After the death of the host: the tyrant cried red eyes

Xiao Yi sat upright on the dragon throne, his indifferent eyes sweeping over the civil and military officials below. In his eyes, they were just rows of lifeless puppets, wearing gorgeous official uniforms, performing the game of thrones.

"My dear ministers, you have really worked hard for the country and shared my worries! However, I am worried about something recently, and I hope you can give me some advice."

There was a subtle hint of sarcasm in his words.

Xiao Yi's eyes lightly swept over Eunuch Wei, who understood what he meant and immediately raised his voice, reading aloud the memorial submitted by the Ministry of Revenue.

"The grain harvests in various regions were poor, and coupled with frequent droughts and floods, the national reserves were running low, making it difficult to meet the needs of the army's campaigns..."

When the civil officials heard that "there is not much grain in the national treasury", they looked at each other with their worries evident in their words; when the military generals heard that "it is impossible to support the march", they frowned and were obviously deeply worried about it.

"This is the report from the Ministry of Revenue. Since you, my dear ministers, are so concerned about the country and the people, do you have any good ideas to increase grain production?" Xiao Yi's voice sounded again, with a hint of amusement.

The ministers who had been speaking passionately just now fell silent at this moment, and no one dared to speak easily.

The Minister of Works Sun He and the Vice Minister Song Tanyu exchanged puzzled looks, not understanding the real intention of Xiao Yi's action.

If the new drum wheel made by their Ministry of Industry can be popularized, the problem of farmland irrigation will be solved and grain production will naturally increase. Why does Your Majesty still need to seek advice from everyone?

Seeing this, Xiao Yi sneered, "Since you are all helpless, if someone can come up with a solution for you, shouldn't you be grateful?"

Zheng Yanmin, the Minister of Revenue, was the first to step forward, and said firmly, "Your Majesty, if someone can really come up with a solution, it will be a blessing for the State of Yan. I am willing to donate one year's salary to express my gratitude."

Although the annual salary of the Minister of Revenue was not an astronomical figure, it was still considerable. Zheng Yanmin's move was partly due to his indifference to money and partly due to his deep doubts about the solution.

Just as everyone was lost in thought, Xiao Yi spoke again, his voice carrying unquestionable authority, "Okay, Lord Sun, how is the Ministry of Works progressing with the drum wheel blueprint I gave you a few days ago?"

Sun He stepped forward and answered respectfully, "Your Majesty, the drum cart is being made and is expected to be completed in five days."

"Then you should explain to the ministers the purpose of this barrel cart."

Xiao Yi's order was concise and direct.

"Correct."

Sun He turned around, faced the ministers, and began to explain in detail, "This water wheel is a magical device that uses water flow to drive and efficiently irrigate the fields. It cleverly lifts lake water to the fields, without the need for human or animal power, and irrigates automatically day and night, greatly improving efficiency..."

Before Sun He finished speaking, the ministers had already begun whispering, with expressions of surprise or confusion on their faces.

General Zhou Yishan was delighted, with a gleam of curiosity in his eyes. "Is this true? Is this barrel cart so magical?"

Xiao Yi lowered his eyebrows, his tone still calm, "We'll know after the Ministry of Works makes it and tests it."

Zhou Yishan laughed when he heard this, turned to look at Zheng Yanmin, and joked: "Just now I was praising Lord Zheng for his generosity, but now after hearing the wonderful use of the drum cart, I feel that one year's salary is too little. How about increasing it a little bit, how about five years?"

Zheng Yanmin was just regretting that he agreed too quickly. Zhou Yishan's teasing made him even more furious, "You!"

Another general also agreed, "General Zhou is right. Lord Zheng only gave one year's salary, which is indeed too little. I also think five years is appropriate."

The other generals nodded in agreement.

Zheng Yanmin looked around and saw that no one spoke for him, so he had no choice but to compromise, "Okay, this drum cart is beneficial to people's livelihood, I am willing to give out five years' salary as a reward to the inventor."

Xiao Yi finally showed a satisfied look on his face, "Wei Xiquan, you will accompany Mr. Zheng home to get his salary and send it to Fengqing Palace."

Zheng Yanmin was stunned and asked in confusion: "Why send it to Fengqing Palace?"

Eunuch Wei stepped forward, his tone somewhat mysterious, "Sir Zheng, the designer of this barrel cart was none other than Concubine Shen."

Zheng Yanmin's face was filled with disbelief when he heard this. "How is it possible? She is..."

The words were not finished yet, full of shock and confusion.

Eunuch Wei's voice was filled with unquestionable majesty, and his tone revealed a barely perceptible severity: "Sir Zheng, please be careful with your words. The Queen is now a concubine of His Majesty."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Yanmin lowered his head hastily, with a complex and indistinguishable emotion surging between his brows, with both regret and unwillingness: "I was careless in my words, please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Seeing this, Prince Yanqi of Yong County turned his eyes slightly, as if he had caught something. He then took the opportunity to bring up the old matter again, with a bit of coldness in his voice: "Your Majesty, since this barrel cart was made by the Queen, Lord Zheng is willing to donate five years of salary as a sign of respect. However, the fact that the Queen lost her virginity cannot be ignored. I think that he should be stripped of his position and sentenced to death according to the law."

Xiao Yi didn't have much affection for this cousin who was two years older than him. He felt disgusted by the fact that he was a loser who only knew how to bully the weak.

He responded coldly: "Regarding the attack on the Queen, I have already found out the truth. She was not defiled. There were treacherous people behind this, and those criminals have been punished as they should be."

Zheng Yanmin buried his head even lower, and his body trembled slightly unconsciously.

The people he sent to deal with the Sun brothers were still a step slow after all. They did not expect that the emperor would intervene personally, which meant that the emperor was very likely to have known that he was the mastermind behind it.

It's like a sword hanging over your head, and when it will fall depends entirely on Xiao Yi's mood.

Xiao Yi's eyes lightly swept over the nervous Zheng Yanmin, and a barely perceptible coldness flashed in his eyes: "Since the barrel cart was the Queen's idea, she must have made a contribution. She will be rewarded with a box of jewels and a thousand taels of gold."

Pei Fengxu, the Minister of Rites, saw this and stepped out to speak. His voice was gentle and serious: "Your Majesty, although the idea of ​​the barrel cart came from the Queen, it has not yet been actually used for irrigation. It would be more appropriate to reward it after its effectiveness has been verified."

Pei Fengxu was a relative of Zheng Yanmin's wife's family. Seeing that Zheng Yanmin was forced to donate his salary, he couldn't help feeling unfair.

Hearing that Shen Bingning would be rewarded handsomely, he finally couldn't help but speak.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yishan immediately retorted: "The Queen should be rewarded for coming up with such an idea. If the barrel wheel can really be used for irrigation, why not reward her again?"

Pei Fengxu disagreed with this and frowned: "How can this be justified? Rewards and punishments are clearly defined. How can you reward two for the same thing?"

Zhou Yishan always looked down on civil servants, especially those officials in the Ministry of Revenue who only judged heroes based on documents. He said disdainfully: "I think you are jealous of the queen's reward. If you really want it, you should also think of a way to increase grain production."

"You!" Pei Fengxu was furious and scolded, "You vulgar person!"