After entering winter, a season that obviously does not want to move, time passes even faster. It felt like winter had just begun a few days ago, but in the blink of an eye, it was Zhou Shuren's last morning court session this month. After today, he can rest next month.
Zhou Shuren held the heater in his arms. Today was his last day and he finally didn't have to get up early and endure the cold. He moved his legs which felt a little heavy. He had two layers of knee pads on and he couldn't walk fast now, so he moved slowly.
Today's morning court was not peaceful. Zhou Shuren served as the background, not showing any insight, and watched Lord Ning attending the court out of the corner of his eye.
In the past few days, the focus has been on military expansion and ships. The enthusiasm has passed, and after two days of comforting them, they are starting to blame Zhang Jinghong again. Winter should be a quiet time, but they have to be lively and bustling.
The emperor sat on the dragon throne and habitually glanced at where Zhou Shuren was standing. Every time he wanted to kick Zhou Shuren, Zhou Shuren lowered his head. He was sure that his eyes were closed. You said he was sleeping secretly, but every time he opened his mouth, Zhou Shuren could answer.
The court was in an uproar over how to deal with Zhang Jinghong. He envied Zhou Shuren for being able to keep his eyes closed and even wanted to kick Zhou Shuren.
Zhou Shuren felt more alert when he felt the cold wind. Today's breeze was too cold, so he continued to listen with his ears perked up.
Lord Lu of the Censorate had the most recognizable voice, and he was the one who insisted on clearing out the remnants of the previous dynasty. "Your Majesty, the prince was replaced, it must have been the remnants of the previous dynasty, Your Majesty, you can't be soft-hearted.
Zhou Shuren understood Lord Lu. Lord Lu's ancestors suffered a miserable fate at the end of the previous dynasty and were almost wiped out. They hated the previous dynasty to the core. They looked up at the adults who insisted on settling accounts. Well, some of them had grudges, some of them were for the court, and they believed that the remnants of the previous dynasty must be eradicated. The last small part was just there to show their presence.
Taking sides is particularly interesting. The gap between the two quarreling factions cannot be too big, and some people choose sides just for the sake of balance.
Zhou Shuren really didn’t notice it before, but now he’s used to it and has seen more. The last group of people will not achieve great success, but they are indispensable in the court.
The emperor had already made plans in his mind. He listened to the quarrel between the two sides without saying a word. When the quarrel was almost over, the emperor stood up and said, "That's it for today. I'm dismissing the court."
Having said that, he quickly walked away.
Zhou Shuren knew this would happen, and he silently pulled his official uniform closer. He thought that the official uniform could actually be made thicker. He lowered his head and walked out, and saw the little eunuch with a red face due to the cold outside the hall.
The young eunuch rubbed his hands tremblingly, "Sir, the emperor summoned you."
Zhou Shuren looked at the eunuch's face and hands. He looked uncomfortable as if he wanted to stamp his feet but didn't dare to. He had been standing in the cold wind for a long time. Therefore, the emperor summoned him when he was not in court because he was afraid that he would slip away. "Let's go."
The little eunuch was about to cry. It was too cold today and he was about to freeze to death. "Yes, sir, come this way."
Zhou Shuren looked at the young eunuch and felt uncomfortable. "How old are you?"
The young eunuch was a little confused, and after a while he said, "I am fourteen years old."
Zhou Shuren sighed. He was fourteen, at this age. He felt his purse and didn't dare to give more. He took out a few taels of silver and said, "It's cold today. Buy some plasters for frostbite."
The eunuch was a little confused. Living in the palace, everyone had a pair of clear eyes. He could see clearly whether it was real or fake. No one was noble enough to refuse silver. There were places in the palace where people swallowed silver. "Thank you for the reward, sir."
"Um."
Zhou Shuren stopped talking. Everyone in this world has their own way of survival, and soon they arrived at the Zheng Palace.
The best charcoal fire was used in the Zheng Hall. Even though it was freezing cold outside, the house was warm as spring and you could feel the heat as soon as you entered the Zheng Hall.
Zhou Shuren greeted him, "Your Majesty."
The emperor motioned to stand up, pointed to the stool that had been placed, and said, "Sit down."
Zhou Shuren was not polite either. Today's morning court lasted a long time and his legs were uncomfortable and he could hardly stand. He had to admit that he was getting old. He was indeed old.
The emperor signaled the eunuch to take away the tea, and waited until the eunuchs left before he spoke, "I heard that you have been exchanging letters with Wang Ju quite frequently recently?"
Zhou Shuren thought, you can hear it, you have seen it all, didn't you? He replied, "Jinzhou has a port, there are many ships going back and forth, and it is inevitable that some large and small merchant ships need to be repaired. There are many boatmen in the port, and the materials for repairing merchant ships are also complete. You asked me to calculate, and every penny of the Ministry of Revenue must be spent, so I asked Wang Ju to investigate, so as to avoid the middle quotation being too high. I hope to know the actual price."
Seeing that the emperor was listening, Zhou Shuren continued, "Wang Ju has always helped me with statistics. Wang Ju is very good at it. I am used to it. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
The emperor still remained silent. He looked at the account books that Zhou Shuren had presented to him a few days ago. Zhou Shuren did not calculate based on the quotations given by his subordinates alone. Instead, he made the calculations after verification. There were many layers of false reporting in between, so the difference in the amount of money was too huge.
The emperor did not mention Wang Ju, but instead asked, "You gave an estimated number. Do you mean that if we want to build the number I requested, we will need half of the treasury silver?"
Zhou Shuren lowered his eyes, "This is a conservative estimate. The actual amount spent will only be more, not less."
The emperor wants too much. Well, emperors all have this problem. They want everything they see and hope to get it all in one go. The reason why he did it in such detail is because he wanted to tell the emperor to stop talking nonsense and be honest.
The emperor stared at Zhou Shuren's head with a playful look, "I understand your intention."
Zhou Shuren knelt down and confessed his guilt. "I am guilty."
In the ancient times, he was used to kneeling. He knew he was guilty when he opened his mouth. He did not want to challenge the emperor's narrow-mindedness. The woman in front of him was really narrow-minded. It was said that women's hearts were as sharp as needles, and this one was almost the same.
It would be a lie to say that the emperor did not feel disappointed. He is getting older and older, and he hopes to make the country stronger while he is still around. He is an emperor, but also a mortal. In recent years, he has been more concerned about the records and praises of him by future generations, and oh yes, his autobiography.
The emperor's disappointment disappeared again, "Stand up, I left you a memorial."
Zhou Shuren didn't want to know anything about the memorial from the bottom of his heart. It must be bad news. The more unhappy the emperor was, the more unlucky he would be. "I don't remember."
"It's okay. You'll remember it when the autobiography comes out."
Zhou Shuren widened his eyes, as if to ask, "Do you really have to treat me like this?"
This reaction pleased the emperor, who laughed out loud, "It's getting late, you should go back too. Cut your estimate of silver in half and tell me how much you can build. Okay, leave now."
Zhou Shuren frowned, "I think I can still have a chat with the emperor."
The emperor waved his hand, "Go, go, I don't want to see you now."
Zhou Shuren left the government hall, looking back every few steps. After Eunuch Liu sent him out, Zhou Shuren's mouth drooped a little, and there was no reluctance in his eyes. He walked faster, and he felt that his acting skills had improved again.