In this case, I just can't let you get what you want.
Nie Chen stood up, hugged the emperor and said,
"Your Majesty, I want to sue Right Prime Minister Tong Yuan!"
The ministers were shocked when they heard this. Well, this is a rhythm that needs to be defeated!
"My dear, where does the injustice come from?"
The emperor asked slowly.
Nie Chen's face was full of sadness and anger, and he said,
"Your Majesty, I just took over Weihu County this year, and I have only been serving as the county governor for only half a year.
In the past six months, I have conducted a census of the population and cultivated land, only to discover that thirty years ago, our Weihu County had a population of four million, but now there are only more than one million left.
Most of these people died due to wars, and some migrated to become refugees and went to the interior to avoid disasters, resulting in a lack of population and uncultivated wasteland.
After the minister took over, he knew that the people were poor, so he couldn't bear to collect taxes from the people, because the people's taxes had been paid this year and were given to King Andong by the previous governor Liu Hu. "
"You fart, Liu Hu's money was taken away by you!"
King Anton slapped the table and shouted.
King Zhennan coughed repeatedly, glared at King Anton, and then glanced at Nie Chen.
United front, have you all forgotten?
Nie Chen continued,
"What I took over was a Weihu County that was riddled with holes. The land in Weihu County was barren, the population was sparse, and it was war-torn.
The million-strong army of barbarians in the north was eyeing him, so I had no choice but to form an army of 300,000 to resist the barbarians who were like wolves and tigers.
The minister calculated that this 300,000-strong army requires at least four million taels of silver and tens of millions of dan of food and grass every year.
But in Weihu County, our annual tax revenue is only 30,000 taels of silver and 50,000 shi of food and grass.
This is simply not enough for the army.
My subordinates have never received a penny of military pay or a full meal since they joined me. They are hungry and penniless, defending the country's borders and killing the enemy bravely.
When they were hungry, they ate grass roots and bark. When they were thirsty, they had no choice but to pick up the enemy's water bladders to drink.
I am incompetent. I cannot keep them fed and well fed, nor can I give them enough military pay.
But the right prime minister, Tong Yuan, was in charge of the government affairs and finance of the country. He knew that the minister was in difficulty, but he refused to allocate a tael of silver or a stone of food and grass to the minister.
Nowadays, those soldiers who guard the border for the country have begun to starve to death.
They are all good men and women who protect their home and country, but our right minister watches them starve to death, die of thirst, and die of poverty, and is not willing to allocate any money or food to them.
You are such a treacherous minister, I would like to ask you, if you don’t give the soldiers money and food, how will they have the strength to fight?
Have you pocketed all their money and food?
If you don't give me money or food, do you want me, Dafeng's soldiers, to be unable to stop the enemy's army, allowing the enemy's army to march straight in and attack the capital southward?
You disregard the safety of His Majesty, and you disregard the tens of thousands of people in our country.
You, a minister who brings disaster to the country and the people, should be punished for your crimes!
Your Majesty, I ask your Majesty to cut off the head of this dog and kill its nine tribes! "
Nie Chen's words were extremely sad and indignant, and well-founded. He refuted the Prime Minister speechlessly, as if he really was a man who deserved to be cut into pieces.
The right minister was dumbfounded. He didn't expect that Nie Chen, who was originally designed to be bullied, could be so sharp-tongued and quick-thinking.
Just knock it down!
In fact, he didn't even think about it, how could Nie Chen rise so quickly within a year and become a famous warlord in Feng Country if he was really an incompetent person.
The right prime minister pointed at Nie Chen and said tremblingly,
"Master Nie, the truth has been made very clear just now. There is no money in the national treasury, and no taxes have been paid in any place."
"Isn't that a problem with you, the Right Chancellor? I am just a war leader. I am only in charge of the poorest Weihu County. I don't understand government affairs. I only know that my soldiers don't have enough to eat or wear or keep warm in the winter. We are still freezing in the ice and snow. I don’t know how many people will freeze to death this winter!
They were all good men who protected the country and the people. They did not die on the battlefield of the barbarians, but died at the hands of corrupt officials.
How could heaven endure it, how could your majesty endure it, how could the civil and military officials of the dynasty endure it. "
Nie Chen held his hands and said,
"I request your Majesty to allocate four million taels of silver and tens of millions of stones of grain and grass to Weihu County every year to protect our Gale frontier!"
The emperor was a little embarrassed and said,
"Nie Aiqing, please be patient. The Right Prime Minister also said just now that the national treasury really has no money now."
"If you don't have money, let the right minister think of a way. Anyway, Dafeng's soldiers cannot starve to death, and Dafeng's country and land cannot be lost. We must fight to the death to protect our country!
This right prime minister cannot make money, which means he is incompetent. His body is empty. I ask your majesty to chop off the head of this bully and choose a wise man. If a capable right prime minister comes in, our financial problem in Dafeng will be solved. "
Hearing this, the right minister sneered and said,
"But as far as I know, Master Nie's finances are not as difficult as you said, right?
You forge weapons and sell them to King Pingxi. You sign a trade treaty with the barbarians to prevent mutual aggression.
Let me tell you, Mr. Nie is so rich and has signed a contract with the barbarians. It is useless to ask for an army. He can completely disband the army and let them return to the fields and be self-sufficient. Not only can they feed themselves, but they can also pay for the excess grain.
In this way, aren't all your financial and food problems solved? "
Nie Chen sneered, okay, okay, let me have a drink and release your military power, right? Is that how you play?
So Nie Chen fired back,
"Right Prime Minister, you have to be responsible for what you say. You can't finish wronging the left Prime Minister and then go back to wronging me.
When did I sell weapons to King Pingxi? When did I sign a treaty with the barbarians? Don't talk nonsense.
Yes, that’s right, King Pingxi’s army does have weapons forged by our arsenal, but we are all soldiers of Dafeng. Isn’t it what the court should do to distribute weapons?
Who would have thought that the imperial court would not only not give us money and food, but also weapons and armor to our gale soldiers. Does this mean we are going to have to kill the enemy with our fists and teeth?
You don't care, I take care of it myself. Now I am spending time and effort to build weapons to defend against the barbarians. The excess weapons are also transferred to King Pingxi and let him use these weapons to fight the barbarians. This will also enhance the combat effectiveness and reduce the number of soldiers. casualties.
By the way, I made the weapons myself, and King Pingxi's army is also the country's army. Please help me, right minister, to settle the accounts and settle them with me.
Let's not talk about the past. Now the imperial court owes me four million taels of military pay, ten million stones of grain and grass, and weapons to support King Pingxi. The total is about two million taels of silver.
Right Prime Minister, when will you pay me this money? "
The emperor was dumbfounded, his right minister was dumbfounded, and all the ministers were dumbfounded.
It seems that at the beginning, it was the Right Prime Minister who was asking Nie Chen for money, right?
Why did the imperial court owe Nie Chen a huge sum of money in the blink of an eye?
