Chapter 214: Volume 1, Chapter 214: A Truly Capable Petty Villain

After Shi An left, Rong Luoge leaned on Rong Xin's hand and returned to her bedchamber, only then feeling utterly exhausted—she truly fell asleep the moment her head touched the pillow.

In her drowsy half-sleep she was still thinking: Han Xinglan really was an emperor who personally handled state affairs now; she had never seen anyone who loved working overtime this much.

If the emperor loved overtime, then the emperor's top generals—people like Hu Xi, Yu Yan, and Zhen Yun, along with a whole host of trusted confidants—had to work overtime right alongside him. Rong Luoge suddenly laughed in her dream.

In the front hall, Han Xinglan took the letter Shi An had delivered and opened it to read.

Hu Xi and the others finally let out a small breath of relief, hurriedly lifting their teacups for a sip to sustain themselves, though their eyes couldn't help glancing toward His Majesty's direction—the Noble Consort's letter! It was precisely because of the Noble Consort's letter that they were so curious.

After all, every time His Majesty received a letter from the Noble Consort, there would be some major action. Yet the Noble Consort was not one to chase fame; right now there were so many rumors unfavorable to her out there, and she didn't care about them in the least, with no thought whatsoever of parading out her years of merit to show off.

Not to mention others—even if it were them, they might not be able to do the same.

Hu Xi got up and went outside the hall for a stroll to stretch his legs, but Zhen Yun was still thinking about what His Majesty had said earlier regarding the glazed glass workshop—if operated well, it would truly be a powerful asset. He just hadn't yet figured out the promotion the Noble Consort had mentioned—the question of how exactly to carry out this promotion.

Yu Yan was so drowsy his head kept nodding; he had the eunuchs brew tea, asking for it to be strong to wake him up.

After finishing the letter, Han Xinglan looked at Shi An and asked, "Did the Noble Consort say anything else?"

Shi An hurriedly replied, "Her Ladyship the Noble Consort said that while His Majesty is diligent in state affairs, he must also take care of his dragon body, and asks that you not work too hard."

Han Xinglan was satisfied then—he knew that Luoge cared about him the most.

"Have the imperial kitchen prepare a late-night snack. Everyone can eat and then continue. I have troubled you all tonight; we must settle on a plan," Han Xinglan said.

Shi An hurriedly passed on the order. The imperial kitchen originally had no habit of preparing late-night snacks, but since the new emperor's accession frequently required staying up late, the kitchen had grown accustomed to having snacks ready.

Not long after Shi An sent someone with the word, the late-night snacks were brought in and set out on a full table in the outer hall, wafting a rich aroma. Hu Xi and the others felt hungry the moment they caught the scent.

"Everyone, have something to eat. After eating, we'll continue. I thank you all for your hard work tonight—we need to settle on a plan," Han Xinglan said to the group.

Everyone hurriedly said it was no trouble, thanked him for his grace, and only then gathered forward to sit around and eat the late-night snack.

Han Xinglan himself had a small bowl of noodles, then picked up a sesame pastry and ate it slowly, thinking as he ate about what Rong Luoge had written in her letter.

After the late-night snack, everyone returned to working mode.

The Ministry of Revenue's ledgers, now with the jacquard loom in existence, looked much better than before—but relying on the loom alone wasn't enough. Too few things made money, and there were far more places that spent it. Moreover, the emperor had newly ascended the throne and needed to show favor to the court officials—and showing favor meant spending silver on rewards.

Add to that the enormous cost of this military campaign, and now with the matter of glazed glass, how could everyone not be pleased? So they were all the more attentive.

Everyone knew what glazed glass was—ordinary commoners had never even heard of it, ordinary families had never even seen it, merchant families had seen it but weren't qualified to use it. This was an item that only wealthy and powerful households could afford to buy and use.

If they could truly produce glazed glass, this would genuinely be a money-making trade—just thinking about it made their eyes red. With silver, they could do so many more things. They wouldn't have to be like caged beasts as they were now, full of talent yet unable to put it to use.

"Your Majesty, it would be best if news of producing glazed glass doesn't get out first. If those great houses catch wind of it, there's no telling what they might do. This humble minister's suggestion is to find some matter to divert their attention, which would also make it easier for us to maneuver," Hu Xi spoke up.

Zhen Yun nodded in agreement. "Lord Hu speaks sense. Your Majesty, please think it over carefully."

Han Xinglan looked at them and asked, "Do you have any good ideas?"

Hu Xi said at once, "There are truly too many matters, Your Majesty. Even now, there are still quite a few people who owe silver to the national treasury. Since the northern frontier is currently at war and the treasury is depleted, using this as a pretext to collect debts—would that not kill two birds with one stone?"

Speaking of this matter, it was actually a lingering consequence of the Late Emperor's policy of grace. At the time, the Late Emperor had wanted to ease relations with the great houses; whenever a great house complained of hard times, the Late Emperor would lend silver from the treasury to help them through their difficulties.

But silver was easy to lend and debts were hard to collect. It was like a bad account, accumulating year after year until just looking at it was aggravating.

The Late Emperor cared about face and was reluctant to press ministers for repayment, but the current emperor was not. The moment Hu Xi brought it up, sure enough, the emperor's eyes lit up.

"You speak sense. Then this matter is entrusted to you. Whether or not the silver can be recovered is not important—what matters is that this matter must be made into a big commotion," Han Xinglan said with a smile.

Hu Xi: …

"This humble minister obeys the decree." What else could Hu Xi do? The stone he had lifted himself, he would just have to keep carrying himself.

On the other side, Zhen Yun and Yu Yan watched Hu Xi with irrepressible glee, while Hu Xi's face had gone completely dark.

Han Xinglan glanced at the few of them, a glint of amusement in his eyes too, and then brought up the attempt to establish an industrial base led by the Official Manufacturing Bureau. The smiles on Hu Xi and the others' faces faded away.

The court being too poor was not a good thing. Although among scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, commerce held the lowest status, everyone also knew the pain of having no money. Now that His Majesty was speaking of this, not only did they not reject it, they thought about it with particular seriousness.

After listening, they felt this plan was brilliant.

"Your Majesty, the Official Manufacturing Bureau has grown too large to control. Ever since the Late Emperor's time, Shi Li has acted willfully, running rampant relying on his control of the Official Manufacturing Bureau. Does such a man really need to remain in charge of the Bureau?" Yu Yan frowned as he thought of Shi Li. This was a true petty villain—one who happened to have genuine ability; otherwise, he wouldn't have been kept until today.

A true petty villain with genuine ability was even more of a headache.

"Isn't there still the Military Ordnance Bureau?" Zhen Yun said thoughtfully. "We can continue using the Military Ordnance Bureau to check the Official Manufacturing Bureau."

"But what we'll be doing going forward isn't weapons and military supplies—the Military Ordnance Bureau's involvement would be somewhat unjustified," Hu Xi pointed out the crux in a single sentence.

The discussion in the hall was heated; outside the window, the sky was turning the pale white of fish belly, and the palace staff were beginning to stir—a new day had begun.

Rong Luoge slept rather deeply this time. By the time she woke, the morning court session in the front had already dispersed. She thought of Han Xinglan, who had been discussing affairs last night, and wondered whether he had stayed up all night. If he had stayed up and then had to hold morning court, even an iron man wouldn't be able to bear it.

She was just wondering whether to send someone to the front to ask, when she heard footsteps approaching from outside. She hurriedly stood up, and before she even reached the door, she saw Han Xinglan striding in.

One glance told her he was flagging, with large dark circles under his eyes. She hurried forward and asked, "Why are you coming over at this hour? If you have time, you should rest a bit in the front hall."