Fortunate Young Gentleman

The tax money collected by Chen Guo's treasury last year was only 12 million taels, and two years ago, it was less than 10 million taels.

Therefore, when hearing the number reported by the leader of the sharp blade team, Chen Huang subconsciously thought it was thirty thousand or three hundred thousand taels. A small Ezhou could collect three million taels of silver. He did not even dare to dream of this. think.

When His Majesty asked, the captain of the sharp blade team had to repeat: "The properties of Ezhou governor, Biejia and other officials, as well as the tax money paid by Ezhou merchants, totaled more than 3 million taels. The remaining rare jewelry is estimated to be worth 2 million. Two, a total of five million taels..."

Five million taels of silver is enough to cover half a year's tax money for the treasury.

Chen Huang walked forward quickly and said, "Take me to have a look!"

The prisoners in Ezhou were temporarily escorted to the Dali Temple Tianlao, and more than a hundred carriages slowly drove into the palace city.

On a square in the palace, Chen Huang looked at the endless motorcade in front of him and waved: "Open all the boxes!"

A team of guards stepped forward and tore off the seal of the box on the car. The moment they opened the lid, they were almost blinded by a silver light.

There were more than a hundred carriages and hundreds of boxes filled with silver, making everyone feel that the surroundings were much brighter.

Although the imperial guards in the palace were used to seeing strong winds and waves, they had never seen such a scene. They stood beside the carriage and were stunned.

Not only were these imperial guards stunned, but Emperor Chen was also stunned.

As an emperor, he has never seen so much silver, so many white flowers, silver shining in the sun.

Although more than ten million taels of silver passed through his hands every year, those were just cold numbers on the memorial, far less shocking than the three million taels of silver placed in front of him.

A small Ezhou could transport back three hundred taels of silver, so wouldn't the entire Jiangnan be able to transport back at least ten years' worth of tax money to Chen State?

Now that the pressure in the northwest has increased sharply, if the imperial court had all this money, would it be afraid that it would not have enough money to fight a war?

Just using money can kill the barbarians in the Western Regions and grasslands!

Thinking of this, Chen Huang licked his lips and his eyes flashed.

Everyone was waiting for Emperor Chen to speak. A young eunuch stood beside him and couldn't help but remind him: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

Emperor Chen finally came to his senses, thought for a while, and said, "Send all this silver to the inner palace."

The inner palace is different from the national treasury. The money from the national treasury is used for the world. The inner palace is responsible for the daily use of the royal family. The emperor can spend the money from the inner palace however he wants, but the money from the national treasury cannot be used by the emperor at will. .

Returning to the imperial study room again, Chen Huang was pacing in the palace, unable to suppress the smile on his face.

After a long time, he stopped, looked at the sharp blade captain again, and asked, "What else did Tangning ask you to bring?"

The team leader said: "Master Tang also brought a copy of the Book of Ten Thousand People, which has the signatures and handprints of the people of Ezhou. The book lists in detail the evidence of the local officials of Ezhou preying on the people, disregarding the court's laws and regulations, and murdering the court officials... "

Emperor Chen said with a solemn face: "Send it up."

The sharp blade captain respectfully handed over a handwritten letter.

This memorial was written by Tang Ning himself, clearly recording the crimes of Ezhou officials. The last sentence was his guess that Liang's "all things withered" poison would be in the hands of Ezhou officials. Tang Ning guessed that they might There is some collusion with the Jiangnan gang.

After a while, Chen Huang threw the memorial in his hand to the ground, his face turned completely gloomy, and he said angrily: "They are so brave!"

…

Jingzhao Mansion Office.

Zhong Mingli was handling official business in the government office, when suddenly a government servant came forward to report that his wife and young lady had arrived.

Zhong Mingli stood up and saw Chen Yuxian and Zhong Yisu Ru walking in from outside.

He walked out and asked in surprise: "Why are you here?"

Chen Yuxian walked forward quickly and asked with concern: "Did something happen to Ning'er?"

Zhong Mingli looked at her and asked: "Have you heard any rumors? Didn't I tell you to stay at home these days and not go out to listen to the gossip?"

"What rumors..." Chen Yuxian looked at him and said angrily: "The whole capital is saying that Prime Minister Feng and the others are going to force His Majesty to get rid of the traitor. Who is that traitor? Is he talking about Ning'er?"

Zhong Mingli said: "His Majesty is protecting him, so you don't have to worry."

Chen Yuxian said: "They all said that it was because His Majesty protected him that Prime Minister Feng and the others would not give up. Ning'er is in Jiangnan, so he won't be in any danger, right?"

"Don't worry." Zhong Mingli looked at them and comforted: "As long as he is not recalled to the capital, nothing will happen."

Chen Yuxian heard the implication of his words and asked hurriedly: "What if he is recalled to the capital?"

Zhong Mingli opened his mouth, but finally said nothing.

Prime Minister Feng and his group were determined to punish Tang Ning for the Jiangnan matter. If His Majesty hadn't protected him in a way that was almost evasive, he would have been recalled to the capital long ago.

If he is recalled to the capital, it means that His Majesty has compromised in the face of the pressure from Prime Minister Feng and the Jiangnan Party.

After all, one is a young official who has just entered the officialdom, and the other is headed by the current Right Prime Minister, the largest party group in the court. It is clear at a glance which one is more important to His Majesty and to the court.

Zhong Mingli clenched his fists, but there was a deep look of helplessness in his eyes. This level of confrontation was far beyond the control of Jing Zhaoyin.

Tomorrow is the deadline for recessing the court. One day later, there will be a bloody storm in the court surrounding this matter.

While Zhong Mingli sighed, Fang Hong, a member of the staff, looked at a letter with a shocked expression. At the door of Xiao's residence, Xiao Jue opened the letter in his hand. After reading it, a strange smile appeared on his face.

…

Above the Golden Palace.

During his reign, His Majesty was extremely diligent. Except for the end of each year, he rarely had ten consecutive days off for morning court.

All the officials are well aware of the reason for the suspension of the imperial court this time. In order to avoid Prime Minister Feng and others' pursuit of Tang Ning, His Majesty simply turned a blind eye and hid in the palace on the pretext of being ill. He did not see anyone and tried to use This method was used to make Feng Xiang and others compromise.

But perhaps even His Majesty did not expect that his move not only did not make Prime Minister Feng want to retreat, but also made him more determined to get rid of the emperor's favorite. Today's court may become a battlefield again. A drama of conflict between king and minister was staged.

At the beginning of the morning court, civil and military officials slowly entered from outside the palace and stood waiting in the palace with their heads lowered.

A quarter of an hour later, Emperor Chen came around from the back hall and sat on the dragon chair.

He looked down and said, "What do you have to report today?"

According to convention, after the emperor asked this question, the prime minister with the highest status among the officials would report some major events, followed by the six ministers. The officials would report what should be reported, what should be listened to, and what needed to be discussed according to their rank and position. Where, the emperor would let all officials discuss it freely.

However, today, Prime Minister Wang asked for leave, and Prime Minister Feng said nothing. The six ministers also looked at their noses and their hearts, and had no intention of standing up.

Most of the officials in the court kept silent at the right time. Everyone knew that today's morning court was the stage for His Majesty Feng Xianghe. Who else dared to intervene?

After the courtiers were silent for a while, it was finally the turn of Liubu to give the matter.

Li Ke took a step forward and bowed: "Your Majesty, the governor of Ezhou and other officials have arrived in Beijing. Tang Ning, the deputy minister of the Ministry of official affairs, has overstepped his authority and acted lawlessly. He has made the whole Jiangnan a mess and has caused widespread resentment among the people. I request your Majesty's orders to send Tang Ning to the capital. Recall the capital to investigate!"

The courtiers raised their heads and glanced at Li Kegui Shizhong in unison. Li Kegui Shizhong mentioned this topic again, which was the beginning of today's court battle.

Sure enough, after he finished speaking, another supervisory censor stood up and said: "Your Majesty, Tang Ning, the acting minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, was on his way to take exams in Jiangnan. Without the permission of the imperial court, he actually took the censor Zhongcheng who was accompanying him to supervise him. He was arrested and imprisoned for acting arbitrarily and disrespecting the law. I beg your Majesty to recall Tang Ning to the capital for questioning!"

"I second the proposal!"

"Seconded!"

…

After supervising the censor, more than ten people came out with uniform voices.

Before Prime Minister Feng takes action, some officials from Prime Minister Feng's party have already gained such momentum. If His Majesty still insists on going his own way, it will be His Majesty who will be unable to come to power after the Jiangnan party collectively forces remonstrance.

Zhong Mingli stood in the crowd, looking at these people with worry on his face, Fang Hong looked indifferent, Xiao Jue's eyes swept over everyone's faces one by one, and remembered their names one by one.

Above the Golden Palace, all the officials had to lower their heads to report. No one dared to look up at the emperor, so no one saw. At this moment, Emperor Chen looked at the Jiangnan party in the palace with eyes full of disgust.