Chapter 1566

At this moment, the civil and military officials in the court were already arguing in a mess.

Some demanded to stop tax collection, while naturally, there were sycophants who curried favor with the Empress, standing out to speak for her and supporting the continuation of tax collection.

The two sides were arguing in a chaotic group.

"Thump, thump, thump!"

At this moment, a series of heavy knocks on the table rang out.

"Noisy! Everyone be quiet for me!"

Following that, Xu Que shouted in a deep voice.

The noise in the entire court hall stopped abruptly!

Everyone was stunned, turning their heads to look toward the high seat, their faces full of confusion.

When did the Emperor arrive?

How did he run out and start shouting?

"Everyone, you waste... cough, everyone, officials, stop arguing. You can't even solve such a small matter; I really don't know what use there is in keeping you. Don't worry about this matter anymore, leave it to me to handle!"

Xu Que said loudly, his face wearing an arrogant expression, his eyes clearly showing disdain for everyone.

Upon hearing this, the ministers were instantly stunned again.

What?

What did the Emperor just say?

Leave this matter to him to handle?

Damn, the Emperor's illness is getting more and more serious; is Her Majesty the Empress really not planning to do something about it?

No, Her Majesty the Empress has also been making frequent mistakes recently; no matter how you look at it, something is wrong!

"Huh? Why are you all just standing there stunned? Can't you hear what I'm saying?"

Seeing everyone dazed, Xu Que's face darkened instantly, and he shouted in a deep voice.

The ministers remained silent, all lowering their heads to avoid eye contact with Xu Que.

They had certainly heard him.

But... someone who hadn't handled state affairs for eight years, how could he possibly handle this hot potato at this time?

The key was that this Emperor had almost caused the Eastern Tang Kingdom to perish before; intervening at this juncture, wasn't he just afraid that the country wouldn't perish fast enough?

"Did I hear wrong? His Majesty said he wants to handle this matter?" An elderly official leaned toward someone else and asked in a low voice.

"Am I having auditory hallucinations?"

"I think I'm having them too... It must be because I've been working too hard recently, causing illness."

"Don't lie to yourselves, His Majesty really said that!"

"Your Majesty, I heard that the scenery at the border is excellent recently; why don't you set off to inspect it? That would be a wonderful thing," an official suggested earnestly.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I heard there is a snowy mountain realm in the far west; why don't you go and enjoy it?"

"Your Majesty, I have a treasure map here; it is said to contain the martial arts secret manual of a peerless master. I present it to Your Majesty today."

Every single official present, without exception, directly gave up on remonstrating with Xuan Yuan Wanrong to retract the order and instead turned their focus toward Xu Que.

The implication was that it would be best for him to go as far away as possible and never touch state affairs again.

We are already overwhelmed enough; could you please stop adding to the chaos?

Besides... according to Her Majesty the Empress's method, it might cause great chaos and make the people unable to survive.

But as long as we endure until the famine year passes, we can slowly recover later.

But if we let His Majesty the Emperor intervene, I'm afraid the Eastern Tang Kingdom will be finished by next month!

Xu Que curled his lips, thinking about how unreliable this Emperor must have been in the past...

Look at these officials; upon hearing that he wanted to intervene in state affairs, they couldn't wait to send him to the border.

He didn't doubt that if he had any offspring, these officials would probably have advised him to abdicate on the spot.

After all, they didn't fear a mediocre monarch, but they feared a foolish one.

"Officials, I really have a good plan for governing the country," Xu Que said with a smile, not caring about the attitude of these officials.

The ministers were even more panicked upon hearing this.

"Damn, I remember when I first entered the court eight years ago, His Majesty smiled just like that!"

"Yes! I remember too! And then we almost perished as a country!"

"Oh my god, Your Majesty, we don't appreciate this kind of smile."

"If Her Majesty the Empress hadn't taken over the government that time, we wouldn't even know where we'd be now!"

The ministers cast their pleading gazes toward Xuan Yuan Wanrong, the meaning couldn't be clearer.

Her Majesty the Empress, hurry and stop your husband!

He's going to cause trouble again!

Facing the pleading gazes of the ministers, Xuan Yuan Wanrong remained calm and indifferent, showing no reaction.

Seeing that Her Majesty the Empress was like this, the ministers finally despaired.

It's over, it's really over now.

We shouldn't have gone to advise Her Majesty the Empress to retract the order just now!

Now it's fine; Her Majesty the Empress doesn't plan to manage it, and let the foolish monarch take over.

Seeing that the ministers all had expressions of resignation, Xu Que sighed and said earnestly: "Officials, why don't you listen to my method before considering it?"

There was silence in the Great Hall; no one wanted to be the first to speak.

Finally, under the pressure of Xu Que's gaze, an official finally bit the bullet and stood out: "Please, please instruct us, Your Majesty, what should we do?"

Xu Que gave the other person an appreciative look and said slowly: "In my opinion, this disaster relief is nothing more than needing silver, so why don't we just take the silver from the people?"

An official rolled his eyes.

Isn't this bullshit?

We know we can take money from the people, but the problem is, where would the people have money!

Tax collection is already scraping the skin; you can't possibly expect the people to empty out their family savings!

Every household keeps some spare silver on hand; if something happens to their own family, are they just supposed to wait for death without a single cent?

As expected of a foolish monarch...

Before the official could speak to object, Xu Que continued: "So my method is to establish a private treasury, let the people deposit their silver into the treasury, and the imperial court will pay interest to the people monthly. In this way, not only can taxes be reduced, but there will also be silver for disaster relief."

Private treasury?

The ministers were stunned one after another, and after a moment, they reacted, instantly feeling that it was heaven-sent.

Damn! That's right, we can establish a private treasury!

Why didn't they think of this move?!

Establish a private treasury, let the people put the silver they usually store into the treasury, and they only need to pay interest to the people every month, and they can obtain a large amount of silver to use for disaster relief.

When disaster relief ends and the national treasury is abundant, they can just deposit the treasury silver back.

As long as there is a certain amount of cash reserve circulation in the treasury, there is no need to worry about the problem of silver shortage!

It is simply a genius idea!

The officials present were not mediocre people; they only needed to think carefully to understand the key points.

Xu Que's method was nothing more than establishing a state-owned bank.

But such an advanced concept, placed in the Eastern Tang Kingdom, was simply a state-governing policy that shocked the world.

The ministers were all stunned.

Is this still their foolish and incompetent Emperor who only knew how to shout about pursuing dreams?

Are they dreaming?

Could such a great state-governing policy be thought of by that cute little head of his?

"Your Majesty is wise, this policy is feasible!"

"This subject thanks His Majesty on behalf of the people for this good policy!"

"Your Majesty is wise!"

The ministers began to praise Xu Que for this policy one after another.

There was even an elderly official who firmly supported Xu Que, weeping with tears streaming down his face, kowtowing and crying on the spot.

Late Emperor, do you see this? His Majesty has finally become capable!

He actually knows how to govern the country!

"This matter will be handled by Prime Minister Li. I have already written a guide on how to carry it out specifically; you can come to me to get it after the court session," Xu Que waved his hand, easily dismissing the matter.

Beside him, Xuan Yuan Wanrong was already full of astonishment and disbelief.

This guy actually had a way, and it was so easy!

……

Soon, amidst the noise, the morning court session ended.

After the court session, the two left side by side again, walking in the Imperial Garden.

Beside them, the peach blossoms were blooming, dazzling and bright.

Xuan Yuan Wanrong, however, had no time to appreciate it, her heart feeling somewhat complicated.

She really hadn't expected that the natural disaster that had left her at her wit's end would be easily resolved by Xu Que in a few words.

After much hesitation, Xuan Yuan Wanrong finally asked: "This private treasury method... did you really think of it yourself?"

"Heh, otherwise? Did I ask a beggar on the side of the road?" Xu Que said irritably, "I said, you are simply not cut out for governing the country; don't force it."

Xuan Yuan Wanrong didn't take the bait and instead threw a token back at him: "With this token, you can mobilize the people of the Six Ministries."

"Got it!" Xu Que took the token, his face full of excitement, and turned to leave.

Seeing Xu Que in such a hurry, Xuan Yuan Wanrong couldn't help but ask: "What plan do you have with this token, what are you preparing to do?"

"Infusion," Xu Que said without looking back.

"Infusion? What kind of infusion?" Xuan Yuan Wanrong was stunned, not understanding.

Xu Que paused his steps, turned his head, and revealed a brilliant smile: "Thinking of your night."

……

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