What's wrong with me, a powerful minister, supporting a few female officials?

Chapter 213 Su Mo teaches the Empress a lesson in person!

Su Mo was furious at the cold treatment.

However, herding one duck is the same as herding a flock of ducks. The more people who come, the better, as it will allow us to draw a detailed map of Lone Peak Mountain more quickly.

As long as you don't pursue extreme precision, you don't need to use measuring instruments; you can rely on the experience of the geomancer for visual assessment.

An Wu returned to the Ministry of War's Department of Military Affairs to ask for someone. Su Mo looked at Leng Xixi and saw that her cheeks were even paler than before, completely devoid of color. He then suggested, "Sir, it's chilly here. Why don't you rest at the artisan camp and have some hot tea to warm your body?"

The Empress tightened her cloak, wrapping herself completely inside it, letting the light snowflakes fall on her hair, and said with a smile, "No rush!"

"It's rare for me to come out, and I've never seen such a scene before. It's quite interesting."

Su Mo was speechless.

It's not like you've finally managed to get out of the house?
It seems like I see her every other day!
Before Su Mo could even complain, the Empress was already looking around with great interest at the villagers who were working hard.

At first, she could see it clearly.

Cutting down trees, cutting thatch, and digging stones are all used to build houses.

The resettlement of displaced people and villagers should also be done in this way.

But the more I read, the more confused I became.

Why are so many people abandoning their original jobs and turning around to wield hoes and dig big pits in the ground?
The Empress opened her beautiful eyes wide and looked at Su Mo, like a diligent and inquisitive student: "May I ask, my lord, why do the villagers not cut down trees to build houses, but instead dig large pits in the ground?"

"Is the young master planning to dig a pond to raise fish?"

"But shouldn't the most urgent task be to build houses to shelter the villagers from the wind and rain?"

Su Mo burst out laughing: "How could this humble servant possibly dig a pond to raise fish?"

"If we're going to raise them, we'll do it over at Wulongtan."

He paused for a moment, then explained, "The weather is getting colder, and it may not be possible to build houses in time. I intend to wait until the map is drawn before making any further plans."

"Therefore, they were instructed to dig some pits in the ground and stay in them at night to avoid the wind and cold."

The Empress suddenly realized, and then chuckled, "I never imagined that my lord had such a wonderful way of avoiding the cold."

Su Mo shook his head and said, "It's just a quick fix, not a brilliant method."

Just then, Liu Siyun suddenly walked over.

He first gave a slight bow to the Empress, then frowned and said to Su Mo, "The weather is cold and the ground is hard. The villagers lack suitable tools, so this pit is not easy to dig."

"Young master, could you please have the artisan battalion forge some hoes?"

Su Mo nodded, then glanced at Leng Xixi: "This subordinate is going to the artisan camp. Is my lord still staying here?"

Leng Liuxi thought for a moment and said, "I shall also go to the artisan camp."

Su Mo...

It seems there's no way to get rid of this piece of chewing gum.

Upon arriving at the official residence of the artisan camp, they found no trace of Yin Rou.

Su Mo shook the snowflakes off his robe and took matters into his own hands, lifting the kettle from the stove to brew a pot of hot tea.

He then poured half a cup of tea for himself and Leng Xixi.

The Empress also took off her cloak, shook off the snowflakes, revealing a plain white round-necked ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) underneath. Her exposed neck was fair and delicate, which made Su Mo slightly stunned.

Seeing Su Mo staring straight at her, the Empress rolled her eyes at him and then put her cloak back on.

Upon hearing the report, Yin Rou hurriedly returned to the government office.

"This humble servant greets Lord Leng! Greetings, teacher!"

Su Mo looked at this hardworking and capable subordinate and smiled: "Where did you go just now?"

Yin Rou quickly explained, "I was just settling the new craftsmen in."

The Empress was extremely interested in the bicycle and rickshaw business, and seeing that the artisan battalion was short-handed, she transferred many more artisans over.

Yin Rou was very busy.

In particular, they also had to guide these craftsmen, familiarize them with assembly line production, and teach them the various rules and regulations of the craftsmen's camp.

Su Mo thought for a moment and said, "Go to Ding Bashi's place and have him make some hoes, picks, shovels, and saws as soon as possible, and use them properly."

"Uh... one hundred of each."

Yin Rou nodded in agreement.

He then left in a hurry, indicating that he was extremely busy.

Leng Liuxi watched Yin Rou walk out of the government office, then looked away: "Young master's disciple is indeed remarkable."

"Has my lord ever considered asking her to perform meritorious service and seek an official position on her behalf?"

Su Mo was taken aback: "She was only recently promoted to junior flag officer, is this appropriate?"

Leng Liuxi smiled and said, "Promotions in the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Phoenix Cry Division don't have so many rules; those who make contributions will naturally be rewarded."

She paused, then kindly reminded Su Mo, "From what I've observed, Lady Nangong treats you very well, my lord. Perhaps if you ask her to grant you a reward, she'll agree?"

The elevation of a mere small flag to a general flag wouldn't warrant the Empress's personal approval.

Nangong Sheyue, the Left Commander, was only under the command of the Fengming Division Commander; promoting him to the rank of Captain was a matter of a single word for him.

Su Mo was speechless.

Unexpectedly, Leng Xixi actually told him to use the back door, so he could only nod and say, "Thank you for your advice, sir."

"Uh... My lord, please rest for a moment. I have some things to attend to."

As he spoke, he took out a sheet of Xuan paper from under the table, ground the ink, and began to sketch.

The Empress pulled up a chair and sat opposite the desk, resting her head on her hands and elbows on the desk, and began to read with great interest.

Seeing that Su Mo had drawn grids haphazardly, he would sometimes bite his pen in deep thought, and sometimes write Su's number in the grids.

After looking at it for a long time, I still couldn't understand what Su Mo was writing.

Finally, I couldn't help but ask, "What is the deeper meaning behind your writing these Su-style numbers, my lord?"

Su Mo looked up and saw a vast expanse of white before her, with the ravine between the two peaks faintly visible.

She was bent over with a cold expression, her cloak loosely tied, and with her elbows propped on the table and her cheeks resting on her hands, Su Mo looked down at her, revealing everything beneath her round-necked ruqun!
Su Mo couldn't help but swallow.

I've handled it before, but I've never seen it before!
When the Empress saw Su Mo staring straight at her, she subconsciously lowered her head to look, and her pretty face instantly turned red. She quickly straightened up and tightened her cloak again!

Su Mo coughed twice: "Most of those villagers are honest and simple, but there are also a few who are cunning and deceitful."

"This humble servant intends to apply the points system of the artisan battalion to the households of the county."

"From now on, the free food supply will be cancelled, and labor will be exchanged for points. Those who do not work will not be allowed to eat."

"The same applies to subsequent housing allocations, daily necessities, and so on."

"However, we still need to carefully consider how to allocate the points."

The Empress's beautiful eyes lit up slightly, as if she had forgotten Su Mo's rudeness just now, and she quickly asked, "I hope my lord can enlighten me on the knowledge of this points system!"

Su Mo didn't hide anything from the Empress, and smiled, saying, "This is my initial idea."

"The points earned by a young and strong laborer through normal work can help one more person live, while the number of healthy women is halved."

"In this way, we can increase their enthusiasm for work without making them lazy after accumulating too many points."

The Empress frowned slightly: "If that's the case, wouldn't the households in the town have no surplus grain, and if a sudden change occurs, they won't be able to continue?"

She paused, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "I originally thought that since you have plenty of money, you would treat the people of your fiefdom well."

Su Mo shook his head: "It's not that I can't support them."

"But that's how the world is. If we give them too much preferential treatment, how will other landlords, gentry, and marquises view me?"

"I don't want to become the target of everyone's criticism."

The Empress's eyebrows furrowed even more.

Su Mo then added, "At the beginning of pioneering, we always have to endure some hardship."

"Once things are on track, as long as we work hard, life will definitely get better day by day."

"in addition……"

Su Mo paused slightly, and finally said, "Settling villagers is actually the same as settling refugees."

“Simply providing them with food will leave the refugees without hope. If someone secretly stirs things up, they could easily descend into chaos.” A cold glint flashed in the Empress’s eyes!
He immediately asked in a deep voice, "Does the young master know how to govern displaced people?"

Su Mo nodded: "I have a little experience."

"The best way to resettle refugees is to keep them moving and exhaust their energy so they won't have the mind to think about anything else."

"What ordinary people want is nothing more than to have enough to eat and wear. If they have enough to eat and wear, and have something to look forward to, who would want to rebel?"

"Don't even mention ordinary people stirring things up; what if the Heavenly Mother Cult comes?"

The Empress's eyes lit up immediately, and she exclaimed in amazement, "Hearing your words is worth more than reading books for ten years!"

"So that's why the young master made them dig holes and repair roads, without giving them time to stop?"

After a pause, the Empress took a deep breath and stared intently at Su Mo: "I truly do not know, in this world, is there anything that Su Lang does not know!"

Su Mo didn't notice that Leng Xixi's way of addressing him had become much more intimate, and casually replied with a smile, "There's a lot this subordinate doesn't understand."

"This work-for-relief program is just... cough cough, it's just a guess of mine, it may not actually work, so it's good to use these households to test it out."

The Empress immediately became curious: "Work relief instead of economic relief? How apt!"

"But who are those people Su Lang mentioned...? Who are they? How could they possess such profound knowledge?"

Su Mo cursed himself inwardly, then said without hesitation, "That's what those white-bearded old men said."

Empress...

Then he said quietly, "There are quite a few white-bearded old men that Su Lang has helped up in the snow."

Su Mo thought to himself, "The keyboard warriors of later generations are far more powerful than the old man with the white beard."

Never mind, the more I say, the more mistakes I'll make.

Just honestly study the integral distribution.

We can't let the troublemakers eat too much, otherwise they might not be willing to work for us honestly in the future.

Seeing that Su Mo remained silent, Leng Liuxi began to ponder Su Mo's suggestion of using work as a form of relief.

The more I think about it, the more I feel that this work-for-relief program is absolutely feasible!

It's even a strategic-level plan on par with the Emperor's Decree!
Throughout the Great Wu region, famine and disaster were rampant. The imperial court gritted its teeth and allocated funds for disaster relief, setting up shelters and distributing porridge.

But it didn't have much effect. The disaster victims still started to rebel, and the imperial court had no choice but to allocate funds and troops to suppress the rioters!
The Empress and the court officials were extremely troubled!
The Empress had previously thought that this was due to the instigation of the Heavenly Mother Sect and remnants of the previous dynasty, but after hearing Su Mo's words, she realized that the disaster victims could not see any hope!

If the money, silver, rice, and grain provided by the imperial court for disaster relief were no longer distributed free of charge, but instead replaced with work relief.

Firstly, it allows disaster victims to rebuild their homes on their own and see hope for the future. Secondly, it can exhaust their energy, leaving them unable to cause trouble. It's a win-win situation!
The Empress gave Su Mo a deep look as he chewed on his pen in deep thought.

A man of great talent for governing the country! A true auspicious omen of a great martial arts descending from heaven!

How could I let him go!
After her initial surprise, the Empress finally remembered the original purpose of her trip out of the palace.

He was about to speak.

But seeing Su Mo frowning and writing on the rice paper again, I felt bad interrupting him.

He simply sat down to the side, quietly watching Su Mo, and said nothing more.

Seeing that the ink had dried, she would deliberately drip two drops of water onto the inkstone, then roll up her sleeves and grind the ink with her delicate hands, adding fragrance to the inkstone with her beautiful sleeves.

After two or three incense sticks had burned, Su Mo carefully reviewed the numbers in the table again and felt that there were not many flaws. If anything was not right after implementation, he would make changes.

Only then did he put the brush back on the brush holder.

Turning to look at Leng Xixi, who was smiling broadly, Su Mo sighed and said helplessly, "Speak, what brings you here this time, sir?"

Leng Liuxi covered her mouth and smiled: "Su Lang, you and I are indeed of one mind and body!"

Su Mo rolled her eyes immediately: "Does this require telepathy? When did you ever come to me, sir, without any problems?"

The Empress's eyes lit up: "Does this mean, Su Lang, that I can come to see you even when I have nothing to do?"

Su Mo...

"Since you won't say anything, sir, I'll head over to the workshop!"

Leng Liuxi's expression immediately turned serious: "That's how it is!"

"As you know, young master, Zou Hou, a fifth-rank Lingtai Lang, is very likely to be replaced by someone from the Heavenly Mother Sect."

Su Mo nodded slowly and said in a deep voice, "This humble servant, together with Lord Nangong and Lord Lin, unearthed a skeleton at the Fu family residence."

"Lord Nangong did say that the corpse was very likely the real Zou Hou."

Leng Liuxi immediately asked, "Su Lang, do you think we should take down Zou Hou?"

Su Mo blurted out, "Of course we have to win!"

Leng Liuxi was slightly taken aback: "Why do you say that, Su Lang?"

you still need to ask?

This is a system task!
If Zou Hou isn't removed, how can Chi Wulei take his place?
Su Mo took a deep breath, his expression turning serious: "Lord Leng, are you afraid that this matter will implicate Grand Secretary Yuan?"

Leng Liuxi nodded slightly: "Your Majesty means that Zou Hou was recommended by Grand Secretary Yuan, and I fear that Grand Secretary Yuan may also be related to the Heavenly Mother Sect!"

"If we hastily take down Zou Hou, the consequences will be unpredictable."

"But if we wait until the investigation is complete before making arrests, how can we give a prominent candidate a significant role in this Immortal Martial Arts Grand Trial?"

"Furthermore, the chief examiner of the Immortal Martial Arts Grand Examination is actually a member of a heretical cult. Where is the imperial court's credibility now?"

Su Mo remained silent for a moment, then looked up at Leng Xixi and suddenly asked, "May I ask, sir, what level of cultivation does Grand Secretary Yuan possess?"

Leng Liuxi was taken aback for a moment, but still said, "Grand Secretary Yuan is at the late stage of the Golden Core Realm!"

Su Mo gasped in shock.

In his eyes, Nangong Sheyue and Lin Moyin were already figures of divine caliber!

Unexpectedly, Yuan Xingdao was even more terrifying, actually being in the late stage of the Golden Core realm!

It's probably even more intense than being cold and indifferent!

He truly deserves to be the leader of the imperial court's Taoist and sorcerer faction!

After his initial shock, Su Mo asked, "Does Your Excellency believe that the Heavenly Mother Sect, or the Nine Dragons Demonic Path, have the means to control Elder Yuan?"

Leng Liuxi said without hesitation, "That's absolutely impossible!"

Su Mo nodded: "In that case, in my humble opinion, this matter should have little to do with Grand Secretary Yuan. He was probably just deceived by that fake Zou Hou."

Leng Liuxi frowned slightly: "What do you mean?"

Su Mo smiled and said, "It's very simple!"

"Grand Secretary Yuan is now at the pinnacle of his position, so why would he expect the Heavenly Mother Sect to overthrow the Great Wu Dynasty in order to gain a higher position!"

"If Grand Secretary Yuan weren't a fool, he would know that getting involved with the Heavenly Mother Sect would bring him no benefit whatsoever!"

“Of course…” Su Mo paused, then added, “This is just my personal opinion, Lord Leng, you may take it as a consideration.”

"If the Nine Dragons Demon Path tries to tempt Grand Secretary Yuan with the promise of higher cultivation levels, I dare not say whether it will be able to sway Grand Secretary Yuan's heart."

"After all, my cultivation level is too low to judge whether this possibility exists."

Upon hearing this, Leng Liuxi hesitated.

Su Mo suddenly said calmly, "In my opinion, the key point of this matter is not to weigh the gains and losses."

"It's a matter of whether to do it or not!"

"The worst thing for a general is to be indecisive!"

Leng Liuxi stared at Su Mo in astonishment.

Su Mo stared directly at the Empress, his voice turning deep as he coldly declared, "In the glorious Great Wu, the Heavenly Mother Sect is nothing but a rat in a ditch!"

"If it could truly harm the Great Wu, why resort to such a shady conspiracy!"

"Kill any that show their faces!"

"Only when you are outmatched in power should you consider strategy!"

"The advantage is now in our hands!"

"The Great Wu Hao is like the sun in the sky, his momentum is unstoppable, and overwhelming others with power is the only way to rule!"

(End of this chapter)