Although it has already entered winter, the earth dragon burning in Wuying Hall is very hot, and the whole hall is warm, and you can't feel the slightest bit of cold.
However, at this moment, no matter how warm the stove was, it could not warm Shen Yi's cold heart.
If you don’t become a householder, you don’t know that firewood, rice, oil and salt are expensive.
Ever since he was promoted to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of War had to prepare city defenses, the armies from all over the country needed weapons and supplies, and money was rushing out.
The head of the family, Shen Shangshu, really felt that this job in the household department was simply not a job for human beings.
There were people asking for money from him everywhere, but there was also a blind and generous emperor.
Some time ago, the situation was tense, and the only place where money should be spent was on military matters.
When it comes to city defense arrangements and army mobilization, Shen Shangshu is not proficient in these matters. In addition, the situation is critical, so he naturally tries his best to cooperate.
But now, he felt that it was necessary to have a good argument with the emperor, and to curb the emperor's bad habit of spending money sloppily.
"Your Majesty, I'd like to speak frankly. Since Ye Xian's large-scale attack, the imperial court's silver taels have been very serious. The city defenses have been reinforced, the people have been recruited, the grain, grass and baggage, ordnance, armor, cotton-padded clothes, and the household expenditure have reached no less than 150 taels. Ten thousand."
Shangshu Shen simply began to settle accounts with the emperor one by one.
"During this battle, the officers and soldiers who died in the battle at Daomaguan have been ordered to receive double the pension. Your Majesty will also be generous to the rest of the officers and soldiers who died in the battle. If we add the more than 100,000 officers and soldiers who were lost in the Battle of Tumu, the compensation alone will be doubled. The pension alone costs nearly one million taels."
"In addition, hundreds of thousands of taels are also needed to rebuild the city defenses, build Daomaguan, recruit craftsmen, strengthen the people, and purchase materials."
"These two transactions alone will drain one-third of the national treasury."
"There is also the Miao chaos in the southwest..."
Seeing Old Shen start counting with his fingers, Zhu Qiyu felt dumbfounded, waved his hand and said.
"Okay, okay, what do you say, Shen Qing? You are also one of the Seven Qings. You are settling every account, just like I am a prodigal son."
The expression on Shen Shangshu's face clearly shows that you have a fairly clear self-awareness.
But you definitely can't say that, Shen Yi cupped his hands and said in a low voice.
"I don't dare, but I'm just reporting it truthfully."
After a brief pause, Shen Yi couldn't help but say again.
"Your Majesty, I know that your Majesty has the country at heart and cares about the soldiers and the people. However, the imperial court has been fighting for years and the treasury is already empty. As the saying goes, things have to be prioritized. The imperial court still needs to operate, so we have to save some money."
There was no one around here, and Zhu Qiyu didn't pretend to be outside.
Shen Yi has always been steady and thoughtful, but it's really rare to see him nagging and complaining like this today.
However, it can also be seen from this that it is not easy for him to be the Minister of Household Affairs these days.
The caring butler next to him refilled Shen Shangshu's cup of tea, and Zhu Qiyu asked.
"Then Mr. Shen thinks that in the current situation, what is important and what is light, what is urgent and what is slow?"
After asking in one sentence, Shen Yi immediately stopped nagging.
Looking up at the emperor's humble and studious eyes, Chen Yi instinctively realized that he couldn't speak casually at this time.
After all, he has been in the officialdom for decades. Shen Yi has quickly broken away from his slightly dissatisfied mood and calmly analyzed the current situation.
When you reach this level as an official, you will basically not lose control of your emotions.
Although he was complaining to the emperor just because he was dissatisfied, he actually had a sense of proportion.
As a minister, sometimes you have to show a little "true temperament" and let the emperor know your hard work.
This is what Shen Shangshu just did.
Obviously, the emperor was not angry because of this, but in this way, the distance between him and the emperor was much closer.
At least in terms of title, it has quietly changed from the popular Shen Qing to the somewhat intimate Mr. Shen.
This title, if not the emperor's teacher, would only be given to close attendants.
However, Shen Yi only felt proud for a moment and wisely did not continue speaking.
Because the question raised by the Emperor is both easy to answer and difficult to answer.
Everyone has different considerations in terms of priorities.
Under normal circumstances, Chen Yi might have been able to pass the test by speaking in a big way, but he intuitively felt that today was different.
Although the emperor's expression was close, he had a vague feeling that if he said this incorrectly, all his previous efforts would be in vain.
After pondering for half a cup of tea, Shen Yi finally spoke.
"Your Majesty, I believe that among the things that need to be done now, strengthening the city defenses is the most important, repairing the fallen horse passes is the least important, caring for the war dead is the most urgent thing, and the craftsmen's reorganization is the slowest thing. In addition, recuperate and replenish the national treasury. It’s both urgent and important.”
Zhu Qiyu raised his eyebrows. He had indeed wanted to take the exam just now.
This is actually not difficult to understand. After the Civil War, the army was eyeing the battle, and the imperial court naturally focused on military affairs.
But now that the war is over, it is natural to repair government affairs internally.
After this battle, the court exposed many problems.
The military commanders on the other side are lazy, the military equipment is weak, the nobles are corrupt, and the soldiers suffer heavy losses.
The civil servants were not much better. They suppressed the nobles, took the opportunity to collude, invited people to buy their names, and criticized each other.
Although various problems were covered up by the war, once it was over, there was an endless stream of matters that needed to be dealt with urgently.
However, for Zhu Qiyu, among so many problems.
The most important and core issue is the financial issue!
The country's finances are the lifeblood of the entire country. To put it more bluntly, whether it is to rectify military equipment, clean up officialdom, or recuperate, a lot of money is needed.
So although there are many problems, what Zhu Qiyu will spend the most energy on in the next period of time is financial issues.
Of course, Zhu Qiyu must know, as the chief official of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Shen Yi's opinions on many general directions of government affairs.
It should be said that Shen Yi's intuition is quite sensitive.
In fact, the fact that Zhu Qiyu asked now was just a matter of chance and following the trend.
But Shen Yi was keenly aware of the importance of this issue.
Moreover, he also gave an answer that made Zhu Qiyu relatively satisfied.
Nodding slightly, a smile appeared on Zhu Qiyu's face and he said.
"I thought Mr. Shen would say that it is urgent to strengthen the city defenses everywhere, it is important to repair the fallen horse pass, it is light to pay for the war dead, and it is slow to restructure the craftsmen's households."
Seeing the emperor's expression, Chen Yi breathed a long sigh of relief. He knew that he had passed this test.
If Shen Yi had not thought about this question carefully and just followed the trend of the situation and answered it, this would indeed be the answer.
After all, they had been discussing for so long just now, and they were all focused on strengthening the city defenses and re-establishing the Daoma Pass, and then reorganizing the craftsmen's households. As for the compensation for the war dead, they didn't even mention it.
So if it were another person, I am afraid that he would subconsciously put the city defense and the defeat of the horse in an important position, and push other things to the back.
But since Shen Yi realized the deep meaning of this question, he naturally would not answer so lightly.
Facts also proved that his caution was correct!
But the matter was obviously not over yet, because immediately after, the emperor continued to ask questions.
"Sir, since you have arranged it in this way, can you explain to me why, in your mind, reinforcing the city defense is the most important thing, building a new city is the least important thing, caring for the war dead is the most urgent thing, and reorganizing the craftsmen's household is the slowest thing?"