Dad, don't be greedy! My brother climbed into the emperor's bed, and I became famous overn

Xiao Jue stared at Gu Mingyue for a long time.

The bandits kneeling in the courtyard didn't dare to breathe.

The council chamber was so quiet that you could hear the rustling of the wind through the thatched roof.

"I think I understand what Master Gu means."

Xiao Jue's tone was neither warm nor cold, and he gently twirled the folding fan halfway around in his palm.

"Mining to produce disinfectant, building roads and collecting tolls. Running both businesses side-by-side. How do you plan to build this road?"

Gu Mingyue was waiting for these words.

She turned to the side and reached out her hand towards the corner of the wall.

"You'll have to ask my brother for details."

Xiao Jue followed her hand and looked over.

Gu Mingli was leaning against the corner of the wall, arms crossed, staring blankly at the roof beam above him.

He slowly came to his senses when both eyes were fixed on him at the same time.

"Hmm? What's up?"

Xiao Jue's eyebrows twitched slightly.

A compiler in the Hanlin Academy, a lowly seventh-rank official, he spends all his time talking about strange and bizarre "science" to his elder brother, the Emperor.

He did know that Gu Mingli's mind was not quite like that of ordinary people.

But what does the Ministry of Works' work of building roads and bridges have to do with a Hanlin compiler?

Gu Mingyue winked at her brother.

"Brother, can you repair the cement road?"

Gu Mingli understood immediately.

It's just cement.

"no problem."

However, one should still maintain the air of a scholar.

Gu Mingli took out a small ledger and a charcoal pencil.

"Your Highness, look."

He used a charcoal pencil to draw several lines on the paper and marked a few nodes.

"The official road leading from Kyoto to the foothills of the Taihang Mountains is about seventy li long."

"The road conditions are currently extremely poor, with gravel and mud, making it almost impassable in the rain. A horse-drawn carriage would take at least four hours to make the trip."

Xiao Jue glanced at the picture.

The lines are simple and the markings are clear. It is somewhat similar to the construction drawings made by the Ministry of Works, but it is more intuitive.

"My plan is to pave the entire road surface with rammed earth and gravel, then cover it with cement. The road width will be designed to allow two vehicles to drive side by side, and drainage ditches will be dug on both sides."

Gu Mingli got more and more excited as he talked, drawing non-stop on the paper with his charcoal pencil.

"A post station was set up every ten li along the way for people to change horses and rest. There was a checkpoint at each end of the road, and a fee was charged for entry and exit."

"If it is repaired to this standard, the carriage will be able to travel the entire distance in one and a half hours."

Xiao Jue remained silent.

He looked at the sketch over and over again.

Admittedly, although the plan is crude, the idea is very clear.

The "cement" used wasn't anything particularly mysterious or new.

Why can't those useless people in the Ministry of Works come up with something?

Six or seven out of ten of the silver allocated by the imperial court to the Ministry of Works each year was embezzled by officials at various levels.

Less than 30% of the actual projects actually come to fruition.

The poorer the national treasury, the worse the roads become.

The worse the road, the fewer caravans there are.

The fewer the caravans, the lower the tax revenue.

The lower the tax revenue, the poorer the national treasury.

Endless loop.

"The road repair costs... will you cover them all?" Xiao Jue asked.

If they don't pay, he'll have no choice but to raid the Gu family's place ahead of time.

That will provide enough silver.

Gu Mingyue glanced at Xiao Jue's eyes and knew what he was up to.

So he answered decisively.

"Your Highness, rest assured! We'll cover everything!"

Xiao Jue raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.

"And then what?"

Gu Mingyue had already anticipated the follow-up: "The toll revenue will be split 50/50 with the government."

Xiao Jue chuckled softly.

"You're quite generous."

You can't be stingy!

Gu Mingyue remained unfazed.

"If I, a businessman, build roads and charge fees on someone else's land without sharing the profits with the government, that's called setting up a private checkpoint, a capital offense."

"A 50/50 split ensures a stable income for the government, and it also provides us with long-term benefits. It's a win-win situation."

Xiao Jue stood up.

He closed the folding fan and gently tapped the table twice.

"Sounds good. But I have one condition."

"Please speak, Your Highness."

"Regarding the disinfectant, I will only consider it valid after I have inspected the finished product. The road can be repaired first, but if the disinfectant is just a smokescreen, I will settle this score separately."

Gu Mingyue nodded.

It's a deal.

Xiao Jue said no more. He turned and walked towards the door.

He stopped abruptly at the threshold and glanced at Gu Mingyue.

"I have witnessed the business acumen of Master Gu."

"In the future, the employer could consider becoming a royal merchant."

"And there's also Editor Gu. It's rare that His Majesty appreciates him so much that he's been promoted to serve in the Emperor's presence."

Gu Mingyue's smile froze on her face.

Do she and her brother both have to work for the emperor?

This means he has handed over his family responsibilities to the state.

The good thing is that you probably won't have to worry about losing your head every day.

Gu Mingyue and Gu Mingli bowed to each other.

Xiao Jue had already stepped out of the threshold, flicked his cloak, and strode into the courtyard.

More than a hundred armored soldiers lined up in unison and followed King Qi out in single file.

The sound of horses' hooves gradually faded into the distance, disappearing at the end of the mountain path.

The entire Black Rock Cliff village finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The bandits kneeling in the courtyard collapsed, and one tall, thin man even kissed the mud on the ground.

"My God, it's so good to be alive!"

Xiong Erdang got up, his legs still trembling. He walked to the entrance of the council hall and gave Gu Mingyue a thumbs up.

"Young Miss, you are the most powerful person I, Old Ma—no, I, Xiong Er, have ever met in my life! You even managed to persuade the government troops to back down!"

The round-faced man also came over, "Miss, you just said you'd hire us, is that true?"

A group of people swarmed around her from behind, staring at Gu Mingyue with eager eyes.

Gu Mingyue clapped her hands.

"Really. From today onwards, you are my men. Each of you will receive two taels of silver per month, including room and board. For each rank of team leader, the junior officers will receive an additional tael."

The courtyard immediately erupted in chaos.

"Two ounces a month?!"

Xiong Er's mouth was wide open.

In all his years as a bandit, the most he ever received in a month was a few hundred copper coins.

Two taels of silver—that was the wages of the restaurant manager in the city.

"Young Miss, you're not joking, are you?"

"When did I ever tell a joke?" Gu Mingyue retorted.

"From now on, no more robbery is allowed in the village. Half of you will come with me to mine in the mountains, and the other half will build roads."

"You get a bonus for good performance, and you get a commission for fast performance."

"Settlement will be completed at the end of the month, with no delays."

The bandits looked at each other.

Then, it's unclear who started it.

They all knelt down with a thud.

"The boss!"

"From now on, we'll listen to you!"

"The Boss is awesome!"

Gu Mingyue quickly waved her hand, "Hey, hey, don't call me 'Big Boss,' what if the imperial court wipes us out as bandits again?"

Xiong Erdangjia was so excited that he cried his eyes out.

"Boss! No, Master! You are our savior!"

"No, no, no." Gu Mingyue took a step back. "I'm just your boss, don't try to claim we're family."

Xiong Er readily agreed.

He turned to his brothers, waved, and raised his voice to the maximum.

"Listen up! From today onwards, the young lady is our boss! Whatever she tells us to do, we'll do it!"

"From now on, our village won't be called Black Stone Cliff anymore, it'll be called Tiger Might Village!"

"I'm not called Old Ma anymore, I'm called Mountain Bear!"

"From now on, we're all legitimate people with monthly salaries and government jobs! Anyone who dares to call us bandits, we'll fight them!"

Below, a deafening roar erupted.