Climbing to the Top: A Reborn Queen's Journey-Chapter 786: Deep Waters (Part 1)

Minister Zhou’s days can truly be described as being in deep trouble.

The dignified Minister of Ministry of Industry, spending every day leading his subordinates in the muddy riverbanks, exposed to wind and sun, and at night everyone gathered to discuss river embankment construction plans without a moment’s rest.

Despite all this, he did not earn the Emperor’s praise. Instead, they were constantly being urged and criticized.

Minister Zhou couldn’t help but reminisce about the time when Prime Minister Wang wielded power single-handedly. Those were the good times! The Ministry of Industry had abundant budget, getting as much as needed. Half was used for official work, and the other half was shared among the subordinates, with himself and Prime Minister Wang taking the largest portion, living indulgently. Tasks were done at a leisurely pace, without anyone pressuring the Ministry like a death knell...

Such good times feel like a world apart. In fact, it was just a little over a year ago.

With a change in the Emperor, everything changed.

The good days for officials are gone forever.

Minister Zhou sighed deeply once more.

Two trusted officials beside him exchanged glances, cautiously speaking up: "Lord Minister, the document from the Emperor, is it urging us again to finalize the river embankment construction plan?"

"Actually, we’ve mostly deliberated on it. Why not finalize the plan and present it to the imperial court?"

Minister Zhou snapped back to his senses, with a stern expression, he snorted: "This disaster relief has already emptied the National Treasury. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Nanyang Prince Mansion have both bled heavily, and many court ministers have also contributed money and grains. According to the current plan, it would require a huge amount of manpower and resources. Not to mention the turmoil that forced labor would cause, where would the court get so much money and grains from?"

"Sending this plan to the Emperor, he would never approve of it and would scold me, the Minister of Ministry of Industry, as incompetent."

One of the confidants furrowed his brows: "What should we do then? This is the result of our Ministry of Industry trying our best to reduce the budget."

The second confidant also looked aggrieved: "This time, we didn’t think of any benefits at all. The budget we made comprises all necessary expenses."

Minister Zhou spat: "You still have the face to think of benefits. Early last year, the newly repaired river embankment was destroyed by floodwaters, drowning six counties, killing so many people, and consuming a large amount of the court’s money and manpower for relief. We are now working with our heads on the line to atone for our sins. If we truly start assigning blame, there would not be enough heads in the Ministry of Industry to chop."

The Empress wants to keep people to work. However, this handle could anytime make all officials in the Ministry of Industry lose their heads.

The two confidants immediately fell silent, not daring to make a sound, silently complaining in their hearts.

Early last year, Emperor Taihe was still alive, and Prime Minister Wang had overwhelming power, allocating a huge amount of silver from the Ministry of Revenue to repair the river embankment. Minister Zhou and Prime Minister Wang were too greedy, misappropriating over forty percent of the funds, and with layers of officials taking their cuts, the actual silver reaching the embankment was further reduced. The materials purchased were of inferior quality as much as possible, and with such construction, how could the quality of the embankment be good?

Facing minor floods was passable, but encountering such a rare flood in over a decade, it wouldn’t stand a chance.

If we really start assigning blame, Minister Zhou would be the first to be beheaded, followed by Prime Minister Wang. Where would it ever be their turn?

Minister Zhou naturally didn’t know that his confidants were internally complaining about him, he got himself together and instructed: "Go spread the word from this minister, call everyone to come over, and we’ll hold a meeting tonight to finalize discussions, trying to reduce the budget further."

The two officials responded immediately and hurried to convey the message.

The Ministry of Industry almost emptied its coffers this time, with dozens of officials and their retinue, numbering nearly two hundred people. For the convenience of meetings, they lodged at a mansion of a wealthy merchant.

With a single order from Minister Zhou, everyone arrived within an hour.

Each one had been busy outside, tanned two shades darker. Even Yang Zheng was no exception.

Yang Zheng didn’t understand river affairs, but he didn’t need to know too much. He simply followed Minister Zhou every day, recording all the people Minister Zhou met, the things he did, and the things he said, and sent the important ones to the Capital City for the Emperor to review. That was enough.

Yang Zheng attended every Ministry of Industry meeting. He never spoke up, just sat quietly on the side listening to everyone talk, watching the Ministry of Industry officials argue red-faced and hoarse over the budget.

Listening to their arguments for two months, from the selection of the river embankment location to construction scale and the budget plan, Yang Zheng picked up quite a bit of knowledge. He thought it was no wonder the Emperor planted him in the Ministry as an informant. The scale of the Ministry’s construction projects was vast, and the opportunities for fraud were too tempting.

Not to mention other issues, just the stone, mortar, and other materials used had varying prices in the market. While samples may look similar, the real effects on the construction were vastly different.

The budget had to be reduced, but quality must be guaranteed. If there were another large-scale flood and the embankment was again completely destroyed, without the Emperor’s punishment, Minister Zhou and others would hang themselves at home.

As for the difficulties and troubles encountered with conscripting labor, no one mentioned it now. These are matters for the future, to be worried about later. For now, the immediate concerns must be addressed.

This meeting went on until midnight, with everyone arguing until they were parched, barely reducing the budget by ten percent.

Minister Zhou, mentally exhausted, left Yang Zheng behind, and earnestly sighed: "Doctor Yang, you have personally seen and heard the current predicament of the Ministry of Industry. The budget really cannot be reduced further."

"The Emperor is urging, and tomorrow, I will have someone send this plan to the Capital City. If the Emperor is enraged, I hope Doctor Yang can intercede for the Ministry’s behalf."

Even as a dignified minister, he had to bow and scrape to his subordinate. The bitterness of it all went without saying.

Yang Zheng immediately replied solemnly: "This humble official is also a member of the Ministry of Industry, and shares both advances and retreats with the Ministry colleagues. If the Emperor holds the Ministry accountable, I cannot escape punishment either. Lord Minister, please rest assured, if the Emperor questions me individually, I will report the Ministry’s hard work over the past two months truthfully."

That’s how clever people speak.

Only mentioning the hard work of the past two months. No one would plead for the Ministry’s past mistakes. Once the Emperor holds them accountable, they’ll get what’s coming!

Minister Zhou understood clearly in his heart, put on a smile and said some good words to Yang Zheng before letting him leave.

After Yang Zheng left, Minister Zhou combed through his sparse hair, sighed deeply, and stayed up late to write a memorial.

After returning to his quarters, Yang Zheng didn’t rest either; he picked up a brush to write a letter to the Emperor, thick with details, spanning over ten pages. That night, the letter was secretly sent out.

Minister Zhou was aware, but could only pretend not to know. Only at dawn the next day did he have the memorial sent to the Capital City.

Yang Zheng’s letter arrived at the Emperor’s hand one step ahead of Minister Zhou’s memorial.