A bold idea suddenly popped into Qin Chuan's mind, but he only wanted to tell his wife, the Empress, and didn't want Lai Mingchuan to hear it.
So he said to Lai Mingchuan, "Imperial Censor Lai has visited the people, observed their conditions, and repeatedly reported the truth to them. This is a great achievement..."
Having said that, he looked at the Empress and said, "Considering his merits, let's appoint him as the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief."
"Alright." The Empress nodded.
Lai Mingchuan's eyes widened in shock; he truly hadn't expected to rise from a seventh-rank censor to a fourth-rank vice censor-in-chief.
He immediately knelt down to express his gratitude.
After expressing his gratitude, Lai Mingchuan said, "It is my duty to share the burdens of Your Majesty and Your Highness. I dare to suggest that I wish to continue visiting the countryside and understanding the people's conditions in order to repay Your Majesty's kindness. I hope Your Majesty and Your Highness will grant my request."
Qin Chuan and the Empress exchanged a smile, and then Qin Chuan said, "Since you have this intention, then I will grant it to you. You are permitted to continue visiting the countryside and understanding the people's conditions as the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief. All sixteen circuit censors in the country will be at your command!"
"this……"
Lai Mingchuan hesitated for a moment, then immediately kowtowed: "Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty!"
"Very well, I will send people to handle the Hangzhou dike breach case. You may leave now!"
"yes!"
Lai Mingchuan slowly took three steps back, then slowly turned around and walked out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Seeing that Lai Mingchuan had left, Qin Chuan waved his hand indifferently: "You may all leave as well!"
The eunuchs who had been standing on both sides withdrew from the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Qin Chuan then said to the Empress, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid I'll have to go to Hangzhou Prefecture myself to investigate the case."
The Empress stared at Qin Chuan with her phoenix eyes, bit her lip, and said, "I forbid you to go."
As soon as she said it, she realized that she couldn't stop Qin Chuan from doing anything.
So, she said in a worried tone, "Husband, I can just let Xiao Yue investigate this case. No matter what kind of trickery is involved, don't you trust my imperial sister?"
"Uh, Your Majesty's wife, things don't seem to be that simple."
Qin Chuan stated his guess with a serious expression, "A few days ago, the Prince of Zhao attempted a rebellion. Xiao Yue only managed to uncover that Han Wenyan was behind it all, and Han Wenyan hasn't even been caught yet. Now, Lai Mingchuan has submitted the case from Hangzhou..."
With his fingers lightly tapping the table, Qin Chuan continued, "I don't know if the Zhao King's rebellion case is related to this Hangzhou dike breach case, but I have a feeling that there is a force in the shadows targeting the court. Perhaps they are targeting me, or the new policies I have promulgated. In any case, I feel a chill down my spine, and I must go down to the local area to find out."
Hearing her husband say this, the Empress could no longer object. Instead, she said tactfully, "Since you insist on going to the local area, take more Imperial Guards with you. First of all, ensure your safety. Also, let Xiao Yue go with you. She has experience in handling affairs in the local area. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
Qin Chuan stood up, embraced his empress wife, and said, "Li'er, I'm afraid I'll have to take some risks this time. I only plan to bring Xiao Yue, Jiang Lian Yue, Zhang Cheng, and my personal bodyguard Li A Niu. No one else will be taken. We'll go in disguise, without disturbing the local authorities, to investigate the truth of the case and find out what's behind this chilly situation of mine..."
The Empress wrapped her arms around his waist, her brows furrowed, her face full of worry: "How can this be? No matter what, take some skilled Imperial Guards with you. Or, let Xiao Yun go with you too?"
"I will return the Imperial Guard Commander's badge to Xiao Yun. After all, he is still trustworthy, and I feel at ease letting him command the Imperial Guard," Qin Chuan said gently, stroking the Empress's back.
"My lord, is it really absolutely necessary to go?"
"Li'er, don't worry, I definitely have ways to protect myself. It's just that for the time being, I'll have to let you handle the affairs of state on your own."
"It's alright, I've been through the same thing before."
"By the way, Li'er, there are still many things to discuss. Let's go to the Imperial Study to clarify them."
"good."
As the couple talked, they walked toward the imperial study.
After entering the Imperial Study, the Empress sat on the dragon throne, with a large number of official documents that had not yet been approved by the emperor on the table in front of her.
Qin Chuan, meanwhile, lay on a recliner, legs crossed, and said:
“I just instructed Zhang Cheng to find some eunuchs to teach them to drive, so that we can drive more cars when we go sightseeing in the future. But it seems that we can’t teach them now.”
The Empress buried herself in official documents, marking them with red ink as she went. Occasionally, she would glance up at Qin Chuan and say with a smile, "It's alright, my husband. We can discuss this when you return."
"There's one more thing. The wealth that the Western Expeditionary Army collected in Jiang State is about to be transported to the capital. It's not much, only a little over two million taels. Let's use this money to reward the soldiers... By the way, how much silver is left in the national treasury?"
Upon hearing Qin Chuan's sudden question, the Empress raised her exquisite face and replied, "The national treasury still has a full three hundred million taels of silver..."
As she spoke, she couldn't suppress the smile on her lips. She often woke up laughing in her dreams when she thought about how much silver her husband had brought to the national treasury.
Upon hearing this, Qin Chuan frowned, thinking that the money was being spent too quickly, mainly because of the road construction for the "county-to-county" project, which required paying workers' wages and compensating for land requisition...
Now that the "county-to-county" project has been completed, Qin Chuan is really hesitant about when to start the next phase of the "village-to-village" project, after all, such a large project is really too expensive!
Thinking of all this, he said to the Empress, "There are many expenses to be made, and the taxes won't be collected until November. In many places, taxes have been waived, so it will be difficult to collect even four million this year. I think we should use the resources we have to make some money before we start building the 'Village-to-Village Road' project, so as to avoid being unable to make ends meet in the future..."
"Didn't we previously allocate delivery trucks to the state government?" Qin Chuan continued, "I want to use the resources we have to establish a state-run supply and marketing cooperative, selling goods to the people at low prices, and then using the profits to motivate the people to work hard and strengthen the nation. This includes not only road and water conservancy projects, but also communications, electricity, transportation, military strength, and many other aspects, to create an unprecedented era of great prosperity!"
At the end, Qin Chuan became somewhat excited, stood up, and clenched his fist.
The Empress didn't quite understand some of what he was saying, but she fully grasped his ambition and was encouraged, clenching her fist: "Yes! To create a great and prosperous era!"
Then, the Empress looked at Qin Chuan and asked, "Husband, what does your vision of a prosperous and glorious era look like?"
Qin Chuan thought for a moment and said, "In my vision of a prosperous and peaceful world, everyone will have food to eat, clothes to wear, land to cultivate, and no one will be hungry or cold. The elderly will have a place to end their days, the able-bodied will have a purpose, the young will have opportunities to grow, and the widowed, orphaned, lonely, and disabled will all be cared for..."
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