brush!
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice, and then saw Li Xiang holding an account book in one hand and a brush in the other, with a serious expression on her little face.
Li Zhuo looked at his child in astonishment. After a while, he waved his hand and said, "I am discussing state affairs with my relatives. My son, please don't make a fuss."
Having said that, Li Zhuo decided to focus his energy back on how to deal with the New Year's greetings. As for Li Xiang's comment that the Ministry of Revenue's accounts were wrong, Li Zhuo felt that it was just a joke made by a child to attract his attention.
But Li Xiang looked at Li Zhuo with great seriousness and said again, "Father, the Ministry of Revenue has made a huge mistake in its calculations. In my opinion, this much money and grain is simply not needed."
If Li Xiang and his ministers thought he was young and ignorant the first time, now that he directly pointed out the responsibility of the Ministry of Revenue, and it also involved the issue of money and grain, Li Zhuo and his ministers had to take it seriously.
He looked at his young son in front of him with suspicion and asked, "Can you understand these accounts?"
You have to know that even in Li Zhuo's eyes, these accounts are like heavenly books.
Li Xiang nodded confidently and said, "I studied arithmetic with my master for a while, so I can roughly understand the accounts here."
Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions became even more serious.
Especially Liang Licang, his facial features were twitching with nervousness.
You have to know that he is in charge of the Ministry of Revenue. If there is any problem in the calculation of money and grain, he will bear the main responsibility.
So he spoke first, "Young Prince, these accounts took more than a dozen accountants in our Ministry of Revenue three days and three nights to calculate. They were even checked dozens of times during that time. There shouldn't be any problems, right? I wonder what you think we did wrong?"
This is a veteran official. He first explained that this account book was made by everyone's hard work. At least it proves that there is no problem with their work attitude, and there is no possibility that he, as the chief official, would abuse his power for personal gain or commit fraud.
At the same time, it was also a secret warning to Li Xiang. How could the accounts calculated by so many professionals be worse than those of a little kid like him?
Li Xiang exuded the audacity of a newborn calf, fearless of a tiger. Even in the face of questioning from professionals, he remained confident and said, "First of all, transporting food and supplies does incur costs. This cost will gradually decrease as we get closer to the destination. Simply put, as the people and horses eat and chew on the way, some of the food is consumed, so the overall weight of the goods transported by the carriage will be reduced, and the speed will be increased. Secondly, even if the carriage is not empty when you return, it won't sink to anything, right? Then the food consumed on the way back is the same as on the way there. Isn't that inappropriate?"
With just a few simple words, Li Xiang turned a complex mathematical problem into a logical one. Even if the other ministers had no expertise in arithmetic, they could still understand that there was indeed something wrong with it.
Even Li Zhuo nodded and said, "That's true. The weight of the goods being pulled is different when going there and back, so the time it takes is also different, and the amount of money spent must also be different. What's going on, Minister Liang?"
Liang Licang's inner lining was quickly soaked with sweat. He knelt down hastily and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. This was indeed an oversight on the part of our Ministry of Revenue. I will go back and have them recalculate."
Upon hearing this, Li Zhuo's eyebrows stood up!
The treasury was empty recently, and he had invested a lot of money from his own private treasury. Lately, the entire harem has been having a hard time, and now you're telling me you didn't calculate your spending properly and overspent! Are you kidding me?
Moreover, when he thought that this problem was not unique and that the previous money and grain expenditures might have been overspent, Li Zhuo felt like someone had stuffed a ball of straw into his heart.
Li Zhuo slammed the dragon throne hard and stood up suddenly, saying, "How can this be absurd! The Ministry of Revenue is in charge of the country's finances and grain. How could such an important position allow such a mistake? Do you think you are worthy of my trust?"
Liang Licang knelt hurriedly on the ground and kowtowed, saying, "I beg you to die! I will go back and have a thorough investigation conducted."
At this time, Li Xiang spoke up, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Actually, this matter cannot be blamed on Minister Liang and the accountants of the Ministry of Revenue. The loss of military rations is inherently a dynamic process. The accountants of the Ministry of Revenue were not personally involved in the transportation of military rations, so they have no access to firsthand information. Without data, this dynamic loss cannot be calculated."
The few technical terms that Li Xiang casually threw out made the ministers in the hall feel dizzy.
However, they could generally see that Li Xiang was pleading for Liang Lichang. This alone made many ministers feel favorable towards her.
A king who treats his ministers well is considered benevolent by the literati. If this matter gets out, when Li Xiang is enfeoffed, perhaps many scholars will come forward to recommend themselves as ministers.
Li Zhuo had figured it out by now. He looked at his son in surprise and asked, "Son, how do you know all this?"
Li Xiang raised her childish face and said proudly in a crisp voice, "This is all what Master taught me. This is the way of arithmetic he taught me. Master said that nothing in the world is unfathomable. When you master arithmetic, your energy reaches the heights of heaven and the depths of the sea! This is a profound knowledge!"
Li Xiang shook his head as he spoke, "It's a pity those accountants at the Ministry of Revenue didn't learn from their teachers, otherwise such a small mistake would definitely not have happened. This, combined, could save our Great Qi tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of silver taels every year!"
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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