Chapter 541: You Think You Understand Etiquette?

Returning to Ganlu Hall, Li Shimin crossed his arms, growing more angry as he thought.

Can the Ministry of Revenue have any money? How could he not know?

You have to consider how soon after the autumn harvest it is; this is precisely when the Ministry of Revenue is at its richest.

Although it must cover various governmental expenses, the Ministry of Revenue indeed cannot produce a large sum of money all at once.

But ten to twenty thousand strings of cash is absolutely no problem.

At this point, isn't completing the Wen Ming Dian the most important thing?

Yes!

The Ministry of Works has a large number of corrupt officials.

But with such a huge sum of embezzled money, would they dare to spend it lavishly?

First let the Ministry of Revenue front the money; when the embezzled funds are recovered, wouldn't they just end up in the Ministry of Revenue's coffers?

But what's the situation now?

The Ministry of Revenue doesn't have to do anything; rebuilding the Wen Ming Dian has nothing to do with them, yet they foot the entire bill.

When the embezzled funds are recovered, the Ministry of Revenue will have an extra entry in its accounts!

Realizing this, Li Shimin was so angry his head seemed to smoke.

"That kid… took advantage of my anger to deliberately defy me!!"

Wushe wore an innocent expression, and he really wanted to say something.

"Your Majesty, are you only noticing this now?"

Dai Zhou and Chen Yan clearly realized this in an instant, which is why they remained unmoved even as everyone else bowed and knelt.

Li Shimin slapped his forehead, "Damn!"

"Go, bring Wei Zheng, Fang Xuanling… and that scoundrel over to me!"

Wushe lowered his head even further, fully aware who Li Shimin had mentioned last, and immediately set out to dispatch people to summon the named individuals.

Inside the hall, only Li Shimin paced alone; as his thoughts churned, his anger flared and he couldn't help but curse, "Damn it!"

"I let you into the Ministry of Revenue, you first screwed Cheng Yaojin, then Yuchi Gong, and now you screw me… you bastard, you really are something!"

"I even used to believe your words that we were like father and son!"

"Damn it!"

Before long, all the ministers Li Shimin had named arrived.

When he entered from the doorway, Chen Yan wore a smiling face, joking with the surrounding ministers, even patting some on the shoulder.

But the moment he stepped into the hall, Chen Yan's expression changed instantly, his brows furrowed in worry, occasionally sighing.

Li Shimin sat at the head seat, and couldn't help a cold laugh, "Chen Zian, how nice of you, how wonderful you are!"

Chen Yan twitched his nose, "Your Majesty, why say that? Moreover, this is Ganlu Hall; your address to me is incorrect, it violates propriety!"

"Propriety?" Li Shimin grew angrier, "When did you ever speak of propriety to me? You clearly have a wife yet you entangle yourself with another of my daughters, and you speak of propriety?"

"You beat the Princess in front of everyone, and you speak of propriety? You broke into the harem at midnight, and you speak of propriety? You damn it even bring the Crown Prince…"

"Hey hey hey! Your Majesty, that's enough, that's enough~"

"If you say more, it'll be impolite."

Seeing Li Shimin's words become increasingly unreasonable, Chen Yan hurried to intervene.

The rest are easy to explain; his status is special, a certain distinction that actually means little, and everything can be concluded with family affairs.

But taking the Crown Prince to visit brothels, and staying that long, that's indefensible.

After all, he's the heir!

No jokes allowed!

Li Shimin also realized the misstep, swept his gaze backward, and the ministers all tilted their heads forty‑five degrees upward, staring at the ceiling of Ganlu Hall.

"We'll settle accounts with you later!"

He whispered a scolding remark, his expression softening, "Everyone, sit down. After coming here, you still have the courtesy to address me politely?"

Fang Xuanling and the others were truly unceremonious, each taking a seat on opposite sides.

Chen Yan sat at the far end.

It couldn't be helped; before it was due to his youth, now it's not only his youth but also his low rank.

Everyone who could be here is a third‑rank official!

He's the only exception!

"Speak up, regarding the Ministry of Works, how do you intend to deal with it?" Li Shimin asked directly, having Wushe distribute the report on the Ministry of Works' corruption that Li Daozong uncovered.

The assembled officials gasped after reading it.

Fifteen cash for a single blue brick—truly ruthless!

At that price, it's enough to buy a lot of grain.

Blue bricks are indeed pricey, but not to that extreme.

And even if they're expensive, once at the construction site, most of the blue bricks turn into earth bricks.

Only the outer layer is built from blue bricks!

This can no longer be described as mere greed; it's downright corruption to the core.

Dai Zhou, unable to contain his anger, muttered, "Damn it, can the Ministry of Works still be called the Ministry of Works? In my view, call it the Corrupt Ministry; they use my Ministry of Revenue's money to operate, yet the crucial matters remain undone!"

"A bunch of filthy bugs!"

"Your Majesty! I propose a thorough investigation to the end, and we must publish it to Announce to the World, then set a date to execute all corrupt officials in the streets as a warning!"

"Impossible!" Chang Sun Wuji retorted sternly, "Lord Dai, you're being hasty; with the Ministry of Works so corrupt, do we have no responsibility?"

"Moreover, yesterday the Tang Dynasty Daily reported Minister Chen's swift crackdown and iron‑faced impartiality, uncovering many corrupt officials in the Ministry of Revenue. Now we intend to announce such a massive oversight ourselves; the people will see the Ministry of Revenue riddled with serious corruption, and the Ministry of Works rotted to the core—how will the populace view us?"

One or two minor incidents would only draw applause from the common folk, but if a serious case like this were exposed, it might cause the people to doubt the Court.

If we uncover one or two corrupt officials, wouldn't the people wonder whether the other four ministries have similar problems?

Li Shimin nodded, thinking that Changsun Wuji's words were reasonable!

Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling pondered for a moment, then both nodded.

Fully disclosing it could indeed earn the people's greater trust, but it might also generate doubt.

There's no need to take such a big risk!

Dai Zhou, choking, his inner fury still unabated, said, "Then what do you propose? In such a grave case of corruption, if we don't handle it sternly, how can the Court officials and the people view us?"

Wen Yanbo spoke slowly at this moment, "Lord Dai, there's no need to rush. I know you're still angry, but hasn't His Majesty already summoned us here specifically to deal with this matter?"

"Let us keep calm and discuss slowly while seated!"

Seeing him say that, Dai Zhou finally restrained his inner fury.

That money—he had personally signed off on those vouchers, cutting them out as if slicing flesh.

Being treated so poorly by the Ministry of Works officials, he was truly incensed!

But since Wen Yanbo had spoken, he couldn't ignore it; the former still held great prestige.

Wen Yanbo mused, "Hmm... I think Lord Dai's words are reasonable. This matter must be dealt with sternly—kill, we must kill, and do it in front of the people of Chang'an!"

"However, we cannot ignore the auxiliary matters. We don't need to chase reputation by seeking risk. As the Tang Dynasty Daily, we certainly aren't lacking in fame."

"Therefore, we must weigh both sides and present a solution that satisfies everyone!"