Before the house is confiscated, the enemy's warehouse is emptied and exiled

Chapter 181 The Future Princess

For example, Liang Sicang, who was in charge of the county's finances, was like an ant on a hot pot at the moment, and spoke anxiously:

"Your Majesty! There is nothing wrong with you wanting to build a palace!

But now, our county treasury is empty, and you have previously issued an order prohibiting the collection of taxes.

We really can’t afford such a huge sum of money!”

As he spoke, beads of sweat kept rolling down his forehead, and his anxiety was beyond words.

At the same time, some other officials were also anxious and restless.

They were secretly thinking in their hearts, they had just been forced by the king to hand over the stolen money, and now they were going to be extorted a large sum of money from the king again?

Thinking of this, all the officials were trembling with fear, with cold sweat in their palms.

Just when everyone was worried, Xiao Heng's face was as calm as water, and he responded calmly:

"Did I ever say that the cost of building the palace should be paid from the county treasury?

Since this is a construction project for the royal palace, it is natural that my private money should be used.

Regarding the money, you don't need to worry, just do your best to help supervise it!"

Upon hearing this, all the officials present breathed a sigh of relief as if they had taken a reassurance pill. Their originally tense nerves instantly relaxed.

But the next moment, the mood of some officials became heavy again. They were worried that Xiao Heng's private money was not enough to support the expansion of the palace.

Then, County Magistrate Zhang stepped forward with a worried look on his face and asked:

"Your Majesty, do you know that the wages of the many laborers hired to build the palace are by no means a small sum?

I am really worried. If there is insufficient funds by then, I am afraid I will have to make long-term plans.

Maybe... maybe we can ask the court to allocate more silver to deal with the emergency."

Xiao Heng smiled faintly and said slowly:

"My Lord, you don't need to worry about this matter.

Reporting this matter to the court is not only cumbersome and time-consuming, but also may not get a timely response. It would be faster and more efficient for me to fund it myself!"

"The main reason I did this was to provide some livelihood for our people.

If this measure can really achieve good results, then I also plan to repair all the major roads in the county. This way, it can provide more livelihoods for the people and facilitate their daily business exchanges!"

Having said that, even though the officials present still had some concerns in their hearts, they really couldn't say anything more to refute it.

They couldn't help but secretly sigh that this king really cared about the people sincerely and was not just putting in superficial efforts.

Thinking of this, everyone couldn't help but feel a little admiration for Xiao Heng.

However, what they don't understand is that Shen Qingge also contributed a lot behind this series of events.

……

Before long, new notices were quickly spread throughout Nanhai County.

On the streets and alleys, people gathered in groups of three or five, curiously surrounding the places where the notices were posted.

They stared at the words above, their eyes revealing either expectation or confusion.

Especially when they saw the part about wages and meals, many people's eyes lit up instantly, and their hearts couldn't help but move.

Among the crowd, there was an old man in his sixties. As he was not very literate, he could only stare at the notice anxiously.

So he quickly grabbed a young man who looked quite polite and begged him eagerly:

"Young man, could you please read to me what's written on this?"

Seeing this, the young man smiled and nodded, then began to read aloud carefully word by word.

This was a shocking reading. After the old man heard it, he opened his mouth in shock and couldn't help shouting:

"Oh my, there is such a beautiful thing in the world?

Look at this salary, it is several times more than what I earn from normal work!

If I work hard for a whole month, wouldn't I be able to easily get a full twelve taels of silver? That's ridiculously high!

And look at the food we eat at work: it's two liters a day! If I had a smaller appetite and saved the leftovers and took them home, wouldn't that be enough to feed one or two family members?

"That's right, that's right! I've always heard that our king is kind and benevolent. He truly cares about us poor people!"

Someone in the crowd echoed.

"In that case, why don't you all go and sign up quickly?" the old man urged.

A questioning voice was heard from the crowd:

“Having said that, the king is certainly kind, but I heard that this generous salary comes from his private money.

How much private money could he, a prince who was once unpopular, have?

I'm worried that in the end, all our efforts will be in vain."

"Humph……"

The old man snorted coldly upon hearing this, and said with a sullen look on his face:

"You guys keep saying good things about the king, but your actions are like this!

For a king as kind and generous as this, even if he doesn't pay me a penny, as long as he has enough food to eat, I am willing to work hard!

It doesn't matter if you don't go, you can just leave the spot for me!"

After saying this, the old man was so angry that he blew his beard and glared, and hurried to the government office to register.

When the common people standing behind him heard what he said, they also felt that it made some sense, so they followed him and rushed to the government registration office.

The situation in other villages in the county was similar. Soon, the recruitment quotas were filled, and some people even fought to grab the quotas.

The Lingnan Palace also became lively, and the people worked very hard.

As for Shen Qingge, she was finally able to legitimately take out the burial objects from the tombs in her space and use them to decorate the palace.

After nearly a month of hard work day and night, the Lingnan Palace has undergone earth-shaking changes. It is no longer the two isolated front and back courtyards when it was first built, but now has pavilions, towers, corridors and waterside pavilions.

When the project was successfully completed, the people happily received the generous rewards they deserved, not a penny less.

They held the heavy wages in their hands, their faces were filled with happy and satisfied smiles, and their hearts were filled with a sense of accomplishment and joy.

As a result, stories about the reconstruction of the palace quickly spread in the streets and alleys.

People have been talking about how fortunate they were to have participated in the construction of the palace, and proudly declared that each of them has contributed to the creation of this magnificent palace.

At the same time, praises for the King of Lingnan were heard everywhere.

Everyone says that this prince is honest and trustworthy, and he always keeps his word. He is truly a rare good king.

Furthermore, within the palace, there was a noble, beautiful, and elegant woman who was busy all day, tirelessly handling all matters, big and small, within the palace.

The people privately speculated that this woman must be the future princess of Lingnan!