Chapter 601 Don’t ask about things you shouldn’t ask about!
After the three people from the Ministry of Revenue returned, the two assistant ministers on the left and right waited anxiously.
After Qian Baokun sent away the people from the Ministry of War who came to ask for money, he returned to the inner room and just as he sat down at the table, he felt two scorching gazes beside him.
"Just say whatever you want to say." Qian Baokun looked up.
The elderly Minister Sheng was impatient: "Master Qian, what exactly did you ask us to come back for? You just told the people from the Ministry of War to go back and send the silver to them the next day, but where does our treasury get the silver from?"
Minister Yuan couldn't help but say, "Yes, Lord Qian. When we first entered the palace, you asked us to report the Ministry of Revenue to His Majesty truthfully. Didn't you see how terrifying His Majesty's expression was? I almost thought he would chop off our heads in a rage."
"He always takes people's heads. How many people in the court can take heads like him?"
Qian Baokun remained calm upon hearing this: "War is imminent, and deployments are needed everywhere. The Ministry of Revenue is an empty shell. If His Majesty were to kill the three of us in one go, where would he find three suitable victims to take over the Ministry of Revenue?"
When the national treasury is full, the Ministry of Revenue is indeed a lucrative position that everyone covets, and everyone wants to get a piece of it.
But now the Ministry of Revenue has no money and no grain, and the bare account books can't even produce two taels of silver. Who is willing to take over this mess?
Minister Yuan: “…”
It makes so much sense, I can't refute it.
Minister Sheng whispered, "But even with all this fuss, the Ministry of Revenue still can't produce any silver."
Minister Yuan: "Your Majesty, didn't you say that he would find a way to deal with the silver issue..."
"What can your majesty think of? Is it possible to use his private treasury to fill it?"
After Minister Sheng blurted out his words, he saw Qian Baokun looking up at him and suddenly stopped.
"Your Majesty, are you really planning to use his private treasury to fill the gap? But even if there is some silver in the royal treasury, how much can it possibly contain? If Your Majesty uses it to fill the Ministry of Revenue, what will happen to the food? Where will we find enough food and fodder to compensate the rebel army in the remaining two days?"
Qian Baokun curled his lips and said, "Your Majesty's words are as good as gold. If he said he has a way, he must have the ability to do it. Just wait and see."
Minister Yuan and the others looked at each other in bewilderment when they heard this. They felt that their boss's words were a little strange, and they were even more skeptical about whether Emperor An could come up with so many things. Seeing that Qian Baokun stopped talking after he finished speaking, the two of them could only keep quiet and wait.
The sky outside went from light to dark, and dusk covered the entire capital.
It was completely dark and I spent the whole night in a daze.
Qian Baokun and the other two stayed in the Ministry of Revenue and none of them went back. The next day passed in the same way.
The sky outside darkened again, and there was still no movement in the palace. Minister Yuan and the others looked at the food on the table and could hardly eat it. They began to look anxious.
"Master Qian, His Majesty..."
“Bang, bang!”
There was a knock on the door, and then someone pushed it open and walked in, excitedly saying to the inner room, "Sir, the palace has sent silver!"
Minister Yuan stood up quickly and asked, "Give me some silver?"
"It's true. Not only is there silver, but there's also a lot of grain. It's all been sent to the granary. Commanders Yu and Liu from the palace have asked the three of you to go over and check as soon as possible."
Minister Yuan and the others were all surprised, and Qian Baokun also put down the book in his hand and stood up.
He flicked his sleeves and said to the two people beside him, "Let's go and take a look."
…
The granary in Beijing is in the south of the city. Because it is close to the dock and convenient for transportation, the granary is surrounded by soldiers and officers.
When Qian Baokun and the other two arrived, the head of the Ministry of Revenue who was in charge of the granary was already standing in front of the door with an excited look on his face, holding a book. Outside, people were gradually carrying carts of grain down from the official boats by the lake, loading them onto the carts and escorting them all the way into the official granary.
"Master Xue."
"Sir, you are here?"
The person in charge, surnamed Xue, bowed quickly when he saw Qian Baokun and the other two.
When Qian Baokun walked to the front of the granary, he saw Yu Yanfeng in light armor and Liu Tongen with a gloomy face standing beside them. The granary was guarded by imperial guards in heavy armor and holding swords, which kept away any prying eyes from the dock.
When he saw Qian Baokun, Yu Yanfeng first greeted him, and then spoke directly:
"Minister Qian, His Majesty has ordered Commander Liu and I to escort this money and grain to the Ministry of Revenue so that Minister Qian can arrange to hand it over to the Ministry of War to suppress the rebellion as soon as possible."
He handed the booklet to Qian Baokun, who took it, took a look at it, and then handed it to Minister Yuan and others standing beside him.
After reading it, the two took a breath and couldn't help looking at each other. Thirty thousand taels of gold was not surprising, as the emperor always had some private storage, but the key was food.
Even though there were only less than 10,000 dan of grain, which was not enough for the army to set out, where did Emperor An find so much food? And how could he deliver it in just one day?!
Minister Yuan couldn't help but ask, "Commander Yu, did you buy this grain from the grain merchants?"
Before Yu Yanfeng could say anything, Liu Tongen interrupted him in a deep voice: "Don't ask about things you shouldn't ask about!"
He said coldly:
"You don't need to know where the food comes from. You just need to count the amount and arrange the rest. Is this enough for Marquis Wenxin and his men to march?"
Minister Sheng was a more considerate person. Seeing Liu Tongen's gloomy face and the hideous scar on his forehead, he quickly stopped the talkative Minister Yuan and stepped forward and said:
"That's enough. Although the food is a little scarce, Marquis Wenxin and his men only brought over 30,000 men out of the capital. This is enough for them to advance south first. The Ministry of Revenue can raise the food and fodder they need later. As long as we have silver and food, everything will be fine."
Qian Baokun also spoke up, "The army is setting out, and the food and fodder won't be transported all at once. As long as we have this initial batch, the rest can be relieved, whether it's collected in the capital or dispatched from other places. Commander Liu, please report this to Your Majesty. I will arrange the subsequent matters and Your Majesty won't have to worry."
He said to Minister Yuan, "Help Master Xue sort these things out as quickly as possible. Lord Sheng, have someone go to the military camp and tell Marquis Wenxin and General Yin to bring people over to transport the grain."
Both of them nodded and turned around to get busy.
Qian Baokun looked up and said, "Two commanders, who of you will take care of this verification?"
Yu Yanfeng looked at Liu Tongen for a moment, then turned and said, "Commander Liu is injured. Let me take over."
Liu Tongen's expression became increasingly grim, and he snorted coldly, "I'll go back to the palace first."
A small half of the imperial guards had left the granary, and the rest were still moving things. Minister Yuan and his men were busy counting the grain with the people inside. People were coming in and out of the granary from time to time, and Qian Baokun and Yu Yanfeng were standing in front of the granary and talking openly.
Qian Baokun glanced at the box filled with gold and said, "Our Majesty's purse is really full."
Thirty thousand taels of gold, converted into three hundred thousand taels of silver, is enough to deal with the current troubles of the Ministry of Revenue.
He turned to Yu Yanfeng and asked, "Where did this food come from?"
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