Chen Xiaomu thought for a moment and then said: "Father, I would like to ask, how much money does the imperial court need for normal expenses in a month?" "
After hearing this, Su Chengxuan looked at Dai Jun again and said, "Dai Shangshu, can you give an approximate amount?"
Dai Jun smiled bitterly and said: "Your Majesty, today the Ministry of Household Affairs relies on collecting some scattered small taxes and borrowing some additional silver from the Baijia Salt Store to spend the necessary expenses of the court. For example, only the bulk of the expenditure for military rations is spent on each item. It costs nearly 20,000 taels of silver per month, plus some other miscellaneous expenses, the total expenditure this month is estimated to be more than 30,000 taels of silver!"
Su Chengxuan couldn't speak for a long time after hearing this. To be honest, a country, even though it is a small country, only has 30,000 taels of silver a month. It can be said that it is really so poor that it can no longer be poor. If it continues like this, it may not be able to use two taels of silver. Yue will have to go back to each house to find each mother, break up the gang and settle the matter!
Chen Xiaomu didn't care about this. He had never governed a country, and he didn't know what thirty thousand taels of expenditure a month meant to a country. The main reason was that he didn't have the concept in his mind. He smiled at Dai Jun and said: "Master Dai, you may It's a misunderstanding. What I mean is how much money is needed if all the royal court's expenses are normal? Including arrears of military pay, pensions, and salaries of officials at all levels. "Oh" and the monthly money of our Princess Qingfeng Mansion. But don’t forget, anyway, you can count all the expenses you can think of, and then calculate how much money it will cost?”
Seeing Chen Xiaomu's serious look, Dai Jun couldn't laugh or cry in his heart, and said to himself: "You kid is really capable of tormenting people. You can't even get a piece of money out of it, so you make me spend all your time and energy settling accounts here. I'm sorry." Are you kidding me?"
But in the end, Dai Jun still looked at Su Chengxuan's face. Based on his many years of experience, he did some rough thinking in his mind and said: "Captain Chen, according to what you said, all expenses are included in one package." You need 1.8 million taels of silver to do it! "
"Dai Shangshu, why do you need so much silver? Did you make a mistake in your calculation?" Although the calculation was in vain, as soon as Dai Jun's words came out, Prime Minister Wei Wen was the first to stand up and question it.
Su Chengxuan was also startled. He sat on the dragon chair and stared at Dai Jun with a look of suspicion on his face.
Caught between these two big men, Dai Jun's head started to sweat. He quickly explained: "Your Majesty, Sir Chief Assistant, because the war between Zheng and Chu has just ended, our Zheng army has suffered quite a lot of casualties. Much, the pension and funeral expenses alone account for nearly half of the budget."
"Your Majesty, Your Excellency," Lu Qian, the Minister of War, walked out of the military attaché train and said with his hands in his hands: "Shang Shu Dai is right. Our Ministry of War has completed the statistics of the dead and wounded soldiers and handed them over to the Ministry of Household Affairs. , just wait until the Ministry of Household Affairs has the money, and then submit it to the Emperor for approval."
There was nothing to say at this time. Su Chengxuan and Wei Wen looked at each other silently, sighed softly, and thought to themselves, "It would cost me my life to get so much money together that day!"
"Your Majesty!" Zhuge Cheng slowly walked to the steps of the dragon chair and said, "I have a plan that I want to report to the Emperor."
Su Chengxuan said listlessly: "Go ahead."
Zhuge Cheng paused and said: "Your Majesty, I have also read the list of dead soldiers compiled by the Ministry of War, but I also saw many loopholes in these lists!" "
"What loophole?" Su Chengxuan asked suspiciously, staring at Zhuge Cheng.
Zhuge Cheng first glanced at Su Chengxuan's face with the corner of his eye, and then said cautiously: "The old minister saw that many of the names on this list were marked as the names of officers and soldiers who had not seen their bodies but were reported as dead in battle. The basis is The statistics from the army commanders and battalion commanders below are collected, and the veteran is wondering if there might be false reports, empty pay, etc. happening!"
''oh! Su Chengxuan nodded thoughtfully, and then waved Lu Qian over. He asked Lu Qian, "Lu Shangshu, did you hear what Captain Zhuge said just now?" "
Lu Qian bowed and replied: "Your Majesty, I heard this."
Su Chengxuan said slightly angrily: "Then what do you say?"
Lu Qian suddenly knelt down in front of the steps and choked with sobs: "Your Majesty, this matter cannot be investigated! There is no way to investigate it!"
"Haha" Su Chengxuan sneered, and slapped his palm on the imperial case in front of him with a bang. Just as Long Yan was furious, Chen Xiaomu hurried over and bowed to Su Chengxuan first, and then Said: "Father, calm down, Lu Shangshu is right, this matter cannot be investigated, and there is no way to investigate it! "
Seeing Chen Xiaomu saying the same thing, Su Chengxuan's anger in his stomach immediately disappeared. He said, "Your Majesty, let me tell you the reason."
Chen Xiaomu said: "Father, before I speak, I would like to ask Lu Shangshu something."
Su Chengxuan nodded and said, "Just ask."
Chen Xiaomu clasped his fist at Lu Qian and asked, "Shang Shu Lu, how does the Ministry of War pay funeral expenses for fallen soldiers?"
Lu Qian was stunned for a moment. He did not expect that Chen Xiaomu was asking about this matter, but he quickly answered: "Generally, from junior high school officers below the eighth grade to ordinary soldiers, funeral expenses are paid by the Ministry of Household Affairs according to their official positions. The local government will then take the initiative to distribute the money directly to the families of the fallen soldiers. From the eighth rank to the fifth rank, the Ministry of War will come forward to purchase coffins and mourning clothes to help the families bury them in addition to the funeral expenses. Officials above the fifth rank will be provided by the Ministry of War. Together with the officials, we will report to the emperor. In addition to the above conditions, the emperor will also reward some items and issue a letter of condolences to his family!"
''Lu Shangshu, how much are their funeral expenses? "Chen Xiaomu asked again.
Lu Qian said: "A soldier is eighty taels of silver, from the eighth to the ninth rank is thirty taels, from the eighth to the fifth is one hundred and eleven taels, from the fifth to the third is four hundred and fifty taels, from the third to above Let the emperor decide."
''Okay, I get it now. "Chen Xiaomu cupped his hands to Lu Qiangong, turned to Su Chengxuan and said: "Father, the reason why I have the same view as Lu Shangshu is that the funeral cost of a soldier is only eight taels of silver. If the imperial court really sends someone to find out. If the truth about every fallen soldier was revealed, these eight taels of silver would probably not even be enough to cover expenses! Moreover, this will hurt the hearts of the officers and soldiers below and their families. In the end, the gain will outweigh the loss! "
Zhuge Cheng became anxious when he heard this. He said: "Chen Duwei, I absolutely cannot agree with what you said. I think it is very difficult for the government to pay its bills today. These corrupt officials not only do not worry about the country, but extend their black hands to the country. It’s unbearable, but if we don’t severely punish a few corrupt officials as a warning to others, I’m afraid this corruption trend will become more and more popular in the future!”
Chen Xiaomu laughed and said: "Lieutenant Zhuge, Lu Shangshu has just said that the funeral expenses of the soldiers killed in the battle are directly allocated by the Ministry of Household Affairs to the local government. May I ask how the army can be so greedy that they can falsely report their death in battle if they don't have enough money? Soldiers’ funeral expenses?”
"Just join forces with the local government!" Zhuge Cheng said almost without time to think.
''Oh, how did Captain Zhuge know so clearly? Chen Xiaomu asked, staring at Zhuge Cheng.
Zhuge Cheng panicked when he heard this, but he quickly calmed down and asked: "If we don't join hands with the local government, wouldn't the army be asking for trouble by falsely reporting the number of killed in battle?"
Chen Xiaomu said with a smile: "Isn't that what it is? In fact, this matter can be easily handled. My father sent someone to copy the list of these fallen soldiers by their place of origin and address, and then write down the amount of compensation for funeral expenses, so that everything is fair. Make it public, and then send people to publicly post it in front of the yamen of various local governments and counties. I would like to ask Lieutenant Zhuge, will anyone dare to think about funeral expenses again?"
''Wonderful! Wei Wen, who was standing aside at the moment, couldn't help but praise after hearing this: "This is a good method. It does not require the imperial court to mobilize troops to send people to check, and it does not shake the morale of the army!" "
Even Su Chengxuan, who was sitting on the dragon chair, nodded frequently to express his approval of the method proposed by Chen Xiaomu.
Zhuge Cheng, on the other hand, had an unwilling look on his face. He originally wanted to say something more, but hesitated and finally closed his mouth.
Chen Xiaomu decided to take advantage of this opportunity to strike while the iron was hot and give a head start to the military reforms he planned to implement. He said to Su Chengxuan: "Father, I have another idea that I would like to report to my father for decision."
Su Chengxuan smiled and said: "Let me tell my father." "
Chen Xiaomu paused and said: "Father, the army is the cornerstone of a country at all times. If Zheng State wants to survive in this environment surrounded by powerful countries, the role of the army is the top priority, so I want to I advise my father to increase the pay of the officers and soldiers in the army and the funeral expenses of the fallen soldiers by another 50% to ensure the absolute loyalty of the Zheng army to the imperial court!"
As soon as Chen Xiaomu finished speaking, the whole court suddenly fell into silence. Even the military leader Lu Qian shook his head secretly and said to himself, "This little guy got his ambition at a young age, and he doesn't know how to speak. Now he doesn't even have the money to pay the arrears of military pay." , you actually want to increase military pay, wouldn’t that mean you have no more money to pay? Your advice sounds good, but in fact it is clearly causing trouble!"
Su Chengxuan smiled bitterly in his heart. He thought Chen Xiaomu had given him another good idea, but he didn't expect it to be a bad idea. My stupid young son-in-law! You really don’t know how expensive firewood and rice are, so you just casually said 50% more silver, but do you know how much silver that is? Could it be that you want to force me to sell my son and daughter?
Su Chengxuan was still in a dilemma here, not knowing how to answer, but Zhuge Cheng couldn't help but started to take the lead. He said to Chen Xiaomu in a lecturing tone: "Chen Duwei, it stands to reason that Shijun Salary and salary are for the king to share his worries. Above the court, especially in front of the emperor, one must not talk nonsense or act arbitrarily. Now the emperor is still sleepless at night worrying about the expenses of the imperial court, but it would be better for you to increase the pay of the army by 50%. Excuse me. Where does the money for Captain Chen's salary come from?"
After Zhuge Cheng's reminder, all the ministers in the court were silent. It turned out that everyone had been talking for a long time, and all they said was nonsense. Now the court did not even have the money to pay the original arrears of salary, and talking about increasing the salary was not just talking nonsense. What is it?
However, Chen Xiaomu didn't seem to notice everyone's emotions, and he actually said to Dai Jun, the Minister of Household Affairs: "Dai Minister, how much money can I get for increasing the army's pay by 50% as I just said?" "
Dai Jun glanced at him angrily, said nothing, and said to himself: "Young man wants to point fingers at me just because your father-in-law is the emperor. You have found the wrong person.
Seeing that Dai Jun ignored him, Chen Xiaomu was not angry. Instead, he raised three fingers in front of him and asked him, "Is three million taels enough?"
As soon as Chen Xiaomu said these words, everyone was shocked. Everyone looked at him in disbelief. This time Su Chengxuan could not sit still anymore. He stood up from the dragon chair and shouted to Chen Xiaomu: "Your Majesty, come to court Don't talk nonsense in the hall!"
Chen Xiaomu turned around and looked at Su Chengxuan and said aggrievedly: "Father, my son is not talking nonsense! If three million taels is not enough, then three million and fifty thousand taels will be enough! According to Chen Xiaomu's estimate, three million taels Both were useless. Since Dai Jun remained silent and Su Chengxuan was angry at him again, it didn't matter if he added another five hundred thousand taels. Anyway, in this world, he could make money with his mind that was more than a thousand years ahead of his time. To him it is just a matter of numbers!
The more he said it, the more outrageous it became. Su Chengxuan's face turned red with shame and he wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl in. He was even thinking in his mind whether he should divorce this embarrassing guy for Su Xingran and Su Xingchen.
Zhuge Cheng's heart moved, and he felt that the opportunity had come. In fact, his main purpose in going to court today was to use the military pay issue to force Su Chengxuan into his trap. He had already seen that Su Chengxuan was interested, but the key point was At that time, Wei Wen and Chen Xiaomu jumped out to object strongly. Now seeing that Su Chengxuan was encouraged by these two people and refused to give in easily, Zhuge Cheng decided to take advantage of the situation and give him a hard push from behind, first to get rid of Chen Xiaomu, the stumbling block. Move it away.
Therefore, Zhuge Cheng was uncharacteristic and no longer looked as senile as before. He walked over with a smile and said to Chen Xiaomu: "Chen Duwei, there is no joke in the court. When will the three and a half million taels of silver you mentioned be delivered to the court?" Come over?"
Chen Xiaomu thought for a moment and said, "I think five days should be enough."
Zhuge Cheng was overjoyed when he heard this. In order to cut off Chen Xiaomu's retreat, he suddenly bowed to Chen Xiaomu and said: "In this case, it is settled. I will thank Captain Chen on behalf of the generals of the three armies, and then inform them of their five Within days, the imperial salary will be increased by 50% from the original amount, and it will be paid in one go!"
Zhuge Cheng is really vicious. Chen Xiaomu said he would have five days to raise money, but he actually changed it to within five days. In the meantime, he was forced to give him another day in advance, and even though Chen Xiaomu proposed to raise the salary of the army by five days, This was something that even Emperor Zheng Su Chengxuan had not expressly agreed to, yet he dared to overstep his authority and just add it, with the purpose of forcing Chen Xiaomu to have no way out.
The coquettish operation of Chen Xiaomu and Zhuge Cheng only shocked everyone in the court. Originally, they should be happy when Chen Xiaomu promised to get money to pay their salaries, but at this time, no one except Zhuge Cheng could. When he became happy, Su Chengxuan even brushed his sleeves and sat back on the dragon chair, sulking without saying a word. He thought Long Yan would be furious, but he didn't know who he was angry at. It was clear that one wanted to fight and the other wanted to suffer. He knew clearly that his precious son-in-law had been deceived by Zhuge Cheng, an old fox, but he couldn't tell the truth openly.
On Wei Wen's side, after the shock, he was grateful to Chen Xiaomu for finding his daughter for him and reuniting his father and daughter. Therefore, he did not care about court etiquette and stepped forward to pull Chen Xiaomu to the corner of the court and whispered: "Sixth prince, please apologize to the emperor quickly and take back what you said before. You have fallen into that old man Zhuge Cheng's trick. In just five days, you can get the three and a half million taels." Silver?"
Chen Xiaomu said strangely: "Prime Minister Wei, why should I plead guilty? And why should I take back what I said before? It's not like I can't get money!"
At this time, seeing that Chen Xiaomu was still acting like a stubborn donkey, Wei Wen was so anxious that he almost jumped. He said anxiously: "Your Highness, the Sixth Prince, listen to what I say, that is three and a half million taels of white money. , instead of three hundred and fifty taels, I’m afraid you won’t be able to borrow that much money no matter how popular you are in five days!”
Chen Xiaomu smiled and said: "Prime Minister Wei, who did you hear that I had to borrow money to make up the money?"
Now it was Wei Wen's turn to be surprised. He asked in surprise, "If you don't want to borrow it, where did you get the money?"
Chen Xiaomu said: "I sell things!"
Wei Wen was a little surprised when he heard the words, and thought to himself: "Did the sixth prince bring some treasure to the Chen Palace? But he thought again, in this world today, he has never heard of any treasure worth three and a half million taels. Where's the money! What's more, Chen State is still a small country, what valuable treasures can it have?" Thinking of this, he couldn't help but ask: "What treasures does the Sixth Prince want to sell?"
Chen Xiaomu first smiled secretly, and then said: "What I sell is a priceless treasure, and its name is concept."
Wei Wen was stunned at this moment, thinking, what kind of treasure is this concept? It’s actually worth so much money!
