On the second day, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue quickly took the account books of the expenditure of the Ministry of Revenue for the past three years and handed them to the emperor for review.
The emperor was flipping through the account books, and his face became darker and uglier as he read more. He didn't know if he didn't have real statistics, but he was shocked when he found the statistics. In the past three years alone, the Nanping Marquis' Mansion and Pingxi General's Mansion had eaten nearly ten million taels.
How could he be so confused and agree to such a huge amount all these years?
The emperor threw down the account book and ordered with a stern face, "Call Yan Li and Yan Lin to me."
Eunuch Yu responded and immediately sent someone.
Although Yan Li and Yan Lin did not find out the reason yesterday, they reached an agreement to rely on the Nangong family and clan of Nan Chu to deal with Ye Guixue and Su Rong, and then deal with Zhou Gu and the Protector's Mansion. and the East Palace. Who made it obvious to everyone that Zhou Gu took the initiative to get involved in the case involving Su Rong, and that he was in danger twice and was in danger, but it was Su Rong who saved him. Although the two of them broke off their engagement, they were still inextricably involved.
Since Ye Guixue does not agree to cooperate, there are many people in Nanchu who will cooperate with them.
After the two brothers were ready, they split up, one went to the Nangong family, and the other went to the Nanchu clan.
However, before the two of them could get results so quickly, they were called into the palace by the emperor.
The two met at the gate of the palace and looked at each other with confusion. However, they heard that the Minister of Hubu had entered the palace again today, so they wondered if it had anything to do with the Minister of Hubu?
Yan Lin wanted to be more sensitive, so he came closer to Yan Li and whispered: "Brother, why do I feel that my father asked us to enter the palace today? I have an ominous premonition?"
Yan Li glanced at him and said, "Don't be so cunning."
Yan Lin really felt that something was not good, but he was not sick or in trouble. When his father summoned him, he could not claim to be sick. If he claimed to be sick at this time, he would not know what would happen without them knowing. So, he could only grit his teeth and follow Yan Li to see the emperor, secretly praying that he was overthinking it.
The emperor was waiting for the two of them in the imperial study. When he saw the two coming, his face turned black and he threw the account books from the Ministry of Revenue to them, "You can take a look at this for yourselves."
Yan Li and Yan Lin felt a thump in their hearts, and they both held up the account book. After a moment, they both raised their heads, and Yan Li asked tentatively: "Father, this is the account book from the Ministry of Accounts. Please show it to my sons and ministers." ...Why?”
"Why? See for yourselves, in the past three years, how much money have your in-laws devoured from the treasury?" The emperor sullenly said to the two of them, "You are really good. You tell me, you have emptied my money." Treasury, what do you want to do? Do you want to rebel?"
Yan Li and Yan Lin were startled, their expressions changed drastically, and they all knelt down on the ground with a pop, "I don't dare!"
"Don't you dare? You dare not! I think you are very brave." The emperor stared at the two of them, "The Nanping Marquis Mansion governs one side, and its subordinates only have 30,000 troops, but they often ask for three million taels of silver from the national treasury a year. , General Pingxi's Mansion is even more daring. This year, he has asked for an additional eight million taels of silver, and he only has one hundred thousand troops. You two tell me, you don't want to rebel, but what do you want?"
"My son and I are terrified." They both shouted that they were wronged.
The eldest prince, Yan Li, said: "Father, the Marquis of Nanping has been requesting my father to use the treasury funds because of the recent natural disasters."
The second prince, Yan Lin, followed closely and said: "Father, this has nothing to do with me. You approved all the petitions from General Pingxi's Mansion. I didn't say a word. You can't settle the accounts afterwards and find my body." ah."
The emperor choked.
Yan Lin said innocently: "Father, think about it carefully, this is not my son's idea. If you don't approve it, the Minister of Hubu will not allocate money to the Nanping Marquis Mansion."
The emperor's face was dark and he was speechless.
Yan Lin was very bachelor, "Father, think about it again, why did you allocate money to General Pingxi's mansion? This really has nothing to do with my son."
The emperor naturally understood that it had nothing to do with Yan Lin, because Pingxi General Zhang Ping told him that if His Majesty wanted to suppress the Duke's palace, he would only rely on his 100,000 soldiers and horses, and the 100,000 soldiers and horses from Jinglu in your Majesty's hands. , and the 30,000 soldiers and horses of the Nanping Marquis Mansion are not enough. After all, the Protector's Mansion itself controls 300,000 soldiers and horses. Your Majesty must support him secretly. After all, if we seize the military power of the Protector's Palace, I am afraid it will cause shock to the government and the public. If we do not seize the military power of the Protector's Palace, there will be no reason for the Pingxi General's Palace to expand its troops, and it will also be blocked by the Crown Prince and the Protector's Palace. , after all, it is still very difficult for the imperial court to maintain 600,000 troops. In this way, he could only help His Majesty secretly raise troops and horses.
The Duke Protector's Mansion is in charge of many troops, which is a worry for the emperor. Zhou Gu was born in the Duke Protector's Palace and worked as a companion in the East Palace. The government will definitely choose the prince.
Therefore, the emperor struggled for many days and agreed to Zhang Ping's plan to raise another 100,000 troops in private. Fifty thousand of them were cavalry. Cavalry costs more.
The emperor had nothing to say for a while, he just stared at the two of them and said: "The Ministry of Household Affairs is short of money. From today on, you two will find ways to replenish the national treasury."
Yan Li and Yan Lin both raised their heads and looked at the emperor in astonishment.
The emperor's face darkened, "What's wrong with sharing the country's worries?"
Seeing that the emperor was suppressing his anger, the two of them dared to say that he was not happy. After all, the money from the Ministry of Revenue in the past three years had gone to their in-laws anyway, so they could only nod in unison, "I am happy."
The emperor was satisfied and waved to the two of them, "Go down!"
The two of them excused themselves and left the imperial study.
After leaving the palace, Yan Lin wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked Yan Li: "Brother, what do you mean by father? Why do you suddenly attack us? Do you want to enrich the national treasury?"
Yan Li already had a vague idea in his mind and said angrily to him: "You think about it yourself!"
Yan Lin was unhappy, "Brother, didn't we agree? Let's work together. You've been scorning me these past few days. What do you mean? Where did my brother offend you?"
Yan Li thought to himself, your inaction and always shrinking back at critical times are offending me, but at this time, the two brothers must be tied to the same boat, otherwise there will be no good. He softened his tone and said, "Father should be preparing for war."
"Ah? Preparing for war?" Yan Lin was shocked.
Yan Li glanced at him, "I really don't know if you are really confused or pretending to be confused. Now that the world is at peace, my father suddenly paid close attention to the Ministry of Household Affairs. Apart from preparing for war, what else can it be? It can't be for large-scale construction projects. It is already winter. ."
Of course Yan Lin is not really confused, he is just too smart and wants someone to stand in front of him and charge into the battle. He wants to take advantage of the opportunity. He holds back whatever thoughts he has in mind and lets others speak first. Now that he heard what Yan Li said, he faced Although he pretended to be surprised, he had already begun to make up his mind, "Where did you start talking about this? Are you going to start a war with the Wei Dynasty? We signed a thirty-year non-infringement peace treaty, and now it has only been sixteen years. "
"Because of Su Rong." Yan Li simply stopped caring about what he was thinking. After all, this time, he couldn't hold back any longer. "Think about it, once her life experience is exposed, the whole world will know it, and the Wei Dynasty will capable?"
Yan Lin nodded, "So, what does the emperor mean? Do you want to recognize Su Rong? Wait for the Wei Dynasty to start a war?"
"I'm afraid it's because of my father's disapproval. Look what Su Rong did after coming to Beijing. She first moved into Princess Qingping's Mansion, then broke off Zhou Gu's marriage, and now lives in Shen's Mansion. She and Ruian The Royal Palace, the Duke Protector's Palace, and the East Palace are all involved. In addition, judging from my contact with Ye Guixue, his attitude shows that both the King of Southern Chu and Ye Xiang's Palace have recognized her. As a result, the situation has become like this , what can my father do? Don’t forget, Princess Zhenmin sacrificed herself to protect the beam back then. Even though many years have passed, everyone still remembers it. Even if my father wants to be an ungrateful person, I’m afraid he won’t succeed. "
"What a troublesome thing, just kill her." Yan Lin said.
Yan Li glared at him angrily, "That sounds nice, why don't you do it?"
Yan Lin said: "Brother, why don't I take action? The capital is not a good place to take action. Why can't we bear it and send someone to kill her on her way back to Nanchu? You know, the capital is protecting her. There are many people there, but when she leaves the capital, it will be different."
Yan Li had to admit, "What you said makes sense."
It seemed like he was being rash.
(End of chapter)
