Empress: Your Majesty, please respect yourself, I don't want to be promoted

Under the strange looks of all the courtiers, Lu Chen slowly stretched out his hand and opened the memorial in front of him unhurriedly.

"His Majesty."

He first bowed his hands to Jiang Chengwan and said calmly: "Last year, after Taihe County, Yongping County, Mengjin County and other prefectures and counties that were the first to build cement roads were connected to each other, they interacted frequently with each other, and industry and commerce developed rapidly. In addition, Nanzhi Road and With the smooth opening of the East Straight Road, the prefectures and counties along the way have become increasingly prosperous, benefiting countless people, and local tax revenue has increased significantly. It can be seen that road construction can not only promote the development of industry and commerce in a region, but also increase the income of local people. If the people are rich, the country will be strong, and the people will be strong. If you are well fed and clothed, you will naturally not rebel, the country will be stable, and road construction can greatly reduce the cost of marching, and the benefits are countless."

“Therefore, Weichen believes that this year we should take advantage of the low-cost and high-efficiency characteristics of cement in roads, water conservancy, and urban construction, and continue to increase investment in infrastructure construction to promote industrial and commercial development, benefit all people, consolidate the country’s foundation, and at the same time increase investment in infrastructure construction. R\u0026D investment in transportation, medical skills, astronomical phenomena, aura, armaments, agricultural and livestock output, etc..."

Suggestions came out of Lu Chen's mouth one after another, and almost every suggestion had a good reason behind it.

And every time he mentioned a budget investment, everyone's faces became stiff.

The faces of the officials from the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Ministry of Rites became increasingly serious, and even Liu Dongyang and Wu Yue had wry smiles on their faces.

According to Lu Chen, this year's Ministry of Industry will not be able to meet the budget expenditure of more than 18 million taels of silver, and it will have to continue to invest in the future. This expenditure is even higher than the military expenditure!

What's more, this investment in research and development... The entire Tiangong Division belongs to the emperor. Who knows how much of this investment in research and development will end up in the empress's internal coffers.

Many people gritted their teeth when they thought of this.

Wu Yue really deserves to die!

If the Tiangong Division was a yamen affiliated to the Ministry of Industry, the imperial court would definitely be able to save a lot on research and development, and it might even be profitable. Although the Ministry of Industry basically had the final say alone, Lu Chen was the one who had the final say, but this thing was real A gentleman who distinguishes between public and private affairs, he is only a minister of the Ministry of Works. As long as the Tiangong Department is under the control of the Ministry of Works, sooner or later this golden mountain will fall into the hands of the civil service group.

However, now... they can only watch the empress make a lot of money. The treasury is really short of money, so they can only use their righteousness to beg the empress to put the world first and lend some money to the treasury.

How sad!

When the emperor did not touch the treasury, they, as important ministers of the imperial court, asked the emperor to donate generously. Once they did so, it was tantamount to a shameful admission of their own incompetence.

But the matter has come to this, and there is no point in regretting it. Now that the Great Xia is prosperous, this has undoubtedly caused the empress's prestige to skyrocket, and her initiative has been lost. Naturally, she has no right to speak. Before a huge mistake occurs that is irreparable, if the empress is determined to take the land Chen's suggestion, they really have nothing to do.

Now they can only hope that Lu Chen can be kind and leave some soup for them so that they can tighten their belts and survive for another year.

"Weichen did the math with his colleagues from the Ministry of Industry."

Lu Chen spoke for a full quarter of an hour before finally reaching his final conclusion.

"The Ministry of Industry needs at least 9 million taels this year to ensure the smooth implementation of various project plans. I hope your Majesty will approve it."

Hearing this, Qian Yiqian and others couldn't help but trembled.

Sure enough, this year is still difficult...

The Ministry of Industry, the lowest among the six departments, actually wants to take away nearly 10 million taels of budget... The national treasury, even with the wealth taken back from the Queen Mother, is only 17 million taels at most. Lu Chen wants to Take away more than half, and still have the bulk of military expenses, and also leave some money as a reserve for natural disasters... If you calculate it like this, won't other departments have to tighten their belts and live a miserable life?

Liu Dongyang, who was the Minister of the Ministry of War, hesitated to speak, and finally looked at the empress silently, with a slightly bitter look on his face.

Although the empress used the vast amount of wealth that Gu Simiao took back from the Empress Dowager Zhao last year to make up for the arrears of wages of the various armies at once, due to the fact that the Empress Dowager Zhao has been in chaos for too long, except for the direct imperial guards, the other armies are treated extremely poorly. , some weapons and armor have been worn out and have not been replenished.

Liu Dongyang originally wanted to increase the budget at the court meeting and change the uniforms of the soldiers, but he didn't expect Lu Chen to open his mouth... This would be difficult to handle.

After thinking about it, he finally did not object. Anyway, the financial council meeting could not be concluded in a day or two. It would be better to discuss it with Lu Chen after the council meeting was over.

Everyone had different thoughts and while they were frowning in thought, Jiang Chengwan nodded naturally.

"What Lu Qing said makes sense. This year is the time to increase investment in people's livelihood construction."

Agree decisively as always.

Jiang Chengwan then asked the editor on the side to formulate the decree, and the matter was decided on the first day of the court meeting. Then he went to the Ministry of Personnel to report on this year's financial budget.

That is, the salaries of officials and nobles throughout Daxia.

Then go to the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Punishment.

Although Lu Chen had already taken away most of the national treasury, they did not make temporary changes to the budget plan. The reason for this was not only because the budget had been prepared long ago and could not be changed casually, but also even if it did not pass, it could be discussed and adjusted later. .

No matter whether it can be passed or not, it is better to submit the application first than to change the budget on a temporary basis.

By the time the court meeting was over, the sky outside was filled with sunset.

"Let's get here first today."

Seeing that it was getting late and Lu Chen had no intention of speaking, Jiang Chengwan stood up first.

"My dear friends, thank you for your hard work. Go back and rest early. We will continue the discussion tomorrow morning."

After the words fell, everyone's expressions relaxed slightly, and many people showed slight fatigue on their faces.

"Congratulations to Your Majesty!"

Jiang Chengwan nodded slightly, then looked down at Lu Chen, and said softly: "Lu Qing, I heard from Hongyu that you have stayed up too late recently, and your anger has been strong, so that you are feeling a little uncomfortable?"

Lu Chen's eyes twitched slightly, but he still responded honestly: "It's just a minor problem, Your Majesty doesn't have to worry about it."

“Sickness is no small thing.”

Jiang Chengwan shook his head.

"I will send some imperial doctors to your house later to take your pulse and prescribe some prescriptions for you to recuperate."

"Also, you can't finish things. Your body is the most important thing. You should rest when you should. No matter what happens, even if the sky falls, you have to have a good rest. Don't stay up late anymore. Oh my god. Nothing is as important as your health."

Seeing Jiang Chengwan so earnestly telling Lu Chen to take care of himself, many courtiers immediately hardened.

The fist is hard.

My heart felt like I had eaten a hundred lemons, so sour.

However, Lu Chen felt a little numb on his scalp.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I'll spare you the trouble."