Traveling through ancient times, the empress insisted on having a child with me

On the other hand, after Lu Xi returned to the palace from Taoyuan, he immediately summoned the left and right prime ministers.

Although Lu Xi often summoned the two to discuss state affairs, the two prime ministers felt something was wrong as soon as they entered the imperial study today.

The depressing atmosphere in the imperial study made the two of them look at each other involuntarily, and then they reached a consensus that His Majesty was not in a good mood.

"Minister An and Minister Shi, Jiangzhou Prefecture erected a monument to solicit donations but only received over 10,000 dan of grain. Do you two know the reason?"

The two looked at each other again, and then said at the same time: "I think..."

Shi Qian took a step back and said, "Left Prime Minister, you speak first."

An Changqing bowed to Shi Qian, then turned to Lu Xi and said, "I have read the official documents of Jiangzhou Prefecture. The amount of money and grain donated by various noble families is very close. This is unreasonable, so I suspect..."

"What do you suspect?"

"I suspect they colluded with each other and did this intentionally."

Lu Xi looked at Shi Qian again: "What do you think, Prime Minister Shi?"

Sima Qian has always been good at observing words and expressions. His Majesty appears calm on the surface, but he has seen clues from some subtle expressions. It is obvious that His Majesty has guessed something and just wants to confirm it again.

In this case, Shi Qian had no scruples: "What the left prime minister said is correct. The amount of money and grain donated by each family is only three or five stones different. It is clearly calculated carefully. I think it must have been leaked in advance. This kind of behavior of deceiving the superiors and the subordinates is clearly deceiving the emperor."

As expected, Ling Chuan was right. Lu Xi was furious and didn't even bother to hide the expression on his face: "Can you find out who did this?"

The two of them were silent for a moment, and An Changqing spoke first: "This matter cannot be verified. If we really want to investigate, I'm afraid all the noble families in Jiangzhou Prefecture will be involved."

Shi Qian secretly praised him, saying that it was true that age was more experienced and that this was a very tactful way of saying it.

The matter involves all the noble families in Jiangzhou Prefecture. If Your Majesty really wants to investigate, it will be a heinous case. Given the current situation in Dasheng, it cannot withstand such a turmoil.

Lu Xi also understood what An Changqing meant. After a moment of silence, he asked, "The money and grain raised by Jiangzhou Prefecture is not enough for disaster relief. Do you two have any good ideas?"

This matter has troubled the entire court for several days. If there was a solution, it would have been proposed long ago. The two could only remain silent. Lu Xi sighed. It seemed that only Ling Chuan's method could be used.

"I have an idea here, and I would like to ask the two prime ministers to discuss it."

The two men bowed and pretended to listen.

Lu Xi told all the ideas of using bran to relieve the disaster in one breath. At first, the two prime ministers frowned, but after Lu Xi explained the bill to them, they fell silent.

Although this method is against common sense, it can indeed save countless lives. However, if bran is really used, it will definitely be criticized by people with ulterior motives. It is really a dilemma.

Shi Qian was the first to speak: "Your Majesty, please think twice. Although this plan has its merits, it can also easily give others a handle."

An Changqing pondered and said, "I believe that the people are the foundation of the country. As long as we can provide relief to the victims, everything else is secondary."

Shi Qian was ten years younger than An Changqing, and had always disagreed with An Changqing on politics. Seeing that An Changqing disagreed with him, he immediately counterattacked: "I'm afraid that Prime Minister An's words are biased. If someone uses this as an excuse to attack Your Majesty, how should you respond?"

An Changqing glanced at Shi Qian and did not argue with him, just waiting for His Majesty to express his opinion.

Lu Xi looked at the two prime ministers. She remembered clearly what Ling Chuan said. Someone had to bear the infamy. At worst, she could compensate them later. But none of the two prime ministers were willing to share my worries?

"What Prime Minister An said makes sense. The people are the foundation of the country. When the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Jiangzhou are at stake, how can I only care about my reputation? This bad reputation will be borne by me."

This sentence sounded bland, but it was like thunder in the ears of the two prime ministers.

It is said that if the lord humiliates his subjects, they will die. How can Your Majesty bear this bad reputation?

Your Majesty is obviously targeting the two of us.

Shi Qian was young and quick to act. He immediately knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty is benevolent and virtuous. The flood in Jiangzhou Prefecture is of great importance. I am a humble servant, but I am willing to go to Jiangzhou Prefecture to provide disaster relief. Even if there is a little bad reputation, I am willing to bear it."

Lu Xi nodded slightly and thought that this was pretty good.

An Changqing on the side said slowly: "The prefect of Jiangzhou and Shi are related by marriage. It would be convenient for Shi Xiangru to go."

Shi Qian immediately cursed in his heart, this old fox is so insidious, he is trying to trip me up, if you don't tell me, doesn't your Majesty know? How can I embezzle the relief money?

Sure enough, Lu Xi nodded and said, "Then I'll trouble you, Prime Minister Shi. You must do your best to provide disaster relief and don't let me down. But you don't have to worry about getting a bad reputation."

Shi Qian bowed and said, "I accept your order. I will do my duty to save the people from danger and spread your majesty's benevolence."

Lu Xi nodded in satisfaction, but An Changqing asked again, "May I ask Your Majesty, did this plan also come from that merchant?"

"Exactly."

An Changqing and Shi Qian looked at each other and saw horror in each other's eyes.

The Rebellion of the Four Kings three years ago almost led to chaos in the world. Fortunately, Your Majesty turned the tide and controlled the civil unrest within a very small scope.

However, the two neighboring countries of Northern Qi and Nanyue took the opportunity to send troops to invade the border, which eventually forced Dasheng to cede territory and empty the national treasury.

Since your majesty ascended the throne, you have worked hard to govern the country, and the national strength has gradually recovered. However, this year's flood in Jiangzhou Prefecture has dragged Dasheng into a dangerous situation again.

There were even rumors among the people that Lu Xi inherited the throne as a woman, which led to punishment from God.

Such misleading words naturally come from some people with ulterior motives. If the disaster relief is not effective, the world may be in chaos.

But if we provide disaster relief, the national treasury will be emptied again. If a war breaks out on the border, I'm afraid we won't even be able to pay for food and wages.

Faced with such a dangerous situation, all the civil and military officials in the court were helpless, but it was easily resolved by a businessman. It is no exaggeration to say that he turned the tide.

So An Changqing made another petition: "Your Majesty, this man has made such a great contribution, the court... should reward him."

"Reward?" Lu Xi raised his eyebrows: "What do you think the reward should be?"

"I think we should confer him an official title, reward him with gold and silver, and announce it to the world to show his merit."

These words shocked Lu Xi. Minister An actually thought so highly of Ling Chuan?

However, she still sighed and said, "I did ask this man if he was willing to serve as an official in the court, but he did not want to serve in the court, he only wanted to be a rich man."

An Changqing and Shi Qian were both stunned. Is there anyone who doesn't want to be an official?

Although the status of merchants in the Great Sheng Dynasty was not low, it was still several levels lower than serving as officials in the court.

Shi Qian rolled his eyes and said, "If we really want him to serve the country, he doesn't necessarily have to become an official."

"Oh?" Lu Xi asked, "What do you think, Prime Minister Shi?"

Shi Qian said: "Your Majesty once said that this man does not know your identity. You can reward him with more gold and silver and make him a guest official. This will not only fulfill his wish of becoming a rich man, but also allow him to ask for advice at any time. Isn't this the best of both worlds?"

Lu Xi's mind moved. This was a good idea. He could just hand over the shops in the three alleys to him. As long as he didn't reveal his identity, it would be nice to maintain the current relationship.