Cui Yu was not stupid for being able to reach the position of Minister of the Ministry of War. When he saw that his document was not stamped by the prince, he took it and prepared to go to the harem to meet the emperor with a smile.
Since the prince has agreed, going to the saint's place is just a formality. It's rare that the Ministry of War can feel proud this time! Cui Yu became excited when he thought that a mountain of copper coins would be transferred to the Ministry of War. Although he also comes from a wealthy family, his background has no direct relationship with whether he likes money or not.
Seeing Cui Yu leaving happily, Li Xian sat down again, knocked on the table and said, "Although we rarely have money this time, we can't spend too much. We must keep some as reserves. Dear gentlemen, we can't spend too much. Family, are you sure that the contents of your documents are strictly necessary?"
Zhang Wenguan stood up, cupped his hands and said, "Don't worry, Your Highness, the ministers have already checked their documents on the way here, and there are no unnecessary applications."
Seeing that Zhang Wenguan had said this, Li Xian had no choice but to open the documents one by one and start reading them carefully.
The first year of the Yuan Dynasty seemed to be a prosperous period, but in fact, it was compared with the previous dynasties and the tallest among the shortest. Because Li Zhi opened the external store too much, so that internal problems never stopped. This time's pre-revenue can be said to have brought a large band-aid to the imperial government's finances, which are riddled with holes. Every department wants to plug their own cracks as much as possible.
Of course, it's just a gesture now, and the actual implementation will have to wait until the money is in place.
Until the evening, only half of the various expenditures of the three provinces and six ministries had been reviewed, and the remaining half had to be moved to the next day to continue the review.
After seeing off all the courtiers, a member of the secret guard wearing a black robe quietly delivered a piece of paper to Li Xian's desk, and then stood quietly waiting for instructions.
Li Xian was not surprised. It was strange that the emperor's secret guard could stay at ease at this time.
Opening the secret guard's investigation report, Li Xian couldn't help but be speechless. Just a small amount of money is already so much. If you calculate all the assets mobilized by your clients this time, it will be a dizzying number.
However, how to make all this money has to be carefully considered.
If you want to make money at an auction, it depends on attracting people, atmosphere, and the quality of the items.
There is still no problem with the quality of the auction items and the atmosphere, so the key lies in attracting people.
Although the nobles and wealthy businessmen gathered in Chang'an have now received the news, there are still many local and wealthy people far away from Chang'an. These people are also a vital force in the auction! The most important thing is for a lot to far exceed its original value and to allow bidders to compete.
so....
Looking up at the secret guard members waiting for dispatch, Li Xian asked: "How many prisoners will be executed in the Autumn Jue in a few days?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, there are about twenty people. The exact number needs to be verified by my subordinates."
"No need, twenty or so people are enough."
"Your Highness means..."
"Even if the restaurant in Dongshi is connected to the surrounding area, the place is still too small. I plan to renovate it. As for the auction, it would be better to find a relatively empty place to hold it, what do you think?"
After saying that, Li Xian stood up, stretched and walked out, leaving the secret guard alone in the shadows with his eyes flickering.
The sky was a little dark, and Li Zhi, who had taken a short nap, was in high spirits at this time.
Turning over, he saw the Queen sitting in front of the eucalyptus, looking at something.
"If my guess is correct, it should be a military expenditure document from the Ministry of War. There must be something about additional rewards for frontier soldiers. Although I have allowed the prince to take charge of this matter, when it comes to military issues, the prince still He knows how to measure his proportions."
The Queen of Heaven turned back, helped the emperor sit down, and said with a smile: "It's a good thing to be measured. There are some things that you can only give to him, and he can't take them away. Back then..."
After saying only two words, the queen shut up. She knew very well that although the emperor was the biggest beneficiary of the original battle to seize the legitimate son, he was still unwilling to mention it.
Li Zhi smiled and didn't care. He looked through the documents from the Ministry of War, especially the piece of paper that Cui Yu attached later. This time was also a small test for him. In fact, at this time, even if the prince rewarded the border troops directly without him, he wouldn't care.
Everyone knew very well that except for Prince Xian, the other princes basically had no chance.
However, he still couldn't help but test it out. Fortunately, he was very satisfied with the result.
Putting the documents from the Ministry of War aside, the report belonging to the secret guard beside it aroused his interest.
After checking that the paint, seals and secret seals were all correct, Li Zhi opened the report.
With just one glance, he laughed out loud and handed the report to the Queen. Li Zhi smiled and said: "Mei Niang, look, this kid finally came up with a decent method."
The Queen of Heaven took the report and read it, then smiled and said: "Isn't this exactly what you want to see? Xian'er still lacks some decisiveness in killing. This time, he can make such a plan, which shows that he has already The determination to achieve the goal by any means necessary, as for the future, that is not something we can worry about.”
Li Zhi nodded with satisfaction, and then wrote the word "accurate" on the secret guard's report.
The power of the secret guards was still very strong, so that night, the Juxian Building in Dongshi suddenly caught fire. The flames shot into the sky. The Chang'an County Magistrate cried and howled and organized people to put out the fire. However, the spread of the fire exceeded everyone's expectations. , so that when Li Xian appeared in the East Market early the next morning wearing a cloak, only a pile of ruins remained in the Juxian Building.
Zhang Youcai was wearing thin clothes and knelt down in the carbon mud, shivering.
Last night, a housekeeper of a noble family invited him to a banquet. He stayed in the brothel all night. Who would have imagined that something like this happened. No matter what, he cannot escape the responsibility for his dereliction of duty.
Although the Chang'an County Magistrate did not kneel down, his clothes were soaked with sweat, partly from running around at night and partly from nervousness. As the magistrate of Chang'an County, failing to solve such a fire would be a dereliction of duty in the first place. What's more, what was burned was the prince's property.
Another point is the issue of human life.
Thirty-four corpses! There were not so many lives lost during the Autumn Jue. Now being burned to death can be said to be a major accident that can be recorded in history.
Li Xian looked at the ruins with a livid face and said to Zhang Youcai: "It's normal for you to have a banquet with your friends. I won't hold you accountable for this. However, the Juxian Building was destroyed by the fire, but you couldn't escape. It has something to do with it. Come on, take Zhang Youcai and charge him with forty army sticks!"
Hearing this punishment, the people watching the excitement couldn't help but take a breath of air.
Forty, it’s still a military stick, and with the heavy responsibility, the executioner can beat someone to death if he doesn’t hold back his hands!
As Zhang Youcai was dragged down, Li Xian walked up to the Chang'an County Magistrate and said, "No matter what the cause of the fire is, you are guilty of dereliction of duty, but your guilt will be held accountable by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and Dali Temple. Just ask."
Upon hearing this, the Chang'an County Magistrate secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the prince is not held accountable, the most he can do for his dereliction of duty is to be exiled to the border and continue to serve as a county magistrate. Thirty or so lives will be lost in this case.
