The wives of the concubines are empresses

In the Golden Palace, there was a majestic figure among the military generals in the hall. He was General An Yong who had just returned to the court.

Since Shangguan Wanjun came to power, her greatest concern has been people's livelihood, which is an issue that many emperors of past dynasties have been concerned about throughout their lives.

Perhaps there have been many emperors in history who loved power more, especially those who were born at the pinnacle of power and had strong abilities. They were unwilling to be ordinary and only wanted to be second only to one person.

Today, Shangguan Wanjun also loves power, because as an emperor, especially an empress, she must have enough power to sit firmly on the throne and do things for the people of the world.

The prerequisite for working for the people of the world is money, which is the most despised thing in the world, but also the thing that people strive to possess and fight for. It is the most tempting thing besides power.

Regardless of the dynasty, a strong military is essential for a prosperous nation and strong people. Whether it's the military, officials, ordinary yamen runners, or even construction everywhere, all require money to maintain.

Without money, no matter how good the charter is, it will just be "empty talk" and everything will be wishful thinking. Therefore, what an emperor of a country needs most is power and money, one to consolidate his position and the other to build his country, so as to benefit the people of the world.

"Shang Shu of the Ministry of Finance."

"The minister is here."

“What is the current revenue this month?”

Minister of Revenue Mu Qinghai bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, twenty days have passed and we have collected a total of 250,000 taels of silver."

Shangguan Wanjun's past life involved the history of the Ming Dynasty. The most prosperous period of the Ming Dynasty was the Wanli reign, when the court had the highest income.

During the Wanli reign, the Ming Dynasty's fiscal revenue reached its highest level in history. Specifically, the Ming Dynasty's average annual revenue in pure silver was approximately 3 million taels. Including grain taxes, the total amount was approximately 20 million taels of silver. Even during the 30th year of the Wanli reign, when revenue peaked, the court's revenue reached 22 million taels of silver.

The Ming Dynasty's economy experienced significant growth during the Hongwu, Jiajing, and Wanli reigns. During the Hongwu reign, after Zhu Yuanzhang unified the Central Plains, he actively developed agriculture, strengthened transportation, and encouraged commerce, driving rapid economic growth. During the Jiajing and Wanli reigns, with the expansion of commerce and trade, and particularly the implementation of the policy of opening up to the outside world, the Ming Dynasty's economy entered a new stage of development, with strengthened foreign trade and intellectual property protection.

In this regard, three million taels is equivalent to an average of 250,000 taels per month, which is a very high income.

But for Shangguan Wanjun, this is far from enough. What she wants is a richer and stronger country, a country where the people can not only live and work in peace and contentment, but also a country where everyone can read.

Those who are interested in martial arts, embroidery, cooking, poetry and songs, painting, business, etc. can all display their expertise in various fields.

Seeing that the emperor suddenly fell silent, the court officials were all secretly trying to figure out his intentions.

The elderly Master Yun sat on the armchair, looking at the empress whom he had personally taught and spent many years of effort on. At this moment, his eyebrows were slightly frowned, his face was grim, and it was unknown what he was thinking about.

But as her teacher, he understood that the emperor must be thinking about things that would benefit the country and the people.

"Find a way to increase the national revenue to 300,000 taels this month."

Officials from the Ministry of Revenue and other departments were stunned: Why did the emperor suddenly raise this question?

As the highest official in the Ministry of Revenue, Minister Mu Qinghai bowed solemnly.

"The minister obeys the order."

Fearing that the officials would act recklessly, Shangguan Wanjun gave them another warning.

"Whatever you do must be reasonable, legal, compliant, and appropriate. Do you, my dear ministers, understand my intention?"

Officials from the Ministry of Revenue and other departments bowed slightly and saluted respectfully.

"I understand."

Shangguan Wanjun nodded with satisfaction, stretched out her flawless and delicate right hand, took out a jade bracelet from her left hand and two thin pure gold bracelets from the back, each weighing ten grams. The jade bracelet was worth five hundred taels, and the gold bracelets were worth five hundred taels in total.

"Minister Mu, this jade bracelet is given to you as a reward."

The Minister of Revenue, Mu Qinghai, was stunned and quickly took it respectfully from Liu Cheng.

"I thank the emperor for his reward."

"Ministers of the Ministry of Revenue, these two gold bracelets are given to you as a reward."

The two were stunned. It turned out that they also had rewards. They hurriedly took them from Shi Qingxue.

"I thank the emperor for his reward."

When officials received rewards from different eunuchs, the meaning behind them was different, and all the ministers saw it.

General Anyong understood: No wonder the emperor suddenly wanted to change a jade bracelet and wear two pure gold bracelets. So this is what he meant.

First talk about the matter, then reward the officials to make them feel valued. What a brilliant move. Not only did it make the senior officials of the Ministry of Revenue feel relieved, happy and valued, making them work harder, but it also influenced other departments. The emperor was really becoming more and more submissive and addictive.

At this time, Master Yun also understood the Empress's intention and a relieved smile appeared on his face.

Taifu Yun was shocked and relieved: Emperor Taizu, this old minister will take good care of your heir. The empress has done a great job, even better than you.

After the court session, the Minister of Revenue Mu Qinghai and the left and right assistant ministers of the Ministry of Revenue looked at each other and pursed their lips.

The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue sighed, "The Emperor is really getting better at manipulating us."

The Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue smiled heartily: "That's right, the key is that we still obey."

Minister of Revenue Mu Qinghai looked up at the spacious area outside the Golden Throne Hall. The high palace walls no longer seemed so high and mighty.

"Yes, the emperor's growth is truly astonishing and surprising. Emperor Taizu must be very pleased to see this."

When the two ministers heard his words, they looked at each other, pursed their lips and nodded.

They had also seen Emperor Taizu, who was the emperor who conquered the world and established the Yuan Dynasty. He was also a heroic and admirable emperor.

The Minister of Revenue, Mu Qinghai, suddenly burst into laughter, and the left and right assistant ministers of the Ministry of Revenue looked puzzled.

The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue looked at the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, who shook his head slightly.

The Minister of Revenue, Mu Qinghai, walked down the stairs steadily, leaving the left and right assistant ministers of the Ministry of Revenue looking at each other in bewilderment.

Defei Mu Wennian heard his father's hearty laughter and looked deeply at his father's departing figure. He seemed to not understand the reason for his father's laughter.

Thinking of this, he suddenly turned around and looked at the majestic words "Golden Throne Hall".

General Xuanwei and Concubine Wu - Xuanchuanfeng, father and son, were two meters away from him, looking at his sudden action together. The father and son looked at each other silently, and Concubine Wu - Xuanchuanfeng withdrew his gaze.

"Father, my son is leaving first."

General Xuanwei nodded slightly: "Okay."