The Cabinet suddenly realized that, with money, it also looked quite like a villain.

The Capital, the Grand Secretariat.

Zhuge Huaijin hadn't returned to his manor for two days in a row.

To be precise, it wasn't that he didn't want to go back, but that he simply couldn't.

There were too many government affairs.

Too many drafts of scolding letters.

And even more reports of rebel suppression sent back from various provinces.

Of course, the most important thing was—the current Grand Secretariat was really rich.

And the lethality of being rich, for a civil official system that had been aggrieved for too long, was even greater than the emperor personally praising them.

In the past, when encountering major events, the first sentence of the Grand Secretariat was often: How much money is left in the Ministry of Revenue?

After getting the answer, the second sentence was usually: Then let's hold off for a while.

But it was different now.

The aristocratic families yielded, tax silver was paid back, royal industries were opened up, and commercial taxes poured into the national treasury like flowing water. In just half a year, not only were the old deficits filled, but there was actually a surplus of fifty million silver coins lying squarely on the books.

Fifty million.

When seeing this number, let alone the Minister of Revenue Qian Shoucai, even Zhuge Huaijin fell silent for a long time.

After the silence, his back suddenly stiffened.

With silver in hand, one's words carried weight.

So these past few days, the entire Grand Secretariat was as if injected with chicken blood.

Didn't the Heavenly Secret Pavilion and the Heavenly Dao Alliance dare to jump around?

Good.

Come, the imperial court will play with you.

"Chief Grand Secretary, this is the new reorganization table of the provinces just sent by the Ministry of War."

"Put it here."

"This is the new round of rewards for capturing rebels drafted by the Ministry of Justice."

"Put it here."

"This is the memorial from the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the local penal offices jointly requesting funds."

"Approved."

"This is the Directorate of Ceremonial asking about the repayment deadline for the loan from the Inner Treasury—"

"Delay it."

When the Secretariat Drafter read this, his voice paused for a moment.

Delay it?

Delay it again?

That was the money of the emperor's Inner Treasury.

The Second Grand Secretary Zhang Wuji next to him lifted his eyelids, his expression extremely natural: "What, didn't you understand the meaning of the Chief Grand Secretary? With major national affairs at hand, what is the rush for a mere account transaction?"

The Secretariat Drafter immediately lowered his head: "Yes."

Zhuge Huaijin was expressionless, continuing to approve documents, as if he wasn't defaulting on a debt, but rationally allocating resources for the common people of the world.

In fact, that was exactly what he thought in his heart right now.

Wasn't the emperor's money the money of the Great Zhou?

The Sovereign Father is rich in the four seas, shouldn't he help out the national treasury a bit?

Moreover, the Inner Treasury had been making a killing lately. That old castrate Hai Dafu guarding a mountain of silver and crying poor all day long, what did it look like?

At this thought, Zhuge Huaijin picked up his brush and wrote eight words on a reply letter.

"National affairs come first, discuss later."

After writing, he himself felt that these words made a lot of sense.

Qian Shoucai on the side saw it, and the corner of his eye twitched slightly.

In terms of shamelessness, the Chief Grand Secretary was increasingly taking after His Majesty lately.

But Qian Shoucai had no right to talk about others.

Because now that the national treasury had money, he, the Minister of Revenue, also began to have a "kind and benevolent face".

In the past, whoever came asking for money, he wished he could interrogate their ancestors for three generations.

Now it was different.

As long as it was for surrounding and annihilating the Heavenly Dao Alliance, expanding penal offices, rectifying garrisons, expanding the printing of newspapers, or adding bounties, he approved these funds faster than anyone else.

Spending silver hurt his heart.

But the moment he thought about how it was spent on the heads of those rebels, his heart immediately stopped hurting.

"Chief Grand Secretary." The Minister of War Tie Zhan strode into the room, not even taking off his armor, his face ashen. "The battle results reported by the thirty-six provinces yesterday are still ugly."

"How ugly?"

"Another four provinces had their garrison offices night-raided by the Heavenly Dao Alliance. Although it didn't cause a major disaster, there were significant casualties, and face was completely lost."

Zhuge Huaijin raised his head, his eyes instantly darkening: "Are the provisions and pay enough?"

"Enough."

"Are the weapons enough?"

"Enough."

"Have the new military equipment and talismanic weapons been distributed?"

"Yes."

"Then why did they still fight like this?"

Tie Zhan's mouth tightened, and after a long time he squeezed out a sentence: "Because those local regional commanders are too useless."

The room was quiet for a moment.

Second Grand Secretary Zhang Wuji suddenly laughed, but the smile was very cold.

"Useless, and they love to put on airs. The imperial court gave them silver, gave them men, gave them a title, and in the end they let a bunch of rebels touch their faces. This isn't dereliction of duty, this is a disgrace."

When he said this, his tone was light, but its lethality was no less than Tie Zhan's.

Everyone present knew that this old fox Zhang Wuji had been especially ruthless lately.

Ever since he led the Twelve Aristocratic Families and other small and medium-sized aristocratic families to completely change the direction of the wind and throw their lot in with the emperor, this formerly most troublesome leader of the aristocratic families suddenly realized—

It turned out that working with the emperor was not only no less profitable than before, but also safer, more stable, and he could conveniently crush those disobedient pugilistic sects and ambitious forces to death.

Since that was the case, his loyalty was simply like a different person, more loyal than anyone else. Even Sun Li, the Director of the Directorate of Ceremonial, said that Second Grand Secretary Zhang was unspeakably loyal.

Especially towards the Heavenly Secret Pavilion and the Heavenly Dao Alliance, Zhang Wuji found them an eyesore everywhere he looked now.

Because these things were too good at disrupting the situation.

When they disrupted things, the market fell into chaos; when the market was in chaos, the royal enterprises and the industries the aristocratic families were about to list would be affected; if they were affected, could the stocks still be sold for money? This meant affecting his money-making.

Blocking someone's path to wealth was like killing their parents.

So these past few days, Zhang Wuji was especially vigorous in punishing people.

"If the local garrisons are no good, then let them continue to be trained." Zhuge Huaijin said coldly. "Starting tomorrow, the regional commanders of the thirty-six provinces will take turns coming to the capital to report on their duties. The Grand Secretariat and the Ministry of War will hold them accountable one by one."

Tie Zhan immediately nodded: "Good."

Qian Shoucai added a sentence: "They will pay for their own travel expenses to the capital."

Everyone: "..."

Good, good, good.

Worthy of the Ministry of Revenue.

Scolding people is fine, punishing you is also fine, but if you want the imperial court to reimburse you, dream on.

Zhuge Huaijin tapped the table and suddenly said: "By the way, did the Duke of Ying and the Duke of Zhenguo submit memorials again today?"

Mentioning this, Tie Zhan's face instantly grew darker.

"They did."

"The same old rhetoric?"

"The same." Tie Zhan practically spoke through gritted teeth. "The Central Military Commission and the Imperial Guard Command both say that if the local battles are unfavorable for a long time, they are willing to lead the capital camp and the imperial guards out of the capital to sweep away all the rebels in the world in one fell swoop... and then they open their mouths and ask for fifty million taels of military funds."

"Pfft—"

Qian Shoucai almost spat out the mouthful of tea he had just drunk.

"Fifty million taels? Why don't they go rob?"

Zhang Wuji rolled his eyes and sneered: "Robbing isn't as fast as asking the national treasury."

Zhuge Huaijin was also angered into laughing.

The Duke of Ying Zhang Jing and the Duke of Zhenguo Wei Jing, these two old martial artists had the emperor backing them up, and lately they were increasingly undisguised.

They claimed to be sharing the imperial court's burdens, but in reality, who didn't know that they saw the local garrisons as a fragrant piece of meat and wanted to use the excuse of suppressing rebels to reach their hands deeper and fight for all the local military power for the emperor.

The emperor agreed that the Five Military Commissions had half the theoretical control over local military power, but that was after all only "theoretical".

If they really used the war to solidify it, wouldn't the net the civil officials had woven little by little over hundreds of years be woven in vain?

"Denied." Zhuge Huaijin decided on the spot. "Rejected."

"Seconded." Zhang Wuji followed instantly.

"This subordinate also seconds." Qian Shoucai was even faster.

Tie Zhan looked around and suddenly felt that he, the Minister of War, was a bit superfluous here.

Because the civil official faction was touchingly united on one point: We cannot let those military grunts seize this opportunity to grow too powerful.

Whether they came from humble backgrounds or noble families, they might normally argue until they flipped tables and fight until their heads bled. But the moment it involved the military's authority, they instantly presented a united front, acting with the tacit coordination of a single person.

"Someone still has to handle the suppression of rebels in the local regions," Tie Zhan said.

"Who says no one will do it?" Zhang Wuji slowly smoothed his cuffs. "Isn't the Ministry of Justice currently expanding?"

He was referring to a new policy that had just been pushed forward recently—the Six Doors.

To be precise, it was a new government agency established across various regions, relying on the local judicial halls, bureaus, and offices. It specialized in hunting down murderers, eradicating evil, and pursuing ruthless bandits of the martial world.

They weren't recruiting ordinary constables.

They were recruiting martial arts masters, retired soldiers, desperate swordsmen, and even some ruthless figures who had washed their hands of the underworld to go legitimate.

The pay was high enough, the official status was ironclad, and killing was legal.

As soon as this institution emerged, not only did the Heavenly Secret Pavilion and the Heavenly Dao Alliance get a headache, but even the martial sects, demonic paths, and evil cults everywhere began losing sleep.

What did the people of the martial world find most annoying about the imperial court in the past?

They found it annoying that the court only put on a flashy show; when encountering truly tough opponents, the court still had to rely on the martial world.

Now, it was different.

The imperial court had started raising its own ruthless enforcers.

And it was officially funding them with silver from the national treasury.

"Vice Grand Councilor Zhang's method is quite practical," Li Xian said, having entered the room at some point. He held several lists in his hands, his face bearing a trace of that cold, gloomy satisfaction unique to the Ministry of Justice. "Half of the first batch of new Six Doors experts has already been dispatched. Last night, they destroyed three Heavenly Dao Alliance strongholds in Jiangnan Province in rapid succession. Their methods were very clean."

Qian Shoucai was thrilled upon hearing this: "What about casualties?"

"Six of ours sustained minor injuries, and one died."

"Double the compensation."

Li Xian nodded, then placed another list on the table: "In addition, this subordinate has drafted a ranking list. I invite your lordships to take a look."

Zhang Wuji casually picked it up. Just after reading one name, the corners of his mouth curled up.

"The Great Zhou's Most Wanted Villains Bounty List?"

Li Xian coughed: "The name was proposed by Vice Grand Councilor Zhang."

Everyone's gazes instantly fell in unison upon Zhang Wuji's face.

Zhang Wuji didn't feel guilty at all; in fact, he looked quite smug. "If His Majesty can establish a Beauties List, why can't we establish a Villains List? We'll put the Heavenly Dao Alliance, evil cultivators, lechers, and mutilators all on it, complete with portraits, crimes, and bounties. Making them have to cover their faces just to go outside, wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Wonderful.

Absolutely wonderful.

So wonderful that the whole room went quiet for a moment.

Because this move was simply too wicked.

If you said it caused great harm, it wouldn't necessarily kill anyone immediately.

But it was extremely insulting.

Especially since people in the martial world valued their reputation and face above all else. Once they were actually put on the list by the imperial court and it spread across all provinces and prefectures, they would be stared at wherever they went. That feeling would be worse than simply being a wanted fugitive.

Not to mention there was a string of cold, hard bounty money attached to it.

From then on, you wouldn't be a mysterious expert, a big shot of the evil path, or a legend of the martial world.

You would be walking money.

The more Li Xian looked at it, the more satisfied he became: "This subordinate thinks it is feasible."

Tie Zhan couldn't help but nod: "It's wicked enough, but it's useful."

Zhuge Huaijin pondered for a moment before speaking slowly: "Approved. Publish a version in the Great Zhou Times first, then have all provinces copy and post it."

Speaking of this, he suddenly raised his head, his eyes shining coldly.

"Since they like to hide in the dark, let's drag them out into the light, one by one."

At this moment, the several people in the room all felt the same sensation rise in their hearts.

Once the massive machine of the imperial court truly began to operate, and happened to meet an emperor who dared to spend money, dared to delegate power, and didn't care whether the methods looked graceful...

The oppressive force it erupted with would be absolutely terrifying.

At this very moment, far away in the Yanshan camp, Wang Hao was looking at the various approved documents and reports sent from the capital, growing more satisfied the more he read.

"Not bad," he smiled. "With me away from the capital, these people are acting even more uninhibited in their work."

Wei Zhongxian asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, regarding the matter of the Six Doors and the Most Wanted Villains List, should we suppress it a bit more?"

"Suppress what?" Wang Hao waved his hand. "It's quite good. That old fox Zhang Wuji looks sinister normally, but at critical moments, he really knows how to disgust people. Have the Directorate of Ceremonial approve it directly with the red brush."

After speaking, he paused and added, "However, tell him not to just focus on disgusting others. The dividends from the noble families' soon-to-be-listed industries that he promised me must be in the account by the end of the month."

Wei Zhongxian was speechless.

At a time like this, you're still thinking about dividends.

But on second thought, it made sense.

After all, the person before him had always been one to do serious business, make money, win arguments, and never miss out on an advantage.

Missing even one of these traits wouldn't be like him.

The Eastern Wasteland had been very lively lately.

To be precise, it was ridiculously lively.

First came the Great Zhou's Beauties List incident, the standoff between two major powers, and the sudden changes in the Yanshan Secret Realm where a half-step level-nine demonic shadow appeared and was personally suppressed by the new Emperor of the Great Zhou. Then, the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, the Crimson Moon Demonic Cult, and the Heavenly Dao Alliance were dragged into it. After that, the Great Zhou's Grand Secretariat seemed to have suddenly swallowed gunpowder, publicly calling out and attacking targets in the Great Zhou Times for several days in a row, cursing with such rhythmic cadence, endless variety, and self-righteousness.

At first, the various factions were shocked.

As they kept watching, they began to get used to it.

After watching for another two days, they even found it somewhat addictive.

It couldn't be helped; it was just too entertaining.

After all, no matter how much these top-tier factions of the Eastern Wasteland fought secretly in normal times, they always maintained some degree of dignity on the surface. Rarely would there be a scene of a standoff between two major powers where one party wrote a manifesto to curse the other, the other replied with an official letter to curse back, and then they turned around and continued flaming each other in front of the whole world.

Especially when one of the parties involved was the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, which had always put on a transcendent and aloof front.

That made it even more of a rarity.