Why did the emperor rebel?

Chapter 251 Talking about business

In Wenhua Hall, because of Zhu Qiyu's little joke, the dignified atmosphere suddenly relaxed.

Shen Yi smiled wryly and said.

"I don't dare, but Your Majesty, it's really not that I don't know the general situation, but that the treasury is really tight at the moment, and I can't move money and food to support such a large project."

"There are no other ministers here, and I am not afraid of His Majesty's jokes. In recent days, the Ministry of Rites has held ceremonies and received all kinds of flowers for the clan. It is because I have moved next year's taxes to support it."

"The national treasury is already living up to its name. If His Majesty insists on building the river again, then the minister can only wear this official uniform and go digging canals with the peasants."

Speaking of this matter, Shen Shangshu was even more angry.

In the past, he was so busy with all kinds of things that he was so dazed that he was almost fooled by the emperor.

This large number of clans went to Beijing, Honglu Temple and the Ministry of Rites, and they came to his household department to ask for money.

I feel sorry for Shen Shangshu!

These clan lords had better food and better housing, and besides the entourage they brought, they had to send people from the court to serve them.

For Shen Shangshu, a penny of silver and such a flowing flower is nothing short of a calamity.

The day before, he was leisurely watching the Ministry of Rites busy, but when he returned to the yamen of the household department, he saw the account books of his own yamen, and almost fainted on the spot.

Playing it in private is not as serious as it is in the court meeting.

Shen Yi, the big Situ who had always been confident and calm in front of the courtiers, also acted like a rascal without any scruples.

Seeing that the old man Shen Shangshu, who was almost 60 years old, even said something like being an official uniform, Zhu Qiyu couldn't help but shook his head and said.

"Shen Qing is too worried. No matter how poor the imperial court is, it won't let you, an old man, go to the river to repair the canal yourself!"

After ordering the servant to serve Shen Shangshu another cup of tea, Zhu Qiyu continued to speak softly.

"I naturally know that these days, Mr. Shen has worked hard. After the war, he built the city wall, rewarded the officers and soldiers, and now there are flowers for the imperial family to come to Beijing. It is not easy to be a big steward of the court, sir. I understand."

Shen Yi picked up the teacup, took a sip of the tea, but did not speak.

But by looking at his expression, you can tell that he has long been immune to sugar-coated bullets like the Son of Heaven.

This big Situ has already fallen enough under this method.

This time, the Son of Heaven must never continue to be an empty-handed white wolf. If he doesn't give him an explanation, he will never agree to the river repair.

Seeing Shen Yi humming in silence, Zhu Qiyu was not angry, he waved his hand, and a middle-aged servant dressed like a eunuch stepped forward, bowed down on the ground, and said.

"See the emperor, I have met Shen Shangshu."

Zhu Qiyu waved his hand, signaling the middle-aged servant to get up, and then asked Shen Yi.

"Can Shen Qing know him?"

Shen Yi blinked and looked up and down.

I saw this middle-aged eunuch, with a white face and beardless, slender figure, with a slightly philistine smile on his face.

Judging by the color of his clothes, he should be the eunuch with the palm seal of the inner court yamen, but if he knew him, he didn't have much impression.

After all, the inner court had almost no contact with the outer court, and the eunuchs he knew were nothing more than a few who had frequent contact with the outer court.

Seeing Shen Yi shaking his head in doubt, the eunuch took the initiative to step forward and said.

"Shangshu Shen, our family's name is Wang Cheng, thanks to the grace of the emperor, we are now serving as the imperial supervisor in the palace."

Shen Yi nodded, stood up and cupped his hands in return, and said.

"It turned out to be the prince of the imperial prison."

Although not all of the 24 yamen in the inner court are as intimidating to the foreign court as the Supervisor of Rituals, after all, their rank is placed there. In front of the emperor, Shen Yi will not lose his etiquette.

But even so, Shen Shangshu was still at a loss, and didn't understand why the emperor introduced him to such an inner court eunuch for no reason.

Zhu Qiyu waved his hand, signaling Wang Cheng to back off, and then said.

"A few days ago, Jin Yiwei confiscated the property of Wang Zhen, Mao Gui, Cao Jixiang and others by order. Does Shen Qing still remember this matter?"

Shen Shangshu's expression froze, and he said sullenly.

"Of course I remember that after Wang Zhenyi's family property was confiscated, Jinyiwei sent it all to His Majesty's internal storage, and I didn't even see the account books."

Uh……

Seeing Shen Yi's dissatisfied expression, Zhu Qiyu couldn't help touching his nose, looking a little embarrassed.

Everyone in the world thinks that the emperor is so rich that the entire country's money is at the emperor's disposal.

But this is not the case, at least in Ming Dynasty, the emperor's own money was separated from the country's money and food.

Most of the imperial court's annual tax revenue goes to the national treasury, which is the so-called foreign carrier warehouse, which is managed by the Ministry of Households.

It is used for the salaries of officials, normal ceremonies, reception, daily operation of the court, and construction projects.

As for the daily expenses of concubines, maidservants, and eunuchs in the palace, and the daily rewards given by the emperor to his ministers, they had to be allocated from the inner storage.

As for the silver in the internal transport warehouse, apart from the fixed part allocated by the national treasury every year, there are only tributes from various countries and the proceeds from the seizure of the criminal officials' mansions.

Although Wang Zhen wasn't exactly extorting money these years, he had been in power for so many years, even daring to operate in a position like Minister of the Ministry of Industry, and he had indeed amassed a considerable amount of wealth.

In addition, after his party members were raided, the emperor's internal treasury was indeed a lot richer.

Of course, even if the money is invested in the national treasury, it is still a drop in the bucket.

But reason is reason, feeling is feeling.

Shen Shangshu scratched his head for the treasury every day, and lost a lot of worried hair. Not only did the emperor not worry about money, but he also thought about adding servants to the palace.

How can Shen Shangshu balance this?
It's only natural that there are so many small grievances at the moment.

Seeing that old man Shen's face was about to turn black, Zhu Qiyu stopped being tricky and said.

"I don't hide from Shen Qing, Wang Zhen, Cao Jixiang and others have indeed accumulated a lot of wealth over the years, but the actual silver taels are not much. Most of them are antique calligraphy and paintings, and farm shops and the like."

"After confiscating their mansions, I ordered people to sell the calligraphy, paintings, antiques, and farms, and then replaced them with shops. Now, these shops are managed by Wang Cheng."

Then, Zhu Qiyu waved his hand, and Wang Cheng who was standing behind him immediately understood, took out an account book from the side, and handed it to Shen Shangshu.

"This is the recent purchases of these shops. Shen Qing can take a look."

Shen Yi took the account book with a confused expression.

The account books are not too thick, and Shen Yi has not been in the household department for a day or two, so he is very familiar with this kind of things, so he went through them after a while.

However, the more he watched, the more he couldn't sit still.

There are dozens of shops in this account book, including grain shops, cloth shops, iron shops, porcelain shops, jewelry and jade, and many other types.

And more importantly, since these stores opened, they have almost been buying in large quantities, but relatively speaking, there are not many sales.

Although there are so many shops of various types, it is impossible to make a fuss about driving up prices.

But as a veteran of the household department, Shen Yi still instinctively felt that this matter was not simple.

Sure enough, seeing him finish reading the account books, the smile on the emperor's face grew stronger, and he said softly.

"Shen Qing, to be honest, I want to discuss a business with you today."

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(End of this chapter)