Our family has been rebelling for generations, and you've become the top scholar in the imperia

Just as Qin Feng was discussing with many nobles how to expand and strengthen the timber track business.

Many civil servants of the Nanlin Party.

They have been meeting frequently these past few days to discuss how to deal with the grassland issues.

Sending troops is definitely necessary.

The Emperor even beheaded the envoy carrying wild boar hides, so retaliation from the grasslands is inevitable. As for how to deal with it, how to fight the grasslands, and to what extent, these are questions that need careful consideration.

The Grand Tutor's Mansion.

A large number of officials from the Nanlin Party sat around in the hall.

"Grand Tutor, judging by the time, the grasslands probably already know the news and will take action against the border in the next few days. We must finalize the personnel to be dispatched tomorrow."

"We must win over the military supervisor. The eunuch faction is eager to follow him."

"What good are these damned eunuchs? What do they know about leading troops in battle? All they do is flatter and fawn all day long!"

Sitting on the throne, Grand Tutor Wang listened to the complaints of many officials without saying a word.

The emperor already has a candidate in mind for the military officer position.

Duan Zhenjiang, Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard.

His ancestors were of noble birth, and he had always been responsible for guarding the safety of the palace. He was considered a well-known young general among the younger generation of military officers.

"It seems that His Majesty intends to support military generals this time. Otherwise, he would not have sent Duan Zhenjiang there. General Zhou from Ning Prefecture could have handled the situation. Now, he is doing this in order to use the matter of the grasslands to further enhance the status of military generals in the court."

The moment Grand Tutor Wang spoke.

Everyone immediately fell silent.

With the military officers confirmed, the next step is to appoint the accompanying military supervisors.

The candidate needs to be selected from among the civil servants.

But... who should we send?

Whether it's the Nanlin Party or other parties, they are all vying for this position.

It should be noted that the emperor dispatched a total of 50,000 troops to the border, while the grasslands could only send a maximum of 10,000 or even less.

In a five-on-one situation, winning is absolutely no problem.

The military supervisor went along and eventually came back with some credit, and even... was able to record Duan Zhenjiang's mistakes along the way, even the smallest ones. When they returned to the court, he could still outdo Duan Zhenjiang.

Every human being, especially military officers, has flaws; with careful observation and recording, how could one not find any problems?

"Send someone to communicate with the Northern faction and agree to their vacant position of Vice Minister of Rites, in exchange for the position of Military Supervisor."

He lowered his head and pondered for a while.

Grand Tutor Wang suddenly spoke up:

"As for who the Nanlin Party should send, Ning Zhi, I think you are the most suitable. Working in the Ministry of Justice, you are naturally involved in solving cases, so it would be most appropriate for you to be in charge of accompanying and recording them. What do you think...?"

The bottom position.

A fair-skinned, pot-bellied middle-aged man immediately stood up and clasped his hands in greeting.

"This humble official is willing and will certainly not fail the Grand Tutor's trust."

Many of the remaining people nodded in agreement.

Gu Ningzhi's job in the Ministry of Justice was interrogation, which required strong observation skills. When he followed the army to the border, to put it bluntly, even if Duan Zhenjiang was innocent, the other side could still find some problems.

"Wild boars on the grasslands are skilled fighters; we must be careful this time."

"Rest assured, Grand Tutor!"

Gu Ningzhi laughed heartily, showing no concern whatsoever.

Everyone in the Great Zhou Dynasty knows that the Emperor's military expedition this time is ostensibly to put pressure on the grasslands, but in reality, he wants to use the great victory to seize control of the court and promote some military generals.

Everyone knew they could win.

What danger could there be?

"I will stay with Duan Zhenjiang and not participate in any combat operations. If he makes a mistake..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

Everyone in the hall burst into laughter.

Yes!

How could the grasslands possibly be a match for the Great Zhou? In previous years, the annual stipends were given for the sake of stability, and the government was unwilling to let military generals take power. Only scholars would tolerate the grasslands' growing audacity.

Now that victory is assured, the grasslands are no longer a concern for them. The key is how to limit the power of military commanders after the victory.

"By the way, there's been a lot of discussion about sending troops lately, and I haven't seen Qin Feng participate in the court meetings. What are they up to?"

"Reporting to the Grand Tutor, this Qin Feng... has recently been hanging out with a bunch of纨绔 (playboys) like Duke Ma, spending all his time at the Xishan Coal Mine, supposedly discussing some kind of transportation business!"

An official below stroked his chin and smiled.

Who are the nobles and dignitaries in the capital?

Useless person!

A bunch of spoiled brats who just want to live a life of idleness and complacency.

Qin Feng's association with such people will inevitably lead to a bad end.

"Oh? Never mind him. This time, I was worried that the Emperor would appoint Qin Feng as the military supervisor. Now it seems that Xishan Coal Mine has trapped him and he can't get away. This is a good thing. Let him do a good job at Xishan Coal Mine. If necessary, you can also support the coal business."

"Supervising military affairs is of paramount importance!"

Grand Tutor Wang smiled and shook his head.

Qin Feng is capable, but his abilities are mostly focused on trivial matters such as earning money for the emperor and repairing the city.

It's just a minor path.

The fact that the supervising emperor didn't even consider Qin Feng means that he probably won't be able to leave Xishan Coal Mine for the next few years.

They always had to earn money for the palace.

Moreover...

The autumn harvest is just around the corner, which is when the Agricultural Reclamation Bureau will be busiest. With the addition of the Xishan Coal Mine, the Ministry of Works has no help whatsoever. The other party is all alone, and he probably won't even have time to go back and sleep.

……

Xishan Coal Mine.

Inside the shack.

The nobles and dignitaries of the Duke of Ma were looking at Qin Feng with excitement, if only their status allowed it.

They even wanted to kowtow to Qin Feng as soon as possible.

The accountants spent a full hour calculating, finally arriving at a rough estimate of future investment and profit.

That's terrifying!

It's absolutely terrifying!

No one expected that such huge profits could be hidden in the transportation industry.

"My idea is that the initial investment of silver should be used to lay the wooden tracks at the riverbank ferry. Apart from maintaining basic operations, the profits can be used to give you a small portion, and the remainder can be used to lay other wooden tracks, so as to build the entire transportation network as soon as possible."

"That's only natural!"

Duke Ma nodded hastily.

It's clearly impossible for them to come up with the money to invest in all the wooden tracks at once.

But Lord Qin truly treated them like his own people.

All that is needed is the silver used to lay the wooden tracks to the ferry crossing on the riverbank in the early stages. Each month, the people can use a small portion of the silver they receive to maintain their livelihood, and the rest can be invested in proportionally.

The shareholding remained unchanged, and the amount of money spent was not increased.

According to the calculations of several accountants, once so many wooden tracks are laid in the future, they will each receive at least several hundred thousand taels of silver a year.

This is every single one of us!

"We'll do whatever you say, Lord Qin. Whatever you say, we'll do!"

"Everything else is fine, except for the wood!"

Duke Ma hurriedly patted his chest to express his support.

"Lord Qin, there's no need to worry about the timber. Although we live in the capital, we have ancestral property back home, so timber is definitely not a problem. We have as much as you need!"

Qin Feng smiled and stood up.

He took the initiative to extend his hand to Duke Ma.

"Then I'll leave it to the Duke. Everyone, please raise the silver as soon as possible. The 100,000 taels I have here can be sent over in the next two days. We'll need everyone to keep a close eye on the laying of the wooden tracks. I'm here guarding the Xishan Coal Mine and I really can't leave."

"No problem, we'll keep a close eye on it the whole time. Lord Qin is working for the Emperor, so we guarantee there won't be any issues with the laying of the wooden tracks!"

Many nobles stood up and replied excitedly.

As they were talking.

Cao Liang walked in from outside, pursed his lips, and whispered something to Qin Feng.

"What?"

Upon hearing the news, Qin Feng was taken aback.