Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

"The Great Chu is doomed! Hahaha..."

Shen Lang, who was eating, was suddenly startled by a burst of passionate cries.

Looking up, I saw an old man in coarse clothes with disheveled hair standing in the hall.

"Han Chaozong?"

Jiang Mengxuan recognized the old man at a glance; he was none other than Han Chaozong, the Minister of Revenue who had been dismissed by the late emperor five years ago.

The reason given was that he had committed embezzlement and abuse of power during his tenure. In reality, he had offended the Ye family faction and was impeached. In order to stabilize the Prime Minister's office, the late emperor had no choice but to dismiss him from his post.

I never imagined that in just a few years, we would fall into such a state of destitution.

It should be noted that Han Chaozong was also a martial artist in the late stage of Qi Refining Realm, with a lifespan of at least a hundred years. Now, he was not even fifty, but he looked like a decrepit old man in his seventies or eighties, which made Jiang Mengxuan sigh.

"Lord Han, please bear with me a little longer. Once I have rectified the court and dealt a blow to the Ye family's arrogance, I will personally welcome you back to the capital."

Jiang Mengxuan made up her mind that once the court was stable, she would reinstate Han Chaozong to his original position and have him assist her in rebuilding the Great Chu empire.

At this moment, Shen Lang glanced at Han Chaozong, put down his chopsticks, and waved to him.

"Old Han, stop yelling and sit down and have a bowl of noodles with me."

After saying that, he called out to the shopkeeper, "Hey, another bowl of beef noodles, with extra scallions."

Seeing this, Jiang Mengxuan became even more curious.

This guy actually knows Han Chaozong?

When Han Chaozong saw Shen Lang, he didn't say anything unnecessary and went straight to sit down at his table.

Shen Lang stirred the noodles a few times, then asked with his head down, "Old Han, what's the point of all this fussing every day? Do you think you're too old for this? Isn't it good to be alive?"

Upon hearing this, Han Chaozong was immediately excited: "Of course, it's for the sake of our Great Chu, so that the country can be prosperous and the people can live in peace, rebuild our land and recover the old capital!"

Two hundred years have passed, and how many officials still remember that the old capital of our Great Chu was Chang'an, and Jinling was merely a secondary capital?

Hearing this, Jiang Mengxuan felt a surge of excitement.

Recapture of Chang'an and return to the old capital was Jiang Mengxuan's ideal.

But Shen Lang's next answer made her frown.

"What nonsense about rebuilding the country and recovering the old capital? What kind of almanac is that? Do you think that just by shouting slogans, the Chu Kingdom can become what you want it to be?"

If that's the case, then all the officials in the court don't need to do anything; they can just stand in the street and shout a few times. People should be more practical and not waste time on these pointless charades.

Han Chaozong trembled with anger: "How could you say such a thing?"

Look at the official robes you're wearing; you also receive a salary from the court. Shouldn't you be working hard for the country and serving His Majesty loyally?

"Don't make it sound so noble." Shen Lang took a sip of noodle soup. "Who doesn't understand the principle of 'being loyal to the emperor when you eat his food'?"

But putting aside all that, isn't it all just about making a living?

Do you think everyone is as enlightened as you, spending their days thinking about unrealistic national affairs?

Upon hearing this, Han Chaozong immediately lowered his voice and said, "How could you say such a thing? Do you have no respect for His Majesty or the law?"

"Then what do you want me to say?" Shen Lang retorted. "My annual salary is only four hundred taels of silver. In the capital, that's not even enough to make a fuss."

"If this job weren't easy and reliable, and if I couldn't find a better one anytime soon, do you think I'd want to do it?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Mengxuan's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly.

From Shen Lang's words just now, it seems that he only joined the Jingwei Division for money and has no sense of belonging to the Great Chu and the court.

She slowly picked up her teacup, took a small sip, and continued listening.

"Young friend, you must not have such thoughts. The future of Great Chu depends on rising stars like you!"

Han Chaozong tried his best to persuade Shen Lang.

"Now that His Majesty has just ascended the throne, he is in dire need of capable people. Since you have joined the Jingwei Division, you should be loyal to your duties and do your best to assist His Majesty."

"Come on, I'm just a lowly centurion, I don't have any grand ambitions. I just want to save up some money to settle down in the capital and live a simple life."

As for matters of state, it's none of my business to worry about them. With so many officials and civil servants, do they really need me?

Han Chaozong said angrily, "Young friend, I really didn't expect that you would be just like those Ye Party members in the court, all of you are just empty-handed people who hold positions without doing any work."

Shen Lang laughed upon hearing this: "Holding a position without doing any work? Indeed, then what does Elder Han think the imperial court should be like?"

Han Chaozong immediately clasped his hands in a fist salute to the east: "Of course, it is the court that should be upright and honest, and speak out for the people."

Jiang Mengxuan nodded secretly; this was exactly how she envisioned the imperial court.

however……

Shen Lang shook his head and put down his chopsticks: "So in my opinion, it was not unjust for you, Elder Han, to be dismissed by the late emperor back then. In fact, sparing your life was already an act of leniency."

Upon hearing this, Han Chaozong immediately became anxious: "What do you mean by that? I have served as an official in the court for twenty-three years, always honest and upright, and have never embezzled or accepted a single penny in bribes!"

It can be said that he stood upright and acted righteously. If it weren't for the treacherous ministers of the Ye faction framing him, how could this old man have…”

Shen Lang quickly interrupted him: "Alright, alright, alright, I'm sick of hearing that."

You don't need to blame everything on the Ye faction. In my opinion, it was the late emperor who wanted to eliminate you.

After all, no matter how powerful the Ye faction was, they did not openly rebel; the Great Chu was still under imperial rule.

Ultimately, it was your lack of ability that annoyed the late emperor.

Han Chaozong looked unconvinced: "Fine, tell me, where did I do wrong?"

Shen Lang: "Putting everything else aside, just take the collapse of the Qiantang River embankment in Jiangnan ten years ago, which affected more than a dozen towns and villages nearby, causing hundreds of thousands of people to be displaced. What did you do then?"

Han Chaozong said, "I requested the court to allocate relief grain to the disaster area to quell the disaster. What's wrong with that?"

Shen Lang: "However, you have requested the court to allocate a full five million shi of grain that should have been used for the Bingzhou camp."

"What's wrong with that?" Han Chaozong said with an air of righteous indignation. "The people are the foundation of the nation. As the Minister of Revenue..."

Is it wrong to allocate more grain and fodder to relieve disaster-stricken people?

"Then why did this disaster last for nearly three years before it subsided?"

Shen Lang's counter-question instantly stumped Han Chaozong.

Jiang Mengxuan, who was observing from the shadows, was also curious.

"This flood could have been resolved entirely by using the local government's granaries, but instead you diverted grain reserves originally intended for the northern war effort."

You could answer that the local government's granaries are empty and there is no surplus grain, but isn't that the responsibility of your Ministry of Revenue?

If we had taken preventative measures in advance and reinforced the Qiantang River embankment earlier, would this tragedy have occurred?

Furthermore, are disaster victims human beings, but aren't the soldiers fighting on the front lines human beings?

Han Chaozong was speechless for a moment.

Shen Lang continued, "The northern border is a harsh and cold land, where survival is already extremely difficult. Five million shi of military rations..."

Because of your use of disaster relief funds in Jiangnan, the soldiers on the border went hungry for almost a month, almost causing a mutiny.

If it weren't for the drought that also struck within the Great Yan territory, Bingzhou would have been far more than just ceding three useless, abandoned prefectures.

Han Chaozong: "But I am acting in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Great Chu. Is that wrong?"

"That's right."

Shen Lang finished all the noodle soup in the bowl, then threw the bowl away.

"Let me give you a more direct example. When you were Minister of Revenue, Lao Han, all regions were short of silver, and the imperial treasury was almost empty every year."

But after you were dismissed, Wang Yu, from the Ye faction you mentioned, took over, and in less than two years...

The court has never lacked money for basic expenses, so now you know why you were dismissed, right?

Because you are useless. Your only redeeming quality—integrity and self-discipline—is utterly incapable of resolving the court's current predicament.

But the Ye faction managed to do it. Even if we take a step back and assume there was no impeachment from the Prime Minister's office, you would have been expelled from the court sooner or later.

The Great Chu needs useful people, not moral saints who only care about protecting their own reputation.

Honesty and integrity are good, but isn't this a quality that every official should possess? Why is it so widely promoted?

If one has the ability to get things done and constantly talks about integrity, and these two qualities cannot be possessed simultaneously,

So sometimes I think that doing practical things brings more benefits to the people than so-called integrity.

As soon as he finished speaking, the waiter brought the noodles to the table.

Shen Lang glanced at Han Chaozong, who was caught in self-doubt, then pulled out a string of coins from his pocket and slammed it on the table.

"Waiter, bring Old Han another pot of wine."

After saying that, he walked out of Wenxianglou without looking back.

Watching Shen Lang's departing figure, Jiang Mengxuan pondered for a moment and then got up and followed him.

She discovered that this subordinate of the Jingwei Bureau seemed to have unique insights into court politics and was eager to learn more.