SFL Chapter 15

The Minister of Works was somewhat hesitant in his words when he approached Mu Yunfeng, and his face turned slightly red. “Your highness.”

“Minister, please,” Mu Yunfeng replied with a smile.

The Minister felt a bit embarrassed but continued, “Your Highness, to be honest, the Ministry has come up with quite a few ideas this time and requires special approval for a sum of money…” He paused at this point, finding it difficult to proceed. Unlike other departments, innovations developed by the Ministry of Works often had a high chance of not being put to practical use.

While it was true that the upper authorities wouldn’t deny funds for the Ministry of Works, it only applied to their regular operations. When they needed more money to create various tools, it was usually a different story.

The Ministry of Works had applied for funds from the Ministry of Revenue many times in the past but rarely received approval. The reason for his visit this time was that the Minister was banking on his good relationship with Mu Yunfeng. Even if it didn’t succeed, he wouldn’t feel too embarrassed.

However, before the Minister could finish his sentence, Mu Yunfeng stamped the official seal on the approval request from the Ministry of Works. He then said to the Minister, “Please forgive us. It’s not that the Ministry of Revenue didn’t want to allocate funds to everyone. In fact, His Majesty is quite interested in the innovations developed by the Ministry of Works. However, in the past, the treasury was limited, and we had to allocate funds where they were needed most. That’s why funding for certain areas was restricted. Now that the treasury is more abundant, departments like the Ministry of Works, which contribute to the welfare of the Empire, naturally deserve more support.”

In essence, it boiled down to this: when you have money, you can be extravagant.

The reason why the Ministry of Revenue used to be so frugal was simply because they didn’t have enough funds in the past.

Now that they had money, they wouldn’t be as tight-fisted as before.

Mu Yunfeng’s words not only completely dispelled the Minister’s old impressions of the Ministry of Revenue but also made him empathize with the situation of the Ministry of Works, which had the intention but lacked the means to advance their innovations.

Even after the Minister left, he still felt a little shaky at his feet.

His colleagues from the Ministry of Revenue saw him, and many of them shook their heads in secret. “Who would have thought that even the Minister of Works couldn’t get approval for funds? Then what hope is there for the rest of us?”

“Third Prince is indeed one of us from the Ministry of Revenue. Careful financial management is the right approach. We can’t simply squander money as soon as we have it,” the Minister of Revenue said, very satisfied.

He felt that Mu Yunfeng was very capable of safeguarding the funds in the treasury, which made him quite at ease with Mu Yunfeng.

After the Minister of Works returned to his department, all the members of the Ministry looked at him hopefully. The Minister couldn’t help but grin and said to them, “It’s done. Third Prince has specially approved a sum of money for us, allowing us to invent tools to our heart’s content.”

“Really?!!” The members of the Ministry were astonished and then burst into exclamations of joy.

Once the news reached the Ministry of Revenue, the slightly plump Minister of Revenue nearly strained his old back while rushing to see Mu Yunfeng. He didn’t care about anything else, he immediately went to find Mu Yunfeng.

At this time, Mu Yunfeng was receiving the First Prince. Just like the Minister of Works, the First Prince also wanted to apply for a batch of military funds to the Ministry of War. The Ministry of War was responsible for managing the military strength of the Empire, from the daily needs of the soldiers to their armor and weapons. No matter how much money was poured into it, it always seemed insufficient. The First Prince truly didn’t want to come and beg Mu Yunfeng, but he had no choice. Since Mu Yunfeng was currently in charge of the treasury, he had to lower his head if he wanted to get the money.

Facing the First Prince, Mu Yunfeng wasn’t as accommodating. He looked at the First Prince and directly asked, “Eldest Brother, I’m not sure if you’ve come here for personal or official matters?”

“For Official matters,” the First Prince sighed and admitted, “Third Brother, you can let me off if it’s for personal matters. For official matters, I can promise that all the funds I request will be used for the welfare of our soldiers and not for personal gain.”

The First Prince’s face instantly turned red, as if his hidden intentions had been exposed. After a long time, he finally said, “I am, of course, completely dedicated to the public interest.” Even if he had ulterior motives, he couldn’t say it so bluntly.

“I see. If it’s for official matters, I will request Father to send someone to assist you. I hope that when it comes to uncovering corruption within the state, Eldest Brother won’t show any favoritism just because they are our own people,” Mu Yunfeng emphasized the term ‘our own people’ in his tone.

The First Prince involuntarily twitched his facial muscles. Although he didn’t have any intentions to withhold these military funds, he knew that his subordinates might have such intentions.

When the time came and if any corruption was truly uncovered, he would have to personally sever their connections to show his “commitment to the public interest” to the Emperor.

In an instant, this batch of silver became a hot potato in his hands.

However, letting it go was impossible. If he could successfully secure this funding, it would be a great achievement for him within the Ministry of War, further elevating his position.

At worst, he would have to tightly control his subordinates…

As he left, the First Prince crossed paths with the Minister of Revenue. They exchanged greetings and a nod of acknowledgment but didn’t engage in small talk. The Minister rushed in and immediately inquired about the funds that Mu Yunfeng had approved.

“Two batches of funds—one for the Ministry of Works and one for the Ministry of War…” Mu Yunfeng began explaining, but before he could finish, the Minister of Revenue’s voice shook him, “That’s the equivalent of our Ministry of Revenue’s expenditures for most of the past half-year! All gone in a single day!!”

Not far away, the First Prince, who hadn’t walked too far, had his expression drastically change. He quickened his pace, clutching the approved funding documents from Mu Yunfeng, and hurried back to the Ministry of War.

The Minister of Revenue, despite his best efforts, was a step too late. The assets had already arrived at the Ministry of War, and there was no way they would be returned.

Of course, their actions were based on the assumption that the treasury had plenty of funds due to the current situation. Even if they didn’t return this money, the Ministry of Revenue wouldn’t find itself in dire straits.

The Minister of Revenue had exhausted all his attempts to convince the Minister of War to return the funds. After leaving, he felt his vision darken.

“Third Prince, you can’t manage the treasury like this. You can’t just give them funds whenever they ask. Look, even though the treasury is currently flush with money, it’s temporary. The Ministry of Revenue has substantial expenses, and if they keep reaching out for funds, how can we withstand it?” The Minister of Revenue lamented when he returned to Mu Yunfeng.

Mu Yunfeng nodded, acknowledging the concerns, “I understand the challenges, but this was a necessary step to boost the other departments. We can’t maintain such tight control now that we have a surplus in the treasury. However, I will keep a close eye on it.”

Mu Yunfeng knew that he couldn’t be too restrictive with the surplus funds. It was a delicate balance between supporting the state’s needs and preventing misuse of resources.

It’s quite a relief that he used to have high expectations for the Third Prince, believing that he was a penny-pincher like himself. Now he finally understands that the Third Prince is, in fact, a spendthrift.

“Minister, please calm down. How could I not be aware of this? Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been so frugal with the funds in the past. It’s just that times have changed, and our Ministry of Revenue won’t be short of funds anymore. There’s no need to make things difficult for them,” Mu Yunfeng reassured the Minister and showed him his detailed financial plan.

The plan laid out how to earn money and how to spend it, providing a clear overview.

However, the Minister still found the expenditure part glaringly overwhelming. The sudden wealth was something he hadn’t fully grasped yet.

It wasn’t until Mu Yunfeng presented him with detailed data and a comparison to past tax revenues—without spending the money, the treasury would soon be overflowing—that the Minister began to realize the extent of the wealth currently held by the Ministry of Revenue.

He felt a sense of awe and wonder like never before during his decades in office.

Compared to the current income of the treasury, the two batches of silver spent today were like a drop in the ocean.

The Minister’s heart suddenly felt lighter. It was akin to a poor person who would be in great distress if all their wealth disappeared. However, for a rich person, that amount of money would be like a single copper coin—no reason to feel distressed.

The Third Prince was indeed thrifty, but he was doing so to ensure that the treasury had substantial funds to fall back on when needed, preventing a situation where it would be empty when funds were urgently required.

With Mu Yunfeng’s reassurance and the understanding that there was now sufficient wealth, the Minister felt at ease.

With money in hand, he was more relaxed.

Most of the funds approved by the Ministry of Revenue were for essential needs. They hadn’t been approved before because there genuinely wasn’t enough money. Now that they had funds, many essential projects could move forward.

It was precisely because of this that Mu Yunfeng, responsible for managing the treasury and successfully generating revenue, gained even more recognition and respect in the politics of the Capital.

People are generally pragmatic. Mu Yunfeng didn’t blame them for their silent indifference before, and he wouldn’t relish their false praises now.

Mu Yunfeng didn’t like hearing this, but his family members loved it.

Not to mention the good relationship between Su Qianluo and the Empress, even the Emperor, when he heard the courtiers praise Mu Yunfeng, although he didn’t show it on his face, he felt somewhat smug. It was a sense of achievement that his son had outperformed other people’s sons. His son was just as good as anyone else’s, and this made the Emperor secretly delighted.

When the Emperor was happy, he spent more time with Mu Yunfeng, a treatment that his First and Second brothers had never enjoyed before.

Before Mu Yunfeng came, the Emperor had been impartial. He had many children, but he treated them all equally. Mu Yunfeng and his two elder brothers had received similar levels of affection from the Emperor, but there was no significant distinction in the treatment of his younger brothers.

Now, with Mu Yunfeng achieving real political accomplishments step by step, the Emperor had begun to show clear favoritism.

This made the First and Second princes, who could clearly feel themselves falling out of favor, bitter.

They didn’t want Mu Yunfeng to steal all the limelight, but they didn’t know how to suppress their younger brother’s momentum.

Just as Mu Yunfeng was attracting most of the attention in the capital, another of the Emperor’s sons was about to come of age.

After coming of age, the prince would be granted a noble title and establish his own residence outside the palace. Therefore, the Fourth Prince came to the Ministry of Revenue with a letter requesting funds for establishing his residence, which would be provided from the treasury.

Mu Yunfeng readily allocated the funds, but when he saw the Fourth Prince, he suddenly realized that he had many younger brothers. Each of them would require funds from the Ministry of Revenue to establish their residences upon coming of age. Although there were specified amounts for these expenses, when added together, the total amount was quite daunting.

However, compared to the essential approvals for the Ministry of Labor and Works, the Ministry of War, and others, for Mu Yunfeng, the expenses related to the royal family were completely unnecessary.

As for the Emperor’s sons, they were off the table since, after all, they were the Emperor’s own children. People turned a blind eye to this, even the most frugal Minister of Revenue would not complain about it.

After the Fourth Prince’s departure, Mu Yunfeng reviewed the expenses and found that it wasn’t just the princes; even the extended members of the imperial family were supported by the Empire. However, they received less compared to the Emperor’s direct offspring.

While the Emperor’s sons could potentially contribute these benefits back to the Empire, the extended members of the imperial family were essentially a loss-making operation.

Thinking about the hostility and resentment these extended family members held towards him, Mu Yunfeng’s lips curled into a subtle smirk. Armed with the visualized data he had calculated, he went to meet the Emperor.

The Emperor was quite surprised by Mu Yunfeng’s proposal, “You want to reduce the expenses of the extended imperial family?”

Frankly speaking, if it wasn’t his own son making this proposal, he might have just sent him packing.

Who were the extended members of the imperial family? They shared the same ancestor as the Emperor and carried the same royal bloodline.

“Yunfeng, do you think they don’t deserve these provisions from the Empire?” the Emperor asked in a stern tone.

Mu Yunfeng remained composed and replied, “Your Majesty, I do believe they don’t deserve it. While many of them may not hold actual power, the waste they cause is no less than that of some incompetent officials. Take the Ministry of Justice, for example. If it weren’t for their status, their past crimes would have cost them their heads.”

“But unfortunately, because they are members of the extended imperial family, they enjoy special privileges. Even the Ministry of Justice can’t give proper justice to their victims because of their status.”

“What truly motivates my determination is the fact that if these extended imperial family members continue to multiply, it won’t take many generations before the stability of the Empire is threatened.”

Why? It was because the extended family members had too many children. Their offspring, provided for by the state, further squeezed the living space of the middle and lower classes.

The reason we can currently maintain stability is that the Empire hasn’t reached its end yet, and it can still support itself for the time being.

But looking back at the collapse of previous Empires, how many extended royal family members were capable of turning the tide during an Empire’s crisis?

They were truly rare individuals.

Since they are of little use and cost so much, why should we continue to support them financially?

The Emperor turned his gaze towards Mu Yunfeng and asked in a solemn tone, “Have you ever considered that in the future, your children will also be members of the extended imperial family?”