Storms were rising in the border areas, and there was no leisure here in Kyoto. The central government, from the six ministries of the cabinet to the various departments and departments, were all busy with the Chu-Rong war.
Among them, the Household Department is the most important. From the Secretary of the Household Department, the head of the department, to the secretary-general, everyone never leaves their hands with the abacus every day. It is said that the beads on the abacus are so ragged that sparks will appear.
After all the expenses such as grain, grass and military supplies, horses and weapons, clothing and medicines, etc. were all calculated, the silver that had been saved in the bank of the household department was moved out like a flood.
The scene was so lively and grand that it made the Minister of the Ministry of Finance's eyes go straight. If the two servants hadn't quickly supported him with quick eyesight and hands, pinching him, stroking his chest and patting his back and loudly comforting him, An Suiyun, who was just a year old, would have been beaten. I'm really going to faint.
When Emperor Yanping heard the letter, he hurriedly sent several imperial doctors from the Imperial Hospital to keep an eye on him, fearing that this capable veteran would go on strike at a critical moment.
"Brother An, why are you doing this?" Shangshu of the Ministry of War took a break from his busy schedule and came to the Ministry of Hubu to talk to An Suiyun, "This is how wars begin with foreign countries. Back then, Emperor Gaozu fought together, and Brother An was already the minister of Hubu. My brother also personally handled the expenses... If my memory is correct, the expenditure now is less than half of what it was then."
An Suiyun sighed and said: "At that time, most of the expenditures came from the private treasury of Emperor Gaozu, and then he annexed Qi and annexed the country. Ninety percent of the money saved by the Qi treasury and previous emperors was returned to the treasury. How can it be done now?
It’s not just that I’m a money-lover, Brother Yu, but the truth is that there are many places where silver is used in the lands of Chu. We don’t talk about the silver required for disaster relief in flooded and drought-prone areas, nor the expenditure required to entertain tribute countries. Let’s just talk about the border garrison.
Da Chu has a vast territory and is bordered by dozens of countries, and Arong is just one of them. Is that the only small country that needs to be vigilant? Are we not going to care about the military supplies of the garrison troops?
As the saying goes, if you don't know how expensive firewood and rice are, whenever the court needs silver, it will reach out to the Ministry of Household Affairs. Which of the various ministries and departments is not chasing after the Ministry of Household Affairs? They look like creditors!
But the treasury's silver reserves are limited. No matter how talented Brother Yu is, is it possible that he can turn stone into gold and conjure it out of thin air for everyone? "
The Minister of the Ministry of War, who had also chased the Ministry of Revenue for money, touched his nose angrily.
There is no way, friendship is friendship, and expenditure is expenditure. No matter how much I sympathize with this old friend, the Ministry of Household Affairs cannot reduce the allocation.
When An Suiyun saw him like this, he was so angry that he forgot about his despair. He touched his beard and snorted heavily: "I forgot! Brother Qi is the Minister of the Ministry of War!"
Although the Ministry of War is only responsible for the status of soldiers and the promotion and transfer of soldiers in various armies, and has no power to control them at all, they are responsible for the accounting of military expenditures during wartime.
"Brother An, please be more liberal. I just hope that Duke Sheng in front of you can fight quickly, so that the court can allocate less money." The Minister of the Ministry of War pretended not to hear An Suiyun's ridicule, and said sincerely, "I have heard It is said that the Prairie Royal Court is extremely rich, and if there is a chance to collect it back, Brother An will not need to worry about the expenditure of the treasury in the future."
"Can the Prairie Royal Court be richer than Qi Qi?" Hearing this, An Suiyun became more energetic. He immediately sat up straight and looked longingly at the Minister of War.
"It is true that the royal family of the former Qi Dynasty was rich, but from the emperor to the clan, they were accustomed to extravagance and extravagance. During this period, some eunuchs in the inner court secretly exchanged and resold their money.
After such a set of combined punches, no matter how many treasures the emperors of Qi had saved, they couldn't help but consume them like that.
On the contrary, Arong's group of barbarians have never seen the world and have no money to spend, so they prefer to save their treasures and silver. "
An Suiyun's eyes lit up.
He wants to continue counting supplies!
…
"I shouldn't have come into the palace to disturb you, but the situation in Shou'an City is unknown. I'm always on tenterhooks in the palace. Just thinking about your sister still being there makes my eyelids twitch."
In the Yongxiang Palace, Mrs. Zheng held the little princess Yanwa in her arms and whispered to her eldest daughter.
"What did you say, mother? I'm not even happy that you came to the palace to see me, so how can you say it's a disturbance?" Sheng Ran signaled the palace maid to step back, comforting her mother and said, "Which of your eyelids are twitching? "
"Left...right?" Mrs. Zheng pointed to one eye, thought for a moment, pointed to the other side uncertainly, and asked, "Which side is the lucky one?"
Sheng An: "..."
She finally understood where her little sister's belief that "the left eye twitching means wealth and auspiciousness, the right eye twitching is wrong and superstitious" came from.
"You, care will lead to chaos!" Sheng Ran held Zheng's hesitant hand in a funny way and said softly, "What I wanted to tell you before was just that the complicated matters in the front and back are annoying, so I never Could you please come into the palace and have a chat?
Before, my grandfather personally went to court and asked the emperor for an order to order Sister Yuan to avoid the war and take the people to hide in Luodu Mountain. Reinforcements would be available at that time.
The emperor has already agreed to this matter, but the war has just started. This arrangement cannot be made public. Just mention it to your father and don't tell anyone else. "
When Zheng heard this, she was relieved at first, but then she was still worried: "I heard that the leader of the reinforcements is from a direct branch of the Qin family."
"The Qin family was abandoned by the late Emperor and Empress Dowager Xiaohe Wen, and they are not treated with the courtesy of relatives today. They have no power to rely on. If they want to be promoted, they can only serve the public good. How can they dare to interfere in important matters?"
In the critical period of the war against Rong, Sheng Ran felt that the commander surnamed Qin would be extra careful.
"He may be more looking forward to Sister Yuan's safe return to Beijing than the uncle. At least, nothing will happen to him."
"It would be great if it were like this." Ms. Zheng felt that it made sense, and her tense mood had relaxed, "I will go back and tell your father later, so as to save him from being restless and looking for trouble with the gang all day long. The censor takes action."
Speaking of the censor, Mrs. Zheng hesitated for a moment and asked Sheng Ran cautiously: "Since Sister Yuan took office, every time she went to court, there were impeachments by officials. Recently, the situation has become worse than before... I'm afraid it will cause trouble to the emperor and you. .”
"It's not like you don't know the style of the censors. Why didn't Sister Yuan fight with them less when she was in Kyoto? Your Majesty and I know this, so don't think too much about it." Sheng Ran also hates those censors, but it's just that Assistant officials have always had the power to make decisions based on rumors, and even the emperor could easily do nothing against them.
"Sister An, don't blame my mother for talking too much. As the saying goes, all the words are worth the weight of money. Sister Yuan has been away from Kyoto for a long time. Those officials who speak too much in front of the emperor are afraid that the emperor will not believe it." A few points.”
"Just don't worry." Sheng An shook her head.
…
"What are you talking about? Sheng Wenzhen didn't avoid Luodu Mountain?!" Commander Qin, who sent scouts into the mountain to meet up, was a little confused after hearing the report from his subordinates.
No, he was following the plan here, but he was acting out of common sense when he should have avoided the fight!
Shu Zi, please don’t harm him!
…
"Sneeze! Sneeze!" Sheng Yuan, who had never known that there was such a thing as evacuating Shou'an City, sneezed inexplicably.
Come on, who is scolding her? !
Could it be Ajong? ! (End of chapter)
