Chapter 73 The Book of Accounts Who Makes Fake Accounts
In any feudal dynasty, the emperor can never rule the world with just one word.
Unless the founding emperor conquered the country on horseback, his power is still there.
Which of the other kings of the past dynasties was not restrained by all parties?
Even if it were Xiao Pingsi, the cabinet and the civil service group would not allow him to act recklessly on such a serious matter.
Using so much manpower and material resources, and consuming a lot of money, if we can't do something one, two or three in the future, it will be completely wasted.
The treasury doesn't have that much money and food for the emperor to mess around with.
"The Minister of Household Affairs, Yan Lanfeng, has a copy of the memorial..." Yan Lanfeng came out of class and handed over the memorial in his hand.
Wang Feng immediately went down, picked it up, and handed it to the emperor's desk.
The topic suddenly changed, which eased the emperor's embarrassing situation.
However, when Xiao Pingsi opened the memorial and took a look, he frowned and gave Yan Lanfeng a white look.
"Your Majesty, there is a severe drought in Ganzhou, Suzhou, and Lizhou after autumn, and most of the farmland has little harvest in the end. The report from the three prefectures arrived yesterday. I think the top priority should be to open warehouses for disaster relief..."
Yan Lanfeng did not second the proposal, but once this memorial came out, the emperor had no reason to waste people and money.
Look, there is a drought in the three states, and many people may starve to death. How dare you not provide disaster relief, but use the money and food to build a novelty?
Upon seeing this, Zhuge Qingshan immediately said: "Your Majesty, what the Ministry of Revenue said is a major matter for the country and the foundation of the country... The cabinet believes that disaster relief should be provided as soon as possible to avoid disasters spreading everywhere and another tragedy."
The military attachés in the DPRK were all busy with their thoughts.
Whenever there is a major disaster, there must be a large number of victims who will rebel if they don't have enough to eat... Then military merit comes.
Whoever suppresses and eradicates these mobs can earn military merit, and all the military attaches idle in Beijing want to move.
"The disaster in the three states requires no delay. We should immediately quell the disaster and appease the people and reduce local taxes..."
Xiao Pingsi skillfully said that Daxia is so big that there will be several droughts and floods every year. Disaster relief is a matter that has been established in the regulations.
"Your Majesty is wise, and the people are blessed!" Qin Shiyi saw that the emperor said this, so he said nothing more and returned to the officials at Yushitai.
I thought that the matter would be settled like this, but unexpectedly Xiao Pingsi said:
"But the Musket Bureau still needs to be established."
"His Majesty……"
"First, the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Industry will take the lead. The Hanging Sword Division and the Forbidden Army will be responsible for security. It involves new ordnance and the stability of the country and cannot be slacked off!" Xiao Pingsi spoke loudly over the crowd.
Yan Lanfeng, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, immediately cried: "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue has no extra money and food!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue has to prepare for disasters from all sides, and it is stretched every year." Zhuge Qingshan also said.
It's not that the emperor is not allowed to do things, but that he is indeed relatively poor.
In an era when commerce was underdeveloped, the little money raised from taxes and taxes was not enough to spend on infrastructure every year, let alone disaster relief.
In fact, the country of Daxia is pretty good. It is located in the Central Plains. As long as there is no serious disaster, not many people will starve to death every year.
Of course, people can never be rich.
But compared with other countries that often starve to death, Daxia is already a dream country.
"Your Majesty, think twice..." the ministers cried, as if if the emperor persisted, he would be a fool who would not listen to advice.
Xiao Pingsi said calmly: "I have a way. Starting next year, the national treasury will be much fuller, and we will no longer be so poor every year."
Solution?
What can you do?
The officials did not believe it, Zhuge Qingshan did not believe it, and Qin Shiyi did not believe it.
I felt that the emperor was deceiving, that he just wanted to establish a musketry bureau and didn't care about the consequences.
"Your Majesty, even if it is a good year, the treasury will not have much surplus, so how can it be filled in a short time?"
Zhuge Qingshan, as the first assistant, also had a responsibility, and immediately decreed: "May I ask Your Majesty, who suggested the establishment of the Musket Bureau? I think he is a national traitor!"
Wow...
This time the hat was too big, Qin Shiyi didn't dare to speak, he just nodded.
The ministers were also surprised. It was rare to see the old chief minister speak so righteously. In the past, whenever the emperor was about to make a mistake, Zhuge Qingshan would forcefully persuade him to come back.
But this time, the emperor didn't buy it.
"I told you that it's a matter of new ordnance, and the matter needs to be kept confidential. All parties are not allowed to ask questions, otherwise it will be suspected of stealing the country!" Xiao Pingsi was too lazy to argue anymore and immediately set the tone.
Zhuge Qingshan opened his mouth. Seeing that the emperor was so stubborn, he realized something and just sighed and said nothing more.
"Your Majesty..." Yan Lanfeng burst into tears immediately. When he thought about spending so much money and food, he felt like jumping into the river.
"Okay, retreat!"
Xiao Pingsi calmed down and said: "The chief assistant and the household department are staying."
The attitude of others is not important, the emperor has to appease these two people, otherwise if they stumble, this matter will be postponed until next year!
"Retreat from the imperial court..." Wang Feng shouted at the top of his lungs.
Then Mo Yuan signaled the Imperial Guards outside the door to drive people away, and guarded the door to prevent anyone from approaching.
The noisy court hall just now became quiet in an instant, so quiet that you could hear the sound of Yan Lanfeng's tears falling.
He was crying like that.
Xiao Pingsi has long known this guy's temperament. As long as he wants to do something expensive, this guy will do it and cry to the officials.
I don’t know how historians will record this iron cock.
"Hubu, how much money do you have left?" Xiao Pingsi asked.
Yan Lanfeng stopped crying and said: "Don't your Majesty have the general ledger of the Ministry of Revenue..."
The Ministry of Accounts still has money, but you don’t have any idea?
The emperor sneered.
"Yan Papi, don't think that I don't know that every year you give me false accounts!" Xiao Pingsi pointed at Yan Lanfeng, furious.
Um?
The air was stagnant for a moment.
Wang Feng, Mo Yuan, and Zhuge Qingshan were all stunned.
What?
Fake accounts?
Zhuge Qingshan looked at Yan Lanfeng and glared at him, "How dare you?"
When Yan Lanfeng heard this, his face turned pale, but he was not too frightened:
"Your Majesty, minister..."
He was thinking about how to explain.
But the emperor angrily rebuked: "You guys are afraid that I will spend extravagantly when I see that there is still money in the treasury account, so you always make a small surplus in the account and look like you are stretched... right!?"
Yan Lanfeng raised his eyebrows, lowered his head, and pretended to count his toes.
Zhuge Qingshan was stunned and looked at Yan Lanfeng: "Master Yan... you are a true national scholar!"
"Lord Chief Assistant, it's funny..." Yan Lanfeng said awkwardly. He thought he had done a good job, but he didn't expect that the emperor had already known about it.
"No, no, I really admire you. Master Yan can actually think of such a way to make His Majesty frugal and make some surplus for the national treasury... I can't think of such a way either!"
Zhuge Qingshan had no choice but to accept it. He was indeed a veteran of the household department for decades, but he actually dared to show the emperor false accounts.
You have to bear the crime of deceiving the emperor, right?
However, at this time, Zhuge Qingshan did not even mention that Yan Lanfeng had deceived the emperor.
Because it seems that the emperor has known about it for a long time and has acquiesced in such behavior. Perhaps he is also setting limits for himself to avoid being too wasteful.
Your Majesty is so kind!
Yan Lanfeng saw the situation and bowed: "I know that I am guilty..."
"Don't worry about what you don't have!" Xiao Pingsi waved his hand, "How much money the Ministry of Household Affairs has and how much surplus it has generated over the years, you, Yan Papi, know best."
"I don't want more, but I want to build an additional yamen. You all know about high-yielding grain seeds. Starting next year, we can sow them on a large scale... The national treasury will at least get a few percent more tax revenue."
"Furthermore, new ordnance is too important and must be developed...but it cannot be achieved overnight. It needs to be implemented slowly, and the initial investment will not be too high."
"The Ministry of Household Affairs still has a little money..." Yan Lanfeng has been exposed, and he no longer dares to cry about being poor.
If he continues to cry for poverty, he will not be able to bear the crime of bullying the emperor.
Although a gentleman can be deceived, it is only a handle after all. No matter how dedicated he is to serving the country, he cannot go too far.
Seeing this, Zhuge Qingshan only remembered the matter of high-yielding grains: "Your Majesty is still optimistic. The promotion of new grains cannot be achieved overnight..."
"What the Chief Minister said makes sense. If you force the people to grow new crops, they will probably not trust you and won't pay attention. You need to choose a pilot project. After the harvest, the people will naturally believe it and flock to it..." Yan Lanfeng said.
Xiao Pingsi nodded: "These things will naturally be done by the cabinet, but this year Fangjiazhuang will harvest them all, and everyone in the capital will be allowed to watch."
"Your Majesty, your Majesty..." Zhuge Qingshan had this idea. The more people know about it, the easier it will be for the people to accept it, and the shorter the transition period will be.
