Langya Kingdom suffered from natural disasters of varying sizes almost every year.
The national treasury reserves a certain amount for the Ministry of Works every year. If it is not enough, other methods will be found. The excess will be used to repair river embankments and dams, control floods, build roads and bridges, etc.
The hot-tempered Minister of War was the most angry. Without military pay, the soldiers had nothing to eat, drink or use.
Without soldiers, who will protect the country?
When the neighboring countries attack, how can the hungry soldiers fight back?
The military officers felt that the money in the national treasury should be used to support their soldiers.
But the ministries also feel that they are important.
"Emperor, what do you think?"
The Empress Dowager suddenly asked Emperor Yuan.
The court fell eerily quiet.
"Why is there no silver in the Ministry of Revenue? Where did the money go?"
Emperor Daoyuan said, "In the past eight years, I haven't spent a single copper coin from the national treasury."
When these words were spoken, the court officials and even the Empress Dowager felt a little embarrassed.
When it comes to spending the national treasury's money, no one is more powerful than the Empress Dowager.
She spent a huge amount of money on building Taizu's tomb, not to mention the cost of building it when Taizu was alive.
Not to mention that the Empress Dowager also built several royal gardens and summer resorts.
Even a large amount of natural treasures are needed every year for health maintenance and cultivation.
So if the treasury is out of money, what does it have to do with him as the emperor? It’s not like he is the regent.
Not only was the Minister of Revenue also the Empress Dowager's man.
Most of the civil and military officials in this court are ostensibly the Empress Dowager's subordinates.
We don’t know how many are hidden in secret.
Those who were unwilling to submit to the Queen Mother and the Tang family had long been excluded from the court.
Of course, there were also a few tough-minded civil servants and military generals.
Otherwise, the Empress Dowager and the Tang family would have the final say in the court.
The atmosphere was already tense.
Each department wanted money, but the national treasury had no money. Emperor Daoyuan and Bei Lingyao did not care about it and just stood aside.
The pressure was put on the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager was furious and questioned the Minister of Revenue, "I gave you the Ministry of Revenue, and this is how you repay me? You've emptied the national treasury?"
"The Empress Dowager is being wronged. Every income and expenditure in the national treasury is clearly recorded in the account books and can be traced."
"Then check it out. Do you dare to let us check it out?"
The Minister of War threw up his arms and shouted, he had long disliked the old Minister of Revenue, this dog of the Tang family, who turned the national treasury into the Tang family's private treasury.
As soon as these words were spoken, all the military officers and generals supported them.
The Empress Dowager was stunned and her face darkened. Are these military officers and generals planning to rebel?
The Tang family is a noble family and also comes from a military background.
However, in order to prevent Taizu from being suspicious, the Tang family retreated after the founding of the country and handed over the military power to Taizu.
This indeed made Taizu trust the Tang family more.
Nowadays, some of the Tang family members are also in the army, and even some local military regions are controlled by the Tang family.
These military officers and generals used to support the Tang family and her as the Empress Dowager.
Why are you rebelling now?
The Empress Dowager looked at Emperor Daoyuan and felt that it was Emperor Daoyuan who was behind this. On the surface, he acted as if he didn't care about the throne, but secretly he was trying to win over court officials and generals.
It seemed that Emperor Daoyuan didn't care about the affairs of the court, but instead stared at Bei Lingyao in a daze.
The Empress Dowager felt that she was wrong.
She suddenly thought of General Lei Ting. Compared to Taizu who only admired her, General Lei Ting really liked her.
The Empress Dowager was somewhat tempted, and she first knew General Lei Ting, and then got to know Emperor Dongfang through General Lei Ting.
The Empress Dowager was immediately attracted to Emperor Taizu Dongfang, even though he had not yet married, he had four concubines.
But Taizu was outstanding in ability and strong in martial arts.
He was also the leader of the rebel army.
Compared with the martial arts master Taizu, General Lei Ting is just a natural in martial arts. He is not as mature and steady as Taizu, and he has no scheming or tricks.
The Tang family naturally looked down on General Lei Ting, and the Empress Dowager also chose to marry Taizu.
The Tang family was most proud of having chosen the right person, and the Empress Dowager had never regretted it.
If she married General Lei Ting, she would just be a general's wife.
But after marrying Taizu, she became the empress, regent empress, regent empress dowager, and regent grand empress dowager.
This is not something General Thunder can give her.
But after Emperor Taizu passed away and General Lei Ting broke through to the Grandmaster level, the Empress Dowager was happy that she had gained another powerful helper.
However, he did not expect that after the late emperor ascended the throne, General Lei Ting repeatedly asked the Empress Dowager to return power to the late emperor.
To avoid discord between mother and child.
The Empress Dowager was disappointed with General Lei Ting and was extremely wary of him.
I always feel that General Lei Ting has rebellious intentions.
Now, seeing a group of military officers and generals demanding a thorough investigation of the Ministry of Revenue, the Empress Dowager felt even more so.
It is impossible to check. The Empress Dowager has been in power for decades. How could she not know the situation in the Ministry of Revenue?
"Then investigate. I also want to know why there is no silver in the treasury. What's the point of being the emperor? It's time to abdicate and let someone else take over."
Emperor Daoyuan suddenly spoke at this time.
The Empress Dowager's face darkened, she felt that this rebellious grandson had some hidden agenda.
"Your Majesty, Grand Empress Dowager, I impeach the Minister of Revenue for corruption and abuse of power, enriching himself..."
The words of the Minister of the Ministry of Rites immediately caused an uproar in the court.
He has already spent all his money. What should he do at the G8 summit as the Minister of Rites? The responsibility will be on his shoulders again.
It would be better to impeach the Minister of Revenue at this time.
After he took the lead, several other court officials followed suit and impeached the Minister of Revenue.
The Minister of Revenue was furious and knelt before the Grand Empress Dowager, tears streaming down his face. "Grand Empress Dowager, I am wronged. I have been in charge of the Ministry of Revenue for decades. Even if I have no merit, I have worked hard. I would never dare to commit corruption or abuse the power to enrich myself. I beg the Grand Empress Dowager to examine me."
"Do you know the consequences of slander?"
The Empress Dowager was so angry that she was shaking all over. Master Li was injured, and as soon as her brother went into seclusion, all kinds of demons and monsters jumped out.
In the past, these old foxes were obedient to her, the Empress Dowager, and the Tang family, but now they have jumped out one after another to impeach the Minister of Revenue.
Don’t they know that the Minister of Revenue is her man?
How could she not know? This was deliberately aimed at her.
It was the emperor's help that gave them the confidence to show their loyalty to the emperor.
Thinking of this, the Empress Dowager glared at Bei Lingyao fiercely.
This was the first time that the Empress Dowager was forced into such a situation, and her supporters were forced to retreat step by step.
They dare not allow an investigation to find out whether they are in cahoots with the government and have embezzled money from the national treasury.
The Empress Dowager glanced at the Minister of Revenue and closed her eyes. "Investigate the Ministry of Revenue thoroughly!"
"The Empress Dowager is wise!"
The court officials including the Minister of the Ministry of Rites were happy.
The Empress Dowager walked away from behind the screen with a dark face. She returned to Shoukang Palace and ordered, "Send someone to warn the Minister of Revenue. If you want to protect his family, you should know what to do."
Emperor Daoyuan was also in a good mood and invited Bei Lingyao to the Yangxin Palace for tea.
"If the Imperial Preceptor hadn't defeated Grandmaster Li, these old foxes wouldn't have dared to do this today."
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