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

The hall fell silent once again.

Yang Shiqi and Xia Yuanji's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

What kind of condition is this?

Those who enter the cabinet as ministers all get up earlier than the rooster and go to bed later than the dog.

They wished they could live and eat in the government office, exhausting themselves to the point of vomiting blood in order to demonstrate their loyalty.

This guy, before even putting on his official uniform, has already set a rule that he will never work overtime!

It's simply a horror of slipping the world!

Zhu Gaochi was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter, coughing repeatedly as he laughed.

"Hahahaha! Good! Well done, Gu Yannian! I grant your request! In this whole world, only you dare to make such a request to me."

"As long as you can sort out the Ministry of Revenue's accounts and fill the Ming Dynasty's treasury, I'll let you sleep in the cabinet every day!"

Once the imperial decree was issued, the die was cast.

The following day, a bright yellow imperial edict was proclaimed throughout the capital.

The librarian of the Bureau of Ceremonies, who had remained unknown for twenty years, suddenly rose to become one of the most powerful people in the Ming Dynasty court, like a dragon emerging from the sea.

When the news spread, the entire court was in an uproar.

Some people are jealous, while others are disdainful.

Many others, however, were simply watching with amusement, waiting to see how this bookish pedant, who only knew how to talk theory, would be utterly crushed amidst the mountain of rubbish in the Ministry of Revenue.

Three days later, Gu Yannian changed into the bright red official robes of a third-rank official, with a lifelike peacock patch embroidered on his chest.

He did not ride in a sedan chair, but walked steadily along the bluestone road leading to the Forbidden City as usual.

The rising sun cast his shadow extremely long.

At the beginning of the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), Gu Yannian stepped into the gate of the Ministry of Revenue.

Inside the courtyard, hundreds of officials, clerks, and stewards from the Ministry of Revenue were already lined up and waiting.

They looked at the excessively young, handsome new Right Vice Minister with mostly inquisitive and suspicious eyes.

Minister of Revenue Xia Yuanji stood at the forefront, his expression complex as he approached.

"Lord Gu, the accounts of the Ministry of Revenue are complex and involve a wide range of matters. Today, I will have someone bring over the records for the past three years so that you can familiarize yourself with them."

Although Xia Yuanji acknowledged Gu Yannian's mathematical abilities, he remained reserved about his political skills.

Gu Yannian nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the rows of account books piled up like mountains.

He walked to the main seat in the main hall and sat down, placing the sandalwood abacus he had brought neatly on the table.

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

"Add to the spirit."

In that instant, a profound glint flashed in the depths of Gu Yannian's eyes.

The more than 1,600 points of spirit and intelligence, like a primordial beast awakened, instantly enveloped the entire Ministry of Revenue hall.

"Lord Xia, there's no need to only look at the last three years."

Gu Yannian's tone was not loud, but it carried an undeniable sense of authority.

"By order of this official, all the yellow registers concerning military pay for the nine border regions, salt and iron monopolies, and losses in grain transport from the thirty-first year of Hongwu to the present shall be moved to this hall."

"Today, I will settle the score with you all clearly regarding the mess of the Ming Dynasty over the past twenty years."

These words shocked the entire audience.

Twenty years' worth of accounts?

That's a massive amount of data, numbering in the millions!

Let alone a day, even ten skilled accountants might not be able to figure it out in a year.

Has this new vice minister gone mad?

In front of the Ministry of Revenue's main hall, the sunlight was completely blocked by the mountains of yellow books and account books.

Hundreds of clerks and laborers were sweating profusely as they carried wooden crates out of the back storeroom.

Those wooden boxes contained all the money and grain revenue of the Ming Dynasty from the time Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne in the thirty-first year of Hongwu to the twenty-second year of Yongle.

Dust swirled in the beam of light, causing many officials to cough repeatedly.

Xia Yuanji stood to the side of the hall, looking at this terrifying scene, his brows furrowed into a knot.

The accounts spanning twenty years involve the taxes of the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty, as well as the provisions and pay for hundreds of thousands of troops in the nine border regions.

There were also revenues from the exclusive sales of salt, iron, tea, and horses.

These accounts are layered and overlapping, covering each other up, and who knows how many shady dealings are hidden within them.

Even if he, the Minister of Revenue, were to investigate, he would need to bring hundreds of elite accountants and spend three to five years to figure it out.

He turned to look at Gu Yannian, who was sitting in the main seat.

The newly appointed Right Vice Minister of Revenue and Assistant Minister of the Cabinet was leisurely rolling up the wide sleeves of his official robes.

Tie it tightly with a blue ribbon to prevent it from getting stained with ink.

On the desk in front of him, besides writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone, there was only a smooth, oily sandalwood abacus.

"Lord Gu,"

Xia Yuanji finally couldn't hold back and stepped forward to whisper his advice.

"When a new official takes office, he should establish his authority. However, if he conducts such a large-scale investigation into twenty-year-old accounts and makes any mistakes, and fails to find the truth, I'm afraid that the officials and clerks below him will be respectful on the surface, but in their hearts they will start to despise him."

Gu Yannian picked up his teacup to moisten his throat, his expression calm and composed.

"Minister Xia, please rest assured. Since I have made such a bold promise, I will certainly not allow the Ministry of Revenue to become a laughing stock in the court."

After speaking, he raised his eyes and glanced at the dozens of Ministry of Revenue officials standing below the hall.

Most of these people had their heads bowed, but out of the corner of their eyes, there were expressions of doubt and anticipation.

"Is everything moved in?" Gu Yannian asked.

A clerk, wiping sweat from his brow, stepped forward to report.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, the total of over 14,600 volumes of general ledgers from the 31st year of the Hongwu reign to the 22nd year of the Yongle reign are all here."

"Very good."

Gu Yannian nodded slightly and pointed to the two empty tables in front of the desk.

"Bring four clerks with neat handwriting and nimble hands, and line them up on both sides. Write down whatever I read. If you make a mistake, you will lose a month's salary."

Four carefully selected scribes stepped forward and sat down with trepidation, picked up their brushes, dipped them in ink, and stood ready.

Gu Yannian casually pulled out five account books from the nearest wooden box and laid them out in a row on the table.

The next moment, all the officials in the Ministry of Revenue's main hall witnessed a scene they would never forget.

Gu Yannian's left hand moved swiftly between the pages of the five account books, like a butterfly flitting among flowers.

He wasn't reading line by line at all; he was scanning ten or even a hundred lines at a glance.

At the same time, his right hand had already landed on the sandalwood abacus.

"Crackling! Crackle, crackle..."

The crisp sound of the abacus beads clashing together was like a sudden rain pattering on banana leaves, so dense that it formed a continuous cascade.

All the onlookers could see was his right hand fingers turning into a blur, flitting up and down on the abacus.

With attributes that far exceed the limits of ordinary people, Gu Yannian's eyes are the sharpest weapon in the world.

Once those complex numbers came into view, they were automatically identified and recorded in his mind.

He doesn't need to rack his brains; all addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division can be completed with the most accurate result in a fraction of a second.

"In the third year of the Yongle reign, the Zhejiang Provincial Administration Commission delivered autumn grain in exchange for silver. The amount recorded in the accounts was 340,000 taels, of which 30,000 taels were lost or washed away on the Grand Canal during transit."

Gu Yannian's voice was steady and clear, penetrating the dense sound of abacuses and echoing throughout the hall.

The clerk quickly lowered his head to record the information.