"He dares!" Emperor Jingqing was furious, pointing at the court officials below, "I have supported so many of you, are you all no match for Lu Yanzheng?"
The court officials remained silent, trembling with fear.
The Emperor may not know this, but it is said that the border troops have found a way to improve the thunderbolts and have put gunpowder to its extreme. Even the arrogant Prince Yong was beaten to a pulp by Lu Yanzheng and fled. How much more so for the court?
They were indeed arrogant and thought they could control the Grand General, but now that the Grand General no longer relies on the court for provisions! They've lost their only ability to control him, so what's the point of talking about him?
Emperor Jingqing was so angry when he saw that his subjects were all quails that he had a headache. "Very well, it seems that I really have raised a bunch of good-for-nothings!"
After saying that, he turned and left.
The chief eunuch hurriedly said "Court adjourned" and followed after them.
In the main hall, several senior officials sighed and looked towards Prime Minister Su. Their eyes seemed to say, "Aren't you the one who always jumps around the most? Marshal Qin was so obedient before, but you had to kill him. Now look, someone disobedient has come along. Why don't you step up and take his place!"
To get to where he is today, Prime Minister Su must have been ruthless and vicious, and his thick skin was also essential. Completely ignoring the gazes of others, he walked up to the Minister of War and said with a rather arrogant tone, "Minister Yu, shouldn't your Ministry of War stand up and share the Emperor's burdens?"
Minister of War Yu Zhizhan, who wished he could devour him whole, said irritably, "Prime Minister, you're really talking without understanding the situation. War requires money. The Emperor emptied the national treasury to build the Star-Picking Tower. Now the treasury is empty and we can't organize soldiers to go to the front lines. Does the Prime Minister intend to contribute a little?"
"I don't like hearing what you're saying, Lord Yu," Prime Minister Su said calmly. "His Majesty is building the Star-Picking Tower for the sake of the people of Dayue, so naturally the construction cannot be stopped. As for the empty treasury that prevents the organization of war, that's the Ministry of Revenue's business. As the saying goes, those in positions of power should fulfill their responsibilities. Instead of pleading poverty to the Minister of Revenue, you, Lord Yu, ask me to subsidize it. Where does this logic come from?"
How could Yu Zhizhan possibly argue with him? Hearing these words, he could only stare blankly, completely at a loss for words.
“Prime Minister Su, you are mistaken,” the Minister of Revenue stepped forward with a worried expression. “The Zhaixing Tower is a waste of resources and manpower and should not have been built within the capital city. However, His Majesty insisted on doing so, which has emptied the national treasury. In recent years, Great Yue has been plagued by internal and external troubles, as well as natural and man-made disasters. Even if my colleagues in the Ministry of Revenue were to give their lives, we still wouldn’t be able to come up with the money!”
Prime Minister Su gave a cold "heh," and said, "Why didn't you say that in front of the Emperor just now?"
The Minister of Revenue is a cunning old fox who holds dirt on countless people in the court. In all his years in office, the only department he has not been able to fully control is the Ministry of Revenue.
However, the Ministry of Revenue was not on the same page as the Emperor and was completely controlled by its own people, making it difficult for outsiders to intervene.
The only thing that made him feel better was that the Ministry of Revenue had long been out of money, and now the Ministry of Revenue in Dai Viet was practically a government office with nothing to show for it.
After finishing his speech, Prime Minister Su turned and left with his hands behind his back, leaving a group of people staring at his retreating figure in a daze.
The Minister of War and the Minister of Revenue exchanged a glance, then both turned their heads away in tacit agreement and left.
Seeing this, most of the old ministers sighed inwardly, but the current situation was beyond their control. They could only hope that the emperor would come to his senses and stop building the Star-Picking Tower.
...
Jiang Qinyu was too busy to handle everything, so she entrusted the task of finding out how to establish a school to Chen Shao.
"Sister-in-law Lu wants to build a school? And admit girls?" Chen Shao was stunned for a moment, then said happily, "Then you should ask my sister about this! Her biggest wish in life is to go to school."
Previously, Jiang Qinyu had set up a literacy class in the village to teach the villagers to read, and Chen Hong had been very enthusiastic about attending it. However, Jiang Qinyu later had too many things to do, and the literacy class was discontinued, which left Chen Hong feeling quite regretful.
“Chen Hong?” Jiang Qinyu suddenly remembered the girl, thought for a moment and nodded, “Okay, I’ll write to the village now, but you have to help look for her before she comes, and give it to her when she arrives.”
"No problem! Don't worry, Sister-in-law Lu!" Chen Shao readily agreed.
These past few days he's been helping Aping with his work in Qinzhou, and he's learned a lot more than before. He's thinking about his family, so this is a good opportunity to send them a letter.
He also wanted to write a separate letter to the village chief to see if he could organize all the capable people in the village to come out and help, as Sister-in-law Lu and her family were really short-handed.
Even if the village chief is willing, it's estimated that not many people will come, since there are still so many chores in the village that need to be done.
Jiang Qinyu was unaware of Chen Shao's plans and wrote a serious letter to Chen Hong.
She had a pretty good impression of Chen Hong. When they were training and learning to read together, she could tell that Chen Hong was very hardworking. Entrusting the opening of the school to her, although she might still need to find someone to oversee it, was at least someone she could trust.
Moreover, Chen Hong is a woman, so she would naturally consider the needs of the new school from a woman's perspective first.
"Madam, I also think Miss Chen is quite nice!" Yunzhu said with a smile.
Jiang Qinyu finished writing the letter, put it in an envelope, and asked, "Do you have any connection with Miss Chen?"
"It's not a very deep friendship, but I think Miss Chen has her own ideas and doesn't drag things out. She's someone worth befriending," Yunzhu said after thinking for a moment.
Jiang Qinyu nodded, "Yes, when she comes, you should take care of her more."
"Okay," Yunzhu said with a smile.
She was naturally generous and got along well with Chen Hong; it was good to have someone to talk to.
Jiang Qinyu glanced at the sky and asked with some worry, "Why haven't Shufan and Pan'er arrived yet? Have our people gone to pick them up?"
"Aping sent someone to pick them up, they should be back soon, right?" Yunzhu was also a little surprised, as the young master and young lady should have arrived long ago!
Not seeing anyone, Jiang Qinyu became restless and got up to walk into the courtyard. "I'll go take a look at the front."
She had just stepped out when she encountered Old Master Lu, who was wandering around the mansion.
"Girl, where are you going in such a hurry?" the old man asked.
Jiang Qinyu stopped and said, "The two children at home should be arriving today. I'll go check on them."
"Huh? You have two children?" Grandpa Lu looked at the slender Jiang Qinyu in surprise, somewhat incredulous.
Jiang Qinyu quickly explained, "They are my older brother's children, but my older brother passed away unexpectedly many years ago, and the children grew up with me."
"I see," Grandpa Lu said, finding it more reasonable. "Then I'll go with you. I haven't seen the little one in a long time. Who knows, we might even hit it off!"
Just then, a servant ran in from the front yard, panting, and said, "Madam, Lord Ping has sent a message, requesting that you go to the city gate to take a look."
Jiang Qinyu frowned. Why would Aping send such a letter?
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