My son, Fusu, please abdicate the first emperor!

Chapter 822 National Thief
"Since the money is now concentrated in the wealthy families, let's start with these families and take the money out. Our Qin State has unified the currency for a long time, but so far, it has only caused more chaos."

"Not only is the money worthless, but in some places it cannot be circulated and is not recognized."

"The court officials are still too optimistic about the central government's governance over the local areas."

"If grassroots governance is done properly and the people's basic lives are guaranteed, there won't be a situation like today."

"In the final analysis, the number of Qin officials sent to govern the villages and towns is still too small. The current number is far from enough and cannot meet the needs of the grassroots people at all."

"Not only that, the empire is now promoting universal education so that everyone in the country can learn to read and write. It is also necessary to take the power of sacrifice away from the clan elders. In the future, more people will be needed to go down to the countryside."

"But often the closer you get to the countryside, the lower the salary you get for people who are on the front line handling disputes and maintaining public order."

"After a while, these Qin officials felt that they did too much work but the rewards they received were not as good as those of others who did business."

"The people want justice, and so do the officials."

"The saints talked about so many principles, such as self-sacrifice, but I think they were all made up by idiots. If you are living a tight life and can barely make ends meet, how can you have the extra energy to uphold justice for the people?"

"Let me put it this way. In addition to the huge sums of money needed to support the military, the treatment of the grassroots Qin officials must also be improved."

"What about self-sacrifice? Unless some people want to do it, the empire will no longer advocate this in the future."

"In the future, the empire will have many places to spend money. We need to pay for sending teachers to the countryside to provide education, and we also need to increase the salaries of grassroots Qin officials."

“If we don’t issue national debt, where will the money come from?”

Shao Ping asked cautiously, "This is a national debt, and we have to pay it back with interest in the future. The question is, can we do this with the economy of the Great Qin Empire?"

The second generation said seriously, "This is not a question of whether or not, this is something that must be done."

"If the economy of the Qin Empire fails and the people remain poor for another year or two, you will probably have to think about finding another wise master to serve."

Zhang Cang looked at Qin Er Shi quietly, thinking, "I have served Qin Er Shi for a long time, but I never thought that he could say such sensible things."

Chen Ping looked at the emperor and was filled with admiration.

He thought the emperor should be like Fusu.

"If you collect money from those powerful and wealthy people in the name of the country and then return it to them with interest, they will surely support Your Majesty with joy."

Fusu's prestige is there, and he himself is the best credit guarantee for the Qin Empire, so no one would think that the Qin Empire would not be able to repay the debt in the future.

Once this news was released, the dignitaries in the entire Xianyang city were so excited that they couldn't sleep for several days and nights, not to mention the wealthy businessmen.

As a businessman, you won't do anything without profit.

When I heard about such a good thing, I would wake up laughing in the middle of the night.

They don't have any noble sentiments, they just want to make more money, live in a bigger house, enjoy beautiful girls and a better life.

In the winter of that year, the Shaofu Temple had sorted out all the terms and conditions for the issuance of this national debt, and then revised the national debt law together with the Chief Justice Xiao He.

However, before one wave of troubles is over, another wave of troubles arises.

The deficit in money is easy to fill, but the huge gap of human desires cannot be made up for by anything.

Qin II changed his previous cruel attitude and chose to lend money to the powerful and collect money, which made these powerful and wealthy people happier than the original fundraising.

It was given for free before, but now you can earn a high amount of interest.

And the person who borrowed the money was actually the emperor, the Qin Empire.

Therefore, the issuance of national debt this time has received the support of everyone from top to bottom, and everything is proceeding in an orderly manner.

By the winter of the new year, hundreds of millions of coins had been poured into the treasury.

Zhang Cang's eyes flashed with gold as he looked at the copper coins piled up like a mountain in the treasury. The boxes prepared were not enough to hold the money.

He opened his mouth in surprise and shouted, "I have never seen so much money in my life."

Cao Shen looked at the money and shed tears of excitement.

"We are saved now. We can do whatever we want. Not to mention the army, we can even build two more armies."

The two men looked at the glittering gold in the treasury and began to rejoice.

Unfortunately, the two of them had just locked the door of the inner storehouse and went back to their homes.

Then a group of people arrived in the middle of the night, all of them wearing large cloaks.

It is now the twelfth lunar month, and the willow trees on the streets of Qin are still green, but unfortunately the leaves seem to be frozen to the trees. The same is true for the lake. It is covered with a thin layer of ice, but the fish are swimming around underwater.

The weather was very weird. The leaves still looked green, but the cold air was seeping into the gaps in people's clothes and then into the gaps between their bones.

On snowy days like this, only coats made of animal skins can best protect you from the cold.

Perhaps to animals, humans are the most hateful.

From autumn to winter, hunters were busy looking for animal skins. After all, apart from animal skins, people at that time could not think of a better way to resist the cold.

Unfortunately, only the powerful and wealthy could afford fur coats. If the poor wanted to survive such a cold winter, they had to either go hunting in the mountains themselves or wrap themselves in several sets of clothes.

Of course, the world is not uniform.

Some people wear thick clothes from head to toe in winter and don't feel cold at all.

In some families, only the men can go out during the winter, while the women stay at home lying on a kang with a quilt, busy with needlework from morning to night.

A grain of sand of the times, looking down from the sky, is just a tiny speck of dust, insignificant.

But when it falls on the ground and on the heads of the people, it will be like a thousand-jin stone falling down. If they can't hold on, they can only make another appointment in the next life.

The gatekeeper, in such cold weather, was wearing a cotton-padded coat made of willow and poplar catkins that his old mother had saved up, and was dreaming by the faint light of a torch at the door.

The dream naturally depicts the delicious roast chicken, which is the most attractive thing in the cold winter.

My mouth is watering as I think about it.

"Hey, wake up."

The cloaked soldiers shook the guard awake, and the other guards also woke up one by one.

In the past, the gate guards guarded an empty treasury and did not have to worry about anyone coming to steal.

In the past, sleeping while on guard was a wise choice, but it is different now.

After seeing a group of people surrounding a strong, lean man with a flowing beard and a majestic appearance, each of them began to tremble.

The leader was wearing a big red fox fur coat that even the emperor couldn't wear. The shining red color was so abrupt in such a freezing weather.

"This is the Shaofu, don't you recognize him?"

A group of people were trembling with fear, "Yes, yes."

They hurriedly apologized, but Zhang Han waved his hand and said, "It's cold now, so it seems understandable that you guys didn't guard it well. But the treasury is an important place now, how can you treat it like a joke?"

"He actually fell asleep."

The guards hurriedly bowed and begged for mercy, "Shaofu, spare my life."

"Please forgive me, Shaofu."

Zhang Han's face darkened. "Alright, open the door quickly. I want to go in and confirm. I heard that Zhang Cang and Cao Shen collected tens of millions of dollars in just five days."

"Your Majesty attaches great importance to the people's livelihood, and what you lack most right now is money. If you can really solve this matter, not only will there be a great reward from the entire treasury in the future, but your salaries will also be increased."

Zhang Han said a few words, but the guards were dazed and didn't react.

"Open the door."

The guards now understood why Zhang Han came.

The financial power of the treasury had long been divided between Cao Shen and Zhang Cang.

Although Zhang Han was the Shaofu, after Qin II came to power, there began to be a clear division between the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Finance within the treasury.

Zhang Han was naturally in charge of national projects, as he was in charge of too many projects. Zhang Cang and Cao Shen, together with Chen Ping, were in charge of the treasury.

His previous responsibility was just to sort out bad debts. Since there was not much money within the empire, no one came to compete with Zhang Cang and Cao Shen for the work.

But things are different now.

The treasury is full of money, and the gatekeeper dreams of eating roast chicken...

Gradually, the treasury is no longer the hot potato that everyone feared in the past.

Now the treasury has become a hot commodity.

The guards looked at the Shaofu, not daring to let him in, nor to say not to let him in.

"Why, you don't even want to obey the orders of the Shaofu?"

Zhang Han's subordinates raised their whips and shouted loudly.

In the middle of the night, the chance of encountering bad people and doing bad things is several times higher than usual.

Everyone knew why Zhang Han came here.

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"Before leaving, Censor Zhang ordered that no one is allowed to enter the treasury without a badge."

Zhang Han listened without any change in expression.

"I know. But since I'm here, it must be because of something important. Can you bear the responsibility for delaying the Emperor's business?"

A higher-ranking official can crush a person to death, not to mention that Zhang Han is several levels higher than them.

None of the brothers dared to speak.

Slowly, the door opened.

Zhang Han left everyone outside and went in alone to check the situation.

That night, the cold wind blew continuously.

To the east of Xianyang City, there lived a group of the poorest people. Their houses were built bit by bit using a mixture of mud and hay.

In winter, when the cold wind howled outside, and when it blew into the courtyard, whimpering and howling sounds could be heard.

Like the cry of a baby, like the growl of a wild beast.

Their roof consisted of only a dozen broken tiles, which just covered the kang.

In other places, clay pots are placed all year round to collect leaking rainwater.

Windows? They had no windows, so they either sealed them up or made do with a piece of wooden branches and then covered them with a piece of cloth.

There is often a dog sleeping in the pit outside.

Countless families live this way.

The trees are tall, most of their leaves have fallen, and the bird's nest at the top of the tree canopy is clearly visible in winter.

The sky was grey, with a few stars hanging high in the sky, like gods and Buddhas. They seemed visible to people, yet they were always far away from them.

From the street came the shouts of the night watchmen.

Three days later, there was less money in the treasury.

No one told him no matter how Zhang Cang interrogated him.

Cao Shen was terrified when he saw this scene.

If this is the case, it means that all the people in charge of the treasury may have been bribed.

Zhang Cang questioned them loudly with a dark face, and even said that he would send these people to the Supreme Court.

He did so later, but Xiao He and his team didn't find any problems.

After such a big incident, Zhang Cang, Xiao He, Cao Shen and others realized that they might have been framed.

"If we can't figure it out, we'll be robbing ourselves."

Zhang Cang looked at Cao Shen. Cao Shen didn't talk much on weekdays, but his words made him feel uneasy.

So far, they have lost millions of dollars and have not yet reported these things to the emperor himself.

But this is not difficult to imagine.

He has a higher position than them, has a deeper background, can enter and exit the Qin treasury at will and make all the guards shut their mouths. To be honest, there are not many people like him in Shaofu Temple.

If it is found out, then it is the person who found it. If it cannot be found out, then he is the only one.

"I know who it is now." Zhang Cang's face had turned red with anger. "I really don't know how much more I have to do to let those who have worked hard all their lives get the fruits that should belong to them."

Zhang Cang left the Supreme Court with a sigh.

Xiao He and Cao Shen looked at each other silently, and Cao Shen rolled up his trousers and followed him.

Xiao He couldn't help but ask, "Who is it?"

Cao Shen looked at Xiao He and said, "Don't get involved. I've seen it all. This is what happens every day in the court. They keep throwing mud at their enemies."

Xiao He sat in the hall in a daze, lost in deep thought. The clerks on duty were waiting outside the door, and they knew from the situation that something big had happened.

Xiao He just didn't want to conflict with others, which didn't mean he was a stupid person. Such an obvious thing just lacked the most crucial evidence.

Who else could it be except Zhang Han?

Shaofu Zhang Han had already been slowly retiring. After all, his power could not be expanded openly. Now only large projects such as the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang and even the Lingqu Canal were under his supervision.

This is a difference in oil and fat.

How many people want a good job but cannot get it, but Zhang Han will not think about what he has already got, he wants to get what he cannot get.

If you can't get a higher position of power, then get wealth that can rival a country.

It would be a good idea to plan a retreat now while there is still some friendship between him and Qin II.

But Zhang Han didn't expect that pie would fall from the sky.

The people of Shaofu Temple were responsible for issuing bonds and collecting money for this national debt. The amount was so huge that Zhang Han's eyes almost popped out.

There was no other way. Zhang Cang collected too much money. If I didn't take some, I would be unworthy of my high position.

Zhang Han took it, and took it openly.

During the reign of Qin Shi Huang, this was not a big deal. He was a trusted official of Qin Shi Huang, and Ying Zheng gave him all the money to manage. He took money for himself and asked other officials to take money as well. The emperor always turned a blind eye to these things.

Zhang Han might have thought that Qin II would turn a blind eye to this matter.

After all, in Zhang Han's eyes, this was the additional property he deserved.

He did it cleanly and didn't implicate anyone.

Based on his estimation of the emperor, even if the emperor knew about this, he would not hold him accountable.

Anyway, there will always be such things in this world.

It makes people feel helpless and breathless, but they are powerless to do anything.

Cao Shen and Zhang Cang certainly didn't know what Zhang Han was thinking. They only knew that part of the money that was used to prolong the life of the Qin Empire had disappeared.

"Now these ministers have their eyes on the treasury."

"They are all powerful people, and they have Young Master Zhang standing behind them. Not to mention wanting to get involved and take a little money, I think it's possible that they will take away all the money borrowed from the government treasury."

"How did the national treasury become depleted? Isn't it because we failed to prevent problems from happening?"

"At first I got 100,000, then I got 1 million, and then...ah...I can't tell you."

(End of this chapter)