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

Upon hearing this, Zhang Quan remained unconcerned: "Master, this servant believes that obtaining a mere few million taels of silver is not difficult."

Upon hearing this, He Yong's expression instantly changed: "You dog of a servant, what nonsense are you spouting? You think a few hundred taels of silver is easy to come by?"

Zhang Quan nodded and bowed: "Master, please let me finish speaking. Since His Majesty trusts you so much, entrusting such an important matter as the birthday banquet to you..."

This shows that His Majesty trusts his master and believes that his master will definitely raise the money. Since that's the case, why should the master be timid and hesitant? He should just boldly raise the money.

"What do you mean?"

"Your Majesty, you are now the most favored person in the entire court. Officials come to visit you at your residence every day in an endless stream."

"This servant received nearly a thousand taels of silver in red envelopes just a few days ago. What does that mean? It means they're rich."

He Yong frowned: "You, Zhang Quan, actually accepted bribes behind my back! Are you trying to get me killed?"

Zhang Quan hurriedly said, "Master, I am utterly loyal to you, how could I possibly harm you?"

Besides, the money this servant embezzled is less than a fingernail's width compared to the money of the officials in the capital.

Even if His Majesty finds out, he won't hold me responsible.

He Yong then calmed down: "You mean to make those officials in the capital pay for it?"

Zhang Quan: "Master, who is the most favored official in the capital right now? It's you, Master! As long as you speak, wouldn't all those rich people and those seeking official positions be eager to send you money?"

He Yong hesitated upon hearing this.

His current status and lifestyle are all thanks to Li Hong; everything he lives in and uses is a gift from Li Hong. He has never dared to embezzle.

He wanted to be a capable minister who could share the emperor's burdens and solve his problems, not a corrupt official.

Seeing that He Yong still looked hesitant, Zhang Quan continued to persuade him, "Your Majesty, His Majesty's affairs come first. As long as His Majesty is happy..."

Even if someone commits a grave offense, this servant believes His Majesty wouldn't care; it all depends on what Master does.

"Besides, who is His Majesty? He is a saint who appears only once every thousand years. How could he not know your current difficulties, Master? He certainly knows very well. It just depends on how far you can go for His Majesty."

He Yong glanced at Zhang Quan and fell into deep thought again.

After a long while, he came to a conclusion: "Forget it, as long as His Majesty is happy, why should I care about my reputation? Go and deliver invitations to the wealthy families in the capital, and tell them that I will be hosting a banquet at the He residence tomorrow."

After saying these words, He Yong's body trembled slightly.

Zhang Quan immediately replied, "Don't worry, Master, I'll take care of it right away."

After saying that, Zhang Quan bowed and quickly left the living room.

……

As night falls, the gates of the Forbidden City slowly close.

Li Hong was still reviewing memorials in the imperial study.

Suddenly, Fengchun walked up to him and whispered, "Your Majesty, Zhang Quan has come to report that He Yong has sent invitations to the wealthy families in the city, inviting them to the He residence tomorrow to discuss matters."

Upon hearing this, Li Hong's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile.

"This servant has finally come to his senses. Now that he has a stain on his record, I can entrust him with important responsibilities."

Zhang Quan was Li Hong's mole planted by He Yong's side, and Li Hong knew everything He Yong did outside the palace.

Even when Li Hong talked to Yong about saving 300,000 taels of silver on the Wanfulou renovation, he knew it was impossible.

Li Hong knew exactly how much money was spent on the construction of Wanfulou.

She didn't expose him because he was willing to use all his savings to please her and was trying to share her burdens.

Li Hong naturally liked He Yong very much, as he was capable, talented, and reliable.

However, because he had no blemishes, he could not be given important responsibilities.

Now, He Yong has finally embarked on that path. Li Hong has leverage over him, so he can only be used by Li Hong for the rest of his life to do whatever he wants but cannot do openly.

"Go tell Zhang Quan to encourage He Yong to ask for more silver. The more he takes, the more at ease I will be."

"The slave obeys the order."

Li Hong naturally used capable ministers to the fullest extent possible, but to prevent them from becoming too powerful and turning into powerful ministers in the future, he had to have something to hold over them so he could deal with them at any time.

This is the art of emperors controlling people, and Li Hong has mastered this skill to perfection.

Whether an official is honest or corrupt, it doesn't matter to Li Hong. As long as they are loyal to him and capable, he will give them important positions.

As for whether corrupt officials would harm ordinary people, it was a trivial matter to Li Hong.

What he wants is the result of handling things. If you do a good job, even if you are a huge corrupt official, you are still a loyal minister.

If you don't do your job well, no matter how honest you are, you won't be favored; you'll be considered a treacherous official.

Those who achieve great things do not concern themselves with trifles. For Li Hong, power was all he cared about, and everything he did was aimed at consolidating his own power.

After giving instructions to Fengchun, Li Hong continued to focus on another matter.

The most important task at present is to reduce the enemy's garrison and expand the elite forces to strengthen the country.

However, deciding where to begin is another huge challenge.

"Never mind, let's deal with it after my birthday banquet, there's no rush."

Just as Li Hong began to look forward to his birthday banquet, little did he know that in the far east, the State of Chu had already assembled an expeditionary force of twenty-four main warships and fifty-two transport ships, personally led by the Empress and Shen Lang, and was heading towards the coastline of the State of Wu Zhao.

……

From the cabinet's unanimous approval in May of taking military action against Wu Zhao to the formation of the expeditionary fleet, a total of three months of preparation were taken.

On the first day of the ninth month, the Empress personally boarded the ship and led two divisions of 28,000 officers and soldiers (forces that could be directly deployed to the battlefield) and 16,000 auxiliary troops (including the Chu-origin troops of the Nanyang colonies, mainly responsible for transportation and logistics, as well as workers responsible for ship navigation and maintenance) on their journey.

After twenty days of voyage in coastal waters, the fleet conducted formation training along the way and successfully arrived at the Indian colony in Southeast Asia for a temporary rest.

India became a colony of the Chu Kingdom in the third year of the Xuan Sheng era. Due to the dispersed and varying sizes of power in the area, the Chu army occupied this vast land with almost no effort.

It is worth mentioning that Wang Xuance played a crucial role in making India a colony.

He exploited the issues of local religion, customs, and beliefs in India, playing both sides and amplifying the conflicts, causing chaos throughout India and giving the Chu Kingdom ample time to occupy the vast southern region of India.

The climate and soil of southern India were very suitable for large-scale crop cultivation. Sensing the potential of commerce, merchants from Chu quickly cooperated with local nobles to establish numerous farms and estates, providing Chu with a continuous supply of cheap grain and ensuring that Chu's basic survival was no longer affected by disasters.

Moreover, India possesses abundant high-quality coal, iron, and copper resources, most of which are in open-pit mining, which facilitated the accelerated industrial development of the Chu Kingdom.

Most importantly, India's strategic location is extremely important, making it an ideal seaport for westward expansion.

Jiang Mengxuan stood in front of the colonial governor's office, watching the local natives pushing carts in small groups to replenish their supplies at the port, and felt a deep sense of emotion.

"My husband, I never imagined that one day the power of our Great Chu would actually expand overseas."

Shen Lang gently pulled her delicate body into his arms from behind and whispered, "Don't worry, it won't be long before the whole world resounds with the Empress's name. Believe me, that day is not far off."

Jiang Mengxuan: "Husband, you brought all of this upon yourself, so you..."

Shen Lang interrupted her: "No need to say more. You know I'm not interested in these empty titles."

Jiang Mengxuan didn't say anything more, but she had already made up her mind that she would do everything she could to give Shen Lang the reputation and achievements he deserved.