The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Chapter 656

When Zhou Chu saw the Ministry of Revenue's price quote again, he was also somewhat surprised. Were these people in the Ministry of Revenue really so ruthless? Driving the price down so low?

"Weighing Instruments, do you think the Ministry of Revenue's quote is appropriate?"

Jiajing looked at Zhou Chu and asked.

Zhou Chu placed the memorial back in front of Jiajing and shook his head.

“Your Majesty, it is obvious that Zhang Bingyong is trying too hard to do something for the Ming Dynasty. Now that Your Majesty wants to build the Zhenwu Hall, who wouldn’t want to enter the Zhenwu Hall? The officials of the Ministry of Revenue probably do too. But at this price, there is probably no profit at all. The person in charge of building the Zhenwu Hall will probably exploit the workers and those responsible for supplying materials. This is not a good sign. The Ming Dynasty should take the path of steady and long-term development, not the path of exhausting resources.”

Zhou Chu shared his thoughts.

Upon hearing this, Jiajing nodded, but then hesitated. After all, as the emperor, there were many things he couldn't say directly. If he sent the memorial back, the Ministry of Revenue would probably try to further reduce the budget.

"But how should I convey these words to the Ministry of Revenue?"

Jiajing looked troubled.

"Your Majesty, keep this memorial. Do not send it back to the Ministry of Revenue or give a reply. Zhang Bingyong will come to me naturally."

Zhou Chu said.

In fact, when Jiajing said this, he was not asking Zhou Chu how to solve the problem, but rather implying that Zhou Chu should act as his mouthpiece.

There are many things that the emperor cannot say directly to his ministers. Even if something seems like a good thing, it still needs to be handled by someone when it is implemented. As it is passed down from one level to another, it often becomes distorted or even completely opposite. If the emperor were to say it at this time, everyone would blame the emperor, and even the common people would curse the emperor as a foolish ruler.

Therefore, there is often a buffer between the emperor and his ministers. Many seemingly powerful figures, such as Wei Zhongxian and Liu Jin, were actually backed by the emperor. They did what the emperor wanted to do, such as taking action against civil officials. After they did it, the emperor only needed to deal with them and say that he had been deceived, and no one would say anything.

When the emperor speaks or acts directly, it means there is no buffer between the emperor and his officials, making it difficult to resolve any problems that arise.

When Jiajing heard this, he nodded.

"This is the latest elixir refined by the Taoist priest. Please deliver it to the Lu family for me."

As Jiajing spoke, he pushed several boxes containing pills in front of Zhou Chu.

One portion of these pills was for the Yang family, and another portion was for Lu Song and Zhou Chu.

After Zhou Chu was assassinated a few years ago, he asked Jiajing for elixirs. After that, every time Jiajing asked Feixiazi to refine elixirs, he would refine an extra batch for Zhou Chu.

These pills are all mild tonics, made from extremely precious medicinal materials, such as rhinoceros horn and ambergris. Each one is extremely valuable. Even if you don't take them now, they are life-saving medicines. Saying they can bring the dead back to life and heal the wounded is an exaggeration, but as long as a person has a breath left, taking these medicines can basically save them.

It's somewhat similar to the life-saving medicine with rhinoceros horn added in Zhou Chu's previous life, and also somewhat like the extraordinary heart-saving soup of the Fire God Sect, but it contains more precious medicinal materials and is more effective.

Moreover, this elixir not only has a life-saving effect, but if taken regularly, it can at least make people live much longer than ordinary people.

It should be noted that Emperor Jiajing was incredibly wealthy. He himself didn't even know how much money was in his private treasury. Moreover, most of the medicinal materials used to refine these elixirs were tributes from Southeast Asia, with only a few needing to be purchased with money.

When Zhou Chu saw the pills, his eyes lit up. He didn't have many of these pills left and was reluctant to use them. He always kept a few of these pills on hand for emergencies.

After returning home, Zhou Chu took the pills to the Lu residence.