Wealth and glory seek stability

three days later.

The imperial edict appointing Jian Xi as the Minister of Agriculture was delivered to Princess Jiahe's mansion.

In addition, Jian Xi was rewarded with ten thousand taels of gold, a mansion, and the vast and sparsely populated northern grassland.

Zhang Ge placed one hand on his chest and performed a servile gesture to Jian Xi.

"Congratulations, sir."

The guard behind him came forward holding a scarlet court robe.

"This is the court dress. Please put it on and come with me to the royal court to thank His Majesty."

Jian Xi couldn't take her eyes off the court robe embellished with pearls and rubies.

"Thank you, General."

Jian Xi held the court robe in both hands, and the pearls on it sparkled in the sunlight.

The snowstorm that had been blowing for days finally stopped. The rewards in front of the princess's mansion were piled up on the ground, attracting many people to watch.

Zhang Cen'er stood aside with his eyes wide open.

Jian Xi knew about the bet between her mother and the empress. The Grand Minister of Agriculture was indeed an important position, and people from the three major families had always been eyeing the position of Grand Minister of Agriculture.

Everyone wanted to place their own people there, and Zhang Qiao always promoted talented people regardless of their relationship with him.

However, the situation in the Xuanwu Dynasty was complicated, and the phrase "unruly people are difficult to discipline" was not a simple one.

The previous Minister of Agriculture all caused dissatisfaction among various forces by forcing herdsmen to farm, and in the end, they were all killed by herdsmen in riots.

Because the herdsmen have a strong backer, any investigation will only lead to a high stakes release.

It is easier for the people to earn profits by herding horses and sheep than by farming. The climate in the Xuanwu Dynasty was changeable, and if there was a natural disaster, there would be no harvest.

It's not easy to be the Minister of Agriculture.

Jian Xi knew that Zhang Qiao was very satisfied with her answer.

In addition to preparing the answer sheet for Zhang Qiao these days, the most important thing for her was to catch up on the common knowledge about the Xuanwu Dynasty.

The Saibei Grassland is close to the junction of the White Tiger Dynasty and the Xuanyuan Dynasty. It was the site of the decisive battle between the Xuanwu Dynasty and the Xuanyuan Dynasty. To the west of the Saibei Grassland is the Divine Doctor Valley.

Although the land is vast and sparsely populated, the most important point is——

big enough!

It was unprecedented that an ordinary minister could own a fiefdom just like a noble with a title.

*

The first rays of sunlight in the early morning completely illuminated the Black Tortoise in front of the royal court.

The grand court meeting began.

Jian Xi was extremely satisfied with the time Zhang Qiao chose to go to court.

This was just a short while after she had breakfast.

Jian Xi found her own position and stood respectfully.

The Xuanwu Dynasty had a very vast territory, so officials from other places did not have to attend all the time and were rotated every three months.

In other words, local officials only had one chance a year to meet the empress.

Zhang Qiao, wearing a yellow and black imperial robe, sat on the throne surrounded by eunuchs.

There are no eunuchs in the Xuanwu royal court. They believe in Changshengtian, respect all living things, and are very opposed to castration.

Jian Xi looked around and saw many women among the court officials, all of them tall and with pretty features.

She was standing neither too close nor too far away, but because she was so thin and small she stood out among the crowd.

The court meeting was not as serious as Jian Xi had imagined. Zhang Qiao sat on a high place and watched the court officials quarreling below.

Jian Xi concluded that the main reason for the quarrel was that there was a drought in Xuanwu, and the officials in charge of the Ministry of Works wanted to allocate money to build water conservancy projects.

However, officials from the Ministry of Revenue insisted that the Ministry of Works’ share for the year had been used up and rejected the proposal.

The officials of the Ministry of Works scolded the officials of the Ministry of Revenue for being misers who guarded the gold mines and treated the national treasury as their own home.

On the one hand, he began to complain to Zhang Qiao about how difficult it was for the Ministry of Works, and on the other hand, he scolded the officials of the Ministry of Revenue for their inaction.

As the argument went on, they started to make personal attacks.

......

It seemed that the two forces were about to fight.

Zhang Qiao finally raised his hand to stop it.

"My dear, stop it."

Jian Xi was watching with great interest. The leaders of the two forces should be powerful figures at ordinary times, but now they were arguing in the court for their own purposes like children fighting over candies.

The filter of power in Jian Xi's heart shattered in an instant, and then turned into an indestructible belief in her heart.

Only those who dare to do can do things in this world.

These people can do it, why can't she?

Desire was clearly written on these people's faces, just like the maids who used to fight to serve in the main house in Xia's courtyard.

The only difference is that the environment in which he exists has changed into a turbulent court.

Power has gilded these people, and their daily words and deeds become unpredictable intentions of their superiors in the eyes of those below them.

In a flash of enlightenment, the foggy road ahead suddenly became clear.

Jian Xi's eyes were surprisingly bright.

Zhang Qiao pointed casually, "Tell me, what is the explanation for this?"

Everyone looked in the direction where the empress was pointing.

Jian Xi:!!!

Named.

I sorted out the thoughts in my mind and expressed my thoughts:

"I think what the Ministry of Works officials said makes sense. If we build water conservancy projects, it will be a great thing that benefits the country and the people."

Hearing this, the officials of the Ministry of Works instantly perked up and held their heads high.

Zhang Qiao stood still like a mountain, his dignified voice showed no emotion, "So you support the Ministry of Revenue withdrawing silver from the national treasury to the Ministry of Works?"

Jian Xi shook her head. "No, the official from the Ministry of Revenue just said that the Ministry of Industry's share for this year has already been used up."

At this time, the Ministry of Revenue all stood up and agreed, "Yes, the Ministry of Works has the largest expenditure every year, but it never earns any money. It is a black hole that cannot be filled, no matter how many gold and silver mines there are."

"Humph! You have made any money? You are just guarding those mines and living off your savings. You still have the nerve to criticize us."

"Shut up!" Zhang Qiao was annoyed the most that these people were always arguing about the same thing. There were so many people, but no one could give her a feasible charter. They just threw the problem to her and asked her to make the decision.

Thinking of the clear plan Jian Xi gave her, and the fact that she also gave two feasible solutions based on the actual situation, Zhang Qiao only needed to choose the best one.

From this perspective, these people in the court will only bother her with a bunch of trivial matters every day.

If she had done all that, would she still need these ministers to just sit there and do nothing?

"you say!"

Zhang Qiao looked at Jian Xi.

People from both forces were all waiting for Jian Xi's next words. As for the other neutral people, it had nothing to do with them anyway, so they might as well just watch the fun.

Jian Xi: What should I do if I suddenly feel cold sweat on my forehead? I really want to shed two drops of cold sweat in silence.

"Your Majesty, I believe that the system of the Xuanwu Dynasty has great problems. If it is not reformed, it will inevitably cause irreparable losses."

Jian Xi's words were powerful.

She wasn't going to take sides.

When the facts are in her favor, she emphasizes the facts; when the rules are in her favor, she emphasizes the rules. This is the principle she has always adhered to.

But now she has neither of them, so she can only slam the table to muddy the water.

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole room was in an uproar.

The row at the edge are adult princes and princesses.

Zhang Lan'er stood at the front.

She was already surprised to see Jian Xi wearing the third-grade court dress at the grand court meeting, and then she heard Zhang Qiao asking Jian Xi to express her opinion alone, which meant that Jian Xi's appearance was tacitly approved by her mother.

How dare she say that?!