"With the severe drought looming, disaster relief alone will cost a lot of money. Yunzhou's harvest for this year is already gone, and we don't know what the spring planting will look like next year. If we dig the riverbed again, our national treasury will be depleted!" The Ministry of Revenue argued forcefully.

"But what if we don't dig? What if there's another drought next year? What if there's another drought the year after? Are we just going to have to send the people of Yunzhou to other cities to avoid disaster year after year? In the long run, won't Yunzhou become a ghost town? Should we station troops here? Should we appoint officials? If we don't, what if enemy countries use this as a starting point to attack our Great Chen and then occupy this place? Yunzhou has many mountains and forests, so it will be difficult to fight back!"

"Grand Secretary Wang is right. Yunzhou City cannot be abandoned, but dredging this canal won't be a matter of a year or two! From Jiangzhou to Yunzhou, it's at least two thousand kilometers long. Such a long canal will require a lot of manpower every day. Even if we use death row inmates from various places, considering their service time, it will still be an enormous number. Not to mention, what should we do if a foreign country invades?"

The two groups of people were arguing fiercely, each side had its own reasons and arguments, and neither side could gain the upper hand.

Unable to bear it any longer, Yuwen Wuji turned and left the hall.

Walking along the path of the Summer Palace, he saw the Fifth Prince, Yuwen Huguo, debating with his teacher under the pavilion.

His appearance was naturally noticed by the serving eunuch. Yuwen Wuji waved his hand, and the eunuch quickly shut his mouth. He stepped forward and heard the tutor who was instructing his son say, "Since ancient times, aristocratic families have been the sharp blades in the hands of emperors, but sharp blades can hurt others as well as themselves."

The Fifth Prince looked at him blankly, "Can't we just use it carefully?"

The Grand Tutor chuckled: "A knife has no thoughts, but a person does."

The Fifth Prince pondered for a moment, "Like the Wang family?"

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Wuji couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean by this, my son?"

Only then did the two realize they were wearing the emperor's robes, and they quickly bowed in respect.

“Your Majesty, I have recently read some history books and discovered that no matter how dynasties change, powerful families like the Wang family have always stood firm. That is why I asked this question.”

As if struck by a revelation, Yuwen Wuji realized that while imperial power changed hands, those who wished to quickly seize power needed to rely on influential aristocratic families. He himself had done so years before, relying heavily on the Xie family, but after ascending to the throne, he discovered the constraints these families posed and had always sought to eliminate them.

But if one Xie family falls, there will be the Gao family, the Wang family, the Lu family...

They thrived by clinging to imperial power, and even when the rulers changed, they still had the ability to protect themselves.

A powerful and influential family!

He had always wanted to use the imperial examination to suppress the aristocratic families, but the aristocratic families controlled the best resources, and even in the imperial examination, they still held the lion's share.

There are many factions in the imperial court, yet there is still no place for those from humble backgrounds!

Seeing Yuwen Wuji deep in thought, the Fifth Prince and the Grand Tutor dared not disturb him and could only wait for the Emperor to speak, their backs sweating.

"Someone, summon Liu Jiaci and Zuo Yi!"

Li Wei hurriedly went out to summon the people.

Before long, Liu Jiaci, Minister of Revenue, and Zuo Yi, Minister of Works, entered the hall.

Yuwen Wuji immediately asked, "Zuo Yi, have you read Mr. Jiju's article?"

Zuo Yi stepped forward and said, "Your subject has read it."

He read the section about building the canal in the article repeatedly, finding the proposal both bold and practical. Although there was a naive, idealistic quality to it, after repeated readings, he realized that doing so could indeed yield unexpected results!

"Can you draw out these two thousand kilometers of river?"

Upon hearing this, Zuo Yi's body trembled, and he said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to give it a try, but for the specifics of implementation, Your Majesty must find skilled craftsmen..."

Yuwen Wuji interrupted him unhappily, "Are the people in your Ministry of Works just sitting around doing nothing?"

Zuo Yi was at a loss for words. Their Ministry of Works had many skilled craftsmen, but lacked talent in water conservancy engineering...

"Your Majesty, if the Ministry of Works had such a person, the dikes in Jiangzhou wouldn't be in disrepair every year," Zuo Yi said after a long silence.

Yuwen Wuji: "..."

That makes perfect sense; I can't refute it.

At the end of August, rumors about Yuwen Wuji angering the heavens finally reached the capital. When Song Yaozhu heard them, she felt that Yuwen Wuji had finally met his end, having done all sorts of bad things!

"How are the refugees in Yunzhou? Has Lord Yu sent any news today?"

"The people of Yunzhou have been evacuated to nearby Zhangzhou, Yanzhou, and Xuzhou. There are troops stationed along the way to escort them, and there are soup kitchens in various prefectures along the way. Most people will be fine. Yu Gong has not sent a letter, but his men have sent one, saying that he has entered the southern border and may be infiltrating the Yan King's army camp."

Upon hearing this, Song Yaozhu's eyelids twitched.

"How did he sneak in?" She was speechless for a moment after saying that. That was Prince Yu; he had no other way of doing things.

Even a hundred men under the Prince of Yan, if they put their minds together, couldn't outwit Duke Yu. Faced with such a strategist, the Prince of Yan would surely not refuse.

Moreover, given his ambition, he would believe he has the ability and courage to subdue someone like Duke Yu.

Alright, if Lord Yu is willing, let him have some fun.

"The dog emperor has ordered the Ministry of Works to draw up plans, and Zuo Yi has proposed recruiting talent. We can find a way to send our people up there."

Song Yaozhu glanced at him. "You even know what Zuo Yi did? Don't you have anyone in the Ministry of Works?"

Xie Liwei shrugged and spread his hands: "No, Liu Jiaci told me!"

Song Yaozhu really wanted to yell, "I have no idea what you've been doing for the past ten years!"

But she knew she couldn't say that during her absence, Xie Liwei had done an extraordinary feat in preserving the Xie family. The fact that he had managed to keep the Xie family a respected and admired family despite Yuwen Wuji's pressure showed how hard he had tried.

"What about Zuo Yi from the Ministry of Works?"

She had never heard of Zuo Yi before she died.

Xie Liwei lowered his voice mysteriously and said, "What good stuff could Yuwen Wuji have brought up?"

Song Yaozhu: "......"

"Have you forgotten that Liu Jiaci was also recommended by him?"

"That's because I wanted him to go up."

"You talk as if you can turn your hand to make clouds or rain."

Xie Liwei chuckled, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with her complaints, while giving her a coquettish look.

"In your heart, is your husband really that useless?"

Song Yaozhu reached out and poked his heart. "I didn't say that."

Xie Liwei grasped her fingers and couldn't help but sigh, thinking to himself, when will I be able to become my elder sister's support?

But then he thought, why should his older sister rely on him? His older sister is independent, confident, and radiant; that's the older sister he's always loved.