It was impossible to give in to Prince Huangkou, and Chen Biqian couldn't hide his face. When the matter came to an end, he could only carry it to the end, and then wait for Donglin colleagues to come to rescue him.
The matter was already settled, and he was just about to bury this guy. Yaoji had one final quarrel with him: "I treat my courtiers very well, but I don't need to be polite to those worms who practice favoritism and malpractice. Are you an upright official or a corrupt official? The truth will be revealed soon, and then the courtiers can evaluate you and see if what you just said has been ridiculed by the world! What are you waiting for? Drag this beast out of here quickly!"
Since you are shameless, then don't even take your life. Living is a disaster anyway, and I can be regarded as eliminating harm for the people.
If this guy was an upright official, he would really make me look at him differently.
It's a pity that the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty counted each one as one, but how many upright officials were there? I can probably count them all on one hand.
Let’s not mention others, just the five in the cabinet, all of them are worth a fortune~!
Do you think that because you are Dong Lin, I dare not touch you?
Then let's give it a try and see if your Donglin friends dare to come and save you!
Everyone watched helplessly as two fat and strong Han generals dragged Chen Biqian out. No one had a good word for him, because you know people but don't know their hearts. You can't be sure whether he is an honest official or a corrupt official.
If it is the latter, then you will be trapped directly, and the whole family will have to be buried with you. No one can accept such a result. Besides, there is no real evidence to exonerate him, so it is better to just watch the fun.
It's okay to discuss matters as they are, but don't launch personal attacks and make the prince angry. If they come back, can you handle it?
In this case, everyone very rationally chose to take a step back to avoid splattering themselves with blood...
Yaoji took advantage of the situation and hit Li Juesi, who had just been against him and supported Chen Biqian: "Some courtiers are like this. They accuse me of using power for personal gain, but I started using power for personal gain before I was born. Accusing me of doing things is not what a gentleman should do." Why, how many more things does he do that a gentleman would do? One thing in front of his face, another behind his back, he is sanctimonious, hypocritical, his heart is punishable, and his crime cannot be forgiven!"
Li Juesi was tapped and sweat dripped down his face, and he was extremely nervous. He knew very well that the prince was criticizing him, but he didn't mention him by name. You can no longer fan the flames in front of the prince. If Lei Lei gets angry and brings disaster to yourself because of this matter, not only will all your previous efforts be wasted, but your head will also fall to the ground. First, be patient for the time being, avoid its sharp edges, watch its changes, and then avoid this disaster.
"Where were you talking about just now? Oh, by the way, Zhaoyuan Gold Mine! Li Dai asked, how much gold can this mine contribute to the court every year?"
Yaoji is very interested in mining, but he doesn’t know the current production situation yet, so he needs to find out first.
Li Daiwen didn't know what the prince would do with the gold mine, but he still reported it truthfully: "I remember that Zhaoyuan donated less than one thousand taels of gold to the court last year!"
Yaoji just gave me a thumbs up. Calculating it this way, the annual output of the Zhaoyuan Gold Mine is only equivalent to ten thousand taels of silver. The Donglin bastard just now is here with me just for this small amount of money. Stalking is really humiliating oneself.
"In that case, why not do this? The Zhaoyuan Gold Mine can donate half of the Huangzhuang silver. From now on, the Ministry of Household Affairs only needs to remit 20,000 Huangzhuang silver from internal funds every year. I wonder what Li Aiqing thinks?"
Yaoji believes that it is best not to use the tactic of plundering. It is best to compare one's heart with one's heart, persuade others with virtue, and use barter to win the consent of ministers. As long as there is no fierce opposition, it will be a success.
Forty thousand taels were reduced to 20,000 taels. Li Daiwen thought about it and basically agreed with this suggestion. Although the Zhaoyuan Gold Mine was compensated to the prince, in detail, this transaction was still a good deal for the Ministry of Household Affairs, saving about ten thousand taels of expenses.
Lin Yuji, the Minister of Rites, felt that the court was still at a loss and could not let the young prince enrich himself and take advantage of the Ministry of Household Affairs. He immediately bargained and said: "If His Highness the Crown Prince intends to use the strategy of halving the silver taels of Huangzhuang to mine the Zhaoyuan gold mine, it is feasible. If In the future, the amount of gold produced by the gold mine will double, what should your highness do?"
The implication is that the prince's compromise is not big enough, and it is best to completely give up what he has gained from the imperial village. He wouldn't say this, so it would be better for the prince to say it himself.
In this case, Yaoji took a step back and suggested: "In the future, the output of the Zhaoyuan Gold Mine will have nothing to do with the Household Department. I will be responsible for the profits and losses. The Household Department of Huangzhuang does not need to pay any internal funds, and the Zhaoyuan Gold Mine will be used entirely. Do you think this is appropriate to pay off the silver from the Imperial Palace?"
Lin Yuji stopped looking for trouble. After thinking for a while, he agreed: "I think it is very appropriate. Your Highness is wise!"
The Ministry of Revenue saved 30,000 taels of silver, and the income from Huangzhuang was completely transferred to Taicang. Naturally, Li Daiwen had no reason to disagree.
Although the courtiers were a little reluctant to exchange the Zhaoyuan gold mine for Huangzhuang's annual income, the transaction was considered mutually beneficial and acceptable to them. At least the household department not only did not lose money, but also made a small profit. Both parties established an agreement. After signing the receipt, signing the names of the parties involved, and stamping the seal of the relevant department, the deal is considered a deal.
From a higher level, the Ministry of Finance has obtained the southern coastal area of Shandong. If it is operated as a salt farm, it will be much more suitable for drying salt than the northern coast, both in terms of sunlight and temperature.
If the drought continues and there is no rainfall, maybe according to the prince's words, in just one year, the people in half of Shandong can have enough food and clothing, and even pay their bills by relying on salt drying as their main industry, with fishing and mining as auxiliary industries. The Ministry pays a lot of tax money.
There was another person kneeling below, and that was Yan Jizu, the former governor of Shandong. This guy was also shocked by the prince's imagination, and entered a half-dream state with thoughts, as if he had seen mountains of sea salt waving to him.
"Yan Jizu accepted the title. I order you to reinstate your position, rectify Shandong, and move the capital of Shandong to Ye County, Laizhou Prefecture. If there are any mistakes again, don't blame me for being ruthless. Two crimes are equal to one!"
If this guy is killed and a new governor has to be appointed to manage Shandong, and his ability is lower than his, then it is better to continue to use this guy.
The reason why Yan Jizu was imprisoned was because the city of Jinan was captured by the Qing army, the court had no military pay, and King De was a miser. Even if a governor was a corrupt official and bankrupted his family, he wouldn't be able to get much money out of it. Even one hundred thousand taels of silver was a drop in the bucket for the defenders. Unless the local tycoon King De was able to donate generously, the fall of Jinan was a certainty.
Shang Zhou Zuo, the censor of the right capital of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, came out to object before Yan Jizu could thank him for his grace: "Your Highness, the Crown Prince, I wonder why Your Highness insists on reinstating Yan Jizu to his post? If there is no proper reason, I fear there will be objections from the government and the opposition!"
Because of Yan Jizu's fault, not only did the city of Jinan fall to the Qing army, but the vassal king of the Ming Empire was captured by the enemy. This was a great shame for the court. If the relevant responsibilities were investigated, Yan Jizu would be the chief culprit.
Yaoji expected that someone would oppose his order, so he was not in a hurry and explained slowly: "As for...um...what Shang Aiqing mentioned, I have the following analysis. First, hoarding Shandong's troops in Dezhou It was Yang Sichang who carried out the defense. Yan Jizu was just following orders, and Yang Sichang has now been imprisoned. Secondly, the military pay allocated by the imperial court to Shandong was insufficient, resulting in insufficient defense forces in various parts of Shandong, and only key defenses could be carried out, resulting in The Qing army was able to sneak attack Jinan. Thirdly, King De still regarded his wealth as his life when faced with the enemy's siege and refused to donate money to fight the enemy. Since it had been plundered by the Qing army, I will not hold him responsible. I Ordering Yan Jizu to take responsibility for his crimes and perform meritorious service does not mean letting go of the past. In the future, we must listen to his words and observe his actions, so I love you and don't have to worry about it."
In fact, Yan Jizu was just a pawn under Yang Sichang. Whenever the war went against him, he would be used as a scapegoat by Yang Sichang. Just like Lu Xiangsheng, even if he died in battle, he would have to take the blame. Therefore, Yang Sichang really brought it upon himself and will not live!
Chen Xinjia, Secretary of the Ministry of War, was also puzzled by the prince's order: "I would like to report to your highness the prince, I don't know why your highness wants to move the capital of Shandong to Ye County. Isn't this a move to abandon the original and replace the inferior?"
Moving the capital to Ye County means that the imperial court has abandoned Jinan, a major military town and economic center in the east and west of Shandong. This will definitely have a huge negative impact on Shandong.
Besides, the city defense of Jinan City is at least much stronger than that of Ye County. If the Qing army can capture even Jinan, let alone Ye County, which is much smaller than the capital, is it possible that the prince has been frightened by the Qing army?
When it comes to military affairs, Wei Zhaocheng, the left minister of the Ministry of War, is very familiar with it. It is much easier to deal with it than before, and it is also a good way to show his professional ability in front of the prince: "I would like to report to your highness the prince, I think you must never give up on Jinan." , Jinan is the gateway to the Central Plains and a barrier against enemies. It is extremely important to the country and the people and must not be abandoned!"
Other ministers also agreed. Liu Zunxian, the Minister of Industry, Lin Yuji, the Minister of Rites, Li Juesi, the left minister of the Ministry of Industry, and Li Rixuan, the right minister of the Ministry of War, all reconsidered. The prince's move was extremely unwise and should be revoked.
Yao Ji smiled indifferently and turned to ask the dormant "ugly monster": "Zhang Sizhi, Zhang Aiqing, you are from Shandong, do you know where is the richest place in Shandong?"
When he was suddenly questioned by the prince, Zhang Sizhi's heart tightened. He thought about the mistakes he had made before, but this time he was much more stable and the problem was not difficult. The prince should be satisfied. He then respectfully replied: "Your Highness, the place where the richest man in Shandong is located." , it should be Jinan!”
No need to ask him, a Shandong native, even everyone else in the hall knew the answer.
Seeing that this guy was not a pure 250, Yaoji asked again: "Ai Qing thinks that if the Qing army invades Shandong again, where will it take first?"
There was no need to create extraneous matters, but the two idiots from the Ministry of War had to dig into the root of the problem, and Yaoji could only do this.
