In addition to the Ministry of Household Affairs, the wealthy departments in the court include the Taipu Temple and the Ministry of Rites.
Taipu Temple was in charge of the country's horse farms and the horses raised by ordinary households for the imperial court. The imperial court stipulated that every ten households across the country were allocated one horse-breeding household, and those who raised horses were exempted from taxes.
However, there are differences between the north and the south. Horses raised in the south are short in stature and have not as good endurance as those in the north. Gradually, people in the south stopped raising horses and directly converted them into silver and gave them to the court. This silver was also called horse price silver.
Taipu Temple specially set up a Changying Treasury to store silver.
The various yamen under the Ministry of Rites manage kabuki theaters across the country, and the Senglu Division and Daolu Division manage temples and Taoist temples all over the world. These places have a lot of income. In the past, when the Ministry of Household's money bag was deflated, they would start from here.
Called in two places.
Qin Jing, the minister of Taipu Temple, also stood up and declined: "Your Majesty, in recent years there have been constant frictions between our country and the Northern Liao border. The amount of horses used has been several times more than in previous years. Most of the money in the Changying Treasury is used to buy horses and send them to the border.
If you spend two to thirty thousand taels of silver, Taipu Temple can still afford it, but after taking it out, the funds for breeding horses will be stretched."
Various departments pushed it back and forth, even if they didn't want to take the money, the reasons were all high-sounding.
Before Emperor Yao asked the Ministry of Rites, Xiang Xiao spoke first: "Your Majesty, I have something I don't know whether to say or not."
"Last night, Mr. Si took me to a restaurant by the Sacred Heart Lake for dinner. I saw that the major brothels seemed to be reviewing some rankings, and the money was taken away in carts. I was jealous."
"I wonder which department the money will be sent to in the end? I want to borrow some first..."
Zhuo Wen, the Minister of Rites, did not come forward for a long time, and his colleagues behind him quietly poked him in the back.
This sum of money involves more than just the benefits of the officials of the Ministry of Rites. It needs to be managed from top to bottom. Eighty percent of the remaining silver goes into Emperor Yao's inner treasury, and the remaining two percentages are given to various brothels.
Only officials from the Ministry of Rites know the specific amount.
But Zhuo Wen couldn't say no, so Zhang Jin grabbed the officials of the Ministry of Rites by their pigtails. Emperor Yao had just lost his temper, and he was still angry. Once the incident of missing test papers in the imperial examination was revealed, he, as the leading official, would be the first to suffer.
.
Comparing the two, it's just some money, so just think of it as spending money to buy peace.
"I wonder how much Prince Xiang wants to borrow?"
It was said that it was borrowed, but there was a 100% chance that it was borrowed but not repaid. Zhuo Wen emphasized the word "borrowed" very hard, and Xiang Xiao just pretended not to hear it.
Based on the figures given to him by Si Yiluo this morning, he said: "Your Majesty, the finances have been tight in recent years. Only pensions have been paid to the fallen soldiers. Food for the families of the fallen soldiers and pensions for the wounded and disabled soldiers have never been paid.
I made a rough calculation and found that it will cost about one hundred thousand taels."
"If you include the replacement of damaged armor, firearms and horses, etc., it will cost at least 150,000 taels."
"One hundred and fifty thousand taels..."
Zhuo Wen took a breath, he was not only interested in the Beijing Flower List, but also the money from the Jiangnan Flower List!
The Ministry of Rites worked hard for two months, but in the end no benefit was gained, and all had to be paid to the frontier army...
But he couldn't say no. Using 150,000 taels of silver in exchange for the emperor not to pursue his past mistakes was a good deal.
But you can't agree easily.
"Maybe the Ministry of Rites can scrape together the money?"
After listening to excuses all morning, Emperor Yao emphasized his tone. Zhuo Wen knew that he would have to come up with the money even if he couldn't.
"Go back to the emperor." Zhuo Wen responded, "The money collected by Ping Huabang is just a drop in the bucket. There are still some in the warehouses of Seng Lu Division and Dao Lu Division, and they will be given to Prince Xiang together. The border guards will protect their families and the country. I
I can only try my best to comfort the morale of the soldiers!"
The reaction of the Ministry of Rites was unexpected by everyone, and the hall was silent for a moment. He had to lower his head when someone grabbed his braid, but he could still speak so high-sounding.
The smile on Wei Heyan's lips was sarcastic, and his red lips parted slightly.
"Lord Zhuo is extremely righteous."
His voice brought everyone's attention back, and Xiang Xiao bowed deeply to Zhuo Wen.
"I would like to thank Master Zhuo on behalf of the Liangzhou Guards!"
"Master Zhuo is so righteous!"
Praises came one after another, and Zhuo Wen felt bitter in his heart, but it was not that he had gained nothing at all. At least he had gained fame...
This is all I can do to comfort myself.
But this reputation may also be a drag. The Liangzhou Guards are not the only frontier troops of the Great Zhou Dynasty. From now on, the Nine Borders and Thirteen Towns will probably have to ask him for money...
On the surface, he replied to his colleagues with a polite smile, but in private, he saw other junior officials in the Ministry of Etiquette smiling bitterly.
"Retreat from the court."
After returning to the imperial court, Emperor Yao left Xiang Xiao behind and asked about the military affairs at the border. Xiang Xiao's answers were quite satisfactory.
Emperor Yao suddenly asked: "How old is Xiang Qing this year? Is he married?"
Wei Heyan looked at Si Yiluo subconsciously, but saw that the girl lowered her eyebrows and had no special expression.
Xiang Xiao said shyly: "I am twenty-two this year and I am not married yet."
"A man should get married first and then establish a career. Your father is stationed at the border for me, so I can't leave the Xiang family without a successor. I will arrange an errand for you in the capital camp. Once you settle down in the capital, if you have a girl you like, come and tell me
, I grant you a marriage."
Emperor Yao's words appeared to be a favor, but in fact, he wanted to keep him in the capital as a pledge. This was also the reason why the Marquis of Xiping refused to let him enter the capital for so many years.
This time's pension and military supplies... Xiang Xiao suddenly reacted, raised his head and glanced at Emperor Yao, and looked through him to see Si Yiluo's expression. There was something he didn't understand.
His father promised to let him escort the prisoners to the capital, and he probably guessed the truth. In order to prevent the border troops from causing trouble, he could only send him to the capital, but he might still have some luck in his heart.
"My lord, thank you for your kindness."
Xiang Xiao's forehead was pressed against the ground, his face cold and his heart cold. When he raised his head again, there was a bright smile on his face.
"Your Majesty, are you going to grant me a marriage no matter which lady I fall in love with? I have long wanted to marry a lady from a famous family, so that I can shine on the lintel of my Xiang family!"
He showed a lively and careless personality, and Emperor Yao put aside his concerns.
"The ugly words come from the front, and you can't rob them by force."
Xiang Xiao said happily: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"Send a message to your father for me, telling him not to blame me for worrying about your marriage for him. In a few days, you will also come to the Hundred Flowers Banquet. I will let Si Qing tell you the specific process later."
"Harmony between monarch and ministers" in the imperial study.
"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness Prince Yu is waiting for Sir Si outside."
Wan Zhong promptly reminded him, and Si Yiluo and Xiang Xiao retired in unison.
Emperor Yao looked at the two people's backs and asked Wei Heyan: "What does Heyan think of Prince Xiang's temperament?"
Wei Heyan placed the important memorials on his desk where Emperor Yao could easily reach them. Emperor Yao was not in a hurry to read the memorials.
"Lively and outgoing, the slave can't see more of it, after all, the time of contact is still short."
"He Yan thinks that with Xiang Xiao's status, what position in the capital camp is appropriate?"
After serving Emperor Yao for a long time, Wei Heyan knew that it was not that he was unsure of his decision, but that he was trying his words to test the minds of those around him to see if they were loyal to him.
"I don't dare to speak nonsense."
Emperor Yao was very satisfied with his attitude. Even though he had been serving him for a long time, he still did not lose his control and dictated the government affairs despite his deliberate connivance.
"The squadrons of the three capitals of Henan, Shandong, and Daning have come to Beijing for training. Why don't we make him an admiral and let him practice camp formations and then compete with the fifth army camp!"
"Let's see which one is more powerful: my Beijing camp or the military formation of Marquis Xiping!"
Emperor Yao became interested, and Wei He responded: "Your Majesty is wise."
…
Outside the Imperial Study Room.
Si Yiluo and Xiang Xiao met Zhou Yu.
"Sir Si, I have sent people to the Three Law Departments to transfer the case information. Although I have taken over this case, I still need to rely on Sir Si to solve the case. Please give me your full assistance, Sir Si. Let us take a step to speak."
Xiang Xiao held back his anger, and Si Yiluo gave him a look that meant he would talk later, and said: "Prince Xiang will go back home to rest first. After I finish the things at hand, I will go back and talk to you in detail."