"My Beloved Teacher's Wife (Walking with Love)" - Chapter 63: Ling Feng Takes Charge

Ling Feng is now beginning to understand why incompetent emperors throughout history have disliked attending court. When he sees this group of ministers, it is really difficult to resist ordering them all to be dragged out and beheaded. Especially since these ministers keep nagging nonsense in your ear. They are clearly the cancerous growths of the court, yet they still consider themselves the pillars of the country. Their bad habit of making threats at the drop of a hat is even more disgusting!
Ling Feng then realized that the struggles within the imperial court were far more complex and difficult to manage than those in the martial arts world. In the martial arts world, unresolved matters could be settled through martial arts duels. But within the imperial court, you couldn't simply kill all the ministers for unresolved issues! There was no such rule in the law. Even the emperor couldn't kill indiscriminately; he needed a reason.
After the eunuch distributed the memorials that Ling Feng had finished reviewing overnight, the ministers began to raise objections: "The Emperor didn't review the memorials at all!"
"Your Majesty, what is the meaning of this cross?"
"Your Majesty, my memorial contains nothing but wise counsel. If you do not heed my advice, the calamity of national ruin is imminent!"
"Your Majesty, please follow my advice immediately, or you will incur the wrath of Heaven and the resentment of the people!"
When the ministers received the memorial approved by Ling Feng, they immediately erupted in uproar, each arguing with the emperor with righteous indignation, seemingly having their own justifications.
What constitutes "golden advice"? Is it really golden advice to tell the emperor to spend lavishly on building a tomb and rewarding his officials? Please note, it's rewarding officials, not the entire nation! How dare such a self-serving memorial be called golden advice? As for incurring divine wrath and popular resentment, that's another story. Would the entire nation rebel if they didn't know the late emperor was dead? Would they rise up if they weren't forced to observe mourning?
"Enough!"
Finally, the officials and ministers quieted down amidst Ling Feng's furious roar. "I have my own ideas about what to do and what to do, and I don't need you to tell me! If I cross out or skip over any memorials, it means there's no need to discuss them anymore! Today, I am the emperor, not you. I don't care if your words are golden or not, you just do what I say!"
Imposing! This was an imposing presence that Zhu Wenchong had never shown before, but it was Ling Feng's consistent imposing presence. Instantly, the entire court fell silent! However, if you think that the emperor's anger can resolve everything, then you are underestimating the ministers.
Just as Ling Feng caught his breath, some fearless individuals jumped out to continue intimidating him!
"Your Majesty! Throughout history, wise rulers have regarded accepting advice as a virtue, and it is through accepting advice that they have achieved prosperous times. I beg Your Majesty to heed my advice, to practice virtuous governance, and never to be stubborn and self-willed, blocking the path of the wise and causing the downfall of the country..."
"Accepting advice? Of course I accept advice! The problem is, do you even consider these ridiculous suggestions as advice? How can I accept advice if there isn't a single decent suggestion?"
"Your Majesty! What I have said is all wise advice..."
"Are you fucking done yet?!" Ling Feng was utterly enraged. "You 'golden words' nonsense! You think you're a loyal minister, a remonstrating official, and that everything you say is golden advice that I must listen to? First, put your hands on your conscience and ask yourself if your suggestions have any real benefit to the country, and then ask yourself if your suggestions have any real benefit to the people! If you don't know whether they have any benefit, go to the streets and ask the people what they think! Loyalty and remonstrance aren't decided by yourselves! You're all calculating your own interests, thinking I don't know. To put it bluntly, if I were ever deposed, you would still be ministers of the Ming Dynasty, but I wouldn't be the emperor anymore. I have the world on my mind, what about you? If you're not loyal to me, if you're not serving the people, don't talk to me about golden advice. Without the hard work of farmers, would you have anything to eat? I ask you, how many of you here mentioned the interests of farmers and the people in your memorials, or cared about their suffering? If you don't even understand this, you don't deserve to be called loyal ministers."
Hearing Ling Feng's unrestrained and abusive rebuke, all the ministers were so frightened that they shut their mouths.
"In my opinion, if you have nothing else to report, I have another proposal!"
Ling Feng suddenly spoke up: "Last night, I executed Guo Shang, the commander of the Imperial Guards, who had attempted to rebel. Yang Hui is now the commander of the Imperial Guards. In addition, Huang Han, the commander of the Imperial Guards, and his deputy commanders Wu Hao and Zheng Yu were also rebels and have been imprisoned by me in the Imperial Prison. I'm sure many of you are their accomplices. You know this in your hearts. I hope that those who are their accomplices will confess voluntarily and try to gain my leniency. Otherwise, once I catch you, the death penalty is inevitable."
"Your Majesty...you must not!"
Zhao Heng stepped forward and said, "Just now, His Majesty criticized his subjects for making unfounded accusations against others without evidence! Why are you now acting on your own initiative..."
"Shut up!"
Ling Feng roared, "Do you take me for a foolish emperor? I've been patiently observing you all, just to see your true colors. I know many of you have always resented me being emperor, harboring illusions about the Crown Prince or even other princes. Today, I'll tell you, I am the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Did you hear about the assassination attempt in the palace the other night? Even after such an incident, the Commander of the Imperial Guards didn't come to protect me, and you still claim he's innocent? I tell you, I have irrefutable evidence of Huang Han's rebellion. He's already confessing to some of you. On this matter, I think you don't need to argue anymore. It'll only make things worse! Instead, give me some constructive suggestions, like who should be appointed as the Commander of the Imperial Guards?"
Ling Feng's words silenced the entire room, leaving it deathly still. Everyone's heart pounded; they all understood that this time, the Emperor was truly going to deal with the remnants of the Crown Prince's faction and the Third Prince's cronies. The fact that the Emperor could publicly announce this was enough to prove that he had the situation under control.
"Your humble servant is unworthy, but I would like to recommend myself for the position of Commander of the Imperial Guards!"
At this moment, a man stood out from the ranks of generals. He was about thirty years old and, judging from his attire, should be a third-rank official. However, he was tall and imposing, with an imposing presence.
Who are you?
Ling Feng thought that Zhu Wenchong might not remember all the officials' names either, so asking him if he didn't understand was definitely the right thing to do.
The military officer bowed his head and said, "Your subject is Xu Dacheng, a third-rank adjutant general!"
Upon hearing this, Ling Feng said, "Good, I have read your memorial, it is not bad. Since you are willing to serve as the commander of the Imperial Guard, I will give you some experience. Xu Dacheng, let me tell you, the Imperial Guard is the iron army that protects me. Over the years, due to the struggle among the princes, there have been many internal factions. You must do your best to clean up some of the remnants for me. If you really can't, kill them without mercy. I will give you the power to execute first and report later within the Imperial Guard, and I will bestow upon you the Imperial Sword."
"Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty! I will certainly forge the Imperial Guard into an iron army, Your Majesty's ironclad force. I am willing to go through fire and water, even unto death, for this cause!"
Xu Dacheng immediately kowtowed in gratitude. He never expected the emperor to value him so highly, entrusting him with such an important task and even bestowing upon him the imperial sword. Throughout history, very few people had ever received such a gift from the emperor. If Zhu Wenchong had been emperor before, he would never have stepped forward to recommend himself. But seeing Ling Feng's performance today, he felt this was an opportunity. Moreover, he and Yang Hui were classmates and close friends, and Yang Hui had told Xu Dacheng about the inner palace affairs. Therefore, he felt this was a chance, because the emperor was seeking change. Yang Hui invited Xu Dacheng to assist the current emperor in achieving great things, and Xu Dacheng believed Yang Hui. He was overjoyed to receive such a reward for stepping forward today.
Ling Feng was overjoyed to have such a capable general. Among the court officials, some were happy, some were fearful, and many more were bewildered and at a loss. Truly, as the saying goes, "A new emperor, a new court." Every emperor's ascension to the throne is accompanied by the rise of a new batch of ministers and the departure of a group of old ones—an immutable law throughout history.
After three months of silence, the newly enthroned emperor finally began to reorganize the court! This marked the beginning of a new dynasty!
Just as Ling Feng was about to announce the end of the court session, an official behind Zhao Heng stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."
"Speak."
Ling Feng leaned back on the dragon throne and waved his hand lazily. Since it was his first time attending court, he figured he might as well take his time and experience it.
"Your Majesty, this is a report concerning the repair of the dikes along the Yellow River."
The official was around forty years old, with a square face and a kind appearance.
"Your Majesty, I believe this is inappropriate."
A chubby official appeared not far in front of him: "The dikes along the Yellow River stretch for thousands of miles. If they were to be completely repaired, it would cost at least 30 million taels of silver, equivalent to a year's tax revenue of the national treasury. The national treasury is not currently abundant. If all of it is used to repair the dikes, what will we use to defend against the barbarian tribes that harass our dynasty? Besides, the Yellow River has not flooded yet, so why rush to spend money?"
"Your Majesty, I believe we must take precautions. If the Yellow River dike collapses, millions of people will be left homeless, and countless will die. At that time, it will be more than a few tens of millions of taels of silver can compensate for!"
The official who made the proposal argued forcefully.
"Your Majesty, the money in the national treasury is also for preventing future disasters. Just imagine if the Mongols invade, where will we get the money to fight the war?"
"The Mongols have retreated to the northern deserts, how can we attack them..."
"The Yellow River hasn't experienced a major flood in five years, so how did the dike collapse..."
"Stop arguing. Tell me, how much silver is left in the national treasury?"
Not knowing which one was the Minister of Revenue, I could only speak to the person in the very center.
"Your Majesty, the national treasury currently has 28 million taels of silver remaining."
It was still that chubby official who answered respectfully.
"What, twenty-eight million taels?"
Ling Feng stood up, his face full of surprise. How could they be so poor? He thought they'd have at least several hundred million! Less than three thousand taels! Less than the entire Ling family's fortune!
My head is pounding. So many emperors in history died young, probably because they were worried about money.
Ling Feng pondered for a long time before suddenly making up his mind. He said in a deep voice, "The Yellow River must be controlled, otherwise, if that angry dragon changes its course, who knows how many more poor people will suffer."
"Your Majesty is wise. Your subject Zhang Peng, Minister of Works, on behalf of the people of the Yellow River Basin, pays homage to Your Majesty and wishes Your Majesty a long life."
Zhang Peng, that guy, knelt down excitedly and kowtowed repeatedly, trembling.
Ling Feng hurriedly got up and made a gesture of support from a distance: "Minister Zhang, please get up quickly. It is truly my blessing to have such a loyal and benevolent minister as you."
Ling Feng was happy to go with the flow and win people's hearts.
However, Zhang Peng kowtowed several times before finally getting up, his face full of excitement.
The fat official moved his lips a few times, glancing sideways at Prime Minister Zhao Heng, but receiving no response, he gave up. Ling Feng saw everything, and sneered inwardly. One day, he would purge these parasites from the court, gather a group of capable ministers, and then he could enjoy his retirement in peace.
"Minister Zhang, present your proposal first, and I will see where improvements are needed."
Ling Feng smiled.
Upon hearing this, the head eunuch hurriedly ran downstairs and brought Zhang Peng's memorial over.
Ling Feng unfolded the long document and read it carefully. Zhang Peng was indeed a talented person. If his method were implemented, the Yellow River basin would experience a reduction of more than 80% in flooding.
However, this person had no concept of economics, and Ling Feng saw that there were many unnecessary expenses that could be cut. So he picked up a vermilion pen and crossed out those redundant expenses in large strokes.
After waiting for more than half an hour, I recalculated and found that this had saved nearly six million taels of silver. Ling Feng came from a merchant family, so this kind of accounting skill was no problem for him.
In this way, the entire Yellow River course change would cost approximately 20 million taels of silver.
Ling Feng returned the memorial to Zhang Peng and said calmly, "Minister Zhang, please draft a new budget according to my instructions."
Zhang Peng glanced at it quickly, and the more he looked, the more impressed he became. He said respectfully to Ling Feng from the bottom of his heart, "Your Majesty is truly a wise ruler. According to Your Majesty's streamlined budget, more than ten million taels of silver can be saved."
"Money should be spent wisely."
Ling Feng said calmly, "Minister Zhang, in the future, when you encounter similar matters, you must submit the most concise plan, otherwise I will punish you. As for anything you don't understand about finance, you can discuss it with me, or consult the Ministry of Revenue. Colleagues should exchange ideas more often."
"Your Majesty is wise."
Now it was the turn of the courtiers to kowtow and praise me.
"Your Majesty, I have something to say."
The fat official, who seemed to be the Minister of Revenue, stepped forward again and said, "Your Majesty, even with a streamlined budget, it will still require as much as twenty million taels of silver. However, with the national treasury's funds, after spending these expenses, the remaining money may not even be enough to pay the annual salaries of all the court officials!"
"Yes, that makes sense."
Ling Feng nodded and said, "Let's estimate how much tax we can collect next time."
"Last winter, the national treasury received over 80 million taels of silver in taxes. However, this autumn, most parts of our dynasty have suffered from drought and floods, so the tax revenue should be less than last year. It is estimated that it will reach 63 million taels, which would be considered good. This tax revenue will likely enter the national treasury around the beginning of February."
That fat official wasn't one to sit idly by; he was quite knowledgeable about the matters under his jurisdiction, unlike his seemingly incompetent appearance.
Ling Feng pondered for a while, then said in a deep voice, "Here's what I'll do. I have a suggestion. We should immediately begin preliminary work on Minister Zhang's Yellow River restoration project. The Ministry of Revenue will allocate five million taels of silver to the Ministry of Works as initial funding."
"Uh, Your Majesty, I am foolish and do not understand your meaning."
These words were spoken by Zhang Peng and the fat official as they both stood up, looking utterly bewildered. In fact, not only them, but almost everyone in the court was puzzled by the idea of an initial investment. Transactions were always completed in one lump sum; what could five million possibly accomplish?
"Zhang Peng, I ask you: How long will it take to repair the dikes along the Yellow River?"
Ling Feng thought to himself that it was necessary to rethink the minds of all the civil and military officials, so that none of them would be so rigid in their thinking.
"The entire project took approximately two years and three months."
Zhang Peng answered immediately, clearly aware of the number.
"Very well, I'm giving you twenty million taels of silver now. Will you spend it all in the first three months?"
Ling Feng continued to ask.
"This? Of course not."
Xu Liang didn't understand what I meant and looked a little confused.
"Then what would I do with all this money?"
Ling Feng laughed loudly: "I will give you the silver in installments over two or three months. This will not only reduce the financial burden on the Ministry of Revenue, but also prevent people from losing their heads because of the lost silver. I can use the extra silver for other things. Isn't that wonderful?"
"Your Majesty is wise."
The fat Minister of Revenue was slightly excited and respectfully said, "If this plan is implemented, I am willing to represent the Ministry of Revenue in strongly supporting the Yellow River restoration project."
No wonder that kid was so excited. Based on the entire construction period, he only needed to allocate a few hundred thousand taels of silver to the Ministry of Works every month to support such a large project. What minister wouldn't want to leave a good reputation in history?
After understanding Ling Feng's meaning, the ministers immediately began whispering among themselves, all nodding in agreement. The Emperor, always seeking stability, had never encountered such an advanced plan before.
Of course, some people raised concerns. One concern was what would happen if the Ministry of Revenue's silver supply was delayed, wouldn't that hinder the project's progress? However, Ling Feng refuted these concerns one by one. In Ling Feng's view, this simple method of capital turnover was the easiest thing in the world. After all, his father was the richest man in Jiangnan; this kind of capital allocation was a piece of cake for him. But for the educated ministers, it was a major problem.
Before they could react, Ling Feng stood up and said, "That's all for today's morning court session."
With that, Ling Feng turned and walked towards the Zhonghe Hall.
"Dismiss the court!" Xiao Liangzi shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
The sound rang out behind Ling Feng.
After removing his makeup in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, it was already noon when he emerged, and he finally felt a pang of hunger. Although Ling Feng was somewhat reluctant to attend court early, the exhilarating feeling of being in charge was quite pleasant.
Being an emperor is actually not so bad.

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"My Beloved Teacher's Wife (Walking with Love)" - Chapter 63: Ling Feng Takes Charge

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