Prime Minister of Great Qin

Chapter 364 Zhang Cang’s views on money and food! (Please subscribe)

Zhang Cang was really frightened by Fusu's words.

When he came, he still had some mental improvement, but when he heard Fusu's words, he was still trembling.

Fusu's words were too scary.

If word spreads, it will definitely cause panic in the court.

Zhang Cang didn't dare to answer at all, and insisted with gritted teeth: "Your Highness, I am just a censor, and I have no authority to interfere with money and food. Your Highness, please find someone else. Zhang Cang is not qualified."

Fusu's eyes were filled with indifference.

His expression was one of extreme anger.

He stared at Zhang Cang angrily and scolded coldly: "Zhang Cang, don't talk nonsense to me. I just want to know one thing. Whether you can do it or not, I don't care whether you are a young master or not. Whether you are a censor or not, I only care about whether you can do it!"

Zhang Cang knelt on the ground.

There was cold sweat on my forehead, and I was complaining in my heart.

He really didn't dare to reply.

He used to be conceited and full of knowledge, but how could he be so arrogant in the court?
He smiled bitterly and said: "Your Highness, the laws of the Qin Dynasty have clearly stated that matters beyond the scope of authority cannot be overstepped. I dare not disobey the order. What your Highness asked is beyond the scope of my own authority. Please consider it."

Fusu's eyes were like hawk's eyes, staring at Zhang Cang, his voice getting colder and colder.

"I will ask you one last time, whether you can do it or not. If you can do it, I will let you do it as the young master."

heard.

Zhang Cang's expression completely changed.

His change was not just because Fusu asked him to be the young master, but what made him feel horrified was that Fusu called himself an orphan. Fusu had always been very approachable in the past and rarely used such formal titles. , but now it is a change from the norm.

This is enough to prove Fusu's seriousness.

Moreover, Fusu dared to say this directly, which was completely beyond Zhang Cang's expectations.

Fusu has always been elegant and easy-going, and rarely oppressed him so strongly. Even if Duhe made Fusu dissatisfied in the past, Fusu would only complain a little and would not express it obviously, let alone think about removing Duhe. .

But after these few days of silence, Fusu's temperament seemed to have changed drastically.

become crazy.

It became hysterical and lawless.

This was not the Fusu he knew at all.

Fusu now.

It made Zhang Cang feel extremely strange.

He could feel Fusu's stubbornness on this issue and would never give up until he achieved his goal.

Zhang Cang sighed softly, with a very low expression, and asked: "Your Highness, what is the purpose of building Changpingcang in the world? If you want to stabilize various local supplies, Changpingcang will probably not be small. If fire prevention is added, Measures such as moisture-proofing will cost millions of dollars, and annual maintenance will also cost a lot of money."

"Your Highness knows that the imperial court is short of finances, why do you insist on doing this?"

"I don't understand."

Fusu didn't answer.

He was still staring at Zhang Cang, as if he didn't even listen to Zhang Cang's questions.

He just needs to answer.

see.

Zhang Cang smiled bitterly, secretly complaining in his heart.

Although he had known for a long time that nothing good would happen if Fusu called him to come, but when he actually heard what Fusu was going to do, his eyesight still darkened. If he could, he really wanted to pass out on the spot. , so maybe you can get past it.

But based on his understanding of Fusu, even if he really fainted, Fusu would not give up easily.

Think of this.

The worry between Zhang Cang's brows became even stronger.

He thought about it for a moment, then said with a very tangled look on his face: "If His Highness insists on raising money and food, there are indeed some other ways besides extortionate expropriation."

"Say!" Fusu's eyes moved slightly.

Zhang Cang fixed his gaze and said with a solemn expression: "I don't know what Mr. Ji said for His Highness, but to make His Highness change his mind so drastically, it may be related to something that endangers the world. Ji Heng is aware of the sufferings of the people, so I A bold inference is that Ji Heng does not want to waste too much money on the people or impose too heavy a burden on the people."

"Under such conditions, there is actually no good solution."

"But it's not nothing."

“All over the world, the biggest waste of money and money is caused by various large-scale civil engineering projects.”

"So I think we should start with these."

"First and foremost."

"It means stopping the construction of Afang Palace."

As soon as the chat clip was opened, Zhang Cang felt relaxed.

He said slowly: "Afang Palace is the palace appointed by His Majesty. It has just been put on the schedule. Many ministers and craftsmen have arrived in Xianyang to start the initial construction. Afang Palace is designed to be a grand palace, which will cost a lot of money." There is a huge amount of money and food, but in reality, Da Qin’s current finances do not support construction.”

"Continuing to go our own way will only result in more losses than gains."

"therefore"

"I think the construction of Afang Palace should be stopped."

"Save some money and food for this purpose and use it on His Highness' Chang Ping Granary."

Done.

Zhang Cang looked at Fusu quietly.

He was curious about how Fusu would respond and what his emotions would be.

It just made Zhang Cang a little surprised.

Fusu just replied with a "yes" and settled the matter without giving any explanation at all, as if he could make the decision on it.

But this is clearly not the case.

This was built under the initiative of the First Emperor.

Fusu really dared to disobey the First Emperor's proposal?

Zhang Cang's eyelids twitched.

He knew that this time might be different.

He originally mentioned Afang Palace just to test it.

He wanted to see how much courage and determination Fusu had, but after hearing Fusu's unhesitating answer, Zhang Cang suddenly woke up. Fusu was not acting on a whim this time, but was really determined and determined. Got the idea.

He even did not hesitate to disobey the First Emperor's orders.

This made him even more curious about what Ji Heng said to Fusu.

How could Fusu have such a big change.

His eyes flickered, and he asked in surprise: "Has Your Highness really made up his mind? Your Majesty wants to build Afang Palace. If His Majesty publicly announces that he will stop it, it will probably cause great damage to His Majesty's reputation, and will also attract criticism from the courtiers, and may even attract criticism." Your Majesty is dissatisfied."

"Has Your Highness really thought it through?"

Zhang Cang wanted to confirm again without giving up.

Fusu looked resolute and said in a sonorous tone: "Afang Palace was indeed built by His Majesty, but compared to the stability of Guandong, I believe I can convince Your Majesty, and if it is beneficial to the country, how can Your Majesty refuse?"

Fusu said it very calmly.

It seems to be confirming a given thing.

This made Zhang Cang even more confused.

Fusu had no intention of saying more, and just said coldly: "Continue."

Zhang Cang stroked his beard and was completely ready to fight at this moment.

He gritted his teeth and said: "If the twelve golden figures standing in the city are smelted into coins, they may be able to raise millions of money for the imperial court."

"It's just that these golden figures have been smelted for many years, and their appearance has become patinated. It will probably take a lot of time to re-smelt them into coins. But compared with the cost, after smelting these twelve golden figures, they can indeed bring a lot of money to the court. income."

Fusu hesitated when he heard the twelve golden figures.

It’s not that you can’t.

But the political symbolism of the twelve golden people is greater.This is a visual display of Qin's martial arts.

It is also the most intuitive 'sharp weapon' to intimidate the world. How powerful the Six Nations were, but they were still defeated by the Qin army, and their most proud weapons were smelted into golden figures.

This is a more direct mockery and trampling of Kanto.

Seeing Fusu's hesitation, Zhang Cang hesitated and said in a condensed voice: "I know the significance of the twelve golden figures to the world, so I actually recommend that these twelve golden figures be retained. However, now that the appearance of the golden figures has been corroded, the court can These twelve golden statues will be refurbished in the furnace, and the twelve golden statues will be rebuilt in the future, but from the current solid state, they will become gilded, with just a layer of plating on the outside."

"In this way, the imperial court obtained the metal, and the twelve golden men still stood proudly."

"There is nothing inappropriate about the two."

heard.

Fusu's eyes lit up.

This is a good suggestion. The twelve golden figures are rescinded, and then only the surface is plated with a layer of iron and copper. All the iron and copper inside are recycled to make Qin Banliang. The 'golden figures' cast by copper water are actually the same as the actual ten There is not much difference between the two gold people. As long as no one breaks it, it will basically not be discovered by the outside world.

Fusu nodded and said, "Yu Shi Zhang's suggestion is not bad."

"Just do as you say."

"Any more?"

At this time.

Fusu was already looking forward to it.

He now believes more and more that he made a very wise choice in bringing Zhang Cang over.

This man is really an astonishing talent.

It's just that it's hindered by its appearance.

Zhang Cang's eyelids twitched. Seeing that Fusu agreed again, he became bolder and said in a deep voice: "As for the third point, I think it should fall on the construction of the Great Wall. The Great Wall stretches for thousands of miles, although some parts are just The old Great Wall is connected, but this is also an extremely huge project, which consumes a huge amount of manpower, material and financial resources."

"Now that the Huns are retreating to the north, the hidden dangers in northern Xinjiang have been temporarily eliminated."

"The construction of the Great Wall in such a hurry has put too much pressure on the people of northern Xinjiang. Almost as soon as the Huns were sent away, they escaped the danger of life and death robbery, and in the blink of an eye they were dragged away to build the Great Wall. This also caused the local area to be miserable. There were complaints.”

"I think it should be slowed down a bit."

"The Great Wall needs to be repaired."

“But you have to repair it in due course.”

"Instead of hastily launching the project and wasting a lot of money and food, it is actually of little use. It can only be regarded as a 'spectacle' at the moment. It is flashy and has little effect."

heard.

Fusu thought.

He remembered what Ji Heng said.

The Xiongnu retreated to the north, and there was no hidden danger to the Qin in the short term. The imperial court could even take the opportunity to seek trade with the Xiongnu. If it really worked out, the imperial court might still be able to profit a lot from it. As for the Great Wall, it was a powerful weapon to block foreign invasion, and it must be repaired. Yes, but it can really take a while.

Let the people rest.

Secondly, you can also save money on food.

Think about it.

Fusu nodded.

He said solemnly: "The Great Wall is a major national event and cannot be interrupted easily. However, in order to rest for the people, it is not a bad idea to slow down for a while. What's more, the construction of the Great Wall was too hasty, which also led to a lot of resentment. It is appropriate to stop. It can also soothe the local mood.”

"I will request it from His Majesty."

Zhang Cang added: "Actually, there is another thing, that is, the palaces across the country should also slow down."

Done.

Zhang Cang remained silent.

This suggestion is actually overstepping the mark.

He also knew this, so he simply said it and then stopped.

Fusu frowned.

He took a deep look at Zhang Cang and did not reply immediately.

The construction of palaces across the country is related to the emperor's travels. To be fair, he should agree to it, but the First Emperor is currently in poor health. If the construction of the palaces across the country is stopped, I am afraid that the Emperor will be dissatisfied and the outside world will have all kinds of unreasonable things. Guess, after weighing it, he gave up the suggestion.

The palace cannot be stopped.

This involves the emperor's face.

It also involves the majesty of the imperial court in the world.

"Is there any more?" Fusu asked.

Zhang Cang shook his head.

As for streamlining the organization and raising more rent and taxes, he didn't consider it at all. The points he proposed were the easiest to realize and implement in his mind.

Fusu nodded when he saw this.

He actually knew in his heart that it was not easy for Zhang Cang to think of so many things.

After all, water conservancy, road and other projects will also consume a lot of money and food, but these are related to the people of the world and cannot be easily changed, so we can only start with these 'face' projects.

Even this is difficult to do.

Zhang Cang was not so optimistic. He said solemnly: "Your Highness, my suggestion can indeed save a lot of money and food for Your Highness."

"But in my opinion, it may not be sufficient."

“Because the imperial government has always had a huge financial deficit, various projects, to a certain extent, have always had the problem of arrears. In many cases, local governments have changed their methods to let the bottom layer bear the responsibility, or let the bottom layer pay for it at their own expense.”

"In fact."

"What your Highness can really make is the twelve golden figures."

"As for the suspension of other projects, it will indeed bring some money and food to His Highness, but due to the pushback and obstruction by officials from all parties, His Highness can really intercept very little."

"Because the local area also needs this money and food to quell people's grievances."

Fusu nodded.

He knew the difficulty.

However, the Changpingcang in Kanto must be repaired, and no one can stop it.

Zhang Cang added: "Many of the suggestions I put forward were decided by the court. If His Highness wants to interrupt or change it, it may be a big controversy and it will have a big impact on His Highness's reputation. I think about it." Again, I would like to ask Your Highness to think again.”

Fusu said silently: "You don't need to persuade me anymore."

"Da Qin needs money, and the money should be spent in the right place. The suggestions you make will indeed be questioned and will be targeted by the officials, but I, Fusu, have made up my mind, and I will definitely do it, even if it's ahead of me. Even if there are high mountains and dangers, I won’t back down even half a step.”

Zhang Cang was about to speak but stopped.

finally.

He still pleaded: "I know His Highness's determination and I no longer dare to persuade him."

"Rong Chen just wants to say one more thing. The reason why I spoke is because I am familiar with His Highness and I have no intention of coveting the position of the Young Master. I sincerely ask Your Highness not to touch the position of the Young Master."

"Your Highness, please put the court first."

Fusu frowned.

He rolled his sleeves and said, "You don't have to worry about this, I have my own calculations."

"I have been fasting for several days and am feeling a little hungry."

"Zhang Yushi, please go down first."

heard.

Zhang Cang opened his mouth, sighed softly, and had to leave.

Seeing Zhang Cang leaving, Fusu staggered and almost collapsed to the ground. He was already a little dizzy from hunger and said outside: "Wei Sheng, go and prepare some food for me."

Wei Sheng outside the palace couldn't help but burst into tears with excitement when he heard Fusu's words, and quickly went in with the copper plate.

He always had this meal prepared.

Just wait for now.

(End of this chapter)