Why did the emperor rebel?

Chapter 865 What's the matter?

After the morning court, a group of ministers dispersed in twos and threes, but their expressions were a little unnatural.

Without him, although everything was as usual in the early morning and nothing happened, almost all the ministers felt a sense of panic.

As for the reason, it was because the emperor on the throne seemed extraordinarily anxious today.

It should be said that this phenomenon is very rare.

Since the emperor came to the throne, no matter what time, he has been calm and unhurried, with wisdom in his hands. Even the Battle of Bauhinia Pass, when the battle on the front line was the most tense, the emperor never panicked in the slightest.

But this morning, although the Son of Heaven looked normal, the air pressure beside the old man was still frighteningly low.

Finally, when the court came down, a group of important ministers all stayed behind by coincidence and began to inquire about each other. However, even the cabinet, which usually had the most contact with the palace, was at a loss about this.

Until Eunuch Cheng Jing arrived late, he instantly attracted everyone's attention.

"Your Majesty has a decree to summon Wang Wen from the Ministry of Officials, Yu Qian from the Ministry of War, Shen Yi from the Ministry of Households, Chen Xun from the Ministry of Industry, Hu Yi from the Ministry of Rites, Chen Yi from Zuodu Yushi, Wang Ao, the first assistant of the cabinet, and Yu Shiyuewen, the second assistant. See you in Huadian."

As a result, everyone fell silent, and the minister whose name was called looked at each other silently, and then followed Cheng Jing into the palace.

However, just entering in such a daze, the bosses were also in a state of panic, so on the way, these people winked at each other. In the end, it was Yu Shiyue who had no choice but to take two steps forward and asked .

"Eunuch Cheng, I don't know why His Majesty summoned us today?"

In terms of understanding of the emperor, there are naturally more eunuchs in the palace, plus Cheng Jing's good temper, most of the time, he doesn't hide the news he can reveal.

Naturally, this time was no exception. Hearing Yu Shiyue's question, and seeing the elders beside him, although all their eyes were not squinted, but their ears were actually pricked up, Cheng Jing hesitated for a moment, and said again.

"The night before yesterday, His Majesty suddenly summoned the officials of the Qin Tianjian to have an audience."

Qin Tianjian?
All the ministers were stunned for a moment, never expecting that this matter would have something to do with Qin Tianjian.

The Qin Tianjian is in charge of observing astronomy, determining the calendar, appreciating the weather, pushing steps, and measuring the sun, moon, stars, wind and clouds, and complexion.

This institution seems extremely mysterious, but in fact, in the Confucian system that respects ghosts and gods and keeps a distance, Qin Tianjian's position is more important in the revision of the calendar and the study of astronomy and meteorology.

After all, for the farming society, mastering the changes in farming time and weather plays a vital role in farming.

Of course, occasionally Qin Tianjian will make predictions and explanations for many mysterious events, because divination and calculation are involved, so sometimes people will speculate and discuss them.

But logically speaking, today, he should not be a person who believes in ghosts and gods. Moreover, Qin Tianjian's current supervisor, family background, and character are still trustworthy, and he is not the kind of person who will confuse the emperor.

So what is it?
Full of doubts, a group of ministers came to Wenhua Palace.

"I see you, Your Majesty!"

"Gentlemen, sit down..."

After the salute, the Son of Heaven bestowed the seat as usual, and nothing could be discerned from his expression, but the faint trace of melancholy was still keenly noticed by everyone.

"Mr. Shen, what is the current grain stock of the household department?"

As soon as he sat down, without any buffer, the emperor went straight to the point and called Shen Yi's name.

Ah this...

Shen Shangshu blinked, spoke cautiously, and said.

"Your Majesty, the imperial court has spent a lot of money recently. Last year, there was a severe drought in Jifu, Shandong, Henan and other places. The seven prefectures of Daming, Shunde, Guangping, Baoding, Chuzhou, Taiyuan, and Datong were famines. The imperial court's income dropped sharply."

"In addition to disaster relief, pensions for the officers and soldiers, the construction of large canals, the release of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and the redemption of military settlements..."

Although he knew that he had to put it away, Shen Shangshu was used to it, and he started counting his fingers as soon as he opened his mouth.

To be honest, it is really difficult for him to be the minister of the household department.

The civil war already consumed a lot of financial and material resources, leaving the national treasury empty, and then another big battle was fought. The emperor was kind, and the compensation for the dead officers and soldiers was not allowed to be delayed at all. Disaster relief.

It will cost money to renovate the Southern Palace for the Supreme Emperor, it will cost money for the emperor's draft, and it will cost money for the prince to leave the cabinet. , The crown prince came out of the cabinet, and the emperor swiped his pen, and the taxes of the seven prefectures such as those affected by the drought last year were exempted.

Then there is the rectification of the military settlements, and the household department is asked to pay a piece of money to buy them back. One after another, everything is important and important, and Shen Shangshu's head is getting bigger and bigger every day.

Otherwise, how could his majestic Minister of the Household Department, one of the seven ministers, ask the emperor for money every day? Does he not want face?
It's not impossible!
However, while Shen Shangshu was talking, he felt that the atmosphere was not right. When he raised his head, he saw the emperor's eyes were burning, and he was not as gentle as usual.

"cough……"

After all, Shen Yi was a person with a long history in officialdom, seeing that the situation was not good, he immediately changed the subject and said.

"However, except for the disaster-stricken areas last year, the rest of the local taxation was normal, and after the opening of the mutual market, border business taxes flowed into the national treasury."

"In the national treasury, there are still about 890 million stones of grain, 12 bolts of silk, 630 catties of silk, 14 catties of cotton, and [-] bolts of cloth."

"In addition, there are more than 130 million taels of silver that can be mobilized, and there are grains in Changping warehouses in various places, which need to be counted..."

As the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Mr. Shen's professional quality is of course excellent, and the specific situation of the treasury can be said to be at his fingertips.

However, according to common sense, it is not easy to list out the details of the national treasury in front of the courtiers.

Otherwise, they will meet the eyes of Shen Shangshu's surroundings.

That's it?

The huge treasury, the majestic Ming Dynasty, the treasury is so small?
A group of elders looked at Shen Yi with doubts on their faces, and even secretly guessed in their hearts that the annual revenue of the national treasury would not be hacked by Shen Yi, an old man.

This is a typical case of only seeing the scenery of Hubu, but not seeing the troubles of Hubu.

In fact, if you really want to say it, the current state of the treasury is about the same as it was when the Civil War was just over.

But don't forget that over the past year, with the support of the Ministry of Accounting, so many major events have been done. Moreover, just a while ago, a large number of honorable families donated their land records. He is also responsible for paying the redemption silver, and if this expenditure is included, the entire imperial court has been fighting another big battle for more than a year.

Under such circumstances, it is very difficult for the household department to maintain a basic balance of payments.

Of course, it is still very ugly on the books, but this is already the limit of what Shen Shangshu can do with all his strength, goofing around, digging around, blaming his old face and fighting the autumn wind.

Therefore, in the face of the questioning eyes of these elders, Shen Shangshu straightened his back without any weakness and stared back. In the position of Minister of the Household Department, he said that everything was comprehensive, everything was perfect, and he did not make any mistakes. Of course, Shen Yi couldn't guarantee this.

However, he dared to say that with so many people present, it would be impossible for anyone who took the position of Hubu Shangshu to do better than him.

On this point, he believes that the emperor above is the clearest!
However, when he looked up, hoping to get support from the emperor, he saw that the emperor also frowned, took out a document from his hand, and muttered to himself.

"Not enough... not enough..."

What?
Is this not enough?

There was a hint of resentment in Shen Shangshu's eyes, and dark clouds floated silently above his head.

However, at this time, Zhu Qiyu didn't have time to talk to him, and said directly.

"I need more detailed account books!"

"Within three days, based on the materials at hand, the household department sorted out the amount of grain and silver stored in Changping warehouses in various places besides the national treasury, and submitted them to me!"

"Yes!"

Sensing the urgency in the emperor's tone, although Shen Yi still couldn't figure out what happened, but knowing the seriousness of the situation, he immediately put all the little emotions in his heart behind him, and bowed his hands solemnly.

This scene, in the eyes of other ministers, naturally felt more. They vaguely felt that something big was about to happen.

However, before they could open their mouths to ask questions, the Son of Heaven had already turned his head from Hubu, looked at Chen Xun who was at the side, and asked.

"Mr. Chen, how many projects are still under construction by the Ministry of Industry?"

Compared to Shen Yi, Chen Xun was slightly prepared.

Of course, it wasn't because he was stronger than Shen Yi, it was entirely because Shen Yi was in front of him, which made him guess something.

When the emperor entered the door, he first asked the household department. Although he didn't know what happened, it must be related to the expenditure of the court.

That being the case, then, adjustments are bound to be made to several major areas that require money, and in terms of various projects, the Ministry of Industry is the head, and after the Ministry of Households, he must be asked next.

Therefore, after thinking for a while, Chen Xun bowed his hands.

"Returning to Your Majesty, the most important and labor-intensive project of the Ministry of Industry is the restoration and reconstruction of the border passes. Now Datong, Xuanfu, Zijing Pass and other important passes, the city walls have basically been repaired."

"Due to the serious damage at Daomaguan and other places, it almost needs to be rebuilt, so the construction period is slightly behind, but the construction is basically completed, and the project is nearly half completed. However, it will take about half a year to fully repair."

"As for the small pass where the damage is not too serious, because priority has to be placed on the town, it is only in the process of preparation, waiting for the Ministry of Households to allocate money, and then repair it."

"In addition to this, the new palace built by His Majesty in Beijing, and the reconstruction of the palaces destroyed by fire in Qingzhou, Qifu and other places last year, the follow-up reinforcement of the canal, and the dredging of water transport... ..."

"I came here in a hurry today, so it's hard to list them one by one. Your Majesty, please allow me some time for the specific situation. I will reply after I return to the Ministry of Industry to clarify!"

Hubu is having a hard time, but who doesn't have a hard time?

The Civil War affected all aspects, and the mess at the border alone was enough for the Ministry of Industry to be busy. After this big battle was fought, the reconstruction and repair of various passes have not yet ended.

In addition, the Ministry of Industry has built a large canal, and is also responsible for the renovation of palaces and pavilions. The preparations for the construction of the palace are also busy.

Just like this, there is still a lot of things waiting to be done behind the scenes...

However, Chen Shangshu obviously felt that he was smarter than Shen Shangshu, and after he finished speaking, he smacked his lips, which meant, look at us, how well we answered.

However, I was happy for a while, and then I heard the emperor's order, saying.

"In the memorials that came up, in addition to the progress of each phase of the project, there are also projects that may be temporarily delayed or have not yet started, and the reconstruction of the various border passes. The Ministry of Industry will also call people again to adjust the strategy. The part of the project that can be reduced should be reduced as much as possible, and if it is a less important pass, or a pass that is still usable and not seriously damaged, it may be temporarily suspended depending on the situation."

"As for the palace..."

Zhu Qiyu rubbed his forehead, feeling a little difficult.

But in the end, he still waved his hand and said.

"The construction of the palace is also temporarily postponed. After Prince Yi and his son arrive in Beijing, let them go to the Tenth Palace first!"

"Yes……"

It took Chen Shangshu a long time to digest the list of instructions before he opened his mouth.

This appearance made Shen Yi at the side very pleased.

Let you old boy show off!
You don’t want to think about it. At the beginning of the restructuring of craftsmen, if it wasn’t for the support of the Ministry of Households, the Ministry of Industry would have allocated the silver taels first, and the Ministry of Industry would have gathered enough craftsmen to start the restoration of the border city gates. It would also mock him for not doing his job meticulously enough.

Is the current newspaper coming?

Although the task given by the emperor to the Ministry of Households is heavy, it is nothing more than to find out the treasury and the foundation of each place as soon as possible, and work overtime, it can always be completed.

However, what the Ministry of Industry has to do is not that simple.

There are so many projects, large and small border passes, the follow-up construction of large canals, and the dredging of water transport. Although the emperor said to adjust the strategy, stop the urgent projects.

But which ones are not in a hurry?Especially the border, if the repairs are not repaired and the thieves take advantage of the loopholes, who will be responsible?

This is the real time is tight and the task is heavy, and it can't make mistakes.

Chen Xunyi, this old guy, just wait for your hair to fall out!

With a soft snort, Shen Shangshu turned his head away, but he began to think in his heart, what happened to make the emperor suddenly start to tighten the court's expenditure.

Could it be that the border or the land of Yunnan and Guizhou are at war again, wanting to fight?
Otherwise, Shen Shangshu couldn't think of any reason for the emperor to make such a sudden change.

Of course, this is also the doubt of many ministers present.

Seeing that the emperor had asked the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Industry, he finally took a breath, and all the elders looked at each other.

In the end, Hu Wei, the old minister of the Ministry of Rites, stepped forward and asked.

"Your Majesty, I have the audacity to ask you a question. Your Majesty hastily summoned the ministers to enter the palace to take stock of the household silver and grain stocks. He also wants to stop many projects constructed by the Ministry of Strikes and reduce the expenditure of the court. But what is the urgent matter?"

(End of this chapter)