Rebirth: The wedding night, my whole family was exiled, I raised 500,000 soldiers

Shen Lanxi's face darkened: "She can go crazy if she wants, but don't kill everyone and ruin my plan!"

"Yes! The child in the palace?"

Shen Lanxi: "Send the memorial to Concubine Shu." Someone will warn Shen Yuantang for her.

"Yes!"

The troops attacking the two rebels sent carrier pigeons every seven days. Shen Lanxi would mark the information on the pigeons on the map and calculate how many days it would take for them to arrive.

A month later, the cultural exchange delegation to the southwest officially set off.

When Shen Lanxi was seeing them off, she felt that the streets were extremely lively, there were many more vendors than before, and the transaction volume was also very high.

Liu Yanhui smiled and said, "I didn't expect the selection of the diplomatic corps would have such an effect."

Shen Lanxi: "If the Ministry of Revenue can do something about this, there's no need to worry about filling the national treasury!"

Liu Yan replied: “…”

The next day, envoys sent by the two rebels arrived in the capital.

"Our Majesty has discussed with the Regent very sincerely and decided to assign Zhuozhou and Dengzhou to us in addition to Shu and Qian. From now on, our Majesty will not interfere with the Great Zhou!" The envoys sent by the two rebels were very arrogant.

Shen Lanxi directly retorted domineeringly: "Not only will my Great Zhou take back the two territories of Shu and Qian, but I will also ask the two traitors for the crime of treason. If the two traitors hand over their territories now and then commit suicide, I can guarantee that their families will not be harmed."

The envoys from Shu and Qian were shocked to see that Shen Lanxi had no sincerity in the negotiations and was so unyielding.

Could it be that they were wrong? Didn’t the rumors they spread in the capital have any impact on the capital at all?

This shouldn't be the case. Emperor Renxiao is the traitor and the thief who stole the country. Shouldn't people all over the world condemn him?

Shen Lanxi: "When two countries are at war, envoys will not be killed. You two, please go back!"

The two envoys' faces changed and they left the court with heavy hearts.

Five days later, rumors began to spread in the capital.

"How come I heard that the former prince's descendants are still alive?"

"The former crown prince's descendants are in Shu?"

"Rumors spread in Shu and Qian that they want to uphold the orthodoxy, purge the emperor, and kill the thieves who stole the country!"

Rumors were spreading like wildfire for a while.

In the court

"As soon as the envoys sent by the two traitors left, rumors spread. It's obvious that this is their evil plan!"

"It is better to guard against the people's mouths than to guard against the river. We must stop the rumors as soon as possible."

"It takes only a few words to spread rumors, but it takes a lot of effort to refute them. So many people are talking about it. Do you think you and I should ask the soldiers guarding the city to put aside their work and go explain to them?"

Even if they explain, the people have to believe it!

"We must stop the rumors as soon as possible and find out the source. If that doesn't work, we should kill one person to warn the rest!"

The court was in chaos.

Wang Bao: "Silence!"

All the officials stopped subconsciously.

Shen Lanxi: "Blocking rumors is the same as regulating a river. It is better to drain than to block. The more you block people from speaking out, the more people will believe it is true."

Wu Yanzhi: "How to relieve it?"

Shen Lanxi: "Set up a bulletin every three to five days, which will record interesting things happening in the capital and even in the entire Great Zhou, so that new things can suppress old rumors!"

Liu Mingxin nodded: "That's a good idea."

Shen Lanxi: "Then let's leave this matter to the two respected literary masters, Mr. Liu and the old master. You will formulate the content, which must be positive and eye-catching."

Liu Yanhui stepped forward and said, "Lord Regent, I think if this matter is accomplished, it will definitely bring additional revenue to the treasury of our Great Zhou."

Shen Lanxi nodded: "The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Rites will assist!"

"Yes!"

Wang Bao: "If you have something to report, report it early. If you don't, leave the court!"

Liu Yan replied: "I have something to report!"

Shen Lanxi: "Sure."

Liu Yan replied: "Yesterday I was suddenly stopped on the street and cried out for justice."

Shen Lanxi: "Tell me in detail."

Liu Yan replied: "That man is the owner of a dyeing workshop in the city. He stopped me because he felt that the court's taxes were too harsh and that his dyeing workshop was about to close. He also shouted that the court would not leave a way for the people to survive. Many people on the street saw it. I felt that if I didn't deal with this matter publicly, it would probably cause public resentment."

Shen Lanxi nodded: "That makes sense."

“Is the tax imposed by the imperial court on his dyeing workshop within a reasonable range?”

Liu Yan replied: "It is indeed much higher than ten years ago."

Wu Yanzhi: "That's because of the previous years of war."

Liu Yanhui bowed and said, "I think the imperial treasury now has a surplus, so we can restore the previous tax rate appropriately."

Shen Lanxi nodded.

The assistant minister of the Ministry of War stood up to oppose it.

"No, the Southwest and Shuqian will soon raise troops, and a large amount of money will flow out of the court. The court is already merciful by not increasing taxes. If we reduce them further, where will the military supplies and food for the Great Zhou army come from?"

Liu Yanhui said to the Minister of Revenue: "According to what you said, in order to support the Great Zhou army, the people will have to tighten their belts and go hungry, or even starve to death?"

The Minister of War said: "You are just making up a story. We have been increasing taxes for ten years. How come the people haven't starved to death? Your words, Lord Liu, are simply undermining the interests of our court."

Liu Yan replied: "Your Excellency, the Minister has been in the imperial court for a long time, so naturally he is not aware of the sufferings of the people. If it weren't for the regent who presided over the reclamation of wasteland in the past two years, the people would have starved to death long ago."

The Minister of War blushed and said, "You are just making up excuses."

Liu Yanhui snorted coldly: "You are a corrupt official who only knows how to take advantage of the people and is ignorant of their suffering."

"How dare you!" The assistant minister of the Ministry of War blushed and jumped up and down in anger.

Wang Bao: "Silence!"

A moment of silence.

Shen Lanxi pretended not to understand and said, "How come we are talking about dyeing workshops and now we are talking about taxes from the imperial court?"

"You all are really good at drawing inferences from one instance to another. You always care about the people of our Great Zhou!"

"It is a blessing for the people that our Great Zhou has such a good official who loves the people like his own children!"

Liu Yan replied: "Reporting to the Regent, I was interrupted before I could finish my speech. I will continue now."

Shen Lanxi: "Speak!"

Liu Yan replied: "After I asked the Ministry of Justice for help in the investigation, I found that this businessman was talking nonsense and was deliberately instigated by someone to stir up public resentment."

Shen Lanxi: "But they were sent by the two traitors?"

Liu Yan replied: "That's right!"

Shen Lanxi slapped her legs hard and angrily said, "They are simply worthy of death!"

Liu Yan replied: "The Dali Temple has verified that the merchant is not unable to survive as he said. Instead, he has three wives and four concubines, silks and satins, and delicacies from land and sea. He lives a very rich life."

Shen Lanxi gritted her teeth and said, "Great! You actually deceived an official of my imperial court."

Liu Yanhui continued, "This merchant has one wife, eighteen concubines, fifty or sixty illegitimate sons and daughters, and he even has four mistresses outside."