Li Shimin rose from the dragon throne with satisfaction, his feet treading the imperial steps, his gaze sweeping over the civil and military officials.
"Good! Excellent!"
He recalled that when the late emperor first ascended the throne, the Great Tang had less than twenty percent of its current territory, and its population was merely a million.
Now, from Mohe in the north to Piao Province in the south, from Penglai in the east to Tubo in the west!
Its vast territory far surpassed that of Qin and Han!
This was all due to the collective efforts of his ministers. He expressed his gratitude to them all here!
With that, he clasped his hands and bowed deeply to the officials below.
"Your Majesty is too kind. This is merely our duty!"
The officials, caught in the fervor, were taken aback by Li Shimin's gesture and quickly bowed in return.
"Good! It is indeed your duty, and you are all my good ministers. Since that is the case, tell me, how do you plan to fulfill your duties this year?"
After saying this, Li Shimin returned to his dragon throne and quietly observed the officials below.
"Your Majesty! I shall go first!"
The Minister of Rites stepped forward.
"Replying to Your Majesty, the schools established last year have shown remarkable results after adopting the textbooks from Fangjia Village. The common people have praised them highly. Therefore, I propose to build three thousand new schools this year, aiming for over a hundred thousand enrolled children. I seek Your Majesty's approval."
"Good!"
"With people, there is hope. I look forward to the day when the Great Tang will flourish with a hundred schools of thought. Approved!"
Li Shimin was thrilled. He, who always prided himself on being a wise ruler, was eager.
"Your Majesty, schools, textbooks, and the salaries of teachers all require funds. I request an allocation of three million guan!" the Minister of Rites quickly stated his needs.
"Granted! Three million, approved!" Li Shimin readily agreed with a wave of his hand.
"Your Majesty, I request an allocation of four million guan for the construction of offices, road repairs, canal digging, and river dredging."
"Your Majesty, I request an allocation of three million guan for the resettlement allowances for new officials and the salaries of clerks."
Following the lead of the Minister of Rites, the Ministries of War, Works, and Personnel also stepped forward to request funds.
Fang Xuanling, standing nearby, turned pale!
"I had painstakingly saved some reserves, and these three fellows have already taken away ten million guan with a single request! These funds are all necessary, so..."
"Your Majesty!"
Seeing that the Ministry of Revenue's funds were about to be squandered by the Emperor, Li Jing could no longer refrain from interrupting.
"Does Yaoshi have something to say?" Li Shimin asked, looking at him with confusion.
"Your Majesty!"
"The disbandment of the Fubing system and the conscription of new soldiers all require money. The nine Grand Protectorates, after their restructuring, need to be paid monthly military salaries. Furthermore, the firearms units of each Grand Protectorate require the procurement of weapons. I request an allocation of ten million guan for military expenses!"
As soon as Li Jing finished speaking, Fang Xuanling's face turned even darker.
"Damn it! Ten million, another ten million! I only have twelve million in my treasury! They all speak from a position of privilege! The taxes for this year are not due for another half year, and won't reach the Ministry of Revenue's grand vault until August at the earliest! Come, come, skin me alive and see if you can fill this eight million guan deficit!"
Old Fang was so angry his beard quivered. He directly sat down on the imperial steps, glaring at the ministers.
Li Shimin was completely stunned!
He had just been fantasizing about the glorious future of the Great Tang, so when the Ministry of Rites requested money, he agreed without a second thought. It was only three million, and Old Fang had just mentioned that the Ministry of Revenue had a surplus of twelve million guan. However, he had forgotten that the larger the undertaking, the more expenses there were, and the Ministry of Rites was just the beginning.
"Your Majesty, military expenses cannot be spared, or there might be trouble."
"Your Majesty, schools are related to the future of the Great Tang, and educational matters cannot be delayed!"
"Your Majesty, the salaries of officials are already calculated at the lowest standard."
"Your Majesty, the wages of migrant workers cannot be in arrears!"
Seeing Li Shimin frozen and silent, the ministers became anxious.
Du Yiyang's words amused Fang Er. This fellow, after staying in Shenyang for half a month, had even picked up the term "migrant worker wages"! Ever since Li Shimin issued the decree in Shenyang to abolish the craftsman class and elevate craftsmen to the status of civilians, the Ministry of Works had completely copied the system from Fang Er's workshops, where craftsmen worked for pay, rather than being subject to forced labor.
"Zi Qiao, what do you think should be done about this matter?"
After thinking for a long time, Li Shimin tossed the problem back to Fang Xuanling.
"Your Majesty, there is a deficit of eight million guan right now! And this doesn't even include the Ministry of Revenue's own expenses; if we count those, it would be at least ten million guan! Even issuing national bonds might not be enough to raise such a sum."
Fang Xuanling spread his hands and replied with a troubled expression. He now wished he could tear apart the other ministers. "Damn it, I just enjoyed the feeling of having a rich landlord's granary, and in the blink of an eye, I'm drowning in debt. Life is unbearable!"
"Your Majesty, how about outsourcing the national debt operation to the banks?"
Just as everyone was wearing a worried expression, Fang Er stepped forward.
"Oh?"
Li Shimin was overjoyed. "Can you solve it?"
"I dare not say I can solve it for sure, but there is an eighty percent chance."
"In my previous life, banks, besides lending, made the most profit from various wealth management schemes. It seems I can try something like that."
"Alright! Then how about..."
"Your Majesty! Bad news! The Empress, the Empress she..."
Just then, a palace maid stumbled into the Taiji Palace. Hearing her panicked voice, the civil and military officials quickly cleared a path.
Li Shimin shot up and hurried to the palace maid: "Speak! What happened to the Empress!"
"Replying to Your Majesty, the Empress, Her Majesty the Empress is having trouble breathing again!"
"Have the imperial physicians been summoned?"
Li Shimin grabbed the palace maid from the ground. The immense force almost tore her clothes, revealing a significant portion of her chest. The palace maid dared not struggle, stammering with a crying voice, "They, they have been summoned. The imperial physicians said, Her Majesty, Her Majesty this time... she might..."
"Useless!"
Li Shimin shoved the palace maid aside and rushed out of the Taiji Palace like the wind. Changsun Wuji, who had been standing silently in the hall, also rushed out after hearing that his sister was in critical condition.
The officials in the hall looked at each other, somewhat bewildered.
"The Empress Changsun is gravely ill?"
Fang Er was momentarily stunned and then recalled the pile of medicines in his system. He sidled up to Chai Shao.
"Father-in-law, shouldn't we go and pay our respects?"
"What are you thinking, boy! That is the inner palace, not a place you can just visit!" Chai Shao immediately refused. Unlike Changsun Wuji, the Empress was his sister, so it was natural for him to go.
"No, what if the boy has a way to cure the Empress's illness?" Fang Er quickly explained.