Empress: Your Majesty, please respect yourself, I don't want to be promoted

Hearing Zhao Dahu's words, the Empress couldn't help but look at Lu Chen in surprise.

Is there really another mystery?

How did he figure it out?

But after a while, she thought about it, and thought that although Lu Chen had been an official for less than half a year, he had not only worked in the engineering department closely related to the affairs of the Ministry of Industry for several months, but also served as the governor of the two states for a month, giving an overview of the two states Military and political, and now he is the right servant of the Ministry of Industry who is in the third rank.

And with his character of devotion to duty, no matter what position he is in, he will do his duty and handle government affairs properly as much as possible.

Having personally handled so many government affairs, his administrative ability must have improved a lot.

He may not be able to notice the details that other people do not notice, and things that can be hidden from ordinary officials may not be hidden from him.

Of course, if it was replaced by other officials, if they could shorten the construction period so much and finish the project ahead of schedule, and prove that their new regulations are effective, after confirming that there are no obvious problems, they would probably have been eager to report to the emperor. Why would they care about the reason?

With this in mind, the empress looked at Lu Chen with a sense of admiration gradually.

"grown ups."

Zhao Dahu was silent for a while, organized his words, and then spoke slowly:

"To be honest, before you came here, even though we had served labor in Wuji Palace for more than a month, we did it very slowly, because we didn't do our best when we went to work every day."

As soon as these words came out, almost all the workers lowered their heads at the same time, and at the same time they secretly glanced at Lu Chen and the empress nervously.

Although Lu Xianggong is a rare and good official, but one point counts for one point. After learning that they dared to be lazy in the matter of labor, no one can guarantee that Lu Xianggong will not fly into a rage, and then deal with them formally and legally.

Under the uneasy eyes of everyone, the empress frowned slightly, still in deep thought, but Lu Chen's eyes suddenly moved, and a flash of understanding flashed in his eyes.

After a little thought, he grasped a certain key point.

That's it, no wonder these people are like a small universe that suddenly exploded. Even in the face of those merciless villains before, they boldly and secretly saved their spare energy and hid their clumsiness.

In the next second, as if to confirm his conjecture, Zhao Dahu continued: "Besides, ordinary people like us can't see the road clearly at night, and we are always in fear on the construction site, for fear of being accidentally hit by a stone. If you die, you will be distracted a lot, and you won’t be able to do much work at all.”

Having said that, he paused for a moment, then carefully glanced at Lu Chen and the Empress, seeing that the two of them did not show anger on their faces, but were thinking about something, he felt a little relieved, and then Then said:

"Your Majesty, Mr. Lu, although we used to work for a long time every day, in fact, the work done in one day is not as good as half a day now."

After listening to Zhao Dahu's narration, the empress thought for a moment, and then asked softly: "That is to say, the previous officials treated you very badly, not only did you not eat well and dress poorly, but also beat and scolded you frequently, but Lu Qing treated you very well. So you all try your best to work for Lu Qing with gratitude, right?"

Hearing this, Zhao Dahu and a group of laborers immediately showed embarrassment.

It's not a good answer to this question.

After all, the empress is the emperor, even if she is controlled by the empress dowager as a puppet, she still stays in the palace all the time, without worrying about food and clothing, so it is impossible for her to know the sufferings of the world in detail.

Just know a rough idea.

Therefore, she, who is supreme, naturally cannot truly empathize with the poor people.

But Lu Chen was different from her. After the empress spoke, he just pondered for a moment and then sighed heavily.

"Your Majesty, you have misunderstood."

He turned his head, looked at the group of laborers, and said: "The reason why they are unwilling to work hard and take the risk of being abused by the supervisory officials to save time and effort is probably because they want to live, but simply ask for help. Just live."

The voice was light and agile, but the words he spoke were heavy.

Hearing this, the empress couldn't help being stunned.

"Lu Qing, why do you say that?"

Lu Chen looked around at everyone.

"Except for a little rations and dilapidated camp tents that have been used for an unknown amount of time, the imperial court has no other supplies, and even that ration has to go through the hands of an unknown number of people, and finally falls into their stomachs Yes, it’s just clear soup with little water.”

"As long as it is labor, it is almost all extremely heavy work. Now it is early spring, the cold wind has not dissipated, and there is no warm spring. In addition, the weather has become more and more severe in recent years. Even the people in the capital city have no cooking. More common people have no food left. In this case, the laborers not only have to face high-intensity labor, but also suffer from hunger and cold, and the rations they bring with them are very few. Life-saving rations, how can they survive until now?"

"As the pillars of a family, how can they go back alive to support their parents and raise their children?"

As soon as these words came out, the noses of the people suddenly became sore, and the eye sockets gradually turned red.

At the same time, their eyes were almost full of joy.

Lu Xianggong actually... understands them and their difficulties!

After listening to Lu Chen's explanation, the Empress suddenly realized.

"Lu Qing, what do you mean, if they don't save their energy, it will be difficult for them to go back alive during this labor?"

"Exactly."

Lu Chen nodded, and was about to say more when Zhao Dahu suddenly knelt on the ground and said loudly:

"Your Majesty, what Lu Xianggong said is correct. If we want to survive, we must find ways to save energy. In any case, we must survive until the end of the hard labor. Otherwise, there are old and young, and if we die in Here, Xiaomin's home is ruined, and we not only have to live for ourselves, but also for our parents, wife and daughter, and we must try our best to survive."

Having said that, his voice became a little choked up.

"For this reason, I risked my life to hide the truth from those evil officials, and tried every means to save my life under their noses. Later, Mr. Lu came and asked me to eat and clothe myself. I had rations in my stomach, and my body was healthy. Then I have the strength to work with ease, and Master Lu has completely relieved our worries, so we naturally have to work hard."

Hearing this, the Empress completely understood.

Is that what happened?

Without worries about the future, you can naturally move forward and create miracles.

In the final analysis, this incident is essentially due to Lu Chen. If he hadn't resisted all opinions and forcibly adjusted the proportion of project expenditures, reduced excess raw material costs, increased labor costs that should have been paid, and wiped out those moths. The interests are passed on to the laborers, and this is the reason for the current rather incredible situation.

Thinking of this, the empress couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

Facts have proved that Lu Chen's astonishing move was not based on emotion at all.

Whether it was the Xia Yan incident, the water control turmoil in the Sui and Yu states, or the Liangzhou accident, as well as the change of course by the Ministry of Industry, all of them proved his vision and foresight.

What is an amazing talent? What is a minister who seeks the country? What is a unparalleled national scholar?

This is it!

If such a talent as Wang Zuozhi is not reused, is there anyone in this world worthy of her reuse?

Lu Chen doesn't know how to read minds, so he naturally doesn't know what the empress is thinking at this time.

After Zhao Dahu finished telling his true feelings, he suddenly stood up.

"Your Majesty, the workers of the Promise Palace even had problems with their basic survival before the ministers came over. Under this premise, who would dare to spare no effort to work for the court? So..."

As he spoke, his eyes drooped slightly, and at the same time he stood up suddenly, and cupped his hands at the empress.

"My minister believes that although these people are suspected of sabotage, it is because the court made mistakes first, and mediocre officials are unkind, so they cannot be blamed for being unrighteous. Not only are they innocent, but the court should reflect on themselves. Please learn from your majesty. .”

Seeing Lu Chen stand up solemnly to persuade the emperor for his lowly grassroots, Zhao Dahu and others were immediately moved to tears.

"Lu Xianggong"

They looked at Lu Chen's back and opened their mouths, but couldn't say a word.

"Don't worry, Lu Qing."

The Empress replied without hesitation, "I am not a foolish ruler who does not distinguish between right and wrong. Since it is the fault of the court, I did not do my due justice to the laboring people, but criticized everywhere. How can you be harsh?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and the stone in their hearts finally fell to the ground.

"Your Majesty is holy!"

Lu Chen raised his voice.

As soon as the words fell, a group of people immediately reacted, and hurriedly knelt heavily on the ground, and bowed to the empress.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"

The empress smiled slightly, then looked at Lu Chen fixedly.

"Lu Qing, it seems that besides the way of the emperor, I still have a lot to learn. From now on, I still need to trouble Lu Qing to teach me the way of governing the country, so that I can understand the real way of helping the world."

Hearing this, Lu Chen immediately bowed again and said word by word:

"The humble minister takes orders!"

At this moment, this scene of the monarch and his ministers getting along with each other is deeply imprinted in the hearts of everyone around them.

From the empress and Lu Chen, Wang Qi and Zhang Xuan even felt a kind of shock that the glorious and prosperous age is in front of them.

…………

As expected, the completion inspection passed without incident.

And the acceptance result was much better than the stipulated standard.

Immediately afterwards, the news that the Wuji Palace was completed ahead of schedule spread quickly.

In the court hall, although Wu Yue, who is the Minister of the Household Department, was expressionless, his heart was full of shock.

This Lu Chen is really amazing! !

This guy is really no ordinary evil door.

He naturally knew about the project of the Promise Palace, and he was quite familiar with it. After all, he had carefully confirmed the amount of the project funds for the renovation and the New Yuan Grand Ceremony, and basically controlled the expenditure to the limit and approved it.

Obviously didn't increase any budget, and didn't ask the Empress for help, just adjusted the cost ratio, and the project was able to be completed ahead of schedule, and the quality was impeccable, it was perfect.

This deal is really worth it!

This also gave him a feeling of opening the door to a new world.

As the purse of the imperial court, he is extremely sensitive to the state treasury's money and food income and expenditure. Seeing Lu Chen's brilliant performance after the implementation of the new regulations of the Ministry of Industry, various ideas popped up in his mind instantly.

At his age, he even had the urge to humbly ask Lu Chen for advice.

And after Lu Chen's ability to turn decay into magic was once again verified, Wu Yue suddenly had an ominous premonition in his heart.

It suddenly occurred to him that since Lu Chen emerged, his judgments have been extremely accurate almost every time, and he can do whatever he wants to do. No matter how unreasonable things are, they will become a matter of course in his hands.

That being the case, the charcoal...

When he thought of this, he thought of the Black Mountain in almost every province in the Great Xia, and the inexhaustible coal buried under the Black Mountain.

In an instant, he shivered involuntarily.

Probably... no way...

Of course, Wu Yue was not the only one who was shocked by the fact that the Promise Palace was completed ahead of schedule because of Lu Chen's change of course.

Almost all courtiers were shocked by this incomprehensible fact.

And just when the courtiers had to slowly digest this unbelievable fact, a silver-white figure quietly came to Taihe County, which is only three hundred miles away from Luojing.

"General."

In the Taihe county government office, county magistrate Li Yongcheng looked at Gu Simiao, the great general of the dynasty who suddenly visited in front of him with a look of surprise.

"Are you really determined to make Wujia Village, Lujia Village and other villages near Heishan as your food places?"

Li Yongcheng deliberately mentioned the word "Black Mountain" to remind Gu Simiao that those villages are not good places, and it can even be said that the poorest villages in the entire Sili land are those few villages.

He didn't want Gu Simiao to find out that there was no grass growing there, regretted using it as a fiefdom, and then blamed him for not explaining clearly, so he came to settle accounts with him.

The anger of General Shenwu, a small subordinate like the county magistrate, cannot bear it.

However, Gu Simiao nodded expressionlessly.

"Um."

Such a crisp and neat performance can't beat Li Yongcheng all at once.

"Not only that."

Before he could respond, Gu Simiao spoke again.

"Ben will also accept the entire Montenegro as a fief."

There was a hint of coldness in the voice, completely different from the soft tone when talking with Lu Chen in Luojing before.

She took the time to come to Taihe County today, naturally because of the fiefdom and Shiyi.

It was her plan to choose Montenegro as the fiefdom.

It's not that she has a unique vision, it's purely because Lu Chen's Tiangong Division is studying coal. No matter how others question him, she will show her attitude with actions.

It's been a while since she left Luo Jing, so she naturally didn't know that Lu Chen once again turned decay into magic and shocked all the courtiers, and the news of Luo Jing would not spread to Taihe County so quickly. and other counties.

Hearing this, Li Yongcheng was completely shocked.

"General, do you want to stop thinking about it?"

Gu Simiao shook her head and said: "Don't think about it, go through the formalities immediately and issue the documents."

After a pause, she said impatiently: "I will have to rush back to the barracks later, please trouble County Magistrate Li to help me complete the formalities as soon as possible, preferably within today."

Hearing this, Li Yongcheng was speechless.

Do all the big shots these days have such weird tempers?

He had heard of Gu Simiao.

The great hero who exterminated the demon queen and eradicated traitors for the country was conferred the title of Duke, but somehow rejected the position of Duke of the county, and then chose a poor place like Taihe County as the Duke of the county.

Now choose Montenegro as the fief.

This girl's brain must have been kicked by a donkey, right?