Before Cao Mengde arrived, Chu Fan was not idle. He continued with his plans and arrangements.

Chu Fan sat on the dragon throne, a symbol of supreme power, and continued with a serious expression, "Where are Minister of Works Tang Hongwen and Zhangsun Dechong?"

When Tang Hongwen and Zhangsun Dechong heard the call, they immediately stood up and replied respectfully, "We are here."

Since Chu Fan had revealed to them the grand plan of mining coal and building a steel plant yesterday evening, they had already made some preparations in advance last night and were just waiting for His Majesty to give the official order.

Chu Fan issued a clear order to Tang Hongwen and Changsun Dechong: "From today on, I appoint Changsun Dechong as the Minister of Energy of Wei State, granting him a rank of Third Rank. His main tasks are to fully organize and command personnel to carry out coal mining and assist the Ministry of Industry in building the steel mill.

After the meeting, I will send someone to teach you how to remove the toxins contained in coal to ensure that coal can be used safely and effectively."

"Lord Tang, I command your Ministry of Industry to devote its entire attention to the construction of the steel mill. I have already passed on the blast furnace steelmaking technology to you. You must spare no effort to complete the steel mill in the shortest possible time. I have high hopes for you, and I hope you will live up to them."

Chu Fan swept his gaze across the center of the hall and said with a sharp gaze, "Where is Qian Aiqing?"

Minister of Revenue Qian Dai stepped forward and replied, "I am here."

Chu Fan said solemnly, "Qian Aiqing, your Ministry of Revenue must fully cooperate with the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Energy to ensure the smooth progress of coal mining and steel plant construction. The financial resources in the national treasury must unreservedly support the work of the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Energy to ensure that they can proceed smoothly."

Chu Fan knew that without money everything was empty talk. To complete the coal mining and the construction of the steel plant, he needed financial support.

Qian Dai bowed respectfully to Chu Fan and solemnly accepted the order, saying, "I will do my utmost to live up to your majesty's trust and ensure the successful completion of this mission."

Qian Dai was also deeply aware of the emperor's current mood. Although he didn't know how much money the emperor's promotion of the Ministry of Energy's coal mining project and the Ministry of Industry's steel mill construction would cost the national treasury, he knew that today was not the right time to have an in-depth discussion with the emperor.

In this situation, he decided that he only needed to do his best to complete the tasks assigned by His Majesty, ensure that all affairs proceeded smoothly, and avoid adding more troubles and pressure to His Majesty at this sensitive moment.

After seeing that Changsun Dechong was once again favored by His Majesty, the other officials were all filled with envy.

They were completely baffled. Just yesterday, Chang Sun Dechong had to resign from his position as Minister of War due to his poor discipline. Unexpectedly, today His Majesty had established a new department for Chang Sun Dechong and appointed him as the head of it, a position of the third rank.

The fact that Chang Sun Dechong was able to regain the emperor's trust so quickly made other officials wonder when they would be able to regain the emperor's favor and trust.

However, some officials had already secretly made up their minds. Just yesterday, when His Majesty appeared in Zhonghua City, someone noticed the daughter of Minister of Works Tang Hongwen standing beside His Majesty. And now His Majesty had actually entrusted the new steelmaking method to the Minister of Works. This phenomenon made these officials think twice.

It seems the rumors circulating privately—that to gain His Majesty's trust and favor, one must first cultivate His Majesty's affection for their daughter—are not groundless. This rumor has long been no secret within the court, and has even intensified. Now, it seems to have been confirmed to some extent.

Chu Fan knew that it was no easy task to build a steel mill and produce brand-new weapons and equipment in a short period of time. He clearly understood that this was a grand project that required long-term investment and continuous efforts.

However, the most pressing task at hand was ensuring the availability of coal. This was crucial to ensuring the survival of hundreds of millions of Wei citizens during the coming winter. The coal supply was crucial to ensuring winter heating for the people.

After coal is mined, it will go through a series of processing processes to reduce the toxins and impurities in it. This can greatly reduce the possibility of people being poisoned by using coal.

Furthermore, only by using coal properly can we ensure that the impact on people's health during its use is minimized. Therefore, when Chu Fan planned to popularize coal throughout the Wei State, government officials taught the people the correct way to use it and emphasized the importance of ventilation.

In this way, even if ordinary people in Wei State used coal on a large scale, incidents of coal poisoning could be effectively avoided.

Both Chu Fan and the officials in the court knew that this winter would be a difficult one. If the people could not obtain sufficient firewood for heating, the cold weather would claim many lives. Therefore, ensuring the supply and safe use of coal was the most urgent task.

Chu Fan waved to Tang Hongwen, Changsun Dechong and Qian Dai, asking them to leave the court and conduct detailed negotiations later. There was no need for him to say more.

Chu Fan looked at Chu Anping, the head of the Royal Government Affairs Office, and said in a serious tone, "You, the Royal Government Affairs Office, must finalize the planning plan for the Martyrs' Cemetery immediately after the court session today. There must be no mistakes. I need to go to the cemetery in person tomorrow to confirm some important matters."

Chu Anping bowed respectfully and responded solemnly: "Your Majesty, I will do my best to ensure the successful completion of the mission."

After issuing these instructions, Cao Mengde also rushed to the court at full speed. When he entered the Haotian Hall, he immediately knelt before Chu Fan and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, I, Cao Mengde, pay my respects to you. May your Majesty live long and long."

"Mr. Cao, please stand up." Chu Fan said as he stretched out his hand and made a supporting gesture, showing his respect and concern for Cao Mengde.

After Cao Mengde stood firm, Chu Fan continued, "I have an idea in mind. I want you, Lord Cao, to take on the position of Minister of War. What do you think of this? Are you willing to accept this important task?"

Cao Mengde bowed respectfully, then accepted the order and said, "I am deeply honored that Your Majesty still remembers an old minister like me. I will do my utmost to serve Your Majesty, even through fire and water, without hesitation, until the very end."