His words carried considerable weight.
This caused Xiao Lin's expression to turn slightly cold as he asked, "Why can't we rush it?"
"Your Majesty, the national treasury is currently empty, and repairing the temple will inevitably consume a large amount of manpower and financial resources."
If you insist on building a temple, wouldn't that be the same as the late emperor building the Ascension Tower?
Upon hearing this, the entire Mingzheng Hall fell silent.
The Right Chancellor's words were practically pointing a finger at Xiao Lin's nose, accusing him of being just as incompetent as the late emperor.
How dare they say such a thing?
“Lord Qian, your words are too extreme,” Liu An said. “The late emperor built the Ascension Tower for his own enjoyment. Your Majesty’s proposal to build the temple is to give an explanation to the soldiers in the northern border, and also to make the people aware of the dangers of peace and cherish their current lives.”
"Lord Liu, with floods and plagues breaking out in the south, refugees are displaced and starving. They are already living like neither human nor ghost, so why would they care about the Temple of the God of War?"
"This... Lord Qian, you can't say that!" Liu An's voice was also filled with anger: "If we hadn't stopped the enemy in this battle in the northern border, they wouldn't have survived either if the country fell!"
“But the common people don’t think that way,” Qian Zhiyuan said. “Faced with life and death, the common people don’t care who’s sitting on the throne; they only care about who can feed them and clothe them!”
He bowed to Xiao Lin and said, "Your Majesty! Perhaps you think what I said was excessive, but I only hope that you will be cautious in all matters and think twice before you act!"
A dark light flashed in Xiao Lin's eyes.
When he first rebelled and stormed the capital, he didn't have many people he could trust.
Liu An was one, Wang Ze, a student of the former Left Chancellor, was another, and the military generals were Zhao Lin and Qiao Yu.
The Right Chancellor's attitude toward him has always been ambiguous.
This old man adhered to the doctrine of the mean. In his previous life, he helped him resolve a few minor matters, and then resigned from his official post to go farming.
So it's quite novel to hear Qian Zhiyuan confronting him like this now.
"Alright..." Xiao Lin's voice was devoid of emotion, he simply said, "I understand."
"I will consider it carefully, and we will discuss this matter again tomorrow."
"Court adjourned..."
On his instructions, the eunuch shouted, "Dismiss the court!"
Back in the Imperial Study, Yu Tang crawled out of Xiao Lin's arms and stood on the table.
"Your Majesty, is this the audacious idea you mentioned last night?"
Yu Tang was also surprised when Xiao Lin proposed building the Temple of the God of War.
Although he is indeed a god, in this world, he was simply doing what he was supposed to do.
Moreover, given the current situation in Xiao Kingdom, it is indeed not suitable to construct any more large-scale buildings.
The money and grain in the national treasury should also be used for important purposes.
"Hmm..." Xiao Lin looked at Yu Tang, a glint in his eyes, and asked Yu Tang, "General, you must have heard what Lord Liu and Lord Qian said in court today. What do you think I should do?"
“Both of you have a point,” Yu Tang analyzed earnestly. “They are genuinely concerned for His Majesty.”
“Therefore, I believe that there is no need to rush the construction of the temple,” he said. “Rather than establishing faith and making them worship me, it would be better to do something practical to ensure they are well-fed and clothed.”
Xiao Lin knew perfectly well what was going on, but he deliberately put on a wronged expression: "General, are you blaming me for being incompetent?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Tang immediately panicked.
Two small hands kept waving: "No, no, I didn't mean to blame His Majesty, I, I just..."
Xiao Lin was amused by him, stroked the little man's cheek with his fingers, pinched it, and said, "Just kidding."
"I understand what the general means."
"I understand what those two gentlemen mean."
“However, there’s something the general is wrong about,” Xiao Lin said. “Sometimes faith is more important than wealth and food.”
"Do you still remember the choice Chen Mei and the others made when the army was pressing in?"
Xiao Lin's words seemed to take Yu Tang back to that chaotic time.
"Li Wen returned with a message, and his fate is unknown."
Chen Mei, however, did not give up. Instead, she led the people of Beicheng to help us resist the foreign invaders.
"They rely on their faith."
"Death is not scary; what is scary is living a meaningless life, not knowing what you should do until you die."
As he said this, Xiao Lin chuckled to himself.
Like him, his faith was in being a general.
His belief in getting ever closer to the general and fulfilling their shared ideal was what kept him going.
Yu Tang was slightly taken aback and asked in confusion, "What does His Majesty mean?"
"The temple construction can be slowed down, but we must spread the general's fame!"
As Xiao Lin spoke, his gaze fell on the branches of trees outside the window that were sprouting new buds. He smiled and said, "General, the harsh winter will eventually pass. When spring comes next year, I will definitely get everyone in Xiao Kingdom to work together to build this Temple of the God of War."
Yu Tang looked up at him.
The young emperor exuded confidence, his dark eyes gleaming with a light that was as warm and bright as fire.
I don't know why.
Yu Tang seemed to see Wei Yuan's persistent shadow through Xiao Lin.
He remembered that both Wei Yuan and the other party's scattered souls had said that in their hearts, the only god was him.
He used to think that such an idea was too exaggerated.
But now, I understand it deeply.
Even if no one in this world acknowledges his existence, Wei Yuan will be his most loyal follower.
Eternal and unchanging.
Thinking of this, Yu Tang couldn't help but laugh.
He hugged Xiao Lin's fingers, pressed his small cheek against them, and rubbed against them affectionately.
He said softly, "I believe in Your Majesty; you can definitely do it."
Chapter 18
The villain is resurrected for the fourth time (18)
Xiao Lin acted immediately.
He first summarized the most pressing problems facing the Xiao Kingdom.
The first is: the plague after the Southern floods ended and the construction after the Northern Wars ended.
Secondly, the national treasury is empty, and there is insufficient food and supplies for disaster relief.
Thirdly, there were remnants of the Third and Fifth Princes organizing uprisings in several cities, opposing his succession to the throne.
He entrusted the matter of the internal rebellion to two military officers, Zhao Lin and Qiao Yu.
With the national treasury empty, the key is to investigate and punish corrupt officials in the court, making these opportunists return double the amount of money they've taken.
But Xiao Lin knew that everything should be done step by step.
Therefore, he heeded Yu Tang's advice and proposed in the court to "donate money and grain to the disaster area".
And this message was disseminated so that every official in the local area would know about it.
He then ordered the Inspectorate to put down all its work and begin a "vigorous investigation into corrupt officials," specifying that if any official was found to have money of dubious origin, his entire family would be executed!
Everyone knows that Xiao Lin was just bluffing by saying his entire family would be executed.
If he were even slightly weak-willed, he wouldn't have been of any use.
But those ministers happened to be witnesses to his patricide and fratricide.
So when he heard that Xiao Lin was going to do that, he was so scared that he wet himself.
They hurriedly donated everything they could.
He was thinking that at least he could save the lives of his entire family!
In this way, what was initially thought to be a publicity stunt turned into a large amount of money and supplies that were immediately sent to the disaster area to alleviate the immediate crisis.
After taking these measures, Xiao Lin took Yu Tang out of the palace and began an incognito tour.
Their destination was the three cities ravaged by the plague.
Xiao Lin changed into casual clothes, and his bodyguard Liu Feng disguised himself as a coachman to drive the two of them.
Inside the carriage, Xiao Lin held the little figure and asked him, "General, what are your chances of eradicating this plague?"
"Ten percent..." Yu Tang replied, "I can use my divine power to heal His Majesty's injuries, and I can also use my divine power to test the medicinal properties of the medicine."
Therefore, as long as I see those patients, I can write out prescriptions for their treatment.
"Then I'm relieved." Xiao Lin said with a smile, "Two months ago, I announced to the world that the general's achievements and portrait were posted in the forty-two cities of Xiao Kingdom."
Therefore, as long as the general appears and claims it's a divine intervention to save the sick from suffering, the people will naturally believe in these supernatural tales.
"As long as they have enough faith in the general and believe that someone will come to their rescue, and the Xiao Kingdom will become better and better because of the general's appearance, then the general will be able to obtain enough faith power and successfully restore it to its original state."
"Your Majesty," Yu Tang laughed, "the way you put it, the more I feel like we're the two of us con artists."
“How can we be the same as charlatans?” Xiao Lin rubbed Yu Tang’s head: “Charlatans harm people, we save people, and it is only right that we ask for some faith power as a reward for saving people.”
As he said this, Xiao Lin knew that he had a small selfish motive.
That is, after all the people of the Xiao Kingdom have accepted Yu Tang as a deity descended to earth, Yu Tang will be placed in the same position as him, so that everyone can accept the two of them being together.
Thud—
The carriage was suddenly hit by a stone, making a sound.
Xiao Lin frowned: "Liu Feng, what happened?"
"Robbery!"