I became a big shot in the quick transmigration world.

Chapter 742 Long Live the Emperor! (12)
Some officials remembered the only person who could check and balance the emperor, the Ninth Prince.

Huh? Right, why hasn't the Ninth Prince shown up lately?
With the Emperor absent from court, even the censors and the Qianxin faction are powerless against him. Isn't this just allowing the Emperor to hold absolute power?

Now that the Ninth Prince has been absent from court for a long time, all four of his eunuchs have died, leaving behind such a huge handle against him.

Fu Manguan handled the "Four Fiends" incident swiftly and decisively, quickly bringing all those involved to justice, imprisoning them, and confiscating their property.

Now, everyone in the eunuch faction is in danger and dares not cause any more trouble.

However, there has been no news of the death of the Ninth Prince yet, and the civil officials in the Kenshin Party who were eager to make a move dared not act rashly.

This strange stability was maintained in the imperial court.

Yu Muhuai didn't care about the undercurrents beneath the surface of peace; all she needed to see was the calm, waveless sea.

She could see the true nature of all the civil and military officials clearly in Wan Zhixin's memories.

They were eager to surrender even before the enemy arrived.

He remained steadfast and died for his country, taking his entire family with him.

Yu Muhuai remembered it all perfectly.

Now that we've exposed them completely, let's just watch their performance.

She remembers everything, and when the opportunity arises, she will promote those who deserve promotion and find reasons to punish those who deserve it, without showing any mercy.

Taking advantage of the brief period of peace among officials, she needs to actively deal with the drought in the north, the Jian Kingdom army in the northwest, and the peasant army in the northeast.

These three items are the top priorities at present.

These people in the imperial court are right in front of me. If I want to kill them, it's just a matter of snapping my fingers.

However, the drought and the enemy were far away, and the troubles were difficult to deal with in the short term.

Fortunately, Dong Yunxiang has been killed, and the Northeast is temporarily at peace.

So the emperor gave a blueprint to a eunuch and asked him to send it down and distribute it to the various ministers for review.

"This is one of the drought relief solutions I've come up with these past few days, and I've named it 'Karez'."

Karez is an underground water conservancy project developed by the working people in the arid northwestern border region of Yu Muhuai's original world over a long historical period.

Although, like well water, it is drawn from groundwater.

However, the karez system allows the large amounts of rainwater, glacial meltwater, and snowmelt that collect and seep into the ground during spring and summer to be brought to the surface through the natural slope of the mountain to meet the needs of the people.

Generally speaking, a complete karez system includes a vertical shaft, a culvert (underground channel), an open channel (surface channel), and a small reservoir.

The excavation and construction of vertical shafts and underground channels were the most difficult.

The construction of karez wells required a great deal of financial and human resources.

Manpower is an issue; there are plenty of people in the north now, but many of them are starving people who can't get enough to eat.

The matter of financial resources.
"I understand that you all share my concern for the common people suffering from drought in the northern regions."

I have decided to donate 30,000 taels of silver myself! The Director of the Eastern Depot, Ping Qinian, has even promised to donate ten times that amount!

The 30,000 that Yu Muhuai mentioned refers to 30,000 taels of silver.

Based on the currency value of this world's Cong Kingdom, if converted to RMB from the previous world, it would be approximately 500 million (conversions vary between different worlds and dimensions, so don't take it too literally).

Ping Qinian's amount was ten times hers, which would be 300,000 taels of silver.

The ministers in the court were all astonished. Their astonishment did not stem from the Emperor's donation.

This wasn't the first time the Emperor had donated money; Wan Zhixin had also given his own private savings to the northern army for military pay.

To everyone's surprise, Ping Qinian made a donation.

This nobleman has a wide-ranging way of accumulating wealth and is ruthless in taking other people's money.

But getting any money out of him is practically impossible!
Your Majesty, Your Majesty, how did you do that??

But with such a "gem" as the Ninth Prince preceding them, how could those who followed dare not donate?
While the ministers were still hesitating, Yu Muhuai spoke first.

"Lord Xue, aren't you going to set a good example?"

Xue Fenglai, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, is the Empress's biological father and the Emperor's father-in-law.

This guy's a real old fox; even a miser would feel wronged to call him a penny-pincher.

Sure enough, when Xue Fenglai saw that he had been called out, he flicked his sleeves, bowed, and said in a humble yet respectful manner.

"Your Majesty, this old minister is willing to do his utmost for the people of the Northwest. After I return, I will certainly mobilize the entire Xue family to support the people suffering from the drought!"

Yu Muhuai looked at Xue Fenglai with a gratified smile, not fooled by his nonsensical words, but went straight to the point.

"Lord Xue, how much are you planning to donate?"

Xue Fenglai paused for a moment.

He's already said he'd donate, so why is he still pressing me?

Hmph, trying to squeeze money out of me?!
Xue Fenglai coughed heavily twice, then said in a somewhat heavy voice.

"To be honest, Your Majesty, apart from my salary, I have no other income. All I can do right now is about two thousand taels of silver."

Upon hearing this, all the officials in the court involuntarily cursed in their hearts, "Shameless old fox."

Seeing that Yu Muhuai did not reply, Xue Fenglai coughed twice more, seemingly feeling unwell.

"Your Majesty, this old minister truly has no more to offer, but I am willing to sell the Xue family's old residence within the capital, in order to raise funds for Your Majesty!"

Xue Fenglai's words were extremely sincere, and even carried a hint of patriotism, as if he were willing to dedicate himself to the country until his dying breath.

In addition, Xue Fenglai had gray hair, an unsteady gait, and a hunched back.

He's truly a dedicated and excellent actor!

If I hadn't already seen through this guy's true colors, I would definitely have been moved by his appearance.

Unfortunately, Mr. Yu didn't fall for that.

However, Yu Muhuai's eyes remained calm, and she still wore a smile, seemingly without any aggression.

"Oh? I am deeply impressed that Lord Xue has been able to make such a righteous move."

Xue Fenglai waved his hands repeatedly, saying that this was the right thing to do, for the well-being of the people, for the poor and suffering masses, and so on.
But in his heart he was cursing: Damn it, are they really going to sell my house? You son-in-law of the emperor are too dishonest!
Just as Xue Fenglai was lost in thought, the Emperor's next words were like a barrage of sharp arrows, repeatedly stabbing at Xue Fenglai's heart.

"Since Lord Xue is so understanding and righteous, why not sell the land in the north of the city that the Xue family has seized?"

Oh, right, there's also a pawnshop in the west of the city and a restaurant in the south. There's a street in the city center where half the shops belong to the Xue family; sell them all. On behalf of the common people, thank you.

Shops in Guangcheng, Ximingcheng, Mingshui Town, and Yongxiang can also be sold.
Thank you to "What are you?" for the donation!
Wish you sweet dreams and good night (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
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(End of this chapter)