Chapter 318

The guards at the gate glanced at the man standing in a proper manner and shook their heads helplessly. This Minister of Rites is good in every way, but he is too stubborn and regards etiquette as more important than anything else.

Even when entering the palace, he has to give way to the teacher. He will never leave before the teacher comes, and he will never change his mind.

However, it is precisely this stubbornness that has made him promoted in succession in eight years, from a small editor of the Hanlin Academy to the Minister of Rites.

It's really... stupid people have stupid luck!

Several guards still remember that when the man waited at the palace gate for the first time, they laughed at him for being stupid. Now he is dressed in red, while they can't even laugh when they want to.

Fortunately, a sedan chair came at this time to relieve their embarrassment.

When the sedan chair stopped, the man hurried forward and opened the curtain. The white-haired Minister of Rites Lin Fuer helped him get off the sedan chair and said helplessly: "Zhiliang, you are the Minister of Rites, it is not appropriate for you to wait for me."

"You are a teacher, it is natural for students to wait for teachers." Zhou Zhiliang said in a gentle tone. Standing half a step behind Lin Fuer with his head down, he looked like a student being taught.

Seeing this, he couldn't say more, so he sighed and said softly: "Let's go in first, who knows how big a deal it will be. I'm old, and from now on, it's your world."

"Teacher, I will help you."

Zhou Zhiliang helped Lin Fuer walk into the palace, and as for the teacher's sigh behind him, he pretended not to hear it.

After all, he was an old man, his legs and feet were not fast, and when he staggered to the cabinet duty room, the six ministers and ministers had almost arrived.

Seeing the two people coming in, they all stood up and saluted and greeted, "Mr. Lin, Minister Zhou."

After the two bowed in return, they sat down according to their seats. At this time, the four cabinet members also arrived. Time was tight, so they didn't bother to be polite and just got straight to the point.

Li Shou took out the victory report, "Please circulate it first. Everyone, come up with an idea tonight, and the cabinet can also draft a ticket to present to the emperor."

As they had been in the officialdom for many years, they naturally understood the meaning of the words and hurriedly circulated them. When they finished reading, they all fell silent, looking at each other, and finally their eyes met Li Shou at the same time.

This so-called "victory report" was written too... outrageous. The key was that they knew the emperor's intention. They couldn't come up with an idea, and they didn't dare to make an idea.

Sensing the eyes looking at him, Li Shou had to bite the bullet and stepped forward half a step and said, "Don't just look at me, come up with an idea."

Zhang Zhenghe, the Minister of Justice, lowered his eyes and asked, "What does the emperor mean?"

Yang Ming, who was originally in the Ministry of Rites and later transferred to the Ministry of Works, said lightly, "Here."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Since the emperor wanted to give, what they had to discuss was not whether to give or not, but how much to give, which would be much easier.

They all laughed and started discussing, and the voices of "50%, 60%, and 40%" were heard alternately. The ministers of various ministries argued fiercely and refused to give in. The six ministers stayed out of the matter and watched from the sidelines.

When the voices became quieter and quieter, Xu Zhifu, the minister of the Ministry of War, put down his teacup and stood up, stroking his beard and smiling, saying: "My colleagues, please listen to me. Whether it is 30%, 40%, or 50%, it is nothing more than a trivial dispute. I think it is better for everyone to take a step back and settle on 50%. What do you think?"

"Very good."

"It is also better to be in the middle."

The second assistant still had to give face, and 50% was indeed a number that could be used for both offense and defense. It was safe enough and not easy to make a big mistake.

Only Zhou Zhiliang closed his eyes, with an obscure expression on his face. He didn't say a word from beginning to end, and just listened silently despite the noise around him.

Seeing that no one objected, Xu Zhifu was going to make the final decision, "Everyone, since everyone agrees, then Xu and the others will go to draft the bill. Send it up early so that the emperor can rest early."

As he said this, he walked in, and Li Shou, Yang Ming and Xia Shang also stood up and followed closely behind. At this time, Zhou Zhiliang, who had been silent all the time, stood up suddenly and shouted angrily.

"Stop!"

"Who said everyone agreed?"

Hearing this, the others looked at him in surprise. The five people who walked a few steps turned around and looked in the direction of everyone's sight. When they saw Zhou Zhiliang, they all had a flash of surprise on their faces.

Xu Zhifu was the first to react and glanced at Li Shou on his left. The two were both disciples of Lin Fuer, so he naturally thought that Zhou Zhiliang was instructed by Li Shou, otherwise why did he speak at this time?

But when he saw Li Shou's face full of confusion, he was also confused. You don't know either?

He had to ask quietly: "Minister Zhou, why don't you tell me how much you think is appropriate?"

Zhou Zhiliang stretched out a finger and said in a deep voice: "One percent! If it weren't for the northward advance of a hundred miles, I wouldn't think even one percent is appropriate."

Hiss.

Everyone in the duty room gasped, their expressions changed drastically, and they looked at him in disbelief. Lin Fuer, who was sitting next to him, almost jumped up in fright. Li Shou's eyes widened, and the other three elders swallowed their saliva, and were so surprised that they couldn't speak.

"You, how much do you say?" Xu Zhifu seemed to be unbelievable and asked as if to be sure.

"One percent!"

Zhou Zhiliang's face did not change, still holding up his finger, staring at him with a heavy look.

At this time, the surprise of others faded, and gradually changed to an expression of watching a good show. The playful eyes gradually wandered back and forth between Xu Zhifu and Li Shou. Will the confrontation between the first and second assistants of the cabinet start tonight?

As for whether the "10%" proposed by Zhou Zhiliang was his own idea, it was no longer important.

Noticing the change in everyone's expression, Li Shou hurriedly spoke up to make amends, "Minister Zhou is drunk, why is he talking nonsense?"

"I'm not drunk, and I'm not talking nonsense." Zhou Zhiliang stood up straight and retorted.

What is a fool? This is a fool! He doesn't even know how to back down when given a chance!

Li Shu had no choice but to turn his head away and ignore him. Lin Fuer quietly pulled Zhou Zhiliang's sleeve and whispered, "Stop talking."

Zhou Zhiliang ignored him, lowered his hands and took a half step forward, and explained, "Everyone, what I said is not groundless. This battle report is clearly a fraud and deception. Liu Huanzhou's intention to enfeoff territories is clearly written on the paper, without any concealment!"

"Are we going to stand by and help the tyrant?"

Everyone present is a smart person, let alone Xu Zhifu, the deputy assistant who has been in the cabinet for many years. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is an old fox. How could he not see it? There is nothing he can do.

It was not easy to get Hexi to send troops. If Liu Huanzhou finds an excuse to withdraw the troops, it will ruin the emperor's plan to march north, and they can't afford to be offended!

So tonight is more like guessing Liu Huanzhou's thoughts than a discussion. After all, how much will he not withdraw the troops?

It is precisely because he knows that his elder brother will definitely not withdraw the troops that Zhou Zhiliang dares to say "one percent", a shocking statement.

Xu Zhifu sat down casually, looked up at Zhou Zhiliang and asked with a smile: "What do you want? Just say it directly."

"Of course, there is no need to say such unrealistic words. Even if we agree, it will be difficult to explain to the emperor."

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