Chapter 604: Chen Yan: If You Want to Thank, Thank Yourselves

With the matter of dispatching troops finally settled, Wei Zheng suddenly stood up, "Your Majesty, I have something unclear and hope Your Majesty can enlighten me."

Li Shimin raised an eyebrow, unable to understand why Wei Zheng would jump up at this moment—does he still have doubts about the troop deployment?

After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Wei Zheng, what doubts do you have?"

"Your Majesty, as you just said, the Money Shop was established under the Crown Prince's name that you borrowed, together with Minister Chen outside the palace," Wei Zheng began slowly, "Then, what is the purpose of establishing this Money Shop?"

"Since even the Ministry of Revenue must abide by the Money Shop's rules, should the Imperial Family also be bound by the Money Shop's regulations?"

"After all, though Dou Dan is foolish, there is a saying that is quite true: the Money Shop's funds come from the people of the realm, from merchants, aristocratic families, and Meritorious Nobles, covering every class of the Tang Dynasty."

"The Money Shop's money is merely what they deposit; ownership remains theirs. If someone were to arbitrarily breach the rules and mobilize the Money Shop's funds on a large scale, depleting its internal reserves, and then someone comes to withdraw, what should the Money Shop do when it cannot provide the cash?"

Chen Yan listened, initially intending to interject, but as he heard more, he grew increasingly uneasy and sat down quietly.

It seemed Wei Zheng was not targeting the Money Shop, but Li Shimin himself.

This had nothing to do with him.

Li Shimin's face darkened, having grasped Wei Zheng's implication.

Since even the Ministry of Revenue must obey the Money Shop's rules, it is impossible for the Ministry to violate them.

So the example Wei Zheng gave about someone who could freely cross the Money Shop's rules—does it even need further explanation?

Li Chengqian cleared his throat and said, "Wei Zheng, when I first established the Money Shop with Minister Chen, we swore a blood oath; I will not violate the Money Shop's rules."

"Aside from taking a share of the Money Shop's profits, if I wish to draw on its funds, I must still obey its rules."

In other words, don't involve me; even if I want to take money from the Money Shop, I must borrow it and pay interest.

Wei Zheng nodded, "The Crown Prince is wise."

Li Shimin's mouth twitched; one after another, why do they keep targeting him day after day?

Why, do they all enjoy messing with me?

Damn it, one day I'll find an excuse to send you all to Dali Temple Prison for a few days.

However......

Though he vented internally, Li Shimin roughly understood Wei Zheng's point.

After all, today because of that fool Dou Dan, the Money Shop that everyone tacitly kept silent about was brought into the open.

Some matters, when unmentioned, weigh only a few ounces; once mentioned, even a thousand pounds cannot resist.

Since it's now public, a justification must be given to the officials and an explanation to the realm.

This both formally endorses the Money Shop, expands its influence, and reassures the people.

Li Shimin mused, "The Money Shop is the Money Shop, and I am I!"

"The Ministry of Revenue and the Crown Prince must obey the Money Shop's rules, and I am no exception. As Wei Zheng said, some rules cannot be crossed, lest severe consequences arise and we lose the people's hearts!"

"As for the Money Shop's purpose... it was never for profit, but to provide a guarantee to the people and to facilitate the flow of wealth among the populace and merchants..."

Li Shimin clattered out a slew of flowery remarks; in sum, it was simply to make life easier for the people.

As for deeper economic circulation, he said nothing.

It's enough that he understands these matters himself; there's no need to explain everything to everyone.

After Li Shimin finished, Wei Zheng pretended to be enlightened, "I understand, thank you, Your Majesty, for the clarification."

Li Shimin glanced at him and said lightly, "Do you still have doubts about the Money Shop?"

Some officials were about to ask, but Li Shimin spoke again, "Since there are none, let today's banquet end here."

"Dismiss the court!"

The assembly: "......"

Leaving Tai Ji Hall, Chen Yan couldn't help but laugh.

Du Ruhui said cheerfully, "Zi An, what are you laughing at?"

"What am I laughing at, does Duke Cai not understand?" Chen Yan said with a grin.

At the final dismissal, it was clear some still wanted to ask about the Money Shop, but Li Shimin gave no chance at all.

One sentence—'That's all for today'—shut everyone's mouths.

From now on, no one will likely inquire about the Money Shop again.

"Minister Chen......"

At that moment, the Lai brothers approached.

Du Ruhui said self‑consciously, "Zi An, you take care of things first; I'll go ahead with Brother Fang."

"Alright." Chen Yan saw that the Lai brothers had business with him, so he said nothing.

Then Chen Yan signaled the Lai brothers to follow, and while walking forward asked, "How is it? Today's first court attendance, how does it feel?"

Lai Heng hesitated briefly and said, "Honestly, when I arrived today I thought it would be a normal banquet, with no state affairs discussed, since we were still here..."

"I really didn't expect so many things to happen today!"

"Minister Chen, in the court... is it like this every day?"

Chen Yan recalled his past court experiences and replied, "Actually, not really; today is rather special, having encountered that fool Dou Dan."

"Because of him, the subsequent events were triggered."

"Otherwise, today would probably have just formalized the troop dispatch and then been a feast."

He paused, then said, "But don't idealize the court; even though you don't have to attend now, you will eventually have to experience it."

"Here, everywhere is human relations and deceit; you must learn to shut up when needed, and not cling to a scholar's pretense when it's time to scold."

"Since I became Minister of Revenue, it's fine when nothing happens, but once trouble arises, you're either berating someone or on the path to doing so."

"You all need to be mentally prepared."

The Lai brothers: "......"

Lai Ji asked tentatively, "Minister Chen, it seems you're somewhat targeting the Ministry of Works—has something happened with the Ministry of Works?"

"This uh..." Chen Yan recalled what the Ministry of Works had done, clicked his tongue: "The situation of the Ministry of Works, when explained, is very complicated; in short, it's just one sentence: the Ministry of Works has become utterly corrupt, and over seventy percent of the officials you see today must die."

"Going to the Ministry of Works is actually very advantageous for you, because His Majesty can no longer hold back from taking action; in a situation where no one can be used, your promotion will be quite swift, so you must prepare yourself."

The Lai brothers were dazed for a moment, vaguely understanding something in their hearts, and did not ask further.

A single statement that over seventy percent must die already suffices to explain too many problems.

"Thank you, Sir Chen!" Lai Ji again gave a solemn thanks.

Chen Yan laughed and waved his hand, "No need to thank me; this is everyone's intention, it's the situation His Majesty and we all want to see, and you have just caught the wind."

"If you're going to thank someone, thank yourselves; if it weren't for your efforts, such good fortune wouldn't have come your way."

"......"