serious man in the red chamber

Chapter 17
There was a lot of snow, and there was a vast expanse of white everywhere. After the early snow in early November, there were several snowfalls one after another, turning the Gyeonggi area into a snowy silver world.

It's the end of the year, and the Xishi restaurant in the capital is ushering in the busiest season. People from the eighteen provinces of the Great Zhou Dynasty who sent New Year's greetings to the six cabinet ministers and nine ministers had to come to Beijing a few days in advance. While inquiring about news in the capital, they Waiting for the summons from the officials and lords.

If you want to book a private room, you have to advance many days in advance, and even the lobby of Yiluo is separated from each other by a screen, so that these officials and guests can drink and talk.

There was a flutter of white snow outside the gate. A man in a cloak and cloak with only two eyes exposed was led by the restaurant steward himself, followed by two attendants in casual clothes, and walked towards the private room on the second floor.

This restaurant is located in the bustling part of the West Market, with a row of six bays facing the front door, and above the lintel in the middle hangs a lacquered black plaque with the three characters "Taihe Tower" written on it, which is said to be related to the clan.

A group of people stopped in front of a private room on the second floor, and the manager pushed open a door of the private room, "Your old appointment is here early, please!"

At this moment, a person ran beside him and bumped into him. He was suddenly rushed by this external force, his center of gravity was unstable and he fell forward. The person raised his hand to grab his wrist, and the two of them rushed like this. Entering the private room, fell to the ground, the man took the opportunity to look at the scene in the private room, but was slightly startled, and quickly stood up, "I'm sorry." He bowed and turned to leave in a hurry, but his shoulder was caught by a big hand , unable to move.

"court death!"

At this time, the two attendants showed a fierce look, one grabbed his wrists, and the other held his head and neck and twisted it.

The man didn't even hum, his eyes popped out and he died unexpectedly.

The steward was scared, trembling all over, "I, I didn't see anything."

The door of the private room was closed, and the man in the cloak and cloak took off his cloak and snow cap, revealing his almost bald head, and the very thin braid—money rattail.

The steward said, "Tarman and Qing people."

The winter cold came early, and it was snowing outside, and there were two large pots of fire burning in the study room. The chief minister of the cabinet, Song Chengliang, the second minister, Zhang Shangwen, the minister of the Ministry of war, Wang Hetang, and the minister of the household department, Zhao Zixun, were all sitting on chairs at this time. don't say anything.

Emperor Jianwu walked in.

"I see you, Your Majesty!"

Emperor Jianwu nodded, and said to everyone: "My dear friends, please sit down!"

"Where is King Zhongshun?"

The eunuch on duty: "Go back to Your Majesty, Prince Zhongshun is not in the mansion, and the servant has sent someone to look for it."

Emperor Jianwu: "Oh." Then he sat down in front of the imperial case, "Where's the military newspaper in Datong? What victory was won? Read it and listen."

Wang Hetang: "Yes. The [-] cavalry from the Chahar Right Front Banner took advantage of the wind and snow to attack the Datong Guard Pioneer Battalion stationed in Fengzhen Hall, and were ambushed by our army!"

"Oh?" Emperor Jianwu shook his head, "How is the battle going?"

"Our army won a big victory, captured 110 eight heads, captured more than 330 horses, and our army killed [-] people. However, according to the captives, the Ulan Chabu League banners will report to Chaha in the next year. The number of reinforcements in the front banner of your right wing is estimated to be between [-] and [-], so the soldiers and horses in Datong Town must not be enough.

This news made Emperor Jianwu feel bad. Since the Manchus annexed North Korea, all the tribes of the Mongolian grassland have the confidence to go south at any time, but the North Koreans are suffering. It is said that tens of thousands of people starved to death in Beijing this winter. Not long ago The suppression of the North Korean rebels killed more than [-] people. If the killing continues like this, North Korea will be wiped out sooner or later.

There was silence. Chief Assistant Song Chengliang had developed a habit of talking less and not speaking since he was ordered to recuperate from his illness. Zhao Zixun didn't understand military affairs, and Wang Hetang was silent because he couldn't find suitable words.

At this time, the second assistant Zhang Shangwen stood up: "Your Majesty, I don't think you need to worry too much. This matter should be related to the entry of the Manchu envoys to Beijing."

Emperor Jianwu: "Oh?"

"The Manchus suffered a great loss in Ningyuan. First, they wanted to take revenge in the direction of Datong and Xuanfu. Second, they wanted to put pressure on the imperial court to provide bargaining chips for the next negotiation."

Emperor Jianwu nodded, and asked the other three people: "What do you think about it?"

Wang Hetang and Zhao Zixun said together: "I have no objection!"

Emperor Jianwu stared at Song Chengliang: "What's wrong?"

Then Song Chengliang thought about it and replied: "I agree with Mr. Zhang Ge's conjecture, but the Manchus are not trustworthy. The imperial court should immediately send more troops to Datong. In addition, order the towns to be vigilant and watch out for surprise attacks by the Manchus."

"Huh?" Emperor Jianwu squinted his eyes.

After a pause, Song Chengliang said again: "I think that the top priority is money and food. First, immediately send an order to Shandong, Liangjiang, and Huguang to transfer grain to Beijing. Second, immediately send an order to Lianghuai Salt Administration Yamen to collect in advance. The salt tax for the second year of Jianwu."

After a pause, "Ningyuan's great victory proves that as long as there is enough money and food, our surrounding army can defeat the Manchus."

After Song Chengliang finished speaking, there was silence in the study room. Is this a statement?Is this what Song Chengliang himself meant?Or do you mean the emperor?
After pondering for a while, Emperor Jianwu looked at Zhang Shangwen.

Zhang Shangwen: "Although the first assistant's method is good, it is not realistic, and I am afraid it will not work."

Emperor Jianwu's face darkened: "What's wrong?"

Zhang Shangwen hesitated for a moment: "Your Majesty, the grain is easy to adjust, and the provinces can squeeze the summer grain into the warehouse. It's just."

"Just what? Go on!"

"The treasury currently has 8705 million taels of silver in the treasury. After removing the 500 million taels of treasury silver that cannot be used, 150 million taels are left to maintain the daily expenses of the court. At the end of the year, officials' salaries and corresponding rewards should also be prepared. Last year, the Ministry of Households spent a total of With 1308 million taels, the military pay that can be allocated is less than one million taels! If there is a full-scale war in the north, then more than 300 million taels will be needed a month. The little tax money in Lianghuai is a drop in the bucket."

Although it was true, it was too inappropriate, and the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became tense.

Emperor Jianwu's eyes scanned Song Chengliang, Zhang Shangwen, and Wang Hetang slowly, and then fell on Zhao Zixun: "Zhao Shangshu, you heard what Cifu said, what do you say?"

Zhao Zixun: "Returning to Your Majesty, I have recently sorted out the case files of the Household Department, and found that the nobles of the clan and the Beijing officials have borrowed more than fifteen million taels from the Household Department."

When this statement came out, everyone was stunned.

Emperor Jianwu suddenly stood up from the dragon chair: "Huh?!"

Zhao Zixun: "If you can recover half of Ku Yin before the year."

Emperor Jianwu paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, asking the officials to pay back the money?Who would?The money owed for decades involves so many people up and down, especially the nobles of the clan, who spend money like water and extravagantly.Copying their homes is digging the foundation of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The atmosphere in the study room became a little awkward, the capital city was expensive, and it was hard to live there.A Beijing official of the fourth rank only has a yearly salary of more than 100 taels of silver, and this amount of money is only food and clothing to support his family. I don't know how much I respect you.And low-level officials can only borrow money from the Ministry of Households, and there are the most such people.But the ones who borrow the most are the court officials, officials and nobles of the clan. The arrears of these people are not easy to chase, and no one is willing to take the lead.

Emperor Jianwu glanced at Song Chengliang and asked, "Shoufu?"

Song Chengliang stood up: "As the saying goes, 'It's easy to borrow money but hard to pay back'. The money owed for decades is not called the honor of the clan, but those veterans, who need seniority and seniority, and meritorious service. It's hard to pay."

Emperor Jianwu sighed, and at this moment, Zhao Zixun suddenly said loudly: "'Kill to pay for life, debt to pay', why is such a simple matter so difficult for Shoufu? Is it because the debt cannot be recovered? ? No. It’s the chief minister who doesn’t want to offend people, and is even more afraid of losing the support of some people.”

"presumptuous!"

"All right!"

Emperor Jianwu interrupted their argument unhappily: "It's getting closer to the end of the year now, let's talk about this matter after the new year. Zhao Shangshu, I heard that the price of salt in the capital is [-] Wen a catty, is it true?"

Zhao Zixun nodded: "Fifty Wen is already considered cheap, and some counties in Zhili have already raised it to [-] Wen, or even [-] Wen. If the salt from the Lianghuai River does not come to Beijing, I am afraid it will break through [-] Wen in the new year." , and even caused a storm of salt grabbing."

Baiwen?This was something that Emperor Jianwu didn't even dare to think about, and at this moment, King Zhongshun walked in.

Emperor Jianwu: "Why did you come at this time?"

King Zhongshun walked quickly to his seat, bowed to salute, and replied: "Go back to Your Majesty, I have gone to inspect the salt company in Dongcheng."

Without waiting for Emperor Jianwu to ask a question, he continued, "We confiscated more than 7000 stone salts from several salt stores in Huoshi."

"So much?" Emperor Jianwu was surprised.

Wang Hetang: "These salt merchants are extremely annoying."

King Zhongshun nodded his head: "The money I earn won't be spent in three lifetimes, and I'm still taking risks to make the country lose money. It's time to deal with these salt merchants."

"Well, the infantry commanding yamen will be in charge, and one will be arrested, and there will be no tolerance!"

Speaking of this, Emperor Jianwu said worriedly: "The treasury is empty now, and I am very worried that the Manchus are here to find out the truth and prepare for the next big war." He turned his attention to Song Chengliang, "You are the chief assistant, I don't care What method do you use, the price of grain in the capital during the New Year cannot exceed [-] renminbi, and the price of salt cannot exceed [-] renminbi, otherwise I am the only one asking."

Song Chengliang had no choice but to say, "I obey the order!"

Emperor Jianwu said again: "I don't plan to meet the envoys of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and the second assistant will be responsible for this matter."

After a pause, "The cabinet will immediately draw up an order that Jizhou and Shanhaiguan each deploy [-] soldiers and horses to reinforce Datong and Xuanfu towns, and the Ministry of Households immediately allocates [-] shi of grain and rice."

Everyone responded: "Yes."

(End of this chapter)