Peasant Woman’s Decreed Life as a Wife-Chapter 1114 - 1111: Acting
Chapter 1114 -1111: Acting
For a moment, voices of ministers in agreement could be heard from everywhere.
Emperor Xuanming’s gaze fell upon the faces of his subjects below and he noticed those who had not expressed their stance were all his confidants, while those with flushed faces were some of the old-fashioned ones, and those who calmly impeached were close to Duke Zheng.
Emperor Xuanming smiled, seemingly in quite a good mood.
He looked toward Minister of Revenue Chen Tianmin, “Minister Chen, you have also seen the geographical map presented by Minister Chu. Tell me, which would require more silver, dredging the entire river system or repairing it annually?”
Chen Tianmin stepped out of the line, saluted, and then said, “Replying to the Emperor, your subject did some calculations after returning, and the annual allocation to Yuzhou and South State amounts to two hundred thousand taels of silver, while the cost of dredging the river last year and this year is fifty thousand taels of silver.”
“If dredging the river can achieve what Lord Chu has said, and completely resolve the flooding issue, then naturally, dredging the river is the most cost-effective option.”
...
Emperor Xuanming’s expression softened as he asked, “Duke Zheng, what do you think? Which solution is better?”
Duke Zheng Liu Yanzhen’s face revealed no emotion fluctuation, but his mind raced as he pondered what Chen Tianmin had said and what the Emperor really wanted to hear with such a question.
“Naturally, it is dredging the river,” Liu Yanzhen replied with sincerity.
“If so, Minister Chu’s idea is also for the nation and the people. Why have you all continuously disagreed with this perspective?” Emperor Xuanming continued to inquire.
Liu Yanzhen felt a pang in his heart, knowing that the Emperor was dissatisfied with them. After all, he had climbed to his high position by accomplishing concrete tasks.
But Chu Heng’s actions had already touched his bottom line.
“Emperor, this old subject worries that should this solution contain flaws, instead it might exacerbate the floods. After all, Yuzhou is already impoverished, while South State is close to Jiangnan. If the water issues in South State are not resolved and thereby affect the Jiangnan area, I fear it could lead to even greater losses. The silver loss might be calculated in millions of taels,” he said.
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Everyone knows Jiangnan is affluent; this reasoning is very sound and he represents the cautious faction.
However, there are also dissenting opinions.
Emperor Xuanming nodded, “The minister does make some sense.”
“How do you all see it?” he asked.
“Emperor, the current discussion is about Chu Heng’s abuse of power. This matter of water control should still be tested. Once we have a simulation of the river map for Yuzhou and South State, we can draw a conclusion,” said an official standing next to Liu Yanzhen, drawing agreement from many other officials.
Emperor Xuanming hummed, “He is indeed brash and reckless.”
The eyes of those on Liu Yanzhen’s side mostly flashed with relief.
But in the next second, the smiles on their faces froze.
All they heard was Emperor Xuanming saying, “Ah, it seems I have remembered, Minister Chu had come to me with a message and I had already agreed to his small request. After all, the flooding in Hong County is severe, letting him handle that area won’t cause much impact.”
The whole room fell silent.
Then everyone also realized—Emperor Xuanming knew everything. That was not surprising, after all, Eunuch Wu was sent by him; he was his informant, easily aware of Chu Heng’s every move.
Just now he had patiently listened to so much, very likely testing them!
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The officials who had just censured Chu Heng suddenly panicked, especially those who had intentionally sought revenge.
Several older Imperial Censors stepped forward, claiming a misunderstanding, that the scare was unnecessary, and praised Emperor Xuanming’s wisdom.
–
In Yuzhou.
The rain had been falling for three straight days.
Ye Muyu stood under the eaves, his face full of worry.
