Gu Jiu immediately issued a gag order.
"I hereby order that all accountants involved in the calculation of this account book be gathered in the annex building of the archives. They shall eat and drink there. No one may leave the annex building without my permission. At the same time, I will send the Embroidered Uniform Guard to surround the archives building and not let a fly in."
When Ma Xiaoliu heard this, he immediately panicked.
"Your Majesty, the Empress, there are still hundreds of accountants in the archives."
"No one is allowed to leave. Only Deng Cunli and His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi are allowed to enter the archives to obtain the actual data in the account books. Anyone else who dares to enter the archives without my permission will be charged with treason."
Gu Jiu was unusually serious, with a rare murderous intent in his eyes.
This shows how serious this matter is.
Ma Xiaoliu shuddered and bowed his head to receive the order, "I obey your command."
Gu Jiu placed her hand on the account book and stared at Ma Xiaoliu. "Anyone who has touched this account book, including you, must go to the archives. From now on, Xu Yousi will supervise you."
Ma Xiaoliu panicked, "Your Majesty, please understand. I have never opened this account book."
"I believe you! But this is the rule, so I have to put you in a difficult position for a while."
Ma Xiaoliu nodded heavily, "I will write down the list right away."
Gu Jiu summoned Xu Yousi and said, "You will supervise this matter. If there is any mistake, bring the head to me."
Xu Yousi looked at Ma Xiaoliu with a look of extreme disgust and contempt.
It was as if Ma Xiaoliu was a troublemaker.
Ma Xiaoliu felt very aggrieved.
He had no idea that this account book was so important. If he had known this, he would never have touched it, and he would not even have asked about it.
Despite taking numerous measures, Gu Jiu was still worried.
He also ordered the Intelligence Department to keep an eye on the archives and everyone who had access to this account book.
…
Deng Cunli and His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi received orders one after another.
Both of them were surprised.
"The Queen Mother issued the gag order after reviewing the budget ledger. It seems the data in the budget ledger could be a powder keg."
He vaguely guessed the truth, but stopped there.
He met Deng Cunli. Although they had never worked together before, they had a tacit understanding on this matter.
"Each county government's account book is kept separately, and no totals are compiled. If the number of acres of land is too large, the account book is kept by township. Although it is a bit troublesome, it is safer."
If you don't consolidate the accounts, even if one account book is lost or the data in some books is leaked, it will not affect the overall situation.
The King of Qi asked Deng Cunli, "In half a month, can the gag order be spread to every county in the country?"
"No!" Deng Cunli said bluntly, "The world is too big, and time is too short. Not every place has a concrete road. But we can basically notify two-thirds of the people. Within a month, we can ensure that everyone has been notified."
"Two-thirds is not bad, thank you for your hard work, Eunuch Deng."
"Your Highness is very polite."
…
Gu Jiu sent someone to invite Liu Zhao to the study.
Send the people around to leave.
She took out the budget book and placed it in front of him.
Liu Zhao looked puzzled.
Gu Jiu nodded, indicating that he should look at the account book first.
Liu Zhao opened the account book and read through it page by page, his expression gradually becoming solemn.
Bang!
He slammed the ledger shut.
He rubbed his brows again before saying, "If the budget and actual income are not much different, this is both a good thing and a bad thing."
Gu Jiu sighed. "I'm thinking, when the autumn harvest and taxes are over, everyone will be concerned about this year's tax revenue and will directly ask about this matter during the morning court. What should I say then? Fortunately, from the beginning, this part of the power was separated from the Ministry of Revenue and the responsibility was given to the Ministry of Revenue. Otherwise, if the news had leaked out now, you and I would become the enemies of all officials in the world. They would be eager to drink our blood and eat our flesh."
Liu Zhao looked at her. "What do you think? Keep a yin-yang account book, or reduce taxes?"
"A 10% tax rate is already an extremely low tax rate and cannot be lowered any further."
"Then we can only make a fake account book and make the accounts equal to the taxes of previous years."
Liu Zhao thought about it and decided that this was the best solution.
If officials all over the world knew that this year's agricultural tax was many times higher than in previous years, and that this income was obtained by lowering the tax rate, they would hate the couple to death.
The extra money was all taken out of the pockets of the wealthy and powerful, and from the royal family.
They have always been the ones who plundered the common people, and this time it is their turn to be plundered by the emperor and empress. One can imagine how they feel.
Gu Jiu smiled bitterly.
What is this?
Excessive taxation has become a burden.
We have to hide it left and right.
"Are we asking for trouble?"
Liu Zhao nodded repeatedly. "Now that I think about it, it's better to be a king who maintains the status quo. It's both easy and happy. I'll stick to the rules of our ancestors and do everything according to the old rules. As long as there are no natural disasters or man-made disasters, and no border wars, I'll be praised as a wise king. Alas, I've only asked for trouble. I've fought in the north and south. Now I've offended all the officials, gentry, and wealthy families, including scholars. It's really a thankless task."
Gu Jiu smiled and asked, "Do you regret it? Now you can also be a king who maintains the status quo."
Liu Zhao shook his head and waved his hands. "No, no! I'm used to conquering the world and fighting against officials everywhere. Asking me to stop now is absolutely unacceptable. I can see that the people in the court are unsettled, and everyone is pursuing their own little plans."
"Is there any solution?"
Liu Zhao laughed heartily, "It's nothing more than being pointed at by those imperial censors and called a tyrant emperor."
Gu Jiu chuckled, "I still remember a few years ago, every time someone called you a tyrant, you would get so angry that you jumped up and down. How come you don't care at all now, and even seem to be enjoying it?"
"Since you call me a tyrant, I won't live up to the name if I don't do something a tyrant would do. It's good to be a tyrant. I will do whatever I want. If anyone dares to stop me, I will confiscate his property and exterminate his entire clan."
Liu Zhao really looks like a tyrant at this moment.
Gu Jiu pursed his lips and smiled, "I've thought about it. This year's tax revenue is good. On the one hand, it can be used to increase the amount of relief funds for disabled soldiers. On the other hand, the pension fund can also be used. The sooner we start, the easier it will be for you to shut up the court officials."
“Is it worth spending so much money on pensions?”
Gu Jiu nodded, "It's worth it! Compared to what we earned, this little money is nothing."
Liu Zhao asked her, "Who are you going to ask to do the account books?"
This involves secret accounts, and it is not an easy task to hide it from all the court officials.
"I plan to do it myself." Gu Jiu was thinking about this problem from the beginning.
Liu Zhao firmly objected, "No! This is going to be very tiring and exhausting. Do you really want to live?"
Gu Jiu laughed, "It's not as serious as you think. It's just accounting..."
"I said no, and it means no. I'll do as you please in everything else, but not in this one. You always say you have to put on a complete show. If you want to deceive the entire court, it's not enough to just keep a general ledger. You have to keep the accounts of every county and even every township, creating a complete and verifiable set of accounts. How can you handle such a heavy burden? It'll tire you to death!"
Gu Jiu frowned, "If I don't do it, who will do it?"
Liu Zhao said with a straight face, "I'll find someone to do it."
"You don't have anyone skilled in numerology. Just as you said, such a huge workload cannot be completed by just a few people."
"Then what do you think we should do?" Liu Zhao said angrily.
Gu Jiu picked up the budget account book and said, "You can refer to the account books of previous years and make a copy."
Liu Zhao's eyes widened. "Make a copy?"
Gu Jiu nodded heavily.
Liu Zhao snorted, "Even if we replicate a set, it would require a large number of people. Do you have anyone? You can't do it yourself anyway."
Gu Jiu pondered for a moment, "The accountant of the Shaofu could be used. They are currently counting the land and population in the archives. It might be possible to assign some people to prepare an account book."
Liu Zhao pondered this carefully. "I'm a little worried! The people in the Shaofu come from all sorts of backgrounds. Who knows, someone might leak the information. I have to hire someone I can trust."
"Then we can only call Qingzhu, Qingmei, and Aqing back. They are all people I trained personally, they are trustworthy and reliable! And when it comes to accounting, they are three times better than many old accountants."
"Are there enough of them?"
"It's definitely not enough! I have to work harder and stay up late every day to do it."
Liu Zhao pondered for a moment and said, "Okay! Let's use them."
Without further ado, the next morning, Gu Jiu sent palace servants to invite Qingmei and the others to the palace to start making accounts.
This is a huge and secretive project.
In order to prevent the news from leaking out, Gu Jiu directly ordered the side hall where Qingmei and the others lived to be sealed off.
No one is allowed to enter without her permission.
Nanny Fang, who had already left the palace to retire, took the initiative to take on the responsibility of delivering meals.
…
The first day of August has arrived in the blink of an eye.
Everyone in the world, from high-ranking officials to ordinary people, was paying attention to this day and watching the actions of the Shaofu.
Outside the Shaofu Yamen, people came and went, and it was as lively as a market.
Even though they couldn't see anything, the common people still enjoyed passing by the gate of the Shaofu Yamen, and then stretched their necks to take a look inside.
The Ministry of Revenue next door was deserted.
The entire yamen, from top to bottom, was filled with low pressure and was suffocatingly cold.
It is a great shame and humiliation that the taxes were snatched away by the Shaofu.
This is tantamount to seizing power!
Lord Qin, the Minister of Revenue, was under tremendous pressure, but he was powerless against the powerful. What else could he do?
He could only silently endure the complaints of his subordinates.
"I must be the most unlucky of all the Ministers of Revenue in history."
Lord Qin sighed.
"I don't know how long I can stay in this position."
I touched the chair under me and really didn’t want to leave this position.
Perhaps Your Majesty will continue to use him because of his obedience.
It is also possible that His Majesty could not withstand the pressure and used him to take the blame.
Why!
The future is unpredictable!
Lord Qin looked melancholy!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
