In the Qianqing Palace, Xianfeng sat there alone, looking at the memorial in his hand and sighing.
At one moment, Shanxi requested the imperial court to send troops to attack the Taihang bandits; at another, General Yinglong of Shengjing requested funds to rebuild the city destroyed by the Taiping Army; and at another moment, Yinggui of Henan submitted a memorial saying that he wanted to repair the Yellow River embankment.
Xianfeng felt that Yinggui was putting the cart before the horse. The remnants of the Taiping Army in Henan had not yet been wiped out, but they were building the Yellow River embankment.
In fact, Yinggui is still a good official, at least he knows how to pay attention to the river embankment.
The floods in the third year of Xianfeng caused heavy losses to Henan. If Jiangsu hadn't taken in millions of refugees, I don't know how many people would have died!
On the matter of taking in the refugees in Henan, Yinggui had no objection at all to Dong Shuheng of the Huaihai Navy, at least Henan saved money for relief.
The matter of the Yellow River embankment was also mentioned to him by Shao Can, the former minister of military aircraft.
Shao Can told him that the Yellow River might burst its banks in the next two years, and he reminded Yinggui that it would be best to find someone to take a look.
As for how Shao Can knew? Because he was the same year as Mr. Feng Daoli.
Yinggui then went to the Yellow River to investigate. At first glance, the current Yellow River embankment was really riddled with holes, and the situation was shocking.
But Yinggui didn't even have the money to recruit troops, so what could he use to repair the Yellow River embankment? In desperation, he had no choice but to report to the court. Maintenance of the Yellow River embankment was originally the responsibility of the river governor.
But now Shao Can has long resigned. No one wants to take care of the river affairs at all.
"Hey..." Xianfeng exhaled heavily, as if he wanted to spit out all the troubles in his heart.
At this time, his favorite concubine walked in with a bowl of lotus seed soup.
"Your Majesty, in such a hot weather, please have a sip of lotus seed soup!" Yibin flattered and handed the lotus seed soup to Xianfeng's side.
A little eunuch came over and held it in his hand.
Yibin specially wore a brand new light yellow embroidered brocade cheongsam today.
Last year, the Huaihai Company under Dong Shuheng also provided many benefits to Yibin and her natal family.
Therefore, this Yi concubine lived a relatively well-off life among all the concubines in the palace.
In the past two years, Xianfeng repeatedly asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs to reduce the palace's expenses, and many of the palace's mistresses were living a tight life.
"Well, let's put it aside!" Xianfeng glanced at Yibin's belly, but his annoyance did not lessen.
The arrival of the concubine reminded him of another annoying thing. He had been working hard, but now there was no movement in the belly of the concubine.
But in the palaces of his brothers, every one of Fujin kept giving birth like a sow.
"Your Majesty, why are you still so upset? Haven't the bandits in Liaodong been defeated?"
Xianfeng liked this concubine very much because she dared to speak in front of him, unlike other concubines who could only say a few words of flattery.
"Hey, press the east side and lift the west side. The banditry in these two river areas has calmed down, but the banditry in Henan and Guangxi has risen again."
Xianfeng wanted to say that Dong Shuheng of Liangjiang was a rebel even more despicable than a bandit, but he swallowed his words again.
"Your Majesty, think about it, this Guangxi is a remote place to begin with, how can there be no trouble! The bandits can't make any noise there. The bandits in Henan were also blocked by Lord Yinggui! They This is just hanging on for a while, there is nothing to be afraid of.”
"Huh, that's all you can say with your little mouth." After Xianfeng said this to Yibin, he really felt that there was no big problem, and he felt relieved immediately.
He didn't blame his concubines for interfering in politics. This kind of thing was the emperor's final decision. If he heard that he was unhappy, he would punish you for interfering in politics. If he heard that he was happy, nothing would happen.
Yibin is not only bold, but also makes Xianfeng happy every time. That is also her skill.
Xianfeng looked at Yibin and saw that her cheeks were dripping with sweat, a few strands of sweaty hair stuck to her delicate cheeks, and the smell of perfume emanating from her body.
His mouth suddenly felt dry and he didn't bother to drink the lotus seed soup. He grabbed Yibin's hand and took her into his arms.
"Your Majesty, please allow me to take a bath!" Concubine Yi said softly.
Xianfeng finally found the feeling. How could he wait for her to take a bath? He directly pushed her down on the couch...
The eunuchs and maids waiting outside naturally closed the curtains, and the eunuchs brought ice cubes in copper basins and placed them beside the bed.
By the time the eunuchs finished doing this, Xianfeng's side was done.
Yibin was lying there with a slightly red face. She bent her knees, exerted strength on her waist, and raised her buttocks slightly.
Xianfeng, under the care of the eunuch, briefly washed himself and put on his clothes.
He looked back at Yibin, who was lying there, and walked outside to continue with his official duties.
This summer, Xianfeng did not move to the Old Summer Palace to escape the summer heat, but stayed in Bauhinia City.
What was emptied out in the Old Summer Palace has not yet been replaced. The Qing court is now poorer than it has been in history.
From south to north, wars are going on almost everywhere. As long as there are wars, the local finances and taxes cannot be paid.
In addition, the Liangjiang area, which was originally the richest, did not pay a penny this year, making Xianfeng's money even more embarrassing.
In the morning, Xianfeng planned to hold a small court meeting in Qianqing Palace to discuss money and food matters.
After all the troubles, Xianfeng felt much relieved. A eunuch came to report that the ministers had already arrived.
Xianfeng then moved over. In addition to a group of military ministers, there were also ministers from various ministries who came here today.
Seeing the emperor approaching, everyone quickly knelt down and saluted.
"I love you so much, stay safe!"
"My beloved ministers, I am calling you here today mainly to discuss matters concerning the treasury." Xianfeng said.
As soon as they heard this, everyone's faces suddenly fell. They all lowered their heads.
Xianfeng's face suddenly turned gloomy when he saw this scene.
You can't talk about money in this court. Talking about money will hurt the feelings of the monarch and his ministers. Talking about money will even destroy the righteousness of the monarch and his ministers.
The most intuitive manifestation of the change of dynasties is the emptiness of the treasury. After the treasury is empty, nothing can be done.
If you don’t have money to train your troops, rebellions will break out, and local authorities will become dictatorial. If you don’t have money and can’t build rivers, disasters will happen in the local area. If you can’t provide disaster relief, the victims will join the rebels. The number of rebels will increase, and they will undermine local order, and the court will be more restrictive.
No tax.
This is a vicious circle that seems to have no solution, and its starting point is money, the symbol of wealth.
In fact, as the country has fewer resources, its ability to control the entire country will decline.
If you don’t have money, you won’t be able to stand straight.
"Zhu Aiqing, would you like to introduce the current situation of the Ministry of Household Affairs first?"
Xianfeng said to Zhu Fengbiao, the newly appointed Minister of Household Affairs.
At the beginning of the year, Sun Ruizhen, the original Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, had retired due to illness. It was not that Sun was ill and could not persist in his post, but that he could no longer sort out the mess.
Zhu Fengbiao was promoted from the post of Minister of the Ministry of Justice to the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs. Once he took office, Lao Zhu realized what kind of mess he had inherited.
Anyway, it is unsightly, with messes everywhere. In the past, if there was money in the treasury, it could cover up the original bad debts. Now that the treasury has bottomed out, all the rot that was hidden in the dark has leaked out.
But when Zhu Fengbiao was cleaning out the original satin and paint warehouses, he found that there was a large inventory. Some of the satin had even become moldy in the warehouse.
Zhu Fengbiao was so angry that he complained all day long that he had no money, but he just had no money. No one would take care of these things if they were left here.
So Zhu Fengbiao sent people to find the merchant, who was going to sell all the junk.
In the end, the quantity was too large, and it was all old goods, so no one was willing to take over. Only the Tianjin Chamber of Commerce stepped forward and was willing to take over all the two warehouses for a total price of 500,000 taels.
Others dare not buy because there are no sales channels, and these things are not easy to sell in China. However, the Tianjin Chamber of Commerce can sell these old satin pieces to the Mongols in the north through the Great Wall Company, or to Central Asia, which is turning westward.
Liu Wenjin felt that this business could be done. Although the imperial court's inventory was older, it had been paid tribute by local governments over the years, and the quality of the items was still good.
Because the amount was relatively large, the matter was reported to Dong Shuheng.
Dong Shuheng immediately agreed. As long as there is money to be made, who can't do business?
Some subordinates felt that this was a blood transfusion for the imperial court, but Dong Shuheng felt that there was no need to worry about this. The Qing court was exhausted, and Dong Shuheng was still worried that he would die now. It would be nice to give him a breath first.
"Your Majesty, there are only 2,500,000 taels of silver in the treasury now, of which 500,000 taels were obtained from clearing the treasury."
Everyone took a deep breath when they heard this. It had just been more than half a year.
You must know that the Ministry of Industry, which was originally a big spender, has been living on its belt this year and has not carried out any projects at all.
Even the annual routine river maintenance projects have been stopped.
Now, with the little extra money the Ministry of Household Affairs has, it can't even distribute the quota money to the banner people.
"Why are there so few?" Xianfeng asked.
"Back to Your Majesty, today only those from Guangdong, Guangxi, Mining and Zhejiang, Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Sichuan have paid in taxes. And Guangdong, Guangxi, Mining and Zhejiang are also much less than in previous years. Other places have also reduced a lot.
.Liangjiang, which used to pay the most taxes and grains, has not paid a cent of grain this year." Zhu Fengbiao said.
"My dear friends, look at the current situation. Is there any solution? If you don't think of a solution, you won't be able to get your salary at the end of the year."
"Your Majesty, I believe that there are two reasons for the current tense situation in the Ministry of Household Affairs." Sushun, the Minister of Household Affairs who was standing behind Zhu Fengbiao, stood up.
"The first is the outbreak of banditry, so that all local money is intercepted and paid to the bandits, such as Liangjiang and Huguang areas, which have historically paid the most taxes. Now that banditry is basically out of the question, these places can be ordered to reduce their military resources and save military expenditures.
Hand it over to the imperial court. Secondly, the imperial court lacks new financial resources. The ministers feel that the mines controlled by the imperial court should be released and sold to local mining. This method can quickly prepare a sum of money to meet urgent needs."
Sushun was recently promoted to the position of Minister of Household Affairs. After experiencing the previous events, Sushun felt that the problems in the Qing Dynasty were far more serious than imagined.
The points he mentioned today have been discussed with his brother Duan Hua before.
Originally, his brother Duanhua did not agree with his proposal in court, but Sushun felt that "no egg is left untouched" and he still wanted to do something for the Qing Dynasty.
Originally, Sushun had another suggestion. He thought that the outside of the Pass should be opened up, and the land should be sold to the big landowners in the Pass, and let them bring people to cultivate it.
This can not only solve the problem of land shortage in the pass, but also obtain a sum of cash by selling land, and alleviate the food crisis in the north.
There is another reform proposal that is even more exciting. Sushun thinks that the treatment of bannermen should be abolished, and bannermen should be allowed to do business and farm. Land can be allocated to each of these bannermen's families outside the customs.
They can grow their own crops, or they can sell the land and use the money to invest in business.
If this suggestion is put forward, although Sushun may become a famous minister of ZTE, there is a high possibility that he will end up like Shang Yang in history and end up with a bad death.