Zhang Feng didn't have much contact with Zhangsun Wuji, but he had some understanding of him. Since Zhangsun Wuji had said so, he didn't say anything. He just nodded, then looked at Li Shimin and said seriously, "Lao Li, Xuanzang should be leaving soon. Arrange the guards as soon as possible. You must make it clear to the guards that gathering information is the most important thing."
"You're right. I'll go back and prepare now."
Li Shimin nodded. He knew the seriousness of the matter, so he didn't say anything. He stood up and called Zhangsun Wuji, then walked out of the door.
Zhang Feng didn't stop him. He sat on the stool and smoked.
But at this moment, Du Ziteng stumbled in. "Master, master, someone wants to see you."
"Who?"
Zhang Feng looked up and glanced casually. Now that the news of his departure had spread all over Chang 'an City, there were people coming to see him almost every moment, so he wasn't surprised.
"They said it's the Minister of Revenue and the Minister of Works."
Du Ziteng stood still and said, panting slightly.
"The Minister of Revenue? The Minister of Works? "
Zhang Feng frowned. He didn't understand why the officials of the imperial court came to see him. Did they also hear that he was leaving, so they came to see him? That shouldn't be possible. After all, these guys had important things to do every day, and he rarely interacted with the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works. He couldn't figure it out, so he said, "Let them in."
Du Ziteng took the order and left. After a while, she brought in two tall men. They were Dai Zhou and Duan Lun.
Zhang Feng also saw that these people were unfamiliar, so he couldn't sit still. He stood up and greeted them, "This one is Zhang Feng. May I know who the two sirs are?"
Dai Zhou and Duan Lun looked at each other and said in unison, "The Minister of Revenue, Dai Zhou, and the Minister of Works, Duan Lun."
Dai Zhou? Duan Lun?
Zhang Feng repeated in his heart.
He didn't have any memory of these two, and there were very few.
However, these two were still Ministers of the Six Ministries of the Imperial Court, so he didn't dare to slight them. He smiled and said, "Sirs, please take a seat."
After saying that, he glanced at Du Ziteng. "Old Du, serve the two lords tea."
Du Ziteng accepted the order and left. Not long after, she returned with a servant carrying tea.
"Sirs, please have some tea."
Zhang Feng raised the teacup in front of him and gestured for the two to drink. Then, he smiled and said, "May I know why the two of you are looking for me today?"
Dai Zhou and Duan Lun put down their teacups and looked at each other, not knowing what to say. Originally, the two of them were like enemies, neither willing to submit to the other. They had no choice but to come to the Zhang Mansion, so they reached an agreement on the road to stop quarreling between the two of them and talk about it after the matter was settled.
"President Zhang, the main reason we're here today is because of the burning of Dongxi City."
Duan Lun couldn't keep his composure any longer and took the initiative to speak.
"East and West City?"
The Zhang Mansion had a puzzled expression and glanced in the direction of Dongxi City. "Dongxi City was burned a long time ago. Why are you guys looking for me?"
Indeed, Dongxi City had been burned for a few months. If this fellow didn't mention it, he probably would have forgotten about it.
Duan Lun smiled awkwardly. "President Zhang is right. It's been a long time. It's just that the burned Dongxi City hasn't been repaired. This time, His Majesty ordered us to repair it, but the Ministry of Works doesn't have enough money. In addition, we can't repair it because of the lack of workers. Therefore, we specially came to ask for your help."
"Are you kidding?"
Zhang Feng's eyes widened. He couldn't believe what this fellow said. The Ministry of Works didn't have enough money? And there were no workers? How was this possible? He subconsciously said, "Your Ministry of Works is one of the six ministries. How can you not even have the money to repair Dongxi City?"
Duan Lun looked awkwardly at Zhang Feng and said slowly, "President Zhang, I won't hide it from you. The Ministry of Works has been repairing the residences of the ministers and emperors all year round. There's a lot of money that hasn't been collected. Otherwise, why would we come looking for you?"
Zhang Feng could understand what he meant.
Indeed, other than building new buildings, the Ministry of Works also frequently repaired the residences of the ministers and emperors. This way, they could earn some extra money.
However, even if these fellows didn't have money, why did they come looking for him?
Why didn't they borrow from someone else?
Could there be something strange about this?
He narrowed his eyes and stared seriously at Duan Lun. "Minister Duan, even if your Ministry of Works doesn't have money, why did you come looking for me to borrow money? The Ministry of Revenue is the world's money house. Why don't you go to the Ministry of Revenue? "
After saying this, he realized the problem. Wasn't the Minister of Revenue Dai Zhou right beside him?
With this thought, he turned to look at Dai Zhou.
Dai Zhou also felt the burning gaze. His face turned red, and he deliberately coughed twice before slowly saying, "President Zhang, it's not that our Ministry of Revenue doesn't want to borrow money. It's just that we've already spent most of our money on the Battle of Qiuci. We don't have any extra money. Moreover, repairing Dongxi City is not a small expense. Our Ministry of Revenue still can't afford it."
The Ministry of Revenue couldn't afford it?
Zhang Feng was stunned.
Since the Ministry of Revenue couldn't afford it, then how big of an expense would it be?
Were these two fellows trying to make him a sucker?
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