northernbook Chapter 191 Curry has no money
Chapter 191 Curry has no money
Emperor Zhaoming answered very straightforwardly: "I am ill, so the ceremonies for the Longevity Festival can be omitted and everything can be kept simple. The Ministry of Rites will give return gifts to the tribute-paying parties according to the regulations."
and then?
Gone.
Wan Fu was so angry that he almost vomited blood. He dismissed the office, changed into casual clothes, and went straight to the back door of Prince Zhongshun's palace.
The next day, Prince Zhongshun went to see Emperor Zhaoming. After asking about the emperor's health, he carefully asked him:
"The Emperor's birthday celebration was so lively, Your Majesty, aren't you afraid that people outside will make wild guesses?"
Emperor Zhaoming was shocked: "What? Who said anything?"
"I passed by a teahouse and a tavern and heard some people talking nonsense." Prince Zhongshun looked embarrassed and advised earnestly, "After all, they are father and son. Don't keep things to yourself."
Emperor Zhaoming sighed speechlessly: "There is nothing wrong between father and son! It's just that I'm sick..."
Seeing the King Zhongshun's unbelieving expression, he scratched his head in annoyance and said, "Cousin, let me tell you the truth!
"The tributes from Jiangnan, the Yellow River, Lianghuai, the Nine Frontiers, and all the nobles were unavoidable. Later, I went to the Ministry of Revenue to calculate privately, and found that there was still a shortfall of more than one million taels.
"The Emperor's birthday celebration cannot be saved no matter what. In addition, Mrs. Wan is filial, and all the ceremonies are arranged beautifully - how can it not cost money?!
"I don't even dare to cry out that I'm poor in this kind of situation.
"As for me, well, what's the point of wishing you a long life? I just happened to have this minor illness so I can be thick-skinned and not live long. I can save as much as I can!
"Tomorrow I will write a letter to Rong and ask him to make an effort in Jiangnan. This hole will be almost fixed."
Crying about being poor.
Prince Zhongshun was stunned, and finally asked unconfidently: "Your Majesty, are you saying that it's not because of illness, nor because Queen Wan is incompetent, but because Curry has no money?!"
"Yes!" Emperor Zhaoming sat in bed with a sad face, slapping his hands on his legs, "If I had money, wouldn't I love to celebrate my birthday? Who wouldn't like to be honored with a "Long Live the Lord"?!"
Prince Zhongshun's eyebrows twisted into a knot: "Ordinarily, this shouldn't happen! Although I don't care about it, I occasionally listen to it - I remember Curry, it shouldn't be to this extent!"
Emperor Zhaoming was speechless. He grunted for a long time, but could not hold back and complained: "When Lao Cao was in the Ministry of Revenue, he certainly would not do that! Now this guy, humph!"
Prince Zhongshun suddenly realized what was going on and looked at Emperor Zhaoming with sympathy, saying, "If the Ministry of Revenue is ineffective, my brother, you will not have an easy life.
"Other positions are fine, but the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue need the most capable and cunning people. You see, the Ministry of Personnel is quite suitable now."
"No one!" Emperor Zhaoming sighed, "To be honest, there are many capable people among our family members, but the Supreme Emperor is not happy.
"Didn't we discuss the other day about letting the kid from Brother Kejin's family follow Brother Rong to Jiangnan? The Lord Highness will scold me when he returns!
"Otherwise, cousin, I know you. You are the best at business! The shop I gave you a few years ago is now running very well!
"I heard that you have a lot of extra money and have a lot of lovely people in your house?"
At the end of his speech, Emperor Zhaoming had a wicked smile on his face, and even stretched out a finger and poked Prince Zhongshun under the armpit.
Prince Zhongshun was tickled and laughed, "I can't do that! I own a small shop, and I am trying to make a few dishonest money by cheating on weights and measures and using shady methods.
"The Ministry of Revenue of the Celestial Empire is a completely different matter! It must be upright, fair and just!
"However, I do know someone who is good at managing money. You can give him a try, my brother."
Emperor Zhaoming was stunned and said "Oh" in a serious tone. He urged Prince Zhongshun to speak quickly, but in his heart he was overjoyed and cheering: Finally, he caught it!
Prince Zhongshun nodded solemnly: "Former Yingtian prefect, Huaixi grain commissioner, military assistant minister, now Yizhou governor: Jia Hua Jia Shifei!"
Emperor Zhaoming pondered for a while, and then reluctantly nodded: "This man's hands are a bit long."
"Only those who know how good money is are good at managing money. He has a long hand, probably because his family is poor. If Your Majesty rewards him with more money, he won't be greedy." King Zhongshun tried his best to persuade him.
Emperor Zhaoming nodded obediently: "My cousin is right!"
Yin turned around and went out and immediately ordered: "Send someone to write an imperial edict, ordering Yizhou Governor Jia Hua to come to the capital to report on his work."
Prince Zhongshun twirled his beard and smiled, with a glimmer of pride in his eyes.
Prince Yu heard about it only after the decree was issued, and he could not help but get furious: "How can you treat the appointment of important officials of the court like this?!"
Immediately submit a memorial to "admonish".
Emperor Zhaoming ignored him and just hid in his bedroom in Xuanzheng Hall to recuperate.
However, because the emperor's birthday celebration was kept simple, the national treasury saved a large sum of money, and the Ministry of Revenue was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
After much thought, the Minister of Revenue was unwilling to be laughed at in the future, so he simply said hello to Prince Yu and asked for permission to "retire".
Because this minister is less than sixty years old, if we look at the age of today's court officials, he is not really old. Those who say they are retired cannot even qualify no matter how hard they try.
Emperor Zhaoming neither rejected nor approved the memorial, but simply withheld it and kept it in his palace without sending it out.
The Minister of Revenue wrote three memorials in a row, each one using more harsh words than the last. In the end, he was almost sarcastic, saying bluntly that he was "not good at filling things up, but only at counting" and that he had no ability to "be a good housewife."
Emperor Zhaoming looked at him with a smile but said nothing. He sealed all three memorials and sent them to the Taiji Palace, asking Tao Xingjian to report: "This man is taking advantage of his age and seniority. He really cannot be kept."
This man was promoted by the Supreme Emperor, who specifically asked Prince Yu to treat him well and also earnestly told Emperor Zhaoming that this man "might be someone he could rely on".
This man was previously the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue. When Cao Feng was in the Ministry of Revenue, he refused to obey him and often hindered him in a tricky way. Later, in order to prevent the two from fighting, Emperor Zhaoming reported to the Supreme Lord and simply promoted Cao Feng to the Ministry of Personnel and let him lead the Ministry of Revenue.
Who would have thought that in just over a year, he would turn the Ministry of Revenue's good situation into such a miserable state? The Supreme Lord was already ashamed.
After looking at this again, the Supreme Lord snorted and threw the three memorials to the ground, then yelled at Tao Xingjian, "Your master is really clever and thoughtful!
"It's not easy for him to just replace my people, so he squeezed them like this. He forced them to say such rebellious words, and then put them in front of me, so that I can decide their fate!
"Bah! He's the good guy! But he wants me to kill someone for him! No way!
"Get lost! He is the emperor now, and I am just an old loser who eats and drinks and waits for death! Don't ever ask me about these things again!"
Tao Xingjian repeatedly said that he was "dead as a thousand times dead", quickly crawled over to pick up the memorial, and then crawled away with his head in his hands.
That afternoon, an imperial decree was issued from the Xuanzheng Hall, allowing the Minister of Revenue to retire and granting him money to return home.
"That is to say, they didn't even let him stay in the capital, and sent this old guy straight back to his hometown." Daiyu listened to the news and laughed and shook her head, "What a good move! What a good move!"