As he spoke, Yuan Xiu looked at the crowd on his left, his gaze landing on Xu Shouli's face.
"Minister Xu of the Ministry of Revenue is getting old. He has mentioned to me his desire to retire since the year before last, but I have not yet found a successor and have not yet agreed. Now, Marquis Qingdong is very skilled in the work of the Ministry of Revenue and, during the Northern Expedition, cooperated with the needs of the Northern Expeditionary Army and stabilized the pace of the army's attack on Yedan. It is no exaggeration to say that the victory of the Northern Expedition owes a debt to Marquis Qingdong."
"Although I am reluctant to part with Minister Xu, I cannot be too selfish and delay his return home to enjoy family life."
"Therefore, effective immediately, Marquis Xu Shouli of Qingdong shall assume the post of Minister of Revenue!"
Upon hearing this, the officials in the capital did not react much, as this was something they had already anticipated. However, the local officials were surprised and wondered what was going on.
Wang Ren and Xu Shouli were both living in retirement in Yanchuan City. Now, one has become a general and the other has become the Minister of Revenue.
Is Yanchuan City still the high-class retirement place it used to be?
This is clearly a blessed land!
We need to hurry up and buy property, otherwise the prices will go up!
After Xu Shouli expressed his gratitude, he saw many people bowing to him and giving him congratulatory glances.
The Minister of Revenue in the Western Capital and the Minister of Revenue in the Eastern Capital are completely different things.
He was in charge of the economy and people's livelihood of the entire Dajing!
Zhao Cheng nodded to Xu Shouli from afar, sincerely congratulating him. He thought to himself that when Xu An received the news, he would probably roar to the sky and shout that his father was really good and had finally turned his life around!
"Gentlemen, do not listen to me alone. There is no need to be reserved at the state banquet of the Great Jing. You may drink and be merry at any time!"
Eat well and drink well!
Zhao Cheng smirked, thinking to himself, "Is this emperor really speaking so down-to-earth? It's like when I went to a banquet in my past life, and the host would always say 'Eat well and drink well.'"
Zhao Cheng's position was close enough to the dragon throne, but even with Zhao Cheng's eyesight, he still couldn't make out Yuan Xiu's appearance.
Seeing that the officials and guests were gradually relaxing, Yuan Xiu stepped down from the dragon throne, looked to the right, and said, "General Longxiang!"
Although Yuan Xiu allowed everyone to drink freely, the guests still noticed him from time to time. Wherever he went, the people in that area would become alert.
When called upon by the emperor, Xiao Luofeng immediately stepped forward and said, "Your subject is here!"
"You mentioned in your victory report that the great victory at Lingshan was not solely your achievement; there was also a brother and sister who roamed the martial world. Have they arrived yet?"
Xiao Luofeng instinctively wanted to look at Zhao Cheng, but immediately remembered Zhao Cheng's instructions to him, so his eyes flickered and he said, "I did not know. Even if they came, they did not travel with me."
Xiao Luofeng didn't have to struggle for long before Wen Hu said, "They're here!"
Zhou Chuan and Zhou Nuo came out.
Both men were dressed as江湖人士 (jianghu figures). Zhou Chuan carried a sword on his back, and Zhou Nuo carried a bow. Originally, they would not have been allowed to enter the palace with their weapons, but after they introduced themselves and mentioned the name of General Longxiang, Wen Hu opened the gate for them.
This morning, they had a conversation with Wen Hu outside Yongshou Palace.
Wen Hu's initiative in announcing their arrival was also a way of signaling to others that these two men and I were already on good terms.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!" Zhou Chuan and his sister clasped their hands in greeting but did not kneel.
Yuan Xiu didn't mind. He didn't understand the rules of the martial arts world, but he did understand the pride and arrogance of its people.
"I thank you for the great victory at Lingshan." Yuan Xiu looked at Zhou Chuan and his sister, his gaze sweeping over Zhou Chuan's face and body rather than Zhou Nuo.
"I am a citizen of Dajing, and it is my duty to expel foreign enemies," Zhou Chuan said earnestly.
"Listen to this, listen to this!" Yuan Xiu glanced at the imperial relatives and officials to his left and said, "The people of Dajing are so indomitable. How can Dajing not unify the world?!"
Zhou Jinghuan's face darkened slightly.
Prince Dayue sat close to him, noticing his expression, and said, "You just said you wanted to destroy Da Jing, but you didn't expect the Da Jing emperor to be even more resolute than you, did you?"
"Don't listen to his nonsense! My brother is still alive, he has no chance!" Zhou Jinghuan retorted. "You should worry more about Dayue, lest you get gang-raped by a few neighbors!"
Prince Dayue rolled his eyes.
Yuan Xiu, unaware of the discussions below, continued, "I've heard that you two siblings are both heroes of the martial world; the brother is a swordsman of unparalleled skill, and the sister is a sharpshooter who never misses. Although today is a state banquet, your presence here has greatly enhanced my occasion, and I am deeply gratified!"
If a normal person heard the emperor say this, they would have knelt down and kowtowed long ago, or at least expressed their gratitude with great emotion, but Zhou Chuan and his sister remained unmoved.
They weren't arrogant; they genuinely didn't know what to do next.
"Ahem..." Yuan Xiu cleared his throat, feeling somewhat embarrassed. He decided to stop being polite and said directly, "After the heroic deeds of you and your sister spread to Changsui, all the civil and military officials wanted to see your abilities. Today is a good opportunity. I wonder if you could demonstrate some of them?"
Zhou Chuan thought for a moment and said, "I wonder what Your Majesty would like to see?"
Yuan Xiu laughed and said, "Naturally, it's your swordsmanship and your sister's archery."
Without hesitation, Zhou Nuo raised his bow and asked, "There are people everywhere, where should I shoot?"
"Huh?" Yuan Xiu was a little confused, realizing that he had underestimated the directness of people from the martial arts world.
Seemingly noticing Yuan Xiu's embarrassment, Wen Hu gave a wink to Du Yuhe beside him, who quickly said, "It is said that a master archer has the ability to hit a target from a hundred paces away, but Miss Zhou Nuo was able to turn the tide in the situation at Lingshan, so it is definitely not a matter of hitting a target from a hundred paces away."
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