Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court

The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue took a strong stance—no money, but one life.

Princess Wanshou, who was standing nearby, gradually began to understand something, but the old emperor didn’t notice.

The old emperor tried to negotiate with the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, saying, “You can withhold the Ministry’s money, but as for the stolen goods in the rebel hideout…”

The Minister of Revenue wanted to directly reply, “I won’t give them to you either,” but he touched his neck, then thought about his nine generations, and decided to be more tactful: “Your Majesty, according to custom, these…”

The old emperor’s eyes widened, “The items seized should naturally go into the national treasury, but this isn’t about a house being seized, it’s about eliminating bandits! Whoever eliminates them gets the rewards!”

Seeing the old emperor’s attitude, the Minister of Revenue hesitated and started to back down.

Well, maybe…

【This White Sun Cult leader seems pretty rich. No wonder he can afford to hand out money and eggs! His family runs… one, two, three, four, five chicken farms, with thousands of chickens per farm. There are red roosters, white roosters, black roosters, hens… Altogether, it must be worth 200,000 teals.】

The Minister of Revenue’s ears twitched.@@novelbin@@

【No wonder he had the guts to start a rebellion…】

The Minister of Revenue also gained some courage.

His expression became unusually serious. “Your Majesty! There are five chicken farms, at least give me two!”

Xu Yanmao was completely stunned—

You really have no fear of death, huh?!

Other officials gasped in shock, admiring the Minister of Revenue.

This man dared to demand money from the emperor!

But thinking about their monthly salaries, which come from the national treasury, and recalling how the previous dynasty once had insufficient funds and delayed paying officials’ wages…

Suddenly…

One by one, the officials’ eyes lit up.

The Minister of Revenue is formidable!!!

The old emperor was equally shocked: “You want 80,000 teals?!”

The Minister of Revenue replied calmly: “Your Majesty, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step; a river is formed from small streams. Money is earned bit by bit.”

Translation: I want it!

The old emperor: “Impossible, I can only give you one chicken farm.”

The Minister of Revenue: “Three!”

“You—” The old emperor nearly jumped up. How come this person keeps asking for more?!

The Minister of Revenue quickly explained, “Your Majesty, I have people who know how to raise chickens. You see, just having chicken farms isn’t enough. If they aren’t raised well, all the chickens will die.”

The old emperor fell into deep thought.

Seeing an opportunity, the Minister of Revenue immediately upped his offer: “I don’t need the fighting roosters, just lend me one rooster and five hens every year to breed.”

The old emperor thought for a moment, then nodded. “Alright.”

After all, it wouldn’t look good not giving anything to the Ministry of Revenue. If the national treasury runs out of money later, won’t the emperor be the one with a headache?

White Sun Cult’s leader listened from the side, his eyes filled with tears.

These chickens are his! They are all his! And they’re splitting up his chickens in front of him! Is there no justice, no law?!

The old emperor and the Minister of Revenue happily reached an agreement. As for the rebels, White Sun Cult’s leader was beheaded, and the other civilians were sent back home to farm. Even the chickens found new owners.

Everyone was happy!

The procession continued without any more strange incidents. They simply carried on with their inspections, and when they reached the Bohai Sea, they let Xie Luoshui off.

The emperor and his officials paid great attention to Xie Luoshui’s voyage. The people rely on food, and if Xie Luoshui could bring back these goods, not only would she be awarded a title, but she could also be enshrined in the temple of ancestors!

The Minister of Revenue: “I’ll check the tung oil.”

—Tung oil was an essential waterproof coating for ships. Besides checking the quantity and quality of the oil, the Minister also had to ensure no ginger was mixed in.

Adding crushed ginger prevents the tung oil from thickening and forming “oil skins,” keeping it in its original liquid state.

The Minister of Personnel: “I’ll check the southern compass.”

—The southern compass helps determine direction.

The Minister of War: “I’ll check the star-sighting board.”

—The star-sighting board helps pinpoint the north-south geographical position.

“And I…” The old emperor was in charge of giving Xie Luoshui additional knowledge. During their travels, he had been frequently pulling Xu Yanmao to chat with him, subtly guiding her understanding, so he had now gathered a general idea.

“The new continent you need to find has native people, the land can be farmed, and the central area is a plain.”

There was no description more vague or despair-inducing than this. But Xie Luoshui listened attentively.

She understood that, given how much the emperor valued this voyage, if he could provide her with a detailed sea map, he wouldn’t hesitate. If he hadn’t given it, it was simply because there was none, and she would have to sail and search on her own.

This process would be long and consume vast amounts of resources, but once successful, she would be enfeoffed as a marquis, her name remembered for generations!

The old emperor hesitated, but still didn’t mention the “decreasing rainfall from the eastern coastal areas to the western inland regions.” He felt that rainfall would be difficult for Xie Luoshui to observe and would only make her voyage harder.

The old emperor seemed to want to say something, but then glanced at Xie Luoshui and asked directly, “Do you have a good idea, Minister?”

Xie Luoshui nodded.

“Your Majesty, I think we could organize another fleet to follow the same direction I’m heading. There’s no rush, just island by island, exploring each one, collecting the supplies on the islands, then marking their locations on the map to send back to the Great Xia.”

“There’s more…” Xie Luoshui took a breath and continued, “By occupying the islands one by one, it would be like establishing a series of beacon towers. We could watch over each other, and by periodically having ships patrol, we can ensure that the islands remain part of Great Xia’s territory. In the future, when our ships travel to the West, they can be assured of resupply at sea.”

The old emperor’s thoughts started to stir. “Isn’t this like building a stronghold and waging a long-term war?”

This method would be the most stable, the least prone to errors, and the most likely to succeed. In land warfare, it would be extremely advantageous, and it would be no different in the sea.

He looked at Xie Luoshui with an appreciative gaze. “You’re quite good.” While this wasn’t the most brilliant or awe-inspiring idea, the fact that someone who hadn’t read much or received formal education came up with it clearly showed that they had put thought into it.