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

To achieve something, something must be given.

On the surface, the labor service system did save the court a lot of expenses, but in fact, it was overdrafting the people's power, which is the foundation of a country. And the money and food saved on the surface may not necessarily end up in the national treasury, but may even end up in the national treasury. It may be used to cause civil unrest due to over-squeezing the people's power, which will require more money and food to be sent to suppress it, and the gain outweighs the loss.

However, Lu Chen did the opposite of ordinary officials, not paying attention to superficial interests, but focusing on the long-term.

Show kindness to the people, give them the treatment they deserve, eliminate the dissatisfaction and resentment of the people, and at the same time arouse their enthusiasm and let them spontaneously work for the court.

In this way, both the court and the people will benefit, while those whose interests will be harmed will become harmful to the country...

In the blink of an eye, the empress thought clearly about the powerful relationship between them, and immediately, she looked at Lu Chen with more reverence.

Break the rules, take a long-term view, and make outstanding achievements repeatedly...

This is the true talent of seeking a country...

The most valuable thing is that he is still so loyal!

Lu Chen didn't pay much attention to the empress's increasingly strange eyes, and didn't know what kind of mess she was thinking about right now.

Because the doubts in his heart have not been resolved.

Lu Chen stared at Zhao Dahu, and asked word by word: "Is that all?"

Being stared at by Lu Chen, Zhao Dahu was startled at first. After reacting, he hesitated for a moment and then smiled bitterly.

"Master Lu really knows everything, and he can't hide anything from you."

After a pause, he suddenly sighed and said slowly, "As you expected, Mr. Lu, there is actually another reason why we finished the project so quickly."

Chapter 197 Fiefdom

Hearing Zhao Dahu's words, the Empress couldn't help but look at Lu Chen in surprise.

Is there really another mystery?

How did he see it?

But after a moment, she changed her mind and thought that although Lu Chen had been in the official position for less than half a year, he had not only worked in the engineering field closely related to the affairs of the Ministry of Industry for several months, but also served as the governor of the two states for a month, giving an overview of the two states. Military and political, and now he is the right servant of the Ministry of Industry who is in the third rank.

With his loyal and dedicated character, he will fulfill his duties no matter where he is and handle government affairs as properly as possible.

Having personally handled so many government affairs, his administrative ability must have improved a lot.

He may not be able to notice details that others cannot notice, and things that can be hidden from ordinary officials may not be hidden from him.

Of course, if it was replaced by other officials, if they could shorten the construction period so much and finish the project ahead of schedule, and prove that their new regulations are effective, after confirming that there are no obvious problems, they would probably have been eager to report to the emperor. Why would they care about the reason?

With this in mind, the empress looked at Lu Chen with a sense of admiration gradually.

"grown ups."

Zhao Dahu was silent for a while, organized his words, and then spoke slowly:

"To be honest, before you came here, although we had been working in Wuji Palace for more than a month, we were doing it very slowly because... we didn't work every day. Do your best.”

As soon as these words came out, almost all the workers lowered their heads at the same time, and at the same time they secretly glanced at Lu Chen and the empress nervously.

Although Lu Xianggong is a rare and good official, but every yard counts. After learning that they dared to be lazy in the matter of labor, no one could guarantee that Lu Xianggong would not be furious, and then deal with them formally and legally.

Under everyone's uneasy gazes, the empress frowned slightly, still looking thoughtful, but Lu Chen's eyes suddenly moved, and a look of understanding flashed in his eyes.

After a little thought, he grasped a certain key point.

I see, no wonder these people seemed to have suddenly exploded into a small universe. Even if they faced those ruthless evil officials before, they were bold enough to secretly reserve their strength and hide their clumsiness...

The next second, as if to confirm his guess, Zhao Dahu continued: "And ordinary people like us can't see the road clearly at night, and we are always on tenterhooks on the construction site, for fear of being accidentally hit by a stone. Death would be a huge distraction, so I won’t be able to do much work at all.”

Having said that, he paused for a moment, then carefully glanced at Lu Chen and the Empress, seeing that the two of them did not show anger on their faces, but were thinking about something, he felt a little relieved, and then Then said:

"Your Majesty, Mr. Lu, although we used to work for a long time every day, in fact, the work done in one day is not as good as half a day now."

After listening to Zhao Dahu's story, the empress thought for a moment, and then asked softly: "In other words, the previous officials treated you very poorly. Not only did you have poor food and clothing, but they also often beat and scolded you. But Lu Qing treated you very well. So you are grateful and try your best to work for Lu Qing, right?"

Hearing this, Zhao Dahu and a group of laborers immediately showed embarrassment.

This question is not easy to answer...

After all, the empress is the emperor, even if she is controlled by the empress dowager as a puppet, she still stays in the palace all the time, without worrying about food and clothing, so it is impossible for her to know the sufferings of the world in detail.

Just know a rough idea.

Therefore, she, who is supreme, naturally cannot truly empathize with the poor people.

But Lu Chen was different from her. After the empress spoke, he just pondered for a moment and then sighed heavily.

"Your Majesty, you have misunderstood."

He turned his head, looked at the group of laborers, and said: "The reason why they are unwilling to work hard and take the risk of being abused by the supervisory officials to save time and effort is probably because they want to live, but simply ask for help. Just live."

The voice was light and agile, but the words he spoke were heavy.

Hearing this, the empress couldn't help being stunned.

"Lu Qing, why do you say that?"

Lu Chen looked around at everyone.

"The imperial court conscripted laborers, and provided no other supplies except a little ration and a tattered tent that had been used for who knows how long. Moreover, even that little ration had to pass through the hands of who knows how many people and finally ended up in their stomachs. It’s just a clear soup with little water.”

"As long as it is labor, it is almost all extremely heavy work. Now it is early spring, the cold wind has not dissipated, and there is no warm spring. In addition, the weather has become more and more severe in recent years. Even the people in the capital city have no cooking. More common people have no food left. In this case, the laborers not only have to face high-intensity labor, but also suffer from hunger and cold, and the rations they bring with them are very few. Life-saving rations, how can they survive until now?"

"As the pillars of a family, how can they go back alive to support their parents and raise their children?"

As soon as these words came out, the noses of the people suddenly became sore, and the eye sockets gradually turned red.

At the same time, their eyes were almost full of joy.

Mr. Lu actually... understands them and their difficulties!

After listening to Lu Chen's explanation, the empress suddenly understood.

"Lu Qing, what do you mean, if they don't conserve their energy, it will be difficult for them to survive this hard labor?"

"Exactly."

Lu Chen nodded, and was about to say more when Zhao Dahu suddenly knelt on the ground and said loudly:

"Your Majesty, Xianggong Lu is right. If we want to survive, we must find ways to save our energy. No matter what, we must survive until the end of the labor service. Otherwise, the little people, including the old and the young, will die in the Here, the families of the common people have been destroyed, and we must not only live for ourselves, but also for our parents, wives, and children, and we must try our best to survive."

Having said that, his voice became a little choked up.

"For this reason, I risked my life to hide the truth from those evil officials, and tried every means to save my life under their noses. Later, Mr. Lu came and asked me to eat and clothe myself. I had rations in my stomach, and my body was healthy. Now I have strength, and I can work with ease, and Master Lu has completely relieved our worries, so we naturally have to work hard."

Hearing this, the Empress completely understood.

Is this what happened...

Without worries, you can naturally move forward and create miracles...

In the final analysis, this incident is essentially due to Lu Chen. If he hadn't resisted all opinions and forcibly adjusted the proportion of project expenditures, reduced excess raw material costs, increased labor costs that should have been paid, and wiped out those moths. The interests are passed on to the laborers, and this is the reason for the current rather incredible situation.

Thinking of this, the empress couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

Facts have proved that Lu Chen's astonishing move was not based on emotion at all.

Whether it was the incident of Xia Yan, the flood control turmoil in the Sui and Yu states, or the incident in Liangzhou, as well as the change of course of the Ministry of Industry, all proved his vision and foresight.

What is an amazing talent?What is a minister who seeks the country?What is a unparalleled national scholar?

This is it!

If such a talent as Wang Zuozhi is not reused, is there anyone in this world worthy of her reuse?

Lu Chen doesn't know how to read minds, so he naturally doesn't know what the empress is thinking at this time.

After Zhao Dahu finished speaking sincerely, he suddenly stood up.

"Your Majesty, even the most basic survival of the workers in Wuji Palace was a problem before Wei Chen came over. Under this premise, who would dare to spare no effort to work and contribute to the imperial court? So... "

As he spoke, his eyes drooped slightly, and at the same time he stood up suddenly, and cupped his hands at the empress.

"My minister believes that although these people are suspected of sabotage, it is because the court made mistakes first, and mediocre officials are unkind, so they cannot be blamed for being unrighteous. Not only are they innocent, but the court should reflect on themselves. Please learn from your majesty. .”

Seeing Lu Chen stand up solemnly to persuade the emperor for his lowly grassroots, Zhao Dahu and others were immediately moved to tears.

"Mr. Lu..."

They looked at Lu Chen's back and opened their mouths, but no words came out.

"Don't worry, Lu Qing."

The empress responded without hesitation, "I am not a foolish king who cannot distinguish right from wrong. Since it is the fault of the imperial court, I did not fulfill my due duty to the working people, but instead criticized them everywhere. The common people swallowed their anger and did not riot, so they were worthy of the imperial court. I How can you be harsh?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and the stone in their hearts finally fell to the ground.

"Your Majesty Shengming!"

Lu Chen raised his voice.

As soon as the words fell, a group of people immediately reacted, and hurriedly knelt heavily on the ground, and bowed to the empress.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"

The empress smiled slightly, then looked at Lu Chen intently.

"Lu Qing, it seems that in addition to the ways of the emperor, there are many things that I need to learn. From now on, I still have to trouble you, Lu Qing, to teach me more about the ways of governing the country, so that I can understand the real way to save the world."

Hearing this, Lu Chen immediately bowed again and said word by word:

"Wei Chen takes orders!"

At this moment, this scene of the monarch and his ministers getting along with each other is deeply imprinted in the hearts of everyone around them.

From the empress and Lu Chen, Wang Qi and Zhang Xuan even felt a kind of shock that the glorious and prosperous age is in front of them.

…………

As expected, the completion inspection passed without incident.

Moreover, the acceptance results were much better than the prescribed standards.

Immediately afterwards, the news that the Wuji Palace was completed ahead of schedule spread quickly.

In the court hall, although Wu Yue, who is the Minister of the Household Department, was expressionless, his heart was full of shock.

This Lu Chen is really amazing! !