As soon as these words were spoken, Cui Xinghe's face changed dramatically.

Luring the entire village to dig up the mountain overnight with the promise of gold was one thing.

But for the gold to be gold on the outside and copper on the inside—how could someone be so malicious?!

He looked at Gao Yang with twitching lips, his heart trembling violently.

On the dragon throne, Empress Wu Zhao was also visibly moved, utterly shocked.

"Gold on the outside, copper on the inside—how ruthless."

Gao Yang strolled leisurely across the Jinluan Hall as if he owned the place.

His confident and flamboyant demeanor was quite audacious, yet at this moment, no one dared to rebuke him.

With a faint smile, Gao Yang said, "As long as the County Magistrate cooperates, you can cut open the returned gold on the spot and falsely accuse the villagers of stealing it, then punish them in court."

"Ordinary villagers can't withstand harsh punishment."

"With just a few severe penalties, these villagers who dug up the gold would be forced to confess. By then, even if they understood everything, it would be too late."

"Without silver to repay, they would have no choice but to sign a Contract of Selling Oneself, becoming lifelong tea slaves."

"Of course, if I were the tea merchant, I would guard against retaliation by traveling with more guards and promise these enslaved tea workers that if they worked for me for another five or ten years, they would regain their freedom. The harder they worked, the sooner they would be free."

"Once the business grows and profits increase, to facilitate tea transport, I could build a road or a bridge, claiming it's for the villagers' convenience, thus earning a reputation as a great philanthropist."

With these words, the Jinluan Hall fell silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

All the civil and military officials stared at Gao Yang, their lips trembling.

Their hearts were in turmoil.

Even the Empress couldn't help but clench her hand on the dragon throne, her gaze fixed on Gao Yang.

This answer shocked even her, the one who posed the question.

She had intended this question to test reaction speed and the ability to manipulate human nature.

The chaos in the world had persisted for a long time, and conventional methods were hard to eradicate.

In extraordinary times, one must use extraordinary people and unconventional means!

Only by exploiting the evil in human nature could she govern the country, bring peace to the world, and become Wu Zhao's capable minister!

This question tested the control of human nature; merely increasing wages was a lowly method.

She had considered burying gold in the barren hills or using rumors and other means.

In her mind, this was the perfect answer.

Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original.

But she hadn't expected Gao Yang to have follow-up measures: bribing the County Magistrate in remote areas, then using copper as gold to falsely accuse, torture, and force the gold-digging villagers into tea slavery.

Moreover, this scoundrel had thought it through thoroughly, giving a timeline so that these enslaved villagers had hope, preventing a desperate backlash.

A filthy scheme, yet in the end, Gao Yang became a local philanthropist!

Gao Yang had given her a satisfactory answer.

No wonder this scheme was called the Monkey-Show Scheme; the villagers saw the tea merchant as the monkey, but little did they know they were the real clowns.

This young man, even if he doesn't enter the court as an official, must not be allowed to go into business!

The Empress made up her mind; if he went into business, who knows how many people would be ruined!

Cui Xinghe was dumbfounded, incredulous.

He hadn't expected Gao Yang to come up with an answer so quickly.

He began to ponder the feasibility of this plan.

But the more he thought about it, the more shocked he became.

Gao Feng also turned back in disbelief, staring at Gao Yang, his heart trembling violently.

Such a cunning and treacherous person—was he really a descendant of the Gao Clan, a family of generals for a hundred years?

Such a vicious scheme—it wasn't just the other ministers in the Jinluan Hall who were frightened; even he, as a father, was a bit scared.

Gao Yang's gaze fell on Wu Zhao, and he said somewhat regretfully, "Your Majesty, time was too short. There are still some flaws in this scheme. If you could give this commoner more time, the plan would be even more perfect."

Gao Yang felt a bit regretful; he was a perfectionist when it came to scheming.

In his eyes, Wu Zhao's question was a typical scheme.

This scheme was still a bit rough, and he wasn't entirely satisfied.

With these words, the officials instantly felt their scalps tingle, their eyes widening.

They looked at Gao Yang, their faces filled with shock, "This scheme can be made even more perfect?"

This imperfect scheme had already cost little in wages, completed the land reclamation, and trapped a batch of villagers as tea slaves.

If it were perfect, what would happen then?

Would those villagers have any way out?

This young man was too ruthless.

The ministers all thought in unison.

Elder Zhou was trembling with anger. He stood up and said, "Your Majesty, this scheme is too insidious. Please punish Gao Yang severely!"

"I second this!"

"I second this!"

Some ministers stood up, bowing to Wu Zhao.

Gao Feng's face turned cold, his gaze sweeping over the ministers.

Most of them were political enemies of the Gao Clan.

The Gao Clan had been too low-key; now even any Tom, Dick, or Harry dared to challenge them.

He quickly stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "As the saying goes, a plan is neither good nor bad; it all depends on the intentions of the planner. Although my son's plan is somewhat... somewhat vicious, I ask Your Majesty to see clearly!"

Cui Xinghe's expression changed. The Empress had just ascended the throne, and the Secretariat Drafter was responsible for drafting edicts, extremely important, and currently vacant.

He had thought that this position, a close confidant of the Empress, would surely be his as the Top Scholar.

But at the critical moment, Gao Yang emerged.

He stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I also agree with Elder Zhou. This plan is too vicious and cannot be adopted!"

Wu Zhao's phoenix eyes swept over the ministers, her gaze icy.

"Since all of you think this plan is too vicious, do any of you have a better plan?"

With these words, Elder Zhou and Cui Xinghe's faces changed.

If they had a plan, they would have spoken up long ago.

Wu Zhao's face was cold, her presence exuding an aura of dominance, "In my eyes, a plan is neither good nor bad; a plan that achieves its purpose is a good plan."

"Although the plan of Vice Minister Gao's son, Gao Yang, is somewhat vicious, from the perspective of a tea merchant, it is reasonable and even the best method."

"If everyone in the world had a clear conscience, where would corrupt officials come from? Governing a great nation is like cooking a small fish; the corrupt officials of the world are all malicious people. For evil people, one must use evil plans!"

"Moreover, Vice Minister Gao's son can come up with such a vicious plan in such a short time, showing his talent!"

These words served as a warning to the officials, and Elder Zhou and Cui Xinghe quickly bowed their heads.

"I'm tired, court dismissed!"

With that, Wu Zhao, her face stunningly beautiful, got up and left.

Gao Yang was momentarily stunned.

She just left?

What about the promised reward?

If not ten thousand taels of gold, at least a couple of beauties.

This Empress was too inconsiderate.

As Gao Yang was mentally complaining, the officials exchanged glances, their eyes filled with amazement as they looked at Gao Yang.

Everyone knew that today's events would spread throughout Chang'an at the fastest speed.