Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 700 The quarrel at the Great Court Meeting
Qianqing Palace,
The meeting before the emperor was still going on. All the civil and military officials were silent, looking quietly ahead.

At this time, Yang Zhuo, the Minister of Personnel, was not willing to give in. He replied with a mocking look:
"Hmph, that's easy to say. You are the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and you have doctors and officials under you. You are in charge of the entire Ministry of Revenue. What's wrong with me calling it your Ministry of Revenue? The Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Works are certainly not the offices of this Minister and Minister Lou, but the expenses of the two ministries are all drafted by the cabinet. You can say whether you want to do it or not."

Yang Zhuo would never give in. He stepped forward and started to ridicule Shen Zhongxin. His words were very logical, which made Lu Wenshan behind him very satisfied. He looked up at Gu Yichen opposite him, wondering how he would respond.
Yang Zhuo waved his sleeves, sneered, and continued to shout;

"Mr. Shen, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, don't think you are so smart. You are threatening the court by not signing and delaying the court's important affairs. You should know the consequences."

Yang Zhuo was very aggressive and started to question.

Shen Zhongxin smiled and replied disdainfully,
"Sir Yang, it's not about who has the loudest voice or who is right. I know the consequences. It's nothing more than dismissal from office. I heard what you said. National affairs are more important than Mount Tai. I can't believe the draft bill sent by Sir Li. If you keep deceiving your superiors and subordinates, you really can't do this job in the Ministry of Revenue. Sir Yang, whoever you think is suitable for this job can do it."

"you,!"

"Yang Zhuo, back off!"

"Lord, Shen Zhongxin is too presumptuous."

Lu Wenshan still had the same expression, looking at Yang Zhuo whose face flushed red, he felt that he had lost his momentum, how could he accept the humiliation again?

"Go down."

"Yes, Mr. Ge."

Yang Zhuo clasped his fists and stood back.

At this moment, Lu Wenshan finally understood that all this was waiting for him.

He smiled and looked at Gu Yichen on the opposite side, who was still standing there steadily. In this first round, he was at a disadvantage.
"Your Majesty, Prime Minister, my subordinates made a fool of themselves. It is my fault, but what Yang Zhuo said may not be unreasonable."

He looked at Shen Zhongxin who was still standing there and asked;
"Uh, Minister Shen, Ziyu, if you have any difficulties, please speak up and discuss the matter. How can we discuss the matter if we don't speak up?"

Shen Zhongxin's face was solemn. When he saw Lu Ge Lao asking questions, he bowed to the front.

"Your Majesty, Prime Minister, I will explain the draft bills. There is a budget for all the expenses last year. The tax collection in the Dawu Dynasty has improved a lot in recent years, about 31.8 million taels of silver. However, the bills reported by various ministries and halls actually cost 42.8 million taels of silver. After deducting the income from the expenditure, the deficit from last year's overspending was 11 million taels of silver. If we check it with the expenditure budget of the previous year, last year's expenditure should have been 20 million taels of silver, and the national treasury should have 10 million taels of silver in reserve."

After Shen Zhongxin finished speaking, he took the account book in his arms and said to everyone;

"Let's first talk about the deficit of 5 million taels imposed on the Ministry of War. I personally went to the Ministry of War to check the account books. The Ministry of War did not spend the 5 million taels of silver. The extra expenditure was 3 million taels, which was for supplies for the border troops, salaries, and replacement of military equipment. These were separate expenditures and were reported to the Ministry of Revenue. However, these were blamed on the Ministry of War by the Ministry of Works. How is that possible?

In a word, the deficit of 10 million taels of silver last year was all from the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Works, but they asked us to draft bills from other ministries. If we compare it with the expenditures of previous years, the total deficit is 20 million taels. Lord Lu, how can we sign this? Who dares to sign it?

Shen Zhongxin was the focus in the hall at this moment. All the civil and military officials were in an uproar and discussions broke out. Zhang Jinyu was even more shocked. The court actually spent more than 40 million taels of silver in a year. Was this eating silver? Even if it was eating silver, it would cause indigestion.
Damn, I am ashamed of myself for being so greedy. I have made hundreds of thousands of taels of silver and I am still complacent. These people, any of them, would make more than that. It seems that the two princesses are going to raise the price. It is too little. They want at least 400,000 taels a year. I want to double it for them. No, 500,000 taels. It would be great to make it an even number. I have to find an opportunity.

Wu Xun,

All the people from the Duke's Mansion and the Earl's Mansion were stunned. They had spent so much money, but got almost nothing in return for the border troops and military honors. Where did the money go? Suddenly, they seemed to figure out something. The rebellion in the south of the capital could not be quelled so quickly. They would have to get more money and honors. Most of the generals from the Beijing camp who followed the south were nobles in the capital, and there were countless old relatives and friends.

Therefore, the nobles from the old Duke on down seemed to have a tacit understanding and stopped talking. They just watched the civil officials tearing the pieces apart to see what good news could be revealed. As for the rest, they kept aloof from it as it had nothing to do with them.

After a lot of arguing, no one understood.

The Prime Minister Li Chonghou,
He coughed a few times and sat there, afraid that a gust of wind would blow him away.
"Lord Gu, the Ministry of Revenue must have run into difficulties. I know it's not easy for the Ministry of Revenue, but are there any clues to these deficits?"

At this time, Gu Yichen narrowed his eyes and looked at Lu Wenshan with contempt. The Ministry of Revenue had already sorted out the accounts, otherwise, there would be no such thing today. He bowed to the high-ranking Emperor Wu and Prime Minister Li;
"Your Majesty, Prime Minister, the Ministry of Revenue has its own difficulties, and each ministry has its own difficulties. However, falsifying information and increasing the deficit is a problem for the court. Since the Ministry of Revenue can say it, there is evidence. Shen Zhongxin, first show the account books of the Ministry of War to the civil and military officials to see if the Ministry of Revenue is deliberately causing trouble or fabricating it."

"Yes, Mr. Ge."

Shen Zhongxin clasped his fists in response, took the account book in his hand, and read it out loud.

"My Lords, let me read it out. The source of the 5 million taels of silver in the Ministry of War's deficit was the Ministry of Works, which used the Ministry of War's name to repay..."

"slow,"

Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Yang Zhuo, the Minister of Personnel. With a solemn expression, he clasped his fists to the people around him and said;
"Please allow me to interrupt you, Minister Shen, you should know that when the cabinet drafted the bill, the two officials from the Ministry of Revenue were present, as were officials from various ministries. You all saw the bill at that time, but you kept silent at that time. But now you are dancing with a sword in front of the emperor, in front of all the civil and military officials at the grand court. Shen Zhongxin, what on earth are you trying to do?"

Filled with righteous indignation and anger, this is completely tearing off the fig leaf of the cabinet. If the civil and military officials see it, the people of the capital will know it tomorrow, and in a few days, it will spread all over the country.
Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong, who was sitting high on the dragon throne, had not spoken a word until this moment. He stared at the cabinet ministers below with gloomy eyes, looking at them one by one. He had thought that the court's tax revenue had increased, and like the year before, there would be a surplus of tens of millions of taels of silver to be deposited in the treasury at the end of the year. Unfortunately, there had only been a surplus for three years, and this year there was not a single tael of silver left, and there was still such a huge deficit. Could this silver have run away with him? The key point was that all the expenses in the palace were saved, which meant six million taels a year. According to the calculation of the year before, the expenditure last year should have been around fifteen million taels. How could it have more than doubled? If the Ministry of Revenue had not written to him, I would still be in the dark.

Shen Zhongxin sneered in response.

"Sir Yang, what you said is not reasonable. Seeing it is not the same as verifying it. With so much money spent, all of these must be checked one by one. It is not something that can be seen at a glance by checking the account books. Last night, I went to the Ministry of War to verify it again. This bill of 5 million taels is too huge, but the Ministry of War has no record of it.

Judging from the cabinet's draft, the five million taels of silver were all recorded in the warships built by the Ministry of War, a total of fifty warships, to replace the main warships of the Canal Transport Governor's Office and the North and South Guards. It was clearly recorded that it was delivered to Shen Xueshi of the Canal Transport Governor's Office.

Shen Zhongxin looked at Yang Zhuo and said;
"These warships were discovered by Marquis Luo Yun when he went to the south of the Yangtze River. The warships in various places have long been dilapidated, and less than 30% of them can be used. Therefore, the Ministry of War previously reported that they were to supplement the strength of the guards. Unfortunately, in fact, the Ministry of War did not see a single warship. Could it be that these ships flew away? Hmm?"

"You, you deceived everyone with your sweet words. Just because the Ministry of War didn't take it doesn't mean it doesn't exist."

Yang Zhuo was not willing to admit it. He really knew about this. He looked at Lou Xiaoruo, the Minister of Works, and shouted;
"Lord Lou, these warships are supervised by your Ministry of Works. Do you have those fifty ships?"

"There are indeed fifty warships, all made of the finest willow wood, plus weapons and weapons, which indeed cost five million taels of silver. They were built in Jiangnan and Jiangbei, and were built in two shipyards. Originally, these warships were built for the Ministry of War's grain transport guards. Later, when the palace built the Hanyuan Hall, it needed to transport wood, so twenty ships were called in. The remaining thirty ships were borrowed by the Maritime Customs and the remaining ten were used by the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

Lou Xiaoruo felt that something was not right. How could this problem be linked to the Ministry of Works? He quickly spoke up and told the whereabouts of all the ships that had been supervised. He was not afraid of speaking, but was afraid of not speaking, which meant that he acquiesced.
But his words stunned all the officials. This was misappropriated. Many censors were even more angry. Lu An whispered at the end;

"Brother Qi, the Ministry of War didn't see a single plank of the fifty-story warships, and they were all embezzled without any notice." "Who says it's not true? If everyone in the court does this, how can they do anything? Wouldn't it be a mess?"

Qi Liang couldn't help it. The warship that cost a huge amount of money to build was actually used to pull wood. What kind of thing was this? The other censors were even more outspoken and indignant.

"Yeah, what the hell."

"Will you use these ships to do private work and earn money?"

"Of course it's obvious!"

Many censors were discussing the matter, but Yan Cong, Zeng Zheng and others who were mixed in the crowd were all frowning. It was obvious that their teacher's experience had caught them off guard.
Zhang Jinyu was no longer dizzy and sober now. Listening to the words of Lou Xiaoruo, the Minister of Works, he was secretly shocked. Wow, all the ministries were good at making money. On the canal transport side, the Wei army was still strong. Unfortunately, there were only a few warships left. There were only more than 30 main ships left, all of which were left at the Beijing dock for rest and repair. They were all brought by him. It can be said that on the canal, the Wei army could only use two or three kittens.
I just didn't expect that a warship would cost 100,000 taels of silver to build. It's too damn expensive. Thinking of the two warships I had robbed, it seemed that it was not enough. However, which government office has these ships? Even if they are used for cargo transportation, one trip will cost a lot of money. Shen Zhongxin is really good at talking. He can even take out this much. Amazing.

In front of the palace,

Yang Zhuo, the Minister of Personnel, was obviously not prepared. The people from the Ministry of Works actually told him to do it themselves. He turned around and clasped his fists to Eunuch Dai, who was standing in the first seat on the left.

"Eunuch Dai, what Lord Lou just said, the Maritime Customs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs should have reported it to the Imperial Household Department in the palace."

As expected of an assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel, he turned his gaze to the Imperial Household Department. Dai Quan's heart skipped a beat, and he opened his eyes and glanced at the people around him. He had to talk about this matter, so he nodded and replied;

"That's true. The reason why Hanyuan Hall was built so quickly was because of the twenty ships from the Ministry of Works, which were specifically responsible for transporting wood. That's why it was completed ahead of schedule. Otherwise, we don't know where to use the ships for this year's special examination. Xiao Yunzi, do you know why the Maritime Customs used ships? And what about the ten ships from the Ministry of Internal Affairs?"

Xiao Yunzi, who was serving on the high platform, did not expect that his godfather would actually ask him. Wu Huang Zhou Shihong also looked over with a gloomy look. Xiao Yunzi trembled and almost knelt down. He quickly replied;

"My Lords, this is indeed the case. The Maritime Customs has borrowed 20 ships to transport silk and brocade woven by Suzhou Weaving Factory, as well as tea, porcelain, and raw silk. These ships have greatly saved costs."

After Eunuch Yun finished speaking, he felt his legs and feet go weak. Oh, and there are also people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. They are completely jealous of each other, so the Ministry of Internal Affairs seized ten ships and made a lot of money by shipping between the north and the south. But how can they say that? After thinking about it, it seems that these ships were also used to transport military supplies to the north, so he hurriedly said;

"As for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the ten ships they borrowed were used to transport military equipment and supplies to the northern border troops. These ships were used to transport supplies before and after the New Year. Almost no waste wasted on the journey, and all the supplies were delivered to the border troops. The Ministry of War has all the records. These two things were because there were not enough ships, so they borrowed these ships supervised by the Ministry of Works. The Cabinet and the Imperial Household Department have all reported them, and they can all be verified."

"Then, this matter is made clear."

Dai Quan stood in the hall and made it clear that there was evidence to prove it, and it was not just a random quote. With this statement, things seemed to have taken a turn.

Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong was less unhappy. These ships did work, especially the Hanyuan Palace, which had been under construction for several years but still hadn't been completed. How did this happen?

When Yang Zhuo saw this, he became even more imposing and turned to look at Shen Zhongxin.
"Sir Shen, if you want to verify, you must verify it clearly. Don't just talk nonsense when you have only a vague understanding of the matter. I want to ask you, which draft bills have not been signed yet? Tell me all of them."

Shen Zhongxin didn't expect that Eunuch Dai would actually speak in favor of the Ministry of Personnel. He hesitated and looked at the teacher, but he didn't give him any information. Looking at Yang Zhuo's appearance, he condensed his heart and continued;

"Of course there is. There is also the payment for the wood materials used to build the palaces in the palace. The Ministry of Works reported four million taels of silver at the beginning of the year, but this time the bill was as high as eight million taels of silver, a deficit of four million taels. How do you explain this?"

"Shen Zhongxin, you are too arrogant. If you calculate these, it is the total deficit of the court this year. Excluding these, the budget of the court at the beginning of the year is almost the same. You are clearly looking for trouble."

Yang Zhuo didn't ask about the account books at all, and accused Shen Zhongxin of making wild remarks.

Just at this time,

Prime Minister Li Chonghou could no longer sit still. He knew that he could not investigate further and that the palace was not the place for investigation. He reached out and grabbed his son Li Chaosheng's sleeve.
"You tell me, according to what I told you before,"

"Uh, yes, Dad."

Li Chaosheng took a deep breath, took a step forward, and shouted;

"Silence, how can we hold a meeting in front of the emperor and all the officials?"

As soon as this word comes out,
Everyone in the hall was shocked, and many people looked over in the direction of the voice, only to see the Prime Minister's son Li Chaosheng shouting and scolding, wondering what was going on.

Li Chaosheng took a step forward and clasped his fists towards the ministers.
"My Lords, after all your calculations, I have finally understood what has happened. The so-called civil and military officials discussing matters in front of the emperor are just your attempts to embarrass the court and His Majesty at the grand court meeting. Aren't all these calculations you made to blame the emperor?"

A roar,

The officials gasped.

Zhang Jinyu looked at Li Chaosheng, the eldest son of the Li family, who was standing in the center of the hall in disbelief. As the left chancellor, he was at most a fourth-rank official. This was a great honor, but it would be difficult for these officials. Although Emperor Wu was benevolent, who would not be suspicious when sitting in that position?
Did Shen Zhongxin verify clearly that the cost of building the palace in this palace was not paid by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, so it must be paid by the Ministry of Works. If the Ministry of Revenue does not pay, isn't this a trap?

What are Lu Wenshan and Gu Yichen thinking?
Zhang Jinyu narrowed his eyes and looked at the Prime Minister Li Chonghou who was sitting sideways in the hall. What was he thinking about?
While thinking,
The Marquis of Xiangyang beside him asked in a low voice;

"My Lord, what do you think about this matter? It seems that the deficit of this money is all, ahem, the deficit of building Hanyuan Palace."

Bai Guangju pointed it out directly. After all, the Hanyuan Hall had been under construction for four years but was not completed. However, it was completed at the beginning of this spring. The speed was obviously unexpected. It must have been due to the lack of money.

Zhang Jinyu knew it was just like building a building in the future. If the money was in place, the construction would not stop at night. If the money was gone, even an unfinished building would be considered a good thing.

"Brother Bai, this is obvious. Without money, how can we build a palace? It costs a lot. In addition, today's court meeting was a bit weird. What I care more about is the father and son of the Li family. Look, the Prime Minister didn't say anything, but his son went up first. Don't you understand this?"

Zhang Jinyu replied meaningfully. The scene of the wedding banquet at Li's house yesterday was still vivid in her mind. What happened today was obviously not a spur-of-the-moment idea, but rather seemed to be well prepared!

"My Lord, that's what you said."

(End of this chapter)