The emperor showed the memorial from the newly appointed Shenyang prefect to everyone and asked, "What do you think?"
The officials of the Ministry of Works were very concerned about the dam, which was highly praised in the memorial. After all, it was supervised by their Ministry of Works, and it was a great achievement that would be recorded in history! Upon hearing this, the Minister of Works said, "Your Majesty, this dam can provide water to the downstream during droughts and prevent floods during the rainy season. It is a great achievement that will benefit the world for generations to come! I, Jianyi, order that dams be built in all cities and towns within the Great Zhou to promote water conservancy."
The Minister of Revenue disagreed: "Not only would building a dam cost a huge amount of money, but if it's not built properly, the water stored in the dam would be a disaster for the people downstream!"
"That's throwing the baby out with the bathwater! According to you, we can stop repairing roads! If there's a pothole and you trip, isn't it the road's fault?" The Minister of Works was so angry that he blew his beard and glared. "We can stop building swords too. If someone is carelessly injured, isn't that the sword's fault?"
"You might as well skip your meal! Otherwise you'll choke to death and kill the cook!"
The Minister of Revenue defended himself, "That's not what I meant! During the Shenyang dam construction, the Crown Prince was overseeing it, so no one dared to cut corners. If a dam was built elsewhere, who could guarantee that no one would be corrupt? And how long would a dam built with such shoddy workmanship last?"
The Minister of Works rolled up his sleeves, wanting to scratch the Minister of Revenue's face: "Are you saying that our Ministry of Works is full of corrupt officials?!"
The Minister of Revenue was completely helpless against the Minister of Works, so he turned to the Emperor for help: "Your Majesty, I don't mean to die. I'm just worried. I can't guarantee the smooth construction of the dam. If anything goes wrong, the people will suffer. And the treasury is empty!"
The emperor raised his hand to signal the Minister of Works to stop talking, lest he anger his Minister of Revenue to death. Who would help him manage the money then? He looked at Xie Qing: "Prince, I asked you to collect the debt, how is it?"
Xie Qing was helpless: "I only recovered 5,000 taels of silver. He refused to return the 100,000 taels that Pingyang Marquis had."
The emperor's brows were stern. "Refused to return it? I heard that his sister got married a few days ago and had a large dowry. He didn't have the money to pay off the debt, but he had the money to buy a dowry for his sister."
Xie Qing didn't respond, but the Minister of Revenue said, "I also heard that there were some jokes, which was very unbecoming."
Xie Qing then asked, "May I ask, Your Excellency, if all these 100,000 taels were used to build dams, how many could be built?"
The Minister of Revenue stroked his beard and immediately estimated: "If we build a dam as large as Shenyang, we can only build two. But if we build a smaller one, we can build four or five. It all depends on the scale."
Upon hearing this, the emperor slammed the table and said, "Send someone to hurry! The deadline is tomorrow noon, it must be handed over to the Ministry of Revenue!"
What about the five dams? How much impact does this have on people's livelihood and the country?
The emperor urged Xie Qing again: "Collect all the debts owed to you as soon as possible. No matter what means are used!"
Xie Qing was waiting for this sentence. He asked with a smile: "Really?"
The emperor glared at him. "I'm still lying! You're asking this because you have some idea?"
Xie Qing just chuckled. He had mentioned the matter of collecting the overdue debt to Qin Wan once before, but then he was diverted by Lu Yan's matter and they had not talked about it in detail. However, he thought that the method Qin Wan mentioned must be extremely useful!
The emperor just smiled foolishly when he saw him, and said nothing. He grabbed the memorial and threw it into his arms: "You have five days to return all the money to me!"
After saying this, the emperor looked at the Minister of Revenue and said, "Then these 180,000 taels are enough to build the dam, right?"
The Minister of Revenue was struck by lightning and looked at the emperor in amazement. Was he waiting for him here?
He pursed his lips tightly, and after a moment, he said with a fearless attitude: "Your Majesty, please reconsider!"
The emperor was angry, but he couldn't really be angry because the Minister of Revenue's concerns were correct.
A murderous look flashed in Xie Qing's eyes. "Just kill them. Everyone involved in the construction of the dam, from top to bottom, will be registered. If there are any omissions in the dam, from the supervisors to the people doing the labor, they will all be held accountable. If anyone reports it, they will be exempted from punishment and given a reward of 100 taels. There are always brave men under great rewards, and there are always cowards under severe punishments."
The emperor pondered, "It takes twenty long beatings for a commoner to sue an official. Coming to the capital and beating the drum to file a complaint requires enduring severe punishment. However, the common people, thousands of miles away from the capital, bravely went to the capital to file a complaint and beat the drum. This is truly commendable courage. Pass on my decree: from now on, anyone who files a complaint and beats the drum in the capital will be exempted from all punishment, and I will personally judge unjust cases."
"If there is an unjust, false, or wrongful conviction, there will be no leniency! Anyone who dares to make a false accusation will be hanged in public!"
The last sentence blocked the two ministers' words of advice.
Although the punishment of beating the Dengwen drum is waived, it is easy for people to beat it for fun. However, if the punishment is severe, no one dares to beat the Dengwen drum casually.
Moreover, this is a precedent set for dam construction, which deserves praise:
"Your Majesty is wise!"
"Father is wise."
Xie Qing followed the two ministers and flattered the emperor.
The Minister of Works had something else to say: "But Your Majesty, even if no one beats the drum to report the incident, any complaint must be thoroughly investigated. So, if someone falsely accuses the officials who built the dam, how will they be punished? And an investigation would cost a lot of manpower and resources. Isn't that a bad idea?"
Xie Qing looked at the Minister of Works and spoke sharply, "Sir, if you behaved uprightly, why would you be afraid of an investigation? Moreover, to investigate this matter, firstly, we need people from the Ministry of Revenue, secondly, we need people from the Ministry of Justice, and thirdly, if we beat the drum to report the case, the three courts will hold a joint trial, and it won't be the people from the Ministry of Works who will be busy."
"So, what's your reason for opposing it?"
The Minister of Works shut his mouth completely. If he objected again, wouldn't it mean that all the officials in his Ministry of Works were corrupt?
He looked at the sharp-edged Xie Qing and could not help but admire him in his heart. This prince, if he did not make a name for himself, would surely make a big splash. Now he was showing the demeanor of a crown prince.
Seeing that the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue had no objections, the emperor looked at Xie Qing and said, "Prince, whether this dam can be built now depends on you."
"Yes, I will definitely fulfill your mission!"
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who was burdened with an important responsibility and determined to fulfill it, could not wait to see his fiancée as soon as he came out of the imperial study.
The Queen had originally been very dissatisfied with the Crown Prince's involvement in politics, but it was only natural for him to participate. Now, seeing him accept the order and then go to find Qin Wan, she smiled again and took the opportunity of delivering snacks to flatter the Emperor: "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is still young. I'm afraid he hasn't adapted to the heavy responsibilities he has suddenly shouldered. Please don't be angry."
The emperor was puzzled, but he didn't show it on his face. He took the snack from the queen, took a bite, and then snorted softly, "Why am I angry? What did he do that I don't know about?"
The queen looked at the emperor's expression and felt relieved. It seemed that the emperor had a lot of opinions about the prince.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
