Chu Chen chuckled lightly and said, "Your Highness, your humble minister has absolutely no motive or possibility of fabricating a victory report."
"I implore Your Highness to explain this to me, lest ill-intentioned individuals spread rumors."
Li Xinyue nodded and looked at the assembled officials, smiling, "Everyone, please stop arguing. On this matter, I believe Chu Chen is certainly not acting with a guilty conscience. Let us continue to await further news to prove our respective judgments."
"Alright, this matter is temporarily concluded. Does anyone else have anything to report?"
The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue stepped forward and said, "Reporting to the Regent, the grain tax collected nationwide this year, converted into silver, has been tallied and verified. It has increased by a full thirty percent compared to last year."
Upon hearing this, Li Xinyue's eyes lit up, and the officials in the court were even more shocked.
"It actually increased so much! Weren't we told that taxes were significantly reduced, and the collected taxes this year would surely decrease? How did it increase by thirty percent?"
"This is all thanks to the Yan Zai plow invented by Prime Minister Chu, and the effectiveness of the waterwheels. Moreover, many commoners have obtained their own land, greatly strengthening their enthusiasm for cultivation."
"Indeed, if it were me, I would also cultivate with all my might. The taxes have been lowered so much, and farming is so effortless. Not working hard to build up one's fortune would be foolish!"
"This credit all goes to Prime Minister Chu. If he had not vigorously promoted agricultural tax reform, the tax revenue would likely remain the same."
"In the past, our Yun Yue Kingdom had meager tax revenue and insufficient national strength for foreign wars."
"Now that the tax revenue is so abundant, and with the possibility of Wei and Zhao attacking our country, should we engage in foreign warfare?"
"Warfare? We can go to war at any time. With Prime Minister Chu's civil and military prowess, he can easily conquer a nation. What difficulty is there in unifying the world?"
After a period of enthusiastic discussion, the officials fell silent and then looked towards the princess on the high platform.
Li Xinyue nodded to everyone and said happily, "Everyone has heard. Good news! Our Yun Yue Kingdom has had so much good news recently."
"Not only have we won battles, but we have also collected so much more tax. Mother Emperor might even obtain an immortal elixir and enjoy eternal nobility."
"Your Highness is correct. Such is the fortune of our Yun Yue Kingdom; other nations cannot envy it."
Chu Chen said with a smile.
The Minister of Works, Meng Yuan, his eyes growing brighter, immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, your humble minister implores Your Highness to approve a sum of silver for expansion and construction."
Li Xinyue couldn't help but laugh, "Minister Meng, you heard about the increased tax revenue and immediately came to ask for money. Aren't you a bit too eager?"
Meng Yuan said somewhat sheepishly, "Your Highness, your humble minister is also afraid that this good fortune might slip away. My Ministry of Works is very short of funds."
Speaking of this, Meng Yuan looked at Chu Chen beside him and said with some grievance, "Regent, you may not know, but our Ministry of Works has also put in considerable effort to collect so much tax, rushing to produce Yan Zai plows and waterwheels, selling them to farmers at low prices."
"All of this requires silver. Although the tax revenue has increased so much, many agricultural tools have not yet been paid for."
Li Xinyue couldn't help but feel amused and exasperated, "Minister Meng, I am aware of what you said. However, the farming tools won't all break immediately after being distributed. It will not be too late to allocate funds to you when a large-scale replacement is needed."
Meng Yuan said with a bitter smile, "Your Highness, that won't do. Besides making farming tools and waterwheels, we have other large-scale projects to undertake."
Li Xinyue asked curiously, "What projects?"
Meng Yuan sighed, "Of course, it's the main roads of Shuangyue City, and the construction of His Majesty's Mingyue Palace. Although blue bricks are not expensive, the sheer quantity required will be a substantial sum."
"Coupled with the construction of the imperial government building previously, it consumed a huge amount of capital. The Ministry of Works is truly out of money now."
Chu Chen heard this and couldn't help but smile, "Your Highness, the expenses of the Ministry of Works are indeed considerable, and Minister Meng's words are not untrue."
Meng Yuan, hearing this, cast a grateful glance at Chu Chen.
Princess Xinyue asked curiously, "In that case, does Prime Minister Chu mean that he agrees to allocate funds to the Ministry of Works?"
Chu Chen nodded, "Yes, Your Highness. The Ministry of Works will be very busy from now on. Besides repairing roads, building palaces, and making farming tools, they will also need to forge more swords, armor, and horseshoes."
"Since our Yun Yue Kingdom is to send troops to various countries, a large consumption of military supplies is inevitable."
"Therefore, the Ministry of Works cannot be short of funds."
Meng Yuan's eyes lit up, "Prime Minister Chu is correct. Your humble subordinate thinks the same."
Chu Chen turned his head and gently patted Meng Yuan's shoulder, smiling, "Minister Meng, the responsibility of securing the rear will fall entirely on you from now on. Your Ministry of Works cannot falter. You must produce whatever military supplies are needed."
"Furthermore, to better defeat our enemies, it is best for us to be as coordinated as possible internally."
"In the future, I plan to suggest to His Majesty that more official roads be built, several times wider than the current ones, to facilitate more efficient exchange of personnel and resources across the country."
"This way, we can better serve our external military operations."
The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue immediately stepped forward to object, "Your Highness, although Prime Minister Chu's vision is grand and enticing, it is difficult to achieve. If it cannot be managed properly, it may lead to an empty national treasury. I implore Your Highness to reconsider."
The Minister of Rites, Wu Sheng, also stepped forward, "Yes, Your Highness, this matter requires careful consideration. The outcomes of the two armies currently engaged in battle are still unclear. Is it too early to discuss foreign warfare?"
The Minister of War, Xie An, hesitated, "Your Highness, although foreign warfare is good for my Ministry of War, your humble subordinate does not wish for a war of attrition that depletes the national treasury."
"I would prefer to wait for the definitive victory reports from the two armies before making a decision."
Although Xie An did not explicitly refuse Chu Chen's proposal, his intention was clear: he was waiting for the news of the failure of the foreign campaign to arrive, at which point the large-scale deployment of troops would be shelved.
Even Chu Chen himself might face criticism, let alone the matter of deploying troops.
Just at this moment, a shout was heard from outside the great hall, approaching from a distance.
"Victory report! Victory report! Our Yun Yue Kingdom ambushed the Wei army at Xiaoliang Town, beheading thirty thousand Wei soldiers, capturing twenty thousand, and the remaining fifty thousand fled."
"Victory report! Victory report! The heads of thirty thousand Wei soldiers have been piled into a 'Jingguan' at Xiaoliang Town to deter the Wei state. The twenty thousand captives are being escorted back to Shuangyue City by the army."
"Victory report, victory report! The Wei army believed this battle was a sure victory and carried a large amount of supplies, all of which were captured by our army and are being successively escorted back to Shuangyue City."