Fu Youde likely has his own thoughts and ideas. He can be considered the leader of the Wuxun Group, a flagship of the group. Naturally, the responsibilities on his shoulders are considerable, and he must therefore take things seriously.

However, the emperor seemed indifferent to some of his opinions, or perhaps his suggestions did not align with the emperor's interests or plans. These things naturally meant that Fu Youde needed to persevere.

Securing more benefits for the military merit group is certainly not a problem, but these things are not so easy to do. Avoiding conflict with the emperor and the prevailing trends of the court are also things Fu Youde needs to carefully consider.

Before considering those important national affairs and the interests of the Wuxun Group, they should first think about their own affairs.

The matter of the eldest son taking a concubine is certainly very important, after all, Fu Zhong has been 'single' for so many years. But now the emperor is showing 'royal favor' by allowing Fu Zhong to 'take a concubine' legitimately, which is a remarkable step forward.

Of course, Fu Youde was well aware that his eldest grandson was the one the royal family cared about most, and nothing could go wrong with this child. Therefore, the matter of taking a concubine needed to be carefully considered. Of course, the second and third sons also needed to be taken seriously, and the interests of the eldest son's family had to be fully guaranteed.

After all, Fu Youde was well aware that his eldest son was too well-behaved, even somewhat mediocre. Although his second son was adopted, he had always been raised by his family and was quite lively. The most worrying child was his third son; that child was too active and not exactly well-behaved.

The sons sometimes had their own thoughts and ideas, and the large family fortune inevitably tempted them. Although the eldest son held a special position, it didn't mean that the second and third sons were so dutiful, and their wives might not be without other ambitions as well.

The same applies to the grandchildren. Why is it that Fu Yan is destined to inherit the family business, while the others at most become palace guards? Why is it that Fu Yan can inherit the title of Duke, while the others might not even become commanders?

Although Fu Yan is the son of Princess Shouchun, the princess has been gone for more than ten years, and perhaps many of the feelings have faded.

In fact, Fu Youde knew a lot about things. The mansion only seemed harmonious on the surface, but there was probably a lot of infighting behind the scenes. The main problem was that the eldest son couldn't control the second and third sons.

Now that His Majesty has mentioned the third prince, it means we must take this matter even more seriously. The Emperor certainly didn't just say it casually. At least based on Fu Youde's understanding of the Emperor, there's probably more to this than meets the eye.

Whether Fu Youde will properly discipline his sons is a matter for Fu Youde to handle himself. Zhu Yunying doesn't seem to intend to say much about this for the time being.

After all, although Fu Rang was a spoiled and arrogant young man, he didn't have too many bad deeds at the moment, so he could be considered somewhat acceptable. However, if Fu Youde wasn't disciplined, or if Fu Rang continued to be arrogant, Zhu Yunying might have to help discipline him.

Putting aside other matters, it's one's responsibility to discipline certain officials, but when it comes to Zhu Yunying's intervention, things become much more complicated. If things really come to that, Fu Rang will certainly not fare well.

Back in the palace, Zhu Yunying was in a good mood. Looking at Xu Miaoqing, he asked, "Is there any surplus in our private treasury right now?"

Xu Miaoqing immediately replied with a smile, "Your Majesty, a ship of silver has just been transported back from the silver mine, and 100,000 taels of silver have been deposited into the treasury."

Zhu Yunying was very satisfied with this figure. In fact, he was quite generous, allocating a portion of the Iwami silver mine's output to increase the Ministry of Revenue's revenue and make the national treasury appear more abundant.

However, the national treasury is the national treasury, and it belongs to the imperial court. But the imperial treasury is essentially the emperor's private slush fund. Even though Zhu Yunying occasionally took some gold and silver from the imperial treasury to subsidize the national treasury over the years, the imperial treasury is still, after all, the imperial treasury.

Even though some court officials occasionally tried to take money from the imperial treasury, such matters ultimately depended on the emperor's will. The emperor could refuse subsidies from the Ministry of Revenue, but he shouldn't take it for granted that he would use money from the imperial treasury.

By the way, the best app for reading aloud and listening to books right now is the .huanyuanapp app (install the latest version).

In fact, the emperor's private treasury had a wide range of sources of revenue. Besides the silver mines, the Maritime Trade Office was an even more important source of income. The court mainly collected taxes and arranged for some merchants to supply goods; the majority of the profits were still divided among the imperial family and military officers.

The leader of these people was actually the emperor, and the imperial treasury always received a large sum of money when the fleet docked.

Zhu Yunying was in a good mood, so he said, "Make arrangements to reward the laborers in Yin'er's name. Governing the Yellow and Huai Rivers is no small matter, and these things can also bring some prestige."

Upon hearing that it was to enhance her son's reputation, Xu Miaoqing was naturally delighted, "Your Majesty, I accept the decree."

"Send Xu Zengshou over there and investigate those subordinate officials again," Zhu Yunying continued, saying, "The national treasury has allocated countless amounts of money and grain; we still need to see if that money and grain can be used for proper purposes."

Zhu Yunying certainly could not tolerate corrupt officials; such acts had to be severely punished. Managing the Yellow and Huai Rivers would undoubtedly require countless funds, provisions, and manpower, which meant that some audacious individuals would inevitably be eyeing certain schemes.

Ultimately, it all boils down to people dying for money and birds dying for food. As long as there's enough profit, many people won't care about embezzlement or breaking the law. Especially when it involves massive amounts of wealth, it's quite normal for some people to choose to take the risk.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!