Chapter 194: Just how much money did Lu Yuan earn for the Great Zhou Dynasty?

Dawn.

In the palace, Chonghua Hall was brightly lit.

Lu Yuan was sitting low in his exclusive chair beside the dragon desk, gulping down hot soup with a gurgling sound.

Gu Qingwan sat on the imperial throne watching Lu Yuan eat so hurriedly, and couldn't help but say with a face full of concern:

"Hey, good boy, eat slowly, what's the rush?"

Good boy?

What kind of strange address is that?

Lu Yuan's face was full of black lines; this seemed like a term adults use to coax children.

While Lu Yuan was stuffing his mouth with food, he said:

"Finish early, finish early, it's the same; dawdling now means sleeping later, but if we finish early tonight, we can sleep early."

And as Lu Yuan finished speaking, Gu Qingwan immediately furrowed her brow and said:

"If you're tired, just sleep now; what's the problem? If not tomorrow, then the day after; if not the day after, then the day after that.

I'll see who dares to criticize then!"

Lu Yuan lifted his head and glanced at Gu Qingwan, then couldn't help but grin and say:

"It won't take that long; roughly around four or five in the morning I'll be done. When does your grand court assembly start?"

Gu Qingwan blinked at Lu Yuan before saying:

"Usually officials start entering the palace at six-thirty, the assembly formally begins at seven, and generally ends around eight; if there are major matters to discuss, it will be extended."

After hearing that, Lu Yuan nodded and then drank the hot soup in his bowl in one go.

Then he set down his bowl and chopsticks and said:

"Tomorrow the Forging Bureau should deliver those parts by seven or eight; when the parts arrive, you can directly bring them over to have a look."

Gu Qingwan blinked, then suddenly said:

"Actually, younger brother, you could wait until the parts arrive, install them and give them a try; if anything is off, fix it then, and at the very least I can keep them here until the afternoon to have them come see."

Lu Yuan shook his head, looked at Gu Qingwan, and grinned:

"No need; if I check all night tonight and find no problems, then there are none, and I'll just have them come over directly."

Seeing Lu Yuan so confident, Gu Qingwan inexplicably felt a sense of safety, and immediately pursed her lips, nodded, and smiled:

"Okay~"

Afterwards, Lu Yuan continued to crawl into the locomotive to inspect.

And Gu Qingwan kept Lu Yuan company for a while longer, but she simply couldn't stay awake.

Gu Qingwan needs to get up at four or five tomorrow to freshen up; there are still a few hours left now, so she will definitely go get some sleep.

Around four or five in the morning.

Lu Yuan finally jumped down from the locomotive.

Despite having a perfect physique and not feeling physically tired, his spirit was especially exhausted.

And he was really sleepy.

The locomotive had been completely fixed, with not a single fault.

Tomorrow, after a few key parts are delivered and installed, and a carload of coal is brought in, it will be able to run.

Having finished his work, Lu Yuan also couldn't hold out; he wanted to sleep.

He definitely can't go home now; he'll just sleep here for two or three hours, and after the grand court assembly ends, he'll start right away.

That way he won't have to go back home and then come back again.

The little eunuchs on night watch, seeing Lu Yuan come down from the locomotive, immediately said:

"My lord, are you going to rest now?"

Lu Yuan nodded and then said:

"Did His Majesty say where I should sleep?"

The little eunuch hurriedly nodded and said:

"Yes, yes, His Majesty said to let you stay in Chonghua Hall."

In Chonghua Hall?

Lu Yuan looked at the little eunuch with a dazed expression.

But after the little eunuch led Lu Yuan into Chonghua Hall, Lu Yuan realized he had overthought it.

It's not going to Gu Qingwan's bedroom, but to another bedroom in a different direction of the main hall.

This place is similar to the emperor's reception hall.

In the past, emperors would summon brothers they were close with to come play chess or appreciate antiquities here.

Or they would drink tea or wine here.

However, this room is not often used by Gu Qingwan.

After all, Gu Qingwan only has a brother, and Gu Lie hardly ever comes over, so this room has remained vacant.

Everything inside has been tidied up, and the room is warm and cozy.

Chonghua Hall is still heated by spiritual power to this day.

Speaking of which, Lu Yuan's family also occasionally burns a heated bed nowadays.

Although it's said that winter has passed, sometimes at night, especially on overcast days, it still gets chilly.

So we still need to burn something.

Having been out in the cold all night, upon entering this warm place, Lu Yuan's drowsiness welled up.

He took off his clothes and pants, then lay down directly in the already-prepared bedding.

Don't mention it, it's really warm.

Almost a few seconds later, Lu Yuan's snoring started.

No wonder, I'm exhausted.

When someone gets tired, they tend to snore.

Lu Yuan had just fallen asleep less than half an hour when Gu Qingwan got up.

Grandma, the palace maids rushed into Gu Qingwan's sleeping chamber to help her dress.

However, Gu Qingwan did not first dress up; instead, she wore pure yellow pajamas, walked straight out of the sleeping chamber, came to the main hall, and looked toward the chief eunuch nearby.

The chief eunuch nearby also quickly said:

"Lord Lu has fallen asleep."

Gu Qingwan then asked softly:

"When did he fall asleep?"

Gu Qingwan didn't need to whisper so softly, after all, Chonghua Hall is spacious, and Lu Yuan was still sleeping in another room.

Seeing Gu Qingwan's voice especially soft, the chief eunuch also hurriedly lowered his voice and said:

"Just half an hour ago."

After the chief eunuch finished, he hurriedly added:

"Lord Lu also said, the train is foolproof; once the Forging Bureau's parts arrive, the Emperor can bring the ministers to Chonghua Hall to see the train."

After hearing the chief eunuch's words, Gu Qingwan nodded slightly and said nothing else.

She then hurried quickly toward Lu Yuan's room.

As soon as she opened the door, she heard Lu Yuan's snoring.

Hearing that sound, Gu Qingwan muttered with a faint smile:

"How did this little thing start snoring?"

The chief eunuch beside her also quickly responded:

"Maybe he's tired; Lord Lu really had no rest yesterday."

Hearing the chief eunuch's words, Gu Qingwan's smile faded a little; she nodded slightly and then quietly came to Lu Yuan's side.

The hall's raised heated brick beds are all there, though underneath no fire is lit.

Lu Yuan was lying with his head toward the window, snoring loudly.

Looking at the sleeping Lu Yuan filled her eyes with tenderness; after gently sitting on the bedside, she also lay on her side beside him.

Her jade hand gently tidied his hair.

Then, seeing Lu Yuan covered in oil stains, she couldn't help shaking her head and laughing helplessly.

"This little thing, really, looking as dirty as a little flowered cat, just sneaks into my sister's blanket."

"How am I supposed to use this blanket from now on? ~"

The chief eunuch standing by the bedside couldn't help blinking.

This……

Is the Emperor really planning to continue using the bedding that Lord Lu used?

Hmm……

First, not talking about whether it's dirty……

Even if it's not dirty……

The Emperor can't possibly use someone else's bedding, right?

Of course……

The chief eunuch himself wasn't sure about this, after all……

Before this, the Great Zhou Dynasty never had an empress; even previous emperors would invite their brothers to stay overnight in the palace.

When it came time to sleep, those princes wouldn't stay in Chonghua Hall; they'd have to leave the inner palace and sleep elsewhere.

After Gu Qingwan stared at the sleeping Lu Yuan for a while,

she finally gave a gentle smile, tidied Lu Yuan's blanket, and then got up to head back to her own sleeping chamber.

It was time to start preparing for court.

……

8 o'clock, Imperial Palace, Taihe Hall.

All the officials, dressed in court robes, stood solemnly in the vast Taihe Hall, discussing matters.

Now, this weekly grand council basically talks about southern banditry and the southern winter flood disaster.

However, these two matters are no longer anything to worry about.

Southern banditry, today's battle report arrived again.

Still a great victory!!

An unprecedented great victory!!

From the moment mortars appeared, southern banditry seemed no longer something to worry about.

But some things must still be seen to their final effect.

Thus, the southern banditry will surely be completely eradicated within about a month.

This time is different from before.

Before, the Imperial Court would almost periodically suppress bandits, but these bandits were like wild grass, growing again with the spring breeze.

But this time is not the same.

This time we will uproot them completely!

And this time can be said, the southern bandit troubles afterwards likely won't appear for a long time, even... they may never appear again.

The formation of southern bandit troubles, frankly speaking, is actually still a problem of the imperial court.

If everyone could have enough to eat, everyone could live a good life.

Even if a few ill‑intentioned people wanted to raise a banner and become outlaws, no one would respond.

These southern bandit troubles are all because the previous Great Zhou Dynasty was truly too dark, and the common folk could barely get by, which is why not a few people went up to the mountains.

But after this, things will be different.

Lu Yuan's second wave of potatoes has already been harvested.

Just the potato yield from the northern greenhouses alone already matches the Great Zhou Dynasty's previous national grain output for one quarter.

From now on, with food for the people, who would still want to become bandits?

So, this time the bandit trouble is not merely a superficial elimination; the most pleasing thing is... the Great Zhou Dynasty will no longer have bandit troubles!

This is truly the most pleasing thing.

And speaking of these potatoes, naturally we cannot fail to mention the southern winter floods.

During the previous southern winter floods, the imperial court was truly worried to death.

If it weren't for Lu Yuan's potatoes.

It's hard to say what would happen to the southern folk who couldn't get enough to eat.

But now, it has also been completely resolved.

This matter can be said to have been perfectly implemented.

The rest is merely some follow‑up work; the imperial court just needs to help the southern provinces rebuild the disaster areas.

And now, Lu Yuan's train has also appeared.

This railway being built from north to south is first being constructed from the north toward those disaster areas.

When the time comes, with the railway unobstructed, it can be said that only half a year is needed for the south to be rebuilt.

Gu Qingwan, each time she hears the ministers below speak of these news at the grand court assembly, feels deep emotion inside.

This Lu Yuan is simply a heaven‑sent gift to myself… no, more accurately speaking, a gift to the Great Zhou!

"Laying the railway, the Ministry of Works will, right after court disperses today, immediately begin preparations, joining forces with the local Forging Bureau to hurry and lay the tracks."

Gu Qingwan, seated on the imperial throne, having finished speaking to the Minister of Works below, then turned her head to the Minister of Revenue beside her and said:

"The funds needed by the Ministry of Works, you in the Ministry of Revenue must allocate them promptly, without the slightest delay."

At this moment, the Minister of Revenue immediately bowed and said:

"Yes, Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue absolutely guarantees there will be no mistake."

After the Minister of Revenue finished speaking.

Everyone in the hall stared at the Minister of Revenue as if they had seen a ghost.

No…… something's not right!!

This day's Minister of Revenue is completely not right!!

How… how come he isn't crying poverty?!

In all dynasties, when has a Minister of Revenue not cried poverty?!

If you don't cry poverty, what kind of Minister of Revenue are you?!

Being a Minister of Revenue is actually quite easy; the only difficult part is crying poverty.

When the state treasury has no money, if the emperor wants to do something, the Minister of Revenue must step forward and cry poverty.

Even when the state treasury has money, one still has to step forward and cry poverty!

One must cry!

Not crying is absolutely unacceptable.

When the time comes for the semi‑annual quarterly accounting and reporting, if the money in the treasury is not plentiful, or the figures look bad, it is definitely going to draw criticism!

Don't look at how the treasury's money is to be spent, how it is to be used—everything is decided by the emperor.

This money is all spent by the emperor, that's correct.

But then, when the treasury's money looks bad on the books, the emperor will surely still find fault with the Ministry of Revenue.

At that point the emperor will absolutely refuse to accept responsibility.

After all, there isn't much money left in the treasury; if this gets out, the common folk will surely say how the present emperor is….

Letting the common folk speak of the Son of Heaven—is that good?

That's not good, so the Ministry of Revenue has to take the blame.

But one can't keep bearing it forever, so whenever the emperor needs to spend a large sum, the Minister of Revenue must come out and cry poverty for a while.

That way, when the emperor later sees the money is low and settles accounts after autumn, this can also lessen the scolding a bit, right?

Look, I said back then there was no money, no money, but your emperor insisted on doing this, so it's not my Ministry of Revenue's fault.

This is just an old tradition.

Everyone knows this implicitly.

All dynasties have done it this way.

Just like when the north previously wanted to lay the railway, that Minister of Revenue was someone who could cry poverty—he almost bumped his head to death in the Taihe Hall.

But this time…

Everyone's faces were full of question marks.

Something's not right!!

The Minister of Revenue not crying poverty now has only one cause, namely…

This year the money in the treasury… is about to overflow, damn it!

Everyone also knows that recently bicycles, threshers and such are profitable, but how much profit they make, no one knows.

Even the Cabinet needs the Ministry of Revenue to submit the semi‑annual quarterly accounts before it knows.

It is now two months away from when the Ministry of Revenue hands over the accounts, and the Cabinet still isn't clear how much money the state treasury has gained in these four months.

But looking at this…… it's definitely a lot, a lot!

You know……

The money spent on building railways in the South is far, far more than in the North.

The Southern railway project is to be carried out in three phases; for the first phase, His Majesty let the Ministry of Revenue allocate seven million to the Ministry of Works.

The second and third phases will certainly not be lacking either.

When the Cabinet drafted it yesterday, the calculated total came to twenty‑eight million.

Just this one railway line alone is twenty‑eight million.

Although the money the Cabinet puts forward isn't the final amount, it's roughly correct.

The Southern railway is really too expensive!

The North is almost finished, costing less than fifteen million, while the South is basically double that.

But……

Back when the Northern railway cost three million, the Minister of Revenue cried bitterly, as if his own child had died.

But now……

You don't even blink at seven million??

Not right!!

In this half‑year time, just how much money has Lu Yuan earned for the Great Zhou Dynasty!!

Thanks to elder brother Keze1112 for the 500 book coin reward, thank you very much~

Thanks to Muguo Quanji and elder brother NamingIsTooHard for the 100 book coin reward, thank you very much~

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(End of chapter)