Chapter 93 093 "I want the most magnificent and imposing palace."...

From the first year of Xianping to the third year of Xianping, apart from a few well-known disputes between the emperor and the prime minister, the overall situation in the Great Zhou Dynasty was generally good. The tax revenue of the court continued to rise from the late Yongcheng period. In the third year of Xianping, the tax grain exceeded 30 million shi. The last time the tax grain of the Great Zhou Dynasty reached 30 million shi was before the first northern expedition of the late emperor.

Just after Yang Sheng was demoted and sent away from the capital, granary officials in various places reported that their granaries were full and new granaries needed to be built to hold next year's tax grain. The Taicang granary in the capital had already been expanded once at the beginning of the year.

With the country at peace and the people enjoying prosperity, the troublesome former prime minister was also banished from the capital. Emperor Xianping was overjoyed and decided to hold a grand palace banquet on New Year's Eve this year.

When the news reached the people, the residents of the capital were overjoyed and began to happily prepare for the New Year.

At the Marquis of Zhongyi's residence, Xiao Rong had to feign seriousness in front of his eldest daughter-in-law, Yang Yanzhen. When she wasn't around, Xiao Rong couldn't suppress his joy. Considering that his wife and sons didn't like him showing off, on a chilly late December day, Xiao Rong donned a cloak and rode the fine horse bestowed upon him by the late emperor to Ganquan Town to drink with his old friend Luo Dayuan.

While the men were drinking, Wang Qiuyue naturally wouldn't join them. However, worried that Xiao Rong might overhear her talk about official matters, she sat under the eaves outside the east room while the two of them drank and chatted on the kang (heated brick bed). This served two purposes: to prevent outsiders from eavesdropping and to openly satisfy her own curiosity.

Inside the room, on the kang (heated brick bed), Xiao Rong took a sip of wine and picked up two roasted peanuts. As he chewed, he said to Luo Dayuan, who was sitting cross-legged across the low table, "That year in the imperial examinations, the third brother was the top scholar, even more outstanding than your eldest son-in-law. The late emperor directly promoted the third brother to the position of censor, a sixth-rank official. This shows how much the late emperor valued the third brother. But let's talk about it privately. What's so good about being a censor? To make a name for yourself, you have to offend your colleagues. If you don't offend your colleagues, you can't show your achievements. Moreover, the highest censor can become is the Grand Censor. Although he is on par with the ministers of the Six Ministries, both being second-rank officials, the ministers of the Six Ministries all hold real power. What can the Grand Censor do besides supervising the officials?"

Luo Dayuan thought to himself, "He really is a marquis now, he doesn't even look down on a second-rank censor."

Xiao Rong took another sip of the fine wine he had brought from the capital and said with a smug look, "So I'm especially happy that the Emperor transferred my third son to the Ministry of Revenue as a secretary. Your eldest son-in-law, on the other hand, went through the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works over the past few years before finally being transferred to the Ministry of Personnel. Clearly, the late Emperor and the current Emperor both appreciated him and deliberately let him gain more experience in the Six Ministries. Once he has more seniority, he'll be a prime minister. Our third son is the top scholar in the imperial examination. He's good at being a censor, and he'll only do even better in the Six Ministries. Given how much the Emperor values ​​him, as long as he learns from your eldest son-in-law's personality, he'll definitely be the first to enter the Secretariat."

Luo Dayuan thought to himself, "This sounds simple, but is the younger son-in-law willing to learn from the older son-in-law?"

.

Around New Year's Eve, every family held a banquet. Compared to previous years, this year Luo Fu and Xiao Yu received separate invitations from several officials from the Ministry of Revenue, inviting the couple to their residences for a meal.

Luo Fu was quite unaccustomed to this, because officials in the Censorate did not follow this practice. Most censors not only kept a clear distinction from officials in other government offices, but they also rarely interacted privately with each other, unless they were relatives or had a personal relationship before becoming censors.

"Should we go?" Since they were all Xiao Yu's connections in officialdom, Luo Fu let him make the decision.

Xiao Yu: "I won't go. It's all pointless drinking and socializing. If I go once, I'll have to find an excuse to refuse next time. I might as well refuse from the beginning."

Luo Fu: "...Not even to Minister Gu's side?"

Xiao Yu: "Yes, this way the other colleagues in the Ministry of Revenue will know that I am not being rude to them, but simply that I don't like socializing."

Luo Fu: "...I thought you were going to say that you wouldn't even give Minister Gu any face."

Xiao Yu looked up and observed the lady for a few moments before asking, "You want me to go?"

Luo Fu scoffed, "Forget it. Others socialize to build relationships so they can help each other out in the future. You're not that kind of person. Rather than eating at someone's table and then offending them in official circles later, you might as well not go and avoid being called a 'bitter bastard'."

Xiao Yu smiled and leaned over to hug his wife, who was shrewd and worldly but willing to indulge his whims: "If my wife scolds me, it must be because I have wronged her. But if others scold me, it must be because they have done something wrong first. So I am not afraid of what others say."

Luo Fu pinched him: "You're getting smug. Even the Emperor thinks you're meddling too much, so he deliberately transferred you to the Ministry of Revenue as a roundabout way of reminding you to mind your own business. People in officialdom are shrewd; they can tell you've fallen out of favor. If you keep offending people everywhere, be careful your superiors don't give you a hard time, preventing you from getting promoted and limiting you to a mere assistant minister in the Ministry of Revenue for life, or even lower and lower positions."

As Luo Fu said, Xiao Yu was just lucky to have met the magnanimous late emperor; otherwise, his grave would be overgrown with weeds by now. The Imperial Censor Fan Yan had been quite considerate of Xiao Yu in recent years, not taking his offenses to heart. However, the Minister of Revenue Gu Xi, the two Vice Ministers, and the other officials in the Ministry of Revenue all had their own personalities; could everyone be willing to tolerate Xiao Yu's outspokenness?

Especially after Yang Sheng left, without the connection of this prime minister's in-law, Xiao Yu will only encounter more setbacks in officialdom.

Xiao Yu kissed his wife's earlobe and whispered, "Don't worry, my wife, I won't let anyone bully me."

Luo Fu: "..."

.

The Minister of Revenue was in charge of the finances of the Great Zhou Dynasty, while the Vice Ministers of Revenue only needed to be in charge of the finances of one prefecture. For example, Xiao Yu filled the vacancy of Vice Minister of Revenue in Yangzhou. He was responsible for verifying and compiling statistics on land, population and products in Yangzhou, collecting and transporting the summer and autumn taxes, distributing officials' salaries, and collecting taxes from boats, fishing, salt mines and tea industries. He did not have much political conflict with the Vice Ministers in charge of the other eight prefectures.

However, Yangzhou was the most prosperous of the nine provinces of the Great Zhou Dynasty, making it the easiest place to demonstrate political achievements and receive tributes from local officials. It was like a pair of parents who had accumulated nine acres of land, but the fertility of the nine acres varied. When the sons divided the family property, they would all want the most fertile acre. Whoever got it showed who the parents valued the most!

When the newly appointed Physician of Yangzhou resigned due to illness, the other eight Physicians and the heads of the Ministry of Revenue under the Nine Departments all had their eyes on this lucrative post. They tried to curry favor with their superiors and spent money to bribe officials. Unexpectedly, it was taken by Xiao Yu, an Imperial Censor. You can imagine how envious and resentful these people were of Xiao Yu. However, Xiao Yu was also known as a tough guy in the entire capital. No one had ever been able to gain an advantage by taking advantage of Xiao Yu.

Other young officials who want to gain a foothold in the capital need to rely on their family background, connections, and the appreciation of their superiors. Although Xiao Yu was born into a marquis's family, he has managed to get to where he is today, hated by some but not daring to retaliate against, entirely because of his upright character that makes anyone who crosses him suffer.

This meant that even though Xiao Yu refused invitations from several colleagues, they didn't dare to speak sarcastically to his face. When Xiao Yu sought their advice, they had to feign enthusiasm and patiently guide him. In any case, the fact that Xiao Yu took over Yangzhou's finances immediately upon arrival was enough to prove Emperor Xianping's high regard for him.

After observing for several days, Minister of Revenue Gu Xi noticed that the doctors and officials below him were being overly attentive to Xiao Yu. Their attentiveness even revealed a hint of apprehension, as if Xiao Yu was actually still Imperial Censor Xiao, ostensibly working as a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue, but in reality keeping a close watch on them to see if they were committing any illegal acts.

Gu Xi didn't get promoted to prime minister last December, so he didn't have a good time during the New Year. He sent out so many invitations for the banquet at home. Because he admired Xiao Yu's performance during the late emperor's reign, he even wrote the invitation for Xiao Yu himself. Unexpectedly, Xiao Yu didn't appreciate it at all and directly refused!

But Gu Xi just watched silently and did nothing.

On this day, Gu Xi came to the Imperial Study to report on matters. After the matter was discussed, as he was about to take his leave, Emperor Xianping suddenly asked Xiao Yu: "Xiao Yu has just arrived at the Ministry of Revenue. Is he adapting well?"

Gu Xi shifted his gaze slightly and smiled, "It's more than just adapting; it's like a fish in water. Every official in the Ministry of Revenue knows that Xiao Yu is outspoken and dares to speak frankly, and he has been appreciated by both the late Emperor and the current Emperor. They respect Xiao Yu even more than this old minister. Before Xiao Yu came to the Ministry of Revenue, officials often arrived late and left early. But after Xiao Yu came, without his interference, all the officials in the Ministry of Revenue are punctual and diligent. Such prestige is something this old minister is ashamed to admit he cannot match."

Emperor Xianping was quite pleased to hear this. There were often corrupt officials in the Ministry of Revenue, some more and some less. Xiao Yu was known for his loyalty and integrity. If Xiao Yu could deter the officials in the Ministry of Revenue and make them diligent and law-abiding, Emperor Xianping would naturally be happy to see it happen and would be willing to continue to give Xiao Yu the favor and confidence that made his colleagues respect him.

In February, as the weather warmed up, officials would either invite a few colleagues or friends or bring their wives and children to go out of the city for a spring outing on their days off.

Emperor Xianping had been a prince for over a decade, and it was common for him to go out of the city to enjoy the autumn scenery in his spare time. But now that he was the emperor, he had to arrange for the Imperial Guards to clear the way and protect him if he went out of the city, which was troublesome for him and also a disturbance for the people.

His desire to travel grew stronger with each passing day, and finally, Emperor Xianping thought of the Western Garden Palace, so he sent people to inspect the Western Garden first.

After the inspector returned, he reported several areas of the palace walls and gardens that had been in disrepair for many years, including the garden scenery which was quite desolate due to improper maintenance.

Emperor Xianping understood, because the late emperor was a frugal ruler. Even the Western Garden Palace was a remnant of the previous dynasty. The late emperor only sent people to make simple repairs in the third year of the founding of the dynasty, and then went to the palace every two years to escape the summer heat or go hunting in the autumn. Until the failure of the Northern Expedition, the late emperor never went there again. Since the late emperor didn't go, and when the palace was reported to be damaged, the late emperor was too lazy to waste money on it. It remained vacant for nearly twenty years, so it would be strange if the Western Garden didn't become desolate.

Emperor Xianping had no desire to go to a desolate and dilapidated imperial palace. Considering the ample national treasury in recent years, he summoned Xu Lian, the Minister of Works, and asked him to take a group to the Western Garden to draft a repair document for him as soon as possible.

Xu Lian left, and he was diligent in his inspection and carried out his duties with great care. The map repair he handed over to Emperor Xianping not only ensured that the West Garden would be completely renewed, but he also strived to avoid wasting a single tael of silver or expending extra manpower and resources.

Emperor Xianping was not entirely satisfied. When his father built the Western Garden, the country had just been founded and everything was in ruins, so his father was reluctant to spend money. But now the country was prosperous and the treasury was full. The Great Zhou Dynasty, which had unified the nine provinces, was several times stronger than the previous dynasty that occupied the capital. So he should build a more magnificent palace than the previous dynasty's palace to show the grandeur of a great nation.

Emperor Xianping told Xu Lian his requirements and emphasized that there was no need to worry about money.

Xu Lian was merely the Minister of Works. If the emperor wanted to build the best imperial palace, he naturally had to satisfy the emperor; otherwise, it would be a sign of his incompetence.

After more than a month of repeated revisions, at the end of April, Xu Lian finally produced a new map of the Western Garden that Emperor Xianping was extremely pleased with.

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Author's Note: The late emperor: [Clown][Clown][Clown]

Here they are! 100 little red envelopes, see you late at night!