In the Yangxin Hall, Ma Minwen bowed, held up the memorial in his hand, and said in a deep voice:
"Your Majesty, this is the tax details calculated last year."
Feng Bao quickly ran down the steps, took the memorial, and handed it to Xiao Cheng.
"Shouldn't taxes be collected after the autumn harvest? Why are you submitting this memorial just now?" Xiao Cheng frowned slightly and asked as he took the memorial.
Hearing this, Ma Minwen quickly explained:
"Your Majesty, although taxes are collected after the autumn harvest, the people of all ethnic groups in our country are mixed and not all make a living by farming. The taxable items are complicated and the statistics are very time-consuming. In addition, in order to avoid logistical delays when the Grand Master led troops to fight before,
Chief, he has collected grain and grass on the spot many times. The tax details have been revised many times and were just sorted out yesterday."
Looking through the memorial, one can see that it is densely packed with rice, silver, money, silk, silk, tea, etc., which makes people look very confused.
Turning to the end, you will see that the above mentioned items, converted into silver coins, total 8,470,000 taels in the memorial.
Although the Yun Kingdom was small and located in the southern corner of the sky, it traded with Tubo in the north, the western regions, and Tianzhu in the west. In addition, Wang Xiao conquered the southern countries and occupied the southern fishing, salt, seafood, and pearl treasures.
In terms of wealth, it is already one of the best among all the countries in the world.
Xiao Chenghe started the memorial, narrowed his eyes and asked:
"I remember that in the past few years, the tax revenue of the junior high school was over ten million taels. How come this year, there is a difference of nearly one million taels?"
"Some time ago, various royal temples in the country submitted letters requesting to recast the golden body of Buddha statues and renovate the temples. As usual, the court approved it..."
Xiao Cheng's eyes turned cold and he said loudly:
"Approved? More than one million taels of silver, how come I didn't know about it!"
"Your Majesty was still in the palace at that time, um... still resting in the palace. This is the ancestral system set by Emperor Taizu. Taishi nodded at that time, and it is not easy for the ministers to disobey."
Seeing Xiao Cheng's expression getting colder and colder, Ma Minwen said hurriedly:
"It wasn't so exaggerated in previous years. It's just that this year, several royal temples that needed to be renovated and rebuilt collided with each other, so it cost so much!"
Ma Minwen carefully glanced at Xiao Cheng and saw him sitting on the dragon chair with an extremely ugly look on his face.
Just when Ma Minwen thought he was going to bear Xiao Cheng's thunderous wrath, Xiao Cheng's eyes moved slightly.
In the line of sight that ordinary people cannot see, the Tika template unfolds.
[Blue Emperor Card: Taizu of Dali--Duan Siping
…
Practice Buddhism sincerely - Equip this card, and you need to build a temple every year. The favorability of Buddhist disciples increases, the popularity of the people increases by 1 point every year, the cost of building Buddhist temples increases by 50%, and the tax revenue decreases by 15%.
...]
In the past few years, the tax revenue was just over 10 million silver, but this year it was 8.5 million, which is just 15% less! No wonder this imperial card is only in the blue level.
Xiao Cheng had no choice but to suppress his unhappiness and said in a deep voice:
"That's all, let's send the taxes to the treasury as soon as possible. Previously, the Taishi Mansion only kept more than five million taels, and it was not enough to support the frontline troops and run the court. No matter what, when the taxes come up next year,
It should be better!"
Damn it, if he can't draw any other imperial cards in a year, he would rather not bring any cards at all and just play with a blank slate.
After hearing what Xiao Cheng said, Ma Minwen buried his head lower and became a little stammered, feeling very confused:
"Your Majesty, this, this tax..."
Seeing his hesitant appearance, Xiao Cheng was slightly startled and said:
"what happened again?"
Ma Minwen pursed his lips, gritted his teeth, and said:
"Although the detailed list has just been sorted out, the tax has already been collected... The more than five million taels in the Grand Master's Mansion are what's left!"
When Xiao Cheng heard this, his whole body suddenly froze.
Is five million taels more than that?
Of course there are many.
But in front of a country, these five million taels don't seem to be too much!
There are two to three hundred thousand soldiers and horses in the whole country. Not to mention weapons, armor, food and supplies, the military salary alone is nearly two million silver a year.
There are also official salaries, palace expenses, court operations, etc. The total of five million taels is simply not enough!
If we encounter another disaster, we simply don’t dare to think about it.
"Where's the money? Where has it gone? The past few years have been going well, but the tax revenue has been spent every year?" Xiao Cheng said with an ugly face.
Ma Minwen lowered his head and replied:
"In the past few years, the grand master has been training soldiers and horses, forging weapons, and leading troops on expeditions. The savings in the treasury have been almost spent. A month ago, another three million taels of silver were allocated to provide for the border troops...
…”
Xiao Cheng's expression became colder and colder, and murderous intent surged in his heart.
What should I do if the treasury is out of money?
Get rich by looting homes!
"I understand, go down!" Xiao Cheng said with a cold face and asked Ma Minwen to step back.
Ma Minwen bowed, carefully walked out of the palace, and then walked out of the palace.
It wasn't until he was helped into the carriage by his servant that he breathed a sigh of relief.
But when Ma Minwen thought of the murderous intention that suddenly appeared in Xiao Cheng just now, he couldn't help but tremble.
It goes without saying that an emperor who has military power in his hands and the leverage of his ministers can do and do what he will do when the treasury is out of money.
No, we can’t delay it any longer!
Ma Minwen's eyes flashed, and he was determined in his heart. He said directly to the outside of the carriage:
"I'm not going to the government office anymore, I'm going back to the government directly!"
"Yes, sir."
--------------------------
In the camp on the outskirts of Beijing, the old Taiwei Tao Ai, guarded by several old soldiers behind him, was sitting on the commander's seat.
Cheng Bushi stood aside, cupped his hands and said:
"Lieutenant, the last general has sent out reliable men, and with the order, he hastened towards the border army!"
Tao Ai nodded and said:
"On top of this transfer order, there is a jade seal and the seal of the Taishi Palace. In the name of reward for promotion, eight generals and above from the border army will be mobilized to return to the capital. But this move is not foolproof. If someone forges rumors in the capital
, inciting the border troops to rebel and revolt, I’m afraid the situation will be out of control!”
Cheng Buji's eyes moved and he said:
"Then what are the Lieutenant's plans?"
Tao Ai's eyes flashed with murderous intent, and he said in a hoarse voice:
"Shicheng County was originally an important border city, and now it has become a key place for the border army to maintain logistics. I would like to write to Your Majesty and personally lead the troops to guard this place. If the border army generals obey the orders, I will personally join the army.
Camp, take over the military power. If you don’t comply, directly cut off the frontier army’s logistics! Even if we fight to wipe out the hundreds of thousands of troops, we can’t let the situation deteriorate!”
If all the hundreds of thousands of elite border troops were lost, it would be a real loss of vitality for Yun State. But even so, it would be better than allowing them to rebel.
Cheng Bushi also came from a military background, so naturally he didn't have any kindness towards a woman.
But when he saw Tao Ai's decrepit appearance, he still couldn't help but said:
"The Lieutenant's status is precious and he cannot take personal risks! It is better to go ahead as a precaution, just in case."
Tao Ai calmly shook his head and said:
"General Cheng is young and brave, and has a long history of military strategy, but when it comes to this matter, he is not as good as me, an old man. I was born in the army. Although I have ignored military affairs for many years, I still have some prestige. And I have great righteousness, so I should be able to
Overwhelm the border troops!"
Seeing that Cheng Buji still spoke, Tao Ai waved his hand suddenly and said:
"No need to say more! I have made up my mind. There are many soldiers and horses in the capital, and I am not at ease if there is no one whom Your Majesty trusts to control them! So General Cheng, you must stay."
Cheng Bushi heard the words and knew that what Tao Ai said was true, so he had to hold his hands and say: