What's wrong with me, a powerful minister, supporting a few female officials?

Chapter 116 The Empress! Leng Liuxi!

Su Mo stared intently at the Vajra Pestle!
If you want to know if the Vajra Pestle truly has such miraculous effects, it's very simple.

Slap yourself!
The back of my neck was hit twice in succession, so the defensive effect was significantly enhanced.

Su Mo had another spot touched.

Last time I impulsively tried to pinch Lord Qianhu's weak spot, and my hand got swollen from the slap!

There doesn't seem to be a significant improvement right now—let's try it again!
Su Mo hung the Vajra Pestle back around his neck, channeled his magic power in his left hand, and struck at his right hand.

A powerful and heavy blow, and the bruise on the back of his right hand was instantly cleared!

The warm current of the Vajra Pestle reappears!
Su Mo used his Yuan Yang magic to repair the damage to the back of his hand.

Although not as effective as Lin Moyin's treatment, the stagnation had dissipated after a cup of tea!

Circulate the Green Wood Technique and observe your own body with your spirit.

Sure enough, it was discovered that the muscles on the back of my right hand were firmer, and the strength had increased by more than 10% compared to before!
Su Mo gasped in shock!
The Vajra Pestle truly has this amazing buff!

Isn't this the legendary external martial arts training method?
Constantly hitting oneself with external objects makes the body's resistance stronger and stronger!
Should I find a sparring partner?
Su Mo couldn't help but look down at a certain spot.

A man's weaknesses are limited to just a few areas!
If you train specifically and keep hitting yourself, will you eventually become indestructible?

But forget it.

I'm afraid of pain!

And what if I lose the feeling?

However, Su Mo could still tolerate the pain of first forging his right hand into an indestructible one!

Then, Su Mo used the same trick again, summoning the Demon-Subduing Pestle and mastering the Swimming Dragon Step.

According to the manual, the Swimming Dragon Step also has a complementary technique called the Swimming Dragon Whip.

When combined with the Dragon Step, it can unleash tremendous power, striking with a single whip that can terrify even the gods and demons!

Unfortunately, Lin Moyin couldn't get it for him.

Of course, Su Mo didn't take it seriously.

The technique must be that powerful, let's just say it's that powerful.

Otherwise, why would others bother with cultivation?
There are two small martial arts schools, one teaches the Thirteen Forms of Heaven-Slaying, and the other teaches the Gentle Breeze Sword Technique.

If you were to learn martial arts, which school would you choose?
The Yangtian Technique also states that this method is extremely powerful and can absorb the energy of the sun, forming a golden elixir in the abdomen, which can ward off ghosts and gods.

Su Mo has been cultivating for so long.

I haven't seen the Golden Core formed yet!
It's more practical to say that raw stones are a good indicator.

The ability to absorb the Qi of Haoyang is essentially the same as cultivating under the midday sun, with only a slight improvement in effectiveness!

However, after practicing the Swimming Dragon Step, Su Mo did feel that his speed had improved a lot. When he used it, his steps were agile, and he left afterimages in the small bedroom.

If we were to fight the mummified corpses of the Locust God Temple again...

Su Mo was confident that the dried corpse wouldn't be able to touch a single finger of his!

As expected of the martial arts technique that Lord Qianhu carefully prepared for him!
It's already this sharp after just learning it. Once you master it, your combat power will definitely take a big leap forward!
They can escape faster than others when faced with danger!
Su Mo felt.

Now, if I were to receive another finger from Lord Qianhu, I would at most retreat eight steps!

I used to be so confident that I had to retreat five steps, because I didn't know the true strength of Commander Qianhu.

Su Mo is truly confident about these eight steps!
Su Mo was in high spirits.

He simply stayed up all night practicing his cultivation technique.

As long as you don't use your magic to protect your fist, the Vajra Pestle can exert its buff if it gets hurt by external force!

All night long, I kept hitting the stone with my bare right hand. It swelled up countless times, but the effect was extremely obvious!

The strength has increased by more than two times!
Unfortunately, as his right hand became increasingly powerful, the effectiveness of the Vajra Pestle diminished.

I feel the limit of the improvement is only three or four times the intensity!
I wonder if the amplification effect will increase as my martial arts realm and immortal realm improve!

If it improves as well, that would be terrifying!

With three times the strength of someone at the same level, even without resorting to any underhanded tactics, they have the power to fight against opponents of higher levels!

Su Mo threw a punch.

It smashed the millstone that was used to temper the fist into pieces!
It relies entirely on brute force and the increased strength of the punches!
If one were to use magical powers, one could probably easily grind the stone mill into powder!
……

Shenjing, Dawu Imperial Palace, Lizheng Hall.

The supreme saint who holds the lives and deaths of hundreds of millions of subjects in the Great Wu Empire—Empress Leng Liuxi!

He held a vermilion brush in his right hand, reviewing memorials!

The Empress's eyebrows were long and slender, slanting upwards towards her temples, like the sharp edge of a sword.

When she lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes cast sparse shadows on her cheeks, and her delicate nose was as high and straight as if carved from jade.

Her profile is sharply defined, exuding an indescribable sense of aloofness!
However, this dignified face was sickly pale.

Leng Liuxi rubbed her throbbing forehead, put down her vermilion brush and the memorial.

Looking up at the elderly female official standing to the side with her hands at her sides, she said calmly, "Where is Minister Yan?"

The female official quickly stepped forward: "Your Majesty, Minister Yan is already outside the palace, awaiting Your Majesty's summons."

Leng Liuxi: "Summon him to an audience!"

The female official quickly responded and went downstairs.

A moment later, Yan Feng, the Minister of Revenue, a second-rank official, entered the Lizheng Hall.

He then knelt down and said, "Your subject Yan Feng pays his respects to Your Majesty!"

Leng Liuxi said calmly, "My dear minister, please rise."

"I have asked Minister Yan to come here today because I have something to ask you."

She picked up a memorial and gestured for the female official to give it to Yan Feng: "The Ministry of War has submitted a memorial stating that the military pay for the three armies has been requested from the Ministry of Revenue multiple times, but has been denied."

Yan Feng glanced at the Empress, whose face was pale and expressionless.

He immediately lowered his head, smiled wryly, and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty."

"It's not that I don't want to allocate funds."

"The Ministry of Revenue is truly out of money."

Leng Liuxi's face suddenly darkened: "I entrust the financial power of the world to you, my dear minister!"

"Is this how you manage my finances, my dear minister?"

Yan Feng's body trembled violently, but he still gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty has entrusted me with the heavy responsibility of finance. I am apprehensive and dare not slack off, but..."

Yan Feng took a deep breath: "In early August, Tiannan Province suffered a severe drought, affecting more than three million people."

"The Ministry of Revenue has allocated 300,000 taels of silver to provide relief to the disaster victims!"

"In mid-August, in the Northern Han Circuit, at Yuguan Prefecture, the earth shook violently, causing over a thousand houses to collapse and countless people to die or be injured. More than two hundred thousand taels of silver were allocated..."

Leng Liuxi's expression darkened slightly as she interrupted Yan Feng, asking, "How much money is left in the national treasury?"

Yan Feng hesitated for a moment: "Your Majesty, the treasuries have less than 300,000 taels of silver in cash, and the silk, cloth, rice, and other grains amount to more than 400,000 taels of silver!"

"If all the funds are allocated to the Ministry of War's military pay, I'm afraid... I'm afraid that the salaries of all officials won't be paid by the end of the month."

Leng Liuxi felt a throbbing pain in her forehead again!

He took a deep breath and softened his voice: "The pay of the three armed forces is crucial to the stability of morale and cannot be delayed any longer!"

"Does Minister Yan have any other method?"

Yan Feng's face was bitter. He frowned and pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "In my opinion, we can only allocate half of the funds temporarily. The remaining amount will be paid after the autumn taxes from various regions are submitted to the capital in October!"

He hesitated for a moment, then added, "Or perhaps His Majesty's inner treasury..."

Leng Liuxi waved her hand and interrupted Yan Feng in a cold voice: "Just do as Minister Yan said, and allocate half of the funds for now!"

"Go down!"

Yan Feng had no choice but to kowtow to the Empress again, bow his head and retreat. Only after leaving the Lizheng Hall did he turn and leave!
Leng Liuxi stared coldly at Yan Feng's retreating figure, her face darkening.
Her phoenix-shaped eyebrows furrowed even more tightly!
The two taxes of Dawu, after deducting the retention in various places, the distribution of salaries, etc.

They obtained a total of ten million taels of silver and ten million shi of rice.

There are a lot of them.

But there are even more places where you'll need to spend money!

Don’t say anything else.

In the capital city alone, there were over 800 officials of the fifth rank or above, and more than 2,000 lower-ranking officials.

These all require the imperial court to directly distribute salaries.

Even though Leng Liuxi had already reduced the salaries of officials to an extremely low level, the annual salaries of officials in the capital still amounted to more than 500,000 taels of silver!
In addition, the stipends of members of the imperial family and the expenses within the palace also amounted to tens of thousands of taels of silver.

There are also operating funds for various government departments and offices!
The Great Wu territory is vast, and natural disasters are frequent in various places. The cost of disaster relief is at least two million taels!
Larger portions such as military pay, etc...

Even with an annual revenue of 20 million taels of silver, the imperial court was still struggling to make ends meet and was in dire straits.

Leng Liuxi was well aware that the salaries of officials throughout the country were extremely low.

The lives of court officials were even worse than those of wealthy households and merchants. But even a 50% increase in salary was welcome!

Just in Shenjing alone, it will cost an extra 250,000 taels of silver!
The number of officials in various circuits, prefectures, states, and counties was even more enormous, probably exceeding five million taels!
Should we still have them submit the two taxes to the capital?
Don't be fooled by Leng Liuxi's control over the world.

But only she knows.

In the imperial court, high-ranking officials harbored their own ulterior motives, while Taoist priests and sorcerers formed cliques.

The local lords and regional officials held deep-rooted power.

In addition, there are hostile states outside, eyeing Da Wu covetously, and internally, there are evil cults like the Heavenly Mother Cult, which collude with local forces to secretly cause trouble.

In such a situation, silver is undoubtedly a very important means to seize control of the empire!
Leng Liuxi naturally knew what Yan Feng was up to!
They simply want to empty the royal treasury!

Money gives emperors the courage to act.

If the imperial treasury is emptied, there won't even be enough money to reward ministers, close attendants, and female officials, and they will have to ask the Ministry of Revenue for funds at every turn.

How can we win the hearts of all officials and get close advisors to serve us?
To govern the world, one cannot do without people.

Not having money is even worse!
Could it be with just a three-foot-long sword in hand?
No matter how powerful the Empress is, can she kill all the civil and military officials and rule the world by herself?

We have no choice but to compromise!

For example, even though he knew Yan Fengxin was no longer on his side, he couldn't just kick him out!

but!
The Imperial Treasury is the Empress's last line of defense!

If Yan Feng does it again, don't blame me for being ruthless!
Say it again!

Should I tell Yan Feng that the imperial treasury has less than 100,000 taels of silver, and even if I give it all to him, it won't be enough to pay the soldiers' salaries?
Does the Empress still care about her reputation?
Leng Liuxi watched Yan Feng leave with a dark expression.

Suddenly, I smelled a faint fragrance of orchids nearby. The delicate aroma entered my nose and invigorated my drowsy mind.

She couldn't help but feel suspicious.

Why is there the fragrance of orchids in the Lizheng Hall?

Look up.

The orchid fragrance was actually emanating from a young palace maid who was changing the incense in the incense burner.

Leng Liuxi frowned slightly and said to the little palace maid in a calm tone, "Come here!"

Upon hearing the Empress's summons, the young palace maid panicked, her hand trembled, and she knocked the incense burner to the ground!
He turned deathly pale with fright, immediately knelt down, and kowtowed desperately, pleading, "Your Majesty, spare my life! Your Majesty, spare my life!"

The older female official behind the Empress had a very gloomy face and stared intently at the young palace maid.

They were just waiting for the Empress's decree to drag the disrespectful palace maid away and beat her to death!
To everyone's surprise, Leng Liuxi simply asked, "I ask you, where does the orchid fragrance on your body come from?"

The young palace maid trembled, "Reporting...reporting to Your Majesty..."

"Slave...slave..."

The older palace maid snorted, "Speak properly!"

The young palace maid stammered, "Your Majesty, the perfume...it was given to me by Xiao Kunzi."

"Your Majesty, spare your life! Your Majesty, spare your life!"

"This servant will not dare to do it again!"

"Perfume?" Leng Liuxi frowned slightly. "Bring it here!"

The young palace maid hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, the perfume is... in my side room... I will go and fetch it for Your Majesty right away..."

Leng Liuxi nodded: "Go!"

The young palace maid hurriedly retreated.

The older female official naturally ordered someone to clean up the fallen incense burner.

Leng Liuxi suddenly asked, "Li Yuzheng, do you know the origin of this perfume?"

The older female official hesitated for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty, I have heard of this perfume."

"It is said to have been made by Su Mo's brocade pennant."

Leng Liuxi was slightly taken aback: "Su Mo?"

"A junior officer of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in Changping County?"

The female official quickly replied, "Your Majesty, it is indeed this person."

"The perfume was given by him to the eunuchs who delivered imperial edicts, and it was then sent to the capital."

She paused, then chuckled as if casually, "It's strange, really."

"Su Mo, who had just joined the Embroidered Uniform Guard, made meritorious contributions in the battle to capture the Tianmu cultists, and was promoted to junior officer a few days later."

"Now, in accordance with His Majesty's decree, you should go to the capital to report on your duties."

Leng Liuxi's face suddenly darkened, and her voice turned icy: "Promoted to a minor officer in just a few days?"

"And how did you learn that?"

The lady-in-waiting hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, I...I only overheard it by chance, and I don't know if it's true or not!"

A sharp glint flashed in Leng Liuxi's phoenix eyes as she coldly turned to look at the female official: "Go down and receive your punishment!"

"If there is a next time, you need not come to see me again!"

The older female official's face turned deathly pale instantly. She immediately knelt down and kowtowed three times.

He knelt and walked out of the Lizheng Hall.

Moments later, the heavy sound of caning came from outside the hall!

A sharp glint flashed in Leng Liuxi's eyes.

His face was slightly pale, and ashen as ice!

Such an extraordinary promotion and appointment is also related to the Tianmu cult.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard actually kept this a secret?

and also!

Who exactly relayed this matter to me through a palace maid?

……

The young palace maid, trembling with fear, carried a delicate little porcelain bottle back to the Lizheng Hall.

She was clearly frightened by the female official being punished with a cane outside the palace.

Her face was so pale that not a trace of color remained!
The faint fragrance of orchids then entered Leng Liuxi's nose.

My throbbing forehead has actually eased quite a bit!

His gaze fell on the small porcelain bottle: "This is the perfume?"

How to use it?

The young palace maid carefully uncorked the perfume, dripped a drop onto the back of her hand, and then stammered, "Your Majesty, all you need to do is...drip a drop of perfume onto your body...or your clothes, and you'll smell...smell good all day..."

Leng Liuxi said calmly, "Leave the perfume!"

"You may step back now!"

The female official hurriedly stepped forward, placed the perfume on the dragon table, and was about to leave when Leng Liuxi suddenly asked again, "What's your name? When did you enter the palace?"

The young palace maid knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, my name is Hanxiang. I entered the palace last March."

Leng Liuxi said calmly, "I promote you to the position of Chief Censor, and you will remain on duty at the Hall of State Affairs from now on!"

The young palace maid was stunned upon hearing this!
Zhangyan, a subordinate official of Shanggong, was in charge of publicizing reports and memorials; she was a female official of the eighth rank.

He's become an official?
……

Su Mo was completely unaware that the Empress had truly taken a liking to him.

Moreover, it's very likely not the kind of love that Jane has in the Emperor's heart.

This guy loves to take shortcuts and cheat.

It was rare for me to cultivate diligently for an entire night.

The next morning, Lord Qianhu did not come to find him.

After thinking about it, I decided to first deliver the letter to the Assistant Minister of Revenue on behalf of Old Wang!
Anyway, Lord Qianhu said that the performance review was just a formality.

Finding a powerful backer or someone to rely on is definitely important.

This is the powerful backer that Lao Wang found for himself!

This will be very useful for future promotions and wealth.

A high-ranking official of the fifth rank, and in such a crucial department as the Ministry of Revenue, his abilities are even greater than those of a commander of a thousand households!

After all, Lord Chiju's main responsibility is killing.

The assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue is even more skilled at helping people get promoted!

This chapter was really hard to write; it took me a full six and a half hours! I wrote and deleted the Empress part repeatedly, but I just couldn't capture the feeling it had. Sigh!



(End of this chapter)