In this cold winter, to have a cup of warm yellow wine, and then eat a few mouthfuls of tender braised lamb, it is truly a rare enjoyment.
"Your Majesty, why have you come at this time?"
In the Yu Zhen Xuan, upon hearing that Zhao Ji had arrived, Lady Liu, who had already been conferred the title of a first-rank noble consort, hurried to sit up from her sickbed.
"Your body is not yet fully recovered, you should still lie down. I merely came to see you!"
Looking at Lady Liu, who had become much thinner, Zhao Ji felt a pang of concern.
"Your Majesty..."
Upon hearing Zhao Ji's words, tears immediately streamed down Lady Liu's face.
"Why are you crying so?"
Seeing his beloved beauty start to cry again, Zhao Ji quickly stepped forward to comfort her.
"You are so good to your humble concubine; I fear it will arouse the displeasure of the elder sisters in the palace..."
"Whoever is displeased can be displeased. Why do you bother with them?"
"Your Majesty, you are the Son of Heaven, of course, you can say such things. But your humble concubine must continue to live in this palace. If I offend all the elder sisters, perhaps I won't even have anyone to talk to in the future. You should leave quickly. Otherwise, if you were to catch this illness, I truly would have no face to live on..."
As Lady Liu spoke, she reached out and pushed Zhao Ji towards the door.
"How can one easily contract such an illness? Don't forget, I am no ordinary mortal!"
"Bang—"
Just as the couple was exchanging sweet nothings, a bang suddenly came from outside the door.
"What happened?"
His tender conversation interrupted, Zhao Ji became displeased and stood up, walking towards the door.
"This servant deserves death! This servant deserves death!"
As soon as he stepped out, he saw a young eunuch, covered in dirt, prostrating himself on the ground, frantically picking up memorial documents.
"Be more careful when you walk in the future. Being so reckless, people might think that I, the Emperor, am too harsh on those around me!"
"Yes!"
Judging by his appearance, this fellow must have stumbled on the steps.
Zhao Ji, his heart still on his beloved, did not dwell on the matter excessively.
After a stern reprimand with a frown, he turned and went back to Lady Liu's side.
However, just as he had left, the young eunuch, who was picking up memorial documents on the ground, suddenly stealthily took a memorial from his怀 (huái, bosom/heart), and placed it on top of the pile.
"Did something happen?"
Seeing Zhao Ji return, Lady Liu quickly asked.
"Nothing. Just a young eunuch who was walking too fast and bumped into the steps. It's nothing important!"
"Since they are in a hurry to deliver memorial documents, there must be something that requires Your Majesty's personal attention. Your humble concubine is fine. You should attend to state affairs first!"
"Then you rest first. After I am done, I will come to see you later!"
Seeing that Lady Liu was indeed a little sleepy, Zhao Ji did not say any more. With a nod, he walked out the door.
Returning to the Fu Ning Hall, Zhao Ji looked at the thick pile of memorial documents on his desk and felt a headache come on for no reason.
He had originally placed great hope in Tong Guan, but he never expected Tong Guan to face such an unfortunate start.
First, Yang Keshi died at Bai Gou, and then Xin Qizong was defeated at Fan Cun. These two consecutive pieces of bad news now filled him with anxiety about matters in Hebei.
Li Bangyan, the Grand Chancellor, although he performed his duties very unsuitably,
When he was in office, the number of memorial documents reaching his desk daily was at most fifty to sixty.
But now, without him as Grand Chancellor, the number of memorial documents delivered to him, the Emperor, daily reached over two hundred, which was simply overwhelming for Zhao Ji.
Especially since almost every single one of these memorial documents was related to money.
The treasury of Hebei had been emptied. To raise sufficient military funds, the entire Hebei circuit had already begun to collect next year's taxes.
Yet, even so, it was still impossible to solve the problem of grain and fodder for the Liao campaign army.
In the southeast, there was a great uproar. Although Han Mo had achieved a great victory there, and Zhao Zhen had also achieved several victories of varying degrees,
However, based on the current situation, it would take at least several months to half a year to restore order to the entire southeast.
During this period, it would be difficult enough for the southeast region to be self-sufficient, let alone raise grain and military funds for the court.
As for the northwest, there was even less to expect. The northwest region had been in constant warfare for years, with a depleted populace. If it could be self-sufficient and not ask the Emperor for subsidies, that would be considered a great fortune, let alone expect them to provide money and grain to support Hebei.
Counting all the places that could provide money and grain, it turned out that only the Shu region remained...
However, how to transport the money and grain out of their hands was a problem that had truly stumped him.
For this matter, he had already lost his temper several times in court, but up until now, the officials in the court had not come up with any good solutions.
The ministers were all bickering, and all the difficult matters were piled onto his desk as the Emperor, which made Zhao Ji, who was accustomed to enjoying himself, feel quite unbalanced at this moment.
But no matter how uncomfortable he felt, the matters that needed to be handled still had to be handled. Casually taking out a memorial document, Zhao Ji's expression turned grim after just a glance.
"Absurd! Guards, take this memorial document to Wang Fu's residence and let him deal with it himself!"
"Yes!"
Although he didn't know why the Emperor was angry, Yang Jian, who served by the Emperor's side, quickly picked up the memorial document from the ground.
"They all only know how to engage in empty talk and lofty theories. What use do I have for such officials!"
Even after Yang Jian had walked a considerable distance from the Fu Ning Hall, Zhao Ji's furious voice could still be heard.
Only when he reached a secluded place did Yang Jian curiously glance at the memorial document in his hand...
Prince Xin, Zhao Zhen, is arrogant and overbearing...
Upon seeing these words, Yang Jian immediately closed the memorial document in his hand. This was not something he should be looking at...
After this memorial document returned to Wang Fu's hands, Wang Fu was so excited that he couldn't sleep.
Tomorrow morning was the Grand Court Assembly, and it seemed that the position of Grand Chancellor was not going to be snatched away by anyone this time!
Having navigated the officialdom for so many years, was he finally about to achieve his long-awaited position?