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

"Spiritual disasters have become a bargaining chip for scholars to become more and more unscrupulous, right?"

Yan Song's expression froze slightly, then he sighed inexplicably, and said lightly: "Not only me, Daxia, but throughout the dynasties, almost all the royal family shared the world with the scholar-bureaucrats, rather than sharing the world with the common people. Lu Shangshu, please understand On this point, don’t put the cart before the horse.”

"so……"

Lu Chen suppressed his smile and looked at Yan Song expressionlessly.

"Those dynasties that shared the world with the scholar-bureaucrats are now living in evil?"

As soon as these words came out, Yan Song's expression tightened immediately.

He opened his mouth and was about to say more, but Lu Chen spoke again and interrupted: "Okay, Mr. Yan Ge, don't waste your efforts. No matter what, no matter what you say, I can't back down unless you do it." I am dead, otherwise, as long as I am still alive, I will not stop changing my ways."

Yan Song took a deep breath.

"Even if Daxia is completely destroyed because of this?"

Lu Chen's eyes were calm and he said calmly: "A dynasty that cannot ensure the interests of thousands of people, so what if it is doomed?"

How crazy!

Hearing Lu Chen's answer, Yan Song felt his scalp numb.

This guy really dares to say anything, dare to think anything, and dare to do anything...

He dares to say such treacherous words easily. Isn't he afraid of being caught and starting to go downhill?

Although most scholars also believe that a dynasty that cannot bring them benefits has no meaning at all, but thinking it is one thing, saying it is another thing...

Of course, Yan Song, the dignified first assistant of the Xia Dynasty and the leader of scholars in the world, would not engage in such a tasteless little trick like recording.

However, Lu Chen's words made him realize that negotiation was no longer feasible.

Not to mention everyone taking a step back, looking at Lu Chen's attitude, he is afraid that he will make Daxia's wealthy families spit out all the benefits and privileges they have gained over the years. He will even have to achieve "all beings are equal under the emperor" before he is willing to give up.

Thinking of this, Yan Song's eyes gradually became deeper.

As the saying goes, it is enough to say nothing without speculation. Since he knew that Lu Chen was a stone in the pit and could not change his mind, Yan Song did not waste any more efforts.

The two said goodbye quickly.

Looking at Lu Chen's back as he turned away, a complicated look quietly flashed across Yan Song's old face.

"The Taoist heart is so stable...Is this the so-called innocent heart? It's a pity..."

He shook his head, and after Lu Chen and Chai Hongyu left completely, he walked out of the corner unhurriedly.

"Old Yan Ge."

Two respectful voices suddenly sounded beside him.

Yan Song turned around and saw two middle-aged men in third-grade court uniforms bowing and saluting him.

"Here it is."

He nodded slightly to the two of them, and then asked calmly: "Has everything been done?"

"Hui Yan Ge Lao's words."

One of the middle-aged men came closer and said respectfully: "It's all done, in full accordance with your instructions."

"Ah."

Yan Song responded lightly, indicating that he understood.

"Then... after today's court, let's prepare for the next step."

Hearing this, the two of them looked happy at the same time.

Mr. Yan Ge... finally made up his mind!

Chapter 259

After the meeting, Jiang Chengwan spoke again and stopped Lu Chen who was about to go to the Tiangong Department.

And he was the only one he called.

Apparently there is another small meeting for two people.

The reason why I say "again" is because since Saint King Cangming returned to the Holy Realm, Lu Chen has become the de facto chief minister.

Most of the major national affairs in Daxia must go through him first as the minister of the Ministry of Industry. Unless he took the initiative to convene the ministers to discuss with the empress, other ministers would not be able to participate in the decision-making immediately.

Even Yan Song, the chief assistant and the nominal leader of the officials, is the same.

The Three Pavilions have almost become an executive agency. After all, there are only two cabinet ministers, Yan Song and Xiao Yun, and the latter just barely needs to be labeled as Lu Chen.

Moreover, the empress is so powerful and extremely diligent, she is involved in every detail, and as long as it is a policy proposed by Lu Chen, she will spare no effort to implement it and follow up the progress personally from time to time.

Therefore, the voting system of the Three Pavilions was almost useless due to the strong imperial power and Lu Chen's detached power.

Naturally, the first decision-making power has nothing to do with the Three Pavilions.

Lu Chen followed Jiang Chengwan into the Zichen Hall, and then sat on the side of the dragon chair opposite the dragon chair, which had not been moved for a long time, as if it was specially designed for him.

"Lu Qing."

After sitting down, Jiang Chengwan took the initiative to speak.

"In a few days, there will be a meeting on fiscal revenue and expenditure. Have the Ministry of Industry's accounts for this year been compiled?"

He looked like he was discussing business matters and his tone was quite serious.

As an emperor, Jiang Chengwan would naturally not act like a young girl in love with her, her mind filled with thoughts of her sweetheart.

In fact, although the time she and Lu Chen spent together was second only to Chai Hongyu, most of the time they communicated were on official matters, and private visits in private were only a few like before.

To her, Lu Chen was not only a special being, but also a veritable pillar of the country in Daxia. Putting aside his personal feelings, his importance to the country was now second only to Holy King Cangming.

Even if her foundation is not shallow, she must rely on the power of the Holy Realm and the absolute combat power of the Holy King to support her rule at this stage. Lu Chen, who has shown amazing talents, is even more important to the Yongchu Dynasty than Cangming Holy King. .

Lu Chen nodded.

"As far as your Majesty is concerned, all the accounts of the Ministry of Works have been sorted out and checked. Not only that, the income and expenditure of the Tiangong Department were also calculated yesterday. The account books are all placed in the Yamen of the Ministry of Works. Your Majesty can send people there at any time. Pick."

The annual financial meeting is about to be held. During the meeting, both provincial and provincial yamen and agencies in the capital must submit a summary of the annual revenue and expenditure statistics, which will then be compiled into a book by the Ministry of Household Affairs after verification.

After that, the budget expenditure for this year will be discussed based on the income and expenditure situation, and each government office will also need to submit applications for funding.

It's very complicated anyway.

It can almost be regarded as the busiest time of the year for officials.

After all, finance is one of the most important matters in the country, and there is no room for carelessness.

Jiang Chengwan waved her hand: "As long as Lu Qing has checked it, I won't do any useless work."

Lu Chen: "..."

Jiang Chengwan asked again: "How does the expenditure of the Ministry of Works compare with last year? What is the profit situation of the Tiangong Department?"

Lu Chen thought about it for a moment, and then responded: "The total expenditure of the Ministry of Industry last year was about 220% less than the previous year, but the total project volume was three times that of the previous year, including road construction and maintenance in the Gyeonggi area, water conservancy projects in various places, and The total expenditure on the reinforcement of strategically important passes, the paving of Chidao, urban re-planning and expansion, and the maintenance and reinforcement of the array is about [-] million taels of silver, and now the progress of each project is more than half."

"Especially for the road construction in the Gyeonggi area, thanks to His Majesty's generous donation and General Gu's help, cement roads have now been laid in Luojing and all counties within a thousand miles, and the traffic in the Sili area has now changed. It is extremely convenient. Not only does it facilitate the people, but the mobility of the imperial troops stationed in various places is also greatly increased. Even the imperial troops stationed farthest from the capital can rush back to Luojing within one day, and they do not need to spend a lot of energy like they did in the past. The stone opens the divine line formation..."

Listening to Lu Chen's previous story, especially when he mentioned his generous donation, when the national treasury was empty and many of Lu Chen's project plans were restricted, he generously gave away all the money earned by Tiangong Division through patent law and all internal funds. When the money was handed over to Lu Chen and he was asked to completely let go, a smile gradually appeared on Jiang Chengwan's face.

But when she heard that Gu Simiao had also spent all her money to donate money and food to the Ministry of Industry, the smile on her face suddenly disappeared.

Even if Gu Simiao's move solved the court's urgent need, it would be the same.

After all, she knew better than anyone else that although Gu Simiao was loyal to Daxia, as a pure warrior, she definitely did not do this purely for Daxia.

If someone else had been the minister of the Ministry of Industry, Gu Simiao would definitely not have spared no effort, not even donating money.

Lu Chen was still paying attention to himself, but he didn't notice the slight change in Jiang Chengwan's expression.

"Tiangong Division approved a total of 78 projects last year, invested 60 taels in R&D, and completed 200 R&D projects on coal, cement, glazed, iron-making technology, and refrigeration technology, with a cumulative profit of 120 million taels, and significantly saved national treasury expenses through improved techniques. , a rough estimate is about [-] million taels, which truly realizes increasing revenue and reducing expenditure."

Hearing this, Jiang Chengwan's attention was immediately attracted by this rather exaggerated figure. Her eyes widened and she said in surprise: "We invested 60 taels, but the total benefit is more than 300 million taels? So much?"

Lu Chen smiled: "This is the way to study things, to turn decay into magic, to seize the good fortune of heaven and earth, and to strengthen the country and benefit all people."

"And this is just the beginning. If the people are safe, the country will be stable, and if the people are prosperous, the country will be strong. I believe that as long as we continue to vigorously implement the method of studying things, take advantage of the situation, constantly adjust policies based on the actual situation, and guide the country to become prosperous and strong, our Daxia It will definitely break through the shackles of the dynasty and be passed on to generations to come.”

Hearing this, Jiang Chengwan couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.

When she first regained the imperial power, she needed to prove herself with sufficient political achievements and establish her political prestige. At first, she just hoped that this year's tax revenue would be raised to a higher level than last year. The world would be stable and the people would rest and recuperate. Don't come too much Multiple spiritual disasters and natural disasters are enough.

But he didn't expect that Lu Chen would bring such a big surprise to him.

That’s more than 300 million taels!

It was almost equal to half of the book tax of the previous year.

This day's engineering department is really extraordinary!

Although taxes were low in the past few years because the Empress Dowager Zhao was in power, the court was extravagant and imposed numerous excessive taxes, which made people in all parts of Great Xia miserable. In some places, taxes either could not be collected, or after a few years of collection, the people's resources were extremely overstretched, and the people were overwhelmed. Production is sluggish and there are many tricks, so the book data will naturally not be extremely ugly.

But even so, the achievements of the Tiangong Division, which had only been founded for a year, were enough for Lu Chen to step into the ranks of famous ministers, and it was also enough for her to establish her prestige and gain a firm foothold in the supreme position.

You must know that more than 300 million taels are only direct benefits. Indirect benefits, such as the benefits brought to the court by various industries that gradually prospered after the roads were opened, have not been taken into account.

There is also the loss that will be reduced for the court after the society is stable and prosperous, which is also a big account.

Just think about it, it is an unimaginably huge political achievement.

Re-employing Lu Chen and unconditionally supporting his various ideas, although personal feelings were mixed in, Lu Chen's outstanding performance and outstanding political achievements were not the most powerful proof of her vision.

After a while, Lu Chen finished reporting on his work as Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Secretary of the Tiangong Department.

Jiang Chengwan took a deep breath, and then took a deep look at Lu Chen.

"Lu Qing, thank you for your hard work."

After a pause, her tone became solemn.

"With the help of an unparalleled national warrior like you, I feel that I am truly destined."

These words seemed to be in response to Lu Chen's previous thought that "no one is irreplaceable".

Lu Chen was startled for a moment, then shook his head inexplicably.

"Your Majesty is serious. Even if there are no ministers, or even if there is no destiny, Your Majesty is still Your Majesty. I am the only supreme being in the Great Xia Dynasty. When the Holy Lord comes to the court, the wise people in the world will follow them to the death. If they show their ambitions, without me, Lu Chen, there will also be Zhang Chen, Su Chen, Your Majesty, please don’t overly praise your humble ministers.”

Seeing that he had no intention of changing his mind, Jiang Chengwan couldn't help but sigh secretly.