Daming: Apocalypse of Longevity

Chapter 134
Now Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi are completely confused. Will they use the money we donated to continue to grab food from us?

But if you think about it carefully, the reason why the emperor asked everyone to donate money just now is indeed that he has spent all the money in his internal funds and has no money to continue collecting grain. However, Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi only regarded this sentence as They came up with a reason why the emperor asked them to donate money, but they didn't expect that the money the emperor asked them to donate was actually used to collect grain.

Zhu Tianqi saw that the faces of Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi had become very distorted. He must have been disgusted by himself. He felt much better immediately. He leaned back on the chair and said, "Okay, this The matter is settled like this, you can go and do your own errands!"

Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi obviously had not recovered from their shock. They bowed out with expressionless expressions and walked out of the palace like two zombies. This time, they did not know how to deal with their subordinates. People have confessed.

But no matter what, the two of them agreed to the donation very happily just now, and if they reneged now, it would be really contemptuous, and they would have no face to stay in the cabinet anymore.

Therefore, the money still had to be donated, and the donation and other matters had to be communicated as soon as possible, so that when the emperor asked, he had not finished the matter and seemed reluctant to do so.

However, even though Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi did not dare to tell the people below about the details of this meeting, they still have not given them a word of truth to tell everyone whether the autumn grain is guaranteed or not. Before the matter was settled, everyone was asked to donate money. Their prestige in the court had already plummeted.

Not to mention Zhou Daodeng's lax tongue, this matter had been spread in the court not long after he kept it secret. When he heard that the money they donated was actually used by Zhang Guoji to continue to compete with them, the officials were shocked again. Angry again.

They didn't want to donate at all. After all, since the summer tax was collected, they haven't received a grain of grain, nor have they earned a tael of silver. Now they want to donate money to the court. Can they not feel bad?

But even if they don't want to donate money, Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi have opened their mouths, and they can only listen to their arrangements. After all, the matter of autumn grain has to be kept by the two big bosses, so for the sake of the overall situation, naturally, we can't be stingy For these small amounts of money, we still need to actively cooperate with Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi.

But they never expected that in the end they would expect such a result. Such a big thing happened, and the two big bosses kept everyone in the dark. This is really disappointing. Immediately, complaints spread everywhere, even within the Donglin Party, they were full of dissatisfaction with Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi.

But no matter how many complaints and dissatisfaction the officials have against Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi, to this day, they have to obediently donate money, and the amount each person donates cannot be too small, otherwise the merit will be engraved On the monument, it has become the laughing stock of the ages, so everyone can only admit defeat and think of it as spending money to buy face!
Faced with the current situation, Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi were also on fire. They were ashamed to go out to meet people, and they shut themselves up at home and sighed all day long. They never thought that this time they would end up falling for the emperor. Dao'er, it's such a miserable loss!

However, after being depressed for a few days, Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi could only cheer themselves up quickly and find ways to remedy the matter. After all, time waits for no one, and the autumn tax is about to begin. Well, if we really can't keep the grain from the autumn tax and keep everyone's money, then we have really lost people's hearts and there is no possibility of remedy. The consequences can be imagined.The two discussed for a long time, and finally came up with a countermeasure, which was to "drag"!
Don't underestimate the word "drag". This trick is still very effective now. After all, the emperor said that he no longer has any money in his hand to support Zhang Guoji's purchase of grain. So he only needs to postpone the donation. , if Zhang Guoji can't get money, then he won't be able to collect food. Wouldn't everyone's wealth be saved?
The two hit it off immediately, and immediately summoned all the officials below, told everyone about this countermeasure, and said some comforting words. The purpose was still to restore some popularity. If it were normal times, what would they plan to do? Where can I tell the people below?

After listening to Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi's words, all the officials in the court and the central government were not in a hurry to donate money, and they could delay it day by day, so even though the matter of calling on all officials to donate money and food for the court had been announced After many days, Xu Guangqi only received three donations here, one from himself, one from Lai Zongdao, and one from Zhou Daodeng.

Each of the three of them donated 1 taels of silver. The same amount of silver donated by the three of them was not because of a tacit understanding among the three, but because the three of them had discussed it before donating. After all, this donation amount is difficult to grasp. If you donate too little, you might be afraid of being accused of being stingy and unwilling to donate generously to the people; if you donate too much, you might be accused of being a corrupt official, so everyone has to discuss it.

1 taels of silver is not a small sum. Although the salary standard for officials has doubled compared to before, after all, there have not been many salary payments since the reform. Logically speaking, everyone should not have so much money. According to the previous salary standards, not everyone can afford 1 taels of silver.

However, some officials of the Ming Dynasty, especially first-rank officials, lived on their salaries. Even Xu Guangqi, who did not commit corruption or exploit the people, had some land at home. Although 1 taels of silver was not enough for him It may not be a small sum, but it is worth it if you grit your teeth.

After all, Xu Guangqi was the chief minister of the dynasty, and he still had to set an example for everyone. Therefore, no matter how difficult it was, he could not donate too small a sum, so he just scraped together 1 taels of silver.

Lai Zongdao and Zhou Daodeng both have considerable wealth, and Xu Guangqi can afford the amount. Naturally, they have no problem, so their idea is very simple, that is, they will donate as much as Xu Guangqi donates. , it’s definitely right to follow Shou Fu.

The three of them started this way, which can be regarded as setting a standard for officials. At least no one will just donate hundreds of taels of silver to make things happen. There are a few who can be officials in the capital and really have no money. ?

However, although everyone refers to the amount of silver donated by Xu Guangqi, Lai Zongdao, and Zhou Daodeng, and they have an idea of ​​how much silver they want to donate, but they only have the amount, and they are still a person who came to donate nothing.

Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi asked everyone to delay as much as possible. It would be best to wait until the court has collected the autumn tax before donating. Naturally, everyone knows the stakes, and naturally no one will rush forward. Come donate!
(End of this chapter)