Lu Qingwan couldn't help but chuckle, "You're afraid he'll incite a rebellion and disrupt the establishment of the new dynasty, so you'll be silent turtles.
Haven't you considered that if Lin Dongye were truly that influential, he would have destroyed all the evidence after the enthronement ceremony?
If you then wanted to pursue accountability, you would have no legitimate grounds. If he were to incite a rebellion, wouldn't that make his actions justifiable?"
Chen Jianzhang's body trembled. He never imagined things could develop this way.
He stood there stunned for a long moment before finally asking with a solicitous tone, "Then... in the Princess Consort's opinion, how should this matter be handled?
Chen Jianzhang knew that Lu Qingwan had some unconventional ideas. Previously, he had thought her methods were not up to par.
But now, facing a conniving individual like Lin Dongye, he suddenly understood that sometimes, as long as a problem can be solved, the sophistication of the method isn't that important.
"This matter must be resolved properly before the enthronement ceremony. If nothing else, for daring to threaten court officials with rebellion, I will not tolerate him."
Lu Qingwan said, looking towards the direction of the treasury, "How much inventory is currently in the treasury?"
Chen Jianzhang didn't know what Lu Qingwan was planning, but he knew that as long as she took this matter to heart, resolving it would not be difficult.
Therefore, he promptly produced the inventory list and handed it directly to Lu Qingwan, "The inventory lists for the three treasury buildings are all here. Please, Princess Consort, take a look."
After all, it was the national treasury of a dynasty. Even though Chen Jianzhang had mentioned before that due to safety hazards, local officials hadn't been allowed to transport goods to the new capital yet, the treasury still contained a considerable amount of stored items.
Lu Qingwan scanned the list. There were many gold and silver artifacts and various war spoils confiscated from different regions. Even the fully wooden grain storage, which posed a real safety hazard, was almost full of grain.
Closing her eyes, Lu Qingwan asked Chen Jianzhang, "Is Minister Chen willing to entrust this matter to me to resolve?"
Lu Qingwan was indeed going to resolve this matter personally.
Chen Jianzhang's first reaction was that he had guessed correctly, but he quickly remembered that this was the Ministry of Revenue, his territory, and he couldn't completely hand it over to Lu Qingwan.
Therefore, he asked with extreme trepidation and caution, "May I ask the Princess Consort how she intends to resolve this matter?
Lu Qingwan pondered for a moment, her delicate eyebrows slightly raised, "To deal with a treacherous scoundrel like Lin Dongye, my methods will not be entirely clean. Minister Chen won't mind, will he?"
As the head of a scholarly family, Chen Jianzhang had unhesitatingly opposed Feng Qingheng when he wreaked havoc upon the land, for the sake of gentlemanly integrity. This showed he valued gentlemanly conduct above all else.
Lu Qingwan frankly told him that her methods of resolving issues wouldn't be entirely honorable, but rather sought to achieve a balance.
She didn't demand that Chen Jianzhang resort to any means necessary, just as she would.
If Chen Jianzhang wanted her help to solve the problem, he could no longer dictate to her and expect her to behave with the same gentlemanly conduct as himself.
This was a preemptive warning based on her prior understanding of Chen Jianzhang, but surprisingly, Chen Jianzhang showed no inclination to hold Lu Qingwan to his own standards.
In fact, after hearing Lu Qingwan's words, he proactively explained, "The Princess Consort misunderstands. This concerns the overall situation of the new dynasty; what does it matter if the methods are honorable or not?
I wished to understand the Princess Consort's solution to confirm if there's anything I can help with.
After all, this is a matter for the Ministry of Revenue. I can't just leave all the work to the Princess Consort and be an absentee official!"
Lu Qingwan liked this attitude very much.
She playfully flattered Chen Jianzhang, "It is said that a gentleman harmonizes without necessarily agreeing, while a petty man agrees without harmonizing. Minister Chen's magnanimity has opened my eyes."
Chen Jianzhang smiled and stroked his beard, "The Princess Consort is too kind.
Shall we then discuss the specific solution?"
"Certainly!"
Their relationship was not yet harmonious enough for them to sit together and bicker. Lu Qingwan would be most pleased if the problem could be resolved quickly and they could both go their separate ways.
She immediately stated, "My method to resolve this is actually very simple: let the problem erupt before the enthronement ceremony, forcing Lin Dongye to directly bear the consequences of his shoddy construction of a tofu-dreg project.
Therefore, I plan to set a fire here. Minister Chen, do you think this plan is feasible?"
Chen Jianzhang had anticipated that Lu Qingwan might not use conventional methods, but he hadn't expected her solution to be so simple and crude.
"The craftsmen of Lin's Trading Company acted perfunctorily, deceiving the court with a fully wooden grain storage. A fire would indeed expose their wrongdoing.
However, Princess Consort, Lin's Trading Company has extensive connections around the new capital. If Lin Dongye is determined to resist to the end,
the loggers, timber merchants, and even the unskilled bricklayers in the vicinity of the new capital, as well as the common folk renting Lin's paddy fields, would be incited by him. At that time, a rather significant rebellion would be inevitable!"
In the end, Chen Jianzhang feared not Lin Dongye himself, nor Lin's Trading Company, but the thousands of common folk whose livelihoods were connected to Lin's Trading Company.
Lu Qingwan was much calmer, "Minister Chen, what you are describing is if we are unprepared.
If I am to take action, I will naturally make thorough preparations.
The reason those common folk can be incited by Lin Dongye to oppose the court is, fundamentally, their fear that their existing interests will not be protected if Lin's Trading Company encounters trouble.
But if Lin's Trading Company disappears, and they still have land to farm and shops to operate.
If logging and working no longer require them to pay some kind of security deposit to anyone, Minister Chen, do you think those common folk can still be easily incited by Lin's Trading Company?"
Chen Jianzhang was taken aback, "Is the Princess Consort planning to take over Lin's Trading Company's business and then tamper with the grain storage?"
Lin's Trading Company's greatest leverage was the reliance of the common folk around the new capital on them for their survival. Once this dependency was broken, how could the mere Lin's Trading Company oppose the imperial court?
Chen Jianzhang felt a surge of excitement at this thought.
Lu Qingwan's response to his question was noncommittal, but she smiled meaningfully, "Minister Chen, you are the Minister of Revenue. Although not a merchant, you are akin to one.
For some matters, if the approach of court officials doesn' paths doesn't work, one can try other avenues. Don't persist down a single path until the end!"
Chen Jianzhang's mind was enlightened upon hearing this. No longer hesitant, he excitedly asked Lu Qingwan for instructions, "Princess Consort, your insight is profound. I am enlightened.
If there is anything I can do to assist the Princess Consort, please do not hesitate to command me."