Because of the disaster relief efforts, Emperor Kangxi checked the Ministry of Revenue and was surprised to find that half of the Ministry's silver was in the form of IOUs.

Because there were many things to do in the 50th year of Kangxi's reign, including disaster relief and the plague.

It wasn't until the 51st year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign that he was able to address the Ministry of Revenue's outstanding debts.

Emperor Kangxi already had more than a dozen sons attending court and participating in government affairs, so it shouldn't have been difficult to find a prince to do this job. However, it was a job that would offend people, and no one wanted it to fall on their shoulders. In the end, this hot potato was taken over by the cold-faced Fourth Prince.

However, He Zhuo's two sons were also tricked, as they were involved in handling a case concerning the Ministry of Revenue's arrears.

Hongyu and Hongfang received praise for their excellent handling of disaster relief and the plague last year. They were recommended by the court, and Emperor Kangxi agreed.

It has always been easy to incur debt, but difficult to collect it.

This is a job that will offend people.

pit!

┓(;′_｀)┏

After this assignment was given, Hongyu and Hongfang were very busy and often went to the Yongqin Prince's residence.

Fourth Prince's wife discovered she was pregnant at Hongyu's wedding banquet and gave birth to Hongchen, the Fourth Prince's only legitimate son. Little Hongchen was well-cared for by Fourth Prince's wife and looked exactly like the Fourth Prince.

That perfectly describes the young master.

He loved to laugh; the expressions that everyone could not see on the Fourth Master's expressionless face could be seen on this chubby boy's face.

So everyone loves to tease him.

Two years after Hongchen was born, the Fourth Prince's wife gave birth to another legitimate daughter.

The Fourth Prince's wife is now blessed with both a son and a daughter, and has completely shaken off the gloom of Honghui's untimely death, and is very happy!

Prince Yong was once again highly valued by his father, the Emperor, and his residence became extremely sought after.

However, the Fourth Prince was very cautious and had remained silent since the Crown Prince was deposed.

He was only assigned a task last year during the disaster relief efforts.

Because he handled the task so well, he was envied by his brothers, and even the Crown Prince made a few sarcastic remarks.

The Fourth Prince taking over the task of handling the Ministry of Revenue's debts was the result of his brothers working together. They also helped two of the imperial grandsons along the way.

Recently, Hongyu and Hongfang have been in a great hurry!

Although they were imperial grandsons, they were of a lower generation.

Upon reviewing the account books, it became clear that the largest debts were owed by either imperial uncles and relatives or high-ranking officials in the court.

"Brother, what do you think of Uncle Si's suggestion to collect debts from the bottom up?"

Hongfang and Hongyu were discussing something in the study.

Hongyu glanced at his younger brother, but he did not agree with the plan proposed by his fourth uncle.

Emperor Kangxi's decision to allow officials to borrow money from the Ministry of Revenue was originally a good thing. However, after reviewing the Ministry of Revenue's IOUs, it was discovered that only a minority of officials truly needed the funds for emergency relief.

It would be good if it could account for even a small portion.

Some of them, like Li Xu, borrowed money to build a temporary palace for public use.

There were also those who genuinely faced financial difficulties, such as members of the imperial family and some low-ranking officials.

The remaining majority either borrowed money with the mentality of "a fool wouldn't pass up a bargain," or with a herd mentality of "everyone else is borrowing, if you don't, you're not fitting in."

Emperor Kangxi has just issued this policy, and everyone is still observing.

"Second brother, you saw the list just now, and the big spenders are from powerful and influential people in the capital."

"Yes, the Nalan family borrowed 100,000 taels, the Hesheli family borrowed 230,000 taels, the Niohuru family borrowed 340,000 taels, the Ulanara family owed 380,000 taels, the Fucha family owed 100,000 taels, and the Guoluo family owed 90,000 taels."

"This is just the tip of the iceberg. The one with the largest debt is Cao Yin of the Jiangnan Textile Bureau, whose debts are all for the purpose of building a palace for the Emperor's southern tour, totaling more than three million taels."