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

Five days later, in the main hall of the Ministry of Revenue.

"Minister Shen, when will you finally send the money you owe?"

The Ministry of Works is urgently needing funds to build a palace for the Empress Dowager.

If the construction schedule is delayed, who will take responsibility?

Minister of Works Li Youcai stormed into the Ministry of Revenue's main hall early in the morning and launched into a tirade against Shen Lang.

To this, Shen Lang simply replied, "Minister Li's words are quite interesting."

Serving the Empress Dowager was a shared aspiration of the six ministries.

Why does it seem like this is a matter solely concerning my Ministry of Revenue?

"If the construction of the palace is delayed, that's naturally the responsibility of your Ministry of Works. What does it have to do with me?"

Upon hearing this, Li Youcai was completely stunned.

Listen, is this human talk?

"Minister Shen, our Ministry of Works is only responsible for supervising the construction of the garden."

The money and provisions needed to build the Longevity Palace will not come from your Ministry of Revenue.

"Do you expect our Ministry of Works to foot the bill?"

Shen Lang retorted directly: "If the Ministry of Revenue has to pay for this, then what kind of filial piety do you expect?"

"Does Minister Li intend to use my Ministry of Revenue's funds so that your Ministry of Works family can go and perform filial piety rituals to curry favor?"

Li Youcai was speechless for a moment, pointing at Shen Lang, too angry to utter a single word.

Shen Lang said slowly and deliberately, "The Ministry of Revenue's money doesn't come from thin air."

If the Ministry of Works takes a little today, the Ministry of War takes a little tomorrow, and the Ministry of Rites takes a little the day after tomorrow, how can we live like this?

When the floods dry up, the walls collapse, or there's a disaster in various places, and money is needed, it will still be the Ministry of Revenue's responsibility.

If people don't have money to go out, will they have to live beyond their means again? If they really have to raise taxes, will they suffer even more?

If the people can't bear the suffering any longer and rebel, the Ministry of War will need to raise the funds for the military expenses required to suppress the rebellion, and that will be the Ministry of Revenue's responsibility to do so!

So, all you have to do is ask, and then you leave the rest to my Ministry of Revenue?

Not only Li Youcai, but also Yang Xiong and other officials of the Ministry of Revenue were dumbfounded when they heard these words.

After a long pause, Li Youcai finally came to his senses and shouted, "So, according to Minister Shen's idea, the Longevity Palace won't be built?"

Shen Lang: "I didn't say that, Minister Li, please don't misunderstand. It's about building the Longevity Palace for the Empress Dowager."

That's a major undertaking shared by all the people of the land; how can we just abandon it like that?

Li Youcai slammed his hand on the table: "Then you should allocate the funds so I can go back and get to work as soon as possible."

Shen Lang spread his hands: "Sorry, the Ministry of Revenue doesn't have any money right now. The funds for repairing the Longevity Palace..."

"The Ministry of Works should resolve this themselves; I won't give them a single penny, because the Ministry of Revenue is currently out of money."

"What?"

"I really have no money."

Shen Lang replied, "I have only been in charge of the Ministry of Revenue for a few days, but the national treasury is already empty."

Aside from the minimum allowance needed to keep the court running, there simply wasn't any more money available.

"We'll just have to put up with this for now, Ministry of Works. Think it over carefully; I'm sure you'll be able to raise the money."

Li Youcai was aware of the situation at the Ministry of Revenue, so he softened his tone: "Minister Shen, I know the Ministry of Revenue is facing difficulties right now. Otherwise, Minister Lin wouldn't have fallen ill from anger, would he?"

After saying that, he looked around and leaned close to Shen Lang and whispered, "Isn't the imperial court going to clean up the officialdom in Jiangnan right now?"

Those aristocratic families that were punished must have considerable wealth. If Minister Shen could divert a portion of the funds to the Ministry of Works in advance, then the money for building the Longevity Palace would be secured…”

Shen Lang snorted coldly: "Does Minister Li mean that I should confiscate their property to alleviate their blindness and lack of money?"

Li Youcai couldn't help but slap his thigh: "That's exactly what I meant. Look, the charges have basically been confirmed anyway, so what difference does it make whether we copy the documents a day earlier or a day later?"

Shen Lang slammed his hand on the table: "Easy for you to say, intercepting funds? If it were just a few tens of thousands of taels of silver, I might make the decision."

"Tens of millions of taels, you try to steal one and let me see. Let's see if the other departments will tear me apart when they find out!"

"Also, it's fortunate that I'm not the Minister of Justice now. If Liu Wu had heard what I just said, I wonder if it would have caused a huge uproar throughout the city!"

Shen Lang's tone suddenly turned cold.

"Furthermore, His Majesty has not issued any order to confiscate property, so how could the Ministry of Revenue act on its own? Are you trying to put me in an unjust position?"

"a ha ha ha……"

Li Youcai gave a forced, awkward smile and whispered to Shen Lang.

"Lord Shen, you and His Majesty are so loving, she wouldn't mind if you just asked her about this little thing."

Shen Lang: "Lord Li, your words are inappropriate. I am now the Minister of Revenue, a second-rank official in the court."

It is precisely because His Majesty trusts me that I must be even more diligent and conscientious in my duties. How could I possibly cause her any trouble?

Those censors in the palace are all watching closely. If they find something wrong with me, it's a small matter if I get scolded.

"At worst, I can resign, but what about His Majesty? Am I supposed to expect her to suffer for me? That doesn't seem right."

Seeing that Shen Lang wasn't buying it, Li Youcai became somewhat discouraged and directly presented another memorial: "Since Minister Shen is unwilling to approve it, shouldn't the memorial for road construction at least be approved?"

Shen Lang opened it and took a look, then was taken aback: "Minister Li, are you planning to use cement to build the road?"

"That's right. I've studied the effects of cement carefully these past few days. It's inexpensive and of high quality. For the same distance of one mile, it's several times cheaper than bluestone."

"My plan is to replace all the unrepaired official roads in Jiangnan with cement within five years. I wonder what Minister Shen thinks?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang didn't hesitate and immediately made a heavy underline on the document.

"This……"

I thought Shen Lang would continue to make excuses, but I never expected him to agree so easily this time.

This surprised Li Youcai.

"The people's livelihood is of paramount importance. I will allocate the funds needed for road construction to you, Ministry of Works, as soon as possible."

At the same time, he wrote down another receipt and handed it to Li Youcai.

"Without further ado, Minister Li can take this receipt to the cement factory and get an advance payment for some cement, with a 30% discount."

Upon hearing Shen Lang's reply, Li Youcai immediately stood up and bowed to him, saying, "In that case, I thank you in advance, Lord Shen."

Shen Lang replied modestly, "Lord Li, you are too kind. Cement roads benefit the country and the people, and how could I not support them?"

Li Youcai carefully put away Shen Lang's handwritten note, stuffing it into his pocket as if it were a priceless treasure. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, he left.

After seeing Li Youcai off, Shen Lang finally managed to sit down and rest for a while.

Upon seeing this, Yang Xiong immediately brought over a cup of freshly brewed green tea: "Your Excellency, you've seen it all. The Ministry of Revenue needs money everywhere. Sigh, it's exhausting."

Unexpectedly, Shen Lang said, "It's time to open up new sources of revenue. The Ministry of Revenue is the purse bag of the nation. How can we be troubled by these trivial matters every day?"

"How do we open-source this?" Yang Xiong asked.

"Let's start with maritime transport. I happen to be going to Jinling Shipyard for an inspection. Why don't you gentlemen come with me for a few days and I'll explain the benefits of these tariffs to you."

……

Meanwhile, in the Imperial Study, Liu Wu, the Minister of Justice, stood respectfully before the Empress's desk, holding a book of interrogations.

"Your Majesty, the trials for the salt tax embezzlement case and the household registration cancellation case have concluded."

This case involves 8,436 officials from three regions. The testimonies are here for Your Majesty's review.

Jiang Mengxuan looked at the case file with a cold expression.

She didn't say a word for a full half hour.

Liu Wu remained motionless in the pen-rest posture, waiting for the Empress to speak.

After a long while, Jiang Mengxuan closed the case file, shut her eyes, and said, "It is truly shocking. Minister Liu, thank you for your hard work."

Liu Wu bowed slightly and replied solemnly, "Your Majesty, this is my duty, and there is no need for me to suffer."

Jiang Mengxuan: "Since the confession is here, there's no need to say anything more. We'll handle everything according to the laws of the Great Chu government. We'll do whatever needs to be done."

Liu Wu immediately cupped his hands and replied, "Your subject obeys the decree!"

After speaking, Liu Wu strode out of the imperial study.

Watching Liu Wu's departing figure, Jiang Mengxuan closed the case file, stood up, and looked out the window.

It was already late September, the sweltering heat of summer was gone, and all that remained was the refreshing coolness of autumn.

"The Great Chu will surely move towards a brand new future under my leadership."

She stretched out her delicate hand, and a fiery red maple leaf landed in her palm.

Looking at it, Jiang Mengxuan smiled faintly.