Shocking! The entire court was drooling with envy because of me.

The emperor sat high on his dragon throne, looking down at his weeping ministers below, and felt a surge of annoyance.

It's just moving the capital, is it really that big of a deal?

He just wanted to eat something nice.

He pondered deeply for a long time yesterday.

Lady Shen was unwilling to voluntarily enter the palace to become the head of the imperial kitchen, even if he were the emperor.

Trying to use force? Gao Quan Hong was already very powerful, but he was defeated by Madam Shen in just a few moves, which shows how high Madam Shen's martial arts skills are.

I'm afraid that sending someone else would have the same result.

He also wanted to live outside the palace, but the living environment outside the palace was not as comfortable as inside the palace, and there were no beauties to accompany him.

Finally, he came up with a foolproof solution.

That was to move the capital and build the imperial palace next to the Zhiwei Restaurant.

In this way, he could eat Shen Niangzi's food every day, have a beautiful woman by his side, and have a comfortable bed.

It's a win-win situation.

The emperor cleared his throat: "All of you, shut up!"

"This is a dream from the late Emperor. Do you intend to defy him?"

Upon hearing this, none of the ministers dared to speak, but they wept even more bitterly.

Everyone was silently shedding tears.

The idea of ​​the late emperor appearing in a dream is clearly fabricated by the emperor.

Although they also loved Shen Niangzi's delicious food, this was a relocation of the capital! Relocating to a small county town not far from the capital was simply absurd.

Aside from the advantage of being able to eat delicious food, everything else is a disadvantage.

Who knows how the common people will curse them?

Just then, Pei Yuan spoke up.

"The cost of relocating the capital is enormous, and the national treasury is now empty. It is not that I wish to disobey the late emperor, but that I am truly powerless to do so. I only ask one question: where will the funds for the relocation come from?"

Unlike the other ministers who wept and wailed, Pei Yuan calmly raised the issue.

This was tantamount to telling the emperor that it wasn't that the people disagreed with moving the capital, but that it was truly impossible.

Upon hearing this, Yan Wenli wiped away a tear.

It has to be the Grand Secretary, otherwise he would be finished as the Minister of Revenue!

Good heavens, moving the capital! How much money will that cost? Even if he invites Madam Shen to sell hot pot, who knows how long it will take.

The emperor was clearly taken aback; he had never thought about money before.

"You can discuss this matter yourselves; don't ask me!"

Pei Yuan: "Your Majesty, the national treasury is empty, and I cannot conjure silver out of thin air. I beg Your Majesty to make the decision on this matter."

"Yes, even if we don't move the capital, our national treasury can't hold on any longer. Paying military salaries, repairing river embankments, disaster relief, and so on—all of these require money. Please, Your Majesty, resolve this issue of funding!"

Yan Wenli quickly stepped forward and spoke.

The officials all cried out, "Your Majesty, please resolve this matter of money!"

The emperor's brow furrowed even more deeply.

What a bunch of useless trash!

But if the money issue isn't resolved, the capital can't be moved. If the capital can't be moved, it will be difficult to enjoy Lady Shen's delicious food. And without Lady Shen's delicious food, he feels... it won't do!

After thinking for a long time, the emperor gritted his teeth and said, "How about this? I'll take out 800,000...500,000 taels of silver from my private treasury."

My chest hurts a little.

He's certainly spent a lot of money on food!

Pei Yuan looked at Yan Wenli: "Lord Yan, how much money would it cost to move the capital?"

"At least fifty million taels of silver are needed," Yan Wenli said without hesitation.

Pei Yuan: "Your Majesty, fifty is insignificant compared to five thousand. Even so, it is still impossible to move the capital."

Fifty million taels of silver is equivalent to ten or twenty years of the imperial court's fiscal revenue, a huge amount.

The emperor was very annoyed. He hadn't expected that the perfect solution he had painstakingly devised would encounter such a huge obstacle.

I thought about my own little private stash.

He touched his stomach again.

Never mind, eating is more important.

"I have taken all the silver from my private treasury, approximately twenty million taels of silver. As for the rest, you can discuss and figure out a solution yourselves. That's settled!"

As the emperor said this, he felt his heart bleeding.

His private stash, he's been saving it up for so many years.

I feel like crying!

Pei Yuan: "Yes, Your Majesty."

The ministers: ? ? ?

What happened?

Why did the Grand Secretary agree?

No, they agreed to move the capital?!

"Alright, I'm tired. You can discuss the rest yourselves." The emperor didn't want to stay there any longer.

This place is cold and heartless.

He just wanted to hold his beauty and cry his heart out, reminiscing about the money he had saved up over the years.

"Your Majesty, what about the money in the private treasury..." Pei Yuan was the type who wouldn't act until he saw a clear benefit.

This is something I need right now.

The emperor took a deep breath and touched the key at his waist.

"This is the key to the private treasury..." His voice was almost choked with emotion. "I've never even taken it off when I sleep."

"Here you go, dog. Take them and take all my money."

The emperor clutched his chest with his other hand, as if he were about to faint at any moment.

"Rest assured, Your Majesty, this servant will certainly handle this matter well!"

Zhao Gou stretched out his hands, trying to take the key from the emperor's hand.

But no matter how hard he tried, the emperor just wouldn't let go.

"Your Majesty, please let go! Don't pull so hard..."

"You dog, this money is what I've saved up for many years."

"Your Majesty, this servant understands. This servant will certainly deliver them to the Ministry of Revenue intact!"

"Oh dog, I don't know if I'll ever be able to save up this much money in my lifetime."

"Yes, I can!" Zhao Gou said with all his might.

The next moment, he got the key and his body involuntarily leaned backward.

The emperor looked miserable: "Never mind, never mind, as long as I can eat Lady Shen's delicious food, it's all worth it."

"It's worth it no matter how much money it costs."

His steps were unsteady; he was brainwashing himself.

No, no, he really couldn't take it anymore. He had to go back to his palace and have a good cry in the arms of a beauty!

The emperor left as if he had lost his soul.

Zhao Gou held the key with a grateful expression.

He wiped away tears of emotion and said, "His Majesty has endured so much expense just to have a hot meal. I urge you gentlemen to find a way to complete the relocation of the capital as soon as possible!"

In this way, he can finally have something hot to eat.

When he left yesterday, he sent people to queue up in front of Zhiwei Restaurant.

But it's an hour's journey, and by the time the servants bring it over and it reaches the palace, it will definitely be completely cold.

It definitely doesn't taste as good when it's cold as it is when it's hot.

It's all thanks to His Majesty's wisdom!

"Since Your Majesty is so magnanimous, we will do our utmost," Pei Yuan said.

Things had come to this point, and the other ministers could no longer object even if they wanted to.

The main point is that the emperor has already provided more than 20 million taels of silver, and Pei Yuan has directly agreed to it.

The civil officials all agreed, and there was nothing they could do about their objections.

However, relocating the capital would cost more than 50 million taels of silver. Where would the remaining 30 million taels come from?

Is it a scam or fraud?

The ministers were all deeply saddened...