The doctor suffers from amnesia, but not complete amnesia.

"The Imperial Household Department... was indeed very glorious in its heyday, but how could the Great Yan Imperial Family compete with the common people for profit? Therefore, over the generations, the Imperial Household Department's assets have been decreasing, and now it only earns tens of thousands of taels of silver a year. This amount of money is not even enough to repair the Imperial Palace, so how can it solve my current problems?"

The emperor was somewhat puzzled.

“Your Majesty, the most important thing about the Imperial Household Department is not its assets, nor how much money it can make—but that it is an industry that is entirely under your control, and that has a channel for funds to enter the palace that is completely under the jurisdiction of the Six Ministries and the Prime Minister.”

"In other words, any money that can be withdrawn from the Shaofu's accounts is money that can directly enter the palace and directly fall into your hands—as for where this money comes from... as long as the Shaofu says that it earned it itself, then it was earned by the Shaofu."

Qiao Yelan's words made the emperor feel that he had grasped something, but it was not very clear.

"Your Majesty, during the turmoil at Longmen, those high-ranking officials and wealthy families supported their own merchant caravans to trade through Longmen, but did not pay taxes to the Great Yan—this is smuggling in essence."

"Since it's smuggling, if they can do it, why can't the Imperial Household Department? They're both avoiding taxes for the Great Yan, but the Imperial Household Department's money ends up in His Majesty's hands, and His Majesty will definitely use it for the benefit of the people of the Nine Provinces—rather than letting them manipulate things in this murky water to benefit their own families, it's better to let the Imperial Household Department do it!"

The emperor's eyes lit up. The term "smuggling" was not only a serious accusation against those merchants, but it also touched his heart.

Yes, if they can smuggle, why can't the Imperial Household Department?

The Minister of the Imperial Household Department does not compete with the people for profit—but competing with this group for profit is not considered a violation of ancestral rules.

"But... this matter is not easy to handle, and doing this under the name of the Great Yan royal family is likely to be impeached by the censors."

The emperor was already tempted, but he was worried about how long he could keep this a secret.

“Your Majesty, as I said before, any money that can be withdrawn from the accounts of the Imperial Household Department is money earned by the Imperial Household Department—whether the Imperial Household Department actually engaged in business or not is not important.”

"So, the Minister of the Imperial Household Department doesn't need to engage in smuggling at all. All you need to do is have a good talk with Lord Wei and ask him to share the secret tribute from the caravan with you, wouldn't that be enough?"

Qiao Yelan's voice remained gentle and calm.

"It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Once those merchants and their masters have tasted the sweetness of not having to pay taxes to the Great Yan, how could they possibly be willing to return to the old environment of running businesses through formal channels?"

“They will definitely continue to engage in this smuggling business. While they may be able to keep it from His Majesty in the capital, they cannot escape the local thugs in Longmen. Therefore, they must continue to pay tribute to Duke Wei in order to maintain this smuggling route.”

At this point, Qiao Yelan paused, giving the emperor some time to organize his thoughts.

And this emperor truly lived up to the late emperor's choice; in just a few breaths, he had already understood Qiao Yelan's words.

Now that Lungmen is at peace, the trade routes will reopen, and everything will return to the open trade of the past. Naturally, things will return to the original rules—Da Yan will act as the platform, Lungmen will trade, and everyone will pay taxes together.

But for businessmen, as well as high-ranking officials and wealthy individuals, paying taxes is something they absolutely do not want to do, as it means cutting off their flesh and bleeding them dry.

Since they are willing to risk war to smuggle, there is no reason why they wouldn't risk their lives to continue doing so.

After all, the only way to get killed is if the truth comes out.

The most important thing to do to avoid being caught smuggling is to bribe the local thugs.

Who is the local tyrant in Longmen now?

Duke Wei, Wei Yanwu.

In other words, the war in Lungmen has ended, but what these people actually want to abide by are the rules that existed when Lungmen was still in conflict, not the rules that existed before the war.

They didn't want to pay commercial taxes; they only wanted to pay protection money to Wei Yanwu.

"They gave part of the commercial taxes that should have been paid to Wei Yanwu and kept the rest for themselves—you mean, you want me to share that money with Wei Yanwu?"

"That's exactly what I mean—the commercial tax revenue of the Great Yan cannot be restored in the short term, because merchants who are content with what they have are unwilling to pay taxes. So why don't we get involved and collect this portion of the commercial tax revenue directly into your hands?"

The emperor knew, of course, that after being divided into three parts, the amount of money would be far less than the original commercial tax—but Qiao Yelan's words hit the nail on the head.

Because if taxes were collected in the old way, and after going through layers of exploitation, the money would eventually end up in the Ministry of Revenue. After the Ministry of Revenue had finished planning for the following year, I estimated that I wouldn't even get a single tael of silver.

Now, he doesn't need to do anything. He just needs to send a secret letter to Wei Yanwu, and he can get the cash smoothly.

In this way, he obtained the much-needed funds, and Wei Yanwu could use the cover of the merchants doing business to build closer relationships, which would help both of them secure their current positions.

"What are the countermeasures? I won't rely on this method to make money forever, because it's ultimately a loss of the Great Yan's tax revenue."

"When that time comes, we can have Lord Wei raise the percentage of his revenue to exceed the commercial tax rate of the Great Yan Dynasty."

Qiao Yelan said without hesitation.

“If he does not comply, Your Majesty can directly use the fact that Longmen’s commercial tax has been low for so many years to pressure him—under this charge, the governor of the mobile city must personally return to the capital to report.”

Will Wei Yanwu dare to come back by then?

The emperor pondered the name, then gently shook his head.

Wei Yanwu.

That was the name with which the emperor had the most complex feelings towards it.

They were once brothers. He had admired his elder brother, the emperor. Even the throne was given to him by his brother. Yet, it was also his brother who made him sit on this throne so suddenly and with such fear.

"Minister Qiao, you know so much about Longmen—the Tower of Babel is in Longmen, so you must have connections there, right?"

"I dare not conceal this from Your Majesty. It is precisely because my business has shops in Longmen that I am not only fully aware of these matters, but I can at least say that I have a clear understanding of them."

"You're quite frank."

The emperor chuckled softly.

“I have nothing I cannot say to Your Majesty, for I have never done anything against my conscience. Every single transaction in the Tower of Babel is recorded. My business has only ever sold goods to Duke Wei. I have never done anything else.”

Qiao Yelan said solemnly and seriously.

After saying this, the emperor's eyes showed a hint of surprise.

If someone lies about this, it won't stand up to scrutiny. So, the reason Qiao Yelan dared to say this in front of me must be because he actually did it.

"I am very pleased to hear you say that there are still loyal ministers within the Great Yan Dynasty."

The emperor's satisfaction was not something that Qiao Yelan could express with just a few words. His satisfaction came from the fact that Qiao Yelan had taken the initiative to come up with a way to distinguish between loyalty and treachery, and that the task was also very easy.

This is a public pledge of loyalty. Of course, the emperor will send people to investigate. As long as it is found that Babel Tower really did not engage in smuggling, but only sold things to Wei Yanwu, it means that Qiao Yelan is truly trustworthy, and the emperor will naturally accept this loyalty.

Can the Tower of Babel withstand scrutiny?

Of course it can withstand it; it would be strange if it could be traced—because the smuggling route of the Tower of Babel runs from the outside in.

They delivered the goods outside Lungmen and then the Great Yan caravan took over them. At that time, in order to present themselves, Babel Tower disguised itself as a team delivering supplies to Kosichite or as a traveling merchant passing through the wilderness of Kazdel.

So when the Emperor of Great Yan investigated, he concluded that Babel Tower had never smuggled anything "outside".

As for selling supplies to Wei Yanwu, that was only part of Qiao Yelan's plan to fund Wei Yanwu. In fact, some of these supplies were also intended for Koschche—because buying them from Da Yan was cheaper than shipping them from Ursus.

The completed transaction could still be used to curry favor with the Emperor of Great Yan, but Qiao Yelan said the remaining value had to be buried three meters underground.

"Your Majesty, I am unworthy of such praise."

Qiao Yelan bowed again.

"Excellent, excellent—you have not only solved my immediate crisis, but also set a future strategy for me. In terms of economics alone, Minister Qiao is truly a man of national talent."

The emperor nodded with great satisfaction.

"Tell me, what official position do you want? Within the Six Ministries, except for the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Personnel, the Prime Minister can't stop me from asking for anything else—but forget about the Ministry of War."

"Thank you for your generous reward, Your Majesty. If I were to refuse again, I would be ungrateful for your kindness. In that case, I would like to ask Your Majesty for an official position."

Qiao Yelan maintained her bowing posture for a moment, then raised her head and earnestly stated her request.

"—Shaofujian (Director of the Imperial Household Department)"

Shaofujian?

This request was somewhat unexpected by the emperor.

It's not that it's too high, but rather that it's too far to the side.

The Great Yan Dynasty once reformed its official system due to the problem of redundant officials, changing the Nine Ministers into the Six Ministries. The Imperial Household Department also declined at that time because most of its profitable industries were transferred to the Ministry of Revenue, and the various crafts under its jurisdiction were also transferred to the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works. From then on, the Imperial Household Department became a small commercial department under the royal family.

Although the position of Shaofujian still held the rank of third grade at this time, it was undoubtedly completely outclassed by other positions of the same rank.

"Why the Director of the Imperial Household Department?"

"I have no interest in officialdom, otherwise the late emperor would not have allowed me to return to my hometown due to illness. However, I am deeply indebted to the emperor and enjoy the bounty of the Great Yan Dynasty. Since Your Majesty is willing to employ me, I will naturally devote myself to Your Majesty. Therefore, the position of Director of the Imperial Household Department is a choice I made after careful consideration."

Qiao Yelan began his performance.

"Your Majesty sent Eunuch Li out of the palace to fetch me, naturally to let the powerful and influential people in the capital know that I am someone you value highly. Once I enter the Six Ministries, the prime minister Your Majesty mentioned can naturally arrange for people to hinder me in every way. I lack a foothold in the court and will only be at a loss as a result."

“The Shaofu is different. Those who work there are all His Majesty’s servants. Therefore, they only respect His Majesty and not anyone else’s orders. I lack a foothold in the Six Ministries, but in the Shaofu, His Majesty is my greatest support. I can accomplish anything I want to do as long as I get His Majesty’s approval.”

"Well said! I will appoint you as the Director of the Imperial Household Department and see what you are capable of—just do it, I will be your biggest support."

With a satisfied wave of his sleeve, the emperor directly promoted Qiao Yelan from a commoner to the third-rank official position of Shaofujian (Minister of the Imperial Household).

"Thank you, Your Majesty. The first thing I need to do is ask Your Majesty for the people."

Qiao Yelan knew very well that anyone who believed the emperor was a fool, so his next words were the key to both serving the emperor and extricating himself from the situation.

"Your Majesty, I hope you will issue an edict to select a group of capable eunuchs from the palace to help me expand the inner treasury and continue to generate revenue for Your Majesty."

"Eunuchs? That's strange. Minister Qiao, have you been reading too many stories and think that all the eunuchs in the palace are highly skilled in martial arts, or that they are hiding their true abilities?"

A hint of surprise was evident in the emperor's question.

"Your Majesty, in your opinion, who are the people within the Great Yan Kingdom who are most loyal to you, yet completely controlled by you?"

He patiently guided the emperor.

"Are they the civil and military officials? Are they the people of the world? No, only the eunuchs in your palace are the most loyal to you, yet you have the power of life and death over them."

“They know very well that they can only live and receive rewards if they do things that please His Majesty, and they know that if they do something that displeases him, they will lose their heads.”

These two sentences made the emperor thoughtful once again.