In front of the door, more and more people gathered around.
Seeing the aggressive look of King Dai, Chen Yi frowned, but for a moment, there was no good way to do it.
From a rational point of view, the request made by Dai Wang is not excessive. After all, it only requires an exact time, and it does not require the Ministry of Revenue to give money and food immediately, so it can be considered reasonable and reasonable.
But the problem is that no one dares to give him this answer at this moment.
According to Shen Yi's estimation, if other factors are not taken into account and the income from the reclaimed land is used to pay off the debt, it will take about eight to ten years to pay off all the redemption money.
Of course, this is the most conservative estimate. If the chaos in the grassland gradually calms down and the mutual market can recover normally, then some money and food can be transferred.
In addition to the upcoming big plan, the emperor allowed the Ministry of Punishment to participate. If the investigation is strict enough and a group of corrupt officials are found, and the confiscated family property and income can be used to fill in some of the holes.
Calculating this, if nothing unexpected happens, it is possible to fill this gap in two to three years at the earliest.
But the problem is that no one can guarantee that unexpected situations will not happen.
The chaos in the grassland cannot be resolved in a day, and the plan involves many things and the situation is complicated. No one knows how far the investigation will go and how much silver can be obtained.
Even if the money is returned, the imperial court will not only need money for the redemption of military camps. Apart from anything else, it is conceivable that the emperor has just issued an edict to give priority to various places to reserve Chang Pingcang. , will cause the revenue of the Ministry of Household Affairs to shrink this year.
In addition, Qin Tianjian said before that disasters may occur in the next few years. Although most people think it is nonsense, they must be guarded against.
In addition, we have to prepare for any emergencies. There are many things involved, so no one dares to take this for granted.
After all, the authority of the imperial court is important. He is a dignified minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs. If he speaks out, he represents the imperial court.
Today he gave a specific time. If he couldn't get it out by the time, it would be a shame for the court. Even if he could get it out, if other things were delayed, he would still have to take the blame.
So no matter what, he couldn't give such a definite answer.
However, just surrounding here is not an option.
After all, Chen Yi was a veteran in officialdom. Seeing King Dai's attitude of refusing to give way until he received a reply, he pondered for a moment and then said.
"Your Majesty, this matter is a political matter of the imperial court and involves many things. Regarding the redemption and purchase of silver for military camps, the Ministry of Revenue has already drafted regulations. However, every penny and cent of the money and food in the Ministry of Revenue comes from the national treasury and must be approved by the emperor, not ministers. It can be decided, so if your Majesty wants to know the specific time, please go to the palace and ask His Majesty, I don't dare to be expert."
King Dai himself was right about this matter, and his explanation was beautiful. Therefore, it was meaningless to argue with him about whether the money could be given, when, or even whether his behavior of blocking the door was wrong.
Because even if he won the argument, if the master acted like a rogue and refused to give way, there was nothing Shen Yi could do.
The status of the vassal king is respected. If Shen Yi behaves disrespectfully in public, tomorrow's impeachment memorial will be handed over to the emperor.
With Chen Yi's character, he would definitely not make such a mistake, but just letting it go would not work.
If he just left quietly, that would be fine, but now things have become like this. There are countless people present watching, and all the yamen are probably paying attention to this matter now.
The dignified Minister of the Ministry of Revenue cannot even settle this matter. At best, it is embarrassing, at worst, it is a lack of ability.
Therefore, for Shen Yi, the most important thing right now is to quickly settle the matter.
But the problem is that the Dai Mansion obviously wants to make the fuss as big as possible. For ordinary people, this is almost a dead end with no solution.
But Chen Yi keenly grasped the most critical issue in this, which was the question of who was in charge.
Although it is said that King Dai took a trick and blocked the door of the household department with the lord's guard of honor, and did not prohibit entry and exit, so strictly speaking, it cannot be regarded as an attack on the imperial government office, but his actions are actually It's really causing trouble.
However, because he found a reason that was difficult to refute, he rationalized his move and shifted all the pressure to Tobe.
For normal officials, they would only think about how to send King Dai away. This is why Meng Jian hurriedly came to him to make a decision just now.
However, when Shen Yi came over on behalf of the king, he already knew that the matter could not be resolved, so he simply did the opposite and threw the blame away.
Since he can't give an answer, find someone who can give an answer. Of course, he is already the dignified Minister of Household Affairs, so he can't decide this matter. If you look for someone higher up, it will naturally be the emperor.
Normally, this kind of behavior is taboo.
Because this is equivalent to diverting troubles that he can't handle and leaving it to the emperor to solve. If he makes trouble, it will be easily solved and the emperor will be offended. Therefore, Shen Yi was not willing to do this at first. Dry.
But at this point, there is no other way but this. Fortunately, Shen Yi is one of the six ministers after all. At his status, occasionally offending the emperor in a small way is not a big deal. When I saw the man from the Ministry of War, he was offending the emperor for nothing, so why didn't he just stay in peace?
Chen Yi asked himself, he still knew a little bit about the emperor. With the emperor's magnanimity, he could at most say a few words to him afterward, so as not to have any opinions.
Of course, the most important thing is that although Shangshu Shen is not a prominent person, in recent years, all kinds of government affairs of the imperial court, large and small, from war to mutual trade, from large canals to various ceremonies, are all inseparable from the Ministry of Household Affairs. Busy and busy, no matter what, it is considered hard work without credit. With so many things, another person may not be able to handle them properly.
When you are really in front of the emperor, you have to show some kindness.
What's more, Chen Yi had another thought in mind. He moved the emperor out, and the pressure was smoothly transferred to the king himself.
The reason why he had the confidence to cause trouble here was that he felt that he was in the right. But now, Shen Yi has relaxed his words. If he continues to block the door of the house, it will be obvious that he is making trouble unreasonably.
Since it is unreasonable, then the Ministry of Revenue is the victim. If it is really delayed for a long time, the ministers of other ministries will definitely not stand idly by. When the matter becomes an uproar, the king will only suffer the consequences.
After all, this so-called 'demand for debt' is just a cover, and everyone knows exactly why the king is here.
Therefore, after his words came out, Dai Wang would have to either retreat on his own or drag him to see the emperor. In short, he could not continue to block it, otherwise it would cause dissatisfaction not only from the household department. .
King Dai was obviously aware of this, and the smile on his face slowly faded, but it was only for a moment, but his brows relaxed again and he said.
"In that case, then listen to Shen Shangshu and ask Shen Shangshu to accompany me and ask His Majesty in the palace!"
? ? ?
Hearing these words, Shen Yi's face was obviously surprised.
In his opinion, in this situation, the best choice for Dai Wang is to retreat on his own. Although it is a bit embarrassing, it will not make the situation worse.
You know, even if you go to see the emperor, what can you do?
No one knows better than the emperor what kind of foundation the Ministry of Revenue has. If this money could be taken out, it would have been taken out long ago. But now it has not been taken out, not because of the emperor's tacit approval.
When he was actually in front of the emperor, even if the king was being reasonable, could he still dare to be so aggressive?
Although he felt a little strange in his heart, Shen Yi did not hesitate and said.
"Your Majesty, please!"
Anyway, it would be nice to be able to calm down the matter at hand. Just go to the palace as soon as possible. It is better to leave this matter to the emperor to decide than to embarrass him here.
If the emperor asked the Ministry of Accounts to allocate the money, then it would be done and it would delay other things. Then he would have an excuse.
So, after briefly explaining a few words to Meng Jian and the others, Shen Yi followed King Dai to the palace.
As King Dai left with the guard of honor, the household department finally returned to normal order. However, the news spread quickly to everywhere.
As for Shen Yi, as Dai Wang came outside the palace, he handed in the post. Not long after, he saw Huai En and others walking out quickly. When he saw Shen Yi outside, a smile appeared on his face, and he first said to The two of them bowed and then said.
"Shang Shu Shen came just in time. His Majesty was about to send our family to summon you to the palace. By chance, you and the acting prince arrived. Please follow our family in quickly. Don't keep your Majesty and the princes waiting for a long time."
Shen Yi was still wondering why Hua En came so quickly, and even though he was just sending a message, he actually forced his big brother to come in person.
But when I heard these words, my heart sank.
Huaien is often in front of the emperor, and nothing he says will be wasted. His words conveyed two key messages.
First, even if he did not hand over a sign to request an audience, the emperor would still summon him to an audience.
It is conceivable that the emperor will not summon him for no reason. Since he has summoned him, there must be something. If it is not related to the king's blocking of the door, then there is a high probability that it is related to the Ministry of Household Affairs.
Second, the vassal kings also entered the palace!
Glancing at the calm-faced King Dai next to him, Chen Yi couldn't help but frown. He had a faint feeling that he seemed to have been plotted against.
The king here blocked the door of the household department to demand debts, and the vassal kings over there went to the palace to meet him. It is impossible to say that there is no connection between the two.
Therefore, Hubu's side was just an introduction. Could it be said that King Dai had planned to lure him into the palace from the beginning?
Originally, he thought that the Dai Wang just wanted to make the household department submit and stop obstructing the transfer of the feudal vassal, but now it seems that it is far from that simple.
If King Dai’s blocking of the door this time was discussed with the kings in advance, then what is the purpose?
You know, when the kings joined forces to make things difficult for Yu Qian, King Dai stayed out of the matter. Could it be that because of the transfer of the feudal vassal, King Dai joined forces with them again?
If this is the case, is the goal difficult to achieve, or is it still aimed at religious reform?
Looking at Dai Wang again with subtle eyes, seeing that there was no abnormality in the latter, Shen Yi felt more and more that Dai Wang must have had a premeditated plan, and he couldn't help but raise his vigilance to the highest level.
With this in mind, Shen Yi followed Huaien to the Wenhua Palace. After entering the palace gate, he took a cursory glance. Sure enough, all the vassal kings, including King Zhou, King Lu, King Min and others, were shocked. In the column.
"Your Majesty, Chen Yi, pays homage to your Majesty!"
"Get flat..."
The emperor's expression was as usual, there was nothing special about it. After letting the two of them get up without any courtesy, the emperor asked.
"Huai'en just came to report that Shen Shangshu and Dai Wangshu had handed in a notice to enter the palace. What's the matter?"
The question was asked by two people, but King Dai had no intention of answering, so Shen Yi had no choice but to speak.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, after today's morning court, I returned to the Hubu Yamen and saw many people gathered outside. When I stepped forward to ask, I found that the Prince Dai was sitting behind the door of the Hubu Yamen with a guard of honor. Then..."
In front of the kings, Shen Yi told everything that happened in the household, including all the conversations. There was no concealment or bias, he just told it truthfully.
After finishing speaking, the First Emperor frowned, looked at Dai Wang aside and asked.
"Uncle Dai Wang, is this true?"
There was a hint of displeasure in his tone, which made Shen Yi breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed that things were not as bad as he thought.
However, in contrast, King Dai showed no fear. He cupped his hand and acknowledged it generously, saying.
"Your Majesty, what Shangshu Shen just said is true. I did lead people to block the door of the Ministry of Revenue."
Ah this...
Chen Yi blinked, vaguely feeling that something was wrong with King Dai's attitude, but he couldn't tell exactly what was wrong.
Then, Dai Wang went straight to the point and spoke clearly and neatly.
"I dare not deceive Your Majesty. This time I went to the Ministry of Household Affairs to ask for a debt. It was a lie. The real reason is that Shen Shangshu was in the court, obstructing the transfer of the feudal vassal, and wanted to get an explanation."
This straightforward attitude made Shen Yi feel even more uneasy.
Fortunately, after hearing this, the emperor did not favor the king, but spoke.
"In this case, it is Uncle Dai Wang's fault. Shen Shangshu's opposition to the transfer of the feudal vassal in the court was also out of public interest. Now that the national treasury is not rich, the transfer of the vassal is a matter of great importance and waste, so Uncle Wang left. The trouble in the Ministry of Finance is indeed a bit willful."
Although Shen Yi felt that it was a bit inappropriate for the emperor to characterize this matter as willful, fortunately, in terms of attitude, the emperor clearly favored the Ministry of Revenue, so Shen Shangshu quickly agreed.
"What your Majesty said is true."
As he spoke, he turned to King Dai aside and said.
"Your Majesty, I have learned clearly that the transfer of the feudal vassal was not deliberately obstructed by me, but that the imperial court had too many places to spend money. As the Minister of Household Affairs, I must also consider everything. If the national treasury is slightly richer, I will I will definitely not object to this matter..."
