Su Dan's heart trembled. Over the years, he had worked extremely hard in his position at the Ministry of Revenue, and there was never a moment when he felt relaxed.
He was always proud that the martial arts Su family could continue to be in charge of the power of Duzhi. Of course, this was indeed worthy of pride. Starting from his great-grandfather Su Chuo, to his grandfather Su Wei, from the Western Wei Dynasty to Daye.
For decades, the martial arts Su family were in charge of the financial power of the imperial court.
Now in the Tang Dynasty, Su Dan is still the Minister of Household Affairs. Winning the emperor's trust is not something that can be achieved in a day or two. This is an extremely rare thing.
Naturally, he wants to continue and completely establish his position as the top family member of the martial arts Su family.
It's just that the greater the power, the heavier the burden on him. After all these years of hard work, he already felt overwhelmed... Adding more burdens, Su Dan wailed in his heart, don't you want it anymore?
With a wry smile, he cupped his hands and said, "Please show mercy, Your Majesty. I haven't arrived yet, but I have already sprouted so many gray hairs on my head. How can I still drive when I'm prematurely old?"
Especially after the Gao Shen case, the Ministry of Revenue still needs to work harder to rectify it... Please forgive me for being able to do this."
Complaining and joking, everyone in the household suddenly felt a little more relaxed. At the same time, they looked at their immediate boss with envy and said in their hearts, Conglong Zhichen is indeed very honorable in front of the Supreme Being.
Dou Dan, the minister of household affairs who was sitting next to Su Quan, glanced at him slightly and thought to himself, I couldn't be the one to fix it, right?
He was deeply involved in Gao Shen's case. He was the first and last to blame for Gao Shen's crime of misappropriating the household's money and food. As the Minister of Household Affairs, Su Dan could always find clues even if he didn't notice it immediately.
Su Tan didn't say anything because Dou Dan was helping pay for Gao Shen's case. He was obviously acting under orders, and if he could manipulate Su Tan, why should he ask?
This matter has already been exposed, but Dou Dan and Duan Lun, another minister of household affairs, are brothers-in-law, and they have a close relationship, so Su Dan can't even think about it without being jealous.
Not long ago, when he was drinking with Duan Lun, he heard Duan Lun say that Su Shangshu was preparing to write a letter and wanted to increase the number of ministers to three to five people. The reason was very good. The responsibilities of the Ministry of Household Affairs were too heavy and he needed capable people.
Assist.
From what I mean, it must be the two of them.
While Duan Lun complained about Su Yuanzai's stinginess, he also felt that it was inappropriate for the two of them to serve in the Household Department at the same time, so he planned to ask for a transfer from the Household Department.
This undoubtedly made Dou Dan extremely grateful. It was obvious that he had only served in the Household Department for a short time, but Duan Lun had been in the Household Department for several years. If he wanted to be transferred, Duan Lun could only be transferred.
By this time, there was actually a hint of personal grudges.
However, it is not surprising. The power struggle in the officialdom is like this. It is difficult to distinguish which is political struggle and which is caused by personal grudges.
What makes Dou Dan feel uncomfortable is how can he, a seven-foot tall man like Dou Dan, always accept favors without repaying them? If it had been left to a few years ago, it would have been more serious to drive you Su Yuanzai out and replace him with Brother Duan.
.
It's a pity that this is just a thought, Su Dan is not just someone else. The Su family has accumulated martial arts for several generations, and has countless disciples and former officials in Kansai.
Su Dan himself was young and a close confidant of the emperor. It was basically a dream for these remnants of Li Yuan to replace him.
Unless Su Dan himself is stupid and wants to be a powerful minister like his grandfather, they can take advantage of it, but is that possible? Looking at his flattering look, you can tell that he doesn't have the courage at all.
……………………
At this time, Li Po looked at Su Dan, but didn't see anything. He thought that this guy was thinking about cheating again, but this was what he wanted now.
With a slight smile, he nodded repeatedly, as if showing pity, "If that's true, then it's my fault..."
Although others didn't notice what he said lightly, Su Dan straightened up. He had been following Li Po for many years, and the mutual understanding between the emperor and his ministers was very deep.
At this time, Su Dan murmured in his heart, there seems to be nothing wrong with what he just said? This tone is not good...
Li Poze said slowly: "The responsibility of the Ministry of Household Affairs is too heavy. I have noticed it a long time ago, so I intend to follow the example before and set up Sinong Temple... You don't have to be anxious. Think about it after you go back. Whether you agree or disagree, please go to the meeting."
Every statement.
You know what I mean, and you should also understand the necessity of establishing the Sinong Temple. I said earlier that the world has decided that farming is the top priority, and the measures to encourage and support farming with the Sinong Temple are exactly what we should...
"
The emperor's intention was expressed so clearly, and there was even a hidden meaning of reproach in it. I have already mentioned it earlier, how did you become a minister? You have to speak in person, why don't you know how to write a letter to actively decentralize power? You are too selfish.
Bar?
Su Dan did not dare to say anything else. Thinking about the power that would be taken away once Sinong Temple was reestablished, he still felt quite sad. If he followed his wishes, two more ministers would be added, and the powers of Sinong Temple would be placed in the Ministry of Household Affairs.
Next, it actually makes sense.
But that would obviously not be in line with Li Po's wishes. There were many and complicated things in the household department, so he couldn't spend too much energy on farming. It would probably be mixed with things like taxes, and the affairs would be complicated.
Things go wrong, and then they blame each other.
This was how he talked to Su Dan. As he talked, he would feel that this guy was being arrogant, and then he would get very angry.
In fact, after all, Su Dan is too greedy for power. If you don't give him a stick in a few days, he seems to want to let himself go. He is also stingy and wants to take everything into his arms, which is very unwelcome.
See.
In later words, this man did not have the bearing of a statesman, and his outlook on the overall situation was somewhat poor. He could only be regarded as a politician. With his current appearance, it would be difficult to go further.
This is exactly the flaw of professional bureaucracy. When it reaches a certain point, it hits the ceiling...
……………………
There is no need for Su Quan to answer the question, things at Sinong Temple will be settled quickly, and the Ministry of Revenue will not be an obstacle.
Li Po flipped through the case files on the table and said: "Okay, let's get down to business. Let's talk about household registration first... the progress is a bit slow, but I don't blame you. After all, we have been fighting for the past two years, so progress is slower.
It’s also reasonable.”
Su Tan also calmed down his thoughts and concentrated. It was expected that the emperor would ask about household registration first. Household registration is the basis of everything. If the household registration cannot be counted, or the statistics are not accurate enough, it will cause serious problems.
He thought about it for a while and said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, from May to June last year until now, I have tried my best to raise food and fodder for the army, and I have not paid much attention to other things.
The household registrations of the counties in Guanzhong have generally been recorded in the household registration files. It will take some time for Shuzhong to record them all. Governor Li has been sorting out the household registrations in Jiangling. It is easier for him to do so because of the war last year.
It's just additions and subtractions. Xiao Mian's court has clearly documented it, and it is estimated that it should be completed this year.
Manager Wang and others went to Jiangdu, and the Ministry of Revenue also sent people there, but I still don't know what the situation is like there. However, I talked with King Wu and it seems to be better than Jiangling there.
Beyond that are Henan, Shandong, Hebei and other places. It may take some time. I ask the Supreme Being to give you another half year. I will definitely have a result before the Supreme Being."
Seeing that the emperor was nodding his head and not urging him any more, Su Dan was relieved a little and then motioned to his subordinates to speak.
The first doctor stood up immediately. They were well prepared and did not need to bring any documents. They bowed and said: "Your Majesty, after investigation, there are 467,866 existing in the counties of Guanzhong."
There are currently 295,574 households in the counties of Jin, with a total of 4,197,784 people. The rest are still under investigation."
After speaking briefly, he saluted and returned to his seat.
Dou Dan, the Minister of Household Affairs, continued: "The household registration in Jin has been completed, but Guanzhong still needs to be discussed. The main reason is that some refugees are still hiding in the mountains. There will definitely be more Dingkou in the future."
This is a series of shocking figures. The population of Guanzhong has dropped by 20% compared to the previous Sui Dynasty. This is the reason why people from Henan, Hebei, Shandong and other places moved westward to avoid the war. Otherwise, the figures would be terrible.
The same is true for the Jin region. After so many years of recuperation, the population has dropped by half compared to when the Sui Dynasty was at its peak. The wars at the end of the Sui Dynasty caused so much damage that it simply exceeded people's imagination.
This is only Guanzhong and Jin, the places where the war has had the least impact, the others...
The hall was quiet for a while, no one wanted to speak, let alone use the current data to compare with the previous Sui Dynasty.
The Ministry of Household Affairs actually did calculations some time ago, and the current population should be around 10 million. At worst, it would be more than 8 million, or at most more than 15 million...
According to current statistics, the situation is not optimistic.
After a long time, Li Po sighed softly, "The world is so ruined, it's our fault."
Su Qua comforted him and said: "In these years, wild beasts have been running rampant in the world and all life has been devastated. Fortunately, the Supreme Being stopped fighting and saved the people from the fire and water. People in the world are grateful and praise him one after another. It's too late, so what's wrong?"
Dou Dan, Dou Guangda, did not lag behind others, and immediately flattered him, "The Supreme One loves his people like a son, and everyone in the world knows..."
Li Po glared at him, causing Dou Dan's words to stop abruptly. He, Dou Dan, was a seven-foot-tall man, so it was normal for him to flatter him and slap him on the horse's legs.
Li Po would feel heavier every time he heard people say something, and once he was in a bad mood, he would prefer to take his anger out on others.
"Okay, I've heard countless flattering words, but no matter how many good words you say, I can't bring those people back to life. There were more than nine million households in the Sui Dynasty. Look how many are left now.
?
Can there be two million households? Only less than 20% of the 100% are left. How can I be happy?"
As he spoke, anger surged up, and the frightened ministers stood up and bowed to listen to the lecture.
Su Danxin said that he knew it would be difficult to get through today, but he didn't expect it to be so bad at the beginning. He had better choose the time when Dou Jiande had just arrived, otherwise...
And Dou Guangda saw the emperor angry for the first time, and he was indeed very vicious...