After the emperor read her mind, the salted fish concubine effortlessly won the title of empress.

Chapter 266 Morning Morning

In the past, getting up early to pay respects to the Empress was an unbearable thing. Now, Shen Shixi has to get up to attend court almost every day, and she feels that being the Emperor is not something a human being can do.

Bai Ping was even more miserable. Getting her master up every day was harder than climbing to heaven.

"Master, get up! We're going to be late! Oh dear, we're running out of time!" Bai Ping pulled off her blanket. The weather wasn't cold at all; in fact, it was getting warm.

Shen Shixi was so asleep she was drooling. She was nudged awake and opened her eyes. She saw it was still dark outside. "You woke me up so early, Bai Ping? Do you have a death wish?"

Bai Ping was furious. "Get up! It's time for court!"

Shen Shixi was startled awake and immediately wanted to curse. It wasn't her empire, yet she still had to suffer through court affairs.

"When is that bastard Li Yuanke coming back? What will I do if he doesn't come back?"

Bai Ping covered her mouth, "Your Highness, you should just hope the Emperor will be kind, otherwise, you might have to get up ten or eight years earlier than expected!"

While sitting on the embroidered stool to do her makeup, Shen Shixi never opened her eyes. Bai Ping and Bai Kui supported her, Lan Ying combed her hair and did her makeup, and Chao En had to open his arms behind her to catch her, afraid that his mistress would fall backward.

Once on the palanquin, Chao En and Li Fude stood on either side to catch their master, fearing he might fall off.

Sitting in the court, Shen Shixi snapped out of her reverie amidst the kneeling obeisance of her ministers. "Rise, let's get straight to the point. Let's start with the matter of border provisions. I've read all the Ministry of Revenue's memorials, and you all always sound the same: complaining about being poor."

Last year, the amount of grain tax collected by the Ministry of Revenue was far below my expectations. There was a shortfall of nearly one million shi (a unit of dry measure) in grain, and the tax revenue was less than 70% of what I expected. Where did the shortfall go?

Your explanation to me is a poor harvest. The disaster is a fact, and the tax reductions are also a fact, but these are not valid reasons. Didn't I foresee this when I was making my calculations?

Minister of Revenue Yao Hancong stepped forward. "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue's accounts contain detailed records. If Your Majesty finds anything incorrect, it can be verified in every prefecture and county. If there are any discrepancies, I am willing to accept punishment!"

"Lord Yao, you're mistaken from the outset. You should first verify the land registers with me. As far as I know, the Ministry of Revenue's initial land registers only recorded land allocation. Now, do you, as the Minister of Revenue, know the total amount of arable land in all the prefectures and counties of our Great Zhou, how much is registered, and how much is concealed?"

Yao Hancong was unaware of this. "Your Majesty," he said, "the land registers have been in this state since the beginning of our dynasty, and I dare not change them arbitrarily!"

"Is this a change? This is optimizing your own work. If you can't do it well, you can step down. There are plenty of capable people in the court and among the people. I say one thing, and you say two. Why don't you become an imperial censor?"

"I ask you, in the seventh year of the Wude era, the total tax revenue of Wu Commandery was 692,885 strings and 76 cash. In the seventh year of the Yongxi era, which was last year, the total tax revenue of Wu Commandery was less than 500,000 strings. Why is that?"

Yao Hancong couldn't possibly remember that clearly.

Prime Minister Pei stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, there was a flood in Wu County last year. This matter was reported to the Emperor at the time, so Your Majesty was unaware of it, which is why there is such a misunderstanding."

Shen Shixi sneered, "Prime Minister Pei probably doesn't remember. I do remember that in the seventh year of the Wude era, you accompanied the late emperor to deal with the floods in Wu County, and afterwards reported to the Gaozu Emperor. The disaster in the seventh year of the Wude era was much less severe than last year."

Now, Prime Minister Pei and Yao Hancong were speechless.

As for why taxes are decreasing, everyone knows the reason.

Now is not the time to make a move, so Shen Shixi stopped there and asked, "Is there a problem with the army's food supplies?"

Yao Hancong stepped forward with a stiff upper lip and said, "Your subject will do his best and will never dare to delay military matters."

Shen Shixi said, "Very good. Draft a proposal and submit it to me today. The first batch of grain, totaling 100,000 shi, must be transported within three days. The Ministry of War will assist in arranging escorts as conveniently as possible. There must be no mistakes!"

The two ministers received their orders.

Next, the discussion turned to the Quanzhou Maritime Trade Office, a topic that was brought up in the imperial court for the first time.

Last year, there was a drought in Huaizhou and other places. In order to resettle the disaster victims and prevent the people from causing a peasant uprising due to the lack of livelihood, the Ministry of Works took the lead in investing in a large project to build a road from Huaizhou to Weihe River and from Huaizhou to Quanzhou. The purpose was to transport goods from Huaizhou and the surrounding prefectures out of the area.

Now, another agenda item needs to be addressed: the establishment of a Maritime Trade Office in Quanzhou, which would be a port open to foreign trade, through which all cargo ships would traverse both domestic and international markets. You are all welcome to share your views on this matter.

There was much discussion in the court, as many people lacked understanding of the matter of opening the Maritime Trade Office. Shen Shixi then told them about the situation overseas, starting with the countries that bordered the Great Zhou, and then proceeding to explain the special products of each country and their interest in the culture and products of the Great Zhou. This served as a popular science lesson for the court officials.

This matter cannot be resolved in a short time. Let's start by setting a topic so that the court officials are prepared.

Next, the topic of building a shipyard in Jiangnan was discussed. Since the Maritime Trade Office was to be established and foreign trade was to be conducted, the shipyard would be used to build two types of ships: cargo ships and warships.

Because Prime Minister Pei had other plans, he did not voice his opposition directly and remained very silent, which made some people realize what was going on.

Pei Xiang thought many of Shen Shixi's current policies were quite good, and he would definitely implement them in the future. Therefore, he listened attentively, which made him hard to understand.

Shen Shixi ignored him. As someone in a superior position, he couldn't always blame others for taking away his share of the pie. If the pie were to be bigger and everyone were to have enough to eat, wouldn't all the problems be solved?

When doing business overseas, who wouldn't want a piece of the pie?

I'm quite interested in both.

But there are also those who are concerned about the country and its people.

Shen Shixi wasn't afraid of this kind of person. Generally, people who worry about things not knowing what the sky is or that the sky can't fall down. As long as he was told what the sky is, he wouldn't worry anymore.

Finally, when the Minister of War brought up the Luzhou Uprising, Shen Shixi said, "I would like to hear Prime Minister Pei's opinion on this matter."

The Luzhou uprising was undoubtedly aided by Pei Xiang's people outside, with battles breaking out everywhere, keeping the emperor busy and leaving the capital with insufficient troops, which was enough for them to rebel.

Pei Xiangdao said, "Your Majesty, Prefect Pei Wubing of Luzhou bears the responsibility for this matter. However, we cannot touch him yet. If we send someone else, they will be completely unfamiliar with that area. I believe we can let him atone for his crimes by suppressing the rebellion and pacifying the people in time. We can then determine his punishment after the matter is settled. What is my opinion?"

Shen Shixi smiled and said, "Very well, let's do as Prime Minister Pei wishes, but I still want to set a deadline. After all, the people are suffering terribly right now, and I really can't bear it."

Pei Xiang said, "Your Majesty's concern for the people is a blessing to our Great Zhou. I believe that the situation should be calmed down by the end of April or the beginning of May."

Shen Shixi said, "I wholeheartedly agree! You all may also discuss who would be suitable to appoint as the next Prefect of Lu Prefecture?"

Here, Shen Shixi ordered the Ministry of Revenue to supervise the supply of grain, but he also knew that it was impossible for the grain to be transported to the front line smoothly at present. In Huaizhou, Shen Shixi had his three brothers stockpile a lot of grain last year, and Li Yuanke had also stockpiled a lot of grain at the border. All of these could be put to use.

Shen Shixi had her third brother transport a thousand catties of white sugar to the frontier, where it was processed using the new method she had given him. The sugar was as white as snow and as fine as sand, not much different from that of later generations.