God's Daughter, Queen of Miraculous Medicine

A general stepped out of the line, clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured. I will strictly train the soldiers to ensure that they are brave and fearless when they go into battle."

The emperor nodded and looked at the Minister of Revenue: "My dear, you will be responsible for coordinating the food and grass matters. Make sure that the military supplies are safe."

The Minister of Revenue respectfully replied, "I will obey your order and will definitely fulfill my mission."

At this time, a tutor stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the selection of the envoy for this mission to Chu is extremely important. He must be eloquent and thoughtful, so as not to reveal any flaws."

The emperor thought for a moment and said, "Then let the Minister of Rites go. He is eloquent and can take on this task."

All the ministers responded in unison: "Your Majesty is wise."

The emperor stood up, put his hands behind his back, and said firmly: "This operation must succeed, not fail. If it succeeds, Liang will usher in a new glory."

The ministers knelt down again and shouted: "We are willing to serve your majesty. May your majesty achieve your wish and may the Liang Kingdom last forever."

The emperor said, "Prime Minister, Grand Tutor, Minister of War, and Minister of Revenue, follow me to the Imperial Study. The rest of you may withdraw."

The eunuch shouted loudly: "Dismiss the court."

After everyone left, the emperor came to the imperial study with four ministers.

After the emperor sat down, he said with a serious look: "My dear ministers, this peace request is of great importance. I asked you to come here to discuss the specific details together."

The Prime Minister was the first to bow and said, "Your Majesty, I think we need to secretly prepare troops just in case."

The Grand Tutor then said, "I agree with what the Prime Minister said. In addition, we need to plan the follow-up response strategy in advance in case the peace talks fail."

The Minister of War bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am already organizing the military and am ready to be deployed at any time."

The Minister of Revenue said with difficulty: "Your Majesty, the collection of grain and fodder still needs long-term planning. The national treasury is not very well-off recently."

The emperor frowned slightly, thought for a moment and said, "No matter what, we must find a way to solve the food and grass problem. We must not let food and grass ruin important matters."

The Minister of Revenue said with difficulty: "Your Majesty, the treasury is now empty. If we want to prepare sufficient food and fodder, I am afraid we will have to levy more taxes."

As soon as this was said, the Prime Minister immediately retorted: "Absolutely not. People's lives are already difficult now. If we add more taxes, people will be resentful and the foundation of the country will be shaken."

The Minister of War also echoed, "What the Prime Minister said is absolutely right. Imposing more taxes may lead to civil unrest. When that happens, the situation will become even more difficult to deal with due to internal and external troubles."

The Grand Tutor pondered for a moment and said, "It is because our country has little grain that we repeatedly invade the border of Chu. We can only increase taxes."

The emperor listened to the ministers' arguments, his face becoming increasingly gloomy, and he said, "Although raising taxes will cause public resentment, the war is imminent, and we cannot delay in preparing for food and fodder."

The Prime Minister said firmly: "Your Majesty, you must not lose the support of the people because of a momentary urgency. Please think twice."

The emperor slammed the table and shouted angrily: "If we don't increase taxes, will we allow the war to fail and let Liang fall into danger?"

The imperial study suddenly fell into silence, and the ministers all bowed their heads in silence.

After a long while, the Minister of War raised his head and said cautiously: "Your Majesty, I think what the Prime Minister said makes sense. Although raising taxes can solve the problem temporarily, it will make the people suffer and alienate the people, which may cause chaos in the future."

The Grand Tutor then said, "Minister of War, please don't be too soft-hearted. The war is urgent now. If you don't decisively increase taxes and raise grain, once you lose the war, the country will be gone. How can you talk about the people's support then?"

The Prime Minister bowed again and said earnestly: "Your Majesty, the people's hearts are the foundation of the country. If the people are resentful because of the increase in taxes, even if we win this war, the country will be in turmoil and it will be difficult to maintain long-term peace."

The emperor folded his hands across his chest and paced back and forth in the imperial study, his face full of confusion and irritation.

At this time, the Minister of Revenue said, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, we may first increase taxes on a small scale, and at the same time find ways to increase revenue and reduce expenditure. By taking multiple approaches, we may be able to raise food and fodder without arousing public anger."

The emperor stopped and looked at everyone, then said slowly, "Let me think about this matter. Prime Minister, send a message to Nurgu and ask him to negotiate peace with the State of Chu first, and then send an envoy. That's it for today, you all leave first."

The ministers bowed and left, and peace returned to the imperial study. Only the emperor was left, lost in deep thought.

After the ministers left the imperial study, the emperor paced around the room alone, weighing the pros and cons of increasing taxes in his mind.

The next morning at court, the emperor mentioned the matter again.

The emperor said: "Regarding the issue of raising taxes to prepare for food and fodder, I have thought again and again and decided to increase taxes moderately in some areas first, and at the same time, strictly investigate official corruption and save court expenses to minimize the impact on the people."

The Prime Minister stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, even so, you must send officials to appease the people and let them know that this move is a helpless one and that the court will end this situation as soon as possible."

The emperor nodded and said, "What the Prime Minister said is very true. I will leave this matter to you to arrange."

However, once the news of the tax increase came out, it caused quite a stir among the people.

There were even small-scale protests in some places.