Chapter 66 chilled the hearts of the soldiers.
"speak"
"Recently, rumors have spread in Fengyang that the newly arrived grain supplies in Daxingwei are less than 5,000 shi. Because the imperial court's grain reserves are insufficient to cover the disaster relief grain, another 2,000 shi have been transferred back. Your Majesty, I request that the Ministry of Revenue be punished!"
Minister of Revenue Chen Jing stepped forward: "Your Majesty! The harvests in recent years have been poor, and the Ministry of Revenue has no surplus grain. Last year, the drought in Henan and other places already made things difficult, and this year, some grain has been transferred out of Fengyang one after another. It is really hard to continue!"
The official scoffed, "That still shouldn't be done by diverting already approved grain supplies! The border is of utmost importance; the soldiers are sworn to serve and defend the peace of this region. Even when they are starving, they still have to donate their own rations to help the people of Fengyang. I've heard that the soldiers' robes are all from five or six years ago, and a centurion's uniform has seven or eight patches on it."
"I must ask Lord Chen, where have the provisions and clothing sent to the border gone? The ration of five thousand has only been three thousand! And it's been delayed for three months! Lord Chen, on the other hand, lives a very lavish life, buying one mansion after another in private! Who knows if the soldiers' provisions have been embezzled by some people!"
Chen Jing, his face flushed, pointed at the censor: "Wang Guojing, don't make false accusations!"
The official knelt, his gaze fixed intently on the emperor seated on the throne in the Golden Palace, his expression filled with fervor: "Your Majesty! The soldiers on the border are suffering from cold and hunger, their weapons are outdated, and their tents are dilapidated. If a powerful enemy attacks, and they fight a bloody battle, how can they defend our beautiful land without sufficient provisions and warm clothing? Your Majesty, you reside peacefully in the palace, sitting high on your throne, enjoying the sustenance of the people. How can you turn a blind eye to the suffering of your soldiers? How can you ignore their plight? Your subject, Wang Guojing, requests a thorough investigation of Minister of Revenue Chen Jing and his officials, to bring justice to our soldiers on the border!"
The emperor on the dragon throne remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "My dear minister, the Ministry of Revenue truly cannot produce any surplus grain; this is a last resort."
The official looked at the emperor with disbelief. If the emperor said this, it meant that he knew about the matter and tacitly approved it.
Wang Guojing kowtowed: "Your Majesty! Even if we cannot produce enough, we should not take grain from the border! If Your Majesty does not show compassion for the soldiers on the border, I fear the morale of the army will collapse, and the soldiers will be unwilling to die for their country, which will endanger the nation! This is not an exaggeration, but a matter of national survival. I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly and give the soldiers on the border justice!"
The Minister of Revenue bowed and said, “Your Majesty! The delayed delivery of grain is not what the Ministry of Revenue wanted. Every year, the taxes collected are getting less and less, while the amount of disaster relief grain distributed is getting more and more. The border garrisons with farmland can still support them, but the disaster victims cannot. Therefore, we had no choice but to allocate grain first. Minister Wang’s words are malicious and we are wronged!”
"Alright! Stop arguing! Chen Jing, how much surplus grain does the Ministry of Revenue have now?"
Chen Jing shook his head: "Your Majesty, all of it has already been distributed to the disaster areas. We can only replenish the national treasury after the autumn harvest."
The emperor stared at the censor: "We will replenish the grain supplies to the border after the autumn harvest. There are priorities. Minister Wang, please say no more. Court is adjourned!"
The officials couldn't hide their murderous intent as they looked at the Minister of Revenue. After leaving the court, the gray-haired Minister Wang, tears streaming down his face, pointed at Chen Jing's nose and shouted, "You treacherous minister! Do you know you're undermining the very foundation of the nation! The soldiers aren't getting enough to eat. If a foreign enemy comes, who will fight? You cunning villain!"
Chen Jing smiled and replied to Lord Wang: "Lord Wang, you are being cautious. I delayed the distribution of grain for the sake of the disaster victims. Besides, several garrisons are located in the territory of the vassal kings. If there really is no food, we vassal kings would not sit idly by, right?"
Enraged, Lord Wang swung his scepter at Chen Jing's face: "You treacherous villain!! Do you know you are undermining the foundation of the nation!! The border guards are the foundation of our existence! Without strong military force, how can we deter villains! You scoundrel! I'll teach you to speak ill of others!"
Although Lord Wang was quite old, he was still in good health and showed no mercy when he beat people. The Minister of Revenue, who was in his thirties, was beaten until he saw stars, his face was bruised and swollen and his nose was bleeding. A group of officials and ministers hurriedly pulled the two apart.
"Oh dear, is Lord Chen alright?"
"Lord Wang, please calm down, don't get so angry you'll harm your health."
"Wang Guojing, how dare you commit violence at the entrance of the main hall!!! I will report you to His Majesty for the crime of disrespect!!"
Chen Jing covered his face with one hand and pointed at Lord Wang with the other, speaking fiercely.
Lord Wang slapped his court robes and said coldly, "Do I need to pick a place to punish you, you treacherous villain? You treacherous villain, you have shaken the foundation of my Great Xuan Kingdom. Even if His Majesty wants to behead me and exterminate my entire clan, I will still impeach and punish you. You villain! Bah!"
Chu King's Palace —
"You mean Wang Guojing beat Chen Jing in front of the palace?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
The King of Chu, who was practicing calligraphy, wrote the character for "treacherous" and suddenly burst into laughter: "Your Majesty hasn't punished him?"
The aide smiled and said, "Originally, we were going to give each of them a severe beating, but our people added a few embellishments, and Lord Wang was demoted to the lowest level, while Chen Jing was left unscathed."
The King of Chu put down his pen and exhaled a breath of turbid air: "My nephew is still too inexperienced. He has been a senior official for three generations and is known for his integrity. If we demote him to the lowest level, we will offend a group of censors. Now, the label of 'treacherous and wicked' will be stuck on Chen Jing's head forever. We should have our people add fuel to the fire and intensify the conflict between the Censorate and the Ministry of Personnel. It would be best if we could bring Chen Jing down."
The staff member bowed and agreed.
The King of Chu picked up a copy of the Doctrine of the Mean from the table and said, "Who is the person who led the team to Fengyang this time? He is a talented person. We should keep an eye on him."
The aide laughed again: "Speaking of which, we must admit that the prince has a keen eye for talent. The one who led the team to Fengyang to spread the news and help the disaster victims was none other than Lin Changping, whom the prince investigated last time. This man is quite intelligent. I heard that this time, he exchanged less than 1,500 dan of rice and wheat for 2,300 millet, saving a lot of grain. He also handled the trip to Fengyang. Now, everyone in Fengyang is praising our Daxingwei for its loyalty and righteousness."
The King of Chu became interested: "Is it that kid who gave Rong'er the idea to trick the Duke of Qi?"
The aide nodded: "It is him."
The King of Chu stroked his chin and said several times, "Not bad. Since he is Rong'er's subordinate, let him continue to follow Rong'er. He is quite useful. If there is an opportunity, we can meet him."
"Your Highness, there is one more thing."
"Speak."
"A secret letter has been received from the capital; that person is preparing to take action against Prince Chaosheng."
"What crime?"
"Forcibly abducting women..."
The King of Chu sighed, speechless: "My nephew's methods are becoming increasingly underhanded. My third brother is known for being honest and simple, never getting involved in military affairs or power in his fiefdom. He only enjoys refined pursuits. He really picks on the weak!"
The staff also remarked, "Who can argue with that?"
After laughing, the King of Chu said, "Go, add fuel to the fire. One charge of abducting a woman isn't enough. Have our men fabricate a few more baseless charges against my third brother. He wants to make a move, so send him a few reasons. I want to see if my good-natured third brother gets anxious when someone beats him at his doorstep. It would be best if we could force them to rebel so we can test my good nephew's true colors!"
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