The court officials were utterly speechless.
However speechless he was, Xie Yuan remained completely serious.
Moreover, she also mentioned the late emperor.
If it were merely a dream, those scholar-officials who believed in the Confucian principle of "not speaking of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits" would have righteously and sternly advised the Empress against engaging in feudal superstition.
But the matter involves the late emperor, which is related to filial piety.
Even if it's fake, you have to believe it in order to fulfill your filial duty.
Even if the three prime ministers, Wang, Cui, and Zheng, thought Xie Yuan's words were absurd, they could not openly dissuade him.
What's there to advise?
You yourself are unfilial, yet you dare to stop the Emperor and Empress, this filial son and daughter-in-law, from fulfilling their filial duties to the late Emperor? (Reading continues)
It should be noted that for the past year and a half, Helian Jue and Xie Yuan, this supreme couple, have been wearing hemp clothing and eating vegetarian food.
They did indeed use the pretext of mourning to prevent court officials from sending women into the harem.
But the couple did indeed follow the rules and observe filial piety in a very proper manner.
For someone of the emperor and empress's esteemed status, the fact that they consistently wore only hemp clothing and ate vegetarian food was already quite remarkable, as it was something they did without secretly falsifying their vows.
Although the powerful families have been weakened, they have been operating in the capital for hundreds of years, and their influence is already deeply rooted.
If you want to find out some information about the palace, such as trivial matters like the emperor and empress's meals, you can still find out.
The result they got was that, whether in public or in private, Helian Jue and Xie Yuan remained consistent.
"It's one thing for a sage to be a man, but for Empress Xie, a woman, to have such a steadfast resolve demonstrates her unwavering character and strong will!" (Reading by Shuluo)
It was only after witnessing the emperor and empress's resilience that the court officials began to admire them from the bottom of their hearts.
The desire to eat and drink is human nature.
The fact that the emperor and empress were able to overcome this is truly remarkable.
And when they said they would observe mourning for the late emperor and empress dowager, they actually did it, thus placing themselves on the moral high ground.
Now, Xie Yuan is again using the late emperor as a pretext to demand that the court send people and grain to Liangzhou to prevent disasters, and the court officials have no words to refute him!
Of course, the court officials would not easily condone it.
If you can't refute it, you can cry poverty or play the victim.
"Your Majesty, putting aside whether the story of a dream is reliable, the troops, money, and provisions alone are no small matter!"
"The emperor is in the northwest, and tens of thousands of troops are consuming a lot of money and food every day. Moreover, the day of his triumph is still unknown, and more food, weapons and other supplies need to be prepared in the future."
The Minister of Revenue stepped forward, holding his official tablet in both hands, and said with a distressed expression, "Your Majesty, the national treasury... the national treasury truly has no surplus funds or grain!"
Xie Yuangao sat in the main seat, not in a hurry to speak, but looked at Mu Jialuo.
The court officials: ...Damn it, are they going to drag the female official out to settle scores again?
snort!
I'm not afraid of settling accounts!
The national treasury truly has no surplus funds or grain.
Although the summer harvest is over, it will still take time to transport the new grain to the major granaries.
Especially in the southern prefectures and counties, although they are major grain producers, the distance to these areas is too far.
Traveling from south to north by land alone would take at least two or three months.
By the time the major official granaries in the capital region arrive, it will probably be the end of the year.
The Empress made it clear that the late Emperor had warned him in a dream that there would be an earthquake in early August.
It is now July 20th, and there are only ten days left until the beginning of August.
There's simply not enough time to allocate this year's new grain.
Before Mugaluo could speak, the Vice Minister of Revenue also stepped out from the queue.
He looked at the data on the tablet and reported it truthfully.
Well, after Xie Yuan and her female officials reorganized the court, the courtiers, though inwardly resistant, learned to present data and examples.
The Vice Minister of Revenue meticulously listed the quantity of new grain, the distances between the major southern prefectures and the capital, and the time and manpower required for transportation.
Xie Yuan raised an eyebrow: ...Oh ho, you've gotten smarter, huh?
Her gaze then drifted to Princess Nanling.
Nanling received a look from his mistress and slowly nodded: Your Majesty, the data is correct!
As a mathematical genius, Nanling has the highest sensitivity to numbers.
Even if she hasn't confirmed some numbers, just by listening to a few sets, she can make a preliminary judgment on whether they are right or wrong based on certain patterns.
When Xie Yuan saw that Nanling had given a reply, he knew that the officials in the Ministry of Revenue had learned their lesson and had not tampered with the data.
Yes, the issue of money and supplies is indeed difficult!
However, this did not stump Xie Yuan.
She nodded seriously, "What the Vice Minister of Revenue said is quite right!"
When Xie Yuan heard this, all the officials of the Ministry of Revenue, including the Minister and Vice Minister of Revenue, thought she had given up.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Just give up. Dreams and all that stuff are ridiculous.
How could there be such a large earthquake in the southwest?
And they still had to go to great lengths to send troops and carry money and food to provide disaster relief?
That's utterly absurd!
They only endured it out of filial piety.
At this moment, seeing that they had successfully persuaded Empress Xie with facts, the officials of the Ministry of Revenue were very proud.
The three ministers, Wang, Cui, and Zheng, were not so optimistic.
Having dealt with Xie Yuan several times, Empress Xie always found a way to deal with their various schemes.
Alas, for a time, the three ministers understood why Helian Jue would have Empress Xie oversee the country when he went on campaign.
A sage is not blinded by lust, and Empress Xie is not a seductive empress who bewitched the emperor.
The emperor knew his wife's abilities, and Empress Xie did not disappoint the emperor's high regard.
This couple truly deserves to be called people who were able to carve out a place for themselves in that wild and undeveloped land of Lingnan.
Lingnan?
etc!
Where did Empress Xie say the earthquake was going to happen?
The three gentlemen reacted quickly; they suddenly realized something and began to rack their brains.
Liangzhou!
right!
Liangzhou in the southwest!
Strictly speaking, a small part of Liangzhou belongs to Lingnan.
Last year, when the late emperor suffered a stroke, the emperor was able to return to the capital in the shortest possible time.
Besides someone in the palace tipping him off, it must also be because the transportation route through the Five Ridges had been opened up.
If the Five Ridges were no longer an obstacle, the best route to support Liangzhou would be from Yongzhou or Yuezhou.
But do Yongzhou or Yuezhou have sufficient troops and food?
Xie Yuan looked down at the entire scene from his high vantage point.
Naturally, he didn't miss the thoughtful and enlightened expressions on the faces of the three gentlemen.
He really is a cunning old fox in the imperial court; no one should underestimate him.
Xie Yuan silently reminded himself again not to get carried away and not to underestimate anyone.
Meeting the gazes of the three prime ministers, she slowly said, "The national treasury is empty, and it is indeed difficult to allocate supplies from the capital."
"Fortunately, Liangzhou is not far from Lingnan, so we can directly transfer manpower and supplies from Yuezhou!"
As soon as Xie Yuan finished speaking, the eyes of the three ministers, Cui, Wang, and Zheng, flickered.
They had anticipated that Empress Xie would allocate supplies from Yuezhou, but they hadn't imagined that Yuezhou actually had so many supplies.
It seems the Emperor and Empress left behind an extremely substantial fortune in Yuezhou...
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