Spoiling my mistress and swallowing my dowry? After my rebirth, I changed my marriage to a powerful

After the earthquake in Zhongzhou, major events occurred one after another in the court.

The crown prince failed to provide disaster relief, so the court issued an order for him to return to the court.

Originally, construction on some sections of the Grand Canal was suspended. However, during the disaster period when materials were severely scarce and the weather was freezing cold, it was not suitable to continue excavation.

In desperation, the imperial court ordered a complete halt to the Grand Canal project.

The Grand Canal project has been in the works for more than a decade. It is the largest project in Daqian headed by the Cheng'en Palace.

Your Majesty, just say you don’t want to do it?

Duke Cheng'en had been ill for several days because of the death of his great-grandson, but he still struggled to go to court.

He cannot fall. The crown prince has not returned, and the eldest son Anyuan is not here. The court cannot be without the Wei family.

"The construction of the Grand Canal has been suspended, and all previous efforts have been wasted. How much more manpower, material resources and financial resources will be required to resume the construction? Your Majesty, have you ever thought about this?"

His Majesty looked at the sickly Duke Cheng'en calmly, feeling inexplicably happy.

Are you finally sick too?

Haven't you always been good at bullying me?

He said calmly, "The treasury is empty, and I am in trouble. If Lord Cheng'en is willing to lend me silver for half a year, I will naturally continue. Lord Cheng'en, are you willing to lend me silver?"

Duke Cheng'en was originally not allowed to look directly at the emperor, but at this moment he could not help but look at His Majesty.

Is Your Majesty being a rogue?

Emperor Hui: Yes, I have been forced into a rogue by you Wei family!

Duke Cheng En was furious and said, "Your Majesty, go ask all Daqian, who can lend you half a year's worth of money to do this project? 500,000 catties of grain a day, we need to eat a mountain of grain in half a year. Who can have so much grain?"

His cronies and officials came out in twos and threes and said, "The construction of the Grand Canal cannot be stopped."

“The project cannot be stopped, otherwise all the previous efforts will be wasted.”

"Your Majesty, please think again."

Half of the court officials remained silent, and they also felt that stopping the project was absolutely not a good idea. However, if they didn't stop, there would be no money in the treasury!

What a sad story.

Emperor Hui said quietly, "Don't even think twice. I think all day long, where does the silver come from and where does it go? My dear ministers don't have any silver, and the treasury doesn't have any either. So what do you think I should do?"

"I think the court can once again issue a notice in large letters to all households, inviting them to buy, and advance six months' worth of silver, which will be considered a loan from the court, and then be repaid in installments each year. Those who are willing to buy can sign a contract with the court."

His Majesty smiled and said, "The court also has a contract with Duke Cheng'en's Mansion. Duke Cheng'en's Mansion can break the contract, but can you guarantee the fulfillment of other people's contracts?"

Duke Cheng'en was speechless and sneered in his heart: Ha, such a big project is stopped just like that, you are not afraid that the people will call you stupid, so what should I be afraid of!

Just stop it. Anyway, Daqian’s surname is Zhou, not Wei.

So, Duke Cheng En said, "Your Majesty is right. In this case, the Grand Canal project should be stopped!"

Gu Shaoyu, who had been silent the whole time, took over the conversation at this time: "Mr. Cheng'en is right. Let's suspend the Grand Canal project and resume work as soon as possible after the natural disaster is over."

Duke Cheng'en and his party had no objection.

Gu Shaoyu said again: "Although it is suspended, the early stage construction cannot be abandoned. It is better for Cheng'en Mansion to return the project to the Ministry of Works first, and the Ministry of Works will issue a document as soon as possible to order the local government to send people to carry out daily maintenance."

Cheng En Gong and his group agreed with both hands.

It can be handed over to the Ministry of Works and maintained by local governments, and the expenses will not need to be borne by the Cheng'en Palace. It is definitely a good thing.

His Majesty looked at him suspiciously several times. What did Lord Gu want to do?

As soon as the court was dismissed, Gu Shaoyu urged the Ministry of Works: "Hand it over to Cheng'en Mansion as soon as possible, and order local officials to send people to maintain it without delay."

The Minister of Works couldn't understand why the money earned belonged to Cheng'en Mansion, but the maintenance during the downtime was borne by the court.

The Ministry of Works handed over the task to Wei Shixun with a bitter face, and the Wei family was very happy. They, the Wei family, had the confidence to do so. If they wanted to take over, they could take it. If they didn't want to take over, they could just leave it to the court!

His Majesty called Gu Shaoyu over, dismissed everyone, and asked Gu Shaoyu: "Why did you take over this project at such a difficult time?"

And asking the local government to maintain it, isn't that still a waste of the court's money?

The more Emperor Hui thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. He took out his brush and tried to hit him on the head again: "If you can't explain it, I will use you to fill up the Grand Canal!"

Gu Shaoyu said calmly: "Your Majesty, I have a few questions for you. Are you willing to answer them truthfully?"

"Yes."

"First, fifteen years ago, Your Majesty planned this project that would benefit the country and the people. When Duke Cheng'en took over this project, did he go through a public bidding process?"

"Yes."

“Have the relevant people avoided suspicion?”

"No." The candidates for the buying method were all people of Cheng En Gong.

“Second, is the amount of money required for the project reasonable?”

"After calculations by the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Industry, it is not the lowest, but it is not the highest either. It is within a reasonable range."

“During the implementation, are there any additional expenditure items?”

"Yes. The actual payment in silver is more than ten times, but there are compelling reasons."

“Fourth, how many officials are involved in the Grand Canal project?”

"The Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Personnel... This is a comprehensive project, and all ministries are involved."

"Fifth, this project has 50 daily civilian workers. Will they remember your majesty's merits or praise Duke Cheng'en for his service to the country and the people?"

"..."

"Sixth, Your Majesty, who do you think will benefit the most from the sudden increase in the price of food and other supplies during this earthquake?"

Most of the emperor's close ministers were still there, but Emperor Hui's mind had already flown away.

He and the late emperor had fought against the Wei family, but he had never won. The late emperor held his hand before his death, and although he didn't say anything, he understood.

However, after half a lifetime, the Wei family is still powerful enough.

For a Grand Canal project, the imperial court put out so much silver to help Cheng'en Mansion make money, accumulate connections, and fatten up Cheng'en Mansion, while Emperor Hui became more passive.

But what can he do?

No one else can replace the Wei family!

The power of Duke Cheng'en's Mansion is too strong. To put it bluntly, as long as the Wei family wants, he can become the emperor at any time!

After half a lifetime of gambling, he still couldn't win. He was ready to be labeled as a tyrant and a fool before his death, just to clear the way for the next generation of kings!

It’s a pity that the prince and he are not on the same page.

"So, you want to take this opportunity to take the Grand Canal project back to the court?" He now understood Gu Shaoyu's plan.

"Yes, I want to take advantage of this earthquake to get the Grand Canal project back."

Gu Shaoyu said, "Although it seems like a disadvantage, but no matter how they eat it, we can make them spit it out as long as we hold the Grand Canal."

"It took more than three years from the preliminary research to the official start of construction of the Cheng'en Mansion. Your Majesty can take control of the officials involved at once."

"By the way, replace them with your Majesty's trusted ones. Corrupt officials and even those with second thoughts will be killed without mercy in the name of corruption. Most of the party members can be eliminated at one time."

All the houses were confiscated and the money invested in the Grand Canal was taken back.

He also told Emperor Hui a terrible reality -

Duke Cheng'en is old. His eldest son Wei Anyuan has settled in the northwest. His second son Wei Anlu is incompetent. Wei Shining, who is both civil and military, has been expelled from the court. However, it is impossible for the Wei family to withdraw from the court.

It is very likely that the sinister and cunning seventh grandson Wei Shixun was promoted to the court.

Wei Shixun was less than 30 years old. His ability and strategy were no worse than those of Duke Cheng'en. With the foundation laid by three generations of the Wei family, Wei Shixun used the Grand Canal and his accumulated connections occupied half of the court.

If he entered the court, he would be more difficult to deal with than Duke Cheng'en.