Daming: Apocalypse of Longevity

Chapter 133 The Monument of Merit

Zhu Tianqi immediately said to Lai Zongdao: "My dear, since all of you have agreed to take the lead in donating funds, then you can ask the Ministry of Industry to erect a monument of merit and virtue outside Chengtian Gate as soon as possible. Engraved on it, it will be announced to the people, so that the people and future generations can remember your kindness and kindness!"

When Lai Zongdao heard this, he naturally understood the meaning immediately, but he did not show any abnormality. He just stood up and saluted and said: "I obey the order, and I will order the people to do it later!"

The smiles on Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi's faces were a little stiff. They did plan to donate a few taels of silver to fool around with the situation, but now it seems that the emperor has no intention of letting them go so easily. This donation is not something to be fooled into.

Zhou Daodeng was pulled into the water inexplicably, and naturally he was filled with hatred. He immediately helped Zhu Tianqi, and said in a harmless manner: "Since we want to erect a monument of merit, the emperor loves the people like this. Your Majesty, of course, I want to be engraved on the top of the list, please don’t shirk it, Your Majesty!”

When Zhu Tianqi heard this, he couldn't help but secretly laugh at what Zhou Daodeng would do this time, and immediately said: "Since Mr. Zhou Ge said so, then I just want to gain fame for once, and it can be regarded as setting an example for future generations!"

The faces of Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi became even more ugly in an instant. Originally, the emperor proposed to build a stele of meritorious deeds and engrave the donations of officials on it. When they announced it to the people, they already felt heartache in advance.

Because what they care most about is their reputation and what they pursue is to be saints and to be remembered in history, they cannot be too selfish and stingy, lose face in front of the world, and shout loudly all day long about "governing the country and bringing peace to the people." , are they really allowed to fall off the chain when doing things for the people?

Even though they have always regarded themselves as clean-blooded people and pretended to be honest and dedicated to the public, the people still see how much property and assets they have. If the amount of money they give out is less this time, they will definitely give it to others. With a handle, people all over the world stabbed him in the back. By then, if his name is engraved on the merit monument, he will be reviled by thousands of people!
Therefore, thinking of these, Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi had long been mentally prepared to be bloodletted, but they did not expect that Zhou Daodeng would come to make up for it again, as if they were going to play a life-and-death game with them, and perish together.

The emperor has also been engraved on the merit monument. With the emperor at the top of the list of donors who spent all his money and donated 1000 million taels, if they don't donate more, it will make their donations even less. Even if it is just a show, We have to adopt the attitude of "sacrifice the small self to fulfill the greater self", and we have to imitate the emperor and donate all our "family wealth"!

Of course, the bigger the donation, the better, because once the donation is too large and far exceeds one's legal income level, it will also arouse suspicion, and he may become a corrupt official in the eyes of the people. .

Therefore, this donation matter is a difficult problem. There is a lot of knowledge in it. If you are not careful, it will become a lifelong stain. For these civil servants whose reputation is more important than their lives, this is a troublesome matter.

But no matter what, things are already like this. Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi can only admit defeat and regard it as the price they pay for fighting for the autumn tax from the emperor. After all, the emperor has nothing in his hands now. Silver continued to supply Zhang Guoji to collect grain. When the court began to collect autumn taxes, without Zhang Guoji as a disruptor, he could still make a lot of money to make up for this loss.

Furthermore, the emperor's losses in this secret fight were also very heavy. He spent a total of 1000 million taels of private money on it, and he suffered certain losses, creating a lose-lose situation, which also made the emperor's psychology There needs to be a balance, otherwise the emperor's anger will have no place to vent, and there may be other big troubles!But these ideas are just wishful thinking of Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi. Who is Zhu Tianqi?He is not a person who is willing to suffer losses, and the matter is not over yet.

Zhu Tianqi asked seemingly casually: "Now that everything has been said, everyone should have no misunderstanding about Taikang Hou himself, right?"

Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi didn't want to cause trouble, so they naturally wouldn't bite Zhang Guoji anymore. After all, they had no personal grudges with Zhang Guoji, so there was no need to fight with him to the death. Zhang Guoji was the head of the dynasty, so they offended him. What's the benefit?
Seeing Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi shaking their heads, Zhu Tianqi continued to ask: "Even last time when Marquis Taikang killed the prefect in public, you are not pursuing it anymore?"

Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi still nodded, and Qian Qianyi even changed his tone and said immediately: "Since Taikang Marquis is following the emperor's order to collect grain to relieve the victims, then the prefect is going to interfere with the grain collection." To block it is to prevent the court from providing disaster relief, and to harm the victims. It is also reasonable and reasonable for Marquis Taikang to kill him with Shang Fang's sword!"

After Zhu Tianqi heard this, he couldn't help but shook his head secretly. The prefect died unjustly. First he was pushed out by them to be a gunman, and now he was scolded by his own people as "deserting it". He was treated like cannon fodder.

In fact, this cannot be blamed on Qian Qianyi's cold-bloodedness. After all, the prefect was indeed cannon fodder. Qian Qianyi may not have known the prefect's name before his death, and naturally he could not have any feelings for him.

Nowadays, there are so many people under his control who are waiting for food and looking at him eagerly, so it is better not to add any extraneous matters. The first priority is to save the autumn grain, and nothing else is important.

If the emperor wants to protect Zhang Guoji, let him go. I have to coax the emperor a little bit, and let the emperor feel that he is the ultimate winner in this secret battle, so that the emperor can feel more comfortable!

To protect Zhang Guoji, it was natural to step on the prefect. Qian Qianyi was not familiar with the prefect, so he naturally stepped on it without any psychological burden. At most, he said silently in his heart: "Have a good journey, brother, everyone will do it." We will remember your contribution to everyone!”

Zhu Tianqi nodded slowly to Qian Qianyi, then sat upright and said: "In this case, the matter of Taikang Marquis has ended here, and there is no need for us to discuss it anymore. Taikang Just do whatever you need to do!"

Hearing the emperor's words, Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi couldn't help but feel excited. They felt that something was not right, but for a moment they couldn't think of what was wrong!
Until Zhu Tianqi continued to say the next words: "Xu Aiqing and Lai Aiqing will be in charge of the officials' donations for disaster relief. Xu Aiqing will directly send the silver donated by the officials to Taikang Hou, so that Marquis Taikang continues to collect grain!"

(End of this chapter)