Faced with the emperor's reprimand, Liu Shu did not back down at all, and listed Cao Song's various crimes.

Upon hearing Liu Shu's list of points, Cao Song became anxious. Any one of these points could empty the national treasury; how could he possibly agree to such a thing?

Immediately, Cao Song stepped forward and said loudly, "Your Majesty and Empress Dowager, I request to defend myself!"

"allow!!"

Liu Hong nodded and agreed to Cao Song's request to defend himself.

"Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, while what the Grand Master of Ceremonies said is true, and I am aware of those matters, it is not that I am ignoring them, but rather that there are priorities and urgency in these matters."

With spring planting just a few months away, water conservancy projects in various regions urgently need repair, and displaced people need to be resettled and provided with seeds and farming tools. These two items alone will cost at least 11 billion yuan.

If any one of these tasks is delayed, it will be a tremendous loss. I urge Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager to consider this carefully!

With tears streaming down his face, Cao Song recounted his suffering, and then bowed deeply to Liu Hong and Dou Miao.

Liu Hong nodded repeatedly, "The Grand Minister of Agriculture's words are very good. Water conservancy and spring plowing are matters of great importance to the country and cannot be delayed. Palaces, road construction, government offices, and the like can be put on hold for now!"

"Your Majesty is wise!!"

Cao Song was overjoyed and exclaimed, "You are wise!"

"Your Majesty, the Grand Minister of Agriculture has said that 11 billion is enough for water conservancy and spring plowing! There are still a little over 1 billion left. I think it would be alright to take out 100 or 200 million to Your Majesty to repair the palace, wouldn't it?"

Especially this Chongzheng Hall, the place where His Majesty and his officials discuss and make decisions, is so crowded and wasteful; it truly undermines the majesty of our Great Han!

"I second that proposal!"

As soon as Liu Shu finished speaking, Yang Ci, the Grand Herald, also stepped forward.

"The main hall of the court is a place to display the majesty of our great Han Dynasty. The Chongzheng Hall is so extravagant and crowded that it will likely be ridiculed by foreign envoys!"

Dou Miao nodded in agreement, "The Grand Master of Ceremonies and the Grand Herald are right! The Chongzheng Hall concerns the face of the Han Dynasty and the Emperor! It definitely needs repair!"

"We second that proposal!"

Among the officials, all members of the Liu clan except Liu Yu stood up to echo his sentiments.

Dou Miao then looked at Liu Hong and asked, "What does the Emperor think?"

"Everything is up to Mother Empress to decide!"

Liu Hong remained respectful and did not raise any objections.