Thinking of that incident, the Prince of Linfen County looked at the expressionless emperor on the throne, and then at Huang Qiong who was silent on the other side. His body, which had long been drained by wine and sex, couldn't help but break out in sweat. Not only him, but even all the clan members understood it. The emperor in front of him would never be persecuted.
If you really make him anxious, you can do anything if you are ruthless. When the time comes, all the property that he has worked so hard to manage will belong to the court. At that time, it is really like what King Lao Shizi said, and he will kill his fat sheep to make up for the shortfall of the court. With the emperor he knew well, he could really do this.
He and the emperor were already distant relatives, so if he really took action, he would not treat him like his own son, treating him with dignity and ease. Anyway, let's get over it now. As for the losses, we can just find a way to recover them afterwards. As long as this time, he is not remembered by the emperor.
Thinking about this, several clan members looked at each other. In unison, they knelt down and said: "Your Majesty, we have thought about it. Just as the King of England said just now, as a clan itself, we share weal and woe with the imperial court. We also have certain responsibilities in this world. "
"Now that the imperial court is in trouble, we naturally have no reason to sit idly by. Your Majesty, we are willing to do as you ask and sell part of the stored grain at the official price. We are also willing to donate part of the grain to the court for disaster relief." Yes, yes, but the Prince of Linfen, who spoke on behalf of several clans, still had a trick on his mind.
They agreed to sell part of their grain reserves at official prices, but this amount was not certain. Ten thousand stones belongs to him, and one thousand stones belongs to him. Anyway, I won’t say the specific amount. As for when the time comes, let’s talk about what happens when the time comes. If it really doesn't work, just go in and out of big fights and small fights. In short, it is a sentence. The emperor's words must be listened to, but the cunning must also be played.
Hearing that several clan members finally spoke up, the emperor did not intend to let them go easily. After the words of the Prince of Linfen County fell, the emperor smiled slightly and said: "No, no, since you are also in difficulty now, I think there is no need for this. Are you all my relatives and clan members? I don't want to be too much. It’s embarrassing for you.”
If the emperor had said this before, the clan members present would have shed tears of gratitude. But now that the emperor says this again, how many clans still dare to believe it? Especially since several clan members now understood that what happened today was obviously a trap set by the two fathers. No wonder it was the prince who came forward in the past, but now he is replaced by the king of England, who has a bad mouth and even more bad people.
Now it seems that the emperor was worried that the prince, who had always been good to the clan, would not join forces with him, so he replaced him with the stupid-looking King of England. The emperor even consciously did not reveal the identity of the British King Huaiyang Yuni before, in order to lead a few of his people astray and fall into the trap he set.
I just want to understand, I want to understand, but even if I am gnashing my teeth with hatred in my heart, I don't dare to show it on my face. And not only did he not dare to show it, the Prince of Linfen County also forced a smile and said: "Don't force it, don't force it. In this world, as the clan, we also have a responsibility. In addition to selling part of the grain at the official price, I am also willing to Donate five thousand guan of money and five thousand shi of grain."
In fact, these distressed clan members, whose hearts were about to bleed, had really wronged the emperor and Huang Qiong and his son. The emperor really had no one available, and they had been arguing unreasonably for the past two days, which caused him a lot of headaches, so he temporarily brought Huang Qiong to help. Even when Huang Qiong received the imperial edict and first entered the Wende Hall, she didn't know why the emperor wanted to see her.
As for Huang Qiong's words, he was partly irritated by the faces of these clans when the court needed them. Half of them also feel worried and worried about the current situation of these disaster victims. If we can really pluck some feathers from these iron roosters, it will be extremely beneficial to the court's disaster relief.
Just as the emperor said, as long as they agree to sell the grain in their hands at the official price, they can greatly alleviate the court's urgent needs. However, Huang Qiong was greatly surprised by the lack of financial resources of the imperial court. He had never thought that Da Qi, the richest people in the world, would be so financially strapped.
In addition to maintaining necessary expenses, the entire imperial court was just experiencing a severe drought in a local area. As the Ministry of Finance of a large country, the Ministry of Finance could only spend 100,000 guan of money and 100,000 shi of grain. Even 30% of the needs are far from being met. How many people would believe this if it spread? It's still more than a month before I go to Beijing for the autumn tax.
But what Huang Qiong was thinking in his mind at the moment was unknown to the clan leaders present. It is estimated that under the circumstances that they did not dare to do anything to the emperor, because they were about to lose a lot of money and their hearts were bleeding, they all put the hatred in their hearts on Huang Qiong. The few people who already hated him to death didn't want to know at all.
Prince Linfen, who was known to be stingy in the clan and always said he could only get in but not get out, had already shed a lot of blood. How dare the remaining clans continue to hide? Several people who also realized the seriousness of the matter could only donate generously one after another no matter how painful it was.
Except for Huang Qiong's cousin, who also donated 5,000 shi of grain and 5,000 guan of money, the rest were 3,000 shi of grain and 2,000 guan of money. Although the things they donated were nothing compared to the wealth they owned. But being able to pull out so many hairs from these iron roosters is a surprise.
It's just that these things that were extorted have already made these people feel sad and tremble with physical pain. But Huang Qiong could also see that the emperor was not very satisfied with these. But it's no wonder, these are all wealthy people in the clan. The emperor personally came forward and spent three days trying to come up with something like this. Not to mention the emperor, even Huang Qiong felt embarrassed.
Of course, at this time, society-wide awareness of disaster relief has not yet been formed. Whether in the eyes of the clan, officials, or the common people, disaster relief is a matter for the imperial court and has nothing to do with me. Although ordinary gentry would also donate food and open disaster relief places such as porridge restaurants, if they were to bleed too much all at once, not to mention that they would not do it themselves, even the court would not be at ease. •
I am afraid that these gentry will take the opportunity to win over the people and form a powerful force that cannot be lost. But at present, the imperial court is basically empty-handed. It really can't come up with money and food for disaster relief, and it has to provide disaster relief, so it has no choice but to reach out to these clans. Even so, the emperor is probably reluctant.
He was reluctant, but to come up with such a small amount of money and food in three days, the emperor must have felt that he was disgraced. However, Huang Qiong was not too surprised that these people were only willing to give out so little blood. Based on his understanding of these clans from those files, it was quite rare for him to be willing to shed such a small amount of blood.
If there are more, I am afraid that these guys who would rather jump into the well with their ingots in their hands would really rather die together than pay a penny or a bucket of food. Instead of forcing these guys to vomit some blood, it would be better to make more fuss about selling food at the official price they promised.
Thinking of this, Huang Qiong, who did not intend to express his opinion on this matter, still bowed to the emperor and said: "Father, since several elders have realized their mistakes and can quickly correct them. I think my father should Adhering to the principle of avoiding past mistakes and avoiding future ones, treating illnesses and saving lives, we will not pursue this matter."
"What's more, they have agreed to sell part of their grain reserves at the official price, and have even donated a lot of money and grain to meet the court's urgent needs. I think this kind of loyalty and caring for the country should be greatly praised. Especially in disaster years, grain needs It is inevitable that prices will rise significantly. If they agree to sell grain at last year's official price, they will suffer a big loss."
"The imperial court can't help but let them suffer too much, right? After all, they don't have any salary right now, and they still rely on the money earned from selling these grains to support their families. What's more, they are all descendants of the Tian family. If their lives are too shabby because of this, It also damages the dignity of the Tian family. Since the clan is so considerate of the imperial court, it is also appropriate for the imperial clan to be sympathetic to the clan."
As soon as Huang Qiong finished speaking, not only the emperor was stunned, but also the clan members present were stunned. They didn't know what kind of wind would come from the King of England who just yelled at a few of them because he refused to sell grain at the official price. Why did the wind change so quickly?
He was considerate of the clan, even though it came from his mouth, it was a bit strange. It can be seen that the King of England actually spoke for him in an extremely rare way, and all the clan members nodded their heads like chickens pecking at rice. He also said that the King of England finally figured it out and was finally willing to say a few words for himself.
But before several clan members showed their grateful faces, Huang Qiong's next words almost made them vomit blood: "How about this, for every 20,000 shi of grain they sell at the official price last year, my father will reward them with a death-free gold medal." How about a gold medal? With this gold medal, although other crimes can't be dealt with, if you commit the crime of treason, you can be punished with a reduced crime."
"And in order to dispel their concerns, I thought that my father could give each of them five gold medals as a down payment to reassure them. Even if they can't use it for the time being, they can also use it for their own children and grandchildren. Such a good thing , I thought the elders would burst into tears with gratitude."
After Huang Qiong finished speaking, the clan members present, who were currently thinking about how to make up for the donated money and food, almost unanimously cursed in their hearts: "You are still grateful? I am grateful for your grandma's legs. You... You bastard, you really followed that grandfather of yours, you are not an ordinary immoral person. You really want to kill all of us."
"According to what you said, twenty thousand shi of grain will only give you one gold medal. You actually came up and ordered five gold medals for each person. In other words, you want us to sell 100,000 shi of grain at the official price. Did you know that last year? What is the official price of grain? What is the official price of grain this year? Last year I could buy a dou of grain, but this year I can't even buy a liter. You are trying to drain our flesh and blood."
The few people who were so distressed that their hearts were about to bleed at this moment were afraid that Huang Qiong would do something bad again, so they dared to provoke Huang Qiong, a bad guy like him. He could only turn his head and look at the emperor in front of him eagerly, hoping that the emperor would only treat him as the King of England. His idea was a fart. Don't listen to this damaging move from the King of England.
However, the emperor, who was short of money and eager to get money and food for disaster relief, simply ignored the looks of help from several people. Regarding Huang Qiong's idea, he immediately nodded in agreement without saying anything. Several people revealed that the worthless gold medal was exchanged for hundreds of thousands of shi of cheap government-priced food. No matter how you looked at it, this business was a good deal. How could the emperor, who was about to get angry, not nod?
