Chapter 1471: Grand Han Chancellor of the Exchequer

Just as they were still holding their breath and staring, a middle-aged aide-de-camp suddenly strode into the great hall, instantly becoming the focus of every gaze in the room.

This middle-aged man wore a black military uniform, a golden badge of the Imperial Guard pinned to his chest, and his expression was deeply solemn and grave — clearly a court attendant who had long served at His Majesty's side.

"By His Majesty's oral decree." He gave a light cough, then proclaimed it loudly.

In an instant, everyone else held their breath and stared, awaiting his transmission of the decree.

"Calling you here in the dead of winter has been hard on you. Today's meeting may run very long. You may first go to the tea room next door and drink some hot tea to warm yourselves. If you are hungry, there is also some dried meat there — the flavor is quite good, you may have some." This court attendant delivered these words in a perfectly solemn tone.

His Majesty's solemnly transmitted oral decree… was actually something like this?

The civil and military officials who had never been here before looked at one another, their expressions turning very strange — as if they wanted to laugh but dared not. They had never imagined His Majesty could be so casual, saying such things in an oral decree.

The two senior ministers, however, had long since grown accustomed to His Majesty's style.

"We receive the decree!" They responded in unison, then rose and left their seats, heading for a room off to the side — that was the tea room.

Because state affairs meetings often ran extremely long, this was a rest area His Majesty had specially set up out of consideration for his ministers. During state affairs meetings, recesses were frequently called so that tired or hungry ministers could rest a while and recover their energy. These two senior ministers had naturally rested there many times.

Led by the two senior ministers, the other civil and military officials also rose from their seats one after another, then followed them and temporarily filed out of the great hall.

Because they had earlier received a hint from the Grand Chancellor, Zhou Pu and Kong Zhang immediately drew close to the Grand Chancellor and the Chancellor of the Exchequer after leaving their seats.

"You two, go with the Marquis of Pingyuan presently and rest a while. He has something to say to you." The Grand Chancellor quietly instructed them. "I have matters to attend to and must see His Majesty first. You talk among yourselves for now."

"Yes." Both men respectfully acknowledged.

The Grand Chancellor said no more. He swung his sleeves and left them, then walked over to the middle-aged aide-de-camp and exchanged a few words with him. The military officer said little, merely nodding repeatedly, then led him off in another direction.

In his esteemed position as Grand Chancellor, His Majesty had granted him a great many courtesies, one of which was that he could request an audience with His Majesty at any time, circumstances permitting. Thus, when he made a request to see His Majesty before the state affairs meeting, the court attendant immediately agreed.

"Come, come, come with me and rest a while. Our time is rather tight, so we must make the most of it." After watching the Grand Chancellor depart, Chen Hong clapped the two men on the shoulders, then gestured for them to follow him.

Kong Zhang and Zhou Pu naturally dared not be remiss and hurriedly followed behind him.

The tea room was very large. Although a crowd had already poured in, it did not feel cramped. The various officials, high and low, who had come to attend the meeting gathered in their own clusters, exchanging pleasantries over tea as they discussed the upcoming meeting.

This was precisely one of His Majesty's intentions in setting up the tea room here. The meeting hall was far too solemn, and His Majesty often appeared there, so officials high and low could usually only sit rigidly upright, not daring to speak much, and were unable to form a harmonious atmosphere for discussion. In the tea room, however, discussing matters while drinking tea, the atmosphere was much more relaxed, and it also made it easier for them to communicate about the issues on the meeting agenda beforehand and avoid disputes.

At the same time, official rank functioned here just as it did everywhere else.

This large tea room had several small compartments off to the side, separated from the outside by curtains. These small compartments were reserved for important ministers to discuss confidential affairs inside; ordinary officials had no right to use them.

As a cabinet senior minister, Chen Hong had the right to use the small compartments in the tea room, and now he was bringing Kong Zhang and Zhou Pu into one of these compartments.

As soon as they entered, he sat down casually, and an attendant came over and served them tea. This attendant had a stern expression; the moment he set down the tea, he turned and left. From then on, so long as the people inside did not pull the bell cord, he absolutely would not come in again, lest he disturb the ministers as they discussed matters of state and war.

Before the attendant had even stepped out of the compartment, the Chancellor of the Exchequer casually picked up the cup from the table and, with no particular refinement, took a great gulp, then heavily exhaled a mouthful of stale breath.

"Ah, fine tea! As expected of the tea specially sent over from Fujian as tribute to His Majesty… truly excellent!"

Kong Zhang, beside him, also smiled as he picked up his teacup and took a shallow sip. "Indeed, fine tea."

Then he also called out to Zhou Pu, who had remained motionless. "Zhihe, this is Wuyi Dahongpao, specially selected by the Marquis of Kuaiji in Fujian from his own tea mountain. The flavor is truly superb! His Majesty, out of consideration for us ministers, specially supplied this tea to the tea room for everyone to drink. Come, you should try some too — a rare opportunity. Outside, you'd hardly ever get the chance to drink tea this carefully selected!"

It was actually imperial-grade refined tea! Zhou Pu, already somewhat nervous, now grew even more tense.

Ever since he had followed the Grand Chancellor and Director Kong to His Majesty's temporary palace for the first time today, he had felt ill at ease all over; even his stride had lost its usual steadiness.

And one could hardly blame him. His Majesty had risen from humble beginnings, ordained by Heaven, excelling in both civil governance and martial prowess — in the eyes of the realm, a formidable figure the likes of which had not been seen in a thousand years. Even his enemies regarded him with full awe, let alone a minor official like Zhou Pu. Upon arriving here, though he felt some honor in his heart, what he felt even more was fear — a deep fear that he might not perform well before His Majesty.

Never mind His Majesty — senior ministers were everywhere here. Was not the man before him a marquis? Duke, marquis — these were people as exalted as the Grand Chancellor himself… Kong Zhang had deep seniority and also held a noble title; he could chat and laugh freely with them. But he himself was different — he could not help but tread carefully.

"Thank you, my lord." He nodded respectfully to the Marquis of Pingyuan and Director Kong, then also lifted his teacup and gently took a small sip.

The moment the tea liquor entered his mouth, he felt a smooth, sweet freshness spread across the tip of his tongue — like nectar, faintly viscous between lips and teeth. Then, he closed his eyes, set the teacup back down on the table, and carefully savored the aftertaste of the tea liquor in his mouth.

Truly fine tea!

In an instant, he seemed to forget all his previous tension and anxiety, drifting leisurely into the comfort brought by this tea tasting.

"I didn't deceive you, did I? It is fine tea!" The Marquis of Pingyuan, seeing him like this, could not help but laugh heartily. "Kong Zhang calls you Zhihe — I shall call you that too. Zhihe, your Director Kong has mentioned you to me. I can see you are indeed a reliable man, one with boundless prospects ahead. This tea here — I think you will have plenty of chances to drink it in the future!"

The Chancellor of the Exchequer had actually said he had boundless prospects!

These words made Zhou Pu's spirit jolt sharply; his entire heart surged with excitement.

"This student… this student is untalented. How… how could I possibly be worthy of such high regard from the Grand Chancellor, you, my lord, and the Director? This student merely wishes wholeheartedly to do his duty well, and has no… no…"

"Ai, no need to be so modest! Having drive and ambition is a good thing. If you're too old beyond your years, you'll have no edge, and you won't handle matters well either." The Chancellor of the Exchequer waved his hand, signaling Zhou Pu not to speak too many polite words.

Then, his expression slowly grew serious.

"The reason I called the two of you here today is, in fact, precisely about the matter in your hands."

As expected, it was about the Japan campaign. Kong Zhang and Zhou Pu exchanged a glance, then simultaneously assumed a listening posture, quietly awaiting the Chancellor of the Exchequer's next instructions.

"I won't hide it from you — when His Majesty first proposed the campaign against Japan, I had some misgivings, so I did not immediately second His Majesty's opinion." The Chancellor of the Exchequer did not deliberately keep them in suspense, but spoke directly. "You are both from the cabinet. Although you are not in our Ministry of Finance, you are ultimately of the same branch, so there is no harm in my speaking plainly to you. Though the country is now largely stable, a hundred things still wait to be done, and there are far too many places that need spending. It would be hard to bear yet another enormous expenditure… A distant expedition against Japan — even if the troops dispatched are not many, the grain and funds it would consume would certainly be an immense sum. However, after further consideration, I came around to His Majesty's opinion. Can you guess why?"

Kong Zhang and Zhou Pu exchanged another glance.

"Exactly — was it not for Japan's gold and silver!" The Chancellor of the Exchequer shook his head, then laughed heartily. "The gold and silver trade of the country of Japan, once our dynasty has conquered it, must be monopolized by our dynasty. It is precisely for these things that we would go to the trouble of fighting a war a thousand li away."

"The Chancellor of the Exchequer speaks truly." Kong Zhang answered tentatively. "The gold and silver reserves of the country of Japan are indeed abundant and can precisely be used by us."

"Used by us! Those words are exactly right!" The Chancellor of the Exchequer wore a smile as he picked up his cup and drained the remaining tea in one gulp. "In my view, the most important thing is to put this gold and silver to use for us! Otherwise, this war would be far too much loss for too little gain…"

Although the Chancellor of the Exchequer's literal meaning was quite plain, his smile seemed deeply meaningful, so the two men were somewhat baffled for a moment.

In the strange silence of that moment, Kong Zhang could not help but speak up and ask. After all, although he had only joined the Zhao family faction partway through, he still had some seniority and could afford a somewhat more casual attitude before the Marquis of Pingyuan.

"May I venture to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, is there some important matter you wish to inform us of?"

"As for important matters, the Grand Chancellor will naturally explain them to you. What I want to tell you now are some matters neither great nor small. Just listen for now; no need to take them too deeply to heart." Chen Hong stretched his back lightly and easily. "Just take them as some suggestions of mine."

"Please, Chancellor of the Exchequer, give us your instructions."

Thanks to the friend "Niu Zai Yuan Fang" for the tip, thanks to everyone for your subscriptions and monthly tickets, thank you all

Never thought I'd be competing on the same leaderboard as Guo Jingming — it's rather subtle.