——
Zhang Li was facing away from the dragon throne at the moment, but upon hearing Jin Jiande's urgent shout, he immediately turned around.
But then they saw Jin Fengluan on the dragon throne leaning back, her face lifted off the table, a bright red mark visible on her smooth forehead.
Clearly, she had just bumped her head on the table.
Zhang Li took a deep breath, followed by a rapid shout:
"Your Majesty, are you alright!" This shout was much louder than Jin Jiande's.
The palace maid beside her had already helped Jin Fengluan up, and Jin Fengluan also came back to her senses from her dazed state.
"I'm fine." She gently touched her forehead, her eyebrows furrowed, clearly still a little sore from the blow.
Seeing her trying so hard, Jin Jiande felt a pang of sadness well up inside him, and he immediately bowed and said:
"Your Majesty, there is no need to be too angry. Your health is of utmost importance."
“Anyang County is indeed important, but now that it has been taken by Qin Ze, there is nothing we can do. The Southern Barbarian army has already rushed there and will arrive in Anyang County in a few days.”
"Once they arrive in Anyang County, they will suppress Qin Ze, and then Anyang County will return to our hands."
Hearing this, Jin Fengluan still frowned and said coldly:
"They said the same thing when Tongwei City fell! But what about now!"
"Tongwei City is one thing! But Anyang County is so important. If the tax revenue can't be collected, the tax revenue from all the counties in the East China Sea will have to pass through Anyang County. Now that it's in Qin Ze's hands, they'll have to send it over the rugged paths!"
"With the year-end approaching and the weather getting cold and the dew heavy, we've taken a long detour, and who knows how long it will take!"
Zhang Lishen agreed and nodded.
"Your Majesty is absolutely right. Historically, the taxes collected from Anying County have all gone into replenishing the national treasury. In previous years, as winter approached and the weather turned bitterly cold, many impoverished prefectures would experience a surge in disaster victims who needed relief."
"But this year... if we can't collect tax silver from Anyang County, we'll have to use the surplus silver from the national treasury."
"Your Majesty...in my humble opinion, we should economize on expenditures."
As soon as she finished speaking, Jin Fengluan frowned even more.
Wang Yong, the Minister of Revenue, then came out and looked at Zhang Li, saying:
"Your Excellency, the traitor Qin Ze seized Anyang County, leaving the national treasury empty. Hmph, if he truly cared for the people, he should have provided disaster relief."
"You talk about saving money, but what kind of methods are you suggesting? Are you suggesting cutting our salaries and using the money to replenish the national treasury?"
Zhang Li's face was solemn, and he said in a firm voice:
"Lord of the Land, Qin Ze's seizure of Anyang Prefecture was unavoidable, but Da Gan still belongs to His Majesty. How can we ignore the people of Da Gan?"
Wang Yong's face showed displeasure, and he said coldly:
"Qin Ze's capture of Anyang County has caused us such great losses, yet you, Heavenly Official, are so open-minded and accept it so readily, only to casually tell us to save money. Ha."
Zhang Li frowned and glared angrily at Wang Yong, saying:
"Lord of the Earth, what are you saying?"
"Are you just going to watch Da Gan go downhill and ruin everything?"
"Besides, we're not a broken pot yet, we've already made a big push!"
At this point, Zhang Li flicked his sleeves and bowed solemnly to Jin Fengluan, saying:
“Your Majesty, I, Zhang Li, am the current Minister of Personnel. I am willing to set an example, and it is not unreasonable for my salary to be reduced by half.”
"His Majesty loves his people like his own children and will not stand idly by while they suffer. We can replenish the national treasury after we take back Anyang County."
Zhang Li's behavior made Jin Fengluan sigh inwardly.
Although Zhang Li had contradicted him many times before, he was an absolute loyalist and patriot.
Now that Anyang County has been lost, other officials either remain silent or turn a blind eye, but Zhang Li is the only one who speaks his mind and gets things done.
With such a selfless and virtuous minister in charge of the nation, the country is truly destined for prosperity.
only....
Since Zhang Li has said that, it's going to be difficult to continue building the palace that's currently under renovation and the additional palaces being added...
After all, he had set an example, and as the ruler of the country, he couldn't possibly fall behind his subjects.
But in the end, it was all because of this traitor!
Jin Fengluan grew angrier the more she thought about it, and her breathing became heavy.
Zhang Li continued, "Although the barbarian army has already gone to quell the rebellion, I am still worried."
He paused for a moment, then continued:
"Qin Ze's offensive is so fierce. When Tongwei City fell, we all thought that this important town of Anyang County could hold out for a month. We never expected that it would be breached in just a few days."
"In this light, we have indeed underestimated Qin Ze. Your Majesty, I believe that we should not place the entire responsibility of suppressing Qin Ze on the barbarian army."
"We still need to send out a top general."
Jin Fengluan rubbed her temples and fell into deep thought.
Zhang Li continued, "Now that Anyang County has been lost, the barbarians, seeing our repeated defeats, might even start to harbor rebellious intentions themselves."
"I believe that we should send another large army to follow the barbarians closely, firstly to supervise the army, and secondly to have them station their troops in Anyang County after the barbarians have fought with Qin Ze."
"However, while the barbarian army is engaged in battle with Qin Ze, our troops should not move rashly. We should wait for them to engage in battle."
"Your Majesty, what do you think?" Zhang Li raised his head and looked at Jin Fengluan, who was deep in thought.
Jin Fengluan is still considering it.
Indeed, as the Heavenly Official said, the successive fall of Tongwei City and Anyang County, along with the loss of several smaller cities, all indicate that Qin Ze's momentum is unstoppable.
The reason why the barbarians were able to be summoned to Beiliang was because they had been defeated in the war a few years earlier, which led to the barbarians submitting to the emperor.
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