Daming: Apocalypse of Longevity

Chapter 131 Wearing a tall hat
However, things have become like this. If it can be delayed for one day, Zhu Tianqi had to summon all six ministers of the cabinet to the Palace of Qianqing again to discuss how to deal with the impeachment of Zhang Guoji.

Qian Qianyi was much more prepared this time than the last time, so he was very confident and settled the score for Zhu Tianqi.

"The summer tax collected by the imperial court this time totaled 970 million taels of silver, but the people had no silver in their hands. Most of the people sold their grain to Taikang Hou and used the money in exchange to pay the tax. So, these At least [-]% of the silver must have come from the hands of Marquis Taikang. Your Majesty, if we calculate it this way, Marquis Taikang is as rich as any country, and he can actually give out nearly ten million taels of cash!"

After saying this, Qian Qianyi saluted Zhu Tianqi and stood aside respectfully. Qian Longxi and Liu Hongxun also looked at Zhu Tianqi.

Zhu Tianqi looked at the expressions of the three of them that seemed to be respectful but actually hinted at pride and provocation. He was so angry that his teeth itched with hatred. However, on the surface, he acted calmly and said very calmly: "The food used by Taikang Hou to purchase grains." The silver was given to him by me!"

Of course Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi knew that the money Zhang Guoji bought for grain must have been given by the emperor, otherwise how could he have so much money, and even if he had so much money, he would not be so selfless and use it all to help. Does the imperial court purchase grain?
The reason why Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi knew that Zhang Guoji's money was given by the emperor, but still used it to impeach Zhang Guoji, was that they believed that Zhu Tianqi would not admit that the money was given to Zhang Guoji, because even the emperor would not use such money. Large sums of money from the imperial court must be discussed by the cabinet.

Therefore, they believed that the emperor would definitely choose to "lose the car to protect the handsome", and they could only let Zhang Guoji take the blame.

But what they never expected was that the emperor directly admitted that Zhang Guoji's money was given by him, and told the matter so frankly that Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi were shocked. I know how to answer the call.

Qian Qianyi was stunned for a while before he finally spoke, but he was no longer as confident and calm as before, "Your Majesty, I remember that the Ministry of Revenue does not have so much money. Could it be that Mr. Xu Ge is cheating on the treasury? Is there something hidden about the amount of silver deposited? Besides, why didn’t the emperor discuss it with his ministers about using such a large sum of money and such a big matter?"

Zhu Tianqi, however, remained calm and said calmly: "The money does not come from the treasury, it comes from my internal funds!"

Upon hearing this, Qian Qianyi was immediately speechless. The money was the emperor's small treasury. The emperor used his own private money to do things, so it seemed to have nothing to do with him.

But Qian Qianyi was speechless. Qian Longxi on the side was thinking very fast. He immediately gave Zhu Tianqi a deep bow and said with a moved face: "The emperor's holiness has benefited the common people. He is really your minister." Admire it!”

As soon as Qian Longxi said this, not only Zhu Tianqi was confused by him, but several other people also looked at him with confused expressions, wondering what he was trying to do.

Zhu Tianqi had no choice but to ask Qian Longxi in confusion: "Qian Aiqing, what do you mean by this?"

Qian Longxi still looked at Zhu Tianqi with emotion and admiration, and replied: "Your Majesty, you are not stingy with silver and spend huge sums of money to purchase tens of millions of dan for the imperial court. How generous is this!" Zhu Tianqi said As soon as he heard this, he immediately came back to his senses. This Qian Longxi was so insidious. He wanted his private money of 1000 million yuan to be confiscated with just one sentence. How could he do that?

Seeing the slight change in Zhu Tianqi's face, Qian Qianyi understood instantly, and immediately bowed deeply and shouted: "The emperor is selfless and truly a holy king!"

How could Zhu Tianqi not know the sinister intentions of the two of them? The two of them deliberately put high hats on themselves to prevent themselves from getting off the stage, making it impossible for them to ask for the money they spent, or even collect it with their own money. The food that comes back has become the property of the state, and you can no longer make the decision yourself.

When Zhu Tianqi was at a loss what to do, Xu Guangqi suddenly stood up, gave a salute, and said: "Two Masters Qian, you two don't know about this matter. In fact, the money used by Taikang Hou to purchase grain, It was lent by the emperor to the Ministry of Household Affairs. The court purchased grain but could not get the money, so it had to ask the emperor. Now that the summer tax has been collected, the court also has money in hand, and it is time to return the money. Give it to the emperor!"

Zhu Tianqi was naturally very moved by Xu Guangqi's coming forward, but Zhu Tianqi did not think that Xu Guangqi's rhetoric could convince Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi. Instead, it gave Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi a reason to impeach him. !
Sure enough, as soon as Xu Guangqi finished speaking, Qian Qianyi said: "The imperial court borrows money, even if it is borrowing money from the emperor, for such a large amount, Mr. Xu Ge, you alone make the decision? Even if you are the chief minister of the cabinet, The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue can't just handle the matter without telling us, right?"

Qian Longxi also said: "Yes, Mr. Xu Ge, not only have you never mentioned the court's borrowing of money from us, but you have also never discussed with me the court's purchase of grain. If it hadn't been for you this year, Even though we said it in front of the emperor, we all still thought that it was Taikang Hou who made the decision on his own to purchase grain for the imperial court!"

Liu Hongxun also immediately continued: "Yes, even if the imperial court needs to purchase food, there is no need to purchase tens of millions of dan of food at once. No wonder someone impeached Taikang Hou for hoarding. Even if he has the responsibility of raising food for the imperial court, , I shouldn’t have purchased so much at once, it turns out I got the permission from Mr. Xu Ge!”

Zhu Tianqi saw that their words were getting more and more weird as they spoke, and unknowingly he wanted to throw dirt on Xu Guangqi and blame him. Naturally, he couldn't listen anymore, so he coughed dryly and said, "Okay, don't blame me. Mr. Xu Ge doesn’t want to talk to you, and he did this according to my instructions. If you want to blame me, just blame me!”

When Qian Qianyi, Qian Longxi and Liu Hongxun heard this, they all saluted and shouted: "I don't dare!"

Zhu Tianqi waved his hand and said: "Everyone, sit down. The reason why I didn't discuss it with you in advance is not because I don't trust you all. It's because I care about you and cause chaos. Seeing that all the chief ministers are suffering from drought, hungry people are everywhere, and they are dying of hunger. All over the place, I am really heartbroken. In my hurry, I forgot to discuss it with you, and made the decision myself, asking Taikang Hou to quickly raise food for disaster relief!

As for what Mr. Xu Ge said about borrowing money, it was just a joke between me and Mr. Xu Ge. I asked Marquis Taikang to raise food. Naturally, Marquis Taikang had to reach out to Mr. Xu Ge for money. How could the Ministry of Household Affairs do it? With so much money, Mr. Xu Ge had no choice but to beg me. I joked with Mr. Xu Ge at that time that I had lent the money to the Ministry of Revenue. Unexpectedly, Mr. Xu Ge was an honest man and actually took it seriously. up!If you don’t believe me, ask Mr. Xu Ge, did he give me an IOU? "

(End of this chapter)