Chapter 250: The Veteran Minister's Strategy Shocks Everyone; A Battle for Commandership Rises in the Imperial Court

The next day, at the Golden Throne Hall.

It was not yet dawn, but the civil and military officials were already gathered before the hall, whispering to each other in small groups. The atmosphere was heavier and more ominous than usual.

Everyone's eyes were glancing, intentionally or otherwise, at two people—Prime Minister Su Yuandao and Minister of Revenue Chen Jing.

Yesterday, the Emperor had been furious, ordering both of them to produce a disaster relief plan within a day, or else "roll back home to retire." In everyone's eyes, this decree seemed to pave the way for Chen Jing's downfall.

The national treasury was empty; everyone knew this.

How could Minister of Revenue Chen Jing, a clever wife unable to cook without rice, come up with a way to provide disaster relief?

The officials of the Su Faction all wore mocking expressions, confident of victory.

They seemed to already see Minister of Revenue Chen Jing handing over his official seal during the morning court session, bidding farewell to the imperial court forever.

The officials of Minister of Revenue Chen Jing's faction, on the other hand, were all looking miserable and sighing, feeling that the situation was lost.

Only the person in question, Minister of Revenue Chen Jing, was acting quite out of character.

Today, he wore brand-new crimson official robes, a black gauze cap on his head, his back held straight, his complexion ruddy, and his spirit vigorous. Where was there any sign of the dejection of someone about to be dismissed?

He even took the initiative to greet several colleagues, chatting and laughing, looking completely composed.

This greatly surprised everyone, and Prime Minister Su Yuandao's brows furrowed slightly because of it.

"The time has arrived—the officials may enter the hall—"

With the loud chant of the court attendant, the heavy hall doors slowly opened.

The officials filed in and stood on both sides. Emperor Zhao Tuo was already seated high on the dragon throne, his face as dark as water, revealing neither joy nor anger.

"State your business if you have any, otherwise, retire from the court."

Emperor Zhao Tuo's voice was cold and devoid of emotion.

The hall was silent, and everyone's gaze was focused on Prime Minister Su Yuandao and Minister of Revenue Chen Jing.

Prime Minister Su Yuandao took a step forward, about to step out and speak, but unexpectedly, Minister of Revenue Chen Jing was a step faster than him.

"Your subject, Minister of Revenue Chen Jing, has a memorial to present!"

Minister of Revenue Chen Jing's voice was loud and powerful, echoing throughout the Golden Throne Hall.

He held a thick scroll of the memorial in his hands, walked out of the queue, and walked steadily to the center of the hall.

Prime Minister Su Yuandao was stunned, then a cold sneer curled at the corner of his mouth. He wanted to see what tricks this old fellow could come up with overnight.

Emperor Zhao Tuo's gaze fell on Minister of Revenue Chen Jing, and he said indifferently, "Speak."

"Your Majesty!" Minister of Revenue Chen Jing held the memorial high above his head. "Your subject spent the night in deep thought, and fortunately, with the guidance of the sages, I have finally drafted a detailed strategy for quelling the chaos and providing disaster relief. I request Your Majesty's imperial review!"

The attendant hurriedly stepped forward, took the memorial, and presented it to the dragon desk.

Emperor Zhao Tuo slowly unfolded the memorial. At first, he only scanned it casually, but soon, his gaze was deeply drawn by the content on the memorial.

"Work-for-relief, dredging river channels, building water conservancy..."

"Suppressing bandit leaders, streamlining troops and administration, supporting war through war..."

"Rectifying official conduct, severely punishing corruption, pacifying those who collaborated..."

Every word on the memorial seemed to carry a thunderous force.

It not only proposed specific methods to solve the issue of displaced people but also perfectly combined military operations with anti-corruption and reform.

The three strategies ran in parallel, interlocking with one another; they were both visionary and detailed, and even the allocation of provisions, the drafting of troops, and the oversight mechanisms were clearly written out.

This was not a simple disaster relief plan; it was a heaven-shaking strategy sufficient to secure the nation!

Emperor Zhao Tuo was more shocked and excited the more he read. He suddenly raised his head and looked at Minister of Revenue Chen Jing below the hall, his eyes filled with incredible admiration.

This strategy almost coincided perfectly with the plan he and Emperor Liu Sheng had secretly discussed in the Imperial Study last night!

It was even more comprehensive in many details than what he had thought of at the time!

He certainly knew that with Minister of Revenue Chen Jing's ability, he absolutely could not have thought of such a shrewd and thorough plan.

Behind this was undoubtedly Emperor Liu Sheng's handiwork.

What a great Emperor Liu Sheng! What a great Minister of Revenue Chen Jing!

The monarch and his subject, one in the dark and one in the light, cooperated seamlessly!

"Good! What a 'work-for-relief'! What a 'suppressing bandit leaders'!" Emperor Zhao Tuo slapped the dragon desk and praised loudly, "This strategy is far-sighted and shows the prudence of an elder statesman! Minister of Revenue Chen Jing, you... have not disappointed me!"

The Emperor's praise sounded like a thunderclap in the court.

Everyone was stunned.

The mocking smiles on the faces of the Su Faction officials instantly froze.

They could not understand how this old man, Minister of Revenue Chen Jing, who was about to be kicked out, could have come up with such a method.

Prime Minister Su Yuandao's expression changed drastically, and he rushed out: "Your Majesty, absolutely not! This strategy looks perfect, but it is actually full of loopholes and is nothing but empty talk on paper!"

"Oh?" Emperor Zhao Tuo raised an eyebrow and looked at him coldly. "Prime Minister Su, tell me, how is this strategy 'empty talk on paper'?"

Prime Minister Su Yuandao hurriedly said, "Work-for-relief, it is easy to say! There are millions of displaced people in the south; how vast would the required projects be? Where would the money and grain come from? How would the management be carried out? Once the displaced people gather, if there is the slightest carelessness, it will brew an even larger-scale civil uprising!"

"Furthermore," he changed the subject and pointed directly to the core, "drawing out the elite of the Capital Garrison to go south is even more absurd! The Capital Garrison is the foundation for guarding the capital; how can it be easily deployed? Moreover, military and state affairs have always been coordinated by the Ministry of War. Now, bypassing the Ministry of War to establish a separate commander is contrary to ancestral law and will inevitably lead to chaotic military orders and endless future troubles!"

Prime Minister Su Yuandao was indeed an old fox; he grasped the two most critical issues as soon as he spoke: money and military power.

However, as soon as his voice fell, Minister of Revenue Chen Jing spoke calmly.

"In response to Prime Minister Su. Regarding money and grain, it is written clearly in my memorial." Minister of Revenue Chen Jing smiled slightly and said calmly, "Work-for-relief does not mean the imperial court covers everything. We can encourage wealthy merchants and gentry in the Jiangnan region to donate funds to support the work, and the imperial court will reward them, even granting them honorary titles. This move can solve the imperial court's urgent needs and allow wealthy merchants to gain fame; why not do it?"

"As for management, we can select prestigious and capable people from among the displaced people to manage them layer by layer and supervise each other. The imperial court only needs to dispatch a small number of officials to oversee the overall situation, and we can achieve twice the result with half the effort. There are precedents for this method in history books; where does the claim of 'empty talk on paper' come from?"

Minister of Revenue Chen Jing's words were reasonable and well-founded, and Prime Minister Su Yuandao was unable to refute them for a moment.

"As for military power,"

Minister of Revenue Chen Jing's tone became serious, "now the banditry in the south is festering. The local garrisons and the Ministry of War have repeatedly tried to suppress them with little effect, which just goes to show that the original system has already failed! In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures must be taken! By having His Majesty appoint a general to command the Emperor's personal troops and strike directly at the heart, only then can we cut through the Gordian knot and wipe out the world with thunderous force! This is to share the worries of the ruler and eliminate harm for the country; where does the claim of being contrary to ancestral law come from?"

"You!" Prime Minister Su Yuandao was choked into a livid complexion.

He discovered that all the points of rebuttal he could think of had already been anticipated in Minister of Revenue Chen Jing's memorial.

The entire strategy was like a precise fortress, interlocking and impeccable.

He couldn't find a breakthrough point at all!

"Enough!" Emperor Zhao Tuo shouted coldly, interrupting the argument between the two. "My mind is made up! We shall act according to Minister of Revenue Chen Jing's strategy!"

He looked at Minister of Revenue Chen Jing, his tone carrying undeniable majesty: "Minister of Revenue Chen Jing, you shall oversee this matter. I order you to be fully responsible for the preparation and allocation of logistics and provisions! If there are any mistakes, I will hold you solely responsible!"

"Your subject obeys the decree! I will certainly not fail Your Majesty's trust!" Minister of Revenue Chen Jing shouted to accept the order, and a heavy stone in his heart finally landed.

He knew that not only had he kept his official position, but he had also achieved an unprecedented victory in this confrontation with the Su Faction.

"This matter requires a commander with talent to oversee the overall situation." Emperor Zhao Tuo's gaze slowly swept over the officials below the hall. "Who among you think can serve as the commander?"

As soon as the words fell, the court, which had just calmed down, immediately exploded again.

The commander's seal!

This was the real key!

Whoever got the commander's seal would control this elite army heading south, and whoever would control the power of life and death to rectify the officialdom in the south!

This piece of fat meat was too tempting!