"Haha, I don't have time to chat with Master Cheng."

Chu Yi didn't give Cheng Xunyi any face, and asked directly:

"I'm asking you, why hasn't the money allocated to the Ministry of Personnel for this imperial examination been sent to it yet?"

"Allocated silver?" Cheng Xunyi was stunned for a moment, and then a smile broke out on his old face.

"Master Chu, you must have remembered it wrongly. The Ministry of Revenue approved all the expenses for the Jingcha last month."

"Stop talking nonsense to me," Chu Yi said angrily. "Besides the expenses for the imperial examination, there are also expenses for rewarding all officials after the examination. Why hasn't the Ministry of Revenue allocated these silver taels?"

When the issue of exam results was mentioned, Cheng Xunyi's face showed an embarrassment.

"Lord Chu, the national treasury is currently in a tight spot due to the rebellion in Anyang and the rebellion of the vassal kings in the south. A considerable amount of military expenditure has been spent, as you are aware. As for this so-called performance... the Ministry of Revenue is also working on preparing for it as quickly as possible."

"Master Cheng, I'm not saying anything about you."

"The end-of-year taxes have just been collected, and now is the time when the treasury is full. How can it be stretched to the limit just because of such a small military expenditure?"

Chu Yi had a cold face, and it was obvious that Cheng Xunyi was deliberately making things difficult for him.

"Your Majesty is very optimistic about the performance evaluation system, but as the Minister of Revenue, you have repeatedly obstructed it, intending to hinder its implementation. In my opinion, you are deliberately delaying payment."

"You said the Ministry of Revenue has no money. I'm afraid it's because the national treasury has long been embezzled by you, Lord Cheng!"

joke.

Chu Yi dared to come to the Ministry of Revenue in person, so he was naturally confident that he could get what he deserved.

How could he be fooled by Cheng Xunyi's few words?

According to his intention today, even if he couldn't take out a single cent from the national treasury, he would have to sell the tables and chairs in the Ministry of Revenue to raise enough money for the next performance appraisal.

But it was obvious that Chu Yi deliberately provoked Cheng Xunyi and touched his bottom line.

His face also turned gloomy.

"Master Chu, please don't make irresponsible statements without proof! I've been working diligently at the Ministry of Revenue for so long, but I've never embezzled a single cent!"

"Haha, you didn't embezzle any money, but did the other people in your Ministry of Revenue do the same? I think that as the Minister of Revenue, you allowed the Ministry of Revenue to abuse its power for personal gain. You officials in the Ministry of Revenue are just sitting there doing nothing but eating and drinking. You don't have the appearance of a Ministry of Revenue at all!"

Chu Yi mercilessly threw all the crimes directly onto him, the Shangshu.

Then he threatened to use the imperial examination:

"If you don't prepare what I want today, I can't guarantee that anyone from your Ministry of Revenue will pass this imperial inspection!"

Then, the officials from the Ministry of Personnel following behind him stared at the people from the Ministry of Revenue with wolf-like eyes.

Every official's face was filled with complacency.

It’s so cool to work with Lord Chu!

Although the Ministry of Personnel is only one of the six ministries, in name, Lord Chu, as the Minister of Personnel, exercises the power of the Prime Minister!

The Minister of Revenue was forced to be so suffocated that he dared not even fart.

"Hehe, my Ministry of Revenue is innocent."

Cheng Xunyi's face was stern, and he didn't care about the threat in Chu Yi's words at all.

"But Lord Chu, your hands are covered in oil, I'm afraid he can't withstand the inspection!"

"To be honest with you, Lord Chu, this time, according to His Majesty's decree, the implementation of the performance evaluation system will still focus on increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. However, His Majesty will not hesitate to increase the salaries of officials in the capital with outstanding performance."

"According to your majesty's idea, these rewards will be distributed in the form of physical goods. Once the Ministry of Personnel has drawn up the list, my Ministry of Revenue will directly prepare the corresponding items and distribute them to all officials!"

Physical objects are things like firewood, rice, oil, salt, etc.

Da'an collected taxes from all over the country. Taxes generally refer to physical objects. When people farm, they have to pay taxes, which can be in the form of grain.

The tax paid on selling cloth can be on silk or satin.

Tax refers to tax silver.

The reason why Cheng Xunyi suggested paying wages in kind was indeed a decision made by Xiao Ling after discussing it with him.

This is to prevent two problems.

One is to prevent Chu Yi from embezzling the additional salary.

Secondly, the national treasury really doesn’t have much cash, as it has been busy with disaster relief and war recently.

When the army sets out, it needs food and silver, which it must collect from local areas.

As a result, the national treasury is filled with a lot of miscellaneous in-kind taxes.

It just so happened that Xiao Ling had this idea.

Distributing things like silk, cloth, and food is naturally not as good as silver, but it doesn’t matter, as long as it can be used.

Just tell me whether the officials will have any objections?

Not only will I not have any objections, I will be very happy about it and congratulate the Holy Spirit for His great grace.

After all, once the performance appraisal policy was introduced, rewarding officials based on their performance was a benefit in addition to their salary.

At this moment, Chu Yi's original arrogance disappeared.

It was as if he had heard something extremely unbelievable, and his face fell in an instant.

The originally agreed salary was paid in kind?

Wouldn't that mean he would have no money to embezzle? Realizing this, Chu Yi felt terrible.

What’s the point of him coveting those useless silk fabrics?

You can't just take the money out and cash it out after being greedy, right?

Few are willing to spend more money to buy these things?

Chu Yi felt very uncomfortable and unhappy at this time.

This little emperor is trying to be on guard against me in all kinds of ways. He really deserves to be punished.

He thought resentfully in his heart, but it was difficult for him to refute this policy.

There is no way to refute it.

After all, he didn't want to cause too much trouble with the Ministry of Revenue.

Ultimately, this matter was the little emperor's idea.

Seeing Chu Yi fall into silence, Cheng Xunyi smiled rarely.

That’s great! Your Majesty has managed to win the game again this time.

Behind him, a clerk from the Ministry of Personnel was stunned for a moment, and soon realized that something seemed to be wrong.

This is difficult to deal with.

He bowed tentatively and asked:

"Master Chu, what should we do?"

Chu Yi glanced at Cheng Xunyi, but in the end, there was nothing he could do.

He waved his hand helplessly and said, "In that case, let's go back."

The group returned disappointed, while the Ministry of Revenue cheered with joy again.

As an official in the Ministry of Revenue, Chu Yi was upset today, but he had no way to solve the problem.

Of course, he couldn't suffer in silence. After all, the money that was right in his mouth flew away, and it was obviously not in his nature to just let it go.

Chu Yi explained some things, turned around and led his men into the palace.

The emperor bestowed upon him the Nine Gifts, and now he could ride in a sedan chair when entering the palace, and even wear a dragon robe, although he carried a sword.

As a civil servant, Chu Yi rarely wore a sword on his waist that day.

He even brought the guards with him and went to the Zichen Palace together.

"Your Majesty, Lord Chu is here."

When Xiao Ling learned of Chu Yi's movements, he quickly returned to the palace.

After hearing Yuzhu's report, she nodded.

"Well, let him in."

…