Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 701 How to Make Up for the Shortage
In the Qianqing Palace,

Li Shoufu and his son have now become the focus. One of them remained silent, but stared into the hall with bright eyes like a tiger pouncing on its prey, while his son Li Chaosheng came out shirtless and refused to give an inch, which was extremely eye-catching.

Following Li Chaosheng's angry shout,
Emperor Wu, who was sitting on the dragon throne, was shocked. He didn't know these things yet. It seemed that the deficit was caused by the construction of Hanyuan Palace. But why didn't Lu Wenshan and Gu Yichen report the truth? What was the reason?
He looked at Prime Minister Li and his son who were sitting in front of him. They had obviously maintained the reputation of the royal family. The old man was still wise. Thinking about Prime Minister Li's previous advice, he finally came to his senses today and suddenly made a decision in his heart. The father and son of the Li family could not leave yet. Keeping them would be of great use.

Down the hall,

Shen Zhongxin, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, obviously also realized that it was not good. Since it involved the palace, he could not say anything even if he had a point. He immediately replied;

"Sir Li, I was talking about the Ministry of Works' deficit of four million taels of silver, but I didn't say that it shouldn't be used to repair palaces in the palace. All account books need to be reported for archival purposes. The Ministry of Revenue is not refusing to sign. For example, the supplies for the border troops were also given as extra expenses! Sir Yang, what do you think?"

As it involved the palace, Yang Zhuo obviously realized the danger. He snorted coldly and did not answer. He needed to think about everything before making any decision.

The Minister of Works, Lou Xiaoruo, was even more anxious. It was obvious that what the two had said had also aroused Lou's vigilance. He clasped his fists and replied,

"Sir Shen, what you just said is correct. Whether it is true or not, leaving the account books for record will leave traces. You know it in your heart. If you want to frame someone, you might as well do it. Humph, there is no need to do this. You can always find a pretext to accuse someone. The Ministry of Works has never been corrupt!"

"Lord Lou, you are too serious. The Ministry of Revenue raised questions, and the Ministry of Works can just explain them clearly. There is nothing wrong with that. The Ministry of War did not hide anything. Just tell the truth and we will know the truth after an investigation! How can you say that the Ministry of Works embezzled money?"

At this time, Wei Zhanying, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War, saw that the atmosphere was not right, and actually spoke up to smooth things over, trying to ease the situation. Unfortunately, how could Li Chaosheng let go of such a good opportunity, and he directly interrupted and said,
"Eunuch Dai, it seems that you all know what we just discussed. Today, we are discussing things that we know. The budget at the beginning of the year and the detailed memorials from the Ministry of Political Affairs have been sent to all departments for review.
The timber was transported from the south, but after investigation, it was found that the roads were difficult to navigate due to the dense forests, and the large timber could not be transported at all. So they changed to transporting it by water from the south of the Yangtze River. The three-year construction period was completed in one year this year. The Ministry of Works made great efforts. The reason why the Ministry of Internal Affairs borrowed boats was because several boats capsized during the transportation of timber.
However, Hanyuan Hall was built and is now being renovated to become the special examination room. By the way, I heard that the renovation is now complete. For the emperor, we can endure any hardship, but I just don’t understand. You all are doing court work. Why do you suffer more grievances the more you do? You know what you are doing, but you still think about how to bring down the other party. How insidious it is. "

Seeing that the usually silent Zuo Cheng was now openly reprimanding in the court, Lu Wenshan and Gu Yichen turned their eyes to the Prime Minister Li who was sitting in the chair in the front. Dai Quan's face was not looking good at this time. He knew best that His Majesty was suspicious. How could this happen?
"There are traces of this. Lord Li is right. The Ministry of Revenue should sign it."

His eyes turned to the Prime Minister, Lord Li. Unfortunately, Lord Li was sitting there with his eyes closed, and he seemed to be asleep.
Shen Zhongxin closed the account book and said,

"My Lords, what you said makes sense, but the Ministry of Revenue has only so much money. If, like last year, the Ministry of Revenue has used up all the taxes for the year in less than half a year, the court will need to increase taxes on the people to make up for the shortfall.

Before coming here, I checked the taxes in various places. Many places have already increased the taxes to the 11th year of Yuanfeng. If this continues, the Ministry of Revenue will be in trouble, and the people of the world will be even more unsustainable. The civil unrest in the south of the capital is just around the corner. We should learn from the past."

Shen Zhongxin actually mentioned Jingnan, and he was obviously anxious, which made Zhang Jinyu a little confused. What was the purpose of the Ministry of Revenue's provocation? The Ministry of Personnel's obstruction was reasonable, but what was the intention of the father and son of the Li family? Helping both sides, or getting along with both sides, or maybe there was another deep meaning.

This is his nanny’s fault!
I don't understand who the three forces are targeting. And Shen Zhongxin, he is too clever for his own good. Isn't he walking into a trap?

"Since Lord Shen is speaking out for justice, Lord Shen, who should be held responsible for this matter?"

Li Chaosheng looked at Shen Zhongxin aggressively and asked,
"Sir Li, I may not have meant this. Who should be responsible? If we plan ahead, we will succeed. If we don't plan ahead, we will fail. If we continue to spend according to the budget as we did last year, we will spend money that we didn't budget for. After the money is gone, I don't know what we will have to eat in the Great Wu Dynasty."

Wait a moment,

Yang Zhuo, the Minister of Personnel, who had remained silent, saw that Li Chaosheng was on his side, and after some calculations in his mind, he came out and scolded him.
"Lord Shen, you are too serious. If you say so, last year we built river embankments in Jiangnan, provided disaster relief to the imperial court, and sent money to the border troops. Does this mean that our Great Wu Dynasty has become penniless?"

"That was what Lord Yang said himself. I didn't say that."

Shen Zhongxin showed no fear at all, and immediately retorted, "No matter who you are, you can't let the people from the Ministry of Personnel in. I didn't realize that Yang Zhuo would be so difficult to deal with."

"So what did you just say, what did you mean?"

Li Chaosheng waved his hand and pressed forward,

"What do you mean? Don't you know that this year will be as deficit as last year? With so much money, there must be someone who has embezzled it. Lord Shen is right."

When the argument was getting intense, Xiao Zien, the Minister of Rites, suddenly stepped out and spoke out to help. Just this one sentence surprised everyone.
Li Chaosheng suddenly stood up and shouted,
"Eunuch Dai, in response to this question, the treacherous ministers have already jumped out. Shen Zhongxin is one, and Xiao Zien is also one."

This sentence even called out the treacherous ministers.
Not to mention the civil and military officials, even the Emperor Wu himself had an extremely ugly expression, his gloomy face seemed to be dripping with water. The military heroes were completely silent, and no one dared to comment. If the traitor was confirmed, it would not be a matter of losing the position, but of being beheaded.

The civil servants were so quiet that one could hear the falling leaves and dared not even breathe.
Xiao Zien, the Minister of Rites, blushed and pointed at Li Chaosheng with a trembling hand. He did not expect to be cornered as soon as he opened his mouth. He immediately retorted,

"Li Chaosheng, who do you think you are? You are just a left chancellor of the Ministry of Political Affairs, a runner. You are making up stories and making wild remarks in front of His Majesty. If it weren't for your father, the Prime Minister, sitting there, how could you have the right to speak? How do you write the word 'traitor'? It's a female character plus a dry character. Until now, I have only my wife to accompany me, and I have simple meals three times a day!
Mr. Li, what about you! Just yesterday, you had married four wives and concubines, and you wanted to marry again, and both wives and concubines entered the house on the same day, so you married two wives at a time. In total, you already have six wives and concubines. Who in the capital can compare to you? I'm afraid that the word "adultery" cannot be attributed to Xiao."

These words were said very beautifully, and all the civil and military officials in the hall secretly admired them in their hearts. Even Zhang Jinyu looked at Minister Xiao for a second look. This was a powerful response. He was worthy of being a member of the Ministry of Rites. He could find fault with just any excuse he made. What he said was also right. The word "rape" really means one man commits adultery with another woman. Damn, this is too vivid.

Only Li Chaosheng's face flushed red, and it was unclear whether he was angry or humiliated. Now, the whole court knew that he had married six wives and concubines. He shouted anxiously:

"Don't talk nonsense, Minister Xiao. Everyone can speak out about the affairs of the court. Although I am a low-ranking official and my words are not taken seriously, I am always concerned about the court.
In my opinion, it's not just you, but also some people. In the twelfth month of the year before last, the former Minister of Revenue Yuan Ze slandered the court and took bribes. You may not be the ones behind it. Who instigated it? Everyone knows it. Hum, my father has always had doubts about this matter. The Minister of Revenue died, and Lord Shen took this position. The original Deputy Minister of Revenue Cui Dehai is still squatting in the imperial prison. How come you dare to do all this but dare not admit it! "

Li Chaosheng's words were simply earth-shattering. The truth was actually like this. When asked, no one dared to answer.

In the silent hall,

The atmosphere was extremely strange.

suddenly,

The high-ranking Emperor Wu suddenly asked,
"Li Shoufu, you answer this question. Your son said that Yuan Ze, who slandered the court, had a backer, and the backer is in your cabinet. Tell me, who is Yuan Ze's backer?"

The question from the Emperor Wu made many of the ministers look extremely unhappy. Lu Wenshan and Gu Yichen could no longer hold back their expressions and all knelt on the ground.
The Prime Minister, Lord Li, slowly stood up, turned around, and knelt on the ground. After this bow, all the civil and military officials also knelt down.
"Your Majesty, my son Meng Lang is talking nonsense. Yuan Ze has no backing here!"

"Hehe, if there is no backer, then why did Yuan Ze calculate the expenses of the Ministry of Revenue so clearly? Your son said it so clearly. I heard it and it doesn't seem to be made up."

Emperor Wu touched his sleeves and looked around with his tiger eyes. Everyone had their heads down. It was impossible to tell what they were thinking.
The Prime Minister, Lord Li, kowtowed on the ground and replied;
"Your Majesty, the court has always kept private accounts. Yuan Ze is the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, but he still doesn't understand this. He should be dismissed. Last year's accounts were more expensive than the previous year. The repairs on both sides of the Jiangnan Canal, the Yangzhou end, the Suzhou port, and the west bank of Nanjing were all expanded with money. The drought in the south of Beijing was reported in the memorial, and the cabinet's Silijian used the seal and issued money." "Then, how did he know the expenses of building the Hanyuan Hall and other halls in the palace?"

Emperor Wu was suspicious. How did Yuan Ze know these names?
Li Chonghou replied calmly;

"Your Majesty, this shows that the Ministry of Works used clear accounts, and no one embezzled money. Everything can be traced."

The calm answer made all the civil and military officials feel relieved. A word suddenly popped up in Zhang Jinyu's mind: the old ones are the most experienced. I admire him. He can even pull this off.

"I like a Taoist poem the most. 'I have practiced to the point where my body resembles a crane. Under a thousand pines are two boxes of scriptures. I came to ask Tao Wu Yu. 'Clouds are in the blue sky, and water is in the bottle.' This poem is a Taoist poem by Li Ao of the Tang Dynasty. My favorite part is the last line, 'Clouds are in the blue sky, and water is in the bottle.' Some of you are clouds, and some are water. You just do different things. You are all loyal ministers. There is no treacherous minister. Get up, all of you."

It was as if the sky had cleared up after the rain, and everyone felt relieved and cheered.
"Thank you, Your Majesty,"

All the civil and military officials stood up, not daring to act rashly.

After getting up,
Only Li Chaosheng didn't understand why his father would stop everything that had been arranged today. He looked at his father's figure in front of him with a puzzled look.

The Emperor Wu, who was sitting on the dragon throne, saw it all. The expressions of everyone in the hall were all in sight.
snorted,
"Li Chaosheng, don't look at your father like that. You need to learn what you can and cannot say!"

"Your Majesty, they are just lying. What they said is not true. Some of their words are even exactly the same as what Yuan Ze said."

Li Chaosheng was still unwilling to give up. How could he make Li Dang feel discouraged and lose heart?

But Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong, looking at Li Chaosheng, suddenly understood the Prime Minister's intention and smiled;
"It's exactly the same. There's nothing wrong with it. Yuan Ze deserves what he got. It's just a matter of which eunuch was behind it. Dai Quan, go check it out and ask those people to accompany him."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will definitely find out."

Dai Quan quickly responded. He had never expected that after hunting wild geese all day, he would be pecked by a wild goose today.
Emperor Wu smiled and continued to ask,

"Well, Li Chaosheng, I heard that you got married yesterday and married two people at once. As the saying goes, a good man only marries six wives, which is not a small number. Luo Yunhou only has three wives and two concubines now, one less than you. He can't do it!"

Not to mention the civil officials, many people also cast envious eyes on Zhang Jinyu. Zhang Jinyu complained in his heart, why did he get involved in everything? Some of those old dukes married nine concubines, and no one said anything, but he only had a few, one, two, three, four. When you count them all, it seems that he has one more than Li Chaosheng. Majesty Lin Daiyu is included, but Xue Baochai is not, and there is also Miaoyu.

Damn, the eldest brother doesn’t talk about the second brother, ah.

Li Chaosheng's face was covered with sweat. He knelt down and apologized.

"Your Majesty, this is all my fault. When I return, I will send my concubines back to their parents' homes and I will punish myself."

"Hahaha! Send them back. What will you do with those women if you send them back? Keep them. Pay attention to the court and think for the court. I have seen what you said today. Some words can be said, and some words should be said with discretion. Don't speak without thinking. As for the deficits and the Ministry of War, "

He dragged out the tone for a while, looked at Luo Yunhou hiding in the crowd of military honors, and smiled.
"Lord Luo Yun, please come out and tell us about the Ministry of War. What should we do about the deficit of 5 million?"

Zhang Jinyu's heart skipped a beat. How could he be singled out even though he had been hiding like this? Besides, the matter of a few hundred thousand taels of silver could still be solved, but five million taels was something that no one could handle.

Sometimes I feel it's not right when I'm in a difficult situation. Your Majesty means to solve the problem of the deficit itself, or because of the argument they just had about misappropriating the ships? Both should be taken into account. But then again, fifty large ships, you just divide them up as you please, without leaving any behind. This is too ugly, and I can't say anything.

Zhang Jinyu first stepped out of the line, clasped his fists towards the platform, and bowed;
"Your Majesty, I don't quite understand. According to what Minister Shen asked, the warships built by the Ministry of Works were supposed to be given to the Ministry of War and the Grain Transport Governor's Office, a total of fifty ships. However, when the accounts were reported at the end of the year, the money was spent, but the ships were gone. No one would agree to this, but the ships were indeed built. They said it was embezzlement, but what was the money used for, what was it used for, and how much money was earned? Is there any record?"

Zhang Jinyu did not answer first, but asked a few questions instead, looking at the ministers in front of him. Since the boat was taken away, who knows what they were used for?

The Emperor Wu, who was sitting on the high dragon throne, raised his lips slightly. Sure enough, it was this kid who asked the key question. I really hadn't thought about this clearly.

"Minister Lou, please tell me who the boat was given to. Those who took the boat, please tell me what they did with the boat and how much money they earned."

When Lou Xiaoruo, the Minister of Works, heard this, cold sweat rolled down his forehead. He did not bother to wipe the sweat off and replied;
"Your Majesty, and the Marquis, the Ministry of Works has just explained where the fifty ships went. The Maritime Customs borrowed twenty ships, the Ministry of Internal Affairs borrowed ten ships, and the Ministry of Works kept twenty ships for itself. Let's not talk about the thirty ships for now, because they were borrowed and never returned. The twenty ships that the Ministry of Works kept for itself were used to transport the materials to the palace before the end of last year for a month.

The year before last, they helped transport a lot of goods from north to south, earning 8,000 taels of silver for one ship, for a total of 160,000 taels of silver. After the New Year, the situation turned around, and they transported some repair materials to the palace, saving the Ministry of Works money, leaving about 100,000 taels of silver, for a total surplus of 260,000 taels of silver. "

Lou Xiaoruo spoke eloquently, and he remembered the accounts clearly and to the last penny. He had personally arranged what these ships were transporting and how the money was received. How could he not know? So, he told them quickly.

However, his words surprised many officials. Even Zhang Jinyu did not expect that it could make so much money. A few ships could make more than 200,000 taels of silver in a few months. But it makes sense. Now the ships with the largest transportation capacity are only those sailing on the canal. Only the imperial court has tower ships. They can naturally make a lot of money by running a trade route. Those private ships are small and can only earn hard-earned money. The key is that the investment is too large.

"Minister Lou is indeed a member of the Ministry of Works. He knows how to make money. The fact that Lord Lou can speak truthfully about these things also shows that Lord Lou has a clear conscience."

Zhang Jinyu praised, and then shouted to the platform,

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Works has done a great job in ensuring the construction progress of the palace while also saving up the money in a short period of time. I think the Ministry of Works has done nothing wrong and has helped the court a lot. Apart from anything else, the special examination will start the day after tomorrow, and the examiners will enter the palace tomorrow. The number of students taking the special examination this year is the highest in history, and how to accommodate thousands of students is a big problem. With the Hanyuan Palace, most of the children of the court are taken care of. Although what I say is unpleasant to hear, it is also true."

When the civil and military officials heard this, they all nodded. There were people in their families who were of appropriate age to take the exam, and some might not pass, but there were quite a few relatives and friends who participated. It might be because of Marquis Luo Yun's arrangement that they could enter the palace to take part in the special exam. In this way, Marquis Luo Yun had done a great favor to all the officials. After all, they didn't know if there would be another chance next time.

"Lord Luo Yun, you are good at taking shortcuts and your words sound nice to the ears, but I asked you to solve the deficit problem, not to raise the problem."

Emperor Wu was somewhat annoyed, but he also knew what Marquis Luo Yun wanted to say. He would have to keep a closer eye on the cabinet's work in the future.

(End of this chapter)