Jiang Chen frowned.

Wei Zhengli's opposition was quite unexpected.

Since Jiang Chen had reprimanded him last time, Wei Zhengli had been diligently working in the Ministry of Works.

Whether it was building the giant ship Jiang Chen had previously instructed him to do, or researching various practical tools later on, Wei Zhengli had done a good job.

He hadn't expected Wei Zhengli to be involved in this matter.

At this moment, Wei Zhengli continued, "Your Majesty, I believe the princes are still young, and this matter is not urgent."

After Wei Zhengli finished speaking, he stood there like an old god, as if what had just happened had nothing to do with him.

After the ministers glanced at Wei Zhengli, they all withdrew their gazes.

To them, Wei Zhengli's reason was too simple and not worth mentioning at all.

But Jiang Chen didn't think so.

A sharp light flashed in his eyes.

This Wei Zhengli was truly cunning!

He was clearly opposed, but the reason he gave was insignificant, making it impossible to find fault with him.

But unfortunately for Wei Zhengli, he was dealing with Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen wouldn't let Wei Zhengli get away with it so easily.

"Minister Wei, why can't the princes be granted titles just because they are young?"

Jiang Chen looked at Wei Zhengli calmly, "Throughout history, there have been precedents of princes being granted titles as soon as they were born. Why is it that when it comes to me, it's not urgent?"

Wei Zhengli didn't expect Jiang Chen to call him out directly, and he felt a little flustered.

But after all, he had been a minister for decades, and he quickly calmed himself down, saying, "Your Majesty, I believe that granting titles to princes is not only a matter of honorific titles, but also requires careful consideration of the fiefdoms."

"The matter of fiefdoms is not a child's play and must be carefully considered, so I believe it is not urgent."

"What's more, if we grant titles now, we will inevitably have to build palaces for the princes. Now that our Great Wei has just experienced a major disaster, it is not appropriate to start large-scale construction."

Wei Zhengli's words immediately received the support of the ministers who opposed granting titles now.

This reason sounded very convincing.

More importantly, it was considering the matter from the perspective of the people.

None of the reasons given by so many ministers were as appropriate as Wei Zhengli's.

For a time, many ministers secretly sighed, thinking that he was indeed the Minister of Works, and his words were of a high standard.

Jiang Chen sneered inwardly.

Wei Zhengli's words sounded beautiful, but Jiang Chen knew the actual situation very well.

Because just half a month ago, Wei Zhengli had requested an appropriation to research tools.

This appropriation was as much as hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.

According to Wei Zhengli's statement in the memorial, this was money that had to be spent!

But when it came to building palaces for the princes, it became inappropriate to start large-scale construction.

"Is that so?"

Jiang Chen smiled faintly, then looked at Xu Changqing, the Minister of Revenue, "Minister Xu, how much silver is currently in the national treasury?"

Xu Changqing remembered it very well and stepped forward, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the national treasury is currently relatively abundant, with a surplus of 9.17 million taels of silver."

This number surprised many ministers.

After a major disaster, how could the surplus in the national treasury increase instead of decrease?

But the focus was not here. Jiang Chen looked at Wei Zhengli, wanting to hear how Wei Zhengli would continue to defend himself.

Wei Zhengli didn't expect Jiang Chen to suddenly take it seriously, and he was at a loss for words for a moment.

After a long while, he came up with an excuse.

"Your Majesty, although there is a lot of surplus in the national treasury at the moment, no one can predict whether there will be any natural disasters in the future. Moreover, Lord Yao is currently fighting against the Mengmu army in Nanzhao, and money is needed in all aspects."

Jiang Chen took a deep look at Wei Zhengli.

It was really difficult for Wei Zhengli, who had said everything he could think of.

But Jiang Chen's original purpose was not to really grant titles.

He just wanted to test the waters and see who was behind the other five princes.

So after listening to Wei Zhengli's sufficient reasons, Jiang Chen smiled faintly.

"In that case, we will not build palaces for the time being."

As soon as Jiang Chen said these words, many ministers breathed a sigh of relief.

As expected, they still needed Lord Wei to take action. As soon as Lord Wei took action, he successfully persuaded His Majesty.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Chen then continued, "As many ministers have said, the five princes are still young, so there is no need for fiefdoms."

"But the matter of granting titles should still proceed."

Jiang Chen's words left many ministers dumbfounded.

What did he mean?

No fiefdoms, but they were still granted titles?

Jiang Chen smiled faintly, "The princes are still young, so let them continue to live in the capital, which will save money. But granting titles is not troublesome."

After speaking, Jiang Chen looked at Zhao Liting, the Minister of Rites, "Minister Zhao, please draft titles for the five princes as soon as possible and send them up."

Zhao Liting nodded quickly upon hearing this, "This minister obeys!"

Afterwards, Jiang Chen ignored the stunned ministers and left the court directly.

It wasn't until after Jiang Chen left that a great uproar finally erupted in the hall.

Had His Majesty made up his mind to grant titles to the five princes?

The ministers who agreed with this matter were naturally very happy.

The ministers who opposed this matter looked worried.

Only Zhao Liting sighed inwardly, thinking that His Majesty's methods were really too clever.

Because at the moment, all the ministers' thoughts were on the matter of granting titles, and they all thought that Jiang Chen wanted to grant titles to the other princes as soon as possible in order to ensure the crown prince's position.

But they didn't notice that Jiang Chen had used Wei Zhengli's reason to postpone the matter of fiefdoms.

In this way, Jiang Chen had successfully achieved his goal.

And those ministers with ulterior motives were still struggling with how to prevent Jiang Chen from granting titles!

The ministers dispersed one after another. After exchanging glances, many ministers walked together.

Jiang Chen returned to the Hall of Diligent Governance, and Feng Jin gave Jiang Chen a thumbs up with a smile on his face.

"Your Majesty killed two birds with one stone, it's really too brilliant!"

Jiang Chen chuckled. He didn't expect Wei Zhengli to use the people as a reason.

But in that instant, Jiang Chen had thought of using this reason to achieve his own goal.

Now, I'm afraid those ministers are still racking their brains, thinking about how to make me withdraw the idea of granting titles!

Jiang Chen knew that he had to put some pressure on those ministers in order to make them all reveal their true colors.

So the next morning, Jiang Chen asked Feng Jin to spread the word that he was feeling unwell and that the morning court was canceled.

This behavior undoubtedly made those ministers who were preparing to oppose the granting of titles feel uneasy.

They felt that Jiang Chen was using delaying tactics.

Delaying until the Ministry of Rites had finalized everything.

This was absolutely not allowed!

After thinking about it, these ministers wrote memorials and placed them on Jiang Chen's desk.

Jiang Chen said to the outside world that he was feeling unwell, but in fact, he had already been sitting in the Hall of Diligent Governance, reviewing memorials.

Looking at the memorials opposing the granting of titles, Jiang Chen sneered.

Sure enough, it was only the first day, and the ministers couldn't help it anymore.

After counting the number of those memorials, Jiang Chen was a little dissatisfied.