We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

Facing Li Che's praise, Chen Gui became modest:

"I dare not take credit for this. It is the joint efforts of all my colleagues in the Gunpowder Department that have brought us to this point."

"Alas." Li Che interrupted, "They have their merits, and you have yours, too. You both deserve rewards!"

Chen Gui thought for a moment and said cautiously, "If Your Highness insists on giving me a reward, how about giving the Gunpowder Department an extra 20% of its budget?"

As soon as these words were spoken, before Li Che could say anything else, officials from other departments suddenly became anxious.

"Raise the salary again? Are you shameless? The funding of the Gunpowder Bureau is several times that of ours, and you still want to raise the salary?!" an official immediately refuted.

"We are already living a tight life. Your Gunpowder Bureau raises the fee every month. The daily expenditure on blasting cannons alone far exceeds our budget. No matter how rich Feng State is, it would not be so wasteful!" Someone immediately echoed.

"Mr. Chen, don't be greedy, insatiable, and want too much!" This person is the king of idioms.

Someone else rolled up his sleeves, revealing his sturdy arms: "Before I became a civil official, I was also a military commander. If you don't understand my principles, I also know a little bit of martial arts!"

"Don't force me to find a rope and hang myself on the beam of your house!"

The lobby was in an uproar, and dozens of officials were beaten to a pulp.

Yes, everyone knows that your Gunpowder Bureau has made great contributions. Even His Highness has said that the Gunpowder Bureau deserves half of the credit for the great victory over Goryeo and Khitan.

But you can't bully people like this, right?

Fengguo is now developing rapidly, and its daily expenditure is astronomical, more than half of which is used to build Fengguo University and the Gunpowder Bureau.

Forget about building a university. No matter how much money it costs, it is a one-time deal and there will be no need to spend money once it is built.

But the Gunpowder Department was different. It involved continuous expenditure, and as firearms became more and more advanced, the cost would certainly increase.

It was difficult for caravans to enter the country in winter, so Zhuge Zhe and Qian Bin could only cut down on the expenses of other departments as much as possible, which caused officials from other departments to complain.

Money can make the world go round, but without money, you can't move an inch. This has been the truth since ancient times.

Facing the siege of his colleagues, Chen Gui was not one to be trifled with. He pointed at their noses and fought back one by one:

"Bullshit! My Gunpowder Department spends a lot, but every penny is not wasted!"

"You only hear the sound of the cannon, but you don't know that if you haven't tested the cannon before, how can you take it to the battlefield? What if it explodes and injures your own people?"

"You are so high and mighty that you don't take the lives of the soldiers seriously, right?"

"You're the real deal! If you want to hang yourself on the beams of my house, I'll go to your backyard with a few grenades and sneak into the room of your concubine who's even younger than your daughter!"

Chen Gui is indeed a man who plays with gunpowder. He is never vague when scolding people, and the smell of gunpowder is overwhelming!

However, those who can enter the Fengguo court are not easy to deal with. Serving in the court with this group of fierce bandits every day naturally cultivates a bandit spirit.

The two groups of people were passionately attacking each other. If Huo Duanxiao and a group of generals had not been in between, they would have probably started fighting.

Qu Jinshan and other new officials were stunned. They had never seen such a "generous" civil servant, nor had they ever seen such a "simple" court struggle.

On the other hand, His Royal Highness Prince Feng not only did not say anything to stop it, but instead watched the show with a smile.

Feeling the gazes of the crowd, Li Che winked at them, signaling them to stay calm.

It doesn’t matter, someone will take action!

When the argument became heated and Chen Gui had already taken off his shoes and thrown them away, there was a sound of chains rattling from the back of the hall.

But then a middle-aged official wearing shackles walked out slowly, his unprepossessing face showing majesty without anger.

"Shut up, everyone!" the official shouted, and everyone fell silent.

"What do you think this place is? A vegetable market?" Wang Yongnian's eyes swept over the crowd like a hawk. "Anyone who roars in public again will be severely punished!"

The whole world fell silent.

The newly arrived officials and generals were in awe when they saw this.

Although I don't know the name of this official, he is definitely a man of integrity and good reputation, otherwise he would not have such a deterrent effect.

But I don’t know why this man went to court wearing shackles. There must be some extraordinary story behind it!

Li Che smiled at Wang Yongnian. This disciplinary committee member was really good. He would really step up when there was something going on.

Moreover, he himself is a criminal, so he is not afraid of offending others. No matter who the other party is, he will act according to the law and rules.

Previously, an official was dissatisfied and refuted Wang Yongnian on the spot.

As a result, Wang Yongnian didn't say anything and directly ordered the guards to drag the man out and beat him with twenty sticks.

The punishment was not severe, but it was embarrassing. I had to take off my pants in front of all my colleagues and be spanked on my white buttocks.

From then on, no one dared to underestimate Wang Yongnian, and the Fengguo court was able to gain discipline.

Wang Yongnian bowed respectfully to Li Che and stepped aside.

Although he retreated, his sinister and sharp eyes still lingered on the ministers, sending chills down their spines.

"Please allow me to consider this matter." Li Che said slowly, "In the final analysis, it is just about money. Don't worry, it will come sooner or later."

Although he said so, Li Che felt a little tricky.

Relying solely on the caravan's income is still too slow, not to mention that he has offended the aristocratic family. I am afraid that the money he will earn in the future will only get less and less.

If Fengguo wants to maintain its rapid development momentum, it must find more ways to make money.

Earning money is never as fast as robbing it. If all else fails, wait until the weather gets warmer and then borrow some from your good neighbor Yelu Dahe?

It’s a pity that my own boat has not been built yet, otherwise I could borrow one from Xiaozi. Although those small islands are not big, they have considerable gold mines.

What Li Che didn't know was that not only he thought so, but half of the civil and military officials in the court had already had this idea.

We still have to make money! Fighting is hard and dangerous, but it makes money quickly!

In just over a year, everyone's thoughts had changed from "How can I prevent the Khitans from robbing me" to "How can I rob the Khitans of some money to spend?"

"Alright, that's enough." Li Che looked at Zhuge Zhe, "Ziyuan, go on."

Zhuge Zhe nodded and took out his little notebook again.

The next few things were not so urgent, they were just some accumulated government affairs.

Li Che listened carefully. Except for a few important matters, he gave solutions on the spot. He just kept the rest in mind and did not make any decisions in a hurry.

As the emperor and his ministers conversed, time flew by and the sun began to set.

Zhuge Zhe felt his mouth was dry and he flipped through the small notebook. The back of the page was blank.

He cupped his hands and said, "Finally, there's Fengguo University. After a whole winter of hard work, the university's construction is already 80% complete and will be finished soon."

"As previously agreed, Your Highness will personally assume the position of principal. Elder Qian and Elder Tao will serve as the chief priests. The selection of the remaining teachers and instructors will be left to Your Highness to decide."