She married a dying prince and she won three babies.

Chapter 319 The noodles are delicious

"Your Majesty?" the Queen asked.

"Just do as I say." The emperor did not explain.

The queen didn't know that it was Yu Yuanzheng who opened the iron box, the matter was kept secret.

Of course, the news of the victory won by the bomb at the front line would soon be reported back to Beijing, and everyone would definitely guess that the iron box had been opened, but who opened it could not be known.

Although everyone knew that it must be someone from Prince Rong's Mansion, many people in Prince Rong's Mansion generally would not think of the daughter-in-law they married into the family. This was a kind of protection for Yu Yuanzheng.

"Yes." The Queen immediately responded when she saw the Emperor stop smiling.

At the next morning court session, all the civil and military officials were smiling happily.

The emperor ordered the Ministry of Revenue to organize the displaced people to gradually return home.

Resume production and trade as soon as possible.

But it is easier said than done.

"Your Majesty, the national treasury has been depleted too quickly over the past year. In addition to military supplies, the resettlement of refugees has also cost a lot, and the situation is now very tight." The Minister of Revenue came out and reported with a sad face.

"No matter how difficult it is, we cannot let the soldiers on the front line suffer. Our Great Wei has abundant grain production and there is no shortage of food." The emperor was quite sure of this.

"Your Majesty, the soldiers have to go to the battlefield and have to eat a full meal every day. The food consumption is twice as much as usual. The food prepared for the army is consumed very quickly, so we have to buy it from merchants. The merchants took advantage of the war to raise the price of food. This expense is a real expense."

"What? How much higher?" The emperor was very angry when he heard it.

The merchants actually dared to do that.

"It's 10% higher than usual."

"One percent is not much." The emperor thought it was doubled.

"But hundreds of thousands of troops, every month, is a considerable sum. Wartime pay is twice as much as normal times, and there's also compensation for fallen soldiers. Add to that the resettlement of hundreds of thousands of refugees. Your Majesty, the treasury can't sustain it."

The Minister of Revenue felt that it had never been so difficult to be the head of the family.

I really want to break one tael of silver into two taels to spend.

"Do you have any good ideas, my dear ministers?"

"Your Majesty, please issue an order to all states to punish bad merchants." The Prime Minister stepped forward first.

"Well, you draft the edict first and give it to me for review." This matter must of course be controlled as soon as possible, otherwise it will escalate.

"Your Majesty, you may appropriately increase the wartime tax on the people, which can be used to offset some of the corvée labor in the future."

"Your Majesty, there are many merchants in the Great Wei. The wealth they hold accounts for the vast majority of the people's property. We can borrow from them first. The Ministry of Revenue will write a loan certificate, and then repay it when the national treasury is well-stocked."

"Your Majesty, you can temporarily increase the business tax of the shops, and you can deduct it later."

"Your Majesty, you can encourage the public to donate to support the soldiers at the border."

......

All the court officials racked their brains to come up with solutions and then expressed their opinions.

The emperor sat calmly on the dragon throne and listened.

Some are usable, some are just for numbers.

But after listening for a long time, no one mentioned their donation.

When the emperor thought of this, his face became a little gloomy.

How much salary does the Ministry of Revenue pay out to his good ministers every year?

Does he think he doesn't know about the businesses that each of them runs privately?

After the court session, the emperor went to the queen's palace.

"Empress, we've won a victory on the front lines. I want to hold a grand palace banquet to celebrate. Please write invitations and send them to every household. All officials below the fifth rank, all relatives, and nobles, please come into the palace. And have all the women in the family dress beautifully and festively."

When the emperor said this, he didn't smile much.

The queen knew that the emperor was a little unhappy.

"Your Majesty, I wonder what your purpose is..." The Queen knew that there must be a reason why the Emperor held such a grand banquet.

"The soldiers on the front line are bleeding and sacrificing their lives, but my ministers are only thinking about how to increase military supplies from merchants and civilians. No one has thought about taking money out of their own pockets. The Queen should set a good example." The emperor became more and more angry as he spoke.

"Yes, I understand." The queen understood.

On that day, several female officials were asked to check all the families in the capital that met the requirements.

Then I started writing palace letters.

When the princess received the palace invitation, Yu Yuanzheng was also there.

"What does the Queen mean by this? The court is discussing how to increase military supplies on the front lines, yet they are spending money to hold a palace banquet?" The princess was a little confused.

"Maybe the emperor is too happy." Yu Yuanzheng said casually.

She was doing the accounting. Now the entire palace's household was managed by her, and she was very good at accounting. Housekeeper Li often came to her for advice on many things.

Yu Yuanzheng guessed that Butler Li did it on purpose.

This is respect for her.

When Cao Nanhua was in charge, Butler Li handled many things himself.

She doesn't want to be respected like this.

But Housekeeper Li always had reasons for her to refuse.

Even when it came to matters concerning the shops in the palace, Steward Li would come to her for advice, which made her even more speechless.

Shouldn't I ask my father about this?

Even if he is not in Beijing, you can still write a letter.

"Zheng'er, the Queen wants us to dress more formally." The princess saw another request.

"Then mother, please take with you the best jewelry that father gave you." Yu Yuanzheng threw away one account book and replaced it with another.

Three days later, it was time for the palace banquet.

Considering that the Queen had invited many guests today, the Princess and Yu Yuanzheng decided not to bring the children into the palace.

Both of them dressed themselves solemnly and noblely as the queen requested, so as not to lose the queen's face.

In fact, Yu Yuanzheng already had a vague guess in her mind.

In her impression, the emperor was a wise ruler. How could he hold such a grand palace banquet just for a victory?

When we arrived at the palace gate, we saw many people waiting to enter.

Some girls who normally have no chance to enter the palace dressed themselves up beautifully, with the jewelry on their heads almost weighing their heads down.

The weather is very good today, and the palace banquet is still held in Taiming Hall. However, there are too many people and the hall cannot accommodate them, so tables and chairs are placed in the corridor outside the hall.

When most people had arrived, the emperor and the empress came together.

As usual, the emperor's opening remarks were basically about the victory won on the front line and how happy he was.

Seeing that the emperor was happy, everyone was of course happy too.

The Queen stood up and announced the start of the banquet.

But when bowls of noodles were served in front of everyone, everyone was a little dumbfounded.

When has anyone ever been served noodles at a palace banquet?

Yu Yuanzheng felt a little amused when she looked at the noodles in front of her that were as watery as Yangchun noodles.

The emperor and empress at the top also eat the same thing.

Some girls entered the palace with endless fantasies, hoping to have an unparalleled palace dinner, but ended up with a bowl of noodles without any ingredients, and they didn't know how to pick up their chopsticks.

Because the emperor and empress were present, they didn't dare speak loudly to express their disappointment.

The emperor and the empress picked up the noodles and started eating as if nothing had happened.

All the ministers and their families had to pick up their chopsticks and eat.

The food is definitely edible, but it is far from being delicious.

Everyone finished their bowls of clear soup noodles in silence.

The emperor put down the bowl and the palace servant took it away immediately.

"Everyone, are the noodles delicious?" the emperor asked everyone with a smile.

Everyone was silent, not saying a word, as they all knew that the emperor had something else to say.

"Your Majesty, it's delicious." Yu Yuanzheng was very bold. Seeing that no one said anything, she stood up and replied to the emperor.