disdain the idea of ​​ghosts and gods, while others would rather believe in them than not. However, the "heavy snowfall" did make some officials who were concerned about state affairs feel uneasy.

As soon as the emperor finished lunch, a minister asked to see him.

"Your Majesty, Lord Chang, Minister Yuan of the Ministry of Revenue, Vice Minister Liao of the Ministry of War, and Censor Jiang of the Censorate are waiting outside the palace for an audience." Wu Shanqing reported through a door.

Xie Changfeng was in tears. He was just an ordinary art researcher and had no intention of playing tricks on these ministers.

"Shao Shao?" He looked at Xie Mingzhuo with bitter eyes. If the conditions allowed, he really wanted to abdicate immediately.

During the court meeting, Xie Mingzhuo had already formed a preliminary impression of officials above the third rank.

"Call Chang Wei and Yuan Guande in."

Wu Shanqing was already accustomed to Princess Rong'an giving orders, so he hesitated for a moment and took the order and left without the emperor speaking.

Xie Mingzhuo did not let his father explain the "Taoist immortal entering the dream" in person at the court meeting. One reason was to prevent the emperor from losing face, and the other was to free up half a day for himself to sort things out.

While the court officials were busy trying to find out the secrets, Xie Mingzhuo was discussing disaster relief plans with his family. He couldn't possibly meet these elites with no idea and an empty head.

While discussing the plan, they also secretly dispatched the Jinyiwei, one to Henan to secretly investigate Zong Zhen, and one to investigate the officials of the Ministry of War.

Chang Wei is an old man in his sixties, of medium build, neither fat nor thin, with a half-long goatee, and does not look conspicuous.

But this ordinary old man is currently the Minister of Personnel, Grand Secretary of the Huagai Palace, and has the honorary title of Prince's Tutor. He is the chief minister of the cabinet who holds great power.

Seeing the family of five present, he showed no surprise and bowed respectfully. Behind him, Yuan Guande, whose cultivation was not yet up to par, was stunned for a few breaths before kneeling and bowing.

"Stand up and take a seat." After giving the order, Xie Changfeng didn't intend to speak again and left the whole situation to his daughter.

Xie Mingzhuo knew that the two had doubts in their hearts, but he did not give them a chance to react and went straight to the point.

"Minister Yuan, can the current grain reserves in the national treasury support the relief of the victims in Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan provinces?"

Yuan Guande's eyes widened slightly. "Princess, are you saying that the snowstorm will hit these three areas?"

After he finished speaking, he looked at Xie Changfeng for confirmation. After all, it was the emperor who said that "the Taoist immortal entered the dream", and the emperor had the final say.

Xie Changfeng: "Answer whatever Rong'an asks you."

"Your Majesty, I lost my composure just now. Please forgive me." Yuan Guande's face was bitter. "To be honest, Your Majesty, the national treasury has been increasingly depleted in recent years. Last year's disaster relief in Henan was already overwhelmed. If the Taoist warning is true, the national treasury will not be able to support the disaster in the three areas."

"Didn't the autumn tax just get collected before the New Year?" Xie Mingzhuo asked.

"We have levied a conscription, but..."

"Don't hesitate."

"Henan suffered a severe drought last year, resulting in a complete crop failure. The national treasury had to allocate grain for disaster relief. Shaanxi and Shanxi have many border towns, and the garrisons are short of grain, requiring frequent transfers from the government. Tax grain in Huguang, Jiangxi, and Southern Zhili has decreased by nearly half compared to the previous year, and the same is true in most other places. The national treasury simply can't spare any extra money or grain for disaster relief."

There's definitely something going on here, but now isn't the time to get to the bottom of it.

Xie Mingzhuo went straight to the point: "In your opinion, who controls most of the world's money and grain nowadays?"

Yuan Guande's fat hand shrank in his sleeve and he said ashamedly, "I don't know."

At the end of almost every dynasty, the most serious problem is land annexation.

The land owned by the gentry did not need to pay taxes to the court. There was even an absurd incident where one family controlled the land of half a county.

If local governments cannot collect taxes, the national treasury will naturally have no money.

The lands of royal family members, nobles, powerful people and wealthy people continued to expand. They had become extremely rich, but the national treasury was empty and unable to support the country's financial operations.

Yuan Guande couldn't have been unaware of this, but he didn't dare to say it, and he might even be one of them.

"Princess, do you want to borrow grain from the rich businessman?" Chang Wei suddenly looked at Xie Mingzhuo, with wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, but his eyes were bright.

Xie Mingzhuo was slightly surprised. She had only asked one question, but this person could already sense her intention. He was indeed sharp and experienced, worthy of being the Prime Minister who had been in the officialdom for many years.

She didn't feel offended when people guessed her intentions. On the contrary, the more talented people she could use, the better, as it would save her a lot of trouble.

"Master Chang thinks this is feasible?"

"There is no business without fraud. Your Highness, if you want to take money out of their pockets, I'm afraid it will be difficult."

Xie Mingzhuo: "What if we grant them different numbers of imperial examination slots based on their contributions?"

Merchants in this dynasty were not allowed to take the imperial examinations. Once they became merchants, not only themselves but also their descendants would have no chance of a career in officialdom. No matter how much money they made, they had to spend most of it to please officials and would be dependent on others for the rest of their lives.

When this road to heaven is blocked, someone suddenly tells them that they can climb the ladder to heaven as long as they seize the opportunity. What choice will they make?

Of course, you have to grab it with all your might and fight for it.

"No!" Yuan Guande stood up. "Merchants are not allowed to participate in the imperial examinations. This is a rule set by our ancestors and cannot be changed."

"Minister Yuan, don't get excited." Chang Wei smiled and put his hand down. After everyone sat down again, he continued, "The princess's move is not wrong, but it will cause dissatisfaction among the scholars."

The gentry firmly controlled the benefits brought by the imperial examination. How could they easily allow merchants full of money to jump in line and take a share of the pie?

The businessmen are already extremely wealthy, yet they still come to compete with them for power. How unreasonable!

Xie Mingzhuo said nonchalantly, "If I were the ancestor of the three affected areas, I would rather break this ancestral law than save my countless descendants. If anyone is dissatisfied, let their ancestors fight with the ancestors of the three areas in the underworld. After the fight, tell me the result."

They both: “…”

"If you two, and all the scholars in the world, believe that millions of lives are not worth a few imperial examination places, then feel free to protest the impeachment. I will have it printed in tabloids and sent to the affected areas to be read day and night."

They both: “…”

This move was rather shameless, but for the nobles who valued their reputation, they might not be able to withstand the spit of the victims in the three places.

Xie Mingshuo couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Rong An, second brother also wants to contribute."

"what you up to?"

"Tabloids! I love tabloids."

"Okay, I'll leave the tabloid to you. You also need to find someone who is fluent in the three accents to read it."

"Hahahaha, got it!"

The brother and sister sang in unison, and Yuan Guande felt very uncomfortable.

Chang Wei, however, managed to keep his composure and actually said with a smile, "Your Highness, although your words are sarcastic, they hit the nail on the head. I wonder how much money and rations would be needed to buy a quota?"

This is agreed.

In fact, a few imperial examination quotas are really not a big deal, but as a civil service group, they are afraid of not being unworthy of their status if they don't protest against what they hear.

The Qi Dynasty was so big that there were many people who secretly changed their household registration. This time, the court just made a small loophole for the sake of justice.

"It depends on how much food is needed."

"The victims in the three provinces need a lot of money," Yuan Guande said cautiously. "Furthermore, after the snowstorm, there will be no harvest this year. If relief is needed this year, the grain donated by the wealthy merchants will be just a drop in the bucket."

Xie Mingzhuo smiled and said, "It doesn't necessarily need to be provided for a whole year."

"Please enlighten me, Princess."

Xie Mingzhuo took out the written plan and handed it to Chang Wei. Yuan Guande twisted his body to read it together.

After just a few lines of writing, Chang Wei couldn't help but nod: "It's certainly feasible, but the time is too tight."

“Save as many as you can.”

"Princess, you're right," Chang Wei sighed, stroking his beard. "If this succeeds, the people of the three regions won't be plunged into such dire straits, and the pressure of disaster relief will also be alleviated. However..."

"Master Chang, please feel free to speak."

"But this move is too absurd for farmers and will face considerable resistance. Moreover, the situation in Henan is already unclear."

To be honest, few people in the court believed this warning. They all thought that the emperor had gone crazy while refining elixirs and had hallucinations.

But the King of Qi was indeed very wise, leaving no one with any reason to refute him.

Chang Wei carefully observed the expressions of the emperor and others and found that they did not have any crazy or joking intentions, and even the plan was so thorough that it did not seem like they were just joking.

In addition, the climate has indeed been different recently, so he couldn't help but "would rather believe it than not."

But in the final analysis, the "Taoist immortal's warning" is completely fictitious, and it is hard to say whether farmers will obey the government order. Even if they do, and it doesn't snow in the end, will the farmers be completely despairing of the court's absurd behavior?

If someone uses this to incite the people, something unexpected may happen.

Xie Mingzhuo: "We can only gamble on this matter. If we don't gamble, the situation will only get worse."

"The princess is right." Chang Wei has been an official for many years, and almost every step he takes is a game of gamble. He is no stranger to gambling, but he has never experienced such a high-stakes gamble.

He didn't know where the princess's confidence came from, but he could see how much the emperor trusted Her Royal Highness.

"Shaanxi and Shanxi are heavily guarded, so there won't be much unrest, but Henan has to be cautious."

Xie Mingzhuo nodded. The Prime Minister was indeed worthy of his title. His insight was indeed sharp. The rebel army that captured the capital three months later originated from Henan.

"The court will dispatch a new censor to investigate Zong Zhen and implement the disaster relief plan."

"Does the princess have a favorite candidate?"

"Not yet." Xie Mingzhuo glanced at her parents and brother. She actually wanted to go, but was rejected by four votes.

The four of them avoided eye contact, not because they disagreed, but because Henan was too chaotic and they were really worried.

Xie Mingshuo hardened his heart. He was a reporter, often covering news on the road, so he was the most suitable person to do it. He said, "Why not me..."

"No!" Xie Mingzhuo interrupted immediately, and before he could react, he asked Chang Wei, "You are in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, have you found a suitable candidate?"

Chang Wei didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "The eldest son of Marquis Weining, Lu Lian."

As soon as these words were spoken, Xie Mingzhuo's mind was instantly opened up.

She had only been here for less than a day. Although her original body had memories of the nobles in the capital, she only knew how many people there were in each family. She was not entirely clear whether the descendants of the nobles served in the court or what official positions they held.

She happened to have some impression of Lu Lian, but her memory was too vague and she couldn't think of him for a moment.

In the previous spring examination, Lu Lian passed the imperial examination and was selected as a second-class Jinshi. He was later appointed as a reviewer in the Hanlin Academy, with the rank of seventh grade.

The rank of the Censor-in-Chief is the seventh grade, and there is nothing wrong with being promoted from a reviewer to a Censor-in-Chief.

The Lu family and the Zong family are in-laws, so Lu Lian has to call Zong Zhen uncle. If he sends other people over, Zong Zhen may not show mercy, but he will always have some face for the Lu family and will not resist too much.

Lu Lian was born into a family of military generals. Although he took the imperial examination and joined the civil service group, he had a good foundation in martial arts and had a certain ability to protect himself in the complicated situation in Henan.

The Lu family sacrificed their lives for their country when the rebels broke through the capital, which shows that they had no connection with the rebels. This shows that they are loyal and trustworthy.

Moreover, Lu Lian went to Henan, and his parents and brothers stayed in the capital. Even if he had any ill intentions, he would be cautious.

All in all, Lu Lian is indeed the most suitable candidate.

Without delay, the emperor immediately issued a decree, which was stamped with his imperial seal and sent 800 miles from the imperial palace to the Henan, Shanxi and Shaanxi provincial governments.

Liao Hai and Jiang Kui, who were still waiting outside the palace to be summoned, had been completely forgotten.

Wu Shanqing took the opportunity to remind them, but Xie Mingzhuo dismissed them with a "no see".

In the Hanlin Academy, Song You was counting books when his colleagues came in together. When they saw him, they greeted him politely, with a hint of mockery and scrutiny in their eyes.

This morning at dawn, he had already received all kinds of strange looks.

Being abducted by the princess into the palace would become a stain he would never be able to wash away. Even if he continued to prove his innocence, no one would believe him.

Song You suppressed his anguish and lowered his head to flip through the book. Suddenly, he heard a low voice from outside the door: "The imperial edict has arrived! The imperial edict has arrived!"

The colleague was stunned for a moment and whispered in his ear: "Why did the imperial edict come so suddenly? Could it be that the emperor wants to grant the marriage?!"

In an instant, everyone turned to look at Song You.

Song You: “…”

How is that possible?

When he left the princess's mansion yesterday, he clearly felt that the princess looked at him with a very cold look, as if she was looking at an unrelated passerby.

"Is Lu Lian and Lu Jiancha here?" The official from the Pedestrian Department held the imperial edict in his hand and said, "Come out and receive it."

It turns out it wasn't an arranged marriage.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, yet also felt a little lost.

After hearing the contents of the imperial edict, his disappointment disappeared and he became very interested in talking.

A transfer of this level usually only requires the Ministry of Personnel to issue a transfer order, but since the emperor personally issued the order, the reason behind it had to be carefully considered.

The news spread to all the major government offices, and officials were talking about it. However, after it spread to the market, it did not cause much stir.

The common people don't care about this. They care more about the freshly issued announcement from the government.

What? Merchants can also take the imperial examination?!

【Author’s words】

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