Chapter 61: The Imperial Envoy

After a night of rest, stepping back onto the grand Golden Throne Hall, Zhao Yi still felt weakness in his calves.

The family banquet last night had left his heart pounding with trepidation.

The Old Patriarch's single nod of approval carried more pressure than being granted the title of a Marquis over Ten Thousand Households.

Empress Wu Mingkong sat majestically upon the dragon throne, her phoenix robes trailing across the floor, exuding a natural majesty without even showing anger.

"Beloved subjects, rise."

Her cold, crisp voice rang out, and the imperial court session officially commenced.

"Yesterday's case at the Court of Judicial Review gave much food for thought. The border passes of our Great Zhou, much like that court, are long overdue for repairs, and external threats loom. It is my will that the Ministry of Works immediately establish a Bureau of Supervision and Construction to vigorously produce cement, coordinated by the Ministry of War, to prioritize the reinforcement of the Northern Frontier Great Wall and the Southern Passes, thereby strengthening our defenses. Do any of you have objections?"

As soon as these words were spoken, not a single person raised an objection.

"Your Majesty is wise!" The military officials, led by Zhao Zhao, dropped to their knees in unison.

"Furthermore, Chen Zi'ang has been removed from his post as the Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and the position cannot remain vacant for long. Li Zheng, the Minister of Punishments, is upright and unyielding, perfectly suited for the task. Effective immediately, he is promoted to Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. The vacancy of the Minister of Punishments shall be filled by Zhang Duan, the Senior Vice Minister of Punishments."

Li Zheng and Zhang Duan stepped out of the ranks and kowtowed in gratitude.

The series of appointments flowed as smoothly as drifting clouds and flowing water.

Just when everyone assumed today was merely a routine procedural meeting, Wu Mingkong shifted the topic.

"If our Great Zhou is to enjoy long-term peace and stability, we must widely gather talents from across the realm. I have decided to open the imperial examinations. Regardless of background or lineage, any citizen of our Great Zhou who possesses scholarly talent may take the examinations to enter the court and serve the country!"

Boom!

This single statement was even more earth-shattering than the "Dog-Head Guillotine"!

The entire imperial court instantly erupted into chaos.

Grand Academician Wei Zheng, with his white hair and beard, burst into tears on the spot, falling to his knees and weeping like a three-hundred-pound child.

"Your Majesty! Oh, Your Majesty! Scholars from humble backgrounds finally have their day to shine! Long live Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty! Long live, long live Your Majesty!"

His tears instantly triggered a massive wave of officials of humble origins. Inside the Golden Throne Hall, the sound of weeping filled the air.

However, the expressions of the officials from aristocratic and noble clans turned incomparably ugly.

Open the imperial examinations?

This was attempting to uproot them entirely!

"I beg Your Majesty to reconsider!"

"Once the imperial examinations are opened, mud and sand will wash in together; treacherous and vile individuals might sneak into the court and shake the foundation of the state!"

Wu Mingkong coldly gazed at the group of ministers, each harboring their own hidden agendas, and was just about to lash out.

From a corner, Zhao Yi's lazy voice rang out.

"Oh, saying it like that makes it sound as though there aren't already treacherous and vile individuals in the court right now. That Chen Zi'ang, which cesspool did he crawl out from?"

A single sentence choked back every single dissenting voice.

"My mind is made up!" Wu Mingkong struck the final note. "This matter shall be handled jointly by the Ministry of Rites and Grand Academician Wei Zheng!"

At that very moment, a figure as round as a ball scrambled out from the ranks of the Ministry of Revenue, tumbling and crawling.

It was Zhao Dezhuan, the Minister of Revenue.

"Your Majesty! This must not be, Your Majesty!"

Zhao Dezhuan cried and wailed, snot and tears streaming down his face. "Repairing city walls requires money! Opening the imperial examinations requires money! But our national treasury... even a mouse entering our treasury would have to leave in tears!"

"Right now, the treasury accounts show less than a million taels of silver remaining—not even enough to pay the military salaries for the troops at the end of the year! What are we supposed to use to fund these grand endeavors?!"

With these words, the previously fiery atmosphere instantly plummeted into freezing coldness.

No money.

This was the most fatal problem of all.

Wu Mingkong's expression sank as well.

She swept her gaze across the room and asked coldly, "Beloved subjects, does anyone have a brilliant strategy to share the burden of the state?"

Zhou Xian, the Junior Vice Minister of Revenue, leaped forward. "Your Majesty, this subject believes we can levy an additional land tax to replenish the imperial treasury!"

"Bulls***!" Zhao Zhao, Zhao Yi's father, cursed on the spot. "The common people are already struggling to survive as it is; imposing more taxes now—are you trying to force them into rebellion?"

An official from the Ministry of Personnel proposed, "We could reduce military expenditures..."

Before he could even finish speaking, he felt dozens of murderous gazes lock onto him, scaring him so badly that he immediately shrank back.

Wu Mingkong looked at this group of wine-sacks and rice-buckets, her temples throbbing with anger.

Finally, her gaze landed on Zhao Yi, who was dozing off in the corner.

"Zhao Yi, do you have a solution?"

Here it comes!

Zhao Yi cursed inwardly.

This foul woman only knows how to shear wool from my sheep! Am I your family's omnipotent wish-granting machine?

Cursing up a storm in his mind, he nonetheless stepped forward, assuming a sorrowful expression of deep concern for the country and its people.

"Well, as for solutions, I do happen to have two."

He raised his first finger.

"This first strategy is called: If you want to get rich, build roads first!"

"Build roads?" The civil and military officials were all stunned.

"That's right!" Zhao Yi cleared his throat. "Use my cement to rebuild the imperial highways! Cement roads are smooth and sturdy, and travel efficiency will be at least three times faster than the current dirt roads!"

"Once the roads are built, we will establish 'tax checkpoints' along the highways!"

"In other words, toll booths!"

"For all passing merchants and travelers, we collect a certain road toll based on the distance traveled and the weight of their goods! This revenue will continuously flow in to enrich the imperial treasury!"

"Of course, with collection comes concession. We can abolish most of the existing extortionate taxes and miscellaneous levies on merchants, keeping only this single road toll. In doing so, we not only lighten the burden on merchants and encourage them to trade far and wide, but we also stimulate regional economies—killing multiple birds with one stone!"

Before he could even finish speaking, Li Buqing, the Minister of Rites, grew anxious.

"Absurd! Utterly absurd! Since ancient times, scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants have existed in a hierarchy, with merchants at the very bottom, mere pursuers of profit! How can we open wide the gates of convenience for them? This... this is an insult to refinement! The country will cease to be a country!"

"Old man, we're so poor our pants are about to fall off, and you're still talking to me about refinement?" Zhao Yi rolled his eyes. "How about you donate your family estate to the treasury, and I'll take back what I just said?"

"You!" Li Buqing trembled with rage, his beard quivering.

Caring little for him, Zhao Yi dropped another heavyweight bomb.

"Not only that! This subject also suggests allowing merchants to participate in the imperial examinations! Give them a chance to bring honor to their ancestors as well!"

"Of course, to earn this qualification, they must pay ten times the taxes of ordinary people!"

Upon hearing this, Li Buqing nearly choked on his breath and almost fainted on the spot.

Meanwhile, the sharp-witted officials suddenly had their eyes light up.

This... actually seemed entirely feasible!

A gleam of light also appeared in Wu Mingkong's phoenix eyes.

"Approved!"

She looked at Zhao Yi with a hint of anticipation. "And what is your second strategy?"

Zhao Yi chuckled, wearing the expression of a mystical sage.

"The second strategy is a combination punch!"

"Entitled: 'Scientific Farming!'"

He walked to the center of the grand hall and began tracing outlines on the gold-paved bricks with his foot.

"Your Majesty, esteemed ministers, please look. Currently, the plows of our Great Zhou are straight-shafted; plowing the fields is laborious and inefficient. This subject has invented a 'curved-shaft plow.' It is flexible in turning and allows precise control over the depth, enabling a single able-bodied laborer to plow twice as much land in a day as before!"

"Furthermore, agricultural irrigation currently relies entirely on people carrying water manually. This subject has invented a 'dragon-bone waterwheel.' With just a single person stepping on the pedals, river water is automatically lifted to higher ground, irrigating hundreds of acres of fertile land!"

"In addition to this, I have a method called 'composting.' By mixing useless crop stalks with human and livestock manure and letting them ferment, it becomes top-tier fertilizer! It can increase grain yields per acre by at least thirty percent!"

Curved-shaft plow!

Dragon-bone waterwheel!

Composting!

This unprecedented "technological combination punch" left the civil and military officials dizzy and completely overwhelmed, their brains short-circuiting.

How... how on earth was Zhao Yi's brain wired?

First cement, and now he even understands farming?

And it all sounded... damn it, exceptionally reasonable!

Wu Mingkong could no longer sit still.

She strode down from the dragon throne and arrived before Zhao Yi, her beautiful eyes burning with an irrepressible excitement and fervor.

"Are these words true?!"

"There are no jokes before the sovereign." Zhao Yi puffed out his chest.

"Good!" Wu Mingkong swept her hand outward, her voice carrying the absolute decisiveness of a ruler of all under heaven.

"Hear my decree, Zhao Yi!"

Zhao Yi's heart skipped a beat as an ominous premonition surged within him.

"I appoint you as the Imperial Commissioner! You shall oversee both 'road building' and 'farming' affairs! You will use Ziyang County in the capital region as a pilot zone. You shall have absolute authority over the entire county, and I give you three months!"

"I want to see a brand-new cement highway and fields of golden, bountiful crops!"

"As for funds, I will supply them from my private treasury! As for manpower, you may dispatch any civil or military official as you see fit!"

Staring straight into his eyes, she spoke each word with deliberate weight.

"If you accomplish this well, I will promote you and grant you nobility!"

"If you mess it up..."

"I will twist off your head and use it as a soccer ball!"

Zhao Yi opened his mouth, feeling as though he had just dug a colossal grave for himself.

With a bitter expression, he accepted the heavy imperial decree.

"This subject... obeys the decree."