Chapter 447 Visit

Eunuch Li brought Chu Muran to the treasury.

Along the way, Chu Muran enjoyed the feeling of being worshipped wherever he went.

He had a smile on his face, and the respect he had never enjoyed in all these years returned to him.

After the treasury was opened, Chu Muran walked in excitedly.

He secretly thought that there must be a lot of gold, jewels and countless money inside.

His future three palaces and six courtyards, as well as his bedroom, will all require money. An emperor without money is spineless.

But when he saw the real treasury, his pupils trembled and he was greatly disappointed.

He did not see boxes and boxes of gold, silver and jewelry.

"Eunuch Li, where is my money?"

Eunuch Li respectfully handed over an account book.

"Your Majesty, the Great Chu has been at war for years, and the treasury is empty. Previously, it was maintained by Master Ye, but then the previous emperor passed away, and there was little silver left in the treasury, and we also owed a lot of foreign debts to the Great Xia Kingdom."

"Impossible!" Chu Muran's face suddenly changed. He didn't come back to take over a mess.

"What about Chu Li? How does she pay the ministers in the court?"

Eunuch Li nodded, "Your Majesty has the help of His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin, so you don't need money. However, His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin left the capital overnight and is nowhere to be found."

He would never tell His Majesty Chu Muran that he had emptied the national treasury, for fear that he would destroy it.

"What!" Chu Muran was almost mad with anger. He had become a hollow emperor.

Eunuch Li said in embarrassment: "Your Majesty, the officials will be paid their salaries in three days, you see..."

Chu Muran's eyes became panicked. "Count the treasury and pay the salaries first. Increase the salaries of officials above the third rank by five taels of silver, and those below the third rank by two taels. Starting from this month, the salaries will be paid in batches every three months."

He had to find a way to raise money and not let the Chu Kingdom fall into chaos.

Especially those ministers, he had just become emperor and had to get their support.

As for what happens three months later, we’ll talk about it later.

Eunuch Li lowered his eyes. Increasing the salaries by so much to win over officials was not a small amount.

Chu Muran has drawn a very big pie, can he make it come true in the future?

The next morning, Chu Muran went to court. Only a few minor incidents happened in the court. He was humble and after consulting several important ministers, he arranged them one by one.

Then he announced a decision.

"My dear ministers, I want to strengthen the border defenses, widen the Grand Canal, rebuild the border cities, and collect taxes from merchants and civilians again. In addition, I want to cut off trade with Xirong, Jinlin, and Daxia to prevent the outflow of money from the Great Chu Kingdom."

General Mu frowned and was the first to speak out. "Your Majesty, this move will cost the people money and labor, and the people will complain. Trade has already shown initial results. Your Majesty, please think twice."

Prime Minister Li also stood up and said, "The Jinlin Kingdom and the Xirong Kingdom have already shown goodwill to the Great Chu and have been trading with each other in a friendly manner. The Great Xia is a powerful country and has never fought with the Great Chu, so why should they also ban trade? The people of the Great Chu have just recovered from the years of war in recent years. Your Majesty, please think twice!"

Chu Muran's face was icy, "You all oppose me, how can I let go?"

If he didn't give them a warning when he became emperor, these old guys would have no idea of ​​his temper.

"Everything I do is good for the country and the people. Without a country, there is no family. I am the king and they are the people. It is only natural that I should share the king's worries!"

Prime Minister Li was silent.

The people in the Censorate looked at each other in bewilderment. His Majesty's words were simply speechless.

The Minister of Revenue Cui Yue stepped out and began to express his loyalty with a fawning look on his face.

"Your Majesty is wise. I support your will. The Western Rong are still determined to defeat the enemy. The Golden Scale Nation may not always abide by the armistice agreement. Why should we trade with them? Only by strengthening ourselves can we strengthen our Great Chu!"

The corners of Chu Muran's lips slightly raised, "Lord Cui is right."

Cui Yue lowered his eyes, thinking secretly in his heart: Ever since Chu Li ascended the throne, he has been worried that Chu Li would remember his corruption many years ago. Back then, Emperor Qingyuan turned a blind eye to it. After Chu Li ascended the throne, he has been silently checking his accounts.

He is afraid!

Now, the emperor has changed.

As long as he supports Chu Muran well, he will surely have a bright future and rise step by step.

Chu Muran got to know all the ministers before he came back.

This Cui Yue was a treacherous minister who had money in his hands and was said to have a beautiful daughter.

By taking his daughter into the harem, wouldn't his relationship with Cui Yue become closer and closer?

He also saw several ministers come out to support him.

Chu Muran became more and more excited. Look, these ministers are now expressing their loyalty to him.

It is up to him, the emperor, to decide who to promote.

The supreme power makes people obsessed, and it feels really good to be an emperor.

In time, these people would forget his sister existed.

For several days in a row, Chu Muran felt that he was becoming more and more adept at his duties in the court, and also more and more confident.

Prime Minister Li was so angry at him that he couldn't sleep for several nights.

He went to the general's mansion to find General Mu.

Without even taking a sip of tea, he started accusing Chu Muran.

"Old General, I will be frank with you. Your grandson is not fit to be an emperor. He seems to be able to make plans, but in fact, he has no brains. He has been away from the court for many years. Even though he followed a good teacher, he only learned some things from books and did not know how to adapt at all."

"Whether it was coordinating the relationship between court officials or the collaboration between the various departments, everything went wrong."

"The treasury is empty, but he is still building large-scale projects, under the pretext of border defense, to plunder the people's wealth!"

Prime Minister Li's voice was shaking with anger. He held his forehead and could not continue.

General Mu sighed deeply.

"When he was little, he didn't like to talk much. Seeing Chuchu being favored, he always followed Chuchu with his head down. At that time, I thought this child was dull, but I didn't expect that he had been pretending. He learned only half of what he learned, but he was quite conceited."

Prime Minister Li said earnestly: "Old General, please persuade your daughter. If she continues like this, the Chu Empire will be destroyed in her hands!"

General Mu was so angry that his eyebrows twitched. What did Mu Xinyue want to do? Abandoning her daughter for her son.

Just like Chu Li said, even if the throne was given to Chu Muran, he wouldn't be able to keep it!

On the long street, people saw a notice that taxes would be collected again.

They all fell silent.

Some emperors treated people as human beings, while others sucked blood from the people.

An old man in linen clothes stood with his hands behind his back, breathing heavily with anger. He had earned a few copper coins in the morning, but all of them had to be paid as taxes.

He was thinking about Chu Muran in his heart, cursing, "It would be better if he died, it would be better if he died! Why didn't he die?"

Why come back to abuse these people!

......

Royal study room.

Chu Muran reviewed the memorials with a wave of his hand. It felt so good to be an emperor.

Mu Xinyue sat beside her son and ground it for him. The more he watched, the more he liked it.

Eunuch Li looked at the two of them with disgust, then walked in with his back bent.

"Your Majesty, Queen Mother, Queen Mother Nalan and Princess Yaohua of the Great Xia Kingdom are expected to arrive in the capital in an hour."

Mu Xinyue's eyes suddenly lit up. She had known that they were coming, so she had been preparing for many days.

I hope Princess Yaohua will fall in love with her son during Daxia’s visit this time.

"Why are you reporting this now?" Chu Muran's eyes brightened, "Quick, go out of the city to welcome him!"

His blood was boiling. He was handsome and was the emperor of the Great Xia Kingdom. He would definitely be favored by the princess of the Great Xia Kingdom.

If Jun Yaohua became his queen, his throne would be secure.

By then, he would not have to worry about Da Chu having no money. With Da Xia as his backer, there would be no need for border defense.