Da Ming: The system granted me immortality; I clock in every day.

The anger in Zhu Qizhen's eyes vanished instantly.

He sat back down on the dragon throne, cleared his throat, and forced a pained yet relieved expression onto his face.

"My dear ministers, in order to share the burden of the court, you have even sent your soldiers to reclaim wasteland. You have truly suffered!"

Zhu Qizhen's voice even trembled slightly, making his performance incredibly lifelike.

"I accept these four million mu of fertile land! I have seen and will remember your loyalty! Wang Zhen, immediately send officials from the Ministry of Revenue to take over the grain register and bring the two million shi of autumn grain back to Taicang!"

Zhang Mao and the others breathed a sigh of relief and shouted in unison.

"Your Majesty is wise! We, your subjects, are willing to serve the Ming Dynasty to the death!"

After the court session, in the Wenhua Hall.

Zhu Qizhen looked at the new fish-scale book piled on his desk and couldn't stop smiling, the beads on his abacus flying in his hand.

"With four million mu of land, plus what was discovered in Datong, more than half of the vacant military settlements along the nine borders have been filled. Next year, Taicang will save at least a million taels of silver in military pay!"

Zhu Qizhen looked at Gu Yannian standing to the side, and his eyes revealed a rare hint of genuine admiration.

"Grand Tutor's move of striking the mountain to scare the tiger and luring the snake out of its hole is truly brilliant. I originally thought that I would have to send Qi Yu to dig up land in each of the nine border cities one by one, but I did not expect that with just one sentence from the Grand Tutor, these nobles would deliver the land to our doorstep."

Gu Yannian sat down by the stove in the side hall, fanning himself with a folding fan, and picked up a cup of tea.

"Your Majesty flatters me. This is not due to my own merit, but entirely due to the intimidation of Your Majesty and Prince Cheng's iron shovel."

Gu Yannian spoke in a relaxed tone.

"These people have realized that if they continue to hide, and the Prince of Cheng digs up their property at their doorstep, it will mean the confiscation of their property and the extermination of their entire clan. Between two evils, they choose the lesser and give up their wealth to save their lives."

Zhu Qizhen nodded and carefully placed the abacus.

He looked at the snow falling outside the window, his young face radiating an absolute confidence that suggested he controlled all the world's wealth.

"The Grand Tutor's teachings are correct. I now fully understand. This Ming Dynasty was not built by swords and spears, but by the abacus beads and the rules of the treasury, inch by inch."

"As long as I hold the key to this national treasury, everyone in the world will have to settle accounts according to my rules."

Gu Yannian looked at the emperor who once dreamed of becoming the Grand Marshal, but now had become a top-notch manager.

"Your Majesty is wise. The world is as secure as a rock."

Three days of heavy snow blanketed the entire capital city in a thick, white expanse.

The once undulating yellow tiles and red walls of the Forbidden City are now only faint traces of dark red.

It exudes a sense of ancient majesty amidst this vast天地 (heaven and earth).

The moat was already frozen solid, with a foot-thick layer of snow piled up on the ice.

In the warm chamber of the Cabinet Office.

Gu Yannian, dressed in a moon-white fox-fur cloak, was sitting upright in front of a large sandalwood table by the window.

On the desk sits a pot of red plum blossoms blooming proudly in the snow, their subtle, cool fragrance quietly wafting through the warm room.

He picked up the purple brush, dipped it in the warm ink from the Duan inkstone, and steadily wrote his name on the signature book.

[Ding! Today's attendance complete. Attribute point gained +1.]

"Add to physical constitution."

Gu Yannian silently recited this in his heart.

A gentle, soothing sensation, like a spring spring in the deep mountains, arose from the mind and quickly spread throughout the body.

This seemingly frail and handsome body, with its foundation of thousands of points of physical strength, is already impervious to heat and cold.

He slowly put down his pen, picked up the freshly brewed Junshan Yinzhen tea beside him, gently blew away the floating leaves, and took a small sip.

The aroma of tea is refreshing and delightful.

Since the Datong military farm corruption case came to an end, those arrogant and fierce soldiers voluntarily offered up millions of acres of farmland.

The Ming Dynasty's treasury was now completely full.

The young emperor who used to spend his days fiddling with an abacus in the Wenhua Hall has gradually abandoned his bookkeeper persona.

After all, they have a lot of money.

The entire court was utterly subdued by his ruthless methods, such as smashing paperweights and confiscating family property at the drop of a hat.

No one dared to manipulate the money and supplies anymore.

However, after living in peace for so long, some foolish moths will try to fly into this bright, burning pit.

"Judging by the time, the Oirat tribute mission should be arriving in the capital by now."

Gu Yannian put down his teacup and turned his gaze to the swirling snowflakes outside the window.

A glint of something ambiguous, like a smile, flashed in his deep eyes.

At 2:45 AM, the morning court session began at Fengtian Gate.

Despite the heavy snow, the officials, still wrapped in their heavy court robes, stood in neat rows beneath the imperial steps.

The white breaths exhaled by the crowd mingled in the air, as if shrouding the solemn court in a thin mist.

Zhu Qizhen sat upright on the dragon throne, wearing a bright yellow black fox fur cloak.

His hands were tucked into his sleeves, his face was calm, and he exuded an aura of imperial authority that commanded respect without anger.

"I have something to report."

Wang Zhen, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, flicked his whisk and shouted loudly.

Hu Ying, the Minister of Rites, stepped out of the ranks, holding an ivory tablet in his hands, and respectfully bowed.

"Your Majesty, the Oirat Grand Tutor Esen's tribute mission has arrived and set up camp thirty li outside the capital. This Oirat mission, led by Esen's brother Angke, has brought two thousand fine horses, sable furs, gyrfalcons, and other local products to express their gratitude for Your Majesty's grace."

Zhu Qizhen nodded slightly, his expression calm and composed.

"The annual tribute from the Oirat Mongols is a fixed practice. The Ministry of Rites, following established procedures, should welcome the delegation and settle them in the reception hall."

Hu Ying looked troubled, hesitated for a moment, and then forced himself to continue his report.

"Your Majesty, the Oirat delegation this time... is quite large. In previous years, the annual tribute delegations consisted of no more than a hundred people. However, this time, the delegation led by Angke has more than three thousand people."

"They made a commotion outside the city, claiming that the snow and wind along the way had blocked their way, and that they were suffering from both cold and hunger. They pleaded with the court to quickly provide them with provisions, charcoal, and firewood, as well as imperial wine and meat to comfort the envoys."

Upon hearing this, the officials under the Fengtian Gate immediately began to whisper among themselves.

More than three thousand people?!

This is no tribute mission; it's clearly a large army coming to the capital to plunder!

Who doesn't know the nature of Esen, the Grand Tutor of the Oirat?

In recent years, the Oirat tribe has been annexing other tribes on the grasslands, and its power has grown increasingly stronger.

The tribute paid to the Ming Dynasty became increasingly perfunctory.

Most of the so-called "good horses" that were sent were actually old, weak, sick, or disabled inferior horses.

The reason they sent such a large delegation was simply because they were confident that the Ming Dynasty would come to portray itself as a superior nation and treat others with kindness but receive little in return.

As long as they entered the capital under the guise of envoys.

The Ming Dynasty not only had to provide these three thousand people with free food and drink for several months.

Before leaving, they must be rewarded with large quantities of silk, tea, cloth, and real gold and silver.

This is tantamount to exchanging a pile of junk for real gold from the Ming Dynasty's national treasury.

Zhu Qizhen's originally calm face changed when he heard the words "more than three thousand people" and "allocation of grain and meat".

The atmosphere instantly turned gloomy.

His eyes, which had been immersed in ledgers for years, suddenly shot out two chilling beams of light.

"Three thousand people?"

The young emperor let out a cold laugh, his voice sounding particularly jarring in the wind and snow.

"What does he take my capital for? A soup kitchen on their grasslands?! Three thousand mouths, how much rice and charcoal does it consume every day?"

"Are they here to pay tribute, or to escape famine?"