Emperor An's face was livid at Qian Baokun's words. The two ministers from the household department on the side looked at their immediate boss, who suddenly opened his mouth and was so aggressive that he didn't seem to care about his head, and trembled.
Qian Shangshu, is he crazy?
How dare he confront His Majesty?
Emperor An was equally furious: "Qian Baokun, are you blaming me for my extravagance?"
"Wei Chen doesn't dare."
Qian Baokun lowered his head and said respectfully: "Your Majesty just asked about the whereabouts of the money. I just answered truthfully, and I don't want to deceive you with falsehoods."
"A few years ago, the treasury was already unable to make ends meet. Wei Chen and Master Yuan were able to keep the household department running by searching everywhere. Later, after the grain inspection and the Lu family's residence were searched, there was some more money in the treasury."
"Originally, these, plus the post-autumn taxes and grain, can last until the time when Cao Yin is handed over next year, but His Majesty has generously rewarded you during this period. More than 100,000 were sent to Jiuyun Lane and to appease the ministers of the DPRK. A few months ago, His Majesty suddenly announced that he would provide compensation to Rongjiang’s surviving family members and prepare to build a Tomb of Ten Thousand People.”
"In accordance with His Majesty's order, the minister sent the first batch of two hundred thousand taels of silver and pension grain to Shezhou, and the treasury was empty again. Even the money needed for the follow-up is planned to wait until the accounting is completed in Shezhou, and the business will be discussed in the next few months. The taxes will be put into the treasury and then sent over, but who would have thought that King Pingshan would suddenly rebel..."
Qian Baokun held up the account book in his hand: "The counterinsurgency army needs money everywhere for food, grass and military supplies. If the food left in the treasury is insufficient, we need to raise money from grain merchants. The Ministry of War has also been urging the ministers to lend money so that other things can be provided as soon as possible. But now The Ministry of Finance only has so much money left."
"The humble minister is incompetent. It is really difficult to cope with it. I don't know which side to deal with first. I ask Your Majesty to make a decision."
Feng Lai stepped forward cautiously, took the account book from Qian Baokun's hand and sent it to An Di's case.
An Di looked at the red number at the end of the ledger and his face twitched.
With such a small amount of money, it is not enough to allocate it to the Ministry of War, let alone meet the military needs of the army going south.
There is no money, and an empty household department allows him to make decisions?
What did he decide? !
Emperor An reached out and flipped through the book, looking at the money and grain sent to Shezhou in front of him, and said angrily:
"I have decreed to subsidize those in Rongjiang, but who asked you to send as much as 200,000 taels?! There is no money in the national treasury, don't you know how to save money?!"
Qian Baokun: "..." He raised his head and looked at Emperor An quietly: "Master Yuan and Shanda are responsible for this matter. It is better to let them explain to His Majesty."
The left and right ministers of the household department on the side were called, and their scalps tensed up.
Yuan Pu, the left minister, stepped forward tremblingly: "Reporting to your majesty, the military pension has always been in accordance with the rules set by Taizu. If a soldier dies in battle, his family members will receive three pieces of silk, one stone of grain, and one stone of silver. Fifteen, if a hundred households die in battle, they will receive ten bolts of silk, twenty stones of grain, and sixty silver."
"The higher the official position in the army, the more pensions are required. For those who enter the official position above the ninth rank, the pension will increase several times for each rank. If a general above the sixth rank dies in battle, the pension alone will be more than ten thousand yuan, not counting Food, cloth and other subsidies..."
"Nearly 9,000 ordinary people died in Rongjiang that year, as well as hundreds of officials and messengers, as well as more than 600 school camp soldiers brought by Prince Ru and the He family, and more than 20 fourth-grade imperial doctors. Escort more than fifty imperial troops."
"Among the six hundred officers in the school camp, there are six captains of the eighth rank, two deputy generals of the fifth rank, and a brave general of the third rank. There are also two sixth rank soldiers in the Forbidden Army, plus He Wenzhuo, who is in the upper third rank. Your Excellency, as well as Wu Chuoyi, the fourth-grade assistant governor who was buried in Rongjiang with him at that time..."
When Yuan Shilang looked at An Di's face that was gradually turning pale, the sounds in his mouth became smaller and smaller, until finally there was almost only the sound of breath.
The right servant Sheng Mingrui on the side saw that he couldn't bear it, so he could only step forward to make up for it.
"Normal military pensions and money for military officers and officials are not paid out at once. Instead, their relatives go to the local government every year for three to five years after their death. This can relieve the pressure on the household department and also Let this money not be embezzled by others, so as to repay the fallen soldiers and their families for the rest of their lives."
"But whether His Majesty's order to send to the Southland this time is to be issued directly, or according to the double pension of the army, the one-time payment of silver alone is more than 400,000 taels, and this does not include the construction of the Ten Thousand People's Tomb, as well as other food, The treasury cannot afford so much money for cloth expenses.”
Sheng Shilang whispered: "At that time, the minister discussed with Qian Shangshu and wanted His Majesty to withdraw the decree. However, the decree has already been issued and everyone in the court and the people knew it. They even praised Your Majesty as a wise king. If the decree is withdrawn again, then what will happen if the decree is withdrawn?" Your Majesty will definitely be criticized."
"I have no choice but to give the final decision to Minister Qian. On the pretext that Rong Jiang's bereaved family cannot be fully accounted for, they send half of the silver to delay the time so that they can raise the follow-up needs. If it can be postponed until the spring of next year, the court will not be short of silver. But who can There was a sudden rebellion from King Pingshan, and His Majesty issued an order to send troops to clear it up..."
The older right minister of the household department became aggrieved as he spoke. Thinking of the money they and Qian Baokun had saved after almost digging out the household department in the past few days, he knelt down on the ground and looked at it. I almost shed tears when I looked at An Di.
"Your Majesty, it's not because the Minister of Finance and the ministers are incompetent, but it's really because the Ministry of Revenue can't come up with the money. I hope your Majesty will learn from this."
Zuo Shilang also knelt down.
Qian Baokun knelt at the front: "Wei Chen and the two ministers have tried their best, but it is difficult for a clever woman to make a living without rice. People from the Ministry of War are blocked at the Ministry of Household Affairs, and Marquis Wenxin and others are waiting for food. If it doesn't work, they can only The Ministry of Revenue told them the truth..."
"no!"
Emperor An refused without hesitation. The grand treasury could not get the food and grass confiscated from the rebels. When this news came out, others would not laugh at the uselessness of the household department, but would only comment on his incompetence as a monarch!
What's more, he is in a bad situation now. The prince and the traitor Xiao Yan have joined forces to control the power of the court. He has finally restored some reputation by caring for the people in Rongjiang and recruiting the rebels. If it were now Let people know that the court has no money at all, and the previous decree sent to Rongjiang was a lie. Then how can he, the emperor, have the face? !
By then, his reputation will probably be as high as a mountain, and he will be ridiculed and reviled by people all over the world.
Qian Baokun frowned: "Then it's better to raise money with the people in the court first. There are also many wealthy businessmen and families in the capital who can get money. By the way, there are also some aristocratic families in the court who have money..."
An Di's face darkened: "This is not possible either!!"
There are indeed many wealthy businessmen in the capital. As long as he gives some benefits after giving the order, there will naturally be people who are willing to raise money for the royal family. But once he opens this mouth, wouldn't it be equivalent to telling everyone that the Ministry of Revenue is short of money.
Those merchants are the most despicable, and they have never been benevolent and righteous. If word spread that he, a majestic emperor, actually borrowed money from merchants, it would still be his face.
