Chapter 31
The news revealed by the system tonight was indeed a huge one, so big that the emperor was furious and summoned all the ministers to the palace overnight.
"I didn't move him because of the late emperor's will! What does he think of Dasheng and the royal family?"
"Even though I've been so extravagant even with the beauty pageant every three years! I've snatched up every pretty girl I see. Even the last emperor of the previous dynasty never did that!"
"He beat to death a successful candidate, raped his wife, murdered his posthumous child, and then colluded with local officials to beat to death the candidate's parents and dismembered the woman to suppress her. With all these actions, is he trying to poke a hole in the sky?"
"Does he still care about the Dasheng court and me, the emperor?"
The emperor was furious and slammed the dragon table in front of many ministers.
The late emperor had a total of seven princes. The others either held sinecure positions and would occasionally come to the court for a while, or were rich and idle people who spent their days planting flowers and playing with birds, and were too lazy to come to the court. Every brother was telling him: Your Majesty, I am very content.
Prince An is such a special person, as he lives in the Jiangnan area where the emperor cannot reach.
If Prince An behaved himself, the emperor would turn a blind eye to his behavior for the sake of the will, and just consider it as paying for peace.
What did this guy do? He knew that the Jinyiwei were the emperor's confidants, but he sent secret guards to intercept, surround, kill and slaughter them, just to prevent the Jinyiwei from entering Zhouzhou. He also committed such a crime!
The emperor was so angry that he wished he could do the same as Chu Huan and give this kid a few kicks that would kill his offspring!
When the emperor was angry, the ministers fell silent and no one dared to offend the emperor at this time.
Some people secretly went to see the old Grand Tutor: Grand Tutor, it’s time for you to take the stage!
The old Grand Tutor was also angry after reading the report, but he was almost seventy years old and had experienced two dynasties and too many bizarre and outrageous things.
He had calmed down, but seeing that the emperor was still furious like a lion, he advised, "Your Majesty, please calm down. The most urgent thing is to send people to Zhouzhou to investigate and collect evidence. We must have sufficient evidence to prove that Prince An is acting recklessly in Zhouzhou, taking human life lightly, and disregarding the court and the law. Only then can we punish him according to the laws of Dasheng."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present looked at Prince Fushuo standing aside, intentionally or unintentionally.
Prince Fushuo was the head of the Imperial Clan Court, which was responsible for all matters concerning the royal family, including compiling and revising the royal genealogy, recording the royal family's achievements, and also cases related to the royal family.
If a member of the royal family committed a crime, other departments would not have the authority to handle the case, and the case would have to be handled jointly by the Ministry of Clan Affairs and the Ministry of Justice.
In other words: Prince An’s matter has to wait for Zong Ling’s approval.
Prince Fushuo is the late emperor's half-brother. He made many contributions on the battlefield when he was young. He took over the position of clan leader after he was injured and retired from the army. He has the support of the people, seniority and prestige, so the emperor has to give this uncle some face.
Prince Fushuo said with a businesslike expression, "The Imperial Clan Bureau will cooperate with the various ministries in the investigation."
Everyone, including the emperor, breathed a sigh of relief. They were really afraid that Prince Fushuo would protect Prince An for the sake of the late emperor.
Prince An's case involved many crimes including corruption, violation of rules, murder, bribery, and forcible abduction of common people's wives. None of the Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of Rites, Ministry of Punishment, Ministry of Personnel, and Dali Temple could escape punishment.
In other words, the system’s revelations stop here. Otherwise, if this continues, the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of War might get involved.
Who knows whether Prince An, who has been the local emperor in Zhouzhou for more than ten years, would rely on the fact that the spies of the Jinyiwei could not enter Zhouzhou and collude with local officials, and whether he would build any illegal buildings, dig any passages, or construct any fortifications and weapons?
What’s worse, who knows whether Prince An has secretly stockpiled troops?
——There is still a difference between a local emperor and a real emperor. No one knows to what extent Prince An’s appetite and courage have been developed.
The officials got a terrible headache just thinking about it. This is an extremely tough nut to crack.
"Should we investigate or send the Royal Guards first?"
"The Jinyiwei suffered countless casualties. Wouldn't it be suicide to go like this?"
"It's true that the late emperor gave them secret guards, but it's been over ten years now, so they shouldn't be as strong as they used to be."
"Why don't we send secret guards as well?"
Every emperor has secret guards to protect him. The previous emperor had them, and the current emperor naturally has them too.
But the secret guards' duty is to protect the emperor. You can't really let the secret guards investigate such a case, right? They are not good at this.
"The reason why secret guards are so scary is because they stay in the dark and nobody knows them." The old Grand Tutor disagreed. "If we were to bring all of them out in the open, we would lose the secret guards' advantage and be no better than the experienced Jinyiwei."
But the Jinyiwei's martial arts skills are not as good as the secret guards, and they can't escape the interception of the late emperor's secret guards!
When dealing with Prince An openly, there is the late emperor's will to stop him; when dealing with Prince An secretly, there are the secret guards given by the late emperor to stop him.
Many officials could not help but complain to the late emperor in their hearts: You really left us a huge mess!
Not to mention the emperor and all the civil and military officials were worried, even Prince Fushuo was not sure what to do to be safer.
"What about letting Chu Huan go?" someone suggested in a low voice.
The old Grand Tutor was the first to object: "No, it's only effective in gathering intelligence. Once Chu Huan enters Zhouzhou territory, she will definitely be killed by the secret guards."
The old tutor disagreed at first, but after hearing what the old tutor said, he suddenly had other ideas.
"But it can know in advance where the secret guards are coming from, so we can seize the initiative, surround and kill them, and reduce losses."
"What if it's too late to eat the melon?"
“Dasheng can’t afford to lose it right now.”
"Didn't Dasheng still get by like this before when it didn't exist?"
"It's better to eliminate this thing that we don't know whether it's a human or a ghost as soon as possible."
As the discussion went on, a group of officials started arguing in front of the emperor, arguing with each other until their faces turned red and their necks became thick.
The emperor, who was originally extremely angry, quietly sat back on the dragon throne and watched them quarreling leisurely, without any intention of trying to stop the fight.
What was there to persuade? He wanted to applaud them, to let them argue more, preferably until they lost their minds and started babbling nonsense.
Only in this way could he find out how many people in the court, knowing full well that the system would be of great benefit to Dasheng, were still afraid that the system would expose their secrets and wanted Chu Huan dead.
The emperor even leisurely began to taste tea.
As the head of the clan, Prince Fushuo only dealt with the affairs of the royal family and did not interfere in the court.
He was like a third party who had nothing to do with anything, watching coldly as these people tried to kill Chu Huan and the system for their own selfish interests.
As he watched, Prince Fushuo noticed that the emperor took a sip of tea and ate a piece of cake, as if he regarded the scene of his ministers about to roll up their sleeves and fight as a delicious side dish.
Prince Fushuo: "..."
The emperor's current behavior is completely different from the one who was about to be furious just now.
Or... Prince Fushuo lowered his eyebrows slightly. Could it be that the emperor was deliberately playing tricks on them?
As expected! You emperors all have dirty hearts!
It was not until half an hour later that the group of people had to stop because their mouths were dry and their voices were hoarse. The eunuchs brought them tea and they were busy moistening their throats. The imperial study finally became quiet.
The old Grand Tutor watched for a long time, and when he saw that the time was almost right, he gave the Minister of Revenue a look.
The Minister of Revenue couldn't wait any longer and said hurriedly, "The accounts from four years ago are about to be settled. If anyone tries to snatch Chu Huan from me now, don't blame me for making your entire department collect salary IOUs!"
"Puff——" An official accidentally sprayed tea.
"Cough——" An official accidentally choked.
The officials silently condemned the Minister of Revenue: Aren’t you too single?
The IOU for salary is a bit funny to talk about.
Four years ago, the entire Dasheng was plagued by natural disasters. Even with the money lost through patchwork, it was still impossible to pay the officials' salaries on time.
All the officials in the Ministry of Revenue were so worried that their faces turned bitter and their mouths were blistered. No one knew where to get the money.
Later, the current Minister of Revenue, formerly the Vice Minister of Revenue, heard about the IOU from his wife and gave an idea to the then Minister of Revenue, Yuan Wei.
When Yuan Wei heard this, he thought it was a good thing that he could issue salary IOUs without having to pay in cash!
As a result, the long-overdue salaries of officials in the capital were finally paid in the form of IOUs, allowing them to wait until the treasury was full before collecting their salaries with the IOUs.
You said the salary hasn't been paid? Yes, it has been paid.
You said the salary has been paid, right? I haven't received any money yet.
Throughout that year, all the officials in the capital of Dasheng received IOUs for their salaries.
If some families were in real difficulty, they would borrow money from their colleagues with whom they had a good relationship, and then use salary IOUs to pay off their debts.
After the most difficult period, the treasury had some money and slowly began to pay salaries.
It was just because the debt was too large and it was not easy to repay it. Some officials whose families were not short of money had to wait for several years before they could get back all their salaries with the IOUs.
Everyone had finally forgotten that period of time, but was then reminded of it by the Minister of Revenue. The feeling was... terrible.
"How dare you bring this up, you old idiot? If it weren't for you, would we have been stuck with an IOU for a year?!"
They glared at him, but the Minister of Revenue wasn't afraid at all. He glared back, "Chu Huan has been at the Ministry of Revenue for eight days, and the national treasury has already confiscated 80 million taels, not including the antique jades, calligraphy and paintings. She is the biggest contributor to the abundance of the national treasury."
"Let alone one Jiangnan, even ten Jiangnans would be enough for disaster relief! In the 117 years since the founding of the Dasheng Empire, when has the treasury ever had so much money? When has the Ministry of Revenue ever allocated funds so easily and generously?"
"If any of you refuse to obey, go to the Ministry of Revenue and work for a day. I won't ask for more. As long as you can earn 10 million taels a day, I will let you take the position of Minister of Revenue!"
The honest man was angry, and every word he said struck a chord with all the officials.
——Do you have the ability to investigate corruption and confiscate property to make money?
——You are incompetent and still want to kill me?
——Just shut up that stinky mouth of mine that talks nonsense all day long!
—Try to force me again? Do you believe I’ll make sure you can only receive salary IOUs for the rest of your life?!
Officials: As quiet as a chicken.
The imperial study was so quiet that only the faint sound of the emperor drinking tea could be heard.
Why has Dasheng been without money for so many years since its founding?
Because the previous emperor was too generous with his money! He even owed money and refused to pay it back!
He built magnificent palaces, constructed canals from south to north, constructed three-story ships, and so on - he did not miss a single pleasure-making opportunity.
The laborers were conscripted, the timber was conscripted, the bricks and tiles were conscripted, but the payments were always in arrears, and the merchants and the people were unable to survive - he didn't think about the money at all.
The Dasheng Dynasty overthrew the previous dynasty, but in order to stabilize the country and people's livelihood, it had no choice but to accept the debts owed by the previous dynasty and fill the holes everywhere.
Otherwise, even if Dasheng was established, if most of the people died or fled to other neighboring countries, what would be the point?
Once the hole is filled, it is impossible to give up halfway. In those years, the money in the Dasheng treasury was almost spent before it even entered the treasury.
It is called the national treasury, but in fact there is nothing in it.
There is also an interesting story here. When the great thief Miaoshou Kongkong just came out of the mountains, he wanted to become famous in one fell swoop, so he actually stole from the national treasury.
The treasury was full of mechanisms. Miaoshoukongkong tried his best and finally got through all eighteen levels. But when he got inside, he was dumbfounded: there was nothing inside, not a single penny.
Later, Miaoshoukongkong became famous all over the world.
Because he left one or two taels of silver in the national treasury, and also left a note: Use it to buy candy.
Just leave the note, and then go out and tell everyone nonsense, letting everyone in the world know that the national treasury is so poor that only dust is left, and it is so poor that even thieves would not have the heart to suffer. Give them a tael of silver to buy something sweet to eat, so that they won't suffer too much.
In the Great Sheng Dynasty, from the supreme emperor to the lowly officials, everyone would be asked when they went out: Is there money in the treasury today?
shame!
The second emperor of Dasheng was so angry that he issued a nationwide wanted order.
Unfortunately, I didn’t catch it.
The impact of that incident was even greater than expected, so much so that officials in the Ministry of Revenue were still stingy decades later.
How could they not be stingy? If another person were to steal from the treasury and find there was not much money inside, would the reputation of Dasheng and the imperial court still be there? All the officials of the Ministry of Revenue should find a few noodles and hang themselves at the door of the treasury!
The old master's face turned unhappy when he thought of this incident. He didn't want to see such a thing happen when he was about to die.
"It can obtain information about Xirong without spending a penny and learn about Zhouzhou without losing a single life. Can you do it?"
"It saved the Dasheng court from a conspiracy. Chu Huan developed cowpox to save the people of Dasheng, and penicillin to save the officials of Dasheng. If you had any memory of her kindness, you wouldn't have let a little girl die."
After a silent silence, someone whispered back, "He may not die."
The Minister of Justice: "If she dies, will you help the Ministry of Justice investigate the case?"
The Minister of Revenue asked: "Are you here to help the Ministry investigate corruption?"
Dali Temple Minister: "Are you here to help the Dali Temple investigate an old case?"
The Minister of Revenue swept his eyes over the four ministers of Rites, Works, Personnel, and War, one by one, threatening them with his eyes: "Don't speak? Sure, then don't blame me for issuing salary IOUs."
This is a threat!
A naked threat!
But none of the six ministries could withstand it - a penny could make a third-rank official fall!
The Star Picking Tower, under the supervision of the Ministry of Works, has not yet been completed. The Minister of Works has been caught in a dilemma and has been forced to speak out: "I think this is not feasible."
The three ministers of rites, personnel, and war said: "I second the motion."
Once the old Grand Tutor, the Six Ministries, and the Dali Temple agreed, half of the officials in the court agreed, and it would be difficult for some officials to oppose it.
At this time, Lin You, commander of the Imperial Guard, stepped forward to report, "Your Majesty, according to the Imperial Guard stationed at Chuhua Manor, the cowpox research is progressing smoothly. Those who have been vaccinated have relatively mild symptoms. Once they have fully recovered, the Imperial Hospital Director and the doctors in the vaccination department can begin experimenting with smallpox."
"One more thing. Chu Hua entered the lab tonight and has started the penicillin experiment. Everything is going smoothly so far."
Lin You's speaking order is very skillful.
First, she reminded everyone that Chu Huan proposed that cowpox could prevent smallpox, and then she lent Zhuangzi and the people, cattle, and things there to the court. She also started researching penicillin, which could cure syphilis, and brought out her own abilities and contributions outside of the system.
The commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard is the emperor's confidant and can only be loyal to the emperor. He must be absolutely neutral in his words and deeds towards other officials.
You say he favors Chu Huan? He's just reporting the facts.
You said he wasn't biased towards Chu Huan? He was reminding everyone of Chu Huan's contributions. When the penicillin experiment just started, he said everything was going well.
The officials' minds raced. What did Lin You mean by this? Did Lin You's attitude at this moment reflect the emperor's wishes?
If the Emperor wanted to protect Chu Huan, wouldn't it be bad for them to continue insisting on this? Wouldn't that anger the Emperor and the six ministers, and end up being pushed into a corner and no longer valued?
The voices of opposition suddenly disappeared.
The emperor finally dropped the teacup from his hand. "Since you all agree, let's have the Imperial Guard investigate first. Of course, to reduce casualties among the Imperial Guard and to make things go more smoothly, we'll need Chu Huan and its help before we proceed..."
The lights in the imperial study were on all night long.
The next day, as soon as Chu Huan woke up, she heard the system chattering in her ear, reporting what happened last night.
The gossip was not so detailed that everyone's words could be repeated word for word, but Chu Huan could hear everyone's positions and expressions.
To put it simply: the emperor and the Grand Tutor wanted to protect her for the benefit of Dasheng, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Justice, and the Dali Temple wanted to protect her for the sake of their system's ability to eat melons, and the other departments wanted to protect her because of financial threats.
There aren't enough forces to protect her.
However, Chu Huan was a little confused by the attitude of Jinyiwei Commander Lin You.
Does this person represent the emperor, or does he have his own preferences? Can he be won over?
Chu Huan’s brainstorming finally ended when she arrived at the court.
The Jinyiwei have investigated too many corrupt officials these days, and there are many new faces in the court today.
Chu Huan should have been enjoying herself, but she was worried about something else. She typed into the system: [Tong'er, start working.]
The system immediately perked up: [Alright! Turn on the sharing function right away!]
The next moment, everyone started to perform.
Chu Huan: [Tong'er, please help me check if the Second Prince has attended court today.]
System: [Okay, I'm here.]
The second prince looked up in shock. He didn’t offend Chu Huan, right?
The emperor and his officials didn't quite understand. What had the second prince done wrong again?
Chu Hua: [Okay, then please remind me where he's going when we get to court. I need to discuss something with him.]
System: [No problem, leave it to me!]
The emperor and all the officials were surprised at first, then they remembered the report from the Royal Guards yesterday: Chu Huan was planning to dig up the second prince's family!
The Second Prince also remembered, "..."
So does he agree or disagree?
If you agree, you have to clean up the mess; if you disagree, Chu Huan will definitely eat melons to vent her anger, and the mess will only get worse.
Forget it, just agree.
Having made up his mind, the Second Prince waited leisurely for Chu Huan after the morning court session ended.
Chu Huan smiled and bowed, "Your Highness, may I have a moment to talk?"
"Of course." The second prince cooperated and walked to the side. He also specially chose a place where the Jinyiwei were guarding so that it would be more convenient for others to eat melons.
Chu Huan said straight to the point, "Your Highness, I've been very busy lately and can't spare any time. I'd like to borrow a few people from Your Highness."
The Second Prince pretended to think for a moment, "Who?"
Chu Hua: "Your Highness, don't worry about the family members in the mansion. We are only borrowing them for a while."
The Second Prince: “…” I think you are planning to borrow my life for a lifetime?
He had nothing to be reluctant about. Last night, the Second Prince's Consort had a heart-to-heart talk with him, and she sounded quite remorseful in her words. Even for the Second Prince's Consort's sake, he had no choice but to agree.
"As long as they want to."
Chu Huan: "Thank you, Your Highness."
As soon as the Second Prince gave in, Chu Huan left the palace and took a carriage to the Second Prince's residence.
Half an hour later, carriage after carriage stopped at the door of the household department. Beautiful girls dressed in brocade clothes, wearing gold and jade on their heads, and smiling happily came down from the carriages. They were followed by a large number of maids.
Led by Chu Huan and the Second Prince's wife, everyone lined up and entered the Ministry of Revenue in an orderly manner. There were at least twenty of them.
Ministry of Revenue official: ???
Officials who came to watch the fun: ???
Didn't you say it was just a few family members? Isn't that a bit too much?
Wouldn't Chu Huan bring all the women in the Second Prince's mansion here?
Everyone looked over and saw Chu Huan clapping her hands. "Sisters, these are all grown men who haven't settled their accounts in four years. Sisters, open their eyes to what true cooperation and true settlement mean!"
Man:???
I was offended.
Next, this group of men saw what real division of labor and real speed were.
The second prince's family and maids divided the work among themselves. Those who copied Buddhist scriptures on a daily basis were responsible for entering them, and their handwriting was neat and clean, so there was no need for rework; those who loved doing business and counting money did the accounting quickly and well, without any mistakes; those who read storybooks on a daily basis were responsible for proofreading, and they could read ten lines at a glance and even spot the unreasonable parts.
Each of them can do the work of two or even three people, and the abacus beads clattered for a long time without a break.
Twenty or so women did the work of fifty Ministry of Revenue officials in the morning, making a group of grown men so embarrassed that they could hardly raise their heads.
Some of them were unconvinced and jumped out to shout, "Women should stay at home to take care of their husbands and children! Coming to the Ministry of Revenue is like being a hen crowing at dawn!"
Everyone: “…”
The man was shocked: "How dare you challenge Chu Huan alone? Where do you get the courage?"
The women were silent: they had heard such words so many times that they were used to it.
Then Chu Huan chuckled, "You're using this trick just because you can't beat a woman. Is it hard to admit you're worse than a woman? It seems it is, otherwise you wouldn't jump so high."
"Master Hu, let me tell you a secret."
Lord Hu stepped back cautiously: "That's not necessary."
Chu Huan smiled: "What a pity."
Just as Lord Hu breathed a sigh of relief, he heard the system say in a particularly regretful tone: "Yes, what a pity! I was going to tell him that his three sons combined are not as good as his daughter alone in academics."
Lord Hu's face turned green.
The official from the Ministry of Revenue secretly laughed: You are not allowed to provoke her!
The family members and maids who were eating melons on site for the first time were filled with the novelty of eating melons.
Chu Huan continued to add fuel to the fire: [How is this a good idea?]
System: [His three sons can only pass the academy and provincial examinations at best, but his daughter is exceptionally bright. With proper education, she could pass the metropolitan examination. If she meets an examiner who suits her, she might even be able to pass the palace examination.]
Chu Hua: [Oh wow!]
Others: Oh wow!!
Mr. Hu's face turned even greener. His son could only be a scholar or a juren, but his daughter could be a gongshi or even a jinshi.
What was this? Was it revenge for his disdain for women, for keeping them at home to take care of their husbands and children?
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